Wins and losses are not causing the grumbles however

I myself in the preseason picked losses against Florida, Alabama, and either Georgia or Ole Miss (saying they would win one of those two).Minus a major coaching meltdown by Miles in Oxford, the Tigers were staring at 10-2 (but possibly no better bowl than the one they are expected to attend).Wins and losses are not causing the grumbles, however. It's how those W's and L's were forged: starting slow in Seattle versus U Dub, winning a clunker against Vandy, escaping Starkville with a punt return and goal line stand, trailing in the fourth quarter to La. Tech, and squeaking by in overtime against a surging Arkansas team.But one thing that must not be overlooked is the improvement from '08 to '09. Maybe the interception no-call by Patrick Peterson would have mattered; maybe it wouldn't have.And despite being outcoached and outplayed in Oxford, LSU still had a chance to pull a victory from out of the hat (so to speak) in the end thanks to the tenacity and resilience of Miles' players.Has there ever been a season when a team was so close to 12-0 or 5-7 I still think Miles will have to appease the fans with a division title in 2010, or he could be on the hot seat.But in 2009, nine wins are nine wins with a chance for a 10th. In a supposed down year, that's nothing to shake a stick at.Even if the best man lost the ring, the flower girl cried her head off, the maid of honor tripped down the aisle, the groom saw the bride before the wedding, and someone sneezed now before forever holding their peace, the Tigers are married to 9-3 just like they were supposed to be before the season.Now we can all breathe a sigh of relief and head to the reception (bowl game) and not worry about things like the caterer being late, the flowers catching on fire, and the cake collapsing RightMazel Tov!!!.

“Tiger Woods admits to affair” “Tiger Woods voicemail” “Tiger Woods Statement” “Tiger Woods confession” “Tiger Woods transgressions” All are phrases that come down to this Tiger did it. He tried to brush the whole situation under the rug, and he almost got away with it. The car crash is now old news, and it seems that the “transgressions” that Tiger refers to on his website are now the biggest story in the sports world as well as the pop culture world. Tiger Woods is one of, if not the, most recognizable athlete on earth, and as it turns out, even he is human. All of Tiger’s sponsors, including Nike are standing by their man and have not pulled their multi-million dollar deals. Woods is not the family man that we all thought he was, that is disappointing to many.

All major athletes stumble, Jordan, Ali, Ruth all had their well-known vices, now the world knows Tigers’. I think this will be something Tiger will learn from, and recover from. A few weeks ago, a Maryland Terrapins squad with more talent was soundly beaten by a more-athletic Cincinnati Bearcats squad, mostly because Gary Williams stubbornly stayed in an ineffective full-court press.Last night against Indiana, Williams turned it off and allowed his perimeter defenders to turn it on in a zone defense. The result A solid, 80-68 out-of-conference victory over a slightly-improved Indiana Hoosiers squad.I dont know if Williams thinks he can impose a press on any team any time, and far be it from me to question a guy that is the third winningest coach in ACC history.But the Terrapins' disparity of defensive success in the press against a half-court set is so apparent, that you hope the experiment either improves quickly over the Christmas break against out-of-conference cupcakes, or comes to an end altogether.One positive about the Terps showing last night was the offensive aggression of Eric Hayes. If Hayes can come close to being a consistent third scoring option, they can be great.And thats without mentioning the versatility of Sean Mosley, or the emerging presence of Jordan Williams, who had double-digit rebounds against the Hoosiers.Can you crown them winners of the ACC with their performance over the Hoosiers Certainly not, especially with the strong showing the North Carolina Tar Heels put on against Michigan State, and the surprising balance that Duke has this year.But they are in the discussion, and the good news for Terps fans is that they dont have to press the argument about the talent of this squad.Technorati Tags: Indiana Hoosiers , Maryland Terrapins This article is also featured on Stet Sports Blog.