Thisclose

The NBA has canceled all November games. Surprise. But enough about the NBA. The league isn’t doing anyone any good. How about baseball? In all fairness, I hadn’t watched much of the postseason or the World Series until Game 6. But that game reminded me about why baseball is such a great sport. And it’s one whose games aren’t being canceled! Texas was one out away from a title twice, and blew the game to the Cardinals. Then the Rangers lost Game 7. Heartbreaking, yes, but great games. In other news, go find yourself a copy of the latest Dime Magazine. John Wall is on the cover, fittingly, considering the past few months of crazy pickup games he’s had. Time to go watch Syracuse lose to a sub-.500 Louisville team after destroying a ranked West Virginia team. Oh, the unpredictability of college football.

Scary good

6-2. Wins at South Florida, West Virginia, and Cincinnati. I can finally say Syracuse is a good football team. They have arrived. “Syracuse football” is no longer synonymous with “sucks.” Time to be taken seriously after today’s 31-7 win over Cincy. This is a real football team. True wins. No messing around with Syracuse. It’s raining Orange on Halloween.

Leave them in the dust.

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?

Here and there

The Sweet 16 is here in Syracuse. Two games, four teams. Tonight. At the dome. But Syracuse won’t be there. They’re out in Utah, where they will also be playing tonight. Obviously Syracuse couldn’t play on it’s own campus for the tournament. So while West Virginia/Washington is playing out at the dome, Syracuse-Butler will be playing thousands of miles away. So who’s watching the game in the dome? No Syracuse fans, that’s for sure. Cornell fans, who face Kentucky in the later game? I guess. Either way, the dome will still be pretty full. But for once, Syracuse fans won’t care about a men’s basketball game being played in the dome. They’ll have their eyes out west.

When in doubt, don’t

Now, I’m not looking to jinx Syracuse here. I’m just looking to set some things straight. First off, there have been many doubters (myself included) about Syracuse’s chances to go all the way. Granted, I still think it’s Kansas’ tourney to lose, but Syracuse is awfully close. People are saying Syracuse may not beat Gonzaga, or Pitt, or Kansas State, or whoever. Yes, Arinze Onuaku may be out for a little, and yes, the team did lose two straight to end the season, but this is a team that was ranked number one just a week and a half ago. They hardly lost at all before last week and dominated in all aspects of the game much of the time. They are a team that beat Georgetown twice, demolished Villanova, and beat West Virginia, one of the hottest teams right now. Syracuse did not lose to a team that was bad. They lost to Pitt, Louisville and G’town. Meanwhile, I can’t think of another team that lost to only solid teams. Not even Kansas, who is the favorite by many to win it all. So, am I a little worried about Syracuse’s future? Yes. But will I be after they crush Vermont this Friday and later whoever else comes in their way? No. Let the doubters remain. We’ll catch them by surprise. Then they’ll wish they never underestimated Syracuse basketball.

He'll be back.

Ranking numba 5

I was just sitting down and thinking about how I had nothing to write about. But how could that be possible? I have not written for nearly one week. And this was not a quiet week in sports. Let’s start with today’s revelation. Mark McGwire took steroids. Can’t say I’m surprised. That was anything but a shocker. Next, the NFL Playoffs are going on. I really do not having an interest in watching teams other than the Giants play, but I do have a rooting interest: the Ravens, who beat the Patriots on Sunday. They are my home state team, and have always been my second favorite team behind the Giants. Come this weekend, I will not be rooting for a Manning, in this case Peyton. I will be rooting for the team that hails from the great state of Maryland.

In college basketball, the unbeatens are falling down. Purdue and Kansas lost a week after Syracuse and West Virginia fell. Kentucky and Texas better be next!

Also, I think I completely forgot to mention the Mets signing of Jason Bay. We needed more stability in the outfield with Carlos Beltran. The Mets have a talented team. They did last year too, but it was an injured talented team. If everyone is healthy, the Mets can be good. Maybe even good enough to keep place with the Phillies.

Speaking of Philadelphia, the Eagles lost. Woo hoo! I strongly dislike them.

Meanwhile, Syracuse basketball has regained their spot at number 5 in the rankings after a brief and unnecessary stay at number 7. A message to Texas, Kentucky, Kansas and Villanova: feel free to lose. Texas, you came out of nowhere. Kentucky, star freshies can only take you so far. Kansas, you are weak just like I knew all along. And lastly, Villanova. Scottie Reynolds: I have no more allegiance to you. Syracuse has more wins and a better loss than you. You guys lost to Temple. I guess you didn’t pray before the game.

Those are all my ramblings for today! Thanks for reading!

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.

Some thoughts and some college basketball finally!

The Super Bowl is coming up this Sunday. The thing about the Super Bowl is that the tv is constantly airing something worth watching. When the game is going on, you have that. When it’s not, the commercials are pretty good. And when neither of those are on, the halftime shows are usually pretty good.

All-star rosters for the NBA all star game came out yesterday, with few surprises. The Nets have Devin Harris representing them, but not all teams have a player. Unlike the MLB all star game, the NBA does not require each team to be represented by at least one player. So, there are many teams without a player, but those are mostly bad teams.

Manny Ramirez says no one wants him. You know what Manny, why don’t you just accept whatever a team is willing to pay you. There are as many people as your current salary (millions) that would take your check in a heartbeat, whether it be one million dollars or even 500,000 dollars.

The Steelers and the Cardinals are two very different teams. Either the Steelers pull it out, or the Cardinals grab the upset.

Wake Forest upset Duke the other day. I believe that the ACC has the best top teams, and the the Big East has the best teams in general, though the Big East is much bigger. The Big East has Pitt, UCONN, Marquette, Notre Dame, Villanova, Georgetown, West Virginia, Louisville, and Syracuse. Cincinatti is dangerous, as they showed in their upset of Georgetown. Georgetown, meanwhile, is on a downward spiral. And it’s not like they can rebound against poor teams, because they were beat by Seton Hall. Losing to Pitt, fine, Seton Hall, not so much. The ACC has Duke, Wake, and UNC all looking very strong. There’s a few other decent teams in the conference, but no one too special. The Big Ten has a lot of  ’good’ teams, and not much else. Illinois, Purdue, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ohio State are good. Penn State is surprisingly good, and Indiana is not surprisingly bad. Michigan State is up at the top with aforementioned Purdue.  The Big 12 is Oklahoma, Texas, sort of Kansas, and barely Baylor. The SEC is Kentucky, and they aren’t even that great. Florida is alright, but nothing spectacular. The PAC-10. UCLA has been alright. Stanford is missing the Lopez brothers, and Arizona State is pretty good because of James Harden and his crew. So, as of now, college basketball is being dominated by the East Coast, and their leagues (ACC/Big East), as it should be.

Who you gonna call?

A while back I wrote about the absurdity of names for arenas and stadiums. Well, I think what I am about to say kind of relates to that post. So, I turn on the tv and see Georgetown and West Virginia playing. Georgetown plays most of their home games at the Verizon Center, which is where the Wizards play. Anyways, so you have a court called Verizon Center, with a billboard type thing on the court for….Sprint. Yep, the Verizon Center gladly advertises for Sprint. Didn’t see that one coming.