ekansekans's blog: "df"

INDIANAPOLIS -- Purdue wants a football team that can get to the Rose Bowl and decided Danny Hope was not the coach to take the Boilermakers there. About 24 hours after winning back the Old Oaken Bucket against rival Indiana to become bowl-eligible again, athletic director Morgan Burke announced he had fired Hope and had made receivers coach Patrick Higgins the interim coach for the Boilermakers next game. The swift move was no surprise to Boilermakers fans who had grown increasingly restless with a program that had been no better than mediocre for much of the past decade. That wasnt good enough for Burke. "Make no bones about it, we want to go to Pasadena. Thats what its about," he said. "Weve got to put ourselves in a position to do that." During a hastily-called news conference with reporters Sunday evening, Burke repeatedly praised Hopes commitment for trying to resuscitate a program that was already sinking when he took over after the 2008 season and then was ravaged by injuries. Even so, a three-game winning streak, back-to-back bowl games and three wins over the hated Hoosiers couldnt save Hopes job. Burke had said he would wait until the end of the season before making a decision. Apparently, he came to the conclusion before Saturdays 56-35 rout over archrival Indiana -- a win that made Purdue bowl eligible for a second straight year, the first time that had happened since 2006-07 -- and he saw no point in wasting any more time. "I think when it became clear to me that no matter how hard one was working, it was going to be difficult to reverse the image and the view of the program," Burke said. "I dont like people to have to continue to put 120 per cent effort in -- and Danny is a 150 per cent effort guy, he gives it all hes got -- and to recognize that there are forces beyond your control. As the season progressed, it became increasingly clear to me that we were probably going to have to make a change." Burke did not provide much detail about how the national search would be conducted, though he did say Colts general manager Ryan Grigson, Texans GM Rick Smith and Colts ex-vice chairman Bill Polian would advise him. Burke also did not provide a timetable for hiring a new coach. Some names that have already been percolating include Northern Illinois Dave Doeren, Illinois States Brock Spack and Ball States Pete Lembo. Other names also have bandied about over the past several weeks, but Burke declined to comment on any of the potential candidates. One thing is clear: Burke does not want a complete makeover. "We are an offensive-minded program. Thats where weve made our mark over the years and I dont see us changing," he said. "Were certainly not going to move into a coach that has a dramatically different scheme. Because we built this team to play a certain kind of football, and weve seen other institutions who have made a coaching change and then they change their style of play and it took two or three years to adjust. Were not going to do that. Weve got talent in this program." Hope was the hand-picked successor to the schools all-time winningest coach, Joe Tiller. He left Eastern Kentucky, spent one season on Tillers staff as an assistant and then went 22-27 in four seasons as the head coach. He ended the schools three-year bowl drought last season and brought Purdue its first bowl win since 2007 by winning the Little Caesars Bowl in Detroit last December. He also received a two-year contract extension in December that was to keep him at Purdue through the 2016 season. But last years late-season success raised expectations -- expectations that fell flat this season and resulted in empty seats. Things looked promising after a 3-1 start. Then came blowout losses at home to Michigan and Wisconsin, and the restless fans started calling for a change. The rumours were so loud by Oct. 29 that Burke took the unusual step of issuing a statement that essentially said he would wait until the end of the season before making a decision. Hope knew what was being said. "I dont have any idea. But either way, Im going to be OK," he said when asked about returning next season after Saturdays game. "Like I said, Ive learned to live life on the hot seat here at Purdue. Any time that you have a contract that has some weak spots in it, I didnt have a lot of leverage when I came here. I dont have that strong of a contract from a buyout standpoint or a compensation standpoint, any time youre dealing with a contract like that, you can be on the hot seat on a regular basis." The buyout was only $600,000 and declined by $100,000 each successive year. Players also had a sense the move was coming. After beating the hated Hoosiers, Hope hugged his wife and one of his players before leading the team singing the schools fight song in front of the student section. When the song ended, two players hoisted Hope on their shoulders briefly -- a moment Hope called special. During postgame interviews, players expressed support for Hope, none more emphatically than sixth-year quarterback Robert Marve. He thanked Hope for giving him multiple second chances and allowing him to play this season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. For now, the Boilermakers are asking Higgins, who had been calling the plays while offensive co-ordinator Gary Nord was out with a back injury, to pick up the pieces. Nord will serve as a senior adviser for the bowl game. Hope and Purdue opened this season by talking publicly about reaching the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis, putting the program back on the national map and possibly returning to a New Years Day bowl game. When that didnt happen, it sealed Hopes fate. "I dont like to walk in the locker room and see the faces on the young men after they lose," Burke said. "I dont like to see the long faces on the coaches who I have a lot of respect for. "I know how hard theyve worked and how close theyve been," Burke added. Wholesale Jerseys . -- The aging Boston Celtics are gearing up for what could be one final run at a title, and Ray Allen isnt on the court. Wholesale MLB Jerseys . -- With most of the attention Wednesday night focused on the coaching matchup between father and son, Louisville senior guard Peyton Siva grabbed the spotlight by applying what he learned from both. http://elevatedcolor.com/hot.html . The 31-year-old from Kamloops, B.C., who was ranked No. 1 in the world last season, threw 20.72 metres. American Ryan Whiting won with a throw of 21.14. Armstrong, who battled injuries over the winter, threw 21.SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- With a full off-season to work with one of the NFLs most fearsome units, Vic Fangio sees no limit to what the San Francisco 49ers can achieve on defence this season. That unit accomplished plenty last year while pushing the Niners to their first winning season in eight years. But with all 11 starters returning on the leagues fourth-ranked defence, it looks to be even better in 2012. Fangio has guided several top-notch defences during his 26 years coaching in the NFL, and San Franciscos defensive co-ordinator says this could be his best yet. "I suppose you could say potentially we should be as good or better," Fangio said Wednesday, the midpoint of a three-day minicamp. "We have good players and our guys enjoy playing with each other. They grew into playing with each other last year, playing off of each other. We would expect that to continue and take it to a higher level." After years of flirting with success, San Franciscos defence reached the top level last season in Fangios first year with the team. And that came without the benefit of an off-season program for Fangio to implement a new system because of the NFL lockout. The 49ers prospered defensively anyway and were considered one of the leagues elite units by the time San Francisco had completed a surprise run to the NFC Championship game, where it lost in overtime to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants. The Niners are envisioning great things ahead after an entire off-season program to absorb Fangios 3-4 defensive scheme and the new wrinkles hes adding with the additional preparation time. "Its really just enabled us to pick up where we left off last year, reinsert our defence to brush that off, and then polish off what we had inserted to even a finer level of execution," Fangio said. "And weve added a thing or two here and there that gives us something new to work on." The 49ers dont enviision many changes to a unit that last season led the NFL in rushing defence and takeaways, was second in points allowed and ranked in the top 10 in 10 defensive categories.dddddddddddd San Francisco is rock-solid across the board at virtually every defensive position with star linebacker Patrick Willis, tackle Justin Smith, cornerback Carlos Rogers and safety Dashon Goldson all selected for the Pro Bowl last season. Linebacker NaVorro Bowman joined Willis and Smith on the All-Pro first team. But one thing the teams working on this spring is the addition of second-year pro Aldon Smith to the starting lineup at outside linebacker in place of incumbent Parys Haralson. Smith, San Franciscos first-round draft pick in 2011, made a huge impact on passing downs last season, setting a franchise record for a rookie with a team-leading 14 sacks. Haralson is strong against the run and started every game last year with the base defence. But Smith got onto the field for almost 52 per cent of San Franciscos defensive plays, and the 49ers intend for that number to increase significantly this season. "When you have a player of his ability, youve got to do anything and everything you can to get him on the field more," Fangio said. "I was very happy and pleased with what we got out of him last year. We expect him to become more of a full-time player this year." The 49ers have a lot of expectations for their defence this year. But then, so does everybody else. The Niners wont sneak up on anybody this year after the way their defence emerged last season. "People know who we are, considering what happened last year," Aldon Smith said. "But we still have the same mentality. Were hungry and were working hard every day to get better. Weve got a lot of guys who work hard and do their job. As long as we keep getting better, the skys the limit for us." ' ' '