Art Chansky
Chansky’s Notebook: Illinois Game Becomes Really Important
How big is the Illinois game now? REALLY big. The trouble with losing a game you almost had won leaves a bad taste in your mouth and can get in the way of preparations for the next game, which is Saturday night at Illinois. The Big Ten also-ran hardly looked like that in throttling Murray State in its opener, 52-3. Yes, Murray State is in the Ohio Valley Conference and went 3-9 last season. But Illinois under former Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith looked better than the team picked to finish seventh in Big 10 West. A lot better,...
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Art’s Angle: Implosion
Not quite ready for prime time, I guess. The Tar Heels had Georgia down by 10, had dulled the Dome that was 80 percent Bulldog red into thinking, “Well, it’s the first game for Kirby (Smart, Georgia’s rookie head coach). He’ll get better.” T.J Logan, Mr. Explosion, had just turned a 10-14 halftime deficit into a 24-14 lead with a 95-yard kickoff return and a 21-yard sprint to the right pylon. We were winning this game, no doubt about it. Georgia could not do anything except hand it or pitch it to a bowling ball of a tailback named...
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Chansky’s Notebook: A Stand-Up Guy
Colin Kaepernick succeeded by hitting a nerve in America. http://audio.chapelboro.com.s3.amazonaws.com/2016/August/30/ART%20CHANSKYS%20SPORTS%20NOTEBOOK_083016.mp3 When 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick stayed seated during the national anthem before a recent exhibition game, he made people look in the mirror and say, “How do I really feel about this?” Most of his fellow athletes and celebrities did not respond, but their silence was deafening. Those who did counter, like his former pro coach and current Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh tied themselves up in knots. Harbaugh stammered, then clarified, then shut up. Well, how are you going to be heard in this country, like Muhammad Ali...
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Chansky’s Notebook: Replay Confusion
College football replays are getting way too complicated. The Big Ten was the first conference to institute video reviews in college football. It was a by-product of so many more games being on TV, and the NFL having used replay for years to make sure crucial calls were right or they were overturned. So much money is at stake in pro football, teams don’t want to miss the playoffs on a bum call. Now, colleges are making it more confusing in an attempt to avoid what happened at the Miami-Duke game last year. That seven-lateral touchdown run by the...
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