Yardbarker: Charlie Ward

An Angry Message For The Sports Fella, From The Star Of TV's Brooklyn Bridge

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:15:55 -0500

Not long ago, Knicks fan Danny Lanzetta, the child lead in one of those pleasant 1990s-era CBS shows, sent Bill Simmons an e-mail debunking his Ewing Theory. Simmons ignored him. So Danny did the next best thing: He e-mailed us. And why not? Since we're now apparently a detective agency and a recruiting service, I see no reason why we can't also serve as Bill Simmons' spam filter. Here's Danny's e-mail to us: Hello Folks: I know you guys are usually big fans of Bill Simmo...

Another relic from the Bowden era: The QB succession plan

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:55:14 -0500

It has been so interesting to watch E.J. Manuel get meaningful playing time in his two starts since Ponder's shoulder injury. He's certainly showed flashes of brilliance as well as evidence that he has LOTS of mistakes to work out of his system. But the very least we can say is this: We can actually breathe next year when Ponder decides not to slide to end a run, knowing we have a capable backup. Manuel's ascendancy into the spotlight is also an interesting juxtaposition to ...

Florida State QB Christian Ponder is a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:07:54 -0500

Florida State Seminole's very own Christian Ponder has been selected as a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award which is presented annually to college football's player of the year. Ponder, who wasn't even on the watch list as of a week ago, is one of 16 semifinalist for the award that goes to the nation's top player. Here's the official release from FSU: TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State junior quarterback Christian Ponder has been selected as one of 16 ...

The Math Of Kahn: Ricky Rubio's Deal In Spain Could Work Out For Timberwolves

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:45:20 -0500

As expected, the Basketball Jonas has signed with FC Barcelona, meaning he'll join the NBA in 2011, at the earliest. This is bad news for basketball fans and Gillette's marketing department but maybe — maybe — not David Kahn's Timberwolves. Kahn, who is either very smart or very stupid, made three trips to Spain and now claims he had a deal with Rubio that the 18-year-old backed out of Monday night. That seems a little unlikely, given Kahn's failed efforts to persu...

Bobby Bowden: Charlie Ward Better Than Tim Tebow

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:31:04 -0500

Bobby Bowden: Charlie Ward Better Than Tim Tebow. In the words of Denzel Washington, from his outstanding role in ‘Remember The Titans’, Coach Bobby Bowden “You gots to be outside your mind!“. I agree with FanIQ. This is proof that Booby Bowden needs to retire. I have said this several times on this blog and [...]

Bobby Bowden: Charlie Ward Better than Tim Tebow

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:37:14 -0500

Leave it to Bobby Bowden to add some spark to otherwise uneventful preseason drills. As the Seminoles finished practicing on Tuesday, Bowden was asked to name the greatest player he has coached at FSU. He quickly named former FSU Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward. Then Bowden thought of Florida ...

Getting to know 2011 FSU Target Ray Drew

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:01:42 -0500

Thomas County Central (TCC) High School in Thomasville Georgia is known for producing great football teams, and great football players that lead those teams. One of the greatest players ever to play at Florida State, Charlie Ward, went to high school there. In 2011 they have another surefire star, and his name is Ray Drew. At 6'5'' 235, Ray is an imposing Defensive End for south Georgia tackles to see across the line, I mentioned some of his strengths here. TomahawkN...

The Buzz: Bowden says Ward better than Tebow

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:10:07 -0500

Is Bobby Bowden having a senior moment? Why else would he suggest Charlie Ward was better than Tim Tebow? It's all in The Buzz.

Bobby Bowden Doesn’t Think Tim Tebow is as Good as Charlie Ward Was

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:30:40 -0500

Not quite sure what’s the better news angle here … the way a writer from GQ drooled over Tim Tebow’s physique, or Bobby Bowden’s claim that Charlie Ward was a better college QB than Tebow. We flipped a coin and GQ won, so … Tebow is six feet three and 245 pounds, all thick polygons and [...]

Patrick Ewing: Fifth Member of "Dream Team" to be Inducted in Basketball Hall of Fame

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 07:09:08 -0500

When Patrick Ewing is officially enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame tomorrow, he will be the fifth member of the legendary Dream Team to earn that honor, following in the footsteps of Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Clyde Drexler and Magic Johnson. It is possible that all 12 Dream Teamers will eventually be enshrined; the only players about whom there could be the slightest question are Chris Mullin and Christian Laettner but Mullin has already been a Hall of Fame finalist twice, while Laettner's great college career may be enough to convince voters of his worthiness (keep in mind that the Hall of Fame honors all levels of the sport, not just--or even primarily--the NBA). Speaking of great college careers, Ewing led Georgetown to the NCAA Championship Game three times in four seasons, winning the 1984 title after an 84-75 victory over Houston and fellow 2008 Hall of Fame inductee Hakeem Olajuwon. Ewing earned the 1984 NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player Award. He also made the AP All-America First Team three straight years and won the 1985 AP NCAA Player of the Year Award. Not surprisingly, the New York Knicks chose Ewing with the first overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft. Although Ewing won the 1986 Rookie of the Year Award, he only played 50 games that season and 63 games in his second season, raising questions about whether or not his balky knees would enable him to enjoy a long career. Hall of Famer Hubie Brown--Ewing's first NBA coach--explained to me how Ewing's role changed when he made the transition from college to the NBA: "The thing that we immediately saw as a coaching staff was that he could score. He was a better scorer than he was a rebounder and shot blocker. He came out of college as a rebounder and shot blocker. Well, for NBA standards he was below average in both of those categories but he was a prime-time scorer." Although Ewing ranked ninth in the NBA in blocked shots as a rookie, he was not yet a complete defender. Brown recalls, "The blocked shots never came when he was playing his man. The blocked shots would only come in the back of the zone traps when he was moving from one side of the lane to the other. So, that was kind of interesting. What had to happen was that the weight programs designed by the training staff had to build up his lower body strength and his upper body strength for the rebounding and the shot blocking on his man, not in the rotating of the defense--that had to improve. If you go back and check his stats, you will see that. You will see how the stats progressively got better. That came with (A) knowing the league and (B) building his body and changing his physique. He was a scorer from the first day of practice." Ewing averaged at least 20 ppg in each of his first 13 seasons but he did not average 10 rpg until his fifth year in the NBA; after that, though, he averaged at least 10 rpg for nine straight years. Ewing never led the NBA in blocked shots but he averaged at least 3 bpg for five straight seasons and he ranked in the top ten in blocked shots each of his first 12 seasons (and 13 times overall). Ewing's 2894 career blocked shots rank sixth in NBA/ABA history (that statistic has only been tracked since 1973-74 in the NBA and 1972-73 in the ABA). Reinforcing Brown's comments about the differences between Ewing's game as a collegian and as a pro, Ewing never made the All-Defensive First Team and he only earned three All-Defensive Second Team nods. However, Ewing ranked in the top ten in scoring for eight straight years, peaking at 28.6 ppg (third in the league) in 1989-90. Ewing averaged 21.0 ppg, 9.8 rpg and 2.4 bpg during his 17 year career, earning 11 All-Star selections, one All-NBA First Team selection and six All-NBA Second Team selections; All-NBA honors were hard to attain for centers during that era: Ewing's career overlapped with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Robert Parish, Olajuwon, David Robinson and Shaquille O'Neal. Ewing never won an MVP, but he finished in the top five in the balloting six times (1989-90, 1992-95). The only real blank space on his resume is that he never won an NBA championship; he led the Knicks to the 1994 Finals, but Olajuwon avenged his 1984 NCAA Championship Game loss to Ewing by leading the Houston Rockets to a seven game. Ewing's Knicks also made it to the 1999 Finals but he injured his Achilles tendon during the playoffs and was not able to play in the Finals. For those who don't know about Ewing's game or those who forgot, here is a video featuring 13 of his greatest NBA plays (visit the original post at 20 Second Timeout to see the video). Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls presented the main roadblock for Ewing's Knicks; the Bulls eliminated the Knicks from the playoffs in 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1996. The only time Ewing beat the Bulls in the playoffs was 1994, when Jordan was playing minor league baseball, and even then the Knicks needed help from a bogus Hue Hollins foul call against Scottie Pippen in the pivotal fifth game. Ewing became somewhat notorious for his annual guarantees that the Knicks would win the championship but when he was later asked about this he sensibly replied that he could not very well pick his team to lose. While that is certainly a valid point, Ewing probably would have been better served to find a way to express confidence in his team's chances without making guarantees that became punchlines after the Knicks were eliminated. Ewing had a feathery soft shooting touch but he was never quite the same after suffering a devastating injury on December 20, 1997 when Milwaukee Buck Andrew Lang fouled Ewing as the Knick center tried to catch a lob pass from Charlie Ward. Ewing landed awkwardly on his right (shooting) wrist, suffering a dislocation that was so severe that one of the bones almost poked through the skin. Ewing missed the rest of that season and never regained full range of motion in his wrist; it took a strenuous rehabilitation program just to make it back in the league at all but Ewing persevered to play four more seasons. "It definitely affected me," Ewing told me several years later. "My shot wasn't as pretty, wasn't as pure as it had been." After finishing his playing career in Orlando, Ewing accepted an offer from Michael Jordan to become an assistant coach with the Washington Wizards. Ewing later became an assistant coach in Houston, where he served as a mentor for Yao Ming, and Ewing is now an assistant coach in Orlando, where Dwight Howard is his current pupil; it is hard to imagine two centers who are more different than Yao and Howard. With Yao, the challenge was to get him to play more aggressively and be more of a physical presence. While Ewing worked in Houston, he told me that his message to Yao was all about mentality: "First of all, you have to be confident. You have to believe in yourself. That is one thing that I tell Yao: 'No matter what happens, believe in yourself and never doubt yourself.' I think that Yao is going to be a great player. He has great offensive skills and he just has to believe in himself and dominate." While Yao needed to work on his mindset, Howard still needs to work on his skill set in terms of developing back to the basket post moves and any kind of reliable shot outside of the paint. Yao showed marked improvement during Ewing's brief time in Houston and it will be interesting to watch Howard's development over the next few years. During his playing career Ewing did not expect to become a coach but now he hopes to become an NBA head coach one day: "Why do something if you are not striving to be the best at it?"

Sorry Troy, Winning Heisman is like winning WWE King of the Ring, Success Not Guaranteed!

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 23:04:37 -0500

Funny article pegging past Heisman winners as past King of the Ring winners. Here's an example: Mabel as Ron Dayne. At least if you win the Royal Rumble you get a shot at the title! Just checked out http://www.heisman.com and its unbelievable how the success at the next level of Heisman winners changed from 1976 to 2001. We went from names like Tony Dorsett, Herschel Walker, Marcus Allen, Bo Jackson (before the hip), Tim Brown, and Barry Sanders to Ty Detmer, Desmond Howard, Gino T...