All posts by Caleb Hixon

Life long Sooner fan and former resident of Norman, OK. I love sports, music and Jesus. My dream would to one day be Ron Burgundy.

Flash in the Pan: The Johnny Manziel Story

flash in the pan

  1. (idiomatic) A transient occurrence with no long-term effect
  2. (idiomatic) A career notable for early success not followed by significant accomplishment.
    Synonyms: misfire, fad, dud, Johnny Manziel

Let's talk football, Johnny Football. Few figures in sports are as polarizing as Johnny Manziel. You either hate him or you love him. Some "experts" say he's a sure fire top-10 pick, others say they wouldn't touch him with a 10-foot pole.

You want my pseudo-expert opinion? Well you're gonna get it anyways. Say what you want, but Manziel has peaked. And if he goes in the first round, he's going to be a bust!

Continue reading Flash in the Pan: The Johnny Manziel Story

Pro day, schmo-day. Those things don't matter nearly as much as the media makes them out to be. Yes, we all love the 24/7 coverage on all things football, but pro days are not that important! Do they matter? Sure. But a great pro day doesn't equate to a great NFL career. Mike Mayock, NFL network draft guru, proved this when he said, "The best pro day I've ever seen is JaMarcus Russell." Do I need to remind my readers how Russell's career turned out? (Just google "draft bust") So let's take it down a notch on Manziel's hip-hop flavored pro day and talk about things that actually matter. 

Houston's not going to take him and Cleveland didn't even go to his pro day. Oakland is the only team I can think of who would be crazy enough to possibly roll the dice on him. However, after their aforementioned bust of a pick used on Russell in 2007, I would understand if they were more than hesitant. Not to mention the Raiders recently signed Matt Schaub and even though Schaub is likely not the long term solution in Oakland, I'm going to go ahead and list them as a long shot. 

Here's the deal, Manziel was an amazing college player. There's no denying it. He was as electrifying a player as we've seen in years. But so was 2001 Heisman winner and fellow scrambling QB, Eric Crouch. You don't remember him? That's because he got drafted as a wide-receiver and then retired before he ever saw a single snap. The guy was an incredible college quarterback, but that doesn't always translate to the NFL.

Maybe you write off Crouch as an anomaly. What do you do with Vince Young then? Vince dazzled college football for years and led his Longhorns past USC for a national championship. Then he went to the pro's and, well, you know the rest of the story. Didn't he file for bankruptcy recently? Ok, that was a cheap shot. But really, Vince is a prime example for what NFL teams are going to get with Manziel. And let's not forget that Vince had the size of a prototypical professional QB that Johnny will never have.

Need I continue with big name college quarterbacks who fizzled out in the pros? Yes? Ok, you brought this one on yourself. Tim Tebow ring a bell? Yet another SEC, national champion, Heisman winning scrambling QB who did what in the pros? Half a season starting for Denver, then even after winning a playoff game was promptly traded. "Why? He won a playoff game!" you might wonder. The Broncos didn't win because of Tebow, but in spite of Tebow. Obviously the Peyton Manning signing had a little something to do with the Broncos dumping Tebow, but the fact that he couldn't even unseat Mark Sanchez and barely saw the field before his eventual release only further proves my point. Owner's know it, coaches know it, and scouts know it, but enough about Tebow.

Let me just go ahead and take the wind out of your sails. At this point you may be thinking, "Yea, but Caleb, Russell Wilson just won the Super Bowl! Wilson and Manziel are basically the same player. Booyah! In yo face!" Woah, easy killer. Let's get one thing straight, Johnny Manziel is not Russell Wilson. Not even close. Wilson is a humble leader, plays with integrity and doesn't make mistakes. Not to mention that he's on a team with a crazy good ground game and the best defense the league has seen in years. So before you start hurling the Russell Wilson comparisons at me, just think about it for a second.

All I'm saying is that if you watch Johnny Football, and you're not an A&M graduate, you know exactly why he won't make it in the NFL. His unorthodox style is fine and dandy when you can out run most everyone on the defense, but you take that into the league where defensive lineman run 4.4's and you don't have any pocket awareness, see how long you make it. I'm not saying that mobile QB's can't be successful in the NFL, but Johnny Football is a hyper-mobile QB. One that relies on "chaos" and luck to achieve what he's done.

Anyone else watch the A&M/LSU game? When Manziel faced a really good defense, all of the sudden the Hoodini act was strangled. 

And let's not forget the kid is a walking PR nightmare off the field. Do you really believe that he's "changed" and left those ways behind him in college? I ain't buying it. Let's not kid ourselves, the guy has some major character issues. You want to blame it on him just "being a kid," give me a break man! When you step into the role of the starting quarterback of a national program like A&M, then you become the first freshman to ever win the Heisman trophy, whether you want to or not, you are handed a great deal of responsibility. If you shirk that responsibility and can't handle it in college, why would I believe that all of the sudden you can handle it in the pro's?

Chances are, though, that Johnny Manziel will get drafted early. Maybe even top 10. He'll fool some NFL organization or some owner will get swept up in the Johnny Football hype, blinded by all of the potential money to be made from jersey sales. But there is absolutely no chance that he will have a successful career in the NFL. No chance! Soon we will be lumping Johnny into the same conversations we have about Jamarcus Russell, Vince Young and Tim Tebow.

Yes, I know Johnny feeds on all of the negativity, he says it "drives him." Well, I hope he reads this because he's going to need all the help he can get to make it in the NFL. 

Year of the Husky

This year in college basketball, men's and women's alike, belongs to the University of Connecticut. 

This year, UCONN will have the pleasure of raising not only one, but two championship banners. Undoubtedly Husky fans every where are riding on cloud 9 right now. With the Lady Huskies going 40-0 and the men's team winning as a 7 seed, an interesting question is posed…

Which accomplishment is more impressive?

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Your initial, knee-jerk reaction, like mine, is probably "Well duh, the men's team is more impressive because women's sports is a joke." Not so fast my friend! While I may not completely disagree with you on how laughable women's sports may or may not be, that's not the question and you can't deny that going 40-0 in any sport is impressive! Personal opinion aside about women's sports, going undefeated is no small feat.

Let's take a closer look, starting with the Lady Huskies. After all, ladies first, right? Have you ever been a part of an undefeated team, at any level? I haven't. And few can say that they have because going undefeated is hard! Yet this group of women managed to reel off 40 straight victories, including a tournament title against another undefeated team. The last men's team to go undefeated and win a tournament title was Bobby Knight's 1976 Indiana Hoosier's and that was nearly 40 years ago. The only team in the NFL who's gone undefeated is the 1974 Miami Dolphins (thanks to Eli Manning and co.). No other team has come close to an undefeated season in the MLB, NBA, MLS, WNBA, PBA, PGA or WCP (can you go undefeated in poker?). So let's pump the brakes before we just dismiss the Lady Huskies right off the bat.

Am I arguing then that the women's team had the more impressive accomplishment? Not exactly. Not yet, at least.

The men's team's resume is just as impressive becoming the first team ever to win a tournament title as a #7 seed. Only the 1984 Villanova Wildcats have a tournament title to their name as a lower seed (8 seed) and further more, no #7 seed has ever even made it to the Final Four let alone the championship game. The Huskies weren't a product of upsets either. Their road to the championship game was as hard, if not harder, than any other. In order, the Huskies took down a #2 seed, #3 seed, the tournament darling #4 seed (Mich St) and then the #1 overall seed (Florida). Coming into the championship game, UCONN faced arguably the hottest team in the tournament, Kentucky. Even before the game the "experts" on the pregame show unanimously picked UK to win (maybe simply hoping that a certain young man wouldn't have to regret said tattoo forever). None of this, however, affected the Huskies as they came in and took care of business solidifying themselves as one of the greatest tournament performances ever.

So, which accomplishment is greater? Well, as impressive as it is to go undefeated in any sport, as I mentioned earlier, it seems to happen about every third year in women's college basketball. In fact, 7 out of the last 20 years in women's college basketball has ended with an undefeated team winning it all. And yes, 40-0 is a huge win streak, but doesn't seem quite as impressive when you consider that just three years ago the same Lady Huskies program had a 90-0 streak. And again, as I stated before, this is the first men's 7 seed to win a championship with Villanova being the only team to win it as a lower seed in '84.

You combine that with the road the Huskies went through to even make it to the championship game and this one is a no brainer. The men's team hands down had the most impressive accomplishment. Either way, it's a great time to be a Husky fan.

Opening Day: Texas Rangers Edition

"Gene Tenace at the plate… WHHHAMMY!!!"

Ahhhh, the smell of freshly cut grass, the crack of the bat echoing through parks and the timeless quotes of Champ Kind from Anchorman means one thing: Baseball's back.

Opening Day for Major League Baseball has come and gone and with it came the renewed hope of many baseball fans. With MLB's long and grueling schedule, opening day ushers in a feeling among many baseball fans of, "maybe this is our year!" before getting crushed somewhere in the dog days of July.

Each season has its own story lines, plot twists and surprises. This season is no exception for the Rangers and the American League West. How will the Rangers stack up against the competition? Can they earn a playoff berth after missing the playoffs for the first time in four years? Will they beat out the A's this year?

Continue reading Opening Day: Texas Rangers Edition

Maybe you're not a Texas Rangers fan, but you can't deny the fact that the AL West this year will be one of the most compelling story lines to watch. The Rangers, Oakland A's and L.A. Angel's all have a legitimate shot at a Wild Card spot, if not divisional crown. Sorry Mariners fans, but you're going to need more than Robinson Cano to give you a real chance. Maybe you could sign Russell Wilso… oh wait, the Rangers already did. Sorry.

FiveThirtyEight.com, an analytics site, has the Rangers with the best chance to win their division, but not by much. They project the Rangers to win 87.2 games, the A's 86.9 and the Angels 84.9. As you can see, the margin between these teams is razor thin.

And Houston? Doc Holliday said it best, "Why [Astros]… I forgot you was there. You may go now." I think that about sums it up.

This year the Rangers come into the season with quite a few new faces, some lingering injuries, pitching questions and the burden of proof that trading Ian Kinsler was the right move. With such a tough division, Ron Washington has his hands full this year.

The addition of Prince Fielder's big bat will no doubt help with the Rangers' offense, but there are still major questions in the pitching rotation. With a number of potential starters rehabbing injuries, Texas is left with a starting line up of pitchers no one could have projected. The best we can hope for is that they hold on, don't get smashed (allowing 14 runs in the home opener, for example) until we can get everyone healthy.

The injury bug has effected the Rangers in years past and we're seeing it already this year. Not only do we need our pitchers to get healthy, young star Jurickson Profar is out for another 10 to 12 weeks with a torn muscle in his shoulder. Profar is the reason we let Ian Kinsler walk and now he's hurt. We can only hope that the Rangers are able to get these players healthy and back in the line-up if they are to have any chance at keeping up with the Angels or the A's. But maybe if we can get the injuries out of the way early, we'll be healthy for a October run? One can only hope.

My projection: this year is going to be a race to 90 wins. Whoever can get there first will take the division. GO RANGERS!

One and Done

In the "one and done" era of college basketball where athletes typically leave for the NBA after one year of college, the debate of raising the minimum age requirement to enter the NBA draft from 19 to 20 has surfaced again. Effectively athletes would need to stay in college for two years before being eligible to enter the draft.

This has been a hot topic issue in years past and with Kentucky, a school who's become infamous for their one and done success, in the Final Four this weekend it seems only appropriate to bring the issue back to light. The complaints are that the one and done rule negatively effects the competition of college basketball by diluting the pool of players. The defendants of the rule argue that a young man ought to have the right to earn a living in the NBA as soon as he'd like.

Each side has valid points and both think they're right. Let's see if we can make sense of it all.

Continue reading One and Done

In 2005, the NBA passed a rule raising the minimum age requirement to enter the draft from 18 to 19. In doing so, forced athletes to spend at least one year in college before "going pro." This rule was put in place after players like Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard and even Lebron James went straight from high school to the NBA skipping college all together. The worry was that more players, not quite of the same caliber as the aforementioned players, would skip college only to not make it in the NBA when they might have had a better chance after developing more in college. But unless you've been living under a rock, you already know all of this.

Has the one and done rule actually helped though? New NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, doesn't think so. He's advocating for the age requirement to be raised to 20, replicating what college football has in place. At an All-Star Weekend press conference, Silver said, "It is my belief that if players have an opportunity to mature as players and as people for longer amount of time before they come into the league, it will lead to a better league." I think what Silver points out here is key: let them mature as a player and a person. Far too many players come into the league unprepared to face the fame and glamor that comes with it. 

But not everyone agrees, current and former players alike. Magic Johnson said on ESPN that he believes that if a kid can go serve his country in the Army at 18 then he has the right to earn a living in the NBA at 18 too. And there are other players who disagree as well. During the 2012 NBA lock-out, this was one of the issues that the league had to consent on before the lock-out would end. I think it's safe to say that not all players are on board with this idea.

That doesn't necessarily mean it's not still the best thing for the NBA. I'd argue that there are a lot of biased opinions in NBA locker rooms when it comes to the one and done rule. 

Do I think that every player who comes out of college after one year needed to stay for another? No, of course not. There are always going to be those players who are ready after high school. That's why the LeBron James' of the world were drafted #1 out of high school. But for every LeBron there are 20 Kwame Brown's. And who knows what Kwame would have done after a few years of development in college.

That's the thing, it's all one big speculation. But if it's up to me, I'd rather err on the side of caution when it comes to the quality of competition in the NBA. Plus, it can only be good for college basketball. The way I see it is there is a much greater good that could come out of the age limit being raised than bad. 

In fact, look at what it's done to college basketball. These highly touted recruits come in to a program with their minds made up. One and done. They know that they just need one good year and they've solidified their draft status. No longer do you get athletes playing for their school, for a championship or for just the love of the game, but for the hope of money next year. This one and done rule has introduced an age of inconsistency in college basketball that is unprecedented. Because teams can't hold on to their good players it becomes increasingly hard to establish a core. If they have any success all, their starters instantly bolt to the pros (i.e. Kentucky). Bob Knight has gone so far as to say that the NBA has "raped" college basketball on ESPN's Mike and Mike show. Harsh words, but somehow I find it hard to truly disagree with him.

This is a no brainer for me. Let the kids mature for two years before trying to compete against grown men. It's good for the NBA and it's good for college basketball. And maybe after two years of college these kids might actually go back at some point and finish their degree! 

Go to college, develop as a player and a person, then go pro.

Farewell McBuckets

Doug McDermott, aka McBuckets, is the best college basketball player of our generation. Hands down.

Please, tell me, who else had a better college career in the last decade? I'll tell you who, no one!  Not who's the most flashy, athletic, thrilling or sexy player. But who's the best? If you disagree, that's fine. But you're wrong. Leave a comment if you want, but here's my argument for McDermott.

Continue reading Farewell McBuckets

Not only was Doug one of the greatest talents we've ever seen, but he did things the right way too. He played the game with equal parts intensity and integrity. Yet most people won't appreciate what Doug has accomplished in his four years at Creighton because he didn't play for a major college program or win an NCAA championship. 

But the 3-time All-American and likely player of the year doesn't need the recognition. His stats speak for themselves. McDermott ranks as the fifth highest scorer of all time in college basketball. Only one other player in the last decade ranks in the top 25 of that list (Tyler Hansbrough at 13). Doug passed various legends on the all time scoring list such as Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird and Elvin Hayes. In his four years at Creighton he averaged 22 points per game, with an average FG percentage of 55 and a 3-point percent average of 45.7! Those are some amazing, incredible, gaudy numbers! 

To top that off, McDermott has scored at least 800 points each of the last three seasons. Why is that important you ask? Oh just because no one has done that since Wayman Tisdale in 1985 at Oklahoma. "Big deal," you might scoff. Yes, it is a big deal! Other people who have done that include some of the legends I mentioned before: Larry Bird, Oscar Robertson and Pete Maravich.

It's not just about the amount of points scored though. It's also the quality of opponents and strength of schedule. Creighton didn't go out and schedule weak sister competition, but played top notch competition. McDermott wasn't just beating up on D2 schools, but in 2013-14, a season in which Doug had a career high 26.7 PPG, Creighton had the 10th best RPI in the nation!

Are you starting to understand now why I believe he's the best college basketball player we've seen in 20 years?

In an era where most kids jet for the NBA after their first year, Doug took a different route. He enjoyed his time in college and even though he never won a championship, he still said in his press conference after his final game, "I hope more kids do what I do." 

Doug, almost single handedly, took his Creighton Bluejays to the NCAA tournament 3 straight years. Each year winning at least one game. 

McBuckets is a solidified college basketball legend. He set an example on how you play the game not only hard, but fair. In his final game against Baylor, in the waning moments of the game when they were down big with absolutely no hope of coming back, McDermott displayed his class and character one final time. When his teammate shoved Baylor's Corey Jefferson to the ground out of frustration, who was the first to rush over to help him up? None other than McBuckets himself. He didn't have to, but that's just who Doug McDermott is. If you googled "class act," Doug's picture would pop up.

Doug will most likely be selected in the first round of the upcoming NBA draft and no matter what his NBA career looks like, he will always live on as a college basketball legend.

So long Doug, thanks for the memories and example!