Who is Our Big-Shot Bob?

But I digress Coug fans. Let’s spin it back our way a moment. Who, exactly, is our “Big Shot Bob”? Who is the guy, at crunch time, that you want taking that season-altering shot?

It’s not such an easy answer, is it? I thought we’d put up a poll and you could pick for yourself, then comment here as to who you believe is THE MAN when the sh*t hits the Cougar fan.

Just a few other items today, then back to it.

1. Is Marcus Trufant holding the Seahawks hostage? There was some weird comments from both the Hawks brass and Trufant about their general disagreement over a contract. Tim Ruskell was unusually open and talkative about the situation, and what got me is how candid he was about how they view him. They believe Trufant is an excellent do-everything corner, but, they DO NOT view him as a true shut-down guy. Well, is he? I think we all know that he had an outstanding season on the cusp of free agency. There are probably a lot of reasons for it, such as Jimmy Mora showing up to coach the secondary, moving him back to his natural corner position, staying healthy, etc, etc, etc. But can anyone really call him an elite, shutdown type that teams gameplan against? I LOVE Trufant, always have and always will. But I wonder if he’s overplaying his own value here. Look, NFL’ers gotta get theirs while they can, and I’m sure his own teammates don’t begrudge him for this. At the end of the day it’s all about the money. But is Trufant’s $9+ million cap number as the franchise player a huge problem? Think about it: We just saw Josh Brown take the Lambs cash to kick indoors, because the Hawks wouldn’t/couldn’t come up with the extra $500k per year. We’re seeing backups/special team guys like LB Kevin Bentley and Nike Koutouvides land elsewhere. We’re probably going to lose a young, up-and-coming WR in DJ Hackett due to finances. And we’re also seeing outside free agents that could help the club next year in TE Alge Crumpler go somewhere other than Seattle, largely based on the cash involved. And Ruskell himself said it, that because of the cap situation, if the Hawks do add a player, well, they are probably going to have to do a “one-for-one” deal where a player on the roster is cut. I hope, for Tru’s sake and the greater good of the franchise, that they can get a long-term deal with Marcus worked out and help free up some cash to add to this team. Because I don’t know what you think, but I believe they aren’t that far away from really making a Super Bowl push next year. But without cap space that could be saved by Tru taking the long-term offer, it’s hard to get those final pieces.
2. Still hanging in there on the top-25 polls. It would be nice to cap off the season in the rankings, but of course these rankings aren’t exactly all that important to the seeding committee, is it? The cool thing is the updated Bracketology that has us now as a 6-seed in the South, avoiding that dreaded 2nd-round matchup with Duke. But guess who Lunardi has on the other side of the bracket, if WSU could get by 11th-seeded Illinois State?? How about 3-seed Wisconsin?? OH THE IRONY.

   

3. How about those 58-0 Ferris Saxons?? Yes, my Saxons. But that’s not the reason I bring them up. Some are touting them as the greatest 4A WA high school hoops team of all-time. Hard to argue with 58 straight wins and a pair of state titles, something nobody above B-level hoops has done in Washington (something called Brewster High won 82 straight from 74-77). And, sorry Rooster, they passed Reardon on the all-time streak list with their 58th win in a row. All five of their starters have legit D-1 NCAA talent as well. And a couple have a WSU tint to them: Jared Karstetter, the tournament MVP, headed for WSU on a football scholie (and maybe a hoops walk-on), and DeAngelo Casto, a 6-8 beast at PF who set a tourney record in blocked shots and has WSU high on his list. Casto had a dunk in the 4th quarter of the title game that was so forceful, HE MOVED THE BASKET FROM IT’S SUPPORT. Hmm, maybe another Ivory Clark?? Anyway, if they aren’t the best ever in the state, they are certainly the best to hail from the GSL. Hats off to the scarlet-n-silver for a remarkable run through the highest levels of competition!

Enjoy your week!