http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/mike_kern RSS Feed for DN Col Mike Kern en-us Sat, 18 Feb 2012 17:53:10 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/mike_kern/20120217_Villanova_struggling_to_get_through_mediocre_season.html For the first time in awhile, it has turned into one of those seasons on the Main Line. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/mike_kern/20120120_Gospel_of_John__Temples_legendary_coach_at_80.html I had the privilege of covering John Chaney for his last decade and a half as the basketball coach at Temple. It was many things, but never once was it dull. And the best part of covering John Chaney was, well, hanging out with John Chaney. Whether it was back in his hotel suite after a game, sitting in the stands before one, at an airport waiting to board yet one more flight, in his cramped office following a predawn practice, or even on a shopping excursion to Barney's for more Armani ties. Maybe the best sessions were his indelible Christmas Eve appearances on "Daily News Live," where he did the full 90-minute show as a solo act - and then treated the folks at Comcast SportsNet to an even more entertaining encore performance once the cameras stopped rolling. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/mike_kern/20111201_Mike_Kern_.html CHAMPIONSHIP weekend. But that doesn't only mean LSU-Georgia (Saturday, 4 p.m., CBS), even if that's obviously the matchup most people will be fixated on. Actually, it's just one of nine games that have postseason implications. And it gets going tonight at 8 (ESPN) when West V http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/mike_kern/20111128_Mike_Kern__Temple_s_Pierce_a_weekend_warrior.html PLAYERS OF THE WEEKEND Local: Bernard Pierce, again. The junior ran for a season-best 189 yards, most of it after halftime, and three touchdowns (18, 25 and 69) on Friday in Temple's 34-16 win over visiting Kent State. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/mike_kern/20111123_Mike_Kern__It_s_looking_like_an_all-SEC_finale.html AND SO it's come down to this. Third-ranked Arkansas is at No. 1 Louisiana State. Maybe all of the upsets are out of the way. Or it could be a repeat of 2007, when two-loss LSU wound up getting into the national-title game after every contender took a late dive (including LSU). http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/mike_kern/20111121_Mike_Kern__Pierce__Brown_ground_down_Army_for_Temple_win.html Players of the Weekend Local: Temple's Bernard Pierce and Matt Brown combined for 290 yards rushing and five touchdowns in a 42-14 win over Army. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/mike_kern/20111117_Mike_Kern_.html THIS CAN all be very simple, if Louisiana State beats once-beaten Arkansas at home and likely a Georgia team that could bring a 10-game winning streak into the SEC championship (the Tigers aren't losing at Mississippi), and Oklahoma State beats once-beaten Oklahoma at home (the Cowboys aren't losing at Iowa State). Then you'd have the lone unbeatens from BCS conferences (sorry, Houston) playing for the national title on Jan. 9 in New Orleans, where LSU won it all after the 2003 and 2007 seasons. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/mike_kern/20111114_Mike_Kern_.html PLAYERS OF THE WEEKEND * National: Texas Christian's Casey Pachall hit Josh Boyce with a two-point conversion pass with just over a minute left to hand unbeaten Boise State its first home loss in forever. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/mike_kern/20111110_Mike_Kern__For_Stanford__just_another__big_game_.html STANFORD HAS WON its last 17 games, 13 by double digits. That includes a 40-12 wipeout of a Virginia Tech team that brought an 11-game winning streak into last January's Orange Bowl. The Cardinal's lone loss in its last 22 was 13 months ago, 52-31, at Oregon, where they led, 21-3, after a quarter. The Ducks got to play for the national title, while Stanford had to settle for No. 4 in the closing poll. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/mike_kern/20111110_Mike_Kern__Who_takes_the_reins_at_Penn_State_.html AT SOME POINT, and at this point who really can say exactly when, Penn State will hold a news conference to introduce its next football coach.