If there’s one thing you want when you come to WAVY.com, it’s to read about Lane Kiffin.  You really can’t do that anywhere else.  Joke.  At least you can’t read my take on it, I guess.

I’m conflicted on the whole Lane Kiffin saga.  On one hand, he seems like a jerk.   On the other, you can’t blame a guy for taking a better job.  And, on an unrelated 3rd hand, he seems like a jerk. 

If we were to honestly put ourselves in Lane’s position, I think many of us would have made the same moves he’s made.   The 31-year-old was given the chance of a lifetime to coach in the NFL (albeit with the Raiders).  He made a cool $2-million, and then had a falling out with Al Davis.  He left for UT, making another cool $2-million.  Now, he stands to make more than that at USC (probably at least $2.5M-$3M.)  Can’t say I blame the guy.  It’s like you or me leaving a $40,000 job for a $60,000 one.  Nobody would blame us for that, even if we left after one year.

You could argue that it’s different with Lane, because when you’re making millions, what’s an extra million?  But that’s lame.  I’d take an extra hundred dollars. 

So, I guess we just have to live with the fact that this is the new reality.  Some may say there’s no loyalty anymore, but I don’t think that’s the case.  We’ve never seen this kind of money in college football before.  Sure, Frank Beamer has stayed with Virginia Tech for decades, but he also wasn’t getting an extra million tossed his way to leave.

If you want to blame someone, blame the universities.  Blame the presidents.  Blame the athletic directors.  Blame the fans for spending so much darn money on college football.  But, don’t blame Lane Kiffin.  Even though he seems like a jerk.

Fire Jim Zorn. It’s gonna happen. But when is the best time to make a big change? The week before a nationally televised home game against NFC East rival Philadelphia, I think not. How about giving the Deadskins one last shot with Zorn leading the charge. Once they have been totally humiliated in front of the nation, show JZ the door.

It’s not that I don’t like Zorn. I just feel the poor guy is in way over his head. This debacle in DC is not his fault. Owner Daniel Snyder hired Zorn as offensive coordinator before handing him the keys to the kingdom. Zorn made the jump from quarterbacks coach in Seattle to leading the Washington Redskins. Can you say, “fish out of water?”  Well the experiment didn’t work, in fact it blew of up Snyder’s face. Yes trying to find the next Joe Gibbs is no easy task and and Zorn is no Joe Gibbs.

Here’s some advice to Snyder. Once your team reaches the bye week, make a change at the top. Replace Zorn with an interim head coach from inside the organization. Give cornerback’s coach Jerry Gray a shot at leading the team into the second half of the season.

After each Redskins loss this season, Zorn was quick to take responsibility for the loss. He blamed himself for bad play calling. So tonight the Redskins relieved Zorn of his play calling duties. Will it make any difference next week against the Eagles? Not a chance. The Redskins have so many problems in so many areas that it won’t matter what play is called. Relieving Zorn of play calling is like handing the worlds greatest chef a dead trout and asking him to make it taste good.

Yes the Redskins stink. They are going to stink no matter who calls the plays.

Giving Zorn the pink slip will happen soon enough. Just not before the Eagles come to town. Come to think of it, there’s been a lot of pink in football games this season. Zorn can’t say he didn’t see it coming.

What’s a good day fishing for Marlin? Two, five or maybe 8 marlin? How about 42! That’s not just a good day, that’s off the charts when it comes to billfish. The crew aboard the Backlash out of Rudee Inlet had the day of their lives last Wednesday landing 41 white and 1 blue marlin.

Captain Steve Richardson along with mate Cam Carpinelli, Mike Atkinson and Cory Beisel started catching fish around 9:00 am on the 23rd of September and the fish kept biting until the pulled up their lines around 4:30 that afternoon. At several points during the day they were fighting multiple fish at the same time. Three and four marlin hooked at the same time! Three guys fighting fish on the back of the boat, one guy fighting a fish off the bow.

Amazing fishing compliments of a warm eddy of water jutting off the gulf stream some 67 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Richardson called it the perfect storm when it comes to marlin fishing. That warm body of water was loaded with bait fish, tuna and marlin all stacked up on top each other. can you say feeding frenzy!

The Backlash wasn’t the only boat making the most of the conditions. Captain Mike Standing and his crew aboard the Waterman landed 25 marlin on that amazing day. For one magical day, Virginia Beach was the marlin capital of the world.

What’s sad about this story was come Monday most of the charter fleet was back at the dock waiting for work.

It came as no real surprise that Anheuser-Busch has decided not to sponsor the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill. But to finally hear that professional golf is not coming back to Williamsburg next year was rather odd. We’ve come to expect great golf each year on the James. But not any more. Aloha, sayonara, hasta la vista baby!

What a sham. The long history of great professional golf tournaments at Kingsmill comes to an end after 29 years. Here are just a few things that I will miss now that the LPGA is no longer coming to Kingsmill:

Natalie Gulbis

Beer baths at the 18th hole

Boats out on the James

The party at the 17th hole

Free golf on media day

Natalie Gulbis

All the volunteers

Pro-Am day

Kids seeking autographs

Introductions at the first tee by the gentleman wearing knickers

All those smooth backswings

The action around the putting green

The latest golf fashion

Paula Creamers pink ball

Cristina Kim’s big smile

That big winners check

Difference making birdies at number 15

Great food in the press room

The list of things I will miss about the LPGA at Kingsmill is long, but the list of things I will  not miss is short and that’s getting through the tunnel to make my deadline.

Round and round they went Saturday night at the Action Track in Richmond. Problem was, the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 seemed more like a parade than a race. There was very little side by side racing that die hard fans are used to at the RIR. The drivers on the bubble to make the chase were so freaked out that they drove as conservative as self declared conservative leader Ronald Reagan.

Late in the race on a restart, Jeff Gordon was trying to get past leader Denny Hamlin. On a restart, Gordon got clipped from behind and sent back 5 positions. Gordon never could get back to the front and Hamlin went on to an easy win at his home track. It looked too easy. Hamlin dominated the race leading 298 of the 400 laps. What’s fun about that! Yes I was rooting for the home boy to get his first win at his home track. But like all race fans, I was hoping to see some drama and action in the process.

I guess the Car Of Tomorrow is to blame. Since it was introduced to NASCAR, the COT has led to plenty of follow-the-leader racing. The biggest problem of the car is it’s size. It’s bigger than cars in the past and that seems to make it harder for the drivers to pull along side and race. It should come as no surprise to NASCAR why the sport is losing popularity. Attendance is dwindling and television ratings are down. More boring races like the the one in Richmond will not help the cause.

Give the Chicago White Sox credit for making a magical moment come true at Harbor Park.

Daniel Hudson had no clue he was getting called up the big leagues when he left a game he was in complete control. Hudson had struck out 5 hitters in just 3 innings of work when he was pulled from the game. Family and friends thought the worse. Was he injured? Why did he not return? But then Hudson’s girlfriend got the call from Daniel himself. That’s when the small section in Harbor Park erupted with cheers.

Just taking the mound against the Norfolk Tides at Harbor Park was big enough for the 22 year old Princess Anne graduate. Dozens of family and friends from as recent as his playing days at Old Dominion to way back when he was a tee baller at Lynnhaven were in the stands when the news came out. A truly great moment shared between the extended family.

The news was a complete surprise for Hudson. Only the day before his agent told him he was not getting called up.

But the White Sox knew all along that they were calling up Hudson. They wanted him to relax and have a good night of work on the mound before getting the news. And what better way to hear that your dream was finally coming true. In front of family and friends in your home town. At the ball park where the dream was first planted as a young boy growing up in Virginia Beach. Three cheers to the White Sox and best of luck to Daniel Hudson.

Who would have thought that the name “Michael Vick” would bring about the most divisive debate of the year.  Does he deserve it?  Has he served his time?  You’re either with him or against him.  At risk of alienating half of the readers of this blog, I’m throwing my opinion out there.

As a football fan, I want to see Michael Vick play.   I watch football for fun.  I watch football to root for the Detroit Lions.  I watch football so that, for 3 hours, I can pretend nothing is more important than that game.  I watch football to escape.   When he was in his prime, Vick was the most exiting player on the field.  I want to see if he can do it again.

Maybe I’m selfish, but I’m not thinking about what affect he has on our kids.  I’m not worried about whether he served enough time.  What he did was awful and despicable, but that’s a debate for somewhere else.

The NFL’s responsibility is to entertain it’s customers.  When I spend $100 on an NFL ticket, $40 dollars on food and drinks, and $20 on parking, I do it to enjoy the sport. 

Does every player on the field deserve the privilege of playing in the NFL?  Sorry to say, I don’t care.   I just want to watch football. 

And, for $160, I think the NFL owes me that.

If you ever wanted to teach a young football player how to play the game of football, all you have to do is show them game footage of Bruce Smith. The Norfolk native played the game with passion and great intensity. When he got down in a three point stance, he was like a loaded bullet ready to fly.

Bruce was a left tackles nightmare! Defensive coordinators around the AFC spent countless hours scheming ways to somehow try to slow him down, but it rarely worked. Once play began, it was only a matter of time before number 78 was in the backfield causing trouble for the offense. I can only imagine that quarterbacks went to bed at night thinking of that fast bullet of a man on the left side closing down at ramming speed.

Big, fast and talented, Smith was the energizer bunny who’s battery never seemed to stop. He would ware down the left side of the offensive line and set his sights on the quarterback. He was lightning quick but could bull rush with the best of them. He finished his brilliant career with 200 sacks. Bruce excelled despite playing in a 3-4 defense. Most of the time he was double and triple teamed. Nineteen years in the league and easily one of the greatest and most dominate defensive players in the modern era.

I first met Bruce on the practice field at Virginia Tech back in 1981. We were part of the Hokies freshman class. Not much was know about the soft spoken player from Booker T. Washington, but he made a huge impression on the coaching staff when he was timed in the 40 yard dash. How could a player that big, move that fast? But Bruce was not even close to hitting his stride. He trained harder and longer than most young players and results were amazing.

Bruce made the most of what he was given. He got great advice along the way and not just listened to it, he lived it. Once in the pro ranks, Bruce study endless hours of tape looking for cracks along the offensive line. If he could find a weakness to exploit, Bruce would find it. He learned how to take care of his body and despite 9 knee and 2 shoulder surgery’s he always bounced back stronger. In The off season, Bruce became a permanent fixture at Waring’s Gym in Virginia Beach.

Being a former teammate, I would watch Bruce on the field and look for some part of his game to critique, but he would never give me anything. What I quickly came to realize watching him play was how much hustle he brought to the game. Bruce Smith never seemed to take a play off. He was relentless on the field of play. Quarterbacks and tackles knew this and facing him was not an easy proposition. Playing him in backgammon was a different story!

The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio is full of great football players. You don’t get to Canton without hard work and hustle. The greatest players to ever play the game will be proud to have a player like Bruce Smith at their side.

Congratulations Bruce! You deserve it.

I’m sure Stewart Cink has his share of fans, but even they were rooting for Tom Watson to win the British Open. How could anybody not want to see Watson pull off the improbable?

One would think that history will not be so kind to  Cink’s breakthrough victory at Turnberry. Lets face it, Watson was the story! And when he missed that 8 foot putt at 18, it seemed like he was done. The look on Watson’s face said it all. He knew he had lost the Open. Yes for the first time all week Tom Watson looked 59 year old. It was as if all the air in Scotland had vanished. When Watson’s feeble putt came up short and right of the hole, it meant new life for Cink who had time to compose himself and prepare for his victory march.

What a shame for Stewart Cink. He’s long been known as one of the nice guys on tour. But who could blame him. He began the day 3 shots behind Watson and at the end of the playoff, he was 6 strokes better. The great Hollywood finish was not to be for Tom Watson. Cink snuck in the back door to capture the senior moment.

But what a great Open championship. Great drama with an unlikely finish. Now that all have left Turnberry’s twisted shoreline, Watson’s name will not be added to the Claret Jug for a 6th time. Instead it reads Stewart Cink, 2009 champion. Not what the world wanted, but that’s just fine for Cink.

What a sight in St. Louis. Three home grown Hampton Roads baseball stars playing for the National League in the All-Star game. It was a moment easy to dream, but hard to imagine. Sure we know that David Wright, Ryan Zimmerman and Justin Upton are talented and great players, but  seeing them play in the summer classic was amazing.

Young baseball players across Hampton Roads had their big league dreams stoked last night each time they saw Upton, Zimmerman and Wright come to the plate. You can’t blame a kid for thinking that if they can do it, so can I. Upton, Wright and Zimmerman had the same dreams when they were cutting their teeth on local dirt infields. They payed their dues. They put in the countless hours and look where it led them. Honored as All-Stars. Seventy-two players make up both the American and National league rosters. Wright, Zimmerman and Upton found their spot with the sports elites.

Add the efforts of Michael Cuddyer and BJ Upton to the list and it’s hard not to think that these are the banner days for local baseball. And how do you think having these young stars in the spotlight will ripple down to young players here following in their footsteps?

Just ask David Wright, Ryan Zimmerman and Justin Upton and I’m sure they will tell you, “The dream is alive!”