Four score

The Final Four has arrived—Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State (R.I.P. Syracuse) and Kansas. From the outside, there are no surprises in those teams. But take a closer look. Only one is a No. 1 seed. Louisville doesn’t have a superstar. Kentucky has Anthony Davis, but not John Wall. Ohio State has Jared Sullinger, but no Oden/Conley/Cook. And Kansas doesn’t have its collection of superstars from years past, “just” Thomas Robinson. But all these teams have a collection of players and a formula that allowed them to reach the Final Four over every other team in the nation. Sometimes, we see a player like Kemba Walker take over the spotlight. Other times, we see a team come together like Duke at just the right time. Who knows what the case will be this year. But either way, it will be a deserving team. It’s a lot harder than it looks these days to become a champion.

From the east to the atlantic coast? Sounds the same. But it doesn’t act the same.

Get an updated logo please.

Okay, what’s going on here. Football teams that are supposed to be losing are winning and vice versa. Syracuse is moving to the ACC. Oh, where to start…. How about Indy, where if I was a Colts fan I’d be very, very worried. Kerry Collins is in no way, shape or form any reincarnation of Peyton Manning. I wish the Colts the best of luck on the season. Boy do they need it. A new QB probably wouldn’t hurt either. In other news, the Redskins are 2-0. Means nothing. Neither does 3-0. Get to 4-0, then we’re talking.

And now, to the biggest news of the day—Syracuse and Pitt to the ACC. Okay, let’s put Pitt aside for a second. Because no one cares about them. They’re clearly second-fiddle in these discussions. Why? Because by leaving the Big East, Syracuse, a founding member, is essentially allowing the conference to sink into a pile of nothingness. First off, we don’t know how long this process will take. Could be a couple years. But let’s look at both angles here. First, the easy part. The cons. And of course, with both of these conferences being basketball heavy (although probably not wanting to admit it), bball comes to my mind first. So Syracuse can say bye to conference games against Georgetown. Bye to the Garden and Big East tournament. Bye to a founding legacy!! Okay, enough drama. They’ll get over it all, and the ACC will probably weasel its way into the Garden somehow. Do I feel bad for the Big East? Sure. But not that bad. It was kind of annoying with half the schools being bball and half football. And Notre Dame just for bball. So now we get to the pros. SU can play UNC and Duke. And Maryland (for my sake). Football (which is most likely at the core of all of this transfer despite these being bball schools) won’t be an improvement as ‘Cuse will be leaving the worst big football conference for the second worst. But, the ACC is now very stable (although the Big East was before ‘Cuse and Pitt decided to leave). Regardless, there are mixed feelings here, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s still thinking about this move. Thoughts??

B[lu]e-deviled

Bite your tongue; title goes to Duke. Those devils!

Would I have predicted Duke to win the national championship at the beginning of the year? Nope. After they won the ACC championship? Nope. After they got their top seed? Nope? After they made the Final Four? Not even that. I only gave the Blue Devils a shot against Butler, and they proved me right. This year’s Final Four was not built on star power like in year’s past, and that was exemplified with Duke. Sure, they have stars like Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith and John Scheyer, as well as big man Brian Zoubek. But this is not your older cousin’s Duke. This isn’t even your elementary school self’s Duke. But they did it. They proved to be the best out of the pool. They were the only team not to drown. It’s funny, because last year at this time I was sitting in a hotel room at Syracuse writing about how North Carolina was so dominant following their national championship win. And now, a year later, I’m sitting in my dorm room at Syracuse writing about how Duke finally made their way back to the top with this victory. Like the Yankees last year, this Duke team ended their drought. They won it all for the first time since 2001. That was a long nine years, filled with poor finishes and disappointments. But now this Duke team has a national championship. Good effort, Butler, but you guys couldn’t top Duke. They had their ups and downs this season, but they came through when it mattered most. Congrats. (And that is probably the only congrats from a non-Duke fan that you will get). Keep the haters comin’. I don’t like Duke, but they are the champions, and deserve credit for that. Wait, what am I saying? Screw ‘em!

P.S. No comments on how late I’m posting!

Monday’s National Championship Game: Butler vs. Duke. Wait, what?

I may come out of my college basketball hiding stance to watch the National Championship game between Butler and Duke tomorrow. Even though Syracuse did lose to Butler, we sure look good now that they’ve made it to the final game. But I still don’t want to root for them. But who (besides Duke fans) wants to root for Duke? Exactly. Can you imagine if Butler won? Beating out the teams with multi-million dollar facilities and national prominence? Have you even heard of Butler for reasons other than their basketball team? Meanwhile, Duke is that strong, one-syllable team that sounds scary when you say it. Duke. They are the Yankees of college basketball. But will they join the Yankees in ending their championship drought, or will the college basketball world tilt off its axis with the unexpected? (A Butler win). I honestly don’t know. I saw Duke lose to Maryland and they didn’t seem that amazing. Meanwhile, Butler barely beat Murray St. while topping injured Syracuse and Michigan State squads, in addition to a tired Kansas State team. Still, they won, and Duke is allowed a slip up. This title game, and the final four in general, was lacking power. Will Duke show their power, or will Butler go down in history? We will see. (I’m going with Duke).

Three straight may be asking too much

A winning streak it is. A winning streak that just so happened to tie a record that was so bad, yet so good at the same time. The Nets beat the Pistons for their second straight win and first winning streak of the season. They also picked up their 9th win. So if the streak refuses to continue, we are at least guaranteed a tie of the worst record ever. Whew. That was a close one.

In other news, Ohio State lost today. Another one bites the dust. But Duke still won, so the tournament hasn’t gone completely insane. Yet. Only Butler remains out of the cinderellas. So here is a breakdown of the Elite Eight. I’d hardly call them elite though:

Kentucky- Saw their news cameras outside the dome today. They probably had so much coverage here because nothing actually happens in Kentucky.

West Virginia- Syracuse beat them. They are overrated.

Michigan State- Not as good as last year’s team.

Tennessee- Our orange is better.

Butler-Bull[****]dogs.

Kansas State- Currently the best of Kansas. Behind Topeka CC, of course.

Duke- I actually don’t hate them at all.

Baylor- Dark horse?

To rush or not to rush? (the court)

O.M.G. Maryland beat Duke. Let’s loot the stores and throw our bodies in the air. Seriously, Maryland fans. Calm down. Yes, it was senior day, and yes it puts you in a first place tie in the ACC. And yes, it was Duke. But still. I have to agree with ESPN on the whole rushing the court thing. You don’t rush the court for a win like this. Not when you are ranked just like Duke. Rushing the court should be a rarified experience. Let’s not water it down. Shouldn’t you expect to win? Fortunately, I have not experienced this this year because Syracuse expects to win every game and actually is better than every team. You rush the court when you eek out a win that gets you to the tournament for the first time ever (AU, ‘o8). You rush the court if you are unranked and you beat the number one team, for say, the first time ever. Got it, UMD? Good.

Quite the wild week in sports

I was just on ESPN.com and I went down to their poll question which asked what the week’s biggest headline was. This is sports, keep in mind, so Haiti did not make the list. But this was a crazy week in sports, and ESPN just reminded me of that. First, Gilbert Arenas was charged with a felony. Mark McGwire admitted to using steroids. And Lane Kiffin left for Tennessee. I figured Blake Griffin being out for the year and Texas basketball jumping to number one were rather insignificant (sorry Blake) compared to these three headlines, each of which had a significant impact on their sport.

Let’s start with Gilbert. Good ‘ol Gilbert, right? Wrong. Mr. Arenas did not have his guns licensed in the District. He could go to jail (But he won’t being an athlete. Only Plax and Vick went to jail). The Wizards have become a mess. Players, management, everything. And they are losing.

Also this week, Mark McGwire admitted to using steroids. Does that give him more or less respect? My views on him remain the same. However, I think it was good for him to admit the obvious.

Baseball is still recuperating from the steroids era. Information is still lacking and there may never be a closed book on this topic. Note to Mr. Bonds: you’re next.

And finally, Lane Kiffin. Because Pete Carroll of USC left the Trojans to coach the Seahawks (also big news from this week), USC had to hire a coach. So they grabbed Kiffin. If I went to Tennessee, I would be peeved too, trust me. I wouldn’t be surprised if he can’t get things going at SC, but then again, with the talent and money he’s got, he should get plenty of wins.

Poor Tennessee. Left to scramble for a coach. They even looked at Duke and Syracuse’s head coaches (with all due respect) among others before settling on a guy from Louisiana Tech. Now no disrespect there, but how far have the Vols fallen? Apparently down to Louisiana.      Tech.

2004: Can you keep up?

There I was, staring face to face with Pete Rose, MLB’s all time hits leader. But he had writing all over his face. I was, of course, looking at him on the cover of Sports Illustrated. My first cover. The January 14, 2004 issue. I was so excited to get my first issue. And who’s on the cover? Pete Rose, confessing to betting on baseball. But I thought sports were supposed to be fun?

When I first flipped through the magazine, all I could think of was how boring it was. I was used to SI Kids, and I just didn’t understand regular SI. But hey, I was only 12.

The magazine started to grow on me though when it focused more on sports I knew and now I love Sports Illustrated. It is my favorite magazine.

Getting Sports Illustrated was in a way my gateway to the wide world of sports. This is the year that I began to know more and more about sports. And it was a good year in sports. In May, the Nets had an epic NBA playoff series with the Pistons. Even though they lost the series, they won a crazy game 5. It ended up being three overtimes. I remember I was in a hotel and watched the end of the game and one of the overtimes in the lobby. And then I had to go to bed and miss the end of the game. The next morning, I turned ESPN on and saw the Nets had won (127 to something I think). I think I jumped on the bed. Too bad we lost the last two games. We could no longer dominate the Pistons, who even beat the Lakers for the championship that year.

I think I even caught some of LSU’s win in the BCS championship game, although I was far from knowledgable in college football in 2004.

2004 was also a year of history. You know where I’m going. The Red Sox won the World Series for the first time since 1918, breaking the curse. I saved the sports sections from when they beat the Angels, Yankees and Cardinals in each round, respectively. I started writing about sports during the ALCS and NLCS. I remember when Johnny Damon hit the grand slam in Game 7 of the ALCS against the Yankees. I knew then that they had everything in the bag.

I also started following college basketball during this year. The first time I saw UConn play that year, I knew they were going to win it all. Just like I knew Matt Bonner would make it to the NBA when I saw him play for Florida in 2003. I just thought Bonner would because I thought he looked like former Net Todd Macculloch. Bonner is in the NBA, by the way. Anyway, I saw UConn beat Alabama on tv I think, and I knew they were going to win it all. And they did, beating Duke and Georgia Tech in the final four. Oklahoma State and St. Joseph’s also had a classic elite 8 game that I remember. John Lucas III sound familiar?

Phil Mickelson also won his first major, The Masters this year. I remember watching this happen.

2004 was a busy year in sports. A lot happened. I guess it was a sign of things to come.

COLLEGE basketball

Last year, I did a mini college basketball preview about the arcs and certain perennial powers. Here’s a quick recap:

(From Nov. 2008)- The college basketball season is here. The Tar Heels are the national favorites, followed by the likes of perennial powerhouses UCONN and UCLA. The season figures to be entertaining, thanks largely in part to a bunch of players who stayed in school.
But what really is the biggest story at the start of the college basketball season? The new arc? Can you believe it? A line is hogging the spotlight. Both Sports Illustrated and The Washington Post did feature stories on arcs. They were good, but what a shame that an arc is stealing the limelight from the likes of Tyler Hansbrough, Luke Harangody, and Blake Griffin.
It’s all great and good that there is a new arc. But it probably won’t make a difference. So lets focus on the players shooting from the arc, not the arc itself.

 

 

I would like to say that things are the same this year, but that would be far from true. Gone is the dominance of UNC and Hansbrough. In is a lack of dominance, in my opinion at least. The stars that stayed in school last year are gone. Only Harangody is back. The other stars are labeled that way because that is what they have to become to replace the departed players. Kansas is supposed to lead the pack, with All Americans Sherron Colllins and Cole Aldrich. Did you know that those two were bench players in the Jayhawk’s national title team from two years ago? UNC is supposed to remain strong with supposed lottery pick Ed Davis, who is being declared great based on potential,not real life results. However, he did shows glimpses of skill last year.

Lucky Kentucky. They not only get John Calipari, but John Wall and a bunch of other top recruits. All for the price of one! Just kidding. But Kentucky did make the leap from no NCAA to top five team.

The Big East will be down. They lost Hasheem Thabeet, Jonny Flynn, Terrence Williams, Marquette’s threesome, and a bunch of others. So who’s left? Greg Monroe of Georgetown, who showed great flashes as a freshman last year. Syracuse transfer Wesley Johnson is supposed to be good. We’ll see. Harangody, a proven star, is back. Pitt is down. Louisville and Connectiuct are down key players from last year but not depleted like Marquette and Pitt. Cincy is on the rise, as are Seton Hall and St. Johns. Villanova leads the pack with Scottie Reynolds, while WVU trails closely. I think it’ll be a tight race.

The ACC will be lead by (gasp!) UNC and Duke. But UMD has Greivis Vasquez and Georgia Tech has some good recruits. Wake lost Jeff Teague and James Johnson. UVA has Sylven Landesberg.

In the SEC, they’re still focused on football.

In the PAC 10, Cal leads the way with guards Randle and Christopher. Washington has Isaiah Thomas (different one).

The Big 12 has Texas and Damion James. Also, can Mizzou repeat last year’s magic?

And the Big Ten. I’m feeling the Big Ten. Purdue is loaded with JaJuan Johnson, Robbie Hummel, Chris Kramer and E’Twaun Moore. Michigan State just made the final Four. Michigan and Manny Harris should be good. Wisco is always solid. Illinois was good last year and Penn State should build off their NIT Championship.

It will be an interesting year for sure. Is it too original if I pick Kansas?

 

 

As long as their football team doesn’t get to them first.

Forde Minutes: A look back and a look forward – ESPN–Found this on ESPN. Interesting.

The three M’s: Money, Motocrossed, and Memphis

Yesterday I read an article in Sports Illustrated regarding money and sports. Money obviously remains a huge issue in the world, especially now due to the economy. But these athletes were struggling before this year. Too many athletes do not manage their money effectively. A million here, a million there, it’s all just pennies to them. They need to start learning how money works- it’s time to grow up. And then maybe they wouldn’t have to sell their million dollar homes. Then again, why should some of them grow up? Aren’t 22 year olds still kids? Thats my two cents on athletes and money. Maybe some athletes will give you their “2 million” on how they plan to manage their salaries.

On another note, I was recently watching some Disney Channel Original Movies. No, not High School Musical and all of those dumb ones currently being played. I’m talking about ones from the late 90s and early 2000s. The ones I watched in elementary school, like Motocrossed, Phantom of the Megaplex, and Brink. There are soo many more good ones but I won’t get into them because I would probably lose half of my audience at that point. Basically, sometimes oldies are better than newbies.

On a last note, I am kind of glad that Memphis lost last night. They were not really proven, and they bothered me for no reason. I also can’t believe Duke lost. I mean, Duke is kind of whimpy so I was expecting it. I originally had them in my final four but I had them there on the basis that they would be playing UCLA. AU was supposed to beat Villanova (which they almost did. that is amazing now). UCLA was supposed to win and lose to Duke. Oh well. I’ve got UCONN, Louisville, and UNC left.