Our 2 Centalones

Does Defense Still Win Championships?

2012-01-25T11:40:00.000-05:00

Defense wins championships. The age-old aphorism, entrenched within the analysis of the NFL for as long as we can remember, seems to have faded away in the past few years. With the emergence of elite quarterbacks and the reinstitution of the pass-first offense, it is getting more difficult for defenses to stand a chance.

The spread offense.

There are three quarterbacks I can personally define as "elite" with no argument: Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees. Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning are right on the border and I see Matthew Stafford as a borderline "elite"guy in years to come. Peyton Manning would be in this exclusive group, but the extent of his neck injury on the rest of his career is...

Best picture ever?

To give you an idea of how unstoppable these three quarterbacks, and their offenses, were, I will shoot a simple stat at you. Four teams in the NFL scored more than 406 points this season: Detroit (474), New England (513), New Orleans (547) and Green Bay (560). So the highest scoring team outscored the fifth-best scoring team by almost 10 (TEN) points per game.

TERCHDERN!

Unfortunately for the top four scoring teams, their defenses were not up to par with their offenses. New Orleans was the 13th ranked defense, New England 15th, Green Bay 19th and Detroit 23rd. But despite their shoddy defense, these teams were able to outscore their opponents to win the majority of their games. The combined record of these top four scoring teams was 51-13 and all four made the playoffs. This record includes going 4-4 in games played in-between those four teams, so their record against the rest of the NFL was 47-9.

Meanwhile, there were only four teams which allowed fewer than 307 points this season: Houston (278), Baltimore (266), San Francisco (229) and Pittsburgh (227). However, these teams' offenses were a little better overall compared to their defenses. San Francisco and Houston tied for the 10th ranked offense, Baltimore 12th and Pittsburgh 22nd. Meanwhile these teams had a 47-17 combined record, 41-11 record not including games in-between those teams.

There were three games played between these elite offensive teams against the elite defensive teams. New Orleans defeated Houston 40-33 in Week 3, San Francisco beat Detroit 25-19 in Week 6 and Pittsburgh ousted New England 25-17 in Week 8. These results are a bit irrelevant, but just something to consider.

That's enough talking about defense because DEFENSE IS STUPID!

I JUST WANNA TALK ABOUT OFFENSE!

Okay, overwhelming majority of football fans, settle down...

So how does a team with a seemingly unstoppable offense ever lose a game? New England lost three games this season. One to the Bills where they turned the ball over four times and lost by three points. One to the Giants where they turned the ball over four times and lost by four points. One to the Steelers, who held a 39-21 advantage in time of possession and out gained the Pats 427-213.

Green Bay lost one game this season to Kansas City by a score of 19-14. The Chiefs held a 36-24 advantage in time of possession and out gained the Packers 438-315.

Discount Double Check(?)

New Orleans lost three games this season. One to the Packers where they were simply outscored, 42-34, and stopped at the goal line as time expired. One to the Bucs where they turned the ball over four times and lost by six points. One to the Rams, 31-21, in which I could find no glaring reason that they lost...

Man, the Rams suck.

As for the playoffs, Green Bay lost to the Giants by a score of 37-20 when the Packers turned the ball over four times. New Orleans lost to the 49ers 36-32; the Saints turned the ball over five times. New England is still going, having beaten the Broncos and the Ravens so far, setting up a matchup with the Giants to determine Super Bowl XLVI.

Woo! Only two more weeks!

What have we learned here today? In order to beat an elite offensive team, you need to accomplish at least one of these three things:

1. Force a lot of turnovers.

2. Win time of possession by a lot.

3. Out gain them in yardage by a lot.

But that is a lot easier said than done...

Even if you do execute one, or more, of these (#1 being the most effective), it is very difficult to blow out a team that can score. As you see, of the nine losses these teams suffered, only one was by more than 10 points. Because even if they make mistakes or have limited time of possession, the offense can really score at any time. In order to defeat a high-scoring team, it takes a nearly-perfect team effort.

Does defense still wins championships? Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. But it seems recently that the team who makes the most game-changing plays in a Super Bowl ends up winning:

The Steelers in 2006 with Willie Parker's long run and Antwaan Randle El's pass to Hines Ward.

The Colts in 2007 with Kelvin Hayden's interception return.

The Giants in 2008 with David Tyree's absurd catch.

The Steelers again in 2009 with James Harrison's interception return and Ben Roethlisberger's game-winning pass to Santonio Holmes.

The Saints in 2010 with Tracy Porter's interception return.

The Packers in 2011with Nick Collins' interception return.

#toosoon

I guess most of those are defensive plays, huh? Well, maybe the new saying should be: Defense wins championships... If that defense can score points.

*Mind blown*

Ode to the Orange

2012-01-17T18:46:00.001-05:00

Now that Syracuse has beaten Pitt at the Carrier Dome for the first time in a million years, now seems like the appropriate time to give an outlook of what the Orange can do the rest of the season. As the #1 team in the country and the only remaining undefeated team in a power conference, Syracuse is clearly a force to be reckoned with as the team finishes out its final 11 regular season games.

A perfect season on the horizon? Probably not.

Since its 2003 National Championship, the Orange have not been past the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, and Jim Boeheim is looking to change that this year. This March Madness ineptitude is hard to believe for such a storied program and a storied coach, who just tied Adolph Rupp for fourth all-time Division I NCAA basketball wins, with 876.

RARE: Picture of Jim Boeheim NOT picking his nose.

People may look at Syracuse's 20-0 record with a little bit of skepticism. Of its 20 wins, only five have been within double-digits and only six have been away from home. Not to mention that only two have been against ranked opponents, both of those coming at home. But Boeheim has always been known to schedule the majority, if not all, of Syracuse's non-conference games at home, so that is no different than usual.

Dome, sweet dome.

Skeptics aside, the Orange have a lot of things going for them. First of all, they have great depth; no player averages more than 30 minutes per game and 10 players average more than 12 minutes per game. Judging from the game last night, Boeheim substitutes very well and uses his strong bench to gain an advantage over the opposition. The run-n-gun style of play that Syracuse likes to implement goes well with a deep bench because the players can give short bursts of high-level intensity.

Some may say that Syracuse's lack of a "takeover" player or a "go-to" scorer is a weakness, but so far it has been the team's strength. Seven players average more than seven points per game and the team's leading scorer, Kris Joseph, averages just 13.6. Two others, Dion Waiters and Brandon Triche, average in double figures with 13 and 10 points per game, respectively.

Yay, teamwork!

The Orange's 1.5 assist/turnover ratio is tied for the second-best mark in the nation, their 17.3 assists per game is 10th, their 7.8 blocks per game is third and their 10.6 steals per game is the best in the country (stats courtesy of Fox Sports). These intangible statistics, paired with the oddity of the 2-3 zone, give teams a unique challenge when they face off against Syracuse.

Fab Melo leads the way on the glass... Although he is SUPER ugly.

In the great atmosphere of the 30,000+ seat capacity Carrier Dome, Syracuse has a great home-court advantage, which the nation saw last night when the Panthers got down 13-0 in the blink of an eye. After the initial spark, however, the Orange let Pitt within striking distance for most of the game. Syracuse had a difficult time keeping Pitt off the offensive glass and struggled to execute in the half-court offense.

Awesome atmosphere.

It was a good test for the Orange, who had not beaten Pitt in the regular season since 2004, and they exercised a lot of demons, if you will. Even though the Panthers were 0-5 in conference and losers of six in a row, they always give Syracuse their best game, and last night was no different. This win was one of their biggest so far this year and the Orange learned a lot about themselves from what Pitt exploited.

Speaking of seven straight losses...

In order for Syracuse to be a National Championship contender, they will need to get better quality shots in the half-court offense and have their guards do a better job of grabbing defensive rebounds that come from the 2-3 zone. Easier said than done, of course, but with a coach like Boeheim and the amount of talent on that team, expect Syracuse to be ranked in the top five all season and have first dibs at a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

And hopefully not get upset by Vermont...

If you take a look at the Orange's remaining regular season schedule HERE, there is no reason why they cannot escape Big East play with three or fewer losses. Potential losses may come from either matchup with Louisville, a home game v. Georgetown, a trap game at St. John's and possibly one of the games against UConn (although I think the Huskies are a bit overrated this year). Three losses should be able to win the regular season Big East Championship and clinch a #1 seed in March.

...Or Butler.

Off the Cuff Quarterback

2012-01-03T09:59:00.003-05:00

The quarterback always gets the most attention before, during and after a football game. During the TicketCity Bowl and Outback Bowl yesterday, there were two specific instances when the television crew had some comments to say about the quarterback. One was handled very well and one pissed me the hell off.

At some point during the TicketCity Bowl between Houston and Penn State, there was a short cut away from the broadcast to a recorded piece. We see Case Keenum’s girlfriend and she is taking us on a “tour” of her and Case’s tiny, small, yet cozy, apartment. It had a cool setup; a front door which leads directly into the living room, which is so small that there is “no room for a coffee table” and the couch is about four feet from the underwhelming television, and a kitchen a little bigger than a phone booth, which separated from the living room only by a counter space.

Like 1/3 of size of this beautiful set.

Alright, so why are they showing this? Oh yeah, so ESPN can cut back to the game and the announcers, Clay Matvick and Danny Kanell, could make jokes about the star quarterback's residence. They commented on how compact it was and how "sometime after April they should be able to upgrade." Of course the draft is in April and the yappers were eluding to the fact that he will be drafted and be able to pay for a legitimate home.

We know that ESPN and the NCAA exploit college athletes, and a player with Kennum's talents and status should not be playing football at Houston for just the price of attendance costs per year. We know that Keenum has been the main part of the team's success and, in turn, revenue. ESPN knows this too, and if we sit and think for two seconds, we know they know. But can they at least pretend to hide that fact?

If he got paid $1 for every passing yard yesterday, Keenum would have made... $532!

The second case, which you can probably guess at this point was the one that was handled well, was during the Outback bowl between Georgia and Michigan State. Near the end of the game, when Spartans' quarterback Kirk Cousins was in the process of leading his team to a comeback victory, Mike Tirico asked John Gruden if Cousins would be a good pro prospect. Gruden, of course, knows a good bit about draft status and potential, especially in quarterbacks.

Even though Cousins is not a great prospect, he is projected to go somewhere in the third round at this point. Gruden knows this, and it is his job to know this, so when Tirico asks the question, Gruden could have easily said, "He is about the #10 quarterback in my rankings," or something along those lines. That would not be disrespectful at all, but in this unique situation, all the Michigan State fans and Cousins' friends and family deserve to hear something a little more positive.

No, YOU da man!

Gruden pauses for half a second and says, "He has great physical tools, great leadership qualities, great intangibles you like to see at the quarterback position..." etc. He also goes on to say that he saw Cousins in some quarterback camp over the summer and was really impressive in person. By saying that, Gruden not only gave Cousins some well-deserved props, but may have raised his draft stock in the process. If he would have just said, "He will be a third round pick and a decent backup in the pros," it probably would have been accurate, but not as flattering.

It just goes to show how in one case, someone can go out of their way to put down a player and in the other, someone can go out of their way to praise a player. Both were in the spur of the moment and revealed the true colors of the in-game announcers we have learned to love...

The Chucksterrr.

Home Sweet Home-Field

2012-01-01T23:42:00.000-05:00

With the extreme level of parody in the NFL in the past few years, a unique debate has come up regarding playoff seeding. In 2008, the 8-8 Chargers hosted a playoff game against the 11-5 Ravens. In 2010, the 7-9 Seahawks hosted a playoff game against the 11-5 Saints. And this coming weekend, the 8-8 Broncos will host a playoff game against the 12-4 Steelers. These teams who have worse records are the home teams in the Wild Card round because they won their division and the road teams did not.

Beastmode.

Thus enlies an argument: Should a team host a Wild Card round playoff game just because they win their division, even if they have a worse record than the wild card team? Or should a division title only clinch a playoff berth, and the first round match-ups be determined based on record?

Winning your division is a big deal. You have six very intense games against three of your fiercest rivals. Teams usually get up for these games more than any others, and that is the way it should be. Whether it is reflected by a good record or not, winning your division is more impressive than being a wild card team in all cases. The argument that it is a weak division is irrelevant because a team sets a goal at the beginning of the season to win the division, not to become a wild card team.

It is easy to sit back and say the 12-4 Steelers are a better team this year than the 8-8 Broncos. The difference between the second seed and the fifth seed for the Steelers was allowing a 26-yard touchdown pass with eight seconds remaining in week nine against the Ravens. Meanwhile, the Broncos lost their last three games and, because of the ineptitude of the AFC West, were able to win the division due to tiebreaker over the Chargers and Raiders, who also finished 8-8.

Just one more play!

But winning a division is not about a specific record, it is about having a better record (or holding tiebreakers) than your division opponents. The Broncos did what was necessary to win their division and the Steelers did not. Plain and simple. That is why division champions deserve to host playoff games no matter what the record.

What time is it?

And beginning next week... Everybody is 0-0.

The Strive for .500

2011-08-30T20:25:00.000-04:00

The 2011 Pittsburgh Pirates seemed like a team of destiny for the first four months of the season, bosting a 54-49 record on July 28. But after a month of solid suckage, including a 10-game losing streak, the Bucs stand at 62-72 on August 30. For you math majors out there, that would be an 8-23 record, as Pittsburgh has gone from 1.5 games out of first place to 18.5 during that span.

(Almost) Manager of the Year.

The thing on everyone's mind when the Bucs were doing well was breaking the unfathomable streak of 18 seasons under .500, which has been going strong since 1993. Of course during my lifetime, I had never experienced a winning season so my feelings were very mixed while the Pirates were hovering around first place around the All-Star break. Even though the Bucs were overachieving, and everyone knew it, I had the feeling that, "This is the year! They are really gonna do it!"

(Almost) Most Valuable Player.

But now that they fell from the top and are pretty much where they should have been anyways, I am really not surprised, and neither is anyone else. The talent on their roster is honestly more reflected in a 62-72 record than it is in a 54-49 record. With most of their talent, especially pitching, in the lower minor leagues, the Pirates are still at least two years away from being competitive in the National League.

(Almost) fielded this ground ball cleanly.

Lately I have been thinking of a few scenarios for the Pirates for the remainder of the season and wondering which one would be ideal for long-term success:

1. If the Pirates finish .500 this year, they will get the monkey off their back, but will have raised expectations for next year, which they probably will not meet.

2. But if they finish below .500, they will make it 19 consecutive losing seasons, but they can keep progressing at their own pace with limited expectations for next year.

Of course it will basically take a miracle for the team to finish 19-9 the rest of the season, but I am still asking: Which of these situations would be better for the team, fan base and organization as a whole?

Fall from Glory: Overview

2011-08-26T11:38:00.001-04:00

So as I outlined the wrongdoings of Reggie Bush, Pete Rose, Cam Newton, Kobe Bryant and Ben Roethlisberger (x5), you can see how their actions have affected their careers and the people around them.

In Reggie Bush's case, in the eyes of the media, the public and the Heisman Trust, he compromised the meaning of the Heisman Trophy. The trophy is supposed to be awarded to the player who, each season, best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity. It is the Heisman Trust's job to make sure the winners uphold this integrity and, according to them, Bush did not do that.

Pete Rose bet on baseball, then lied about it. In sports, people usually forgive and forget an act that does not involve violence, such as gambling or steroid use, if the person is truly sorry and comes clean. For example, Jason Giambi apologized for using steroids and now it is just an afterthought. I think if Rose would have come out at the beginning and admitting betting on baseball, he might have been forgiven by now.

The jury is still out on whether or not Cam Newton actually did anything wrong. But if he is found guilty of soliciting money from schools in the recruiting stage, he could receive the same penalty as Bush. The Heisman Trophy might be stripped from the 2010 season, the Auburn Tigers championship season could be erased and his legacy would be turned upside down.

Kobe Bryant probably did not sexually assault that young woman, but he still committed adultery. He is still a great role model on and off the court, but it just shows that one incident can completely skew the view of an athlete. Of course he is always under great scrutiny for anything he does, but it was taken a lot of hard work and positivity for Bryant to overcome that mistake.

And as for Ben Roethlisberger...

Just read the posts. There are five of them. I think that should be good enough.

Kobe Bryant & the Missing Testimony

2011-08-22T12:41:00.000-04:00

Speaking of sexual assault allegations...

NOT the kind of SI cover you want to be on.

In the summer of 2003, Kobe Bryant was scheduled to have knee surgery in Vail, CO on July 2, so he booked a room at the nearby Lodge and Spa at Cordillera in Eagle, CO. The surgery was a success, but on July 4, Bryant flew from Los Angeles back to Eagle to turn himself in to local police under an arrest warrant for sexual assault charges. Bryant was released on a $25,000 bond, but news stories began surfacing. To the media, this was the first sign of any wrongdoing by Bryant, so it came as a huge surprise to find that he had been arrested.

Katelyn Faber, a 19-year old worker at the hotel, claimed that Bryant had called her up to his room on July 1 and they began flirting. The flirting led to kissing which led to sex; Faber claimed it was sexual assault while Bryant claimed it was consensual. One of the iconic images of the entire situation was Bryant in tears at a press conference on July 18, with his wife by his side, apologizing for committing adultery, but preaching his innocence to the sexual assault charges.

Pretty darn emotional.

Everything about the trial was a huge mess. During investigation, examiners found multiple male "DNA" samples on Faber's clothes and it was revealed that she had multiple sexual partners around the same time as Bryant. The defense also highlighted the fact that Faber was taking anti-anxiety pills at the time and had been suicidal a few months prior to the incident.

The accuser's name was leaked to the public, information about her sexual history were accidentally exposed and the defense publicly called her a "sexually promiscuous liar and drug abuser." Because of the intrusive nature of the trial, Faber elected not to testify in court and the District Attorney, Mark Hurlbert, requested that the judge drop the criminal trial, and on September 1 it was no more.

It was also revealed that Faber had filed a civil suit just a few weeks prior to September 1 to collect damages from Bryant. Experts say that she wanted the criminal charges to get dropped because if it did not go well, she would not have been able to get as much money in the civil trial. The two sides settled in the civil trial for an amount that has not been disclosed to the public.

Some say Bryant may have gotten off easy, but overall it seemed like the evidence was too questionable for a guilty verdict. Bryant's popularity took a hit, dropping his #8 jersey sales and losing endorsements with McDonalds and Nutella. The Los Angeles Lakers won NBA titles in 2009 and 2010 and years later, this incident is hardly even an afterthought of the career of Kobe Bryant.

Bryant has then changed to #24 and jersey sales are near the top of the charts.

Ben Roethlisberger & the Bad Attitude: Part V

2011-08-19T10:14:00.001-04:00

Off the field, Ben Roethlisberger has been exposed as one of the rudest, stupidest and most scandalous professional athletes in America. You heard "Roethlisberger" just as often as "Rapelisberger" or "Rapistberger" when talking about the quarterback. So what now?

"Feel my wrath!"

This questionable behavior did not go unnoticed from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who suspended Roethlisberger for the first six games of the 2010 season for violating the league's personal conduct policy. Even though Roethlisberger had not yet been taken to trial for the incident in Nevada and had charges dropped for the incident in Georgia, Goodell slapped a suspension on him.

The commissioner saw Roethlisberger as a role model who needed to turn his life around, and as a part of the suspension ordered him to get therapy and undergo behavioral evaluations before he returned to the field. With "good behavior," Roethlisberger could get his suspension reduced from six games to four.

Poor guy, he couldn't even stand on the sidelines...

Goodell was satisfied with Roethlisberger's progress and the quarterback was allowed to return after week four. During that time, backups Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch led the team to a surprising 3-1 record, allowing Roethlisberger to come back "with a vengeance" after the Steelers' week five bye week. The Steelers went 9-3 the rest of the way, won the division title and earned the #2 seed in the AFC playoffs.

After winning two home games against the Ravens and Jets, the Pittsburgh Steelers were headed to the Super Bowl to face the Packers. The game did not go according to plan, however, as Roethlisberger threw two first half interceptions that led to Packers' touchdowns and a late Steelers' comeback faltered as they lost 31-25.

Championship belt: FART.

This entire situation is a good example of how fans will forgive a player's off the field issues if he plays well. As the season went along and the Steelers went deeper and deeper into the playoffs, you could feel the opinions of Roethlisberger getting more and more positive. If he would have won the Steelers their seventh Super Bowl, you could probably bank on the sexual assault cases barely being mentioned ever again. But since they lost, there are still some residual effects of his misbehaviors.

Most of the hate that Roethlisberger still faces is from female fans. More male fans have forgiven him because they are less aware of what "sexual assault" really means, or how it would affect them. Female fans are more upset about what Roethlisberger allegedly did and are going to have to be more convinced by his complete product to accept him back into their hearts, which is completely understandable. On July 24, 2011 Roethlisberger was married to his girlfriend Ashley Harlan, so hopefully that will put an end to his sexcapades.

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Big Ben!

I hope you enjoyed the five-part series as we look forward to a new and improved Ben Roethlisberger in years to come!

Ben Roethlisberger & the Bad Attitude: Part IV

2011-08-16T09:11:00.002-04:00

When I last left off in this series, there were no Roman numeral "V" yet in the title and Ben Roethlisberger just got done with a subpar season as quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Oh yeah...

...and THIS!

In March 2010, Roethlisberger once again was in the middle of sexual assault allegations. This time, it was from a 20-year old college student from Milledgeville, GA, where Roethlisberger would vacation during the offseason. The story is hazy, but it basically goes like this:

Roethlisberger arrived with his posse at a bar, where there was a group of sorority girls from nearby Georgia College & State University (actually a real school, yeah surprised me too). At one point Roethlisberger yelled: "All my bitches, take some shots!" and proceeded to get these underage girls even more drunk. Then Roethlisberger brought one of the girls into the bathroom, where no one is quite sure what went on. While the two were in there, the girl's friends tried to get in to help her out, but Roethlisberger's bodyguard would not let them enter.

Very hazy now, bro.

While leaving the bar, the woman slipped and hit her head, so she went to the emergency room. While at the hospital, during evaluation, doctors discovered she had some "internal" injuries, but could not tell if it was from sexual assault. When a rape kit was collected, none of Roethlisberger's "DNA" was found and the woman had said, "A boy kind of raped me."

After a few weeks of investigation Georgia district attorney, Fred Bright, announced that he did not have enough evidence to prove Roethlisberger guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. During that time the woman had her attorney write a letter to the district attorney saying that she did not want to move forward with the case because she did not want to go through such an intrusive and public trial.

No comment.

Even though Roethlisberger was not even put on trial, stories began to emerge about him being a bad person and constantly having a bad attitude in public situations. Because of Roethlisberger's strong Christian and nice guy background, rumors began swirling that this personality change might be attributed to concussions and possible brain damage suffered in the motorcycle accident and on the field.

A Sports Illustrated article came out in May 2010 titled "The Hangover," in which Pittsburgh business owners came out and told stories about Roethlisberger coming in to their restaurants/establishments and as being rude as can be. He made inappropriate comments toward a pregnant waitress, he refused to pay his bill and he saw himself as "God" of Pittsburgh when out on the town.

Teammate Hines Ward came out and claimed Roethlisberger had been a bad influence in the locker room, head coach Mike Tomlin said he was worried for the quarterback and team president Art Rooney was just absolutely confused.

What repercussions will Roethlisberger face and will he ever change? Find out next time in Part V!

Ben Roethlisberger & the Bad Attitude: Part III

2011-08-12T11:45:00.002-04:00

So here we are again, Ben Roethlisberger just won a Super Bowl and is on top of the world. The scars from his motorcycle accident are faded and are just an afterthought of the two large rings on his fingers. However, when you are on top, the only way to go is down.

Way down.

In July 2009, Andrea McNulty, who worked at Harrah's in Lake Tahoe, NV, filed a civil suit against Roethlisberger for sexually assaulting her during his stay at the Harrah's in July 2008. She claimed that Roethlisberger, who was staying at Harrah's during a celebrity golf tournament, called her up to his room one night to fix his television. She went upstairs and found that his television was working just fine, he then stood in front of the door, refused to let her leave and sexually assaulted her.

After this came out, McNulty's co-worker, Angela Antonetti, filed an affidavit stating that McNulty had indeed had consensual sexual relations with Roethlisberger. NcNulty actually had bragged to Antonetti about the incident and was hoping that "a little Roethlisberger" was on the way. And considering the incident happened an entire year before the suit was filed, it was pretty hard to believe McNulty was telling the absolute truth.

The trial has been stalled for two years because McNulty wanted to have the hearing in Reno, where the case was filed, while Roethlisberger wanted the hearing to be in Lake Tahoe, where the incident allegedly took place. Just recently it was announced that the hearing will be in Reno, but it is still predicted that Roethlisberger will be found innocent. Roethlisberger has expressed the will to countersue McNulty for damages in the future.

Sure, why not.

Well it was back to football and the Pittsburgh Steelers began the 2009 season with a 6-2 record, but that is when it all fell apart. The Steelers lost five games in a row, one with Roethlisberger out due to injury, and found themselves pretty much out of the playoff hunt. With Troy Polamalu and Aaron Smith injured most of the way, the defense was very shaky during the skid. Although they won the next three games, it was not enough to make the playoffs and the Steelers suffered from post-Super Bowl hangover for the second time in recent memory.

Even though he was not found guilty of sexual assault, it brought more negative attention to Roethlisberger. People began wondering whether he was a good role model off the field and whether he was completely worth his new contract. With the struggles on the field in 2009, it gave people even more of a reason to hate Roethlisberger.

But what have we learned so far about Ben Roethlisberger? When he is down he bounces right back up! Right?

Not this time.

Please visit next week when I wrap up this series with Part IV. Or maybe I will just keep it going forever, and ever, and ever, and ever...

Ben Roethlisberger & the Bad Attitude: Part II

2011-08-09T11:04:00.001-04:00

Ben Roethlisberger had it all. He was a Super Bowl winning quarterback on one of the most storied franchises in sports, everybody loved him and it seemed like nothing could derail him from success.

Wrong.

A hobby of Roethlisberger's was to ride his motorcycle, without a helmet. There are no helmet laws in Pennsylvania and Roethlisberger felt that he would never get in an accident so wearing one was not a necessity. He still did not begin wearing one after getting heat from former Steelers' quarterback Terry Bradshaw, Steelers' head coach Bill Cowher and many others for ignoring safety protocol.

Unfortunately, Bradshaw and the others were right, on June 12, 2006 Roethlisberger was in a near-fatal crash and without a helmet suffered numerous injuries. He had a nine-inch laceration to his head, a broken jaw, broken teeth and other injuries. Roethlisberger underwent nine hours of reconstructive surgery and if medical personnel did not arrive quickly, he may have bled out and died right on the pavement.

After an offseason of rehab and recovery, it seemed Roethlisberger would be miraculously ready to play in the team's first regular season game, until he had emergency surgery to remove his appendix just weeks before the opening game. He rushed back to the field in week two and went on to have the worst season of his career with 18 TD to 23 INTs. In the 2006 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers finished 8-8 and Cowher, who had been the Steelers' head coach since 1992, resigned from the position.

Under new head coach Mike Tomlin, the Steelers came out in 2007 with a full-fledged passing attack. Roethlisberger seemed poised to lead the team to another Super Bowl, but with struggles in late-game situations and lack of defensive support, the Steelers lost to the Jaguars in the first round of the playoffs, ending their 10-6 season in which they won a division title.

Gahh, I can't believe it was David Garrard.

After Roethlisberger's career season in 2007, the Steelers made him the highest paid player in franchise history with an eight-year, $102 million contract extension. He responded with a very consistent season where the defense did most of the work. The defense was the best in the league, allowing 14 points per game, 237 yards per game and registering three sacks per game. With Troy Polamalu and Aaron Smith healthy and James Harrison having a Defensive MVP season, Roethlisberger did not have to do much more than protect the football.

The Steelers finished 12-4 in the regular season and went 3-0 in the playoffs, capping it off with a Super Bowl XLIII win against the Cardinals. Roethlisberger was the hero, capping a game-winning drive with a seemingly impossible pass to Santonio Holmes for a touchdown with just seconds remaining.

Hmm, this looks familiar.

Roethlisberger was the man once again, but what could he do this time to screw it up?

Come visit later this week to see Part III and the series finale!

Ben Roethlisberger & the Bad Attitude: Part I

2011-08-05T11:31:00.004-04:00

Ben Roethlisberger has had a see-saw kind of life, to say the least.

At the age of two, his parents divorced, his father remarried and when he was eight years old, his birth mother died in a car accident. A very tough stretch of events for anybody, especially for someone at such a young age. Through his youth and into high school, Roethlisberger was a star athlete at numerous sports, which showed when he went on to captain the baseball, basketball and football teams.

Nicknamed "Big Ben," Roethlisberger stands at 6'5" and 240 pounds. Even though he may not have been that big back in high school, his size definitely helped him get where he is today. Despite his obvious skills as a quarterback, Roethlisberger's high school football coach started his own son at quarterback and made him play wide receiver. Roethlisberger started as quarterback in his senior season and garnered enough attention to go to Miami (OH) on a football scholarship.

Big shot.

Roethlisberger redshirted his first year in Oxford, OH and started quarterback for the next three seasons, dominating the college football ranks and proving himself as a legitimate talent at the NFL level. He was chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers as the #11 overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. Pittsburgh had Tommy Maddox struggling as its starting quarterback and wanted to groom Roethlisberger into the quarterback of the future.

Ugh, good riddance.

Roethlisberger was thrown into the fire when Maddox suffered an injury during the second game of the season against the Ravens. Pittsburgh lost that game and were 1-1 after week two and headed towards a season of the unexpected with a rookie quarterback starting the rest of the way. With the help of a outstanding defense and great running game, the Steelers finished the regular season 15-1 and were the #1 seed in the AFC going into the playoffs.

Pittsburgh won its first playoff game against the Jets and then lost to Tom Brady and the Patriots in the AFC Championship game. In the 2004 season, Roethlisberger set the record for most consecutive wins by a quarterback to start his career. At this point, the Steelers ditched Maddox and looked forward to the Roethlisberger era in Pittsburgh. After a 15-1 premiere, expectations could not be higher for Roethlisberger.

He embraced the new role and led the Steelers to a Super Bowl XL Championship a year later over the Seahawks. After an 11-5 regular season, Roethlisberger led Pittsburgh to win three straight games on the road in the playoffs to reach the Super Bowl. Roethlisberger had a bad game, but his teammates bailed him out and the Steelers won their fifth Championship.

One for the thumb, baby!

So at this point you may be asking, "This seems like a whole lot of success, when does the down part of Roethlisberger's see-saw life happen?" Well avid reader, it all went downhill after Super Bowl XL...

So tune in next week for Part II!

Cam Newton & the Solicitation Allegations

2011-08-02T08:36:00.001-04:00

A little known fact is that while Tim Tebow was in the middle of his Heisman Trophy winning season at the University of Florida in 2007, a quarterback by the name of Cam Newton was his primary backup.

In the 2008 season, Newton was was injured in the team's first game and would have to redshirt his sophomore season. While he was taking time off due to his injury, Newton stole a laptop from a fellow Florida student. When the police came to investigate, he tossed the laptop out of his room and it was eventually found in a nearby dumpster.

Inevitably facing suspension, Newton announced his intentions to transfer to Blinn College, a junior college in Texas, to continue his football career. He led the Buccaneers to a championship in his only season with the school, and was eligible to transfer back to the NCAA. Newton's top choices were Auburn Tigers and Mississippi State Bulldogs and, after consideration, chose to go to Auburn to play for head coach Gene Chisik in 2010.

Newton impressed the football world immediately. With his large stature, great throwing arm and the ability to make exciting plays, he became extremely popular in the blink of an eye. As the Tigers kept on winning, Newton's Heisman stock kept rising and Auburn continued to climb the rankings.

However, it did not take long for rumors of illegal activity to arise. It was reported that a recruiter from Mississippi State heard a demand from Cam's father, Cecil Newton, that it would take $100k-$180k for Cam to transfer to the Mississippi State Bulldogs from Blinn College. Newton went to Auburn, so he did not get this money, but if Cecil wanted money for his son to play for Mississippi State, the NCAA wanted to make sure Auburn did not pay him to go there.

Daddy knows best!

Auburn held strong on the fact that they did not know of his father's negotiations with Mississippi State and that they did not pay Cam to play football. At the time, Auburn was undefeated and heading to the SEC title game. Newton was the favorite to win the Heisman and one more win would put the Tigers in the National Championship game.

After it was confirmed that Cecil wanted Cam to get paid to play at Mississippi State, Auburn banned his father from any future involvement in the program. They also declared Cam ineligible, but issued a plea for reinstatement by the NCAA. The NCAA obliged because there was no evidence that Auburn knew of any of Cecil's actions during the recruiting process.

Newton went on to win the Heisman Trophy and lead the Tigers to a National Championship victory. He was chosen #1 overall by the Carolina Panthers in the 2011 NFL Draft. However, his suspected violations are currently under review and who knows if Auburn will have to vacate its National Championship in the future, or if Newton will have to return his Heisman Trophy?

Worth it?

Worth it.

Pete Rose & the Lifetime Ban

2011-07-29T08:59:00.003-04:00

There are really only two things you need to know about Pete Rose:

He is the all-time hit leader (4,256 hits - 67 more than Ty Cobb)
He bet on baseball.

"Shoeless" Joe Jackson and the 1919 Black Sox were the most infamous players to bet on baseball. That team threw the World Series by betting on their opponent, the Cincinnati Reds, and losing on purpose. Major League Baseball had "Rule 21: Misconduct" in place, which prohibits gambling, bribing or any other kind of behavior that might put a player's integrity in question. Everyone knows the rule and it is mandatory to have it printed and posted in every clubhouse.

Rose bet on horse racing, basketball and football his entire life. He had a gambling addiction; it gave him the rush he needed when he was not playing baseball. In the late 80s, Rose went on a cold streak and he began losing lots of money on the other sports. He then turned to baseball to try and turn his luck around. Rose, who was the manager for the Reds at the time, claims to have never bet against his own team.

Allegations against Rose first emerged in February 1989, when he met with MLB commissioner Peter Ueberroth and National League president Bart Giamatti to talk about rumors regarding his gambling exploits. When asked if he ever bet on baseball, Rose responded with a firm "No."

Not a good move, bro.

A few weeks later, Giamatti took over as commissioner and the MLB announced it would begin investigations on "serious allegations" against Rose. In April 1989, Sports Illustrated published a story about Rose betting on baseball and stuck him on the cover. Meanwhile, the MLB had hired John Dowd to do some research on the situation and the Dowd Report was submitted to Giamatti in May. It was a 225-page report that included bank, telephone and betting records and the ultimate conclusion that Rose bet on baseball.

Even though Rose denied it, Giamatti believed the report, and he sentenced Rose to a lifetime ban from the MLB on August 24, 1989. Just a week later, Giamatti died of a heart attack. Some say because it hurt his heart so much to see an honorable player such as Rose disrespect the game, while some say it was because he was overweight and smoked three packs a day.

In 2002, Rose met with MLB commissioner Bud Selig about the ban and he actually confessed to betting on baseball after years of regret, turmoil and gambling therapy. Selig heard his plea and was satisfied with Rose finally coming clean, but it does not seem that he will lift the lifetime ban anytime soon. Rose also wrote a piece for Sports Illustrated in 2004 telling his side of the story, truly a great article.

In the meantime, Rose is trying to get back on the fans' good side:

No joke, you can actually buy this baseball from his website for $400.

Reggie Bush & the Heisman Debacle

2011-07-26T08:32:00.002-04:00

Introducing the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner, from USC, running back, Reggie Bush...

On December 10, 2005, Reggie Bush became the 71st winner of the Heisman Trophy, the "Most Prestigious Award in College Football." Just over five years later, Bush was to return the trophy because of his irresponsible actions and lack of integrity while at USC and in the NCAA recruiting process.

In 2005, Bush had one of the most dominating, and incredible, seasons in the history of college football. He amassed 1,740 rushing yards, 478 receiving yards, 672 yards from kick returns and 19 touchdowns. Bush won the Heisman Trophy over Vince Young of Texas and teammate Matt Leinart, who had won the award in 2004.

So what did Bush do to cause this incredible season and these unforgettable memories to be erased from the history books? Bush accepted improper benefits from an agent; over $300,000 in hotel fees, cars, house rent, spending money and more.

When Bush was found guilty after NCAA probing in 2010, USC was punished for Bush's dirty deeds. The Trojans were put on a four-year probation, put on a two-year postseason ban, removed of 30 scholarships for the next three years and were forced to vacate all of their wins from 2005 and their 2004 National Championship.

And Bush is punished... how?

Since Bush is in the NFL now, the NCAA could not touch him. He was sued by the people who gave him the benefits because he did not pay them back; does that count? No.

The NCAA is completely out of control. Stories come out every year about recruiting violations, improper benefits and other illegal activity from collegiate programs. The NCAA hands out discipline, the school self-imposes some restrictions for the future seasons.

That is good, right? The school learns its lesson and the player who committed the "crime" gets kicked off the team. But what about in Bush's case, where the player has moved on and earned millions of dollars in bonuses, salaries and endorsements at the professional level? Well, the NCAA is out of luck.

There was some pressure on Bush to return his Heisman Trophy after this stuff came out. Of course his off-the-field antics have nothing against him being the best collegiate player in 2005, but in the eyes of the "Heisman Trust," Bush did not represent what it meant to be a role model and a champion.

So the "Trust" stripped him of the honor, just like it never happened (if you check out the list of Heisman Winners on their website, the winner for 2005 does not even exist!). Bush actually spoke of his regret and mistakes, and claimed that he would return the trophy as a sign of respect.

However, Bush has not yet returned the trophy, which he had loaned to the San Diego Hall of Champions. It has recently been returned to the Bush family from the museum and the whereabouts of the stiff-arming statue are not exactly known at this point...

Holding Down the Fort: Michael McKenry

2011-07-08T23:45:00.004-04:00

As the hanging Carlos Marmol slider was reciprocated into a fly ball into the cheap bleachers at PNC Park, Michael McKenry slowed to a trot halfway down the first base line. The stadium erupted into pandemonium as the Bucs took a 7-4 lead in the bottom of the eighth, about five minutes after being down 4-3 with two outs as Marmol trotted in from the bullpen. But after Josh Harrison flared a single to center on the first pitch to score Neil Walker, McKenry held his own on a 0-2 count and launched a three-run shot ~~to send the Pittsburgh Pirates into first place in the NL Central~~... goddamn Mark Kotsay.

Awesome shot

My first impression of McKenry was on June 21, when I went to his Buccos debut vs. the Mets. He picked a guy off second base and sprinted out every ball he hit, whether it was a knubbly ground ball or a pop fly to shallow outfield. He was giving it every ounce of effort on every single play, throwing his entire body at all of the balls in the dirt and blocking all of them. You have to respect a ballplayer who doesn't take anything for granted.

Really, why would he? As a career minor leaguer with the Rockies, McKenry was in Colorado's minor league system from 2006-2010 and went hitless in the only eight at-bats he saw in the majors. He was in the Red Sox AAA affiliate in Pawtucket when the Bucs traded for him in mid-May. Ryan Doumit and Chris Snyder had gone down with injury, and Wyatt Toregas wasn't really doing the job...

Precisely

I love McKenry's attitude. He digs out wild pitches, he hustles his ass off and in every shot you see of him there is a distinct layer of sweat on his face. Nothing paints the picture of a ballplayer more than a dirty jersey, a receding hairline and a smile. Even though his homerun count was 0 before tonight, McKenry has looked much better at the plate as of late. After being nearly an automatic out early in his Buccos career, he is fighting through counts, making good contact and is beginning to get hits on a regular basis.

Since McKenry slipped on the black and gold #55, Pittsburgh is 13-5 when he is in the starting lineup. It really doesn't matter that McKenry may not hit many more homeruns this year, or that he probably won't hit above .250. Because what he brings is that defensive rock behind the plate and a positive attitude that the Bucs need from every single player for nine innings each day.

Kentucky/UConn In-Game Blog

2011-04-02T23:29:00.002-04:00

Prediction: Kentucky 68-64. I think the way Kentucky is playing right now, with the defense complementing their skill, they are going to be tough to beat. UConn is playing well, but has been squeaking by with the superb play of their role players. I think the role players for UConn have an off game tonight and Kentucky takes advantage and wins in the last minute. UConn is probably the better team, but Kentucky has more talent and it will show. I also like Calipari over Calhoun right now. It seems like Calhoun is letting his players control the game, while Calipari is more in control of his team, which will play a big part in a Final Four game like this. But that's just my opinion, let's see how it plays out...

FIRST HALF

20:00-15:03
Time: Kentucky 10-8
Game: Kentucky 10-8

Kentucky seems to be settling for jumpers, when they get in the lane they are making plays. On the other end, Kentucky seems to be content with UConn settling for mid-rang jumpers. Lamb made a wide open shot, but then Oriakhi missed one; that is what the Wildcats want. Walker has been awfully quiet so far, he hasn't even taken a shot. He is probably letting the game go by a little and seeing the tempo before he wants to start making moves. Just now Walker takes advantage of a long rebound and defensive mistake by Knight for a breakaway layup. Jones is locked in... Uh oh.

TPTs: Harrellson and Jones. Harrellson has had some strong rebounds and is a strong interior presence on defense. Jones just took over, seven points already. Oh man if he can have a strong game, he is going to get 25. UConn doesn't have a matchup on defense for him.

15:03-10:47
Time: UConn 3-2
Game: Kentucky 12-11

Bunch of turnovers by both teams, a combination of sloppy play and good defense. UConn really wants to get out and run and Kentucky seems like they want to slow down the tempo. They must realize they don't match up well with the Wildcats in terms of talent, and even athleticism. Then again, if Kentucky gets an opening, they're running past everyone. Kentucky is getting three-happy, could be a problem if they continue to settle for jumpers. Walker is starting to take over, but is playing very selfish so far. He needs a good balance of driving ability and creation for UConn to play their best.

TPT: Walker. He had to wake up and start to lead the team. He is very noticeable on defense so far with some good pressure and some rebounds, but he will need to start leading a more efficient offense for UConn to get out to a lead.

10:47-6:39
Time: UConn 12-7
Game: UConn 23-19

Walker knocks down a three from a Lamb pass right out of the timeout, he is so good when he lets the shots come to him. Kentucky is making a lot of extra passes, not a bad thing, but it seems like no one is willing to take over this game. They have all missed some jump shots early and seems reluctant to jack up any more. Kentucky is slashing to the hoop a lot more, but they are out of control. They have missed a few short shots in the lane trying to draw fouls and flail around to get an open look. They need some sets for Harrellson and see if UConn can guard them. Walker is really in the zone, he has a few baskets since the last timeout and just made a nice dish for a layup. Knight finally takes a controlled mid range jumper and sinks it, that will be the key.

TPT: Walker. He is showing why he is the best player on the court. Creating plays for his teammates, working hard on offense and defense. UConn is on quite a run here, but Knight has a few baskets that is keeping Kentucky in the game.

6:39-3:33
Time: UConn 4-0
Game: UConn 27-19

Okwandu has good offensive instincts for a big guy, he knows where to be in order to get good passes from the guards. Walker with an unreal strip from Knight on the drive and then an outlet pass for a dunk, absolutely incredible. Kentucky seems to be losing their composure at a rapid pace right now, if they can keep it within five at half it will be good for them. Kentucky going to a 2-3 zone now, but they are having a lot of trouble getting rebounds with Harrellson off the court.

TPT: Lamb. Doing a great job of keeping UConn calm. Walker wants to push, push, push, which is good, but sometimes they just need to chill out. Lamb has great instincts for this, possibly better than Walker. Lamb is really the glue to this team, you can see it already.

3:33-0:00
Time: UConn 4-2
Game: UConn 31-21

Lamb comes right out of the timeout with a set-up backdoor play; with the feed from Walker he gets a nice reverse layup. Kentucky goes back to the zone, but Lamb finds an open area and hits a jumper. Kentucky is just surviving at this point. Jones needs to take more control over the Kentucky offense, Knight is playing with confidence, but he is missing a lot of bunnies.

TPT: Lamb. Made some shots and playing suffocating defense. Took a pretty bad jumper on the last possession, but it didn't hurt UConn as Kentucky came down and missed a three at the buzzer.

HALFTIME

Player of the first half: Walker. He is leading this team to the finals with his composure and explosiveness. At this point he has a very good mix of the two, and it helps when Lamb and the rest of the team is playing so well in the supporting role.

First half key: UConn's defense. Kentucky is settling for jump shots, but UConn is doing well at contesting them. They are also not allowing the Wildcats to get open layups, so when they do drive, they are still not efficient.

Second half key: Kentucky's jump shooting. In order for Kentucky to get back in the game, they really need to start hitting shots. They are driving enough now to have good balance with their offense, but they need some shots to drop to help with their confidence and on the scoreboard. Harrellson missed the last few minutes of the half with two fouls, but the Wildcats were still rebounding well without him.

SECOND HALF

20:00-15:53
Time: Kentucky 8-2
Game: UConn 33-29

Napier really needs to stop shooting, he is a very poor shooter. He is so quick and he is great at creating for others. Kentucky comes out with two quick threes and they are right back in the game. Calhoun calls a good timeout to try and settle things down. Kentucky comes out with a zone, a pretty good move with the energy they are showing right now; could couse some havoc for UConn. Harrellson is a beast, even though he screams like a woman giving birth. Kentucky is screwing themselves with all of their missed foul shots, but they do have a ton of offensive rebounds. Kentucky is very content with anybody other than Walker trying to beat them; Napier has had some open shots and they are playing one-on-one when UConn goes to the post.

TPT: Harrellson. Him being in there has opened up some space for the others to take shots, and his rebounding skills are great. He doesn't get up very high at all, but he is always in the right spots, especially on offense, to get the board.

15:53-11:56
Time: Kentucky 10-7
Game: UConn 40-39

The UConn bigs have not been very involved in this game and it shows; Oriakhi looks sloppy and not confident at all. Kentucky keeps hitting threes! Lamb comes in and knocks down two with no rim involved. Walker silences the crowd with a long jumper and Harrellson gets a great feed and finishes with a flush. A little too aggressive by the Kentucky defense and they foul Walker shooting a three; mistakes that can't be made in this type of a game. Game is slowing down a little now and teams are trying to feel their way around. Walker comes up with a twisted ankle but then hustles back on defense and stops a breakaway layup. What a player. Harrellson picks up his third foul with 12:09 remaining; not a bad situation, but obviously not the position Kentucky where wants to be.

TPT: Lamb. He comes in off the bench and ignites the team with two huge threes. He was in position to get a layup to put Kentucky ahead, but Walker absolutely made a great play to deny him at the rim. We have ourselves a game here. Players are getting a little rest now, the next few minutes will be huge for Kentucky without Harrellson.

11:56-2:09
Time: UConn 14-9
Game: UConn 54-48

Every time UConn comes out of a timeout, they execute on offense. Walker with a great bounce pass to Smith for a layup. Lamb hits another three, the kid is coming up huge for the Wildcats. UConn is at their best when they run, Walker missed a three but then Oriakhi had a huge put back slam on a failed box out in transition. UConn guards beginning to flop and the refs are giving in to the acts. This is the time of game when the refs try to make foul calls so they won't have to at the end of the game. Good timeout by Calipari with his team down four and looking shaky on defense.

Out of the timeout, Jones takes it one-on-three, gets a chance at an and-one, misses the foul shot, steals the ball and then Kentucky gets another layup from Knight; a solid four-point-play. Very good back and forth action now, the players are sensing that it's crunch time. Some stupid shots from Napier and Knight break the flow, but then back to back turnovers and a transition layup by Walker forces Calipari to call a timeout at 4:07.

The announcers say Kentucky is tired, and that might be the case, considering they don't play very many players. It has been a while since a TV timeout and the last few minutes will be very long with a lot of stoppages. Kentucky seems to be short on most of their jump shots, could be getting jelly legs. Still no under-8:00 TV timeout and Calhoun calls his own with 2:49 remaining. UConn give Napier an isolation and he drives to the hoop for a layup, that's what he needed to do from the start.

TPT: Walker and Jones. Both of these players are leading their teams at this point. This is one of the best games I have seen Walker play in terms of being in control. Jones is being very aggressive but is now 0-6 from the foul line. Absolutely horrible at this stage.

2:09-0:56.5
Time: Kentucky 3-0
Game: UConn 54-51

Jones is an absolute beast other than his foul shots. He is all over the defensive glass and he has at least three steals in the last five minutes that are directly attributable to his instincts. Liggins hits a three off a Jones rebound and the last TV timeout of the game is called with under a minute to go. Kentucky gets the ball after the break.

TPT: Jones. The best player in the game tonight, looks dominate on the defensive end and when he wants to be on offense. Going to be a crazy finish here.

0:56.5-0:00
Time: Kentucky 4-2
Game: UConn 56-55

Liggins is fouled shooting a long jumper and his toe was just on the line; makes one of two foul shots. Napier tries to split a screen and dribbles the ball off of a Kentucky foot, Knight jumps on it and calls a timeout. Kentucky ball, down two, with 16 seconds left. This has to be a play for Jones, who seems to be the only one in this game with any offensive rhythm. The only bad idea about that is that Jones doesn't seem to be too keen on passing the ball if there is nothing available. Knight will probably get the ball here because of his clutch moments in the early games. Knight gave the ball up while Jones was just standing around, Liggins takes a deep three and misses! Napier gets the rebound and is fouled with 2 seconds left; two foul shots and it's over. He makes both and UConn is up four! Calipari calls a timeout but there is no point. Knight makes a three at the buzzer! Oh wait... UConn wins 56-55!

POST GAME

Player of the second half: Jones. He was the best player on the court, but was not very assertive in getting the ball on the offensive end. His defense really brought Kentucky back in the second half, but it was not quite enough to overcome Knight's 6-23 sucktitude.

Player of the game: Walker. Could have easily been Jones, but Walker's team won and he was very effective in all aspects of the game. Assists, steals, rebounds, points, foul shots, he did it all.

Second half key: Kentucky's defense. Really kept them in the game, they were very aggressive and efficient on the glass and made UConn look very bad on offense in the second half.

Game key: Foul shots. Kentucky went 4-13 for the game. Yes, 4-13. Meanwhile, UConn went 9-11. That was the difference. UConn won the first half and Kentucky won the second half, but in a close, evenly matched game like this, the freebies make all the difference. And guess what? UConn squeaked by with the superb play of their role players.

Some thoughts moving forward:
1. UConn/Butler is going to be a hard ass game.
2. Calhoun is a pig.
3. Walker is a winner.
4. Go Butler!

The Butler Game

2011-03-22T00:08:00.000-04:00

It is hard to say what hurt more: the Scottie Reynolds game or the Butler game. Of course the Scottie Reynolds game was for a spot in the Final Four, but buzzer beaters happen all the time. It is one thing to lose a game because an opposing player makes a play, it is another to lose a game like the Butler game. I have watched hundreds upon hundreds upon thousands of basketball games in my life and I have never seen anything like what happened at the end of the Butler game.

I am not going to recall what happened because first of all, everybody knows what happened, and second of all, it hurts me inside to recall the events of that evening.

Blame. Who is to blame for the loss? It is funny because the last person I would blame would be Nasir Robinson. Yes, he was the one who committed the foul, but he was just acting on instincts. As my mom, yes my mom, said, if you are an athlete, you have to expect to make mistakes and fail sometimes. That is just the way the sporting world works. But to be honest, Robinson should not have even been in the situation to make that mistake.

Jamie Dixon is the one to blame. Yes, Jamie Dixon, the man who has the most wins in his first eight seasons as a head coach in NCAA history. I love the guy to death, but I do not understand what he was trying to do in this game. Of course in recent years he has had limited to no tournament success in his years as head coach, but this year was the year for Pitt.

In the Scottie Reynolds game, the only coaching mistake I can remember was Dixon not choosing to pick up the defense until half court on the last play of the game. Scottie Reynolds blew by everyone and tear-dropped a layup over Gilbert Brown with under a second to go.

But in the Butler game, even though I only watched about half of it, Dixon made several questionable decisions over the course of the game. In the first half, when the defense was struggling with pressure on the outside shooters of Butler, especially Shelvin Mack, Dixon decided to go to the zone defense after made baskets... WHY?!

It seemed like every time Pitt went to a zone, Butler had an even better wide-open opportunity from three. It would be one thing if Pitt played zone defense well, but it is another when Pitt is very bad at it and it was less effective than their lazy man-to-man defense. When players are hot from the outside, as a coach, you have to preach to your players to tighten up and try to let the other team shoot themselves cold.

The strength of Pitt this season was their depth. Yes, the strength is the starting five, as it is with most teams, but when Pitt could put in three or four bench players and keep it competitive while the starters rested, that was when they were at their best. Dixon did it in non-conference play and in conference play, but it seemed like when the Big East tournament and NCAA tournament came around, he threw that notion down the drain.

In the Big East loss to UConn, the Pitt bench played 48 minutes, which is a little below average, but mostly inflated due to the poor play of Gary McGhee and the necessity for a substitute. But in the NCAA loss to Butler, the bench played just 34 minutes. Then, when Dante Taylor and Travon Woodall came in with a just few minutes to play and committed a few mistakes (Woodall forcing a shot in traffic, then Taylor attempting a put-back dunk from the parking lot before Woodall committed a dumb foul) you could not blame them because they had no game momentum.

Basically what Dixon did in this game was everything he did not do in the regular season. What Dixon did was completely panic when his team got down, then go to a completely different strategy than what got his team to a 28-5 record to that point.

Then not only did Dixon make the broad mistakes, but when the game fell into Pitt's lap after the Mack foul with 1.4 seconds left, he made the little mistakes at the end of the game which were magnified afterwards. When the referees went to the monitor before Gilbert Brown was to shoot the biggest foul shots of his life, Dixon failed to call his team over to the bench for some words, and Mack was saying God-knows-what to Brown in the middle of the lane, and they probably were not words of wisdom.

During those few seconds, Dixon could have said some final words to Brown, words that Butler head coach Brad Stevens spoke to Matt Howard a few seconds later when he was shooting foul shots to win the game. Dixon also could have givens some instructions to the players in the lane, like, DO NOT FOUL. Or, when Brown proceeded to make the first foul shot, he could have pulled the Pitt players out of the lane completely to eliminate ANY risk of foul, lane violation or whatever else could have happened to screw up the game.

Now I need to be completely honest: I sure as hell did not think of this until after Robinson committed the foul and Howard rained the necessary foul shot to cement Butler into the Sweet 16. But it is Dixon's job, Dixon's responsibility and Dixon's salary to notice these things before they cost his team a chance at a National Championship. Now, if I were in that situation, I take all of the Pitt players off the line after Brown makes the first shot; either he makes the second one and they win or he misses the second and it goes to overtime. Period.

Not to mention Dixon burned his last team timeout with 8.8 seconds left after a stoppage to check the time and a Butler full timeout to apparently explain something more to his team about the upcoming Butler possession with Pitt winning 70-69. I would just like to note (to which Peter Hyndman and Bobby DeWolfe can attest) that I had ZERO confidence that Pitt would stop Butler from scoring. Why would I? They never have, and guess what? THEY DIDN'T! Butler got a wide-open layup with 2.2 seconds left and then Pitt was stuck without any timeouts.

So anyways, who else to blame? Do I blame Gilbert Brown? Hell no. Look at the foul shot he missed, one centimeter stronger, or one half-rotation different and the ball drops in for the win. It was nearly a robbery of a shot and just an unlucky shooter's roll.

Do I blame the refs? Now this is an interesting situation. The foul on Gilbert Brown with 1.4 seconds left was a foul and it should have been called because Mack denied Brown a shot at moving up the court for a shot. So then Robinson climbs all over Howard with .8 seconds left. Was it a foul? Absolutely. Did it affect any play in the game? No, but that is where it gets hazy.

Now, here are the two reasons why the foul against Robinson had to be called. For one, he absolutely smothered Howard. It was not even close to a touchy foul, I mean Robinson really whacked him. Also, the referees had to have the thought that since they called Mack for that foul, Butler was due for a call. If the situation had been different and Mack had never committed the foul seconds earlier, since the foul on Robinson did not directly affect the play, I doubt the referee would have blown the whistle.

What I mean by affecting the play is that since there were 1.4 seconds left and Howard had secured the rebound, the foul did not prevent Butler from doing anything offensively and did not give Pitt any kind of advantage. But then you have to think that since the foul did not directly affect the play, why call the foul at all? Imagine if the referee does not call the foul, Butler fans go crazy because of the foul called on Mack seconds earlier. So you would have to think the foul was called because of the fact that Pitt was due for one, which makes sense, but then again does not.

But at a point, you have to give credit where credit is due. But wait, Butler did not even play that good of a game. They shot 46%, which is okay, but should not be enough to beat a number one seeded team especially when they allowed Pitt to shoot 56% from the field and were out-rebounded 36-25. But what Butler did well was throw in three-pointers from everywhere (12-27) and cut down on turnovers (six). They also were able to do the most important thing it takes for a lower-seeded team to make an upset, limit possessions. If a team limits possessions, they can allow their opponent to shoot 56% and still win.

The player who did beat Pitt was Shelvin Mack, he got opportunities to make some deep shots and he made them in the first half to keep Butler in the game. In the second half he kind of tailed off, especially as the game came to crunch time, but by then his damage had been done. Pitt's defense was too worried about Mack and allowed other players to make plays in the last few minutes.

Just as last year with Jordan Crawford and the year before with Scottie Reynolds, Pitt could not stop the other team's star player and it cost them. It seems like Pitt's balance during the regular season seems to always hurt them in the postseason because no one player steps up enough to pull Pitt through deeper into the tournament.

And as for the cliche "There is always next year", well, I do not know about that. A loss like this is not the kind that builds a team, it is the kind that kills confidence, especially for Nasir Robinson, a player who could be the key to Pitt's season next year. There are rumors of Ashton Gibbs leaving to go to Europe to get more attention and pro experience for the NBA... right.

And even though Dixon got a great recruiting class for next season, there are probably no players in that class who personify the type of player that it takes to win tournament games. Players like Kemba Walker, Shelvin Mack and Jimmer Fredette who are just cool as the other side of the pillow and just take control of the game when it matters. Players Pitt has never really had. They have always had unselfish players, like Brad Wanamaker, Brandin Knight, LeVance Fields and even Ashton Gibbbs. It is not a bad thing in most cases, but sometimes it takes a selfish player to really take a team on his shoulders and carry them when they need it most.

As you know, I will be here next year. I cannot imagine a most heartbreaking loss, but if I experience one in the hands of Pitt basketball in the future, which is actually pretty likely in all reality, I will stay with this team. I have said it before and I will say it again: If Pitt could win a National Championship, I would not mind if the Steelers went 0-16 every year for the rest of my life. That is how much this team means to me and it is how it will always be.

Think Jayson Werth's a Traitor? You're a Hater.

2010-12-06T12:11:00.001-05:00

We know what Scott Boas does. He barters and bitches his way into the best possible contract for his client, but this is insane. Jayson Werth shocked the world yesterday when he signed a 7-year, $126 million contract with the Natty Lights.

A lot of Phillians are upset at The Bearded Lady for chasing the money here, but let's get real. Yes, the Phillies are more likely than the Nats to win a World Series in the next seven years, but Werth already won a championship two years ago. Werth was offered an insane amount of money, guaranteed, to last him throughout the rest of his playing career. In my opinion, he had to jump on it.

After three above average seasons, Werth gets to cash in at the age of 31. I honestly can't help but feel happy for the guy. There is not nearly as much pressure on him in Washington than there is in Philly and he gets to be the star of the show for more money, rather than being the third or fourth best player for less money.

Werth turns 32 in May, which means he will be making $18 million when he is 39 years old. Come on, how many MLB players can say that? Nearly zero. Not Jeter and not Rivera, for example. Even though both are players who have accomplished far more than Werth has in his career.

Also, it needs to be said that it is ridiculous that he will be making more than Matt Holliday, another Boras client, who signed for only 7-years, $120 million last year. Holliday, who is a year younger than Werth, had an off-year by his standards in 2010 and still outproduced The Beard. However, he makes less money per year with the same length of deal and same agent as Werth.

But that's how free agency works I guess. In a weak free agent class like the one in 2010, the Nats go ahead and overpay for Werth. Yet in 2009, the Cardinals nabbed Holliday for a pretty solid deal. It also needs to be said that Holliday might have taken less to stay with St. Louis and chase a championship with Phat Albert.

There are just so many factors that go into contracts, just ask the Nats. Obviously, you wouldn't think of Washington as a team to invest a large amount of money in a 31-year old player. Especially when they have not retained talented players such as Adam Dunn and Alfonso Soriano. So why now? Why Jayson Werth?

I think the Nats are blinded by their young, unproven talent that now stands at the major league level. Strasburg is a stud, but he is out for all of 2011 and his future is really uncertain. Zimmerman the third baseman is a great player... that is all. Willingham is a good player, but nothing outstanding. Zimmermann the pitcher has good potential, but is just back from TJ surgery. Desmond is a pretty good option at shortstop. Espinosa has a good future at second base. Drew Storen is a solid closer for the future.

But this team is hardly good enough to compete for the World Series, let alone the National League, let alone the NL East. This deal just doesn't make any sense for them at all. Werth isn't known as a great leader or anything, but I guess he didn't really have the opportunity in Philadelphia.

In all reality, Werth is a solid player, but isn't worth nearly as much as his new salary indicates. Which makes the deal an absolute steal from his point of view. But for Washington, this signing can't net them more than five additional wins from last year. They would have been better to invest this money in the draft or on short-term free agents for the next few years. This was a huge mistake for the ex-Expos.

Somebody Woke Up LeBron... UH OH!

2010-12-04T02:27:00.003-05:00

It seems hard to believe that LeBron James might have received his best career advice from a commercial, but it might be true. As seen in the Nike TV advertisement, the Heat star asks the viewers, "What should I do?"

At one point in the 60-second spot he asks, "Should I accept my role, as a villain?" as he is seen in a wild west gunslinger outfit. Hmm, now that's a thought. He does have all the makings of a "villain," doesn't he?

Left his hometown team to chase a championship, check. Handled it in the worst way possible, check. Treated his following in Cleveland like shit, check. Made every possible mistake during the process, check.

But let's get this straightened out, none of these heinous acts have anything to do with his performance on the basketball court. Everything I just mentioned can only affect his mind, not his actual basketball skills. And let's agree that LeBron is one of the most, if not the most, purely talented players in the league right now.

However, the thing that usually got between him and his success on the court, has been his head. He never had the mindset of a Jordan or Kobe to be a winner in crunch time, or put his foot on the opponent's throat when necessary.

So, how does he get over the mental block over his eventual success? How does he put his past behind him and start dominating on the court as a Heat? (What the hell is the singular form of "Heat?")

LeBron should embrace the "villain" role. He should burn the bridges he left behind and bust through the road blocks ahead of him.

Cleveland hates him for the way he left, forget them. Sports fans think he is a primadonna failure, forget them. Charles Barkey thinks he is a tool, forget him.

He is on a team now that can win a championship, maybe championshipS. LeBron should leave the past in the past, and if someone gets on his face about anything, he can just drop 38/5/8 on them and go on his merry way.

Errey Quotes o' the Night - 11/15 vs. NY Rangers

2010-11-15T22:03:00.000-05:00

The top three Bob Errey quotes from the 11/15 telecast vs. NY Rangers:

#3: The AGH cam don't lie!

#2: You know who the defense stepped up on? Stepan!

#1: On the fight between Comrie and Callahan that broke out while Dan Potash was interviewing ~~John Russell~~ Clint Hurdle: This isn't baseball here!

Errey Quotes o' the Night - 11/5 @ Anaheim

2010-11-06T00:37:00.000-04:00

The top three Bob Errey quotes from the 11/5 telecast @ Anaheim:

#3: On the scrum after ~~Saku Koivu's dive face-first into the boards~~ Chris Kunitz's cross-checking penalty in the 3rd period: It's a MEELEE!

#2: There's bodies all over! There's shrapnel all over the ice right now!

#1: There's Dan Bylsma on the backhand! The backhand for Bylsma!

Some thoughts from Paul Steigerwald:

— Sometimes when you block shots, you create opportunities for rebounds.

— It's a power play goal, hallelujah!

Errey Quotes o' the Night - 11/3 @ Dallas

2010-11-04T18:41:00.001-04:00

The top three Bob Errey quotes from the 11/3 telecast @ Dallas:

#3: On Brendan Morrow's slashing penalty in the 2nd period: Should that have been a penalty? No... But it was.

#2: I always thought Lanny [Crawford] was hiding something under that 'stache!

#1: They're using their fists to score goals AND get in fights here tonight!

Winners and Losers of the NFL

2010-09-24T21:44:00.001-04:00

Of course in every sporting event, there must be a winner and a loser... except for stupid soccer. But I am a strong believer that some teams and players will never win championships and will always find a way to lose when it matters the most. As I have watched sports my entire life, I have come to the realization that the regular season means next to nothing in all sports other than baseball.

There is an ongoing list of great players who have never won a championship during their careers. Despite the outstanding numbers put up by Dan Marino, he never won a championship. So am I writing off Marino as a bad player? Absolutely not, but I do want to make the point that a superstar player can be a loser, but still be a superstar. There is a difference between being an amazing athlete and being a winner; the two do not always go hand and hand.

Old school.

I find that the two easiest sports where you can separate the winners from the losers are in football and basketball. In football, however, the only position where you can easily decipher who is a winner and who is a loser, is the quarterback. Obviously, this makes sense because the quarterback touches the ball on 99% of the plays on offense and is the most important player on the team.

When I think of losers in the NFL, my mind immediately links to Tony Romo, Philip Rivers and Jay Cutler. These are great NFL quarterbacks, do not get me wrong, but they will never win the Super Bowl because they are losers. Whether it is Romo muffing a hold in the playoffs, Rivers and the Chargers always finding a way to fold in the postseason, or Cutler always ending up throwing countless picks on the way to a disappointing year, these players always find a way to lose when it matters most.

Don't eat buttered popcorn during a game. Idiot.

On the flip side, there are winners in the NFL, too. A few players come to mind, like Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger, but where do you draw the line? Obviously, Roethlisberger and Brady have won multiple Super Bowls, but what about the quarterbacks who have just won one? Or the ones who have come close but never sealed the deal? I am thinking of players such as Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Brett Favre and Donovan McNabb. For these players, it is difficult to decide what to label them; winner or loser.

Peyton Manning has won a Super Bowl, but it was over Rex Grossman, who is... Rex Grossman. Otherwise, he has lost in the playoffs to the Patriots, Steelers and Saints in recent years when the Colts were the favored team. But I see Manning as a John Elway type quarterback who will win one or two more championships towards the end of his career.

Brees is the kind of guy who was stuck in a losing environment in San Diego and then led the Saints to a Super Bowl in just a few years down in Louisiana. Now that I have mentioned San Diego as a losing environment, it brings up the question if Rivers is truly a loser or just stuck in Loserville. Honestly, we will never know until he either win a Super Bowl as a Charger or leaves to try his chances elsewhere. Because Rivers is a legitimately good quarterback, if he is not really a loser, he will ultimately prove himself a winner.

After all, he is the Lord of No Rings.

I think Favre's situation was that he is so good, it was inevitable that he would win one championship. But other than Super Bowl 31, he has habitually folded in the playoffs and in big games. It is also possible that Peyton Manning falls under this category if he fails to win another Super Bowl for the rest of his career, because he would pretty much be in the same situation as Favre.

At last we come to Donovan McNabb. Some would say he is a loser because he always choked in the playoffs and lost in the Super Bowl, but in all reality, he took the Eagles to places they had never been before. I would also argue that without McNabb, Philly would never have made it to four consecutive NFC conference championship games at all. And, in all reality, the Eagles were never an elite team while McNabb was at the helm. It is hard to believe McNabb could win anything with the Redskins at this point, but he should continue to have a productive career, just not achieve that championship season any time soon. Also, you have to wonder if Philadelphia is a losing franchise, like San Diego, and will just never win a Super Bowl, regardless of the quarterback or any other players.

Well, I do have a bizarre man crush on Donvan McNabb.

For all you oldies out there, some historic NFL losers include: Jim Kelly and Dan Marino. On the flip side, some NFL winners include: Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Steve Young and Troy Aikman. For obvious reasons, the winners won Super Bowls and the losers never did. Kelly was there for four straight years and never pulled out the win while Marino has some of the best passing statistics of all time, but no rings. Clearly, I do not have the credentials to say much more about quarterbacks before the 90s but I cannot think of any more blatant examples.

Joe Namath is still a stooge.

Come back to find out my winners and losers from other sports!

The Prudent-Athlete

2010-09-21T21:16:00.002-04:00

Black and white. North and South. Hot and cold. Sports and education.

The days where "student-athletes" exist in mainstream society are all but over. Today the relationship between an NCAA athlete and the classroom is as far away as it has ever been. However, the question here is not "Who is to blame?" but instead "Is this a bad thing at all?"

The problem is not that kids would rather pursue a professional sports career than a college degree; it is that no one will admit these intentions. The NBA instituted its "one-and-done" rule a few years ago to protect 18-year old high school kids who think they are hot stuff (see: Sebastian Telfair) from ruining their professional chances in the long run. Now, players like Kevin Durant, John Wall and Kevin Love are forced to play in the NCAA for a year before they are draft eligible. These players are then forced to go to classes in which they have little to no interest and then proceed to make a mockery out of the college or university's educational system.

It was kind of fun to watch him crap on people though...

I say that if a basketball player wants to hire an agent out of high school and declare for the draft, then let him. if they are stupid enough to think they are good enough to get drafted, when in reality they are not, then they do not deserve any sympathy. They deserve to fail, especially in a system where it is basically a paved road for them to succeed in some way, on the court or in the classroom. Unless you are the real deal and everyone knows it (see: LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett) college is the no-brainer here.

Of course, the fans and media around these college kids are just enabling the athletes' pursuit of professional sports. After a player has a good basketball season, people do not say, "Man, I can't wait until next year." Instead, we say, "Man, his draft stock couldn't be higher right now, he should leave for the draft." Again, is this a problem? Of course not, the main reason the majority of these kids have for going to college to play sports in the first place is to get noticed by scouts and have the opportunity to make money by getting drafted in the pros.

Whoa! What did I just say? Athletes do not go to college for the education? How could that be? I know you have seen the commercials of the kid who is half juggling a soccer ball and half working on a chemistry set, with the line: "Most NCAA athletes will go pro in something other than sports." Well, that is true, being that there are thousands of athletes who play collegiate sports while, in the NBA for instance, there are only 60 players drafted each year, some of which are international players. Then why don't we hear about these "student-athletes" who are in the NCAA for the education and the sport, rather than just using it as a bridge to the NBA or NFL?

There you go, random guy from random college!

Oh yeah I forgot! The fact that a fifth-string wide receiver for Vanderbilt has a 3.9 GPA does not put fans in the seats, does not get on SportsCenter to create more attention for the program and does not attract more high school superstars to come to the school to continue the process. The only time when you hear about anything "student oriented" during an NCAA football or basketball game is when the players' majors are listed under their names and class during starting lineup introductions. A player who earns Academic All-America honors does not produce nearly enough attention or money compared to a player who earns Athletic All-America honors.

To be honest, I cannot tell you who was an Academic All-American last year, but I could tell you Mark Ingram won the Heisman trophy, and that is because I do not really care what your GPA is, as long as you can perform on the field. Sports is entertainment to me and I see the NCAA as a borderline professional league anyway, but I will get to that later...

My problem is that the NCAA, the conferences and the schools all pretend to care about how these kids do in the classroom but, in all reality, could care less as long as they are making their money. If the NCAA is going to continue with its belief that the "student-athlete" is important, then they need to show the fans, and the media needs to help the cause. Obviously we will still want to hear who is going to win the Heisman, but just take a few minutes on every broadcast or news story to give a shout-out to a no-name player who excels in the classroom. Or start highlighting the Academic All-American awards with an hour-long television special at the end of the season. Would that be so bad?

The NCAA basketball tournament and the respective conference tournaments make the NCAA and its partners billions of dollars every year while "student-athletes" are missing days and weeks of class time with no issues. But when the idea comes up to change the BCS system (which makes the NCAA and its partners billions of dollars) to a playoff system that would be a better determiner of a champion (in a sports sense) the NCAA makes the point that students would be out of class more often. Give me a break! Do you think the Alabama players were studying intently from the time the SEC Championship ended to the time the National Championship game began? Maybe, but I would say it is more likely that they spent more time practicing and going over strategy for their matchup versus Texas.

Well good thing they did because they freaking killed Texas!

Do I think it is ridiculous that "student-athletes" can maintain a minuscule GPAs and still play? Yes, but rules are rules, and if all you need to do in order to play the sport you love is the bare minimum, then go for it. Every once and a while you see a stat with the average graduation rate of NCAA football players, or the GPA of a specific basketball team, and it is really depressing. But nothing is going to change that fact until people start caring about the academics more than the sports... which will never ever happen.

But wait; there are more NCAA sports besides football and basketball, right? Oh yeah, there are tons! I just forgot to mention them because they are never mentioned in a breath of the media unless it is the sport's championship game or tournament. Why is that? Because those teams do not make as much money as basketball and football. How about FCS programs and teams not in Division 1-A? Well, they are pretty much in the same boat as the small sports at major schools; no one cares about them unless they are playing for a championship or upset an FBS school.

Seriously, had anyone heard of Appalachian St. before they beat Michigan?

Now these athletes are the ones who really care about the academics just as much as the athletics. Why is that? Because the chances of NCAA athletes going pro in a sport not names football or basketball are very slim, therefore these kids have a greater need for a college degree. These are the real "student-athletes" but they are not being pushed into the spotlight they deserve. Notice you never hear bout a Minnesota ice hockey player who has a 4.0 GPA, but when a "superstar" like John Wall is in Sports Illustrated, it is a big deal that he earned a 3.2 GPA. Do not get me wrong, that is great for John Wall, but how about all of the other "student-athletes" who work hard in class? Shouldn't they be commended for their hard work in the classroom? No, because the media's priorities are not laid out correctly.

So how does this issue get resolved? First of all, erase the NBA "one-and-done" rule. If an 18-year old high school hoop star want to bypass the NCAA to put his name in the draft, let him. This has to be done, regardless of how you feel about GPA, BCS, AARP or any kind of acronym. Obviously, people have expressed the idea of paying college athletes, but that is such a slippery slope, it would cloud the entire issue even further, or eliminate the "student-athlete" completely. I still love college sports, but it is kind of sad that, at least in basketball and football, the NCAA has become almost the minor leagues for the NBA and NFL. Who knows what things will be like in five-ten years? But all I know is that even though the talent level in the NCAA has grown exponentially in recent years, that special "something" about college sports is decreasing just as sharply.

NHL Conference Semi-Final Preview

2010-04-29T09:53:00.006-04:00

Sharks vs. Red Wings

The Sharks nearly choked as bad as the Caps. If Thornton, Marleau, and Heatley can't do anything against Colorado, they definitely won't do anything against Detroit. The Wings aren't going to be allowing 40 shots per game and are playoff proven.

Red Wings in 5

Canucks vs. Blackhawks

This should be a good series but I'm going with the Canucks. Nossa is a curse and I think the Canucks are a bit better built for the playoffs. Their experience wins out. Chicago is somewhat fortunate to come out of the first round themselves. If Vancouver's PK wasn't so terrible, they would've swept LA.

Canucks in 6

Flyers vs. Bruins

Hard to believe this series is even happening. Philly without Carter and Gagne and with Boucher in net really shouldn't be beating any playoff team - although I'm sure they would've given the Caps a hard time. I don't think Boston's that impressive, but getting Savard back helps. They've got far superior goaltending and home ice, so they're my pick.

Bruins in 5

Penguins vs. Canadiens

Montreal's act isn't going to last against the Pens. I still worry about the Pens not showing up with the right intensity, but they've at least shown that they can bring it when they absolutely have to (which Washington didn't do). Fleury needs to be sharper this time and they might need a little more from Geno. But Montreal is a thoroughly mediocre team aside from Halak, maybe even a below average one. There were only two playoff teams with a negative goal differential - Montreal and Ottawa. There were only two playoff teams with a negative shot differential - Montreal and Colorado. If the Pens show up it's not going to be a contest.

Pens in 5

AL East Predictions

2010-04-22T23:59:00.000-04:00

1. New York Yankees

New York lost Damon, so what, Granderson will fill in fine, if not 20 times better. The Yankees still have one of the greatest infields in history and a manager who now sports #28, representing the 28th team championship they hope to win this year. Replacing Chamberlain with Hughes in the rotation was a smart decision, and gives the Yankess the best fifth (and sixth) starters in baseball. Johnson was a great addition and will provide at least a .400 OBP from the #2 spot in the order. Rivera is still the best closer in baseball and with Chamberlain in the setup role, it makes for one of the better back ends in the league.

Our 2 Cojones of the year: New York wins 100 games for the second year in a row.

You okay there big dog?

2. Tampa Bay Rays

After a 2009 letdown, the Rays look a lot like the team they were two years ago when they won the AL pennant. This time, however, they are more experienced and they have more weapons, such as Zobrist and Longoria for the entire season. The starting rotation is as solid as they come, having dumped extra baggage in Kazmir last year, made room for prospect Davis as the fifth starter. Niemann is coming into his own, Price should have a monster year, Garza is off to an amazing start, and Shields is rock solid. Upton should have a nice bounce back year and if not, they have Jennings waiting in the minors. The bullpen is a weak link, and should prevent the Rays from being an elite team this season.

Our 2 Cojones of the year: B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford combine for 40 homeruns.

Yayy, we r gooood! High fievzzzz!

3. Boston Red Sox

The Nation acquired Lackey and Scutaro, at SP and SS, in an attempt to shore up some weaknesses. The Sox still have Lester and Beckett at the top and Wakefield and Dice-K to round out the starting five. Youkilis is a stud, Beltre was a good pickup and Martinez will have a great year in his first full season in Boston. The bullpen is very solid if Papelbon does not take 45 minutes to throw each pitch and Francona is a world-class manager. It is unfortunate that the Sox are in the AL East, because they would be a top-two team in any other division in baseball. Expect these three top teams to compete for the division title well into September.

Our 2 Cojones of the year: John Lackey leads the team in wins.

"Shit, he's gonna hit it..."

4. Toronto Blue Jays

Same thing I said about Boston, except on a lesser scale: if Toronto were in any other league, they might have a shot at the division. Even so, the Jays have a decent lineup with guys like Lind and Wells. Hill will not have as good a season as he did last year, but he should still be solid. Bautista is an awful excuse for a leadoff guy, but they do not have much else. The rotation is pretty good, but they do not really have an ace. Romero might be the closet they have to an elite pitcher, and Morrow, Eveland and Marcum are all decent. The bullpen is not too sharp, but there is potential with Downs, Frasor and Gregg in late innings. This team is decent, but do not expect them to contend with three elite teams in this division.

Our 2 Cojones of the year: Kevin Gregg gets 30 saves.

Gotta love the powder blues.

5. Baltimore Orioles

Unlike the rest of the teams in this division, the Orioles would still suck in any other division. They have some good young talent, but do not have the complete team to win games, especially in the AL East. Markakis, Wieters and Jones are three solid pieces to a future lineup. Matusz is going to be a stud, but the rest of the starting five are very bad. Millwood is okay, but hardly a good #2 at his age and Guthrie just has had an inconsistent career in general. Baltimore picked up Gonzalez in free agency to try to shore up the bullpen, having traded Sherrill last year, but he blew two saves in the first week and is now on the DL. Not a good omen for the rest of the season.

Our 2 Cojones of the year: Matt Wieters wins AL Silver Slugger award for C.

It's going, going, going, going, going, going...

NHL Playoff Preview

2010-04-14T07:59:00.004-04:00

Ah, here we are once again, the best time of the NHL season. Well, other than those games against the Predators and Lightning that we all look forward to in Mid-December. The playoffs are once again upon us and they provide more questions than ever before. Well, that's not necessarily true, I'm mainly saying that to peak much more interest in the rest of the article. Will the Sharks choke again? Does Chicago have a goalie? Will Jose Threeormore ever get past the 2nd round? Will the Coyotes move back to Winnipeg mid-series? And will the Penguins repeat with the help of Bettman and the officials? I am here to answer all of those questions...

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Washington Capitals (1) vs. Montreal Canadiens (8)

The Washington Capitals won the Presidents Trophy this season with 121 points play an up-tempo, in your face style that saw them score the most goals in one regular season since the 1996 Pittsburgh Penguins. They are loaded with offensive talent that includes the likes of two 100 point scorers in Ovechkin and Backstrom. The question with Washington will always be goaltending and defense. Jeff Schultz and Mike Green are not a very impressive shut-down pairing and Jose Theodore's playoff numbers in the postseason are pretty abysmal. Montreal limps into the postseason by barely getting a point against Toronto on the last Saturday of the regular season. If the Habs have any chance of winning this series, they will need to have their 2nd rated powerplay score at about a 40% clip and goaltender Jaroslav Halak will need to stand on his head. Bottom line here is that the Caps simply have too much offense and the Canadiens can't score at even strength with an average in the regular season of under 2 goals a game.

Prediction: Caps in 5

New Jersey Devils (2) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (7)

In my estimation, which is the only one that matters at the moment, this is the most interesting match-up in the second round. The Devils come into the playoffs after winning the Atlantic Division by two points over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Like always under coach Jacques Lemaire, they depend on defense and goaltending to win hockey games. The Devils finished the season by giving up the fewest goals against (191). Obviously, they are heavily dependent on Martin Brodeur to bail them out when their defense does break down. Brodeur had another stellar regular season but there are now questions about the New Jersey netminder in the postseason. Since his cup winning performance in 2003, Brodeur has been average in the playoffs and may be looking for one last final great run this year and maybe even take home that elusive Conn Smythe. The Flyers come in after a dramatic shootout win vs. the New York Rangers at home on the last day of the regular season to get into the postseason. The Flyers certainly have the offense, defense, and special teams to make a long run into the playoffs, but the question for Philadelphia will always be goaltending. Brian Boucher finished the year with a Save percentage of under .900 and has a tendency of giving up soft goals at the most inopportune times. However, Boucher did perform well against the Rangers and he has made a long playoff run with the Flyers before in 2000, going all the way to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final. The Flyers are also 5-1 against the Devils this season. In the final analysis, if the Flyers pound the New Jersey D and score the first goal, they have a great opportunity to win this series, and I think they will.

Prediction: Flyers in 7

Buffalo Sabres (3) vs. Boston Bruins (6)

Whenever two longtime division rivals meet up in the postseason, there is always the potential for fireworks and an epic series. These two former Adams division rivals are very evenly matched and this will be one of the most competitive series of the first round. The Buffalo Sabres come into the playoffs after winning the Northeast Division with over 100 points. Their entire team boils down to Ryan Miller. The Hart Trophy candidate comes into the playoffs with both the second best save percentage and goals against average among netminders. Buffalo doesn't have the offense to outscore teams on most nights, so they rely heavily on their American born goalie. Much like Buffalo teams of the past with Dominik Hasek, the Sabres will go as far as Miller takes them. The Boston Bruins come into the playoffs after an extremely difficult season that saw them endure a ten game losing streak at one point. However, they managed to battle and come in on a high to the postseason. Much like Buffalo, Boston depends on their goaltender Tuuka Rask. Rask finished the season both number one in save percentage and goals against average and should be a serious contender for the Vezina Trophy. Much like Buffalo, Boston simply can't score goals. This will be a low-scoring affair filled with great goaltending that should resemble old-time hockey. In the end, Boston's playoff experience will be too much for the Sabres.

Prediction: Bruins in 7

Pittsburgh Penguins (4) vs. Ottawa Senators (5)

This is an extremely interesting match-up that pits teams who have faced each other in the postseason two of the last three years. The Penguins come into the playoffs after a stellar 101 point season that saw them contend for the Atlantic Division title until the last weekend. They are lead by Rocket Richard winning captain Sidney Crosby and chronic dumb-penalty taker Evgeni Malkin. More importantly in the past two postseasons, the Pens are led by French-Canadian goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury has been criticized for inconsistent play and sub-par regular season numbers for a goalie of his talent. However, Fleury has had a propensity the last two playoffs of stepping up his game and making huge saves at huge times. He has almost a Grant Fuhr quality about them. If the Penguins are going to repeat as Stanley Cup champs, Fleury will win the Conn Smythe. The Penguins biggest strength is their 5 on 5 play and the penalty kill. Their Powerplay has been awful all regular season. The Penguins must sure up their play in their own zone. The Ottawa Senators come into the playoffs after a stellar regular season that saw them bounce back from a non-playoff season last year. They are lead by their captain Daniel Alfredsson and young netminder Brian Elliot. If the Sens want to win this series, they will need Elliot to stand on his head and for the likes of Spezza and Alfredsson to have a huge series. I don't see it happening. Eventually, the Pens will break down Elliot and the two choke-artists Spezza and Alfie will show their true colors once again.

Prediction: Pens in 5

WESTERN CONFERENCE

San Jose Sharks (1) vs. Colorado Avalanche (8)

This series is basically choke-proof even for the Sharks. The Avs barely squeaked into the playoffs and looked to be running out of gas near the end of the regular season. They have depended on their goaltender Craig Anderson all season, but he has come back down to Earth in the last few months. The Sharks simply have too much for the extremely young Avs.

Prediction: Sharks in 4

Chicago Blackhawks (2) vs. Nashville Predators (7)

The Blackhawks have too much offensive firepower for the defensively stingy Predators to contain over an entire series. They will eventually need to outscore the Hawks and I don't think they can do it. Pekka Rinne can only do so much.

Prediction: Hawks in 5

Vancouver Canucks (3) vs. Los Angeles Kings (6)

This is probably the most interesting match-up in the Western Conference. On paper, these two teams are very evenly matched in terms of skill up-front and on the back-end. The series will probably come down to the performance of Roberto Luongo. Luongo has had a checkered playoff past and he needs a solid run this year to put the doubters to rest. I think he will get that chance, but this one will be a nail-biter.

Prediction: Canucks in 7

Phoenix Coyotes (4) vs. Detroit Red Wings (5)

This is the worst possible match-up that the Coyotes could have hoped for. If I was a Coyotes fan, I would have rather played San Jose in the first round than Detroit. In the end, Detroit will have too much experience and eventually wear down the Coyotes.

Prediction: Red Wings in 6

NL East Predictions

2010-04-13T23:59:00.000-04:00

1. Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies made arguably the biggest splash in the off-season. The Phillies brought in Roy "Doc" Halladay, the best right-handed pitcher in the game. The lack of a top right-handed pitcher was the Achilles heel of the Phillies in 2009. The Phillies also brought Placido Polanco for a second tour of duty and promptly moved him to third base and placed him second in the batting order. The Phillies have featured one of the top lineups in the bigs for the past few years and in 2010 it will only be stronger with the addition of former Silver Slugger winner Polanco. The Phillies pitching rotation is full of questions at the moment. Will Hamels regain his 2008 form? Can Happ build off the success of his rookie year? How much longer can Moyer last? The weakness of this powerhouse team is in their bullpen they are lacking solid left handed relievers and have a closer (will not be named) who is a bit of a head case.

Key Additions: Roy Halladay, Placido Polanco
Key Departures: Cliff Lee, Pedro Feliz

Team Prediction: Philadelphia wins its third NL pennant in a row. Cole Hamels and Brad Lidge share NL Comeback POY.

Doc has a Ph.D in strikeouts

2. Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves and legendary manager Bobby Cox are going to be singing their swan song together this year. So not to disappoint, the Braves went out and reloaded in the off-season. They brought in closers Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito. The Braves also brought in a solid infielder Troy Glaus to play first base. The Braves rotation is packed with talent from young gun Tommy Hanson to legendary hurler Tim Hudson. Then throw in Jair Jurrjens and Derek Lowe. Pretty nice right? A plesent surprise came to the Braves during Spring Training, it was Jason Heyward. He basically showed up with a large rake and said "I am the goddamn man!" Sorry Melky, looks like you wont be a starter again... The Braves are very solid team and are very balanced in all aspects. The only major weakness that I can see with them is they have a lot of injury prone players or players that have suffered from a serious injury recently such as Chipper Jones, Tim Hudson, and Billy Wagner.

Team Predictions: Atlanta makes a serious push for the NL Wildcard. Jason Heyward wins NL ROY.

Key Additions: Billy Wagner, Takashi Saito, Troy Glaus, Melky Cabrera, Jason Heyward*
Key Departures: Javier Vazquez, Rafael Soriano, Kelly Johnson

Studly.

3. Florida Marlins

The Florida Marlins are that sneaky team every year. They feature a tiny payroll but they always seem to come together and play really good baseball. Well this year the Marlins up there in payroll a tiny bit. With the extra money they locked up stud pitcher Josh Johnson and signed Dan Uggla to a one-year deal. Along Josh Johnson, the Marlins rotation features Ricky Nolasco. Nolasco, I think, is about to break out and even be mentioned in the Cy Young race at the end of the year. The Marlins also really need Dan Uggla produce like he did in 2006. Hanley will always produce. Chris Coghlan also needs to build off the success of his rookie year. This Marlins team is very well rounded. I don't think they will finish much higher than third but they will be in for the wild card until the very end I think.

Team Predictions: Florida will be in the thick of the Wild Card race. Ricky Nolasco will be a Cy Young candidate.

Key Additions: Nate Robertson...
Key Departures: Jeremy Hermida

Dan Uggla really isn't all that bad. Look, Hanley likes him...

4. New York Mets

The New York Mets added Jason Bay this off-season looking for him to contribute the way he did for the BoSox a year ago. The Mets also brought in Gary Matthews Jr. to patrol center field while Carlos Beltran heals up from the surgery he had in February. Even with these nice additions the Mets are a huge pretender. Their starting rotation is a joke outside of Santana. Every other starter in their rotation had an ERA over 4.00. That is not going to get it done, especially in a division that features some of the most potent lineups in the National League. Their line-up is pretty solid and will only become better when Beltran returns to the line up. Though a lot of the success of this team relies on Reyes and Beltran performing as their top level after injury plagued seasons in recent years.

Team Predictions: Mike Pelfrey will improve but not enough to help this team. Carlos Beltran comes back eventually....

Key Additions: Jason Bay, Gary Matthews Jr., Rob Barajas...
Key Departures: Brian Schneider

Starting Pitching = This Guy

5. Washington Nationals

The Washingon Nation— or should I say Ryan Zimmerman with some other guys that kind of play baseball. The Nationals actually have pretty strong line up that has a good balance between speed, average and power. Outfielders Nyjer Morgan and Josh Willingham will continue to improve and, I believe, have very successful years. Adam Dunn as much as he strikes is a very good power hitter and does what he needs to; 38 homeruns and 105 RBI... not too shabby year after year. Back to Ryan Zimmerman, the man is easily the best third baseman in the National League. The Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards from last year attest to that. Now you have the joke of a pitching staff that the Nationals put on the field. There is absolutely no one to look forward to in my opinion. Also Strasburg is exactly where he should be in the minors, he still needs to work somethings out and there is no point in rushing him... it's not like the Nats are going anywhere soon.

Team Predictions: Washington will suck. Ryan Zimmerman will have a good year.

Key Additions: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez , Jason Marquee, Livian Hernandez, Chien-Ming Wang...
Key Departures: Probably no one important

Don't get used to this.

AL Central Predictions

2010-04-09T16:11:00.000-04:00

1. Detroit Tigers

The Tigers got rid of Jackson and Granderson... and got better? Yeah, that's right. Jackson and Scherzer are going to be studs and Coke is a solid reliever. Detroit also got Damon and Valverde in the free agent market and have one of the most balanced teams in the AL. With Verlander, Scherzer and Porcello anchoring the rotation and Willis and Bonderman as low risk, high reward guys, their starting five are super solid. Cabrera and Ordonez are awesome in the 3-4 spots and the bullpen is great. This team really has no holes, hopefully they won't go on any extended slides this year.

Our 2 Cojones of the year: Miguel Cabrera wins the AL MVP.

He could play right now. What a man.

2. Minnesota Twins

Gardenhire is too good of a manager for this team to finish any worse than second. If Mauer and Morneau can stay healthy, there is no reason to think otherwise. Even with Nathan being out for the year, Minnesota still has one of the best bullpens in the league. The starting rotation is average, but guys like Slowey and Baker could surprise. Liriano is out to prove that his career isn't a joke and Pavano (even though his career is a joke) is a solid guy every five days. Hudson was a good pickup and so was Hardy; those guys will thoroughly improve the middle infield on defense and on offense. Thome is a great addition at DH and Span is an emerging leadoff guy in the league.

Our 2 Cojones of the year: J.J. Hardy has 15 homeruns and less than 15 errors.

No Joe! Sliding is for common folk.

3. Chicago White Sox

The president's boys in the south side have a solid team, but not good enough. Sorry to hate on one of my favorite players, but Peavy is not going to do well in Chitown. Buehrle is a great pitcher, but it's hard to bank the success of your rotation on a groundball pitcher (see: Pittsburgh Pirates). Danks and Floyd are okay, but neither has proven anything in their first few years. The lineup is average, with the scariest hitter being Konerko. Beckham is good, but even if he matches his output from last year, his OPS was still only .800. Quentin and Rios are out to prove that they can still produce and could have surprise years, but the bullpen is incredibly shaky and will lose them a number of games.

Our 2 Cojones of the year: Paul Konerko, Alex Rios and Carlos Quentin combine for 75 homeruns.

What kind of sick, demented franchise charges $1 for a pencil?

4. Cleveland Indians

Look for the Indians to surprise people and not finish in last place. I like their lineup with Cabrera, Sizemore and Choo at the top of the order. Hafner should have a solid bounce back year and LaPorta is ready to break out. Peralta is always solid and Branyan will provide some pop when he returns. The rotation has a little bit of potential; Westbrook is back from injury, Huff is a solid fourth starter and Masterson is legit. Carmona stinks, and will continue to stink, but what can you do with a fifth starter? The bullpen is surprisingly solid, especially when Wood returns, with guys like Lewis and Perez. Expect Cleveland to make some noise this year... but just a little bit.

Our 2 Cojones of the year: Matt LaPorta leads the team in OPS.

Please don't go off to the Korean military, I have you in my keeper league...

5. Kansas City Royals

The Royals honestly have a good rotation, but that's pretty much all they have going for them. Greinke is obviously a stud, but Hochevar is a former #1 overall pick with an insane sinkerball. Meche is underrated and Bannister is a solid fourth guy. The bullpen stinks except for Soria; but who is going to be the gap from the sixth to the ninth? Ankiel is one of the most overrated players in the league and was a stupid pickup for this team. Butler, DeJesus and Podsednik are good, but none of them are RBI guys. Gordon is Mr. Potential, but he can never stay healthy. Expect the same old crappy season from these guys, but Greinke to keep them in it with another super-season.

Our 2 Cojones of the year: Luke Hochevar has a record above .500 and an ERA under 4.00.

Silky smooth jersey for a silky smooth pitcher.

NL Central Predictions

2010-04-07T13:57:00.002-04:00

1. St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis is jacked. Their lineup overall is below average, but when you have Pujols and Holliday batting 3-4, it automatically makes it legit. Pitching staff is outstanding, Wainwright and Carpenter each could have won Cy Young last year. Bullpen is solid, not great, but La Russa manages it very well. Rasmus and Molina could break out this year at the plate (most likely Rasmus), and Ludwick needs to produce in order for this team to win. Schumaker is not a leadoff hitter, but he will do so on this team, although I could see Rasmus there for a few games.

Our 2 Cojones of the year: Albert Pujols wins the NL Triple Crown.

Sooo gone. Sooo good.

2. Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee has one of the best lineups in baseball. Fielder and Braun are studs and the rest of the nine rounds out nicely. The Brewers brought Wolf back into the mix, which was a huge and underrated signing, and have Davis again, who is a solid #4 starter. Gallardo needs to stay healthy and consistent for Milwaukee to be a contender, but the bullpen is below average. Gomez needs to hit above .250 and Edmonds needs to stay alive throughout the season. Fielder and Braun are two of the best players in the game, but their overconfidence and overswagger could hurt the team.

Our 2 Cojones of the year: Carlos Gomez and Alcides Escobar combine for 100 stolen bases.

He is fat, but he can rake.

3. Chicago Cubs

The Cubs always underachieve, but most people think they will be around third of fourth in the Central this year. They have a stacked lineup including Lee, Ramirez, Fukudome and the newly-acquired Byrd. The rotation is solid (although Zambrano currently has a 54.00 ERA), and the bullpen is pretty good too except for the wavering control of Marmol. Soto needs to have a huge bounce-back year and Lilly needs to come back from his injury soon and strong. Hopefully Piniella and crew can keep it together until then. Expect a meltdown at some point this season.

Our 2 Cojones of the year: John Grabow has 80 relief appearances.

Michael Barrett isn't there anymore, what are you gonna go?

4. Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates have a truly solid lineup, for an NL lineup at least, with solid players through and through. The call to bat Iwamura leadoff and McCutchen second probably won't last for long, but it's interesting. Jones, Doumit and Clement 3-4-5 is actually a pretty scary middle of the lineup. Hopefully Jones and Doumit will stay healthy (and not get traded). The Pirates pitching staff really sucks, but somebody will step up, like Snell and Gorzelanny a few years ago, and have a decent year. The bullpen is pretty bad too, but a few veterans like Donnelly can Dotel can have productive seasons in the back end. Iwamura's success or failure at the top of the lineup could make or break this team, and Meek needs to be a solid seventh inning guy.

No words...

Our 2 Cojones of the year: Garrett Jones, Ryan Doumit and Jeff Clement combine for 75 home runs.

5. Cincinnati Reds

Cincy has a pretty good lineup with Votto, Philips and Rolen 3-4-5, but Stubbs should be starting in center instead of Dickerson. Cabrera was a pretty good pickup to start at short and Bruce should have a much better season than last year. They have some holes as a team overall, especially in the bullpen, but the Reds are solid. However, they just don't have a mentally strong team that can stay focused the entire season. The pitching staff is pretty bad, I expect Harang and Arroyo to have poor years and Cueto to be unpredictable as always. They will miss Volquez a lot.

Our 2 Cojones of the year: Joey Votto hits 40 doubles and 40 homeruns.

If your name is "Homer" don't be a pitcher. Stupid.

6. Houston Astros

Houston just does not have a good team. The pitching staff is Oswalt and really nothing else. Myers was a worthless pickup and I expect Rodriguez to take a step backwards. Norris is a solid young guy, but he can't carry a pitching staff. Berkman has been injured so much lately, but should have a decent bounce back year (compared to last year). Lee's production is going down, partly because he is aging and also because the Astros don't have anyone hitting in front of him. Pence is a pretty good player, and he should produce this year because of his talent alone. The bullpen is decent, Lindstrom and Lyon are okay but neither is great.

Our 2 Cojones of the year: Bud Norris has a lower ERA than Wandy Rodriguez.

Whoo! There goes the season...

Win 4 the Dukies!

2010-04-06T16:57:00.002-04:00

So close, but yet so far.

Well there it was, the fitting end to an insanely exciting tournament. Gordon Hayward had missed a fadeaway jumper just seconds earlier. Butler was down two after Hayward grabbed the rebound of a Brian Zoubek purposely a missed free throw with 3.6 seconds left and he dribbled up the court. The whole world could see it coming, the insane half court heave at the buzzer to win the game for the Hoosiers-esque Butler Bulldogs. The hometown Indy crowd would go wild and the entire country (aside from Durham, NC) would rejoice. Hayward let the shot go, and the ball must have been up in the air for years. It came down right against the backboard, hit the side of the rim and away from the cylinder. Game Duke, 61-59.

Lovely scene...

The opening tip was 6'8" Matt Howard vs. 7'1" Brian Zoubek and Howard won it back to his guard. That would be an omen for the rest of the game: even though Duke was bigger, more talented and had the better pedigree, Butler outworked them, outhustled them and had more heart. No, I am not saying that Duke had no heart, far from it. But it is like comparing Pete Rose's heart to Roberto Clemente's, even though they both hustled their brains off, someone has to be the winner. Sorry for the cliche of all cliches, but Butler did not lose this game, Duke won it.

It's got to be the 'stache.

As far as I'm concerned, there was one factor in this game that put Duke ahead of Butler on the scoreboard: they scored more than 60 points. Before this game, Butler had held their last seven opponents under 60 points, and that is directly how they made it into the title game. Butler does not have much scoring talent and they advanced through the bracket by playing outstanding defense and cutting down on turnovers. Howard is a decent inside presence but he can't put the ball in the basket too often, Hayward is a great player but his shots did not fall in this game, and Shelvin Mack is not good enough of a penetrator to free himself for too many outside shots.

Duke played hella good defense a well.

It is not too often that a player can go 2-11 from the floor and still have the best game of any player on the court, but that is what Hayward did last night. He went 8-8 from the foul line (all in the second half), had eight rebounds and just looked so damn smart on the court. Hayward was always where he needed to be and, even though he is not a great defender, bodied up on Zoubek and Kyle Singler from time to time. Ronald Nored may have been the best defender I saw in this tournament. He was tenacious, unflappable and he stuck to his man like ketchup on fries. He didn't let Scheyer or Nolan Smith breathe the entire night and even contributed on offense by handling the ball when Mack looked nervous in the second half.

A team composed of awesome defensive players who can barely score almost won the championship. Quite interesting.

On a game where Smith did not play very well, Singler and Scheyer had no problem picking up the slack. Singler hit big shot after big shot in this game and blanketed Hayward the entire night, including on his potential game-leading shot with five seconds left. Scheyer kept his head together while being hounded, grabbed and bumped by Nored the majority of the game, and actually finished a respectable 5-12 from the field. Zoubek played pretty well, as he has been for the entire tournament, but picked up four fouls in the first nine minutes of the half which forced him to sit out for a few minutes. He finished 3-4 from the field with 8 pts and 10 reb, but did miss a foul shot on purpose (apparently coach's orders) that would have put Duke up three, which almost cost them in the most ultimate way.

He is like legitimately psycho, but it's sick.

Duke's starters played 183 of the possible 200 minutes, with Coach K mostly wanting to stick with his best and most experienced guys in such a multitudious (sp?) game. Meanwhile, with Howard picking up two quick fouls in the first half, Brad Stevens was forced to play his backup center, Avery Jukes, for a good chunk of time. Jukes had scored 11 points in his last 8 games combined and he scored, oh I don't know, 10 POINTS IN THE FIRST HALF! Incredible job by Jukes to keep his team in the game going into halftime. Meanwhile, I hate to be a hater, but Willie Veasley lost the game for Butler. He missed five wide open three pointers and played subpar defense on Singler in this game. If any other player, such as Hayward or Mack, is shooting those threes, I guarantee two go down. Oh well.

He probably knows. Poor kid. Still a solid player, though.

Every analyst was expecting Duke's size to conquer Butler in this game, but it really didn't. Sure, Duke had seven blocks in this game, but it was from Butler's guards going to the basket weakly and at inopportune times. I have never seen such great, strong rebounds from guards as I did in this game. Nored and Mack had some tough boards and Hayward is a very underrated rebounder considering his size. But again, he is such a smart player, he puts himself in the right places to grab boards and goes up strong for them. Sure, Duke went up strong for rebounds, very strong in fact, but at times Butler went up stronger. In the end, Butler could not muster enough points to beat Duke, and Coach K's bunch scored just enough points to pull this one out.

Lance Thomas had like two.

Let me just say that in my entire life, once Pitt has been eliminated from the tournament, I lose interest and barely watch the rest. The only title game I remember watching was Michigan St./Florida back in 2000. Mateen Cleaves for life... Anyways, kudos to the teams in this tournament for keeping it interesting. This has been the most memorable tournament in recent memory (maybe ever) because of the high quality of basketball combined with the upsets and intrigue. Maybe I have grown up and appreciate sports more as a whole, I don't know. Well I did predict the Final Four correctly but I was wishing that Butler could pull it out. Every sport is a game of inches, and last night was the reason for that saying. Incredible.

Why was the damn mascot so involved in the post game ceremonies? Bizarre.

Final Four Predictions

2010-04-03T18:11:00.001-04:00

Final Four:

Butler beats Michigan St.
Duke beats W. Virginia

Championship:

Duke beats Butler

South Region: Second Weekend Review

2010-04-03T15:47:00.001-04:00

After being the region in which nothing really went according to plan in the first weekend, the three matchups in Houston last weekend all went to the favorites. Purdue, who wasn't supposed to even win a game in the tournament without the services of Robbie Hummel, "surprised" the nation with two wins in white jerseys and earned a Sweet 16 game vs. the Dukies. Meanwhile, Baylor took care of business and were to meet up with surprise St. Mary's and their "superstar" Omar Sandman Samhan in Houston, only like two miles from their campus in Waco, TX.

I guess it's "Texa" now. Must have sold the rights to the "s" to Jerry Joness.

Not gonna say much about the Baylor/St. Mary's game because it was pretty much over before it started. The Bears had a 46-17 lead at halftime and won 72-49. Samhan had 15 pts and 9 reb, but who the hell cares? The Gaels were out-everythinged and, even though I did not watch one second of this game, were clearly overmatched. If St. Mary's can recover from losing Samhan's 21 ppg and 11rpg (as a graduating senior), they should be pretty solid year next year.

Pretty big IF.

Duke and Purdue played one hell of an ugly great game. Both teams shot under 40%, there were 41 total fouls called, and the first half featured 47 total points, but this is what March is all about. Purdue held fort against the Blue Devils in the first half, but Duke just had too much talent to be bottled up and Purdue did not. Coach K's bunch had 24 from Singler, 18 from Scheyer and 15 from Smith for 57 of their total 70 points, while Purdue had 23 from Johnson and 18 from Moore for 41 of their total 57 points. In short, Purdue had one less weapon than Duke...

Because he was on the bench.

With Baylor playing so close to home, they had the advantage that could hurt Duke (all five losses in road games). The first half was full of momentum swings, including a run by Baylor at the end of the half to take a 35-32 lead into the break. Baylor outshot Duke (46%-36%) but were outrebounded by the Blue Devils (41-35) and shot ten less foul shots than Duke (29-19) and that was the difference. Baylor was called for a technical foul with about 80 seconds left and the Blue Devils secured an eight point win to reach the Final Four.

So... are you cutting anything in particular?

Midwest Region: Second Weekend Review

2010-04-01T22:56:00.001-04:00

It's funny how one afternoon a cinderella team can knock off the best team in the country, then turn around four days later and lose to a team without its best player. Oh well, such is life sports. Michigan St. had lost Kalin Lucas halfway through their previous game vs. Maryland, but pulled it out on a buzzer beating three. All signs pointed to N. Iowa, who thoroughly outplayed the #1 team in the tourney, to keep the unlikely story going into the Elite 8. Oh, how we underestimate the man in the Izzone.

All the guy does is freaking win.

Without its leader, point guard, leading scorer, etc. the Spartans were down 29-22 at half due to N. Iowa's suffocating D and Michigan St.'s ineptitude putting the ball in the basket. Well, Izzo must have kicked somebody in the ass during the break because Michigan St. came out hot and tied the game up soon after the second half started. The Spartans held off the Panthers through the rest of the game, with the help of some N. Iowa missed foul shots in the last few minutes and advanced to the Elite 8.

Again...

Meanwhile, Even Turner and Co. were poised to run shit in this region after Kansas went down. Too bad Tennessee had been playing its best basketball of the year. I honestly only saw the last few minutes of this game and do not have any idea what happened before there. The Vols outrebounded the Buckeyes 36-23 and even though Turner went berserk (31 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast) he missed a three at the buzzer (which he probably got fouled during), and down went Ohio St. The most bizarre thing was Turner's reaction to the final; he walked off the court without acknowledging any of his teammates or Tennessee players and did not seem to come back to shake hands. I lost a little bit of respect for Turner, similar to the respect I lost of Brett Favre when he went to the Jets.

Still a great player though.

Amazingly, this was Tennessee's first ever trip past the Sweet 16. They haven't been an outstanding program over the years, but it is still kind of unbelievable. Meanwhile, this was like Michigan St.'s 76th straight Elite 8 appearance. The two teams came out hotter than hell. It's not like there was bad defense being played, but for the first five or six minutes, neither team could miss, literally. I think the two teams combined to score on each of the game's first 13 possessions, unreal. The first half was wildly entertaining, including some sick alley-oopskis to J.P. Prince.

Crazy shit dude.

But after the first half fireworks and a 41-39 Tennessee advantage at the break, the teams realized that defense would win this game. I missed the entire second half, but rumor has it that the game was tied with a few seconds left and Raymar Morgan was fouled shooting under the basket. He made the first and intentionally missed the second. After a timeout, the Vols missed a half court heave and the game, and the net went to the Spartans for the second consecutive year.

"AGAIN?!"

East Region: Second Weekend Review

2010-03-31T23:59:00.001-04:00

Cornell was the cinderella after the first weekend and it had the chance to knock off Kentucky for an incredible upset of all upsets. The Juicy Fruit Big Red came out and grabbed a 10-2 lead or something like that, but then Kentucky ended the game on a 60-35 run to put an end to the Ivy Leaguer's run. It was nice while it lasted, but Cornell is losing a lot of seniors and they may not be competitive for a few more years. The best thing about surprise teams like that is all of the background stories of the players. The tall guy that looked like an 8' tall Daniel Craig was recruited by no one out of high school, then ended up being a beast of all beasts.

Who does he think he is wearing #1 as a center, Amare Stoudemire? No, better.

Let me just say that I have no idea what really happened in the W. Virginia/Washington game, but I could take a guess. Washington led at halftime 29-27, but then the Mountaineers realized that they were bigger and better team than the Huskies. W. Virginia outrebounded Washington 41-25, but also outturnovered (sp?) them 23-21. I caught the end of this game and holy shit, it was just bad pass after steal after foul after step out of bounds; just plain ugly basketball. After W. Virginia walked off the court with a 13-point win, I did not think they stood a chance against Kentucky.

From left: Some guy, Who cares, J. Wall, D. Cousins

Looking at the final score of this Elite 8 matchup, you would not catch the gist of the game whatsoever. If I told you that W. Virginia did not make a two point basket in the first half, would you believe that they were actually ahead? Well they were, 28-26, by way of eight threes and four foul shots even though Kentucky was outrebounding the Mountaineers 29-13. However, the Wildcats missed all eight of their threes in the first half, missed the next twelve and finished 4-32 (13%) from long range for the game.

Not kidding.

Well Kentucky shot 23-67 overall, so that means they shot 19-35 (54%) from inside the arc, but shooting 16-29 (55%) from the free throw line does not help your cause. The Wildcats basically fouled for the last three minutes and forced the Mountaineers to make foul shots, which they did well enough, going 23-34 (68%) for the game. Kentucky finally made some threes at the end and got it within maybe five at one point, but the deficit they dug early on was too much to overcome. I was just thinking that if Kentucky even shot 7-32 from three, which still sucks, they would have been right in this game; the Wildcats were the superior team, but not on this night.

Cue: More depressing Kentucky post-game pictures.

On the other hand, W. Virginia shot 10-23 (44%) from three point range, but just 20-52 overall from the floor. This means the Mountaineers were just 10-29 (34%) shooting twos. But with all of the fouling Kentucky did in the final three minutes, which really took 25 minutes, foul shots upped W. Virginia's score to 73 points. Joe Mazzulla had a career high 17 points, DeMarcus Cousins was a non-factor in the second half, and John Wall fouled out with a few minutes remaining to cement the Mountaineers' trip to Indy with Sweet Home Alabama (or whatever) in the background.

Alright man, you are actually kind of good...

West Region: Second Weekend Review

2010-03-29T02:18:00.000-04:00

Three #1 seeds made it to the Sweet 16, obviously not including Kansas. Out of Kentucky, Duke and Syracuse, it seemed to me that the Orange had the unique style of play, experience and solid coaching to emerge as the new favorite with the Jayhawks out of the tournament. Wrong. The Butler Bulldogs met Syracuse in Salt Lake City and showed them who the more fundamentally sound team was. Syracuse outshot and outrebounded Butler, but had 18 turnovers to the Bulldogs' 7, and lost the game. For the season, Butler was averaging something like 5 steals per game, but had 13 in this contest. The Bulldogs had been getting it done by holding teams to a poor shooting percentage rather than turning them over, but in this game both were the case. Some stupid analyst said if Onuaku would have played, Syracuse's turnovers would not have been so high because, naturally, their starting center is the premier ball handler. This was the first of many entertaining/shocking Sweet 16 games.

Yeah, reminds me of Bob Cousy in his prime...

Approximately thirty minutes after the Butler upset, Kansas St. and Xavier tipped off, except Xavier did not come to play. Kansas St. got out to a 19-4 lead before Jordan Crawford could even remember who he dunked on. Xavier called some timeouts to get the troops rallied, and they sure as hell turned it around. Amazingly, the Musketeers were up 32-31 at halftime, but Mr. Second Half, Jacob Pullen, was lurking. Roberto Denis Clemente seemed to be the first half guy, and Pullen seemed to be the second half. If Clemente were the starter, Pullen would definitely be the closer.

Get the idea?

The second half was neck and neck up until then end when Kansas St. was up three with about ten seconds to play. The Wildcats attempted to intentionally foul the Xavier point guard Terrell Holloway as he crossed half court, but he was in the act of shooting so the Musketeers got three foul shots, and the kid drained them all. After Kansas St. missed, the game went into overtime. Let me just say that in overtime, it was some of the greatest shot making I have seen in a long time. Clemente, Holloway, Pullen and Crawford were making every shot they needed to, including a deep deep deep three by Crawford to send it into a second overtime. In the second overtime, Xavier went cold and Kansas St. pulled it out, but you could tell that they were hella tired. Clemente, for instance, played 48 minutes out of the 50. The question was if it would affect the team with their matchup with Butler in two days...

Nah, probably not.

If you were not rooting for Butler on Saturday, your life is a waste. Lucas Oil Stadium, site of the FInal Four, is only six miles away from Butler's stadium and IT'S FREAKING BUTLER! If they were to make the Final Four, it would be George Mason-esque. As in the Xavier/Kansas St. game, Pullen was nowhere to be seen in the first half, but so was Clemente. The Wildcats had 20 total points in the first half and forward Curtis Kelly had like 12 of them. You could tell Butler's defense was focused on not letting either of Kansas St.'s super guards even breath on the offensive end, and the Bulldogs held a 27-20 lead at half. Clemente came out with a vengeance in the second half and brought the Wildcats back to tie the game, but Pullen remained quiet. The question wasn't "if" Pullen would hit a huge shot, but "when".

Quick question: Did Pullen even exist before this season? Bizarre.

But when it came down to the wire, Butler made the plays necessary to win the game and Kansas St. did not. Clemente hurt his ankle sometime in the second half and was noticeably limping around on the court, but still made a few good plays to keep Kansas St. in the game as long as possible. Pullen hit a few shots in the second half, but towards the end of the game the Wildcats did not have enough left in the tank to overcome Butler's solid team effort. Gordon Hayward, Butler's "star", stepped up with the game on the line and made some nice drives to the basket for layups. And Shelvin Mack, who as the point guard did not handle the ball very well throughout the game, made some clutch three pointers and sealed a trip to the Final Four for the Bulldogs.

No idea why you would get a trophy for winning your regional.

My favorite part of this game was when Len Elmore interviewed Butler's coach Brad Stevens (who looks like a 19 year old water boy) after the game. Elmore asked Stevens how it felt to be going back to Indy after the win, and Stevens responded by calmly stating "Well, we would have gone back to Indy with a win or a loss". Elmore was so stunned (clutch) and the Bulldogs cut down the nets in Salt Lake City. They will definitely be the sentimental favorites going forward to the final weekend, but can they actually do it?

Oh, the man himself.

Second Weekend Predictions

2010-03-25T19:08:00.001-04:00

Midwest Region:

N. Iowa beats Michigan St.

Ohio St. beats Tennessee

Ohio St. beats N. Iowa

West Region:

Syracuse beats Butler

Kansas St. beats Xavier

Syracuse beats Kansas St.

East Region:

Kentucky beats Cornell

W. Virginia beats Washington

Kentucky beats W. Virginia

South Region:

Duke beats Purdue

Baylor beats St. Mary's

Baylor beats Duke

East Region: First Weekend Review

2010-03-25T18:56:00.001-04:00

But seriously, who is playing Kentucky tonight?

If N. Iowa is not the shocker team of the tournament, then it is no doubt Cornell. Playing the A-10 champion Temple Owls in the first round, Cornell ran them out of the building. Then they come around two days later and do the same thing to the Wisconsin Badgers; a week later and Cornell is an awfully intriguing matchup for lottery pick filled Kentucky in the Carrier Dome. To score 78 points on Temple and 87 on Wisconsin, two teams who give up around 57 ppg on the season, is pretty amazing.

I can't decide if this logo is cute or angry...

But whoever thinks Cornell has done it with threes is sadly mistaken. The Big Red averages 38.5% of its points to come from threes, but through the first two games of the tournament, only 31% of its 165 points have come from the long ball. Cornell's success has come inside the three point line, they are shooting 67% inside the arc including 72% (18/25) vs. Wisconsin. Kentucky likes to speed it up and get out and dunk on your cranium while Cornell is very professional in their sets and likes to milk the clock. But if the Big Red were to win, it could be the second greatest upset in this tournament history.

Bring it on bitches!

The weakest conference in the history of conferences was the 2010 Pac-10. They made in only two schools to the tourney, Washington and Cal, and the Huskies only made it because they won the title game. Meanwhile, the Big East made eight schools into the dance. This made for a lopsided matchup for a Marquette vs. Washington game, at least on paper. The Huskies held the Golden Eagles' three balls in check and took them out. Next in line for Washington stood whatever conference dominator New Mexico, who no one really knew what to expect from. Well, Washington smoked them in a blowout and advanced to the Sweet 16 as a #11 seed to play West Virginia.

Stunned?

West Virginia was down 10-1 in the first half against #15 Morgan St., and everybody freaked out because the Big East (Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, etc.) had been losing games like hot cakes. Well no, the Mounties finished the game on a 76-40 run and moved on. West Virginia struggled a little with Missou in the next round; it seemed as though the quick style of play gave the Mountaineers some trouble up until the end of the game and they pulled it out. Seeing as the athletic, pressing D of the Tigers challenged West Virginia, Washington may have upset potential here. Mounties' fans will travel better to Syracuse but Lorenzo Romar is a beast, and they have Isaiah Thomas for goodness sakes...

It might be incredibly psycho, but he always makes me think of Carl Krauser. Yikes.

South Region: First Weekend Review

2010-03-24T23:59:00.000-04:00

First of all: Why the hell was Duke ranked ahead of Syracuse in terms of #1 seeds? But I digress...

Even though Duke may not have deserved to be ahead of Syracuse, they sure took care of business. The Blue Devils whooped on (play-in game winner) in the first round then handled a surging Cal team in the second. Now they travel to Houston to take on Purdue, who shocked the world and did not get upset. Pretty much everyone on earth, except for this kid, had Purdue either bowing out to #13 seed Siena in the first round, or to Big 12 surprise Texas A&M in the second.

No idea who this is.

Well, the Boilermakers squeaked past both of those opponents and now have their hands full with Duke. Without Robbie Hummel and with limited service from point guard Lewis Jackson, Purdue took down two weaker opponents but will they be able to defeat such a solid team in Duke. The only chance Purdue has is if Jon Scheyer plays like he has in the first two rounds. He has been subpar, but the frontcourt carried Duke through the first two rounds. If Duke's guards do not step it up, Purdue will make them pay.

Vintage. Sick.

The first Big East team to go down was Notre Dame, although I thought the Irish might have been a tough tournament team the way they were playing. Unfortunately for them, they ran into perennial powerhouse Old Dominion and Luke Harangody did not show up until there was one minute left. Meanwhile, Baylor beat Sam Houston St. and then continued on vs. Old Dominion to get to the Sweet 16 without even playing a team from a power conference.

Old Dominion's starting five.

The first game of the tournament featured underdog Robert Morris and (overrated) Villanova. Long story short, Robert Morris got robbed. It was literally the worst, most one-sided, officiating I have ever seen in a college game and Villanova still needed overtime to beat the Colonials. Robert Morris legitimately outplayed Villanova on this day and deserved to win, but was robbed of a chance to win by the referees. I would love to see a soundbite of the Colonials' coach Mike Rice after this game, but I am sure he just locked himself in a padded room and just yelled for a few hours to relieve the frustration.

Seriously, Rice almost left the stadium.

In my bracket, I picked Richmond to beat St. Mary's and then take down Villanova in the second round, but I did not realize how shitty Richmond was, or how good St. Mary's was. Omar Samhan ran shit in the first round, totally dominating the Spiders' defense and the Gaels cruised to a comfortable win. When St. Mary's met Villanova in the second round, it was a total mismatch. Even though the Wildcats were a #2 seed, they were one of the coldest teams in the country, and even though the Gaels were a #10 seed, they were one of the hottest. Long story short, Samhan was dominant and the Gaels moved on to the Sweet 16, to meet Baylor in Houston this Friday. Yikes.

Good... Luck... There...

West Region: First Weekend Review

2010-03-23T17:25:00.000-04:00

The West seems like the region that all goes according to plan.

Jimm. Er.

So far there have only been two upsets in this region. Pretty much the only exciting thing to happen was some guy on BYU named Jimmer Fredette. His name... is Jimmer. How freaking awesome is that? Jimmer and the Cougars beat Florida in 2OT in the first round, but then bowed out to Kansas St. in the second round because Jacob "Abe Lincoln" Pullen scored 34 points including seven threes. I am not sure how good Kansas St.'s front court is, but Pullen and Clemente alone may be good enough to win the Wildcats a few more games.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Conclusion: Absolutely sick.

Pitt easily beat Oakland in the first round while Xavier survived a tough matchup vs. Minnesota. When they met in the Round of 32 on Sunday it was a rematch of last year's Sweet 16 game when Pitt squeaked by and move on the Elite 8. Both of these teams are not as good as they were last year, but with each team's season on the line it turned out to be a great matchup. Simply put, Pitt missed a ton of short shots and Xavier made a ton of tough, contested shots. That was the difference and Pitt missed two potential game-tying threes in the final five seconds and lost 71-68.

Stupid gold jerseys...

At the top, Syracuse took care of business for two games without Onuaku by beating the #16 seed and then whooping Gonzaga. Murray St. knocked off overrated Vanderbilt on a buzzer beater in the first round, then bowed out to 22-game winning streak Butler. In the next round, most people will say Butler has no chance, and I am one of them. Syracuse saw Kansas go down and there is blood in the water. Some say Kentucky is the favorite, but I believe the Orange are the most complete team remaining in this tournament, assuming Onuaku comes back this weekend.

Poor little fella.

Midwest Region: First Weekend Review

2010-03-22T23:38:00.001-04:00

Kansas is gone. Michigan St. is still alive. Georgetown was crap.

About 8,000% of the brackets had Kansas winning it all, however, Kansas failed to survive the weekend. They ran into a "dangerous" N. Iowa team with a real life neanderthal, a legit wolfman and a guy named Farokhmanesh. Oh yeah, the "h" is silent. The thing was that Kansas did not come to play and N. Iowa did, and they were good enough of a team to hold off the Jayhowks when they made a late surge. There were so many 50/50 rebounds that Kansas did not seem to want throughout the game. Sure they could have played like this and beaten Nebraska, but N. Iowa was 29-4 coming into this game, and regardless of whatever shit league they are from, this team knows how to win.

Look at these sexy boys.

Michigan St. survived its first round game with the help of a... questionable lane violation call, then played run and gun with Maryland for 40 minutes until some dude hit a three from the top of the key to send Greivis Vasquez back to... wherever he is from. The big story is that, according to Tom Izzo, there is an 85% chance that Kalin Lucas has a torn Achilles. Even if he just has a sprained ankle, he will be out this weekend. Who knows? Maybe N. Iowa will be favored against the Spartans? That would be pretty cool. Tom Izzo is a great coach, but I am sick of Michigan St. making it far in the tournament with a mediocre team. On a related note, N. Iowa's nickname should not be the Panthers, it should be the Purple _______. Just a thought.

"Damn youuu Achilles!!"

How about we get this straight: Georgetown was not a good team. Sure, they went on a run in the Big East Tournament, but they should not have been a #3 seed. Their defense is crap, and little John Thompson is a very overrated coach. Do not get me wrong, they should have not lost to Ohio, but to have any legitimate tournament expectations for the Hoyas was a mistake. Meanwhile, #6 seeded Tennessee took care of business against San Diego St. although most people were calling for the upset. This season, Tennessee beat the likes of Kentucky and Kansas by outplaying them, while Georgetown beat teams like Villanova, Syracuse and Duke by outscoring them. Therefore, Tennessee wins games in the tournament, while Georgetown gets knocked off.

Yeah, maybe back in 1924...

There is not much to say about the bottom fourth of this bracket. Georgia Tech knocked off Oklahoma St. but who cares. Meanwhile Ohio St. struggled in its first game and in its second game, but with Kansas out of the picture the Buckeyes are the clear favorite to take the Midwest. They need a little more consistency from Evan Turner and others, considering their bench is very slim, but I think they can do it. Some teams struggled this weekend and were knocked out, but Ohio St. did not play their best and still pulled out two wins. With three practice days to figure out a game plan against the Tennessee press and athleticism, Ohio St. should take down the Vols.

Three Rivers and Millions of Followers

2010-02-01T23:59:00.001-05:00

This post is why the blog is called "Our 2 Centalones". The following is the definition of my "2 Centalones". If there is one thing I believe in Pittsburgh sports it is the following. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh and have seen firsthand the trends of the sports teams here in the Steel City for the past 10-15 years.

Every team is accused of having fair-weather or bandwagon fans. The Pittsburgh Penguins fan base, according to the general NHL public, is at least 98% bandwagon. I think the term bandwagon has a very confusing meaning. The accepted identification of a bandwagon fan is one who just became a fan of the team because they are good, but the actual definition is fuzzy. Is there really such thing as a bandwagon fan, or just an incoming fan? What I mean by that is that all fans have to start somewhere.

All aboard!

Back in 1936 when the Detroit Red Wings won their first Stanley Cup there had to have been fans; were they fair-weather fans? In theory, the answer has to be no because these fans were there from the beginning. But can you blame Detroit Red Wings fans that are 30 years old for not supporting the team from day one? It is not like some 90-year old dude is at the games yelling at younger people for not being there in the 1960s when the times were tough.

It is the same situation for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Before 1984, there was not much reason to be a fan of the Penguins. From its expansion in 1967 until 1991, Pittsburgh never even won a division championship. You cannot expect anybody to spend the majority of their lives devoted to a team that did not win a division for 24 years unless they really love the sport of hockey or have tremendous pride in the team. But if you are expecting an ordinary Joe to be entertained by a losing hockey team, it is just not going to happen.

No dude. NOT entertained.

For Pittsburgh, the glory years were in the early '90s, when they won two Stanley Cups in '91 and '92. The Penguins got upset in '93 although they had, arguably, a better team than the champion teams the years before. Pittsburgh was a good team throughout the '90s before Mario Lemieux retired (for the first time) in 1997 and Jaromir Jagr got traded in 2001. The recent "dark years" of the franchise were from 2002-2004 when the Penguins really sucked, the team was in bankruptcy, nobody went to the games, etc. There was still a core group of fans during those years, but the secondary fan population faded and most likely went on a Steelers' binge or started knitting.

I think before 2005, when Sidney Crosby was a rookie, I had been to a handful of hockey games in my life, and I can only recall one of them; a win vs. Philadelphia at the Civic Arena. I cannot even remember what year, but it still may have been called the Civic Arena, if that gives any idea. To be honest, I became interested in the Penguins in 2004. That was the year before the lockout when Ryan Malone was a superstar and Marc-Andre Fleury could not control a rebound. I would not call myself a fan at that point, but I was at least tickled by the idea of watching hockey.

The original reason I began to follow the Penguins after the lockout was because of Sidney Crosby, and maybe the fact that he was playing with Lemieux that season. I barely knew who guys like Ziggy Palffy, John LeClair and Sergei Gonchar were at the time and was still unsure about all of the rules. Since then I have immersed myself in Penguins hockey. They are my third favorite team in Pittsburgh behind the Pirates and Pitt basketball, and no matter how many Cups they win, that fact will not change.

I'm telling you...

Now, back to the bandwagon issue. Would you call me a bandwagon fan? Can you blame me for not being a fan of the Penguins in the late '90s when I was 7 years old? Not really. Are there people my age who were fans when they were six years old? Of course. One of my best friends is the best hockey fan I know and he knows more about hockey than Dr. Seuss knows about green eggs and Canadian bacon. Can you call him a bandwagon fan because he started liking the Penguins in the mid '90s when they were good? By definition you could, but in reality you would be out of your mind.

In Pittsburgh, when a team is winning, they are supported like crazy and when they are losing it is a different story. The Steelers are the only borderline exception; when the Steelers are losing the media picks them apart but Heinz Field will always be packed for games no matter what the Steelers' record. That's just the way it is, some things will never change.

The Pirates are the typical example of this Pittsburgh sports teams support seesaw. When the Pirates were good in the 70s, Three Rivers was packed with crazy fans and they loved every second of it. Nowadays there are the fans that support the team because they are the hometown choice and they love baseball, like me. By reading message boards, blogs and feedback, you can tell how passionate these Pirates fans are for a winning ballclub. They critique every move by Neal Huntington and put every prospect under a microscope like he is the next Barry Bonds. This is the core group of fans, the fans who are among the 15,000 at PNC Park capacity 38,000 for a September game vs. the Rockies.

More like 150. Joke.

When the Pirates are contenders in five years, there will be sellouts at PNC and these core fans will be meshed with the onslaught of fans who are there because they like Andrew McCutchen's dreadlocks and/or they think Rudy Owens is a cutie pie. This would be great for the Pirates and as one of these core fans it will be great to see the support for a team that is very close to my heart. In this (dream) scenario the Pirates will be the greatest thing in town, and it will feel good to say that I was there during the tough times and I can feel proud of myself for sticking with the team through thick and thin.

From the year 1989-2001, the Pitt basketball team won one NCAA Tournament game; many people probably did not even realize such a team existed in those years. I remember sitting in the Fitzgerald Field House with my dad when I was six years old when the Pittsburgh Panthers were such a fringe sports team in the town, let alone for the University. The capacity of the Field House was 6,000 and I would be surprised if half of that was filled on most nights. The student section was not filled and my dad and I could sit wherever we wanted in the entire upper section and not have to worry about anyone coming within 10 feet of us.

In the early '00s Pitt got Ben Howland as coach and began winning and the fans started rolling in. I am glad for Pitt's success because the demand for seats eventually led to the new Petersen Events Center, and for a few years I had the greatest times I have ever had as a sports fan. The popularity led to tickets on the waiting list, which eventually led to the University creating a bidding war for the tickets that let the richer people with money kick the majority of the true basketball fans out of the arena.

Yeah, I know...

Even though the PEC is labeled as one of the best home-court advantages in the country, it is 1/2 as intimidating as it was when it first opened. The atmosphere in the PEC was incredible at the beginning and it has since declined. My dad had been a season-ticket holder for 30+ years, and because of this bidding war the University created, after three years at the PEC, we had seats in the last row of the arena; some way to treat your loyal customers. We got tickets when we could, but they got too expensive to buy. It was tough at first, but that is the way it goes.

I am sure it is the same way with the Mellon Arena. Anybody can tell that the fans at the Igloo nowadays are not a very passionate bunch collectively. You can see archived tape of games in the '90s and the crowd goes wild all the time because the team was always winning and so successful. Now, there are times during a game where the crowd is completely silent. Of course when the Penguins score a goal or Fleury makes a great save, the crowd erupts, but I guess the audience's emotion reflects the views of the Pittsburgh sports fan in general: cheer when all is going well, disappear when things are not going your way.

But you ALWAYS cheer for Mr. Jimerson.

I get a weird feeling when my grandma tries to talk to me about the Penguins and how much they stink after they lose two games in a row even though she probably does not know who Pascal Dupuis is, and how my grandpa gives up on the Steelers when they go on a two-game losing streak. I sit back and just nod my head and give them the benefit of the doubt because I realize that the people who are new fans or fringe fans are not necessarily bandwagoners, but they are more or less just displaying their pride in the city of Pittsburgh and coming together for the common cause of cheering the team to victory.

This is how teams sustain winning tradition and how core fans are born and raised. In five years, the teenage girls who scream when Kris Letang scratches his jock strap will be talking about forechecking and powerplay strategies and arguing if Robert Lang was better than Martin Straka. If they need to fantasize about Sidney Crosby with his shirt off in order to get interested in hockey then so be it, but the true fans and the bandwagon fans will be hand-in-hand for the years ahead and that is great news for the Penguins, Pirates, Steelers, Panthers, all other teams and the sports in general.

It is pretty much good for the entire universe.

The NBA/NCAA Debate: Part I

2010-01-22T15:46:00.002-05:00

Sorry for no post yesterday, hopefully this one will make up for it...

No, silly t-shirt!

I am here to say just the opposite:

The NBA is the best basketball league on the planet. Period. It is made up of the best players throughout the world, spread out among 30 professional teams in major cities across the USA (and Toronto). Just like the MLB for baseball and NFL for football, making it to the NBA is the mecca of the sport. So why, then, is basketball so much more exciting in the NCAA than it is in the NBA?

Last night the Lakers played the Cavaliers, and Cleveland won 93-87. These are the two best teams in the NBA and have, arguably, the two best basketball players (Kobe and LeBron) in the world. I, for one, could not have cared less. It was not a playoff game, so the outcome of this game was next to nothing; Cleveland is still #1 in the East and Los Angeles is still #1 in the West. The only reason anyone hyped it up is because that was the most interesting matchup of the entire season, and it probably will be until the two meet again in the NBA Finals.

How do I know that those two teams will meet again in the finals? Cleveland and Boston are the only two teams who have a shot at winning the East and once Los Angeles gets healthy by the end of the season, they will be the best team in the West. Sure, Oklahoma City and Memphis are surprises in the West, but once the playoffs come around they will not be able to get close to the finals, even if they do pull an upset in the first round.

"What's that coach? Oklahoma has a city?"

Meanwhile in the NCAA, there have been upsets, surprises and disappointments; just like there always are. There are three teams (Syracuse, Kansas St. and Pitt) who were not in the preseason top 25 poll but, as of 1/18/10, are now among the top 10 ranked teams in the country. North Carolina won the championship this past April and was ranked #6 in the preseason poll. Right now they are out of the top 25 and struggling after losing four of its past five games including a loss at College of Charleston(?!) two weeks ago. Syracuse lost a preseason game vs. the Le Moyne Dolphins, a Division-II team in Syracuse (no idea why they are called the Dolphins). Since then, Syracuse has gone 18-1 against Division-I foes, while Le Moyne is 10-7 in Division-II play.

Gross.

Bizarre? That kind of stuff happens every year in the NCAA! In comparison, if the New Jersey Nets, who are 3-38, beat Boston, who is 27-13, it would be an upset, but it would mean nothing because the Nets would still be 2,000 games out of a playoff spot. A win for Le Moyne over Big East power Syracuse gives the team some pride and bragging rights for an entire year until the two teams play again and the Orange wipe the floor with the Dolphins. Upsets create stories and excitement in the NCAA, while upsets create frustration and confusion in the NBA.

Le Moyne College official mascot and slogan.

There is an headline today on Yahoo! Sports that states "Frustration Mounts" for the Lakers after going 0-2 against the Cavaliers this season... BIG EFFING DEAL! Hey LA, be quiet, you are still 32-8 against the rest of the NBA. And so what if you can't beat Cleveland now? All that matters is that you take care of business in June (or whenever the hell the NBA Finals is played nowadays) when you play them in a seven-game series.

These are all observations someone could make by not even seeing one basketball game. Without seeing the actual players play the game, college basketball is light years ahead of the pros. But if you would see Carmelo Anthony dunk from the Rocky Mountains (figuratively speaking) or Steve Nash make a behind the back pass that makes your neck sore, then you will see why the NBA showcases the best talent in the world on the hardcourt. In my next NBA/NCAA post I will go into game action, and how the two leagues compare.

In the meantime... GO CLIPPERS(!?)

"Awe man! We suck, don't we?"

Brett Favre Sees the Shrink

2010-01-20T14:47:00.005-05:00

Note: This is not actual transcript.

"Dude, you suckkkk!"

Shrink: Hello Brett, nice game on Sunday. I see you slapping guys' butts, it looks like you're really enjoying yourself.

Favre: Yes sir Mr. Miller, having a great time. I really think we can knock off those New Orleans boys next week.

Shrink: You better, I have $20,000 riding on it.

Favre: What?

Shrink: Nothing, so on to our appointment... How does it feel to get back to this point in a Minnesota uniform? Would you rather be in the NFC Championship with the Packers?

Favre: No sir Mr. Miller, I wouldn't have it any other way. As I said earlier this season, this is the best team I've ever been on.

Shrink: I hope you realize that 105% of all Packers fans have turned on you. It was one thing when you played for the Jets and nobody cared, but you turned around and signed with the enemy Vikings...

Favre: Man, I don't care what those Cheese-faces think. They turned their backs on me when I wanted to come out of retirement, but they already moved on to "Cali Boy" Rodgers.

Shrink: He is a good quarterback, Brett, and he waited his turn behind you for three years.

Favre: Yeah, but I'm Brett Favre, baby! I was the king of Wisconsin for 15 years, whatever I wanted to do, they should have obliged me.

WOOOOOO!

Shrink: But all they wanted to do was move on. They knew you were considering retirement soon and wanted to be prepared by drafting Rodgers.

Favre: They forced me out! They drafted Rodgers to push me out! They wanted me to retire!

Shrink: You may think that, Brett, but you did actually announce your retirement then back out of it, a few times.

Favre: Yeah but—

Shrink: I think it's fair to say that Green Bay had the right to move on after you retired. You can't expect them to sign Sage Rosenfels to a multi-year deal and have a grieving stage. Aaron Rodgers earned his chance to play in the NFL and he stepped in for you.

Favre: Geez Mr. Miller, that's being pretty blunt with me and I guess I deserved that. But that was a cheap shot at Sage, he is our third quarterback and a good guy... And his wife bakes me cookies.

Shrink: I apologize Brett, but you have to realize, you used to be King of Wisconsin, but now you are just a traitor. If you went to pretty much any other team than one in the NFC North, you would have been alright with the Green Bay fans, but you went to Minnesota. Why?

Favre: They welcomed me, okay? Minnesota really wanted me. Even though the players were kind of skeptical at first, saying it was Tarvaris Jackson's team, until they realized I was a beast and Jackson is a chump compared to me and I won them over.

WOOOOOO?

Shrink: Do you feel bad at all for Tarvaris Jackson? They got all of these weapons for him on offense and then you come in and take them away...

Favre: Do you know how ridiculous you sound? They were building their team around Tarvaris Jackson because he was all they had. Shit, even Gus Frerotte started over him at one point. He is a great guy, but he is a below-average quarterback at best.

Shrink: I think that's all for today Brett, good luck in the Superdome and I'll see you next week.

Favre: It's always great to talk to you Mr. Miller. I like this far better than doing an interview with some know-nothing sideline girl, at least here I can be real. See you next week, hopefully we'll be talking about the Super Bowl and not the Pro Bowl...

Rhetorical Questions of the Day — 1/19

2010-01-19T16:34:00.000-05:00

1. How is Josh Hamilton only making $3.5 million this season?

2. Wait, the NY Jets are in the AFC Championship?

3. Can Brett Favre actually come through in the NFC Championship?

4. Why is "Favre" a recognized word on my computer?

5. What would you sacrifice in order to see LeBron in the dunk contest?

6. Which team will land the big NHL superstar at the trade deadline?

7. Are the UCLA and Connecticut recent dynasties over?

8. How insane would it be if Pitt made the Final Four this year?

9. Did anyone realize the PGA Tour season has already started?

Discuss...

NFL Divisional Predictions

2010-01-16T13:15:00.003-05:00

I do not have much time today so I am just going to make my predictions, no explanations. My explanations are shit anyways, I have no idea why anyone would even read them...

Prediction: New Orleans 34 — Arizona 31

Prediction: Indianapolis 27 — Baltimore 17

Prediction: Dallas 24 — Minnesota 21

Prediction: San Diego 20 — New York 17

As you can see there should be some close games. I have most of these being decided by a field goal. Happy weekend everybody, enjoy the football.

Fleury's "It" Factor

2010-01-15T11:08:00.003-05:00

For Penguins fans, Fleury is very frustrating to watch. He is consistently inconsistent to quote a very famous and annoying oxymoron. He'll stand on his head one night against Toronto, then let one of Mario Lemieux's illegitimate children put up four points on him in Minnesota a couple of nights later. People need to come to terms with the fact that Fleury is never going to be a dominating regular season goaltender. He will never be that Dominik Hasek or Martin Brodeur that wins Vezinas year after year. Honestly, blimp-sized Tim Thomas won a Vezina for Boston, so how prestigious can the award really be? What Fleury will do, however, is make the saves that matter most. That, above all else, is the MARC of a great goaltender.

Anyone who has watched Fleury play for an extended period of time will have no problem figuring out what I'm talking about. Fleury has a habit of giving up bad goals against bad teams. The first goal against Minnesota being the most recent. But, when the game is on the line, or if Fleury needs to make all the saves to keep his team in the game, absolutely nothing can get by him. An example was on display last night when Fleury stoned the Edmonton Oilers multiple times early in the 3rd period to keep the Penguins within striking distance. Who can forget Fleury's performance in the postseason last year? The best example of my theory is his performance against the Washington Capitals. Fleury had been very ordinary throughout the entire series. Game 7 rolls along and he makes a tremendous save against Ovechkin on a breakaway in the first three minutes of the game. It was obvious that the Capitals were demoralized after that and the Pens went on to steamroll them. Games 6 and 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals speak for themselves. Every save facing elimination is a pressure-packed one.

Above all, Fleury has the ability to win games by one goal. Grant Fuhr had this knack. Tom Barrasso had this knack. Patrick Roy had this knack. If the Penguins score 7 goals, Fleury will give up 6. If the Penguins score 2 goals, Fleury will give up 1. The sign of a great goaltender is feeling how his team is performing that night and how many saves he will have to make. Fleury has an uncanny ability for this. The Fleury critics can keep on expounding their hate though because Fleury can't hear you all that well. He's got a Stanley Cup ring plugging his ear.

NFL Wild Card Sunday Recap

2010-01-14T23:59:00.005-05:00

First of all... HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to the blog!

"You know better than to trust a strange computer!"

On to business...

By the time I woke up at 1pm on Sunday, took a dump, brushed my teeth, put my contacts in and poured myself a bowl of cereal IT WAS 21-0 BALTIMORE ALREADY! Oh well, I suppose the Ravens deserved this game because they were the superior team and New Engl— err Tom Brady played like shit. You could see the 2010 version of the Patriots were so far removed from the 18-1 team of 2008. The defense got steamrolled by Baltimore's rushing attack early and could not make enough stops in the second half to attempt a legitimate comeback.

The first New England points came via a bizarre fumble recovery on a punt in which the Patriots' player never seemed to have control of the ball as he went out of bounds. For some reason John Harbaugh did not challenge the call, he probably did not care since the Ravens were up 59-0 at that point. The following New England drive was where Wes Welker Jr. made an appearance. His actual name is Julian Edelman, a 7th round pick this year out of Kent State; watch out for this guy if Welker misses any time next year. I swear, he might as well have been Wes, he immediately became Brady's #1 option because he was running quick slants or posts across the middle, and because Randy Moss was playing like "straight cash crap homey".

I liked him better in the Daunte Culpepper era...

Baltimore gets a rested but possibly groggy Colts team this weekend, will Indianapolis be ready for this physical of a game? I hope so. Too bad New England is not around for late January football... NOT. It was not like the Patriots were that good of a team this year anyway, it would kind of be a shame if they would have made a run in the playoffs.

GAME: Baltimore 33 — New England 14

No defense whatsoever in this game...

If you like high-scoring playoff football this game was for you; if you like high-scoring playoff football you are a dumbass. Yes, this was a close, exciting game, but you knew once the score got to 78-72, the winner of this game was not gonna do squat in the rest of the playoffs. Quick recap: Green Bay had 10 turnovers in the first quarter, Arizona got out to a 17-0 lead which ended as a 24-10 score at the break. The second half went TD, TD, TD, TD, TD, TD, TD, TD, TD, TD, TD, TD, missed 34-yard field goal and the game was tied 45-45 going into overtime.

In overtime, Aaron Rodgers overthrew Greg Jennings, who got three steps behind the Arizona defense, by a yard. Then on second down the refs missed an obvious roughing the passer call, then on third down some defensive end came around the edge, forced a fumble off Rodgers and Carlos Dansby caught it in mid air and returned it 20 yards for a walk-off touchdown. What a fitting end to an offensive game for the defense to score a touchdown... HA! HA! HA! Shut up.

Green Bay was obviously the better team, their defense had a bad day and their offense could not take care of the football, but they should have won this game. I can foresee the Cardinals going NOWHERE past this weekend. Even though I like Kurt Warner, I do not really want to see Arizona win any more games, let alone the Super Bowl.

GAME: Arizona 51 — Green Bay 45 (OT)

This weekend's predictions coming up.

Rhetorical Questions of the Day — 1/13

2010-01-13T15:23:00.005-05:00

1. Could Lane Kiffin have brought Tennessee to the top of the SEC?

2. Are the Kansas City Chiefs trying to be the New England Patriots?

3. Is Curtis Joseph a HOF goaltender without a Stanley Cup ring?

4. Will the world end if the Detroit Red Wings miss the playoffs?

5. Who will make more money this season: Alex Rodriguez or the Florida Marlins?

6. How did Charles Woodson win AP Defensive POY over Darrelle Revis?

7. Will Chris Johnson be better than Marshall Faulk? Is he already?

8. Is the 2010 Big East conference better than the 2009 Big East conference?

9. Can you imagine Pete Carroll as an NFL coach, for real?

10. Who are you, and what have you done with Evgeni Malkin?

11. Is it time that we speculate whether or not John Wall took the SATs?

Discuss...

Marky-Mark Used Roidy-Roids

2010-01-13T14:57:00.004-05:00

It has been nearly five years since Mark McGwire went before the Supreme Court with Rafael Palmeathead, Sammy Sosa and others and preached "I'm not here to talk about the past". But on Monday, Big Mac admitted to using steroids sporadically during the 90s, including during the 1998 season when he and Sosa combined for 500 home runs. However, McGwire says the HGH did not improve his career as a baseball player other than to help him recover from injuries more quickly.

Now, HOFers are coming out and making statements about the issue. Goose Gossage thinks players like McGwire, Sosa, Barry Bonds and others linked to HGH should never be allowed in the HOF because of their lack of integrity. Willie McCovey says that he would still vote for McGwire because he resurrected baseball in the late 90s.

All of the above is true...

...from a certain point of view.

By admitting to steroid use, McGwire says he got a huge weight off of his shoulders. He also secured his fate as a never-HOFer. He was a fringe candidate anyways, even though he had 583 homeruns, because of his poor batting average, inconsistency and lack of defensive ability. Even so, he possibly could have been a last-year ballot vote-in. He either realized he had no chance of getting in the HOF and just wanted to relieve the stress or he wanted to clear everything up so he could carry on with his new job with St. Louis without any distractions. Both reasons are legit.

As for McGwire saying the steroids did not help his baseball career other than heal injuries quicker is crap. I have no doubt that the guy was a great power hitter, but to hit 70 homeruns in a season is beyond his talent level. I could imagine Big Mac hitting 50 homeruns once or twice in a clean career, but the fact that he was a career .250 hitter with not that many doubles makes me think that without the juice, a good amount of his over-fences would turn into two-base hits. This is not to mention that without the steroids, even McGwire admits, his health was a huge question; he may not have been on the field enough to reach even 400 homeruns.

Known needler Jose Canseco is now in the mix because, although McGwire admitted to using steroids, he denied injecting with Canseco in bathroom stalls. Canseco is outraged because this questions his "integrity" and the facts in his books. He took a polygraph test about McGwire's doings and passed it, and he wants McGwire to do the same. This story is going to turn from a mess to a slimy mess if Canseco gets involved.

To go from this guy...

...to this guy...

...without PEDs is a pretty absurd notion.

I suppose it is up to the individual whether to forgive him or not. My personal opinion is to keep the records, without asterisks, because PEDs were not technically illegal until 2001. You really have to feel bad for guys who did it straight like Mickey Mantle and Henry Aaron, as well as the MLB players in the late 80s and 90s who played with or against McGwire, Sosa, Palmiero, etc. But at least the guys who did it straight will go on to lead more normal, probably longer lives, while the steroid users will most likely have health issues and complications due to PEDs. So in the big picture, who is the winner?

All-Bryan Bullington Sucks Team

2010-01-12T12:49:00.002-05:00

SUCK.

This list is inspired by the Pittsburgh Pirates el dubiouso #1 overall pick of Bryan Bullshitton. There were so many quality players selected after Bullington that you could field a pretty decent team of them, and I did with players chosen in the top three rounds. Here is a 25-man roster taken from the 2002 draft, you may notice the #1 overall pick is not included...

C: Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves #64 overall pick

1B: Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers #7 overall pick

2B: B.J. Upton, Tampa Bay [Devil] Rays #2 overall pick

3B: Mark Teahen, Oakland Athletics #39 overall pick

SS: Khalil Greene, San Diego Padres #13 overall pick

LF: Denard Span, Minnesota Twins #20 overall pick

CF: Curtis Granderson, Detroit Tigers #80 overall pick

RF: Nick Swisher, Oakland Athletics #16 overall pick

BN: James Loney 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers #19 overall pick
BN: Jeremy Hermida RF, Florida Marlins #11 overall pick
BN: Jeff Francoeur RF, Atlanta Braves #23 overall pick
BN: Joey Votto 1B, Cincinnati Reds #44 overall pick

SP: Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals #6 overall pick

SP: Joe Saunders, Los Angeles Angels #12 overall pick

SP: Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox #57 overall pick

SP: Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies #17 overall pick

SP: Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants #25 overall pick

LR: Scott Kazmir, New York Mets #15 overall pick
LR: Joe Blanton, Oakland Athletics #24 overall pick
LR: Jeremy Guthrie, Cleveland Indians #22 overall pick
LR: David Bush, Toronto Blue Jays #55 overall pick

RP: Kevin Jepsen, Los Angeles Angels #53 overall pick

RP: Jesse Crain, Minnesota Twins #61 overall pick

CL: Jonathan Broxton, Los Angeles Dodgers #60 overall pick

I know it is tough to scout baseball players at a young age, but it is hard to deny that Pittsburgh screwed up big time. There are a lot of first round picks on this "roster" and any one of them could still be on the Pirates' roster right now, if not at least traded away for some young talent (ugh). The lineup is above average, but all five of those starting pitchers could end up being Cy Young competitors.

If I could have any of these players on here, I would take Prince Fielder. Zach Greinke, Matt Cain and Jon Lester are cool and everything, but at this point none of them are 100% proven; Fielder, on the other hand, is. He was the only Major Leaguer to play in all 162 games last season and is a legit 50 homerun guy every single year. Not only that, but his defense has improved dramatically and his fire and passion for the game is visible every single day.

I suppose that is the counterpoint...

Yes he is overweight (understatement of a lifetime), but he is a ballplayer, unlike Bry-Guy Bullington. Too bad there are as many donuts on that bat that Bullington has career appearances. Stooge.

Note: This is my first Pittsburgh Pirates related post on this site... STUNNED.

Rhetorical Questions of the Day — 1/11

2010-01-11T16:10:00.002-05:00

1. If Evgeni Malkin breaks out tonight, will Ron Cook take all the credit?

2. Is Jamie Langenbrunner the correct "C" for team USA over Brian Rafalski and Chris Drury?

3. How long will this Gilbert Arenas gun scandal hang over the heads of the Washington Wizards?

4. How did North Carolina, with a 12-4 record, only drop from 9 to 12 in the AP poll after they lost at College of Charleston?

5. What mess did Pete Carroll leave behind in Southern Cal?

6. Who will pay for the two missed personal foul calls to end the Green Bay/Arizona game?

7. Why would Mark McGwire come clean about his steroid use now?

Discuss...

NFL Wild Card Saturday Recap

2010-01-11T08:15:00.001-05:00

First off was the Jets/Cincinnati game on Saturday afternoon. As I expected, the Bengals were just not a team that could compete in the playoffs. The Jets were too physical and beat the Bengals on the ground and with an ultra-efficient passing game. Mark Sanchez made his postseason debut with a 12-15 182 yard performance with 1/0 TD/INT for a passer rating of 139.4. Meanwhile, Carson Palmer was mediocre, going 18-36 for 150 yards and a 1/1 TD/INT and a 58.3 passer rating. I am not blaming Palmer here, the Bengals just do not have any weapons besides Chad Ocho-Johnson and he was covered by Darrelle Revis soooo...

No chance.

The problem I found with Cincinnati this year is that they had a false identity. They were winning games by running the football and plating defense, which sounds good on paper. But they were not good enough of a running team to not balance it out with a passing game, which they had none of this season. The Bengals' defense played well for the most part of this year, but they did not have quality coaches or quality players to sustain such a defense in the playoffs, and they failed.

As for the J-E-T-S, they could be a thorn in the side of the Chargers next week. The way Shonn Greene and Thomas Jones are running the ball and the legit-ness of their Rex Ryan D could present some problems for the NFL's hottest team... Well at least I hope so because it could be a potential blowout.

GAME: New York 24 — Cincinnati 14

This thing has its own fucking aura...

Two weeks ago, Philadelphia was on a roll. The Eagles were on a six-game winning streak and were going into Dallas with a chance to get a first-round bye in the playoffs... Two weeks later, two losses to the Cowboys and Brian Westbrook and co. are making reservations at his Uncle Terry's house for the Super Bowl. It is like Dallas was Philadelphia's kryptonite this season. After losing to Dallas in week 9, the Eagles got stomped in week 17 and got stamped in week 18 by the 'Boys. The only reason Philadelphia was in this game at any point was a fluky 76-yard touchdown pass by Michael Vickski in the second quarter to tie the game at 7-7 although the Cowboys were dominating up to that point. Well, they continued to dominate and scored the next 20 points to end the game.

The Cowboys proved why they are Super Bowl contenders this year. The big key being Tony Romo having a good game. The Savior went 23-35 for 244 yards and 2/0 TD/INT and a 104.9 passer rating to dominate the Green Wings. We knew the Cowboys could come out and run the ball (198 yards on the ground) but for this team to go far, Romo will have to make plays like he did the other day.

Even though they showed promise, it was a semi-familiar end for Philadelphia. However, instead of waiting for the NFC Championship game to lose, they did it conveniently for all of the other playoff teams. For years to come, the Eagles will be a legit contender. They actually have weapons now with Brent Celek, DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin and a Westbrook replacement in LeSean McCoy. But Philadelphia will have to get younger on defense because they are getting older and they do not have as much talent on defense as one may think...

GAME: Dallas 34 — Philadelphia 14

My predictions were quite good for the Saturday games. Not only did my picks win, but they won how I said they would; the Jets came prepared and the Bengals did not, while Dallas simply just ran over Philadelphia. I had no such luck on Sunday, but on the bright side my Super Bowl champ pick is still on the market...

NFL Wild Card (and Super Bowl XLIV) Predictions

2010-01-08T13:55:00.005-05:00

On paper, there are some great matchups this weekend in the NFL Wild Card games.

Saturday afternoon the Jets go to Cincy to take on the Bengals. NYJ spanked the Bungals in the final game at the Meadowlands this past Sunday to clinch a playoff spot and force a rematch this week. This year the Bengals earned the division outright, sweeping the Steelers, Ravens and Browns to post a 6-0 division record. The Jets season was a rollercoaster. They started out 3-0, then went 1-6 in their next seven, and had to finish the season 5-1 just to make the playoffs. Cincinnati is headed in the opposite direction, having gone 1-3 in their past four games. I have no confidence in Marvin Lewis to right the ship, especially if Chad Ocho-Johnson and Cedric Benson are not 100%. Rex Ryan and the Jets will prevail here.

Prediction: New York 20 — Cincinnati 13

Later Saturday night, there is another rematch from week 17. Philadelphia goes back to the Dallas Indoor Coliseum to face the Cowboys. Dallas crushed Philadelphia a week ago 24-0, ending the Eagles six-game winning streak. That marked only the third time this season the Eagles were held under 22 points, going 0-3 in those games. In fact, Philadelphia is 11-0 when scoring 24 points or more and 0-5 when scoring 23 points or less. Dallas has two consecutive shutouts, and has only allowed more than 21 points twice this season. Felix Jones and Marion "The Barbarian" Barber are healthy and running well, which is a huge advantage. The big house down south will be packed, and the hometown fans are gonna see Tony Homo's first playoff win.

Prediction: Dallas 28 — Philadelphia 17

As for the sunday games, leading off is the Ravens in New England. The biggest story here is that the Pats will be without Wes Welker, who tore his life in half in week 17. Welker missed weeks 2 and 3 this season, and the Patriots went 1-1. The Ravens are 1-6 this year against playoff teams including a loss in week 4 at Foxborough. New England has been average this year... for a New England team I suppose. However, they are 8-0 at home (opposed to 2-6 on the road). If the Ravens were the real deal this season, this would be a no-brainer, but they are not. However, it is still an easy pick: Go with Tom Brady. He is the comeback player of the year and the Golden Boy in the playoffs.

Prediction: New England 31 — Baltimore 23

Finally, on Sunday afternoon the Packers will travel down to Kurt Warner's house for a week 17 rematch. Arizona rested its starters last week and were grooved by Green Bay 33-7. Arizona has played a very weak schedule this season and the Packers have lost some tough games. Besides a last-second loss to Pittsburgh, Green Bay has won its past seven games. The offense has not been a question all year for the Packers, having scored at least 21 points in all but one game (a 17-7 win vs. Dallas), but the problem is when the defense fails to show up. In the five games the Packers have lost, they have given up 35 points per game, even though they scored 27.5 points per game. The Cardinals are at home, but Green Bay is a far superior team. Chalk it up to the Cheeseheads.

Prediction: Green Bay 34 — Arizona 17

I will just go ahead and give my Super Bowl XLIV quick pick right now.

San Diego will come out of the AFC, they are just playing too well right now to lose a game. Expect New England to make a good game out of their matchup, though. Indianapolis lost too much momentum towards the end of the season and I have a feeling someone is going to shut down Peyton Manning. When they won the Super Bowl in 2006, the Colts had a great defense and a great running game because that is what a team needs to win the championship; both are mediocre this year.

The NFC is a crapshoot. I know Minnesota will fall short, but New Orleans, Green Bay and Dallas are all very good teams this year. I think it could be any one of those teams, to be honest. I will go ahead and pick Dallas to run the table. New Orleans has been slacking lately, even before they benched everybody for the last two weeks. The Packers are a supreme underdog, and I like Aaron Rodgers a lot, but their success is going to be tested more than any other team. I just like the way the Cowboys are playing right now and Tony Homo's confidence is at an all-time high.

As for the Super Bowl, I think Dallas can slow down the Chargers enough to squeak past them in an epic game. Really, even though I am a Steelers' fan, I would rather have Dallas win it all than San Diego. I just HATE Philip Rivers so much and am not too keen on Shawne Merriman or LaDainian Tomlinson and it would pain me to see any of them lifting the Lombardi.

Prediction: Dallas 24 — San Diego 23

Sorry Philly fans... but not really.

How to BCS (Bump this Crappy System) the BCS

2010-01-07T13:29:00.002-05:00

Awe... HOW CREATIVE!

Everybody keeps complaining about the BCS, and they have reason to. However, it is never going to change unless we take action. The argument about the BCS is that some teams get left out of the championship game just because they are not in a power conference; or sometimes there are more than two deserving teams that could compete for the National Championship (i.e. In 2004 with USC, Oklahoma and Auburn). However, the BCS succeeds, from a business standpoint, because the bowl games are all huge spectacles. All 34 winners get a trophy and every matchup seems to be intriguing to some degree. Therefore, people watch the games, attend the games, buy merchandise, etc.

So the common solution is that there should be a playoff bracket and the top 16 teams should have a shot at the championship. In theory, since they are not actually "The National Championship" shouldn't the Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Rose Bowl and all other bowl games (as they stand now) not even matter? If we really wanted to change the NCAA Football championship system, then we should protest every bowl that is not the National Championship. Because if your team is in the National Championship, then the BCS system is effective and there is no reason for you to argue.

Why is Bob Stoops on there?

He would choke in the Sweet 16 every year...

Say you are an Iowa or Georgia Tech fan, two legitimate teams in the top ten, you should be outraged that your team has to play in the Orange Bowl and does not have a chance to win the National Championship even though you may have lost only one or two times. So here is what you do as fans: DO NOT go to the game and DO NOT watch the game; it is that simple. If there were zero people at the game and zero people watching the game, could you imagine how much money the BCS, NCAA and the broadcasting networks would lose?

Okay, maybe after this happens one time the networks and all things associated with the BCS would say "Ehh, this is an odd occurrence, but it will never happen again..." However, if it happened again the next year, these executives and all people involved may think "Wow, these people are serious. In order to get our audience back, we will have to change."

If you are actually on the teams who are in the top 16 (a coach, player, AD, etc.) here is what you do: DO NOT play in the bowl games that do not have "National Championship" in the title. Of course then we would see where the loyalty truly lies with these football programs. Other than Texas, Florida, Alabama and (usually) USC, there are different teams in BCS bowls every year. Could those fringe teams like Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon and Virginia Tech forego a consolation bowl every year they do not make the top 16 teams to play out the bracket system?

And throw away one of these?

Yeah right...

Let me get this straight: If there were a 16-team playoff system, it would be absolutely insane for there to still be consolation bowls. Nobody gives a shit about the GMAC Bowl now, just imagine what it would represent if the top 16 teams were off playing in their own little tournament to decide a national champion, which Central Michigan and Troy were playing in some throwaway bowl in Mobile, Alabama to decide... NOTHING!

I really do not mind the BCS system, it is just a little flawed. Then again, so are the weekly polls, but that is another story. This article is just to remind people that if you really dislike the BCS system, you cannot just sit back on New Year's Day and watch the Outback Bowl, because you are just feeding the monster.

Can We Steel a Playoff Spot?

2010-01-05T15:24:00.001-05:00

So by now you may have noticed that the Pittsburgh Steelers did not make the playoffs. Four AFC teams finished at 9-7 (Baltimore, Houston, New York and Pittsburgh) and the Steelers and Texans were the two teams with no tiebreakers. But out of the four teams that were vying for the two playoff spots, I think the Ravens and Steelers were most deserving. Obviously there is no voting committee or anything of that nature to determine who gets into the playoffs, but I can still dream...

The Ravens had so much potential this season, but close losses put them in the back end of the AFC playoff picture and two losses to Cincinnati ruined Baltimore's chances of winning the North division. As for the Steelers, they had repeat on the minds of the Steeler Nation, but failed to play anywhere close to those expectations. Pittsburgh also fell to the Bengals twice, which had not happened in 400 years. They were not the best team in the AFC this season by far, but they could have been one of the scarier teams if they made the playoffs because Troy Polamalu was set to return.

There are a ton of quarterbacks who should be considered for league MVP this season: Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, and even Tony Homo and Felipe Rivers. You could also throw in Chris Johnson and Darrelle Revis if you want to. But if you were to go with the player truly most valuable to his team, you might even have to choose Troy Polamalu. Seriously.

This guy started and finished four games. The Steelers were 4-0 in those games. The defense let up an average of 13 points in those games. Polamalu had three interceptions and seven passes deflected in those four games. The rest of the Pittsburgh defense combined for four interceptions in those four games. Plain and simple, Troy Polamalu just comes to play every game, every down. The rest of the secondary, however, is a different story...

In the other twelve games, the Steelers were 5-7, the defense allowed an average of 23 points per game and the Polamalu-less defense had five interceptions IN 12 GAMES! For goodness sakes, the entire cornerbacking crew did not have an interception until Ike Taylor and Deshea Townsend picked off balls at Miami last week. This included a drop by Joe Burnett vs. Oakland in the final minute that would have sealed the game in the Steelers favor and one by Ike Taylor on a deep ball at Kansas City that would have clinched the win.

Although the Ravens, Texans and Jets wins in week 17 sealed the Steelers fate for the 2009 (kind of 2010) season, it would have been a real treat to see what Pittsburgh could have done in the postseason with the best safety in the NFL back on the field. But we will have to wait until next year to see what Troy Polamalu has in store. Hopefully Pittsburgh can draft some young talent in the secondary or grab a free agent, because we need some safety valves (no pun intended) in case our starters get hurt or suck out loud, like they did this season.

Kissing the season goodbye...

Outback Trick, No Treat

2010-01-04T20:15:00.002-05:00

In the Outback Bowl this past weekend, Northwestern had a 20yard field goal attempt to tie the game in overtime. Instead of chipping in the field goal, the Wildcats tried a fake field goal "fumblerooskie" and were stopped short of the goal line, which ended the game. I was at my grandmother’s house at the time for New Year’s Day and my Uncle said: “Why would they go for it?” which got me thinking if a fake field goal could really be considered as “going for it”. If the offense came out and ran a play on fourth down, then I would say that they went for it; but I would give a fake field goal no more than a 1/3 chance to work.

There are times to run a fake on special teams and there are times to take points when they are available. It is not like this was a 40yarder to tie it; this was a chip-in 20yard field goal, basically an extra point, to tie the game. I guess they did it because their kicker, who was 0-2 for field goals and missed an extra point earlier in the game, was injured and the punter was serving as the backup kicker. But still, this kid has a scholarship for punting and had to have gotten some backup kicking reps throughout the year, and you have no confidence in him to kick a 20yard field goal? Please. Don't get me wrong, I like trick plays, but passing up a chance to tie the game from 20yards out? Insane.

Yeah, like THAT GUY is going to run it in...

On a trick play the defense can either be fooled or not fooled, there is not much gray area. If you are Northwestern's coach in that situation, you may not have much confidence in your kicker, but don't you have any confidence in your offense to get two yards, either? No, you have to resort to some bullshit "fumblerooskie" trickery that was a pathetic way to lose and, frankly, a pathetic way to win.

The Chris Bourque Experiment

2009-11-27T12:43:00.003-05:00

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been to back to back Stanley Cup Finals. In this time frame, the franchise has undoubtedly gotten bored. Honestly, there's really nothing to get excited for in the regular season anymore when your team has been to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. An overtime point against the Islanders was cause for a parade three years ago, now it is cause for complete apathy. Who even knows that there is a Penguins game on today at 2 versus the Islanders? If Martin Biron is in net, it will only look like he had no idea there was a game going on. So, the Pens have decided to engage in a few pet projects here and there. They already have been well documented. Trying to keep Eddie Johnston alive, saving the last remnants of Paul Steigerwald's hair, paying off the FCC so Bob Errey won't get in trouble for saying pickle-stabber, and the Michel Therrien Rosetta Stone experiment. The most fool-hardy and challenging project has been trying to turn Chris Bourque into anything resembling a National Hockey League player. It has failed miserably.

Sometimes, father just ain't like son. If Chris Bourque's name was Chris Smith, he would be playing throwaway games up in Rochester. It boggles the mind that the Penguins organization seems so absolutely hell-bent on getting this kid playing time when he has shown not one ounce of talent. Even during the broadcast, Steigerwald and Errey go to great lengths to defend this guy. Who can forget the yawning net that he completely missed against Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils? Steigerwald chalked it up to Bourque being at a bad angle. If a bad angle is being two feet away from a wide open net with a puck on your stick, I better go back to Geometry class. I don't care if the Penguins have to pry Kevin Stevens away from snorting coke every other day, this franchise needs a winger that will ensure that Bourque is either sent to the minors or commits suicide from sucking.

There are two assurances that I will make about Bourque right now.

1. He will never score a goal in a Penguins uniform.
2. He will undoubtedly score a goal against the Penguins with another team.

Baskeball-a-Thon

2009-11-19T12:25:00.007-05:00

All over the map baby!

If you turned on ESPN at any time on Tuesday you saw college basketball. And when I say any time, I mean any time. From the time the Cal St. Fullerton/UCLA game started at 12am on Tuesday to the end of the TCU/Arizona St. game at 130am on Wednesday there was continuous basketball on ESPN (and some games on ESPN2). Some of the games were crap, such as the Monmouth/St. Peter's game, but at least half of the games were wildly entertaining. Gonzaga gave #2 Michigan St. a hell of a game in the Izzone, Temple should have knocked off Georgetown in DC, and Memphis was a buzzer-beater away from knocking off #1 Kansas on a neutral court.

Naturally the premier match-ups were primetime games and the small-school games were on during the wee hours of the morning, but the idea in general is very intriguing. Before Monday night I could not have cares less about the upcoming college basketball season, because Pitt is not a top-level team this year and I am at Drexel (no offense). But the second-annual college basketball marathon got me pumped up. There were so many entertaining games and even the games that featured #1 and #2 vs. unranked teams went right down to the wire. Kansas, Michigan St. and Kentucky all played unranked teams the last few days, going 3-0 but only winning by a combined 8 points. Maybe that means that the unranked teams they were playing were better than expected, or maybe the top-tier teams are worse than we thought.

I love the idea of this marathon and I think there should be one of these days every month, instead of every year. An ESPN channel that just has continuous basketball, 24/7, from mid-November until conference tournaments would be incredible. Of course that would entail ESPN hiring about 40 more broadcasters and hundreds of crew workers, but it would be revolutionary for sports television and I am sure it would be popular with current sports fans and ESPN followers. It is a distant wish, I guess, because it will never happen; but could you imagine?

The Slovakian Rocket Reborn

2009-11-11T01:41:00.001-05:00

Marian Gaborik has come out flying for the start of this season. This is what the Rangers have been waiting for sometime now; a true number one scorer. Nikolai Zherdev was a failed experiment in NY, but plan B with Gabby is making Glen Sather look a genius. Sather is the General Manager who gave Gaborik a huge contract even with his history of injury problems.

So far this season the Rangers lived (and died) with Gaborik. The two games he missed the team lost, but with him NY is 9-4; very impressive. So for right now Gabby is king at MSG and the NY hockey media will hold him to that title and expect him to play through more injuries than he has in his past. The team needs him too.

I have always thought of Gabby as a potential 50 goal scorer and with the chemistry that has formed between him and Vaclav Prospal, this milestone seems very achievable. The talent is there and now it just all on Gabby's body to hold up.

Xavier Basketball Tip Off

2009-11-05T01:16:00.003-05:00

Last night Xavier basketball started off its season with an exhibition game against Rollins College, a Division II school from Florida. This wasn't supposed to be a test but a warm up game for an exciting Xavier basketball season. As the Sean Miller era has now ended with a Sweet 16 appearance, Chis Mack takes the team that has lost its top three scorers which included their top rebounder from a year ago. So now a new group of players have to step up big time which include the new transfer star from Indiana, Jordan Crawford (we all know why he is so well known), senior big man Jason Love, and junior guard Dante Jackson. With yesterday night's convincing win over Rollins College, you got to see a glimpse of what is to come this season.

Jordan Crawford had a sloppy first half with a couple forced drives to the hoop that resulted in bad shots but rebounded to have a great second half with a couple pretty bounce passes to Kenny Frease in the paint for dunks and proceeded to score a game high 16 points. Also Dante Jackson had really good game, scoring an effortless 13 points by including 2-3 from beyond the arc. As for our big men, Jason Love and Kenny Friese dominated a small Rollins team inside with a combined 13 rebounds and six blocked shots. Kenny Friese also showed some quickness guarding their center that was more of a three-point shooter and driver. This is also not to mention Jamel McLean who showed a sweet jumper to go along with all the athletic ability he has. My surprise of the game was Mark Lyons, 6'1" freshman point guard from New York, who showed lightning quickness (three steals) and the ability to create off the dribble by either dishing the ball or making a lay up. If Lyons develops any kind of shot, he is going to be a star point guard in the making and starting in no time. Plus, experience will give him more patience at the point guard position. The highlight of the game came from Jeff Robinson, a 6-9 freshman from Indianapolis, who dunked the ball over a Rollins player...

This is just small sample of what it is to come on this unknown season. But things are only looking up for this team. Their next exhibition game will be this Saturday at 7:30 against Northern Kentucky at Cintas Center on the campus of Xavier.

We Want Instant Replay! (Or Do We?)

2009-10-30T11:14:00.002-04:00

Throughout these MLB playoffs, there have been a high number of bad calls. Joe Mauer's fly ball down the left field line in New Yankee Stadium, Johnny Damon's sinking line drive yesterday that was "caught" and turned into a double play, etc. The question in everyone's head right now is if the MLB should institute a replay system beyond homerun calls. As much as everybody would like to think otherwise, the answer here is a simple "No, thank you".

A widespread replay review system in baseball would be a bad idea. I agree with homerun replays because of all the weird setups of the ballpark fences, but a replay system within the first 300 feet of home plate is unnecessary. How often do bad calls happen every game, on average? Maybe two? Of course in the playoffs these mistakes are blown up and put under a microscope, but baseball has been around for nearly 150 years with no replay and I think it is operating pretty well. Bringing a machine in to do a human's job in baseball would not work.

If there were a replay system in the MLB, how would it work? Would it be like the NFL where each manager could choose only two plays per game to "challenge"? Baseball is so rich in history, it would be almost a disgrace for little red flags to start flying out of the dugout during the game. Could you imagine Lou Piniella stepping one foot out of the dugout to throw a dinky red flag onto the field of play instead of going up to a base umpire to kick dirt on his shoes? Ridiculous.

How would the fans be notified of each challenge? Would the umpires start wearing microphones so they can talk over the loudspeaker? No one wants to hear C.B. Bucknor yelling in their ears. Anyways, baseball games are too long and slow paced as it is to just stop play for a decently close call. I am not even going to get into instant replay or machines making ball and strike calls.

In football, the play is going on so fast and there are so many different actions that occur within each game, let alone every drive down the field, that referees make mistakes all the time. Not because they are poor officials, just because missed calls happen all the time because of the nature of the game. In football, every play is dynamic. In baseball, there are only a few close calls per game. There are routine fly balls and routine ground balls that beat out runners by ten feet.

Every running play in the NFL could be a fumble, every thrown ball could be caught close to the out of bounds markers, and that is why they had to institute a replay system in football. I completely disagree with the NCAA's version of challenging anything and everything, as opposed to the NFL's red flag system, but that is another argument.

Back to Philly for games 3-5, should be some good baseball.

Fleury for Olympics

2009-10-23T00:34:00.005-04:00

The 2010 Winter Olympics taking place in Vancouver are quickly approaching all of us. Now, most of us are probably reading this article in anticipation of one kick-ass article chronicling the favorites for the Curling Silver medal. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The focus here is the hockey and more specifically team Canada. Originally, an article about the plight of Team USA was in production, but what chance do they really have with Chris Chelios logging 30 minutes every game against Team Russia and the line of Kovalchuk-Malkin-Ovechkin. The focus here is on Team Canada, a squad that actually has a shot at the gold. The key for Canada, as in any crucial tournament in hockey is goaltending. Marc-Andre Fleury should be the starting goaltender representing the red maple leaf.

It seems to be a foregone conclusion that Martin Brodeur is going to be the starter for Team Canada unless he loses a leg from now until February. This basis is simply going on reputation and not actual performance. Since winning his third Stanley Cup in 2003, Brodeur has posted less than stellar marks in the postseason. In that time frame, the Devils have not gotten out of the 2nd round and it's hard to forget their collapse in the final minute of Game 7 against Eric Staal and the Hurricanes last year. Brodeur is past his prime and there is some suspicion that he never recovered from his shoulder injury that kept him out for six months last year. Choosing Brodeur to lead Team Canada would be a decision made out of pure nostalgia for his once dominant play. It's not 1995 anymore folks. Steve Yzerman needs to be smart and avoid the mistakes that Wayne Gretzky made in 2006. This is a hockey team, not an old folks home/retirement community for players that were once great.

After Brodeur, Roberto Luongo is the most commonly talked about choice for starting goaltender. This decision would most likely lead to Canada not even medaling at the Winter games. To say the least, Luongo has a less than stellar track record in the postseason. For one, he never made the playoffs with the Islanders and Panthers. In his two postseason appearances with the Canucks, he hasn't made it past the second round. Who can forget the shelling that Chicago put on him last year in Game 6 of their second round series, culminating in a Patrick Kane hat trick. Luongo has no track record of success when it matters most.

The only man who comes close in contention with Fleury is Cam Ward. But the decision making-process should go by "What have you done for me lately?" Fleury won a Stanley Cup last year and was in solid contention for the Conn Smythe trophy. Statisticians are still trying to average Ward's GAA in the Eastern Conference Finals last year. Fleury is a winner. He has a certain Grant Fuhr quality about him. He may not have the best regular seasons are set records in save percentage and GAA, but when it matters most, he's going to make the saves. To beat Russia and their unbelievably talented cast of forwards, Canada is going to need a goaltender that has the ability to stand on his head when it matters most. The man they commonly call "Flower" is the one to do it.

Where Have You Gonechar?

2009-10-22T15:09:00.008-04:00

Settle down ladies and gentlemen. Sergei Gonchar will be out 4-6 weeks (most likely the latter), but we will be okay.

Remember when Crosby tried to commit suicide when we were getting shut out by the Lightning? We were okay for those two-ish months. Remember when Fleury tripped on the crease and landed wrongly? We were okay for those two-ish months. I think we can survive without Gonchar for one-ish month.

Skudra— I mean Skoula—will not be a Gonchar, but he will do enough. Thank goodness we have Goligoski to quarterback the power play, rather than the Ryan Shitney and Co. we had last year.

As long as Fleury is healthy, Pittsburgh will win the Atlantic. As long as Gonchar comes back when his time is up, we will be fine. I am not going to be a dick (Smizik) and say it is a good thing that Gonchar is injured, because THAT is good journalism. This is shitty journalism (a blog), so we have compassion for other human beings. Sorry.

Florida tomorrow. New Jersey saturday. 4-point weekend.

Cut the BS!

2009-10-20T11:18:00.008-04:00

Besides the Phillies' 11-0 win this past sunday, every baseball game I can remember watching in October has been close, including the AL Central tiebreaker. And other than that 11-0 victory, I believe there has been a blown save in every single game as well.

Franklin blew a save for the Cardinals, aided by a Matt Holliday drop (seen below).

"Do I has it?"

Street blew a save for the Rockies, because Ryan Howard is raking and Jim Tracy is a dunce. Ol' Reliable, Joe Nathan, also struggled vs. the Yankees and barely escaped a jam in the tiebreaker game. Papelbon choked up a two-run lead for the Sox at Fenway to be swept by the Angels. We all saw Broxton heat up the dead center of the plate last night facing Jimmy Rollins (on a related note, how shallow were Kemp and Ethier playing in the outfield? You CANNOT let that ball get to the wall in that situation) and got walked-off on.

And Fuentes blew a save for LA(ofA) when A-Rod knocked his weak 0-2 fastball to the homerun suction section to right in the Bronx.

We do not expect Mariano Rivera to choke because it has been his job since 1970 and he never blows saves in October.

That was in November, smart ass.

The only guy keeping it together in the postseason has been Blidge. He seems to have reinvented himself after his poor performance during the regular season. He is 3-3 in save opportunities, and got the W yesterday when he struck out two after coming in with an inherited runner on base in the top of the ninth.

All of these blown saves brings up the question: Are the pitchers losing it, or are the hitters winning it? I believe the hitters are winning it.

As much as I joke, Rollins turned around a 99mph fastball yesterday. Any 99mph heat is going to be hard to make good contact with, even if it is right down the middle. I have watched Pirates baseball all year, but I have never seen so much clutch hitting late in games, in any previous postseason. These pitchers are making some pretty quality pitches, and the hitters are just returning them to open space.

Randy Wolf had only given up one homerun all season to lefties, and Ryan Howard hit number two last night. I am sure Wolf has made mistake pitches to lefties more than once in the regular season and had only allowed one homerun, but this time Howard made him pay for it.

This has been a postseason of mistakes on the defensive side of the ball, and the team with the bats has been taking advantage.

Yanks vs. Phils, DO IT.

Why Cindy Crysby is the Best Player in the NHL: Part I

2009-10-13T10:49:00.012-04:00

I recently read an article in The Triangle, the independent student newspaper at Drexel University, about how Alexander Ovechkin is better than Sidney Crosby. Okay, that's fine for you to think that, I mean, it is one of the great debates in sports today. Well, maybe not all of sports because no one cares about hockey. But it is at least the most heated debate in the NHL. The beef I have with this kid is that he has no real proof that Ovechkin is better. I can tell he just watches Sportscenter's bi-weekly NHL coverage and agrees with whatever Barry Melrose says. I'm not going to go into citing this article because, honestly, it sucks. He contradicts himself throughout and barely makes any strong points. In almost every paragraph he makes a generalization based on his personal bias... I'll go into how Crosby is better than any other player in the NHL, including Evgeni Malkin and Alexander Ovechkin.

Myth #1: Sidney Crosby has Evgeni Malkin, and that is why he is good. Alexander Ovechkin has no support, and has to do it all himself.

Okay look, Crosby and Malkin have played on the Penguins for 3+ years now, and the only time they are consistently on the ice together is on the power play, which is when you put your best players, regardless of chemistry, on the ice together. DUH!

Penguins' fans have wished that Crosby and Malkin could generate some kind of even-strength chemistry together, but other than a few goals here and there, that has not happened. Probably because they are both centermen. DUH!

Let's look at Crosby's linemates over the years, shall we? Colby Armstrong, Mark Recchi, John LeClair, Michel Ouellet, Erik Christensen, Ryan Malone, Max Talbot, Petr Sykora, and now Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin. Looks like a load of mediocre Wilkes-Barre players and some washed up old timers to me. Crosby has still put up 402 points in 296 games (as of 10/13/09).

I am not saying Ovechkin has had a better supporting cast, Dainius Zubrus, Chris Clark, Matt Pettinger, Viktor Vozlov, Michael Nylander, etc. I believe it is harder for a centerman to put up points without good linemates because he depends on them to put the puck in the net. A winger, like Ovechkin, can just shoot the puck a shit-load of times and get some goals, especially if you are as skilled as Ovechkin is and shoot it as many times as Ovechkin does.

To be honest, Ovechkin now has more talent wearing the Capitals' sweaters than Pittsburgh suits up with Crosby. Backstrom and Semin are stars in this league. Anybody who denies that is insane. Backstrom just emerged last season, and is already one of the best playmaking centermen in the league. Semin is similar to Malkin, in that he will roam around the ice and will make shots not many others can make (except Malkin is better, but we will not get into that).

It is clear that the Penguins are built around three solid centermen while the Capitals are built around their top line and hopefully they can score more than the other team can, and the only reason the Penguins can do this and still win is because Crosby, Malkin and Staal are good enough centermen that they make mediocre wingers into decent players.

Why Cindy Crysby is the best player in the NHL: Part II. Coming soon!

Bracketology: 3/15

2009-03-12T14:31:00.012-04:00

Hours away from the Selection Show, we still have major questions about several conferences and teams. I'll predict the tournament field and results, give reasons why, and update it each week. Here are my calls as of this morning. Seeds are listed L-R. Left most seed is top team for that group. (Louisville will get #1 overall seed, Connecticut is top #2 seed...) Teams in italics have already earned automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments.

# 1 SEEDS: Louisville (Big East), Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Memphis (C-USA)
Skinny: When you win the best conference's regular season and tournament titles, its gotta be a lock for the #1 overall seed. Pitt losing to WVU isn't a big deal, same with UNC falling to FSU. Memphis only has three losses. That one fact gets them a top bid over UConn.

#2 SEEDS: Connecticut, Duke (ACC), Oklahoma, Michigan State
Skinny: Duke helped themselves with that 79-69 ACC Championship win over Florida State. The Dukies still don't have enough to make a claim for a #1, however. Michigan State lucks out with most of the teams below them losing as well. I called the OU loss, remember?

#3 SEEDS: Villanova, Kansas, Missouri (Big 12), Wake Forest
Skinny: Nothing changes other than Mizzou hopping two seeds with a solid Big 12 Championship run. I'm staying with Jay Wright's Villanova Wildcats to cut down the nets.

#4 SEEDS: LSU, Purdue (Big Ten), Syracuse, Florida State
Skinny: Syracuse's run was cute. I don't think they'll be tired, but I do think they'll be cold. The Orange are gonna take nearly a week off to relax, and the adrenaline will be gone by then. Expect Boehiem's Bums to collapse in March. Purdue and FSU find themselves #4 seeds with magical conference tourney runs.

#5 SEEDS: Gonzaga (WCC), Washington, Xavier, Clemson

#6 SEEDS: UCLA, West Virginia, Illinois, Marquette

#7 SEEDS: Arizona State, California, Tennessee, Ohio State

#8 SEEDS: Dayton, Butler, Texas, Utah (Mountain West)

#9 SEEDS: Southern California (Pac-10), Siena (MAAC), Utah State, Oklahoma State

#10 SEEDS: Mississippi State (SEC), Boston College, Texas A&M, Maryland

#11 SEEDS: Arizona, Creighton, Temple (A-10), Auburn

#12 SEEDS: Michigan, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Cleveland State (Horizon)

#13 SEEDS: Chattanooga (SoCon), VCU (CAA), Northern Iowa (MVC), Akron (MAC)

#14 SEEDS: Binghamton (America East), WKU (Sun Belt), American (Patriot), Portland St. (Big Sky)

#15 SEEDS: North Dakota St. (Summit), Robert Morris (Northeast), Morehead St. (OVC), Cornell (Ivy)

#16 SEEDS: Radford (Big South), Morgan State (MEAC), Stephen F. Austin (Southland), East Tennessee St. (A-Sun)

Play-In Game: Cal State-Northridge (Big West) vs. Alabama State (SWAC)

Last Six In: Virginia Tech, Penn State, Michigan, Auburn, Creighton, Arizona

Last Six Out: Minnesota, St. Mary's, San Diego State, UNLV, Wisconsin, Providence
Skinny: There's just no way that the Big Ten's bottom feeders will overtake teams like Auburn, Arizona, Va Tech, and Creighton. Joe Lunardi...are you high?!?! Wisconsin?!? Who in God's name have they beat?

NATIONAL CHAMPION PICK: Villanova Wildcats

Bracketology: 3/8

2009-03-08T19:50:00.008-04:00

Less than a two weeks away from tournament time, we still have major questions about several conferences and teams. I'll predict the tournament field and results, give reasons why, and update it each week. Here are my calls as of 3/8. Seeds are listed L-R. Left most seed is top team for that group. (Pittsburgh will get #1 overall seed, Memphis is top #2 seed...) Teams in italics have already earned automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments.

# 1 SEEDS: Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Connecticut, Louisville
Skinny: Without question, Pitt is the top team in the tournament. The only way Pitt can lose the top ranking is if UConn wins the Big East Tournament, without Pitt winning one game. Yeah...that'll happen. I'm picking Louisville to win the Big East Tourney, so they'll overtake Memphis and struggling OU. #1 UNC holds strong with a 79-71 win over Duke today.

#2 SEEDS: Memphis, Oklahoma, Michigan State, Duke
Skinny: If Oklahoma keeps putting the game on Blake Griffin's shoulders, eventually someone will stop him, or concuss him (like Dexter Pittman). Duke is still a #2 despite losing in Chapel Hill. Michigan State stays with a 62-51 win over Purdue.

#3 SEEDS: Villanova, Kansas, Wake Forest, Washington
Skinny: Not much movement in the #3 seeds, other than fading Clemson falling down to a #4 seed. 'Nova and the Kansas Jayhawks flip flop at the top of this group.

#4 SEEDS: LSU, Clemson, UCLA, Florida State
#5 SEEDS: Gonzaga, Missouri, Marquette, Xavier
#6 SEEDS: Purdue, Arizona State, Illinois, Syracuse
#7 SEEDS: California, Tennessee, Utah, Butler
#8 SEEDS: Dayton, West Virginia, Arizona
#9 SEEDS: Wisconsin, BYU, Utah State, Miami (FL)
#10 SEEDS: Boston College, Texas, South Carolina, Ohio State
#11 SEEDS: Providence, Florida, Penn State, Virginia Tech
#12 SEEDS: Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, VCU (CAA), Siena (MAAC),
#13 SEEDS: College of Charleston (SoCon), UNLV, Northern Iowa (MVC), Buffalo (MAC)
#14 SEEDS: Vermont (America East), WKU (Sun Belt), American (Patriot), Weber St. (Big Sky)#15 SEEDS: ND State (Summit), Robert Morris (Northeast), Morehead St. (OVC), Cornell (Ivy)
#16 SEEDS: Radford (Big South), Morgan State (MEAC), Stephen F. Austin (Southland), East Tennessee St. (A-Sun)

Play-In Game: Long Beach (Big West) vs. Alabama State (SWAC)

Last Six In: Florida, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, UNLV

Last Six Out: Michigan, Minnesota, Cincinnati, St. Mary's, Northwestern, Georgetown

NATIONAL CHAMPION PICK: Villanova Wildcats