“Those who pay attention to sports actually vote more than those who don’t.”

No doubt I risk incurring the wrath of some of you by posting something about politics here, but there are a couple of posts over at Hotline OnCall (h/t Ivan Maisel) which explore the correlation between sports viewing and political affiliation worth bringing to your attention.

If you’re a GOP strategist looking for key primary votes, spend your valuable advertising money on PGA Tour events. If you’re a Dem trying to win over your base, focus on advertising during NBA games.

So says a new study among hundreds of thousands of Americans examining the correlation between viewers’ favorite sports and their voting habits. And, the survey shows, most dedicated sports watchers are much more likely to vote with the GOP than they are to vote with Dems.

In SEC country, you can elevate that description from “dedicated” to “rabid”, so it comes as little surprise that college football viewers are 36% more likely to call themselves Republicans (higher than any other sport listed) than the average American and 9% less likely to call themselves Democrats.  They’re far more likely to vote than the average, too.

This chart shouldn’t surprise anyone either.

Top Five Media Market Rankings For Major Sports
College Football (23%)
1. Birmingham, AL (55%)
2. Knoxville, TN (49%)
3. Oklahoma City (47%)
4. Columbus, OH (43%)
5. Jacksonville, FL (40%)

Note: The numbers in parentheses are the percentage of high-turnout
voters who are very interested in those sports, both nationally and in
the local markets.

This is my favorite part.

And fans of World Wrestling Entertainment are also much more likely to favor Dems — if they vote. Wrestling fans are less likely to cast ballots than any other sports fans.

That’s because they’re far more familiar with the concept that things are fixed than the rest of us, I suppose.

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It’s a nuts and bolts three-fer!

Just thought I’d share three posts I’ve come across recently that dealt with defensive tactics, strategy and plain old technique that might interest you.

The first is from the excellent Clemson blog, Shakin the Southland, and discusses pass coverage techniques.  (A warning to Georgia fans:  you may be shocked when you read about covering the flats and crossing routes, as in it’s actually permitted to allow a defense to do that.)

This next post is a couple of years old, but I came across it at a Denver Broncos blog, and it provides a good overview of how the 3-4 is deployed in the NFL.  Of particular interest was this section:

OK, the 3-4 systems sound cool.  How are they stopped?

There are many traits shared by the systems that make them vulnerable.  Of course a coach makes adjustments based on personnel and film, but here are the common, over arching approaches offenses take.

1. Two TE sets – the 3-4 killer.  Take out the FB and add a second TE.  The common outside blitzes by the Phillips and the Lebeau are rendered less effective.  This is the most common approach, and great blockers like DEN TE Graham are perfect for this.
2. Run the ball, run it up the middle, and run it with power.
3. Skip the sceens and use both the FB and HB as pass blockers.  Vary the TE frequently between pass blocking and receiving (throw some confusion back at the 3-4).  Keep passes up the sideline, where you don’t burn the clock so much, and where the zones are less frequent.

How many of Georgia’s 2010 opponents can deploy personnel and schemes to exploit the 3-4 in those ways?  Off the top of my head, South Carolina, Arkansas and Tennessee would fit the bill.

Finally, there’s an overview of the 3-3-5 defense, which RichRod ran at West Virginia and is now implementing at Michigan, which you can read in this MGoBlog post.

Kiffin watch: sarcasm becomes you.

I’ve got to admit that Joe at Coaches Hot Seat Blog nails this one, albeit it in somewhat over the top fashion:

… This past Sunday Los Angeles Times reporter Gary Klein gave new USC head coach Lane Kiffin a Big Wet Welcome Kiss to LA with his article:  New USC football coach Lane Kiffin hopes lights are less bright in big city, and he let all of us know that Poor Little Lane Kiffin was really put-out when he coached at Tennessee  Let’s go to the tape….or the article in this case:

“In football-crazed Tennessee, where Kiffin coached for 14 months, a simple errand to the market or restaurant was impossible. Demands for autographs, photos and just plain old small talk would have kept him occupied for hours.”

Oh, Poor Little Lane Kiffin couldn’t go to the grocery store because he would have had to talk to fans of THE FOOTBALL TEAM THAT HE COACHED!  Oh the Tragedy!  Lane Kiffin would have had to engage in “small talk” with a fan of the Vols, but then when you are a POMPOUS ASS and you have never been told by anyone to shut your mouth and act appropriately in public is anyone really surprised that HIS HIGHNESS Lane Kiffin couldn’t dare be put out by the common folks?

Second best horse-out-of-the-barn policy decision of 2010

Derek Dooley’s new contract with Tennessee requires him to pay a $4 million buyout charge if he leaves before February 15, 2012.