Reader's Responses To National Sports Shorts

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

It's always great to hear feedback with My Stories.

This situation isn't just a response, but one which this individual took his time to carefully and honestly analyze what he put in writing,

As a result, I've decided to publish what was sent.

Here is a little information about this individual.

The person's name is Gus Pantelides. He's been the Owner/President of a Successful Direct Marketing Company Named Pros Marketing.

Pantelides has dealt with automobile dealers and clients that specialize in working with homeowners.

His office is in Clearwater, FL.

He resides in the Tampa Bay Area and has been an Associate Member of The Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association since 2005. He's from the Metro Detroit Area and has followed those major sports teams, plus is a proud Michigan State Spartans Follower.

Years ago, he won a Tom Selleck Look-Alike-Contest in Clearwater, FL.

Throughout the years, he's been a loyal follower and we've had some Spirited Debates.

Pantelides was very smart when he decided not to comment on the DeFlate Gate Controversy this week at the Super Bowl. Whether he even cared about the subject or omitted it, only he knows.

But here is what he said about the other subjects which were discussed yesterday.

Number 1.  New England blows out Seattle by more than 2 touchdowns!

Number 2.  Johnny Manziel will end up in the CFL or Arena Football League at best.

Number 3.  John Fox will do a good job with the Bears.

Number 4.  Ernie Banks was and always will be one of the best.

Number 5.  Don't follow the NBA enough to comment on Jason Kidd.

Number 6.  The NHL (so called) All Star game was a farce.  The league should be embarrassed to have put on such a terrible exhibition of hockey.  They did themselves no favors in trying to lure fans to the sport with such a game.  A "pond hockey" game would have been more exciting.

I encourage anybody to respond and I will be more than happy to post their opinions as I've done with Gus Pantelides.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.

Great Lakes F-Ball Massacres

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

When my best friend Gus Pantelides won the Tom Selleck look-a-like contest several years ago at the Clearwater Mall after receiving a rousing applause, I told him he it was a no-brainer that he emerged as the clear cut winner. His response was the old Yogi Berra saying, "It's not over until it's over." As it turned out, Pantelides did win the contest handily and the Selleck contest was over early.

But I'm sure that Pantelides was sick to his stomach on New Years Day as the Alabama Crimson Tide thrashed his Michigan State Spartans 49-7 in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando.

Unfortunately, this contest was over quickly as former Spartans Coach Nick Saban's Alabama team cruised to a 28-0 first half lead and never looked back. Alabama scored five touchdowns on its first five possessions of the game and set the Capital One Bowl mark for largest victory.

But Pantelides can at least be thankful that his Spartans did have an excellent 11-2 mark even if the last game's result will sting MSU for awhile.

Regardless, Pantelides had to wish the Spartans early ending, resembled his win at the Clearwater Mall. However, that wasn't meant to be.

But knowing Gus, he just spent the rest of the day with his beautiful family and would scoreboard watch to see how his rival the Michigan Wolverines were doing.

Pantelides has never been shy about his dislike for the Wolverines but it looked like the Mississippi State Bulldogs weren't phased by being on the same field with the winningest program in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

The Bulldogs blasted the Wolverines 52-14 in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida. Michigan set a school bowl record by allowing 52 points in what appears to be Coach Rich Rodriguez' final game. It's inevitable there is going to be a major shakeup at Michigan. Even if Rodriguez is retained, his Defensive Coordinator Greg Robinson will be terminated.

But now the question is, who will lead U-M?

The natural choice is former U-M quarterback Jim Harbaugh, who has led the #4 Stanford Cardinal (11-1) to the Orange Bowl. But Harbaugh has shown a desire to stay at Stanford and who knows, there is talk that the San Francisco 49'ers might be interested in him.

The wild card candidate is San Diego State Coach Brady Hoke, who guided the Aztecs to their first bowl win since 1969, a triumph over Boston University in the Pasadena Bowl.

In two seasons with the Aztecs, Hoke is 13-12 but his team's impressive 35-14 win over Navy on December 23, 2010, in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, sealed a 9-4 season.

The last time San Diego State appeared in a bowl was in the 1998 Las Vegas Bowl, a loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Where did Michigan go wrong with the hiring of Rodriguez? I only have one explanation for this. They didn't hire a "Michigan Man" that understands Wolverines football. He wasn't a good fit.

Harbaugh played there and Hoke was the defensive lines coach for Lloyd Carr from 1995-2002.

There was talk during the Aztec's win over Navy that Hoke would be a good fit and take this job if it were offered. We'll know soon enough.

But even if Rodriguez does get fired, I have a feeling he won't be unemployed long.

Despite his 15-22 record with Michigan, he was 60-26 with West Virginia. He led West Virginia to six bowl games and won two.

The Pittsburgh Panthers fired their new football coach Mike Haywood, 2 1/2 weeks after being hired, when he was charged with felony domestic battery in the presence of a minor.

Why would Rodriguez be a good fit for the Panthers? The Big East knows him real well with his body of work with West Virginia and I'm sure the Mountaineers would be sick if he returns to their conference.

Besides, if Rodriguez lands another job quickly, it wouldn't surprise me if he makes an attempt to take his quarterback Denard Robinson with him. The signal caller from Deerfield Beach, Florida, is the first quarterback in NCAA History to rush and pass for over 1,500 yards in the same season.

It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out.

But for those Rodriguez critics, they'll have a field day when the #6 Ohio State Buckeyes (11-1) face the #8 Arkansas Razorbacks in the Sugar Bowl Tuesday Night.

Arkansas Quarterback Ryan Mallett transferred because his drop back pocket-quarterback skills weren't a good fit for the spread offense that Rodriquez was bringing to Ann Arbor.

Mallett finished seventh in voting for the 2010 Heisman Trophy and has guided Arkansas to a 10-2 record.

Have to wonder how Wolverines fans will feel if Mallett does have better results against a Buckeyes team that whipped U-M 37-7 at Ohio Stadium on November 27, 2010.

Let the intrigue begin at 8:30 PM on Tuesday Night on ESPN. Hopefully, this game will be competitive unlike the Spartans and Wolverines New Years Day Massacres where these games were over before lunch.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.

Small Potatoes, Large Memories

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

As I watched ESPN's Presentation "Small Potatoes" which featured the demise of the USFL, this program brought back some great memories.

It's hard to believe that the league played only three seasons from 1983-85 and lost $163 million, yet it was a formidable competitor to the NFL during this time period. Today's players definitely know that without the USFL, their salaries wouldn't be as high as they are now.

When I spoke to my close friend Gus Pantelides the day after "Small Potatoes" aired, we reminisced about the 1984 USFL Championship Game we covered at Tampa Stadium for the now defunct Hallandale Digest. That weekend, I stayed with Gus at his beach house on Clearwater Beach.

His brother Mike Pantel, another close friend, also attended this contest featuring the Philadelphia Stars against the Arizona Wranglers. The Stars defeated the Wranglers 23-3.

Gus was my photographer for the game and we strategized how we were going to cover the contest. One thing we didn't prepare for was that Gus would be bombarded with autograph requests from fans as a result of him winning a Tom Selleck lookalike contest at the Clearwater Mall. My photographer was forced to do double duty and he managed quite well.

I'll never forget the events leading up to the game as I worked at the downtown Tampa Sheraton Hotel seeking story-lines.

I had the opportunity to talk to late Tampa Bay Bandits Owner John Bassett and his right-hand man Miami based attorney the late Steve Arky. I also met with Donald Trump and we talked about the second year league's progress.

What made the USFL special was the players, coaches and executives, who went on to great careers in the NFL.

Former Kansas City Chiefs President/General Manager Carl Peterson was the mastermind behind two championships for the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars.

Hall of Fame Coaches Marv Levy and George Allen roamed the sidelines while the league was a stepping stone for Jim Mora Sr. who would eventually pilot the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts.

Other coaches who roamed the sidelines included Red Miller, Darrell "Mouse" Davis, the Run N Shoot guru, Jack Pardee, Steve Spurrier, Frank Kush, Lee Corso and John Ralston.

Current Florida Atlantic University Coach Howard Schnellenberger was lured from the Miami Hurricanes in 1984, to coach the Washington Federals, who would be relocated to Miami, but that situation never materialized.

There would be 179 former USFL players who also played in the NFL.

Hall of Fame quarterbacks Steve Young and Jim Kelly highlight a list which includes, Greg Landry, Chuck Fusina, Brian Sipe, Vince Evans, Bobby Hebert, Doug Flutie and Doug Williams.

The USFL snapped up some good running backs. Heisman Trophy Winners Herschel Walker and Mike Rozier head a list which includes Kelvin Bryant, Joe Cribbs, Craig James, Gary Anderson, Tim Spencer and Marcus Dupree.

Former Detroit Lions running back Billy Sims nearly played in the USFL. He signed two contracts, one with the Lions and Gamblers which were owned by his former agent Jerry Argovitz but would end up staying in Detroit after a major legal mess to determine which deal was valid.

There were some good wide receivers. Anthony Carter, who starred for the Michigan Wolverines, won a title with the Michigan Panthers in 1983. Jim Smith, Eric Truvillion, Trumaine Johnson, and Raymond Chester were excellent performers.

On defense, John Corker, Sam Mills, Reggie White and John Banaszak. The USFL produced two future World Champion professional wrestlers: Lex Luger and Ron Simmons.

As of 2008, the USFL alumni in the Pro Football Hall of Fame includes: Levy, Allen, Kelly, Young, White and Gary Zimmerman. The three MVP Awards belong to Bryant (1983), Kelly (1984) and Walker during the USFL's final season in 1985.

What made the USFL so unique was the use of the territorial draft where teams could select stars from their own region. The Michigan Panthers selected Carter from Michigan using this rule to win the 1983 title.

If only the Detroit Lions could ever take advantage of the Wolverines as their one time Pontiac Silverdome neighbors did.

Truvillion did play for the Detroit Lions as a replacement player in 1987 as their starting receiver and retired from pro football when the NFL strike ended.

There was the use of instant replay and the two point conversion which the NFL has now decided to utilize.

Why did this league crumble? In my opinion, Trump was the major reason the USFL failed.

Competing with the NFL in the fall was a tragic strategy which caused stadium conflicts and teams were forced to move to different markets without NFL teams.

Over expansion was also part of the demise and getting into a bidding war with the NFL for star players caused USFL owners to go broke by promising large contracts to players with personal services clauses attached.

Trump over spent to get players with large contracts but never did win a championship.

What Trump was too ignorant to realize is the USFL had earned it's place as a spring league as the public was getting used to the idea of spring football. Even though the TV ratings were declining, the league needed more time to determine which markets would work.

I'm not going into detail about the USFL's lawsuit with the NFL that earned the USFL a check for $3.76 because even though there was indeed a monopoly by the NFL. But to think the USFL would succeed during the fall was absurd! Just ask the defunct World Football League.

As I look at my leather work bag from the 1984 USFL Championship Game in Tampa in my office, plus the fact that I won an award with Broward Community College For the Best Sports Reporter in the State of Florida for writing on the USFL, the USFL meant a lot to me early in my Journalism career.

It seems like a pipe dream now with our troubled economy that there is no spring football league at the moment. As more and more college football programs appear at all levels, there are enough players to stock two football leagues. Should there be another major football league, a salary cap is vital. Patience and controlled growth should factor into the equation.

If another league does get created, just say "No To Donald Trump." Since Trump wrecked the USFL, it appears as though his name has been black balled by the other major sports leagues.

What made the "Small Potatoes" documentary great was watching Trump look like an idiot when he was asked about his role in the failure of the USFL. He was short and defensive towards the reporter. He costs a lot of players, coaches, executives plus other front office people opportunities and fans quality entertainment.

But the legacy that the league has in American Sports History lives on. It also had legendary broadcasters like Keith Jackson and Jim Simpson doing the national broadcasts for television partners ABC and ESPN.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com