The Last Call gang talks NFL, NFL, NFL, Adrian Peterson on steroids? Danforth thinks so. Also, how close have the guys grown? So much so that Sprague and Dirt are on the same cycle. Also, some embarrassing stories for you guys. Check it out!
The Last Call guys give you one more podcast for the week, despite being beat. They talk UCLA/Baylor and the Pac-12 fiasco in bowl games. They also discuss Chip Kelly leaving Oregon, and Richard Sherman pulling a Barry Bonds by getting away with using illegal substance. Check it out.
The Last Call is BACK! After a few days off for the holidays the crew gets together and talks about the Blazers and their current 8th seed, the Seahawks, and how exciting the NFL playoffs are going to be.
The guys are reunited and it felt so good. They talk about the NCAA and Oregon's recruiting fiasco. They also touch on the article regarding Chip Kelly's relationship with Oregon donors, and how do you approach a waitress for her number if you're in a situation where you can't talk to her? The guys give their love opinions, and want yours.
The Last Call crew isn't quite complete as Andy "Dirt" Johnson was out on a hot date, or as some would call it, hanging out with your mom. But the guys press on and talk Nick Saban to the NFL, NY Jets and what a cluster they've become, and is it okay for a player of Roethlisberger's talent to talk down to a coach? Check it out
The Last Call gang gets together after some technical problems on Monday. Sorry, but haters 'gon hate. The guys talk about Damian Lillard, LA being out, and if Lillard can carry the torch. Also, should 49ers fans trust Colin Kaepernick? Sprague gets irrational but defends Harbaugh's QB choice. Danforth and Dirt go double team on him and make him out to be an idiot. And 10 stitches in the third leg? Ouch. The guys talk about it.
We here at the Last Call officially apologize for no Monday morning edition of the Podcast - we suffered some technical diffuculties, and I'm pretty sure the Patriots gave Sprague a heart attack last night... Don't give up on us though, we'll be back and better than ever tomorrow morning! Blazers, NFL, bowl games (wait, what?) and much, much more. Also, keep your eyes out on iTunes for us, we're in the process of getting set up on there to make it easier for you to listen.
The Last Call has exclusive audio of the Pac-12 coaches recruiting a local 5-star... Or do they? Check it out and let us know if you love it or hate it below!
The Last Call guys have their live show on 1080 The FAN from 7-9pm. And they went hard with the topics. They talked Mike Riley to Wisconsin, Josh Hamilton rumors, NFL branding/image, and the guys have EXCLUSIVE audio of the Pac-12 coaches recruiting to a 5-star. Thanks for listening and make sure to check back every morning Monday - Friday for their podcast
We apologize for not offering our daily morning podcast, but tonight we go live on 1080 The FAN 7-9pm, immediately following Primetime. Get ready for the Last Call crew to hit the airwaves and bring you the hottest topics of the day. We discuss the Blazers, college football, the NFL, and we have EXCLUSIVE audio of the Pac-12 coaches pitching to a 5-star recruit! Tune in and hit us up on Twitter or Facebook.
We here at the Last Call got to thinking, are the Portland Trail Blazers a cursed organization? With Sam Bowie, Greg Oden, Brandon Roy, Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals in LA, running into MJ in the NBA Finals... Is it a case of bad luck? Poor medical examination? Or a curse? Say what you say and vote! Leave a comment either way with your name and we'll read it on tomorrow's podcast and show!
When you think of the Heisman trophy, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? What does a player have to do to take home the hardware? Could be stats, big game victories, ‘Heisman moments,’ leadership; maybe success? There’s no right or wrong answer, because it takes a combination of all those traits to go down in history as one of the best college football players. However – to me, what sets the Heisman trophy apart is its emphasis on winning.
There are countless awards for the best player in college football (Maxwell, Walter Camp); best running back (Doak Walker); best QB (Davey O’brien); best wide receiver (Belitnikoff); but the one thing that these awards don’t take into consideration is winning. For the most part, these trophies are handed out on the basis of statistical success. And I have no problem whatsoever with that. But – that’s what sets the Heisman apart from your run of the mill MVP award.
The Heisman Trophy is arguably one of the most prestigious and well known awards in all of American sports, be it professional or collegiate. It would be tough for anyone, let alone Dirt, to ramble off who won the National Championship 15 years ago. On the other hand, to name the Heisman winner from 15 years ago? Piece of cake – Charles Woodson in 1997, defensive back from Michigan. Ricky Williams after him, then Ron Dayne, so on and so forth.
Though I must admit, I’m worried about the recent trend in Heisman winners. The pedigree for winning the award remains primarily the same, minus one trait – victories. I took a look at the list of winners since 2000 and for the most part, had no beef with the names that came up. Most players were statistically dominant, on one of the best teams in the county.
In fact, when looking at the 13 Heisman winners since the turn of the century, 9 of them played in the BCS National Championship game. Add one more that played in the Orange Bowl – and that makes 10 of the 13 that reached the BCS. On top of that, 8 of the 13 won their conference championship. And two that didn’t win their conference (Eric Crouch, 2001; Jason White, 2003) still played for a National Title. Only 4 of the 13 lost more than one game during the regular season, excluding their bowl result.
So that brings us to this year’s winner, Johnny “Football” Manziel – who became one of three to win the award without reaching a BCS game since 2000; the other two were Tim Tebow (2007) and RGIII (2011). The one thing all three of these players have in common is media hype. Was there any doubt in anyone’s mind that Manziel would be named the winner Saturday night? National media members gave him the award after beating #1 ranked Alabama nearly a month ago. And they had a vested interest in doing so – Manziel is only a freshman. Care to guess how many Texas A+M games will be on national TV next year? And prepare yourself for the – “Can Manziel become the first two-time winner since Archie Griffin in 1974-75?” talk.
But was this kid they call “Johnny Football” really deserving of winning the award? Let’s look at the Heisman winner pedigree. Stats? Check. Big game victory? Check. Heisman moment? Check. Victories? Nope. Did he break Cam Newton’s single season SEC total yardage record? Sure he did – but there’s one distinction between the two; Newton led his team through the SEC undefeated and took home the conference title. Manziel did not.
I dug a little deeper into the season of Johnny Football, to find out exactly what all the buzz was about. He faced four teams ranked in the top 50 in the country in total defense (Florida, LSU, Ole Miss and Alabama). In those four games – he went 2-2. In his other eight games, he faced two Div. II teams, SMU, and a Louisiana Tech defense that was statistically ranked 125 out of 125 teams. He went 8-0 in those games while padding his stats.
The proof is in the pudding. In the 4 games against top 50 defenses (2-2), Manziel averaged 223 passing yards with 3 TD’s and 4 Int’s; to go along with 77 yards per game on the ground and 2 rushing touchdowns. Against the 8 defenses’ outside the top 50 (8-0), Manziel averaged 316 yards through the air while tossing 21 TD’s and only 3 picks; to go along with 110 yards per game on the ground and 17 rushing touchdowns. That’s a difference of nearly 50 passing yards a game, and 30 yards per game on the ground. The touchdowns and records speak for themselves.
What we have here, is a media built super hero, who gained his reputation burning terrible defenses through the air and on the ground while struggling against top notch competition. Was he the best player in college football this season? No, USC wide receiver Marquise Lee, was. Was he the most important player to his team this season? Nope again, that would go to Notre Dame Linebacker Manti Te’o. If this Johnny Football kid was more than media hype and padded stats, why couldn’t he lead his team to an undefeated season or a BCS title game like 9 of the past 12 Heisman winners had done?
The trend of recent by Heisman voters to give the award to the kid with the most media buzz and padded stats is alarming to me. We’re getting away from the tradition and root of this prestigious award. Was RGIII an incredible athlete and one of the best players in college football last season? Sure he was; Manziel was this year as well. But – if you’re that dominant, that unstoppable, and putting up such godly numbers – you should be able to lead your team to at least a BCS bowl game. End of story. And if you don’t, enjoy putting the Maxwell and Walter Camp awards up in your trophy case.
The Last Call crew comes hard and gets to the point with their take on Paul Tagliabue's overturn of the Saints' players. Also, would you rather make "Gangnam Style" or have a Jeremy Lin-like run? Sprague singing? Dirt leaving fecies? Check it out
The local media icons or better known as "the guys responsible for the most listened to podcast in the northwest" Last Call crew discuss their adventures at the Raptors/Blazers game, and is New England the best team in the NFL?
The Last Call crew discuss why the hell LaMichael James couldn't get on the field any sooner than he has. Who is to blame for the state of the Blazers? How about Johnny Manziel winning the Heisman? How anti-climatic was it? And the guys talk about the Seahawks and ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary "Bo Knows."
The Last Call crew discuss why the hell LaMichael James couldn't get on the field any sooner than he has. Who is to blame for the state of the Blazers? How about Johnny Manziel winning the Heisman? How anti-climatic was it? And the guys talk about the Seahawks and ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary "Bo Knows."
The guys get together for a short, end of the week podcast. They discuss how ridiculous all these end of the year awards are in college football. Everyone's a winner, how dumb is that? Also, tipping? Do you tip a barber and what are the rules you follow for tipping?
The Big Lead catches wind of a video of an OSU fan who appears to be a little intoxicated and telling the Ducks players "No nati" so we have to ask, idiot or greant fan?
The Last Call guys (@taylordanforth, @Dirt_Johnson, @BrandonSprague) discuss the crazy coursel that is college coaching. What in the hell does a coach look for when going for a job? LaMarcus Aldridge soft? Interesting, but the fellas discuss. Also, they talk Christmas gifts. What do you ask for and is there an age limit for it? Leave a comment!
Danforth, Dirt and Sprague argued about the Heisman list, but got really fired up about whether the Heisman is about talent or value. So, we got to ask, is the Heisman about talent or value to you? And who do you take, Lee or Teo? Choose NOW! Leave a comment if you want. Let us know.
The BCS has created quite the controversy with Northern Illinois and Louisville in the bowl games, but would just a four team playoff really be
better? Tell the Last Call boys!
The Last Calls guys give you the first local reaction to the weekends biggest news in sports. They talk BCS, Blazers, and Ducks/Beavers. Join us every morning on 1080thefan.com!
