Alright, here we go...LOST will have to wait...
Paulus splits a double team and hits a floater. Shoot me in the face. Quick dunk at the other end for B-Wright, though.
Zoubek travels again. He's starting to make Barbaro looked coordinated. And Barbaro is dead.
Sheyer wiith another three. Dickie V calls him the next JJ. I don't know who I hate more.
Reyshawn Terry is laying on the ground, A-Rod clone David McLure falls over him, and Terry picks up the foul. This game is just not going Carolina's way. They are just slamming their heads into the break wall to no avail. The frustration, at least to me, is palpable. Sometimes it just isn't your night (and if you think this is a reverse jinx...well, it is). Lawson gets a steal for a deuce. Kilcoyne might be on to something...50-40, Duke.
Open looks, offensive rebounds, hustle plays...this is driving me nuts. If I could punch John Scheyer in his Stonehenge-esque head, I think I would feel a lot better. Scheyer is killing Carolina right now, mainly because they refuse to guard him. Paulus, on the other hand, is easily playing his best ever at Duke. I'm gonna go crack my head off the coffee table.
They are talking ahout Dick Groat...apparently he lead the nation in assists and points one year, went on to play for the Pistons, was an All-Star short stop for the Pirates, cured cancer, wrote Seinfeld and invented the Internet. OK, I made up the part about the Internet. But the rest is all true. Look it up.
McRoberts picks up his third foul, leading to this from Vitale: "That's where they have to get the ball to Hansbrough, that's where he's so effective, I saw the best player in the country at Texas, Kevin Durant." It sounded worse, trust me.
Paulus is spazzing out. I choose to believe this will cost Duke in the long run. Rarely has spazzing out ever been an effective course of action. Scheyer misses another three, but it is wide open. Have I mentioned this yet? A Duke player getting a wide open look for no other reason than the kids in the cooler uniforms are leaving him wide open? Who the hell is guarding Scheyer? When he is standing there doing nothing, is he curious where Scheyer is, or does he not care? I think he does not care. If he was curious, he would have found him, like, once.
Goal-tending on Henderson on a Frasier fast break lay up. Carolina within 5. If they ever take the lead, its over. Duke cannot relinquish this lead. Well, they can...but they shouldn't.
Oh, do I hate McRoberts' facial expressions. He is the worst. The worst. Maybe if he ever accomplished anything, they would be a little more meaningful. He just missed two free throws to keep the lead at 5 and then picks up his fourth foul after he tackles Hansbrough under the rim. It's not good because he's out - really, he's not that good - but it's so good because no Zoubek has to play, and he doesn't know that you only get two steps. It's funny. Watch him, he really doesn't know.
Wes Miller for three! I love him! Miller and Frasier in the back court. This is the way to go, I think. At least those two will guard Scheyer and Paulus (I can't believe I wrote that...holy shit). 52-50, Duke.
McRoberts is embarrassing himself. His antics on the bench just cost him 5 spots in the Draft. He looked like a third-grader at the zoo who got his balloon popped. What a baby. Hansbrough ties it up with a baseline J but Paulus answers with another J! If Paulus could live any day over and over again for the rest of his life, he should pick this day.
Wright scores - he has 15? Scheyer with a wide open three. This is stupid. Seriously. Its so stupid how open he is all the time. They aren't even running plays for him. It's so stupid. 57-54, Duke. 7:35 left.
I can't do this anymore. Thoughts later. I'm going to watch the rest of this through my fingers.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Second Half: Live Blogging Carolina/Duke.
First Half: Live Blogging Carolina/Duke.
Waiting for G'town/Louisville to end so we can get to UNC/Duke. Len Elmore and some other guy calling the game. Can they do the next game, too? Do we really need Vitale and Patrick trying to top eachother like Bird and 'Nique to see who can salivate the most over Duke?
I called it. Freakin' tools with Carolina sweatshirts on shaming the whole rivalry on the ESPN couch.
Wow, close up of Mike Patrick. For once, I'm grateful I don't have HDTV. He looks like Lord Voldemort right out of the cauldron. Or the underside of a rock.
Isn't Josh McRoberts tough? I mean, look at his scowl! Man, he is so hard. Easy there, Josh.
Doris Burke talking about Coach K letting his players sign center court. I hate Duke, but ya know...that was pretty cool. Don't tell anyone I said that.
Rayshawn Terry smacks the first shot of the game off the backboard. He can jump high. Were off to a good start.
Wow. Lawson just got called for a pushoff on Paulus, who then goes down and makes a three. I'm gonna rub my eyes real hard like a cartoon and pretend that never happened.
Cripes. Terry falls down and looks like Peter Griffin after the water slide down the living room stairs...elbows and knees at odd angles. Not good.
Gerald Henderson with a jumper. Did he go to HS with anyone from UNC? This might top the "Paulus got rectuited by ND to play QB" angle. And that little bastard scored again! And now Scheyer...for the love of Wojo, Duke is on fire. Mike Patrick tucks his first boner. Another wide open three. I am in hell. Oh my God, another one! No, it rimmed out...thank God. Mike Patrick might have climaxed. 15-6, Duke in the early going.
Another offensive foul on UNC. Cripes. There is no way Duke can sustain this. There just isn't. It's absurd. If I wasn't typing this as I was watching it, I wouldn't believe it.
Roy subs in Bobby Frasier for Lawson. Lawson will be alright (I hope). Ellington hit a tough J. And then another. If he gets it going, look out.
I like when other announcers call Vitale by his name. I like to think they are secretly insulting him. "You know, I couldn't agree more, Dick."
Lawson's back; slashes through the lane for two and the lead is down to five. Told ya this couldn't last forever. McRoberts answers - Vitale says he should be scoring twenty; Patrick immediately bails him out saying that he doesn' score because he's so unselfish. Please. He just isn't that good, plain and simple. If you can't be good at Duke, you just aren't.
Duke puts three guys on Hansbrough and Lawson still throws it to him. C'mon Ty...someone is open.
What I miss? My dog just tricked me into getting hear a treat when I thought she had to go outside. Smart puppy. 21-12, Duke.
A scrum! A pile up! A melee! Gheorge Muresan's "little" brother and Terry get into it. Matt Dougherty just rushed out of the stands and tried to punch Wojo! Hey, Reyshawn's back! And I think that tall guy just said the fuck word! Aaaaand commercial.
I'll tell you what: Hansbrough is a better perimeter defender than people give him credit for. McRoberts just tried to take him off the dribble and Tyler walled him off - twice. Maybe he will be decent in the L. Game is getting frenetic now. Duke ends up scoring, but they've missed back to back lay ups and a three. This favors UNC in the long run. Duke just can't keep this up. 24-19, Duke. Make that 24-21 after Psycho T hammers one home.
Hey, they mention Dick Devenzio. I went to his camp a while ago..."The Point Guard College." It was a co-ed sleepover camp, but that wasn't in the brochure. I looked like Paulus staring down a full court press when I learned girls were sleeping over. And that little bastard scores again! Where does Duke get annoying white point guards? Are they rolling them off some assembly line, using Coach K's and a rat's DNA?
OK, maybe the most ridiculous technical foul I've seen outside of Skip Dry. Deon Thompson goes for a tip dunk, misses the ball, and then grabs the rim, all in one motion, like in NBA Jam when you would try to dunk but get stripped and your guy still goes through the motions. So stupid. Vitale and Patrick agree with the call. Of course they do. 28-21 Duke. Still.
Paulus with a heat check. Keep looking, Greg. That's more like it.
First pro-Carolina thing said by Mike Patrick: "Momentum looks to be swinging in Carolina's favor." This is followed by Reyshawn Terry promptly dribbling off his shin and out of bounds. He pulled a Kilcoyne! He reversed jinxed them! I don't think Kilcoyne will ever know how much I loathed his reverse jinxes. He had a solid five year run where it was automatic.
Wow. 10 straight shots of Duke co-eds. Um...they seem like very nice young ladies, very smart. Yea.
If Matt Dillon was seven feet tall and uglier, he'd be Zoubek. Zoubek takes nine steps and is finally called for a walk.
Can everyone just get the hell out of Ty Lawson's way please? No one can keep up with him. It isn't even close. Just get the hell out of the way!
Duke is shooting the friggin' lights out. This is excruciating. Duke is just getting open look after open look. Its unreal.
Is Brandan Wright playing this evening? Oh. There he is for a dunk. 'Bout time. 35-27, Duke. Carolina just looks totally lost. But Scheyer - who has like 15 right now on all wide open looks and hustle plays - is sucking wind running up court. 3:30 left. Whoever closes out this half the best will win this game. These are three really important minutes.
Paulus drives and is fouled...I can't take this. He can't play against Kent St. or Virginia Tech; all of the sudden he's Bobby Hurley reincarnated. I can't do this. I can't.
Oh God. Quentin Thomas is in. I am so scared right now. Petrified. Oh - he found Terry for a three! There's a saying about blind squirrels and nuts that applies here. But seriously, get him out of the game. Now.
Ellington drives and is contacted by two players, no whistle; Paulus drives and get a call. It is definitely a pro-Duke whistle right now. But we knew that going in.
Ginyard with a floater with 15 seconds left; that'll be the last points of the half. Duke up 5 at the break, 39-34. Duke is playing wonderfully, I'll give them that, but UNC is letting them. A plethora of open looks, bad shots on offense, careless with the ball. If it is any consolation, UNC couldn't have played any dumber and they are only down 5. I guess that's a good thing.
I can't watch the second half, I don't think. It's almost 10, I'm just going to watch LOST. Wake me up when it''s over.
Carolina/Duke: Might as Well Bet On It
Carolina-Duke tips off tonight for the first time this season. Who knows who will win - something ridiculous always happens when these two get together - but some things are bound to happen. What things, and how often? Let's bet on it, shall we?
Over/under...
Number of times Josh McRoberts makes the winy, pseudo-pissed off face for no good reason: 21
Number of times Tyler Hansbrough blinks: 3
Number of times Greg Paulus falls over trying to guard Tywon Lawson: 5.5
Number of broken ankles for Greg Paulus: 1.5
Number of times any Duke player slaps the floor: 73
Number of times Wojo slaps the floor: 4.5 (Take the over. He can't help himself.)
Number of times Dick Vitale mentions someone who has absolutely nothing to do with either North Carolina or Duke: 156.
Number of Coach K foot stomps combined while angrily snarling and mouthing what appears to be "vacuum": 113.5
Number of times Mike Patrick has to employ the boner tuck: 1.5
Number of times either announcer refers to this game as "what college basketball is all about.": 92.5
Number of times Duke is described as "undermanned" and/or "gritty": 45
Number of times Roy Williams will crouch down onto his knees and execute a flawless thousand yard stare: 7.5
Number of times Dick Vitale makes an excuse for Coack K's inability to bring home a gold medal: 1.5
Odds...
That Vitale and Patrick will storm the court if Duke pulls off the upset: 10:1
That Chris Collins will look like he wants to hang himself after Greg Paulus throws the ball directly to him: 12:1
That Roy Williams benches his entire starting five at some point in the game: 8:1
That Roy Williams wears that awful Carolina blue suit, because hey, everyone else is doing it, so why not?: 2:1
That Coach K wears a Duke blue suit: 500:1
That Psycho T actually punches some one in the face: 25:1
That that person is Greg McClure: 26:1
That there is a picture shown of Brandan Wright, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington goofing around. Then, when the camera returns to the court, they show Alex Stephenson staring off into outer space: 5:2
That Rayshawn Terry has one completely vicious dunk: 4:1
That Carolina runs out in the sweetest warmups ever: Not accepting bets. This is a lock.
That ESPN shows two people sitting on a red couch - one a Carolina fan, the other a Duke fan - and that the Carolina fan is a total jackass and makes the Duke person look awesome by comparison, causing me to whip the remote at my TV screen, only to hear Dick Vitale say, "That's why I love this rivalry, baby!": 1:1.
The Line...
Right now, Bodog.com has Carolina giving 4.5. That doesn't seem quite high enough, does it? Carolina is clearly the better team, but Duke is at home and no one has any idea what happens in these kinds of games and Carolina is banking heavily on three freshman who have never played in this type of environment. Still, Greg Paulus will be guarding Tywon Lawson. Too bad they can't just play full court one-on-one. I'll take Carolina to cover.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
:35 Second Shot Clock
:35 Second Shot Clock will now be brought to you on Tuesdays (because no one wants to compete with Peter King's MMQB column, even in this off season...yea, that's why). Please adjust your schedules accordingly.
Since the NBA has mandated that the kiddies have to spend at least one year in college before hopping to the draft, I wondered whether schools would welcome those kids who have made it abundantly clear that they will spend just one season hitting the books. Obviously, the schools have, but is it really the best thing for the program?
Take Texas. Kevin Durant is hands down the college player of the year. He could break his leg right now and still win that award. He is dominating college hoops like no one I can remember. Carmelo comes to mind, but more for his brilliance in the tournament. Durant is just killing people. No one has any idea how to guard him. He does whatever he wants; his versatility is disgusting. The way he plays makes me jealous that this rule wasn't always in place so we could have seen what LeBron or Dwight Howard or Amare would have done with one year of eligibility. Texas is without question a better team this year with him than without him. They win games they would never win without him and they hang around games in which they should be getting blown out - like last night at Texas A&M.
But does this help Texas in the long run. Like, next year? Durant is gone after this season, make no mistake about this. Rick Barnes wishful thinking that he'll come back for round two of classes and co-eds is just that: wishful thinking. So will his team be better next year? Texas has a terrible habit of just standing around and watching Durant (which is actually hard to fault them for; he really is incredible to watch) with the exception of freshman PG DJ Augustine. Won't this set them back next season? They just sat around and watched. How are they getting any better?
Wouldn't it be better to only sign these types of players if you have a shot to win a national title this season? If you don't have a chance to win the national title - and let's be honest, Texas doesn't; they don't guard anybody - wouldn't the school be better served pouring its time and resources into somebody who won't be as dominant as Durant right away, but will stick around for three, maybe four years and help them contend for the ultimate prize? Greg Oden at Ohio State or Brandan Wright at UNC (who is likely one and done, too, as much as it breaks my little Carolina blue heart) are the leading reasons why their teams are considered front runners to win the national title. Doesn't that make more sense than just letting some phenom showcase his skills for the L with nothing to show in return for it next fall?
Of course, everyone else on the team is getting exposed to a post season type atmosphere on a daily basis, they are seeing how to win and be in close games and they are watching greatness up close. Plus Texas is getting all kinds of television exposure that they would never get otherwise (seriously, they are on ESPN every other night; not that I'm complaining, I'm just sayin') that will only help recruiting.
So who knows, pluses and minuses, I guess.
Oh, and for what its worth, this is how you guard Durant, I think: he draws your best defender, obviously. Hopefully, that defender is a rangy, long athletic dude (not everyone has one, but still). Whoever guards him has no help responsibility. They chase him off every screen and do everything in their power not to even let him catch it. When he does catch it, you crowd the hell out of him. No shots, especially no threes.
Make him put it on the floor. He's tough off the dribble, to be sure, but I think he has a habit of driving into crowds and turning it over or putting up tough shots in traffic. He makes his share, but I'll live with him shooting contested mid range pull ups of the dribble rather than letting him shoot the three. He loves - loves - taking one or two dribbles, faking a crossover with his left hand and then pulling up for three. Its virtually unguardable if you play him straight up. Crowd him and make him go to his mid-range game. It is the lesser of like nine evils.
When he goes into the post? Double team. Immediately. No questions asked. Not sending a double-team when Kevin Durant is posting up is dumber than kicking to Devin Hester. There isn't a big man who can stop him in the post outside of Greg Oden, and even that is a stretch. I would attack him defensively, too - make him work hard on defense. Tire him out. Hey, its something. And understand he's still gonna kill you. But if it takes him 30 shots instead of 20, I think that's the best you can do.
Speaking of that Texas-Texas A&M game, Acie Law IV handed in a stellar performance. (Isn't the IV a little presumptuous? Are you sailing on a yacht sipping chardonnay and wearing a goofy Popeye hat? If the IV is some tribute to a deceased father or something, then I'm an asshole and I apologize.) He got A&M out to a huge lead, sustained that lead when foul trouble wrecked them (Durant is starting to get the D Wade treatment...look out), got everyone involved (15 dimes!) and then iced the game late. He's really something else. That said, is he the best PG in the nation? What PG would you take right now and feel most confident that he could lead you to a national title?
Well, Taurean Green already did it last year, but he wasn't really the focal point of the team, even if he did play some ballsy hoops. Drew Kneitzal has been carrying Michigan St. all season and coming up big in the clutch, even if his team has fallen short. Chris Rock has done a good job playing consistently at Wisconsin. Sean Singletary is a hell of a scorer and nearly impossible to contain of the dribble, at least from what I've seen. If you want a scoring point guard, he's your man. Mike Conley is tough at Ohio St. but he needs to get the ball into Oden more. Oden disapears at times, as hard as that may seem, and it is Conley's job to make sure that doesn't happen. Sherron Collins can ball at Kansas and Levance Fields is a gamer at Pitt in the mold of Brandan Knight and Carl Krauser. AJ Graves at Butler is good, too (even if he does look like the kid from Hook).
To me, though, it comes down to three guys. Two freshman: DJ Augustine and Tywon Lawson. Augustine is a terrific penetrator and is a good finisher, especially on the left side with his right hand. Lawson is the fastest player in college hoops, period. He is surrounded by a plethora of talent, true, but it is young talent and he has done a job with them, plus he gets better every game. If I could have anyone, though, it would be Dominic James. He's the most athletic PG in college hoops, if you ask me, and no one is stopping him from getting to the rim. Plus, he's a little older and seems like a fiery leader that his team responds to.
Last on this list? Greg Paulus. Of course. You know what the most amazing thing to me about Paulus is? That Notre Dame recruited him to play quarterback. Quarterback! How bad is he under pressure? He's missed makable game winners in Duke's last two games and he absolutely crumples when an athletic guard applies any type of pressure - bad passes, dribbling around aimlessly, kicking it off his foot, not getting Duke into it's offense. Could you imagine him in a collapsing pocket? He'd look like Troy Smith in the National Title game crossed with Grossman in the rain, except all the time. Jake Plummer would shake his head at his decision making. How the hell did someone this bad at pressure get recruited to play the toughest and most pressure-packed position in all of sports? No wonder ND sucked for so long. It is actually incredible Duke is so competitive with him at point guard.
Staying in the ACC, I hate to say I told you so, but I told you VTech was overrated. After beating Tabacco Road, they have losses to Florida St., NC State and got shellacked by Boston College. Again: they have first round upset written all over them.
More ACC: Who ya got in UNC/Duke? I'm setting the line at 15.5 and I'll take UNC. Goofy shit always happens in these games, but then I remember that Paulus will be guarding Ty Lawson. This game will resemble the layup lines before the game.
The worst part will be who's calling the game. I know Vitale has been called Dookie V, but Mike Patrick is a hundred times worse. He can't get over himself. He adores Duke. He trips and stumbles all over himself to find superlatives to describe their greatness. Some announcers secretly cheer for teams, but Patrick has no such subtlety. He is like that pathetic kid in high school who so desperately wants to hang out with the cool kids and will say and do anything just to be around him. He should listen to the rebroadcast at 3 am later that night; I think he would be stunned to hear himself.
As of right now...
Final Four: UNC, Kansas, Ohio State, Florida.
All-Americans: Kevin Durant, Greg Oden, Alondo Tucker, Tyler Hansbrough, Joakim Noah.
POY: Kevin Durant.
Coach of the Year: Kelvin Sampson, Indiana.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Why Does One Conference Always Dominate and One Conference Always Suck?
Of the three professional sports that currently matter right now, all three have one dominant conference and one...ah, less than dominant conference. All right, one conference is incredibly deep and talented and the other is borderline painful to watch with a few exceptions.
And it seems every time a trade is made or a free agent is signed, the better conference only gets deeper. Recent examples include AI getting shipped to Denver or, on a smaller scale, JD Drew inking a high-paying deal with the Sawx.
Why, though? Why is there such a disparity between the two in all three major sports? It really doesn't seem to make sense; it's not like one side of the league plays with different rules (well, besides the DH) or are given any type of favorable treatment, like better draft positions or more a higher salary cap. I guess in the NBA you could say the nicer weather may play a factor (who the hell wants to willingly sign to play in New Jersey or Toronto?), althought the Clippers sucked for the longest time, and LA seems to be a prime locale. The location thing doesn't really work for the NFL or MLB, though, so I think that's out.
What it comes down to, I think, is strategy. I have not had the good fortune of running my own franchise, but I would imagine the strategy is something along the lines of "let's build a team that can win our conference and then get into The Finals/World Series/Super Bowl where anything can happen and we only have to beat one team." This is why one conference is always dominant and the other always seems light years behind. Teams from the crappy side of the league are only concerned about the other crappy teams they have to beat to get to their championship round, and in just the past sports year, it's proven to be a pretty sound strategy.
(This is why I think conferences in professional sports are so stupid. Everyone can play eachother. Why can't we just take the best teams? Its so dumb when a team with a good record is left out over a team with a worse record just because they play in a crappier conference. OK, maybe this doesnt make sense for football, necessarily, but it definitely holds up for the NBA and MLB.)
So why is conference dominance so cyclical then? Like in the NFL, the AFC has won 8 out of the last 10 Super Bowls, but before that, the NFC was kicking their ass up and down the field for a decade. Why does it change?
I could easily see this happening with the Saints, as soon as next year. They have a young, talented offense and possibly the most versatile weapon in the league. They could easily shift things. LeBron could do this in Cleveland, too, if they would surround him with any semblance of talent at all (actually, screw a supporting "cast" - just get him one other good player, please). I don't know how this could happen in baseball...maybe the Cubs $300 million dollar spending spree will payoff and Kerry Wood and Mark Prior will miraculously heal and turn in 20-win performances.
I have no idea if this is right or wrong or even close to making sense, but I really wanted to know why one conference always sucks and why one is always great and I sat down and thought for ten minutes and this is what I came up with. Thoughts?
XLI: Some Lingering Questions.
First Barbaro, now the Colts. Finally, all beaten-into-the-ground equine-related stories that no one wanted to hear about anyways are finally over. (Although the Colts did fair a little better than Bobby.)
Congrats to the Colts are in order. So: congrats. Now that that's out of the way, there's a few lingering questions, I think.
But with Peyton - and consider me firmly entrenched in this camp - I think people are just glad it is over and done with. No one really cared one way or the other, they are just happy it has been eliminated as a point of conversation. Really, do you know anyone who was just thrilled for Manning? Were you? I'm happy for him, I guess, but if he would have lost, I wouldn't have gotten any less sleep.
You know who has to be the most distraught? A-Rod. Now it is just him, fair or not, chilling atop Choke Artist Mountain all by himself. He's got no one for company. Maybe when LeBron gets bounced from the conference finals for the next few seasons, he'll join him. But if you need a punchline for a choke job joke, A-Rod is your go-t0 go, and I can't really think of anyone else.
Aside from the fact that a coach like that probably never would have gotten his team this far (and would be the worst human being outside of Rae Carruth) it would have set up a pretty interesting situation, I think. By all accounts, Dungy is nothing but class, but what if he wasn't? Large chunks of America (basically everyone outside of Indianapolis) would have been cheering against Tony Dungy becoming for the first black head coach ever to win a Super Bowl, and they would have been absolutely pissed this morning when he actually did become the first black coach ever to do so.
I really don't know what would happen (I'm sure Jay Mariotti's head would explode), but I think it would make for some epic arguments. Is America really still racist? Who knows, but eventually that older black guy with the white beard who appears every single time a race issue is raised would have set us all straight and told us what we should be thinking. Thank goodness we still have that guy. (If you said his name, I'd know it, but I am not Googling him to find out. Frankly, I don't even know what my search would be - "smart black guy white beard race issues"?) When he dies, it is going to be like when the Giver dies.
Finally: Should the Bears bring Grossman back? Well, I think they are going to have to. I mean, Jeff Garcia is the best free agent out there. Unless they make some trade for a veteran (a la Baltimore; but that didn't work out and Kyle Boller's confidence has to be shot) there really aren't any options. Garcia played under the greatest offensive coach in the NFL (seriously, do you know who the Eagles WRs are? And they are always, always in contention. Reid's a genius, I think).
The Bears should stick with Grossman. He got them to a Super Bowl in his first full season. Not too bad, eh? From what I can discern, his biggest weakness seems to be his decision-making; he decides where he is going to throw it before he snaps the ball (incidentally, I do this exact thing on NCAA and Madden, to about the same results). Well, that can be worked on, can't it? If I played more Madden, I would get better at that. If Grossman works more (just try to avoid any New Year's Eve film sessions), he should improve to. And it isn't like he has to be Manning or Brady, he just has to not throw dagger interceptions all game.
The Bears will be better next season. Their D will get two studs back - Tommie Harris, maybe the best at his position in the NFL and Mike Brown, who's really good and always seems to make those "I can't believe that just happened" type plays. Their running game will be better - Benson will improve, so will Thomas Jones. If Grossman just fights his inner-Favre off, there's no reason they can't be back in XLII next year, especially playing in the clearly inferior NFC.
At the very least, Grossman has to be treated like a hot girlfriend who is regularly driving you nuts. Hang on to her just because there are no better options out there, but of a better option does present itself, drop the old one in a hurry and get with little miss new thing ASAP.
And for everyone sayng how boring the Super Bowl was...well, the first quarter was awesome. So there was that.
Friday, February 02, 2007
Super Bowl XLI...Please, Please Let There Be Some Rain. A Lot of Rain.
Sounds pretty convincing, but I'm not sold. For a few reasons.
The Colts do have an explosive offense, but the Bears have a better defense, better special teams and a better running game. They are better in every aspect except for the passing game, and I don't think that the Bears passing game is as bad as every one makes it out to be.
Really, the passing game does some things exceptionally well, like hit the long ball. And I got Grossman's back. I think he's got some serious cajones. He's a play maker. (How can you slurp Brett Favre so hard and completely dismiss Grossman? Just because Favre has three MVPs and Grossman handed in two sub-2.0 passer ratings this season? C'mon!) And I don't think he'd like anything more than to shut up every stupid reporter who's asked him and his teammates and his coaches about pulling him halfway through the game.
His counterpart, the immortal Peyton Manning, basically has a ring on his finger already. But I don't trust Peyton on the big stage quite yet. Peyton doesn't strike me as the type of guy who succeeds at something the first time he does it. He fails, works his ass off, fails again, works even harder and then eventually figures everything out and succeeds.
He never beat Florida at Tennessee, but something tells me if he would have had a few more years, he would have found a way to own them. He showed flashes of brilliance early in his career, but it took him a while to master the own-the-game-at-the-line-of-scrimmage routine. It took him forever to get past the Pats but he finally did with a brilliant second half in the AFC title game. Where is the precedent for him ever, ever succeeding the first time around? Peyton will win at least one Super Bowl in his career, but the first time around? I'd be surprised. Not stunned, but surprised.
And it isn't like Peyton is having a stellar post-season either. He was so-so against the Chiefs and then did not play well at all during the Ravens game. No touchdowns. Ed Reed owned him. If the Ravens offense wasn't as slow as the turtles from those Comcast commercials, they would have lost. What is a more realistic representation of the Super Bowl vs. the Bears: going against the Ravens or an old and depleted Pats D? And his first half against the Pats wasn't even anything to write home about either. He did have a career-defining second half, but that's been it. Taken as a whole, he's played poorly the entire post season (Grossman's stats have been much, much better).
Its ironic, I think, that Peyton finally dispatched the Patriots but it is their ghost that can still haunt them.
The AFC title game exposed the Colts' kick covering ability (well, maybe it didn't expose it, per se - I wasn't really paying that close attention to the Colts special teams throughout the season, but it certainly was obvious after that game). Their lackluster tackling and coverage gave the Pats prime field position time and time again; if the Colts cover even one of those kicks mildly adequately, that game isn't nearly as interesting as it ended up being.
The Pats also showed that the Colts receivers absolutely detest being played physically. The Bears D is going to rough them up and those receivers don't exactly have a history of handling that kind of contact well. I mean, they couldn't find the end zone against the Ravens and the Bears D is better than the Ravens D, at least in my opinion. Throw in the fact that there's a good chance it rains Sunday night - how great would a Super Bowl in the rain be? - and the Bears D has the edge over the Colts O.
And that Colts rushing defense...I mean, yea, they've been lights out in the playoffs, but they sucked - sucked - in the regular season. They were on pace to break the record for most yards allowed per game - ever. They were historically bad. What do you think is a more accurate representation - three games in the playoffs or 16 throughout the course of the regular season? Throw in how long the Super Bowl is - its going to be over four hours; its an absolute grind which just drains players - and that d-line is going to wear down. Even if the Bears don't have success right away, if they stick with it, they will have their way by the end.
So there's a million reasons why the Colts will lose. Why will the Bears win?
The prevailing line of thought seems to be that Grossman has to have himself a ball game for the Bears to win; he can't go out and be the reason the Bears lose. Which is true, I think, but to a degree. I think Sexy can turn it over twice - but just twice - and the Bears can still win, provided those TO's don't come in horrific times or places: run back for scores or in their own territory.
So: the Bears get up early, run and run, hit a few big, timely plays, Hester and the special teams make a few big plays, and the Chicago D takes advantage of a suddenly one-dimensional, panicking offense. MVP? Thomas Jones.
I said it at the beginning of the season, I'll say it now: Bears 34, Colts 17.
Plus, Merril Hodge took the Colts and I'm pretty sure he is wrong about everything.
(Oh and if the Colts go buck wild and win 42-3, forget I said anything.)
Thursday, February 01, 2007
What is the Most Famous Play in NFL History?
I was watching a little Mike & Mike this morning and their tease heading into the break was something like "we'll be right back with the man who made arguably the most famous play in football history." So I thought to myself, sweet, it's either Montana or Dwight Clark. I mean, it's the only play I know of that's referred to simply by what happened - "The Catch." I may be more than a little biased towards the Niners and their place in history, but I really thought that was who it was going to be.
Turns out it was Franco Harris. Hard to argue with the Immaculate Reception, really. But is it the most famous play in the history of the NFL? If it isn't, what is then?
So what is it? Something is telling me I'm forgetting it or missing something incredibly obvious. help me out. What play gets your vote?
Kobe Takes Down Manu; I Ponder Sports
Kobe Bryant getting suspended for jacking Manu Ginobili in the face raised more than a few issues, in my mind, at least.
And I actually agreed with Skip Bayless (There are more than a few reasons not to like Skip - like his flawless irrationality - but why is he so angry? The tiniest things make him so, so mad. Why the squinty face, Skip?): I think Kobe thought it was Bruce Bowen, and he just couldn't resist getting a shot in on him. I've said it before, I'll say it again: Bowen is the dirtiest, chintziest player in the NBA, and it isn't even close. Add Kobe to the ever-growing list of players who hate him (Francis, Steve; Allen, Ray; Carter, Vince...I'm forgetting someone here, I think). It is kind of interesting that Bowen can get under Kobe's skin like that, though, and Raja Bell famously pissed him off, too. Whether thats good, bad or irrelevant I don't know, but it does make me feel a little better than certain defenders used to infuriate me to no end back in the day.
But he certainly did make a "non-basketball act" - that's a pretty clever and succinct definition, I think, although hitting Bruce Bowen in the face should be made to fall under that category - and he did so above the neck - again, that phrasing was designed to describe a punch, but this certainly falls under that category, too - but did he deserve a one-game suspension? No, I don't think so, but the NBA is scared to death of any bad pub involving fights, and Kobe clearly did break the rule, if not the spirit of it, then certainly the letter of it.
What I don't understand is why he just didn't hand in his appeal and then play that night against the Knicks. Maybe I just don't understand the NBA's rules on appeals, but can't you play until your appeal is heard, or am I confusing the NBA with MLB? If that isn't the case, what, then, is the point of an appeal exactly? Just to get your money back? Maybe the Lakers thought they could beat the Knicks without Kobe - I mean, really, if you are going to miss a game, who better to miss it against than the Knicks (oh, the Celtics) - so why chance missing him for a more important conference or division game down the road. I don't think the Lakers are winning too many games with the Kobester in street clothes, though; I would have done everything in my power to get him on the court. Phil Jackson's threat to intentionally sit Kobe against Cleveland in a week in retaliation was genius if not empty; only Phil's coming up with that one.
There was a sentiment from the media, though, summed up if not the best, then at least the most bluntly, by Mitch Lawrence from the NY Daily News that professional hoops is entertainment and that they should keep that in mind when they sit down their best entertainer on their biggest stage. He asks, "Doesn't anyone over at the NBA remember that it's in the entertainment business, first and foremost?"
Is it really entertainment, though? If it was entertainment, wouldn't every game be more like an All-Star game, with players trying to be as impressive as possible? Would the league allow certain franchises to turn putrid, who no chance of every entertaining anybody? It is all debatable, and it is unarguable that the trappings of the entertainment industry aren't all over the NBA, but is itsn't purely entertainment. And that, I think, is the reason why I love sports so much. Not just hoops, but all sports. As much as people want to compare it to other aspects of life, it just can't convincingly be done.
Sports is entertainment. Sports is a business. Sports are pure athletic competition. Sports is all about winning. Sports is an escape from the real world. Sports can help rebuild a city. None of these are true, but all of these are true. Sports is a completely unique situation comparable to nothing else in life. It takes aspects of nearly everything from the "real world," which is why it can be used as a metaphor for basically everything, but there is nothing completely like it.
Is sports entertainment? Sure it is. But a lot of times the best way to be successful are the least entertaining - think banking home the fifteen-footer instead of driving into traffic, kicking the field goal on 4th and 1, hitting the sac fly to move over the runner, laying up instead of going for the green - perhaps "purists" can derive some pleasure from that, but it is by no means entertaining.
Is sports a business? Sure it is. But would a real business actively and repeatedly hire employees who were by no means ready for the job in which they were hired? Would they agree to let the worst business in their market have the best new employee in a given year? Is there another business sector in the world where employees are forbidden from making over a certain amount of money? There might be, but I can't think of it, and yet teams routinely draft players who won't be ready to help thier team for three years, lousy teams are given the best players through drafts and most sports have some form of a salary cap. That doesn't seem to reflect the real world to me.
Are sports about competition? Sure they are. But teams and players routinely tank games, they leave venues in which winning is a better possibility for worse situations in which they are paid more and teams throw games and seasons to improve playoff position or draft order.
I don't know what my point is exactly, but it is just all incredibly interesting to me. There really isn't anything else you can compare it to in which the analogy works 100%. It doesn't fall under any one category. Any "breaking news" that takes place in the sporting world could probably be reclassified in another section of the newspaper - Business, Life, Arts, News - it really covers all the spectrums.
If anyone can compare sports to anything else in life, I would love to hear it. I don't think you can, though, and that is a huge reason why sports is so appealing to me.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Peace Out, Barbaro
Well, Barbaro's dead. Didn't see that one coming.
That wasn't sarcastic; I genuinely had no idea they were even discussing euthanizing him. That horse was getting better medical treatment than hundreds of retired NFL players and the media was irrationally obsessed with bringing the nation all the irrelevant minutia of the horse's progress and setbacks. I actively tried not to make myself aware of anything Barbaro-related and even I knew about laminitis and all those screws in his leg (29, I think) and the thousands of people with nothing better to do than make crappy cardboard signs and hang them on Barbaro's fence.
I wasn't hoping the horse would die - really, I didn't care either way - but I'm glad he's going to the glue factory in the sky (actually, that makes no sense; he's going to the glue factory here on earth) just so I don't have to here any more breathless updates on Sports Center (Honestly: how the hell wasn't Pedro Gomez assigned to this beat? What lottery did he win?) or see headlines on SI. I'd rather hear about Brett Favre's retirement plans or about Barry Bonds' contract negotiations. The horse was like highlights of split-squad exhibition baseball games during Sports Center. It isn't even a real game, and only half the team is there. Can we move on now? I wouldn't be moved in the slightest if those games got the ax, and I'm equally reactionless that Barbaro is sleeping with the fishes. (Incidentally, how do they kill a horse? A huge needle? An electric stable? Cut his head off, Godfather-style? I wouldn't mind knowing this.)
The amount of time and energy devoted to this animal drove me nuts. I think it was like seeing Peyton Manning in all those commercials: he didn't really do anything to me personally, but I don't really care, and I would like you to go away. Now. (Actually, that analogy doesn't work either because I have totally lol'ed at every commercial Peyton has been in. But you get the point.)
The whole thing baffles me. I really don't get it. If someone can explain to me how this horse can galvanize a nation and move seemingly normal people to tears, I would love to hear it. I mean, it's a horse, correct? It doesn't have a personality, he never connected on an emotional level with anyone, no one can relate to its plight...really, what is the appeal? If anything, wouldn't the inordinate amount of time and effort being given to a horse piss of the average citizen? It's not lke there's a shortage of horrific things involving actual human beings - New Orleans is still in tatters, thousands of soldiers are dying overseas - but a horse is worthy of tears and vigils? Why?
I guess I can see the level of sadness and grief from those who where around the horse, the trainers, owners, grass pickers - I guess - but the people who have never met him, who saw him once on TV or maybe twice at the race track, how did they become this emotionally attached?
I think it is fair to say that if the jockey riding Barbaro was thrown from the horse, was stampeded by the rest of the horses and was on life support for a few months before finally reaching stable condition, he wouldn't have received nearly this much attention. There certainly would not have been a wall covered in posters wishing him a speedy recovery or a message board set up where endless amounts of people would wish him well, that's for damn sure.
Admittedly, I don't really understand people wailing and sobbing when famous humans die, either, so maybe I just don't get the whole concept. Like all those Americans who were so saddened when Princess Di died...it was tragic and awful, but you never knew her or anything and she never really did anything for you. Why the tears? But at least that's a human; I'm not going to criticize anyone for crying over the loss of a human life, regardless of their connection to it. At least that's a person.
I understand crying over the death of a pet, too. Hey, it lived with you for years. Tears are legit. But would you cry if your neighbor's dog died? Would you even be sad? Maybe for your neighbor - and only if you really liked your neighbor - but would it really tear you up that the dog was gone? I'm doubting it, and this was a dog you saw running through the neighborhood all the time. A lot of these people never even saw Barbaro in person!
The other thing that confused the hell out of me was that Barbaro died without passing on his, ah....seed. Wasn't that the entire point of keeping him alive? I thought the owners wanted him alive so they could make millions of his sperm. This makes it seem like they just wanted him alive because they liked him. I always thought those insane Barbaro supporters were missing the boat here; the horse was being kept alive solely so the owners could profit from him later down the line, but I guess I was wrong. Learn something new every day, I guess.
Either way, he's dead and the updates are finally over with (Jeremy Schapp had a touching piece on him; I'm sure he was thrilled with that assignment). My Sport Center viewing just became a little bit more pleasurable and I enjoy reading headlines just a little bit more now. If my convenience requires a horse being put to sleep, so be it.
Monday, January 29, 2007
:35 Second Shot Clock
Since we are all up-and-running again and what not, why don't we try to start a regular post that I'd like to do every Monday morning, but that we all know will last three, maybe four weeks, mysteriously dissapear for a couple of weeks, have a brief resurgence for a week or two, and then die forever a week before March Madness?
Since we're a little late to the party, let's start at the top: Who's the class of '07? Seems like there are two, maybe three choices here: North Carolina or Florida, and Ohio St. just because no one has any idea how good Greg Oden is going to be once The Dance starts.
UNC, at least to me, is the odds-on favorite to go home with the hardware in April. Yea, they are ridiculously loaded (witness the dismantling of Arizona without Brandan Wright). Yea, they are the deepest team in the country. Yea, they have a brilliant (yes, brilliant) coach. But the thing about the Heels that has to scare the hell out of every team in the country is its up-tempo transition game. No one in American runs like the Heels and it isn't even close.
Carolina's transition game is like a devastating rushing attack in the NFL. If your defense is a little suspect, or your stretch-the-field passing attack takes the occasional day off, or your offense is having trouble executing between the twenties, you know that grind it out rushing attack can bail you out. Just hand it off to your clock killing running back and let him run behind his mammoth offensive line, you'll own the time of possession and field position categories and cover up a few deficiencies. It makes the rest of your team look better.
This is what the Carolina transition game does. Even if UNC isn't shooting particularly well (this has happened, and will happen in The Tourney) or if the defense is getting exposes (no one is confusing Carolina with the Bulls or even Pitt for that matter) or their half-court sets are being well-defended, they always have the transition game to rely on. It is relentless, and it is available every single game.
As deep as they are, they can run all game, although it is much more effective with human blur Tywon Lawson pushing the ball, and it changes the way teams have to play. Teams can't send as many rebounders to the rim as they'd like; if they do, they risk easy 2-1's at the other end. Long jumpers, not high-percentage to begin with, come with long rebounds as consequences; those are death wishes disguised as open invitations to run. The less you execute on offense, the more you pay for it on defense. Even if you score, Carolina has it out of the net and past half court before you've finished your follow through. If there was a stat for "most layups made within 5 seconds of an opponent field goal" UNC would easily be the nation's leader.
Could I see Florida's experience getting them a tough, March Madness win? I guess (although I refuse to admit they are good; something about them rubs me the wrong way and that something is Joakim Noah). Could I see Greg Oden dominating a game at both ends for the upset? Sure. Kevin Durant handing in a virtuoso performance? Absolutely. But the point is, to beat Carolina, some team is going to have to play a brilliant game and get a monster effort from its best player. Carolina doesn't need to hand in their A game to win the National Title. That's the difference.
As of right now, who are the four No. 1 seeds? Seems fairly straightforward: UCLA, Carolina, Florida and Wisconsin. Those four seem to be the consensus top-four in the nation right now and I think anyone would be hard pressed to see another team sneak in there. Maybe Ohio State. Maybe.
That maybe all hinges on Greg Oden. He opened up the Michigan State game with seven straight points, all on unguardable baby hooks, from both the right and the left. Izzo had the absolute right strategy - make him make actual moves, limit his dunks and second chance points - and by the end, it nearly worked for the Spartans. Oden's physical ability is light years - light years - ahead of his actual skill, but he's playing with a bum right hand for God's sake. That's why he's the x-factor in the tournament: how good (read: healthy) can he be by March? If he plays the way he did in the first five minutes of the MSU game - hooks from either block over either shoulder, pinning shots all over the place - Ohio State is a very real title contender. If he's up and down, their chances decline considerably.
That said, who would you take No. 1 next year, Oden or Durant?
(Quick aside: how pissed is Rick Barnes that he gets a talent like Durant to come and he doesn't have a title-worthy team around him? Imagine Durant a few years ago with PJ Tucker, LaMarcus Aldridge, Daniel Gibson, that Paulino dude who bombed threes and that huge white guy with really, really blond hair? I mean, I'm sure Barnes isn't mad, per se...but he really has to be frustrated with the timing, I think.)
I think Oden can be a Bill Russell-type and dominate both ends of the court. (Not win 11 title - shutup. Just that style of player.) He has a long way to go offensively - can he face up? his a mid-range J? does he have any actual moves? - but I think will be able to do it all eventually. and defensively...no one scores on Ohio State in the paint. Ever. He gets everything, or he alters it, or guys are so conscious of him they don't even drive. He gets help side blocks and few times has someone scored directly on him. He's just a defensive terror.
One thing that is completely arbitrary: I can see Durant hitting game winners in the playoffs; I can't see Oden doing that. I don't know why, maybe its because Durant is already so polished and Oden isn't exactly the most suave public speaker (but, hey - that's why he's in school, damnit!). I really don't know why; chalk it up to an irrational gut feeling.
That said, I'd still take Oden. He has the potential to dominate at both ends. Few players today can make that claim. Kobe? Yao? Artest, maybe?
A few quick thoughts:
Speaking of the draft, Alondo Tucker reminds me of Dwyane Wade. Not their style, necessarily, but just the way they go nonchalantly about their business. They both have that same uber-confident, unfazed look in their eyes.
Virginia Tech is overrated. They beat a Duke team that isn't that good to begin with (and it was a revenge game to boot) and then played the game of their life against UNC (and if you think this is all a not-so-subtle attempt to make UNC look goo by comparison, well...you're correct).They have lost to Marshall, GW and Western Michigan for God's sake. They have one-and-done written all over them in the NCAA Tourney. Although I did love that guy putting his nuts right in Greg Paulus's face. Made my day.
That's alot to talk about - Who's the four No. 1 seeds? Oden or Durant? Name one reason UNC won't win the title?
Friday, January 26, 2007
D'Antoni's Right: Gilbert WOULD Kill Duke
My appreciation of Gilbert Arenas' candor and my hate of Duke basketball collided beautifully the other day. In case you haven;t come across it yet, here's Gil's response to D'Antoni's statement that Gil would kill Duke:
"One college game, that's five fouls, right? 40-minute game at Duke, they got soft rims...I'd probably score 84 or 85. I wouldn't pass the ball. I wouldn't even think about passing it. It would be like a NBA Live or an NBA 2K7 game, you just shoot with one person."
There's so much there - so, so much - that I'm not entirely sure where to begin. First, it's terrific how serious Gil took it. He contemplated the different rules of the college game, the type of court he would be playing on and even adopted a strategy for gettin his "84 or 85" (with a superb analogy thrown in for good measure). I can't think of any player in the NBA that would seriously take the time to figure out how many points they would score in a college game, even if he is having fun with it, and I'm not entirely convinced he is. Maybe old Kobe, before his new found maturity began to seep through.Personally, I think Gil underestimated himself. If he plays the whole game, and really gets it going, he could score 100. Definitely; especially with the much closer three. Really, who would stop him on that current Duke team? Even a box-and-one wouldn't do anything; they would have to double-team him from the time he crossed half court. (I love semi-colons; really, they are really special.)
Is 100 reasonable? It might be in the high end, but I think its definitely doable. If I was reading that Arenas snuck onto one of those teams from Russia that play exhibition games against colleges, and he scored 100 points, I wouldn't be remotely surprised. I mean, there are dozens of guys that could drop 100, I think, if they were really motivated.
How many? Let's get the "Who Could Drop 100 on Duke" List going.
Arenas also throws this in:
"I thought it was funny because if I have the chance to go back to college, I’ll give up one NBA season to play against Duke."In the words of Seth and Amy, Really?!?!
It is a pretty harmless thing for Arenas to say; after all, he can't go back to college - unlike Jim Mora's secret desire to go coach Washington, this has no possibility of ever happening - but it is interesting. Arenas would willingly give up a full year of being paid over 10 million bucks a year to go back to Arizona and play with like the ninth Marcus Williams? I think it's a cute thing to say, and something that he'll obviously never have to back up, and that's that. It would be like me saying
Would any pro willingly give up his salary and lifestyle to go back to college? Does the grind just get to you after a while? Would it be good for every pro to take a break, like a college professor going on sabbatical or MJ going to play with the Barons, and go beat up on some college kids for a year? Or how about the 11th, 12th guys on the roster, just barely hanging on? Would they go back to their scholarships and a chance to crush kids five or six years younger than them? Would a top 25 program even want Stephon Marbury?
If somehow David Stern could make this happen, would any pro ever take advantage of it? Probably not; the money is just too good and roster spots are just too hard to come by, but the TV ratings would be phenomenal. If anyone would do it, though, it would be Gilbert, just because. Or Mike Dunleavy.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Told You So.
A couple of days ago, Deadspin mentioned in it's Leftovers section that only one blogger in the entire blogosphere was able to correctly forecast this season's Super Bowl match up: Dan Shanoff was, apparently, the only blogger able to foresee the Bears meeting up with the Colts for XLI. Look, here's the proof.
While props are certainly do to Mr. Shanoff, I, unlike Obie Trice, need to toot my own horn here (because I have to): Back at the beginning of September, I predicted the Bears and Colts would be meeting in Miami. The whole entry is pretty surreal; it was an NFL Preview, and here's how it started:
Before the start of every season in the National Football League, I seem to make one sweet prediction. Granted, that one sweet prediction comes amongst about 30 or 40 inane ones, but I still get that one. So here's 40 or so odd things that most certainly will not pan out, but I guarantee one of these will be a real gem. A diamond in the rough, if you will. Your job is to find it.That...that is just unreal. The rest of the entry is absurd, of course; it's like one of those commercials on the NFL Network where the guy is like "of course I didn't draft Drew Brees.."Just listen to some of this stuff: "Everything seems to be falling in line for the Dolphins, doesn't it?" "I will say this: Larry Johnson is overrated! Yea, I said it..." "Shaun Alexander is cracking 2 grand on the ground and gettin 30 TDs. Mark him down. Right now. Do it."
What a train wreck. But at least I warned you going in, and there was that one dead-on prediction: "Super Bowl: Bears 2, Colts 0. Print it." I don't have any other reason for brining this to your attention other than my own ego gratification (I didn't even remember I made this prediction until I saw that Shanoff was the only one who got it right, wondered who I had picked, and looked it up).
So, yea. I was right.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
I Apologize. Really, I do. But Just Hear Me Out.
Alright, here's the deal: my academic life is going into overdrive for a good while, probably at least until the New Year. This means one thing: I have zero time to devote to Point 23. A sad reality, but a true one. Single tear.
I really wish there was something I could do about it, and I'd much rather be writing on here than some term paper, but really, I'd like to get the hell out of college at some point. I think it will benefit everyone in the long run.
So: what to do in the interim?
My goal when I started this site was to get a type of community atmosphere going. Get familiar with the people leaving messages and comments, that type of thing, but at the same time, still make it a site where anyone could leave a comment and just have some fun arguing about sports. Kinda like sitting in a bar (and hey, if you wanna down a few pitchers before posting on here, I'm all for it). I really, really just love to argue about sports (well, anything, actually, but mainly sports). So while there aren't going to be any new posts for a while (The Picks may still keep going; we'll see if everyone can get on the same page for a stretch run), I think it'd be cool if the arguing and the debating and the general ranting and raving continued. Escalated, even.
First, in the comments section of this post. The first couple or so can be about how much I suck (alright, it can get to double figures, but once it hits triple figures, that's excessive...but maybe not), but after that, just post whatever random shit you want to talk about. It doesn't even have to be strictly tied to sports (R. Kelly's zorro mask is always fun). Throw an opinion out there; doesn't matter how well thought out it is. I'd just like get some conversation going. About anything. Anything.
Same goes for the little Chatterbox in the right hand column. Love the chatterbox. And the Chatterbox loves you. Make it your friend.
A third option would be be adding some new material to the slowly-outdating-themselves lists that run down the right and left hand columns (you have no idea how much I love those columns; seriously, no idea). So far, there are five lists:
The Cool Lunch Table: A list of people that just hold a special place in your heart. Reasons can range from "he won me my fantasy league" to "he's hilarious" to "man, she's really freakin' hot."
Please Go Away. Now: People you just can't stand. Think Paul McGuire, Dick Vitale, Billy Packer, or people from Duke.
Makes Sense: For things that don't make sense (see the irony?). Like the BCS or the March Madness play-in game. Billy Packer fits here, too.
GOAT: Here's where we're keeping track of the greatest things of all time. This list is woefully small. Let's do something about that.
If you look in the upper right hand corner, you'll see links for each of those lists where you can leave suggestions, but if that is too much work (and it would be for me), just leave 'em right here.
I've tried filling the sidebars with some other things - a poll, a video of the week, a top 10 list, a list of links out there I enjoy - all to varying degrees of success. If you have any suggestions for these things, let me know, and I'll get on it. Things you want to see voted on in Vote or Die, a topic for the Top 10 List, a funny/aweseome YouTube clip for the Video o' the Week, a new link, just let me know.
Actually, if you have any suggestions at all - like a new category altogether, for instance - I'd love to hear them. I really love those sidebars, and the more material in them, the better.
All this kinda sounds like I'm saying, "Hey, I'm bouncing for a while...while I'm gone, do all the work." Which I am. So get to work. And I'll be back before you know it. You won't even miss me.
Friday, November 17, 2006
The Picks: Week 11
Alright, Week 11. Some notes: Point 23 has no idea what the records are, he'll get around to adding them up next week sometime when he has time; Kilcs will be pulling a Constanza and picking the opposite of every game (which is completely against the spirt of this competition; no one can pick above .500, but whatever) and everyone will be mad at him; Mr. Em is on pace to break the record for most exlamation points in one season - handily; and Zero has a real job which requires him to put in mad hours this weekend, so he has no witty comments about Michael Vick being Ron Mexico or the Giants all balling (wait, yes, he did get in a ballin' reference - well done, Zero).
Onto the picks...
Oakland at Kansas City (-9.5)
Kilcs: Kansas City. Trent Green coming back may not be a great thing for KC. I thought they were rolling under Huard. Oakland's defense has been playing very very well actually against pretty good teams. 9.5 seems like a lot of points for a team that's been playing as competitvely on the defensive side of the ball as Oakland has.
Mr. Em: Raiders. Trent Green turned into a Celtic God since his injury, I see hearts coming out of analysts ears when they talk about him. OK, he's a solid player, but he'll be rusty against a tough Raider defense. Nine.5 points...tippy toe over thisa way!
Zero: Kansas City.
Point 23: Oakland. The TGC will not allow this. Oakland may win this game striaght up. Idiots, Kansas City, idiots. Seriously, Herm: Trent Green has not been good for some time now. I'm sure he'll be great coming off a half-season concussion. Just because you two are the same age is no reason to play him. And why is KC always the first game on the gambling docket? Anyone?
Cincinnati at New Orleans (-3.5)
Kilcs: New Orleans. Cincy's offense last week was what I thought it would be like all year. New Orleans just lost to a Steelers team that has beaten Miami and Kansas City all season long. Despite the fact that Cincy lost to San Diego (who i think is one of the favorites to win the super bowl), I think they're reight there and about to get over the hump.
Zero: New Orleans.Point 23: Cincy. It'll be a shootout, but it looks like that Bengals offense is finally clicking (also known as Carson Palmer Stopped Flinching Like a Sixth Grade Girl Every Time Someone Came Within Six Feet of his Knee Just Because He Had Some Pathetic Surgery.)
Pittsburgh (-3.5) at Cleveland
Kilcs: Cleveland. Let me get this straight. Pittsburgh is a favorite against Denver and New Orleans in back to back weeks then all of a sudden, they're only 3.5 favorites against Cleveland? Something's fishy and it's Vegas being smarter than us again. The Steelers got back to what they do best last week and that is running the football. Their defense still struggled, but that shouldn't be a prblem against Chaz Frye and company.
Mr. Em: Steelers. Last meeting, 41-0 Steelers.
Zero: Pittsburgh
Point 23: Cleveland. Screw you, Pittsburgh defense. Friggin' busts. And um, Troy? Remember in sixth grade when they taught everyone that if you lead with your head, you are gonna get hurt? No? Well that makes sense then. While we're here, I think players should get a penalty for not getting off the pile more quickly during a fumble recovery. Its so freakin stupid. We know you don't have it, get up so we can figure this shit out.
Tennessee at Philadelphia (-13.0)
Kilcs: Philly. Tennessee played baltimore close last week and have been playing pretty well save one game since Vince Young has been given the reigns. Jeff Fisher always has his team prepared and they rarely get blown out, plus that dude that stomps on people's bare face with metal cleats is coming back. He weighs about 400 lbs, I can't imagine he would hurt them. 13 just seems like too many points for a team that's been fighting as hard as Tennessee has.
Point 23: Philadelphia. Donovan McNabb: 4 TDs (all to Reggie Brown) 401 yards, no picks. Yay.
Atlanta at Baltimore (-4.0)
Kilcs: Atlanta. Vick is done. He's toast. Baltimore got one of their stinker games out of the
way last week and still came away with the victory. They can really almost seal the division if they win a couple of more games and Steve McNair is that gritty, veteran leader that everyone was hoping he would be in Baltimore. (On a serious note, I heard one of the ESPN talking heads say that he should be considered for MVP. Are you f*$(ing kidding me?! MVP is a 2 man race, Manning and LT and someone bringing up McNair's name is absolutely ludicrous).Mr. Em: Falcons. The Mexican jumping bean seems to play best when you least expect it.
Zero: Atlanta.
Point 23: Baltimore. We have the most maddeningly inconsistant weapon in NFL history against the luckiest team in the NFL this season. Who the hell knows what can happen. I'll take the home team. No screw that, I'll take Atlanta. I forgot about Ray Lewis making shit up about racism and then being on the cover of SI as "God's Linebacker." Everyone except Ray and SI knows that he'll be burning in hell for eternity. I hate him more than any player in the NFL.
St. Louis at Carolina (-6.5)
Kilcs: Carolina. See Steve Smith. See previous Carolina picks. (there is a little bit of a contradiction here for me cause Steven Jackson is one of my horses too and I think that CArolina actually makes more sense, playing at home, no Orlando Pace, etc and my new reverse theory says I should take the Rams, but #1 rule is still Steve Smith)
Mr. Em: Panthers. Why did the Rams change their colors after they won the Super Bowl. First off, those yellow Ram horns were flippin sweet, second, you just don't do that after you win the title (and don't even come at me with the Arch excuse). It's no coincidence: the Penguins won Stanley Cups, and then changed to girly gold, and look what happened.
Zero: St. Louis.
Point 23: Carolina. Once again, this is purely to spite Simmons (who has been absolutely on fire lately. With the exception of that rambling Doc Rivers column, his last two months have been phenomenal. This is awesome.)
Buffalo at Houston (-2.5)
Kilcs: Buffalo. It's hard to pick the opposite when you don't know what you would pick normally. I think that I talked myself into going with Houston because they're playing at home and because Buffalo blows. David Carr played well at the beginning of the season and the running game has shown some signs of life. I can't name one player on their defense besides Mario Williams though. Anyone know a lineback that plays for Houston? I think Phillip Buchanon might play DB?
Mr. Em: Texans. Lyla's from Texas! <33333333>Zero: Buffalo.
Point 23: Houston. I have never cared less about a game, ever.
New England (-6.0) at Green Bay
Kilcs: Green Bay. This is a classic, everybody is burying the Patriots, Brady and Belicheck which is apparently the worst thing anyone could ever do. "How many times have we said you can't write off the Patriots. This is why they are champions, blah blah blah." (Side note: Belichek or however u spell his name is a jerk. An absolute jerk. Mangini is supposed to be one of your proteges, you don't turn your back on him. Plato didn't turn his back on Aristotle nor Aristotle on Socrates or whichever way that goes or maybe they did. (How crazy is it that those 3 dudes, like the 3 smartest guys in a 2,000 yr span all hung out together)).
Mr. Em: Packers. There was a sale out at the mall, buy a Bill Bellicek sweatshirt and get 6 points, I bought it!!!!!!!
Zero: New England.
Point 23: Green Bay. I have no reasons here.
Washington at Tampa Bay (-3.0)
Kilcs: Washington. See Hous/Buffalo. I have no idea. Both these teams are done and you can stick a fork in both of them. They suck. No Portis, Jason Campbell getting the start on the road. Has to be tough right? Would think Tampa should be able to win, hence go with Washington.
Mr. Em: Two pitiful offenses here, so give me the under on this one, Bucs 2-0.
Zero: Washington.
Point 23: Washington. Jason Campell gets a little beginners luck. And you're telling me Tampa Bay couldn't find a QB better than Chris Simms and Brad Gradkowski? Not one single player? Chris Simms has sucked forever, why they hell were they going into the season with him? He'll never, ever, ever be good. Ever. And now they're stuck with his backup. For as smart as John Gruden allegedly is, he really screwed the pooch on this one.
Chicago ( -7.0) at NY Jets
Kilcs: Chicago. I'm kind of violating my rule here, but kind of not. The Jets have been playign a lot better than people expect, so people are now beginning to expect them to play well. Also, this pick has major fantasy implications as we here at Psychos camp, are hoping to make a historic playoff run led by Thomas Jones running all over the T-Birds. "Psychos T-Bone T-Birds" (hey that was kind of gay..you know that youtube clip with the announcer?)
Mr. Em: Bears. Two wins in two weeks at the Meadowlands for the Bears.
Zero: Chicago.
Point 23: Jets. Rex Grossman....stop your Michael Vick impersonation and either suck or be great. Enough of this in-between bullshit.
Minnesota at Miami (-3.5)
Kilcs: Minnesota. I've been rambling and I apologize. Miami is suddenly good again, Saban can coach again and they're "playing like one of the best teams in the league the past few weeks" ESPN people are so stupid sometimes. In the words of another stupid ESPNer, not so fast my friends.
Mr. Em: Dolphins. Low scoring, one touchdown might win this game.
Zero: Miami.
Point 23: Miami. Finally. I've been saying it all year - Minnesota sucks. Finally I have some proof. Minnesota sucks! (You can have that ! back later, Em.)
Detroit at Arizona (-2.5)
Kilcs: Detroit. Arizona has too much talent right? Detroit will be looking forward to their annual SuperBowl in November on Thursday. Larry Fitzgerald, welcome back. We've missed you. Unfortunately, Roy Williams goes down with a hammy in the first quarter after fumbling on a 1 yard hitch.
Mr. Em: Lions. Bring back Wayne Fontze!!! and give me the points!!!!!!!Zero: Detroit.
Point 23: Arizona. What the hell happened to the Matt Leinart Bandwagon? Dennis Green is fucking it up, thats what. How 'bout this for a general rule: If your coach has one of the five worst post-game press conferences ever, he gets fired immediately. Michigan St. kept the legally insane John L. Smith around, where did that get them? Dennis Green shoulda been fired months ago, and there isn't a reason good enough to even defend him. This is why Arizona annually blows.
Seattle (-3.5) at San Francisco
Kilcs: San Francisco. Wait. Seattle just beat a good Rams team last week without Alexander the Great and Hasslebeck and they're only 3.5 pt favorites agsint SF with those 2? Easy money. Unfortunately for the Great, the Madden Curse does not end until the season is over. He comes back this week has 27 yards on 9 carries with a fumble and a reaggrivation of his foot injury.
Mr. Em: Seahawks. Mike Holmgren's belly will be too much for the 49ers to handle.
Zero: Seattle.
Point 23: Santa Clara. Why wouldn't I pick a team to cover a week after announcing it was leaving a city in which it had played forever and is going up agiant the reigning MVP in his long-awaited debut. And Frank Gore is the best active running back from The U. Also, can we stop calling it "The U"? They suck now, they don't deserve a nickname.
Indianapolis (-1.5) at Dallas
Kilcs: Dallas. Indy can't lose. They're too good. Nobody can beat them and 1.5 means all htey have to do to cover is win basically. Peyton Manning won't let them lose. Romo's playing out of his mind and will come back down to earth in his debut @ Texas Stadium. Julius Jones goes off and a befuddled Psychos coach says I hate the Jones brothers, they always screw you.
Mr. Em: Cowboys. Romo outduels Manning???? Yes!Zero: Indianapolis.
Point 23: Indianapolis. Nick Buno-cunt-i is gonna be dissapointed this week. And for the rest of the season. Indy is goin undefeated and winning the Super Bowl. Frankly, Ol' Nick can't die fast enough for me.
San Diego at Denver (-3.5)
Kilcs: Denver. Denver has no offense to speak of. San Diego has scored 30 points in 6 of its 9 games and has the best RB in the league and one of the best QBs in the league. Their defense should be able to shut down Denver's offense and nobody can seem to shut down LT and company. Getting 3.5? Easy money.
Mr. Em: Broncos. Denver defends the run well, and LaDainian struggles against the Broncos.
Zero: San Diego.
Point 23: San Diego. Whale's vag. That's huge.
NY Giants at Jacksonville (-3.0)
Kilcs: Jacksonville. I think because the Giants are on TV a lot and they're in a major market, we have higher expectations for them. Everyone thinks that Eli is really good and he's just not playing well? What has he done to make us think this? Garrard and the Jax offense can't do anything and Fred Taylor's 43.
Mr. Em: Giants. Tiki torches the Jags.
Zero: New York. Ballin G-men.
Point 23: Jacksonville. Jax plays well on the big stage and it turns out Eli isn't that good yet. I was debating between drafting him and Donovan McNabb for my fantasy team. Glad I took McNabb. Well, not that it really matters, since my team defended its title worse than the Steelers, but at least I had a silver lining for the first five weeks.
