The Genz

It is time to tread on ESPN's "Numbers Don't Lie," with my own "Just the Stats." It isn't any secret to followers of this blog or people that know me that I delve into statistics and numbers. Perhaps it is the old sports information director in me or maybe it goes deeper. Since I was collecting football and baseball cards as a kid, I have always had an interest in sports stats. Now, my fascination did not translate into As in math on my report cards or a career as a mathematician (I hated geometry). Still, I like numbers and what analysis provides. This "Just the Stats" blog will delve into Coyote football, specifically  points scored and allowed at home and on the road, over the past five years. It is proper to look at that period as it entails the Coyotes transition to Division 1- FCS. Over the last five years, USD has compiled a 27-27 (.500) record (all under former head coach Ed Meierkort). The numbers show that the Coyotes put togeth...

With the NFL Draft set to be held on April 26-28, South Dakota's All-American offensive tackle Tom Compton is hoping for a call, most likely on the third day (Saturday) during rounds 4-7. Here is a feature story I wrote about Compton in March  for the RedEye, a publication by PrintSource in Vermillion, S.D. Update - draft note: On April 28, Compton was drafted in the sixth round (pick 193, 23rd, 6th Rd.) by the Washington Redskins. For Tom Compto n, the outcome of hard work is a chance to live out a dream. Since the day he stepped onto the University of South Dakota campus, the 6-6, 314-pound offensive tackle hasn’t taken any plays off in practice, in class or games. Rather, he has kept his head in the game, a focus which in turn has made him a difference maker and one destined for bigger things. After a career as one of the best-ever football players in Coyote history, he is hoping for a call in the NFL Draft on April 26-28 in New York City. “It would be a drea...

A lot goes through a person's mind on the way to the podium. For those of us either introducing or watching from a seat in the audience, it is hard to fully fathom the gamut of emotions that Hall of Fame inductees experience as they take to the mike to say thanks. From conversations I have had with various honorees, I have found them to be humbled, even as they have talked about preparing remarks for the recognition, whether written or simply by couching what they will say in their mind.   Regardless, whether tinged with a bit of levity or cast in a serious tone, the words from the honorees touch people's hearts - family, friends and those gathered at the event. The message is often wrapped in bottled-up emotion of past sacrifice and hard work, not just their own, coupled with the significance of the honor. At the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame last weekend, I was among a couple of hundred people who shed a couple of tears after listening to several men and women ...

Road trips, whether to NCAA Tournaments, vacations, business trips or whatever, often turn up something bordering on the unusual. Such was the case with my trip to the NCAA Women's Basketball Regional in Des Moines, Iowa, earlier this month. The trip from Sioux Falls had started out ordinary - a 285 mile trip featuring a little Iowa landscape interspersed with some questionable driving from careless cell phone drivers and a quick stop for a sub sandwich. People on cell phones while driving are 21st century robots, without a clue about what is happening around them, and seemingly unaware that they weave from side to side. Imagine if you have a cell phone user under the influence of alcohol - talk about lethal. Upon my arrival in Iowa's capitol city, the staff at the hotel did a bang up job and I had some good eats from Barrata's down the street. Late that Thursday night, I finished replying to a couple of emails and Facebook messages and then closed the computer lid ...

"Baseball is not a conventional industry. It belong neither to the players nor management, but to all of us. It is our national pastime, our national symbol, and our national treasure."  -- John Thorn , Baseball: Our Game. It doesn't matter how a team finished last year, or for that matter the last 10 years, when opening day arrives every spring, baseball fans get downright giddy and excited about the return of the national pastime. Whether it is the Tigers, Twins, Royals, Yankees, Phillies, Cardinals or whatever team, the feeling is the same. The return of baseball brings hope for a winning campaign and maybe, just maybe, a World Series championship. "You look forward to it like a birthday party when you're a kid. You think something wonderful is going to happen," said Yankees Hall of Fame outfielder Joe DiMaggio of opening day. 'Joltin' Joe got it right, mostly. I believe wonderful things happen in this game, every time it is played, esp...