Adios, Mike. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out!

I suppose University of Arizona Wildcat football fans should be grateful to Mike Stoops for lifting the program out of the mess that John Mackovic made and taking the team to three consecutive bowl games. The truth, however, is that the team was competitive in only the first of those games, the Las Vegas Bowl of 2008. The Wildcats never showed up for the Holiday Bowl in 2009, embarassing themselves on national TV 35-0 to Nebraska. Last year, they were 7-1 after the first eight games, promptly lost their next three games to go into the rivalry game with Arizona State with a 7-4 record. The Wildcats scored a last-second touchdown to tie the score with only a few seconds left in that game. Their place-kicking had been abysmal all season, and I just knew as I watched the game from the upper deck that they would miss the extra point. Which they promptly did. Then in overtime, the Cats allowed ASU to score, only to answer with their own touchdown. Once again, they were faced with the conversion. Go for the extra point, and be content with a tie (if they made the kick) or go for two for the win. Coach Mike Stoops opted for the conservative, easy approach, just like he did against the Oregon Ducks in OT the year before. Despite the fact that the kicker had just missed an extra point. And once again, the place-kicker missed, and ASU had an inexplicable, ridiculous victory over the Wildcats at Arizona Stadium in Tucson. I cursed and screamed in my car for two hours as I drove home that night.

The Wildcats still managed to snag a bowl game, the Alamo Bowl against Oklahoma State. They were once again massacred on national TV. For the second year in a row, the Wildcats were completely unprepared for the game and humiliated on the field. That was simply not a coincidence. Chalk it up to bad coaching with the responsibility sitting right at the feet of the head coach, Mike Stoops. In retrospect, after finishing the season with five consecutive losses, Stoops should have been fired right then and there.

After eight seasons at the helm, Mike Stoops should have built a power at the U of A. All the pieces were in place two years ago for a Rose Bowl appearance, or even last year. Instead, the team went backward. Quarterback Nick Foles is one of the best in the nation, and he is sure to be playing in the NFL next year. However, the offensive line has been decimated by injuries and Stoops did a terrible job recruiting new talent. The defense is even worse. And the special teams are simply beyond woeful.

This season, the Wildcats faced three games in a row against top ten teams Oklahoma State, Stanford, and Oregon, followed by the always tough USC. After an anything but easy win against non-BCS team Northern Arizona in the season opener, the Wildcats gave up 37 points to Oklahoma State, 37 points again to Stanford, 56 to Oregon, and then 48 to USC. Needless to say, they lost all four games. When they played winless Oregon State this past Saturday, they were amazingly favored to win, but proceeded to give up (what else) 37 points and lost their fifth in a row. It was the tenth straight loss to BCS teams, going back to last season. And it was the final straw. Stoops was fired as head coach yesterday. To which I say, good riddance.

Mike Stoops was simply an embarrassment to watch. His screaming and yelling on the sidelines, his explosions of anger at referees, and his belittling of his players was excruciating. He gave nothing back to the community and had to be one of the least-liked coaches ever in Tucson. Not that such abysmal behavior was necessarily fatal, if he had been able to produce a consistent winner, the bad behavior would have been overlooked. But a total collapse last year, two straight embarrassments in bowl games, and then ten straight losses to BCS teams (and counting) spelled the end for Stoops. Adios, Mike. Why don't you just run back to your much more successful brother at Oklahoma and go back to being a defensive coordinator? The reality is you were in over your head as a head coach.

So the Arizona Wildcats are right back where they started eight years ago, a program in ruins looking at the prospect of going winless in the conference. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. What is that eternal saying of Arizona Wildcat fans everywhere? Oh yes: when does basketball season start?

The Boss Does it Again

On Friday morning, I headed to work in a foul mood. It was the last day for me to work in this one particular place and I was not looking forward to it. I bickered with my wife, acted like a jerk, and in general, was not a happy camper. I realize now that the fact it was Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, had much to do with it. The "High Holy Days", as they are called, make me think of my Dad, who passed away four years ago. I miss him every day, but some days more than others.

I had a 45 minute drive ahead of me and decided to listen to E Street Radio, one of the Sirius XM stations I love the most (big surprise there, right?). It was the time of the morning when they do "Be the Boss." This segment is done every morning and it gives a different Springsteen fan every day the opportunity to play their favorite Boss songs and talk about them or about Springsteen in general. I did it back in March and loved it.

On Friday morning, the "Be the Boss" guy was from Staten Island. He first became a Springsteen fan in September, 1975, when he was a high school senior. I became a fan three months later while I was a freshman in college and the Boss played at my school, as I have described before on this blog. Right away, I identified with the guy.

The Staten Island guy started his segment off with "Jungleland," one of my all-time favorites, and as I listened to this Springsteen masterpiece which I have probably listened to a thousand times before both on record and live at concerts, I was lifted out of my mood. When he played "Born to Run," I was blown away all over again by what I believe is one of the few perfect rock songs. And finally, he finished off his set by dedicating his last song to the only person he knew who was a bigger Springsteen fan, his wife's brother. The wife's brother was a firefighter who died in Tower One of the World Trade Center on September 11th, and the song he played in his memory was "You're Missing," the heartbreaking song about 9/11 from "The Rising."

Wow, after all that, I was in tears. Sure, I still missed my Dad, but he lived a full and happy life, surrounded by children and grandchildren. My troubles are minor compared to lots of other people. And once more, like so many other times before, the Boss was able to lift me out of myself, and put me back in a better frame of mind. That's the power of great music and a great artist. It's why Springsteen is so important to me, and has been for the last 36 years. It's why I'm still a fan.

Thank you, Bruce, once again, for all you have done for me and continue to do for me.