In Case You Missed It

This past weekend featured quite a bit of news and we are here to recap anything you might have missed.

Johnny Football Downs Alabama Crimson Tide

In the first quarter Saturday, it was the Texas A&M show as the Aggies took a quick 20-0 lead over the #1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. Then the second and third quarters featured 17 unanswered points by the Tide making it a 20-17 nail-biter heading into the fourth. That’s when Johnny “Football” Manziel took over along with a solid Aggies defense to provide the upset over last year’s champions.

In the fourth quarter, Manziel and Texas A&M had a field goal and a touchdown to get them to a 29-17 lead with just over eight minutes left. Alabama struck quickly with a 54-yard touchdown from quarterback A.J. McCarron to Amari Cooper to get within five points of the Aggies. Then, after an A&M punt, Alabama began to move the ball again from their own 40-yard line, taking the ball all the way down to the Aggies’ two-yard line before McCarron threw an interception, ending any chance of a comeback.

Alabama dropped to number 4 in the BCS Standings after the loss.

Lakers Fire Mike Brown, Hire Mike D’Antoni, Spurn Phil Jackson

After a 1-4 start, the Lakers fired head coach Mike Brown, then they won two games with Bernie Bickerstaff as interim coach, had an interview with Phil Jackson about the Zen Master returning to the Lakers and ultimately hired Mike D’Antoni to be the new head coach. Talk about a weekend full of misdirections.

Sources were reporting that the job was Jackson’s to turn down, but later it was confirmed that the decision to hire D’Antoni was a unanimous decision amongst the Lakers’ brass. The thought was that Jackson’s Triangle Offense would be great for Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace and Pau Gasol, but the rest of the roster -- including Steve Nash and Dwight Howard -- would have a harder time adapting to the offense. D’Antoni coached Nash in Phoenix before he left for the New York Knicks.

Many fans have already began speculating if this was the right move because of the fact that D’Antoni hasn’t had the best track record when it comes to coaching up defense, but he may enlist the help of Nate McMillan to help in that aspect of the game. D’Antoni’s offense is what intrigues fans, though, because it is fast-paced and could bring some excitement to the Lakers.
By: Brandon Williams Member of the Football Writers Association of America