Welcome to the Madness!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Well, 2nd most. The most wonderful time of the year for me is spending time with family and friends over the Holidays. This is 2nd. Most sports writers will agree that the two sporting events which are the most exciting and capture the public's attention are the Super Bowl and March Madness. Granted, these are two big events for gambling, but I think there's a good share out there that enjoy the high drama and the close games that will take place over the next month. We're not going to see the quality of play that we saw last year, there were so many great, experienced players. But, we could be in for an even more exciting March because of the youth present in college hoops. A lot of players are going to be experiencing this for the first time which means anything is possible. So I hope you enjoy it as well, it's going to be another fun ride.

It appears that Allen Iverson will not be invited to the 2008 Olympic team, a decision I fully approve of. And it got me thinking, what would my Olympic team look like. Well, here it is:

• Marcus Williams, point guard, UConn. Not a great shooter, but can defend, rebound, and most importantly, he's a distributor first. He's big and plays big. He will body you up defensively. He will get the ball inside.
• Deron Williams, point guard, Utah Jazz. Another big point guard who can body up defensively and looks to pass first. He is a better shooter than Williams, especially in crunch time.
• Chris Paul, point guard, New Orleans Hornets. No one can guard him. He can shoot, drive, and dish. He can get a little out of control, but when he pushes the ball, his head is always up. And if he sees no one open, he's tough enough to take it inside and finish himself.
• JJ Redick, shooting guard, Duke. The best shooter in America at any level, period.
• Allen Ray, shooting guard, Villanova. Can shoot the ball well also and can defend. He's quick in the passing lane and rebounds like a post player.
• Ray Allen, shooting guard, Seattle Sonics. Best shooter in the NBA at his position. Provides experience and a team-first attitude. He'd be my 6th man, instant offense off the bench.
• LeBron James, small forward, Cleveland Cavs. The all-purpose player who can do a little bit of everything. I don't think I'd let him take the outside shot because he'd be able to drive on the guys guarding him or post them up. And if I were to play some zone, he'd be at the point creating havoc on the smaller, opposing point guards.
• Adam Morrison, small forward, Gonzaga. He has the mid-range game that will be successful, plus he has the size to shoot over his opponents. He's not the greatest 1on1 defender, but he could play team defense well enough to get playing time. It's hard to pass up his offensive ability and variety.
• Brandon Roy, small forward, Washington. He can shoot, drive, defend, rebound, just a great all-around player who is overlooked because he's playing up in Seattle.
• Sean May, power forward, Charlotte Bobcats. Here's my bruiser who would be a load to guard on the block and try and box out. He would bring a physical presence despite his lack of height. I don't think he'd score much, but he can rebound and defend, which would be his primary role.
• Chris Bosh, power forward, Toronto Raptors. Very skilled back to the basket player who can also step out and hit the 15-footer. He's a European prototype with quickness and athleticism that would make him hard to match up against.
• Dwight Howard, power forward, Orlando Magic. Another physical presence with athleticism who plays hard. Not the greatest offensively skilled player yet, but he's good at being the garbage man, and every team needs one of those.
• Amare Stoudamire, power forward/center, Phoenix Suns. I think he should've played more in the last Olympics, he's a tough matchup for anyone. He would have to improve defensively in order to get more minutes. He is dynamite in transition. You get out of the way when he's flying at you.
• LaMarcus Aldridge, power forward/center, Texas. Talk about unlimited potential, this guy has it. He can score with his back to the basket, can hit the turnaround and fadeaway jumper, and can hit the 15-footer. He runs like a deer and at times, is the most physical player on the floor. Very young and inexperienced, but wow, he could be really good.
• Ben Wallace, center, Detroit Pistons. Strictly there for defense. I would draw up an 8-foot circle and say, "Ben, if you shoot from outside this circle, you're coming out of the game." The best defensive player in the NBA and also one of the more vocal leaders I think. With him guarding the basket, it allows you to play tight man defense, knowing that if you get beat, Ben's waiting to swat it away.

Here are other players I considered:

• Dee Brown, point guard, Illinois. He has the heart of a champion and is the one man fast break. But, he's too inconsistent of a jump shooter and lacks things others can bring to the table, most notably size.
• Ray Felton, point guard, Charlotte Bobcats. He can be a difference maker, which he was in last year's NCAA title game. Again, others can bring more to the table and are more consistent with regard to shooting and taking care of the ball.
• Dwayne Wade, shooting guard, Miami Heat. He's a great player, but in the Olympics, you've got to be able to make shots, which he's getting better at, but not consistent enough.
• Mike Gansey, shooting guard, West Virginia. Can shoot and is smart, especially on defense. He would be a perfect role player. I considered him very strongly.
• Joe Johnson, shooting guard, Atlanta Hawks. Phenomenal talent, one of the few NBA players with a legit mid-range game. But he's not a great defender and he's not a winner, he's never really won anything. If you notice, most of the guys I chose have won at some level.
• Michael Redd, shooting guard, Milwaukee Bucks. A great scorer and shooter, but not a great defender and ball handler.
• Kobe Bryant, shooting guard, LA Lakers. Not Kobe's kind of game. Actually have to pass the ball in the Olympics.
• Marvin Williams, small forward, Atlanta Hawks. Tough to pass on him, I really like his game. I don't think he could be physical enough.
• Shane Battier, small forward, Memphis Grizzlies. The ultimate role player who would play great defense and show great heart. But he's limited in what he can do offensively and he'd be undersized at his position.
• Rudy Gay, small forward, UConn. Obviously has unlimited potential, but he doesn't play hard all the time. I wouldn't be able to tolerate that.
• Emeka Okafor, power forward, Charlotte Bobcats. Would bring great defense and rebounding, but I'd be worried about him getting hurt.
• Kevin Pittsnoggle, power forward, West Virginia. Perfect for international ball. He can hit the outside shot and is very skilled offensively. But, he's not much of a rebounder and defender, which you have to do some of.
• Shaquille O'Neal, center, Miami Heat. I don't think Shaq would play, but even if he wanted to, I think his "get me the ball" attitude would be a detriment. You've got to play a team game in the Olympics. Shaq would dominate, no question, but would he hold up physically and would he share the ball?
• Tim Duncan, center, San Antonio Spurs. One of the top 5 players in the NBA, can do it all. But, I don't think he would play, and he wouldn't fit into what I would want to do.

I want to push the ball, reverse the ball on the break, get a touch inside and score, or kick it back out for a 3. I want a point guard who can put pressure on the ball defensively, handle the ball and distribute the ball offensively. I want shooting guards who can shoot. I want small forwards who are versatile at both ends. I want inside players who can finish, run the floor, play defense and rebound.

I had my last burger and fries until Easter, going to McDonalds (thanks to a gift certificate I received). Double quarter pounder with super size fries, mmmm good. We'll see if it's any harder than when I gave up chocolate.

And my favorite reality show returned tonight. The Amazing Race began in Denver and ended up in Sao Paulo tonight with the gay partnership finishing last after they got unlucky with their original cab driver. This season looks interesting because you have very outgoing partnerships who aren't shy. There are the hippies, the ladies, the mom and daughter who can argue bilingually, the old couple ("I think the clue box wasn't there before", after they walked by numerous times), the nerds, and the sisters among others.

I think I have a new pet peeve. At the gym I work out at, the new trend among guys is now to bring your own gallon jug full of water and carry it around while you workout. I've never needed a gallon of water during a lifting session; I don't even need a gallon of water while I'm running. But you see these guys do one set, then drink a half-gallon of water. They have to fill it up after every exercise in some cases. They might be ripped up top, but they still have a nice gut, probably due to the extra water weight from all the unnecessary water they drink. I just need enough to stay hydrated during the workout, then I drink enough water to rehydrate afterwards. But the gallon jug thing, c'mon.

Enjoy the Madness.

Milkaholic

You may remember the story about the Florida Marlins bat boy who bet one of the players he could drink a gallon of milk in less than an hour without vomiting (he was suspended for 6 games). Well, I could put him to shame because nothing beats a cold glass of milk for me. I drink it like it's my job. I have at least 3 glasses for dinner, 2 glasses with dessert, and milk in my cereal. Now, I used to be nothing but a 2% drinker, but I made the transition to skim a couple of years ago when I started to change my diet. Now, I drink nothing but skim, and when I have to drink 2%, it tastes like coffee cream. I wonder how much money my parents spent on buying milk, because I probably went through at least 3 gallons a week.

Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday, so after my workout, I will have my last cheeseburger/french fries meal for 40 days. I have a $10 gift card, and I will probably use it all. Hey, gotta go all out right. That also means I will probably Super Size my extra value meal for the first time in a looooong time (again, another effect of my calorie counting). After I decided to give up burgers and fries, I've had the song, "Cheeseburger In Paradise" stuck in my head. I know, weird.

And have you read about the former French astronaut who wants to parachute from the edge of outer space down to Earth, a distance of 25 miles, which would break the record of 19. The French had planned to do this officially, but they scrapped the plan. It hasn't stopped the astronaut originally scheduled to jump, who subsequently retired so he could try and do it on his own. He's raised more than $12 million on his own to try and this. This guy is no spring chicken, he's now 72!!!!!!!

Of course the begging question is, WHY?!?!?!!?

It's a hoops-free night, probably the last until the Madness is over. Oh by the way, March 1st is Wednesday. Bring it on, I'm ready!!!!

No Cheeseburger, No Fries, Chips

Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, and I have decided what I'm giving up. I'm giving up the All-American meal that is hamburgers/cheeseburgers and french fries. Last year, Lent sneaked up on me and I didn't really give up anything, so I think this will make up for it. I don't think it will compare to 2 years ago when I gave up everything chocolate. I think I ate every imaginable peanut butter desert then, that was hard. This will be hard as well because I probably eat cheeseburgers twice a week on average for meals, it's my safety. But that's what Lent is all about. So I will indulge on Tuesday, and that will be it until Easter.

Have you heard about the story of Jason McElwain? If you haven't, you need to check it out. Jason is a senior at a high school in Rochester, NY. He is autistic, but that doesn't stop him from being a manager for the varsity basketball team. At each game, he's decked out in a shirt and tie and is enthusiastic no matter what the score. Well, at their last home game, the head coach let Jason dress, but not promising him that he would get into the game. Up 20 with 4 minutes to go, Jason was summoned and he entered the game. The student section all had picture cards of his face on popsicle sticks and gave him a standing ovation. After airballing his first shot, Jason in his words was "as hot as a pistol" and he was. In the last 3+ minutes of the game, he made 7/13 shots, including 6/10 three pointers!!!!! Granted, it was a blowout and the game was out of hand, but still?!!?!!? 20 points in 3 minutes is incredible, let alone done by a kid in his first varsity basketball game!!!! At the end of the game, the students rushed the court and carried Jason off on their shoulders. What a moment. And that is what sports is all about. Great job Jason.

This is what I observed watching hoops today:

• The Indiana I saw in the 1st half of the season showed up in the 1st half of today's game. Marco Killingsworth was reenergized, dominating inside, which allowed IU's perimeter game to get on track. Michigan St. meanwhile played soft. Paul Davis was roaming the perimeter, which earned him a seat at the start of the 2nd half. In the 2nd half, the Indiana from the 2nd half of the season came out on the court. Killingsworth looked tired, the offense bogged down, and the defense suffered breakdown after breakdown. For 15 minutes, Michigan St. played up to their potential. Davis was posting up on the block, where he should belong, scoring over Killingsworth. Getting Davis going allowed Shannon Brown and Mo Ager to get their respective games going, getting Sparty back into it. But somehow, IU upped their level of play in the last 5 minutes and got the victory they needed to stay alive for the NCAAs. Marshall Strickland got 3 the old-fashioned way on a tough drive where he finished with his left. Then Robert Vaden hit the dagger 3 off a kickout by Killingsworth. Indiana is still alive, but they have work to do. They need to win at least 3 more games, 4 would be even better. Michigan St. continues to be an enigma. Now, they probably won't be any higher than a 4 seed, and they'll most likely be a 6 at the rate they're going.
• Villanova/UConn wasn't one for the weak. The hustle and intensity was the most I've seen in any game this year I've been able to watch. Villanova, 4 guard Villanova had 21 offensive rebounds!!!! But that wasn't enough to overcome Denham Brown and Rashard Anderson who were on fire. This game was close until the last 10 minutes or so when Allen Ray picked up his 4th foul. Forced to give up their quickness advantage and play big, UConn took advantage by clamping down Nova defensively, giving them transition opportunities and good looks at the other end. I still have one criticism about UConn though: they don't play for 40 minutes, and in the NCAA Tournament, every game you have to play hard for 40 minutes. Rudy Gay can't disappear like he did in the 1st half, and UConn has to take advantage of their size and athleticism inside. They could've won by a lot more if they got the ball inside in the 1st half. Instead, they settled for jump shots, which is what Nova wanted. In the 2nd half, the ball got inside more and UConn controlled the game. Villanova started standing around too much on offense in the 2nd half. When you see Nova start to stand and dribble a lot, they are out of their offensive flow. Nova is at their best reversing the ball quickly off the pass.
• Maryland: Go home, please. For a must-win game, that was a pretty pathetic effort. Tyler Hansbrough, a freshman, made you look as soft as the pillow you sleep on. A freshman (granted, he's the best freshman in America arguably) dominated you. You shot 28% from the floor. 28%?!?!?!?! I love the way North Carolina plays. They play hard, and everyone who comes into the game makes a positive contribution. When Roy Williams goes to his bench, he really doesn't lose anything, which is crazy for such a young team. Maryland, what happened to you? 4 years ago, you were on top of the mountain. Tonight, you were just downright awful.
• Way to go Alabama for bouncing back after blowing it at Arkansas the other night. Ronald Steele is one of the more underrated players in America. Florida is falling fast. They're probably looking at a 4 seed in the NCAAs, making them vulnerable to a 1st round upset. They're not playing terribly, but I don't see the same sense of urgency from them like I did earlier in the season.
• Even though they are tied for 2nd in the Pac 10, California is very much a bubble team. They've got some size, Leon Powe is a great player, but their guard play is inconsistent. They shot a decent percentage, but some bad turnovers and lackluster defense at times cost them tonight at Washington. Honestly, Washington isn't that much better. But they have an x-factor in Brandon Roy. Roy is smooth. He can break you down off the dribble, shoot the 3 and take you inside. He's capable of putting U-dub on his back and winning some games for them, but they still don't play consistent defense and don't rebound very well because they're not that big. They too have issues at the guard position (when will Justin Dentmon stop fouling 3-point shooters?)
• And a message to the fans: stop complaining about every call that goes against your team. Some of them are actually good calls, but since they go against your team, you just assume it's a bad call. Here's some advice: Watch the game!!!!!

I'm off to watch Knight School and go to bed, have a good Monday.

Bye Bye Bode

2 things: First, I think you know, if you read the blog on regularly, that the whole goal is to promote discussion, and I think that's been done, whether you agree or disagree with my take on things because that's all it is, my take. And second, I promise not to talk about figure skating for 4 years.

I'll say one more thing about the Olympics and that will be all (I think). The Nike ad campaign featuring Bode Miller was titled, "Join Bode". Well, I can only assume it meant join Bode at the bar because that's where he did his best work these last two weeks. After another late night out, he missed a gate in the early stage of his 1st slalom run today, ending his pathetic Olympic effort. You could almost see it coming, there was no intensity or fire when he came out of the start gate. When asked about his disappointing Olympics, Miller said something to the effect that these two weeks were what the Olympics were all about, the partying and the socializing and he enjoyed partying like a rock star. Basically, he really didn't care how he did, which is disappointing. There has to be someone sitting at home who missed the Olympic team by one spot saying to himself, "If I got a chance, I would make the most of it, not take it for granted like he did." I hope I never hear about Bode Miller again. He's become as relevant as Britney Spears is to me.

Now for the hoops review:

• Miami got off to a hot start at Kent, starting the game with a 17-3 run. But Kent was even hotter in the 2nd half, going 7/12 from the 3 point line to win 70-63. This pretty much assures Kent the regular season MAC title and the #1 seed in the conference tourney. Miami is in a dogfight with Akron for the #3 seed, with Akron holding the edge by a game. If they were to finish tied (which could happen as Akron still must play Kent again), the tiebreaker would go to Miami.
• What has happened to Syracuses's Gerry McNamara??? He was dynamite his freshman year with Carmelo and the team that won the 2003 NCAA title, but it seems as if he's been in a shooting slump ever since. He doesn't get much help from his supporting cast, who don't do enough to take the pressure off GMac. Today, it was #2 man Terence Roberts who didn't come to play (2 points, fouled out in just 18 minutes).
• How about Arkansas?!?!?! Another great comeback win today at Tennessee. The Vols were up 13 with 8 minutes to go, but it didn't matter. Ronnie Brewer only scored 9 points, but he dished 9 assists, most coming during the comeback. Congrats to Stan Heath and his team, they're playing their way into the Dance. 2 things concern me about Tennessee: team defense and rebounding. They'll create turnovers, but they have a hard time playing defense for more than 15 seconds. And to close out games, you need to rebound, and they struggle sometimes doing that. They got outrebounded by 21 today!!!!
• If Ohio State can win the Big 10 regular season title outright, they will be a 2 seed, unless they lose in the quarterfinals of the conference tourney. They didn't shoot the 3 ball well today, which is usually their bread and butter, but they really concentrated defensively against a Michigan team that scored 85 on them in their first meeting. They managed just 54 today.
• Southern Illinois got their must-win, though it was far from pretty, winning 46-45, yuck. Neither team can be considered a lock. Yup, that includes you Northern Iowa after losing two straight. Failing to break 50 in back-to-back games isn't helping your cause. Ben Jacobson needs to be taking more than 9 shots a game for UNI, he's too good of a player to only take that many.
• While Arkansas is playing their way in, Seton Hall is playing their way out, losing at DePaul today. The Hall has lost 4 of 6, including losses at St. John's and DePaul now, two teams that aren't very good. Unfortunately, coach Louis Orr is now back on the hot seat.
• LSU is now starting to win these close games, holding onto beat Kentucky in Baton Rouge. Glenn Davis isn't just a load, he's a wide load with great hands and an ability to finish. 28 points and 15 boards for the big fella today. And why did UK not get the ball to Randolph Morris at the end of the game when they had a chance to tie it??? Granted, Sheray Thomas had a nice game off the bench, but do you want a proven starter taking the last shot, or an inconsistent bench player? Kentucky's not home free yet for an NCAA bid, not with games at Tennessee and vs. Florida left.
• North Carolina St. totally gave away their game with Boston College today. They had 3 chances to win the game at the end of regulation and the 1st overtime and a chance to tie it up at the end of the 2nd overtime. Each time coach Herb Sendek called a timeout, and each time they didn't score, and each time they didn't even get a quality look at the basket. Painful to watch.
• Iowa is an enigma. How can you play so differently away from home??? At Iowa, Illinois only scored 48 in their first meeting. Illinois had 48 with about 13 minutes to go tonight. Difference in the game: Iowa only had 7 assists on their 21 field goals; Illinois had 16 assists on their 23 field goals.
• Game I'm glad I wasn't at: Stanford 39, Washington St. 37.
• Texas proved without a doubt they're the best team in the Big 12, and that Kansas is a year away. The Texas zone made Kansas tentative on offense, forcing them to overpass, which also took leading scorer Brandon Rush out of the game. LaMarcus Aldridge for UT got off early, and AJ Abrams and Daniel Gibson rediscovered their respective outside shots. Julian Wright for Kansas, wow. He can shoot and he can put it on the floor and stay under control, rare qualities for a 6'9" freshman. Kansas shoots it better than I thought, but they need to stay aggressive on offense.
• Tomorrow has some interesting games as well: Michigan St. at Indiana (must win for IU, this is their season), Villanova at UConn (the rematch, winner is probably assured of a #1 seed), Maryland at North Carolina (must win for the Turtles), and California at Washington (Cal could use a win to cement their NCAA status)

And unfortunately, I'm going to end with bad news again. Don Knotts is dead at the age of 81. My first memories of Knotts go back to the old Scooby-Doo hour long mysteries when they had special guests which included: Knotts, the Harlem Globetrotters, and Milton Berle among others. Knotts is more famous for his role as Barney Fife on the old Andy Griffith show back in the 60s and 70s. It's probably my dad's favorite show and it is very funny.

Do we really want to find Bobby Fischer?

After work and my workout, I felt like doing some pleasure reading. So I brought along the book, "Bobby Fischer Goes to War" with me to Panera Bread and finally started it ( I bought it a couple of months ago). It's the story about Fischer's victory over Boris Spassky in the World Chess Championship, breaking the Soviet stronghold on the title. If you're not familiar with Fischer, he is a chess genius but also crazy and eccentric. Unfortunately, his upbringing didn't help. He never knew his biological father, who was a genius, and his mom, also a genius, left him before he was done with high school because she couldn't stand Bobby anymore. She didn't help much as she was famous for her outbursts at US Chess Federation meetings, arguing that Bobby should be given more money. I'll keep you posted, it's been a good read so far.

So I watched the figure skating finals last night, and just as I said, it was full of drama. You would think that after so many practices and run-throughs, the skaters could do these routines in their sleep. But yet it amazes me every Olympics how the pressure gets to the women. I think of figure skating as being in a symphony band. With so many practices, how can you mess up??? But yet it happens, everytime. Just like last night, you have one skater who does the "winning" program and the others in that last group who make mistakes. 1988: Katarina Witt, 1992: Kristi Yamaguchi, 1994: Oksana Baiul (although Nancy Kerrigan was a close 2nd), 1998: Tara Lipinski, 2002: Emily Hughes, 2006: Shizuka Arakawa. What do they all have in common? They won, although Arakawa didn't do everything she had planned, but it was so much better than anyone else, she "won" the event.

Poor Sasha Cohen. I was rooting for her, not just because she was American, but because of how she found herself and became more committed and wouldn't settle for 2nd. And after Tuesday night, everyone thought this was her year. She had fire in her eyes. Last night, she looked like a deer in highlights. The rap on Sasha is that she can't put 2 good programs together, and unfortunately it rang true again. I give her credit for fighting back to win silver, although that was a gift as she rightfully described it. Irina Slutskaya, the Russian favorite, skated like she was asleep on her feet, just no energy. But how could Cohen go from wanting it to hoping for it??? I got a sense she would be tight after the short program. She was so happy about her short program, and rightfully so, but in her interview afterward, she wanted to dwell on it. When Thursday's free skate was mentioned, you could see her get tentative, not wanting to think about it. If I was on a mission for a gold medal, my answer would be, "Tonight was a great start, I did everything I wanted to out there, but tonight is only one step. Thursday, everyone will be gunning for me so I need 2 good days of practice, then I've gotta go win it, I haven't won anything yet." But that's just me.

Now, there was talk Cohen was hurt going into the free skate, but she skated in the exhibition tonight. Yeah, the leg doesn't hurt as much when there's no pressure.

Here's what I'm watching in hoops tomorrow (2 weeks until Selection Sunday, can you believe it!!!!):

• Syracuse at Georgetown. Great rivalry, my favorite game to watch in the 80s when Rony Seikaly and the Orange went up against Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo of the Hoyas. A Syracuse win would get them to 20 wins and most likely an NCAA berth.
• Arkansas at Tennessee. An Arkansas victory almost assures them of an NCAA berth. The SEC is making a late push for 5, possibly 6 bids.
• Michigan at Ohio State. Michigan is in right now. A win in Columbus gets them in for sure. Ohio St. is playing for a Big 10 championship and a #2 seed in the NCAAs.
• Northern Iowa at Southern Illinois. This has turned into a must win for the Salukis, who have struggled the last couple of weeks. Northern Iowa could use a win also after getting blown out by Bradley at home.
• Miami at Kent St. Clearly the biggest game of the day. Ok, maybe not in the country, but it is for 1st place overall in the MAC. Miami is going for their 8th win in a row.
• Kentucky at LSU. Kentucky needs a quality win. LSU needs to win on the national stage to prove they are a good team. I really like LSU, I've said that all year. Are they mature enough to win big games, they've lost some close ones they were in control of.
• Nebraska at Texas A&M. This is an elimination game in the Big 12, the loser is headed for the NIT. The winner isn't assured of anything but hope.
• Iowa at Illinois. Illinois got shut down at Iowa City in their first meeting. I think Illinois wins big, unless Iowa can actually prove that they play basketball outside of Carver-Hawkeye.
• Kansas at Texas. I've been looking forward to this game all week. We'll get to find out how good Kansas really is, and Texas as well. Texas must win to stay in the hunt for a #1 seed.
• Nevada at Utah St. A game that won't be on tv, but a game in which the winner will probably get an at-large berth barring a collapse down the stretch.

Full day of hoops tomorrow, how can you not love it?!?!?!

Sadly, we may know the reason why Lance Armstrong and Sheryl Crow broke up. Sheryl had surgery to remove a tumor from her breast that was malignant. Her prognosis is good and I hope she can make a good recovery.

Don't mess with Mr. Woods

Tiger Woods took on Stephen Ames in the 1st round of the Accenture Match Play Championship. This is what Ames had to say before the match:

"Anything can happen, especially where Tiger's hitting the ball."

Ok, it wasn't the most insulting quote, but still: Why say it, because you know what 's coming, and boy did it come. Tiger beat Ames 9 and 8. For all of you unfamiliar with match play, beating someone 9 and 8 is the equivalent of winning a baseball game by mercy rule after 4 innings.

After the match, here's what Tiger had to say:

Reporter: "Had you seen what Ames said."
Tiger: "Yes."

Reporter: "Did it motivate you?"
Tiger: "Yes."

Reporter: "Would you care to elaborate?"
Tiger: "No."

Reporter: "Do you have any other thoughts?"
Tiger: "9 and 8."

Now, you would think after that, everyone now knows not to say anything at all. But Robert Allenby, Tiger's next opponent, said, "Well, there's no way he's going to beat me 9 and 8..."

Robert, better make sure you get a good practice session in because that's the most golf you're going to be playing tomorrow.

Let's talk hoops, whoo I'm fired up after that Tiger story, I love it!!!

• Miami won their 7th straight, taking co-MAC leader Akron by 3 in a tight one. Josh Hausfeld came out smokin and hit 5 threes. Timmy Pollitz brought the boys back from behind with some key buckets in the last 7 minutes, and Nathan Peavy provided the exclamation point with a dunk at the end. Next for Miami is a trip to Kent to play the other MAC leader. Miami is 16-8, 12-3 in the MAC.
• Duke didn't look good tonight in their win at Georgia Tech. JJ Redick was held to 5/21 shooting, though he still managed 22 points (11/12 at the line). It was Shelden Williams's 26 points and 11 boards that were the difference. I'm telling ya, you want to beat Duke, you have to stop Shelden Williams.
• Indiana's faint NCAA hopes are still alive after their come from behind win over Penn St. But only beating the Nittany Lions by 4 at home isn't going to convince many people you're tournament-worthy.
• Tennessee is pretty much assured of the #1 seed in the SEC tourney after holding off Florida in Gainesville. What a play by Dane Bradshaw at the end. Tie game with 30 sec or so left, Florida ball. Corey Brewer does the worst thing you could possibly do. He throws a lazy bounce pass back toward his own basket to a teammate who's running away from him. Bradshaw stole the ball, made a pretty spin move in the lane and scored putting UT ahead. Florida jacked up a 3 and missed, Tennessee hit 2 free throws and it was over.
• Big win for Ohio St. over Michigan St. in East Lansing tonight. I'm not a huge Ohio St. fan, but I have to admit, I like watching Thad Matta and his boys play (although I couldn't watch tonight, game wasn't televised here in Detroit for some reason, boooo). They can shoot (46% from 3), play smart (just 9 turnovers), and play team ball (28 field goals, 20 assists).
• Bradley is making a legitimate case for NCAA consideration. At the UNI Dome tonight, they smoked Northern Iowa 71-49!!!!! And congrats to the Valley for being able to show their conference tourney championship on CBS. Talk about validation. Besides the NCAA tourney, I'd love to see the Big East and Missouri Valley this year.
• In Raleigh, North Carolina 95, NC State 71. Woooow. North Carolina and Kansas are so young, but they have great coaches and great talent. It will be interesting to see how far they go in March.

I invested in an MP3 player today. My walkman no longer works after just a year. But if you think about it, out of the 365 days or so I had it, I probably used it at least 200 days. It was a good walkman, many great runs I had with it.

I was flipping around on TV and watched a little American Idol. What is the deal with the guy singing Barry Manilow?!?!!? He was a good singer, but Barry Manilow!?!?!? I couldn't help but laugh at this guy, Barry Manilow?!?!!?

On my way back to the apartment, I passed a Scientology church haha. If Tom and Katie are ever in town, I'll know where to find them.

If you notice, I said "back to the apartment" and not "home". It's tough calling my apartment "home". It's tough not calling Ohio "home". I feel like I do home a disservice if I call my apartment home. My freshman RA said something that's stuck with me, "You know you've grown up when you call the new place you're living, whether it be school or where you get your first job, home. And it hits you even harder when you call your new home "home" in front of your parents." It hits me every day.

Does anyone really care that Lindsay Lohan no longer wants to be called a "teen queen"???? There are just a few more important stories out there.

One of which is the brewing controversy over President Bush wanting to give commercial control of 6 US ports to a firm based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Some are fearful we're letting terrorists into the country and that our ports won't be safe and we're outsourcing jobs and yadda yadda yadda. President Bush has threatened to veto any congressional legislation that blocks the deal and I agree with him. Not only would this be discrimination, but it would hurt the economy in the long run. By blocking the deal, we're pretty much telling the world we're heading back toward being an isolationist economy. Our and the global business cycle would become more unstable, increasing the likelihood that our recessions would become more severe. In addition, the Dubai firm would only have COMMERCIAL (the actual transactions) rights to ports. The Coast Guard and Navy would still provide security for the ports. Of course, if you listen to people like Harry Reid and Hillary Clinton, you'd think the world would be coming to an end.

That is all, g'night.

How much figure skating can one watch?

This is a big week for NBC. They told their advertisers they would deliver primetime ratings in the 12-14 range. Well, they're averaging a 12.1 so far, in the low end heading into THE event of the Winter Olympics: ladies' figure skating. Say all that you want about the men's downhill, the 4 X 10 cross-country relay race, and hockey (especially after the demise of the USSR), women's figure skating has everything. It proved that in 1994 with the Tonya/Nancy rivalry. Hey, I still want to know what stupid thing Tonya Harding has done recently. In women's figure skating, the competitors either shine or crumble, there's no in-between. The exceedingly high expectations make it that way. In what other winter Olympic sport can you become a mainstream icon??? Look at Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill, Katarina Witt, Kristi Yamaguchi, Oksana Baiul, Tara Lipinski (although what's happened to her), Michelle Kwan (even without a gold medal), and Sarah Hughes. The women's figure skating champion will always be more popular than a skiier or a snowboarder, which makes the competition make or break.

Now I will watch, but do we have to see EVERY skater in the competition. It just drags on and on and on and on. No wonder people switch over to American Idol. Would you rather see the 25th place skater from Turkey or the 15th rendition of "My Heart Will Go On"????

Another side note about women's figure skating, I didn't realize how small American favorite Sasha Cohen is. She's 5'2" and weighs less than 100 pounds. I mean, I feel like I could palm her like a basketball, then break her in half if I wanted to. That is small, yow.

I'm no longer surprised by the Bode Miller hype machine. Sometimes, we see this from athletes who aren't at the top of their game, who somehow try and use the self-created hype to raise their level and do well. Well, it hasn't happened for Bode, but we shouldn't be surprised. His performance in the Olympics has reflected his performance during the skiing season, yet we came in expecting 5 medals from him, thanks in part to his hype. Well, after this Olympics, we're not going to be hearing anything from Bode soon, thankfully.

Now, for some hoops:

• Michigan defeated Illinois, giving coach Tommy Amaker his first win vs. Illinois in 13 tries. Amaker is usually a reserved guy, but throughout the 2nd half after Michigan took the lead, he was emotional on the sideline, asking the crowd to get loud, urging his players on, knowing how important the game was for their postseason hopes. I think Amaker is a good coach, who hopefully will have continued success because he's had to deal with a lot at Michigan, but he's come through and has his team in the Dance as of now.
• Meanwhile, there's Xavier. Xavier, with a healthy Brian Thornton I believe has as much physical talent as anyone in the country. Yet, they're NIT bound at best, why? Well, tonight I think I figured it out. Against Dayton tonight, Josh Duncan was their best player on the floor. He was hitting from the outside, taking his guy to the basket and finishing underneath. But at the end of the game in crunch time, he didn't get the ball. The wrong guys were shooting at the wrong time. This is where the head coach needs to step in. Tommy Amaker got his best player, Daniel Horton, the ball tonight, and he ended up with a career high of 39 points. Sean Miller, Xavier coach, didn't do this, costing his team the game ultimately. Xavier = disappointment.
• UConn almost dropped their 3rd in a row tonight, surviving overtime with Notre Dame. If Notre Dame makes the Big East Tourney, I wouldn't want to play them, they're due to win some of these close games they've been involved in. UConn has hit a rut, and it hasn't helped they've proclaimed themselves as this year's North Carolina. They're not as good as that team, and if think they can just turn it on at the right time, they're mistaken because they're not good enough to do that either.

I forgot to mention I watched Cinderella Man for the first time this weekend. Obviously, it's a great story. James J. Braddock is the perfect hero. But Russell Crowe and Renee Zellewigger just don't do it for me. I liked Paul Giamatti, but other than him, I'd rank Million Dollar Baby ahead of it.

Andy Roddick has changed coaches again, now teaming with his older brother John, who was a highly-acclaimed junior player and All-American at Georgia before blowing out his knee. Roddick is turning into an enigma. He's Mark Philipoussis with a consistent forehand. But that's it. We'll see how this move goes, but until Roddick makes strides with his court awareness and conditioning, he will continue to have inconsistent results. Roddick needs to have a heart-to-heart with Andre Agassi. Being a showman is great, but if you can't back it up with heart and determination, you've got nothing.

The days can't be much better, they're getting longer, the sun isn't setting until about 6:15 or so, and it almost hit 40 today, tough to beat that up here at this time of year.

Time to Get Serious

Good morning and Happy Presidents' Day. Yesterday was our annual trek to the outlet malls and we took my mom out to eat for her birthday. We made the 50 minute drive down to Kenwood where I introduced my family to Maggiano's. Needless to say, they loved it, as I knew they would. Then we took my brother back to Oxford. It's been awhile since I've said this, but I can't remember the last time I was at Miami. But it's been a good weekend and later today I'll make the 3 hour drive back to the D.

But first, here is how my NCAA bracket would look if the tourney started today. The coming of Presidents' Day means the Madness is only a couple of weeks away. So here it is. I didn't follow all of the seeding rules, so I apologize for that. I just wanted to give you a taste as how I see it:

• 1: Duke, Villanova, UConn, Memphis
• 2: Tennessee, Iowa, Texas, Gonzaga
• 3: Pittsburgh, UCLA, Ohio St., NC State
• 4: Illinois, George Washington, LSU, Michigan St.
• 5: North Carolina, Florida, Wisconsin, West Virginia
• 6: Kansas, Oklahoma, Georgetown, Northern Iowa
• 7: Washington, Boston College, George Mason, Marquette
• 8: Alabama, Wichita St., Nevada, Michigan
• 9: Creighton, California, Arizona, Kentucky
• 10: S. Illinois, Cincinnati, Missouri St., Bucknell
• 11: UAB, Seton Hall, Air Force, Syracuse
• 12: Colorado, Utah St., Maryland, Western Kentucky
• 13: Arkansas, MAAC, Horizon, MAC
• 14: Southern, OVC, Big South, Big Sky
• 15: Southland, Big West, Ivy, Northeast
• 16: Atlantic Sun, Mid-Continent, America East, MEAC/SWAC

Not safe: UAB, Air Force, Seton Hall, Arizona, Michigan, Syracuse, Colorado, Utah St., Maryland, Western Kentucky, Arkansas

On the outside: UNC Wilmington, Indiana, Bradley, Charlotte, Houston, Old Dominion, Virginia, Florida St.

With all of the mid-majors in the hunt for at-larges as there are, if they don't win their respective conference tournaments, it will create bracket chaos. Kansas is seeded a little low I admit, but they can end up as high as a 2 if they win out. They play Texas for the Big 12 lead this week. We'll see how grown up the young Jayhawks really are in Austin Saturday night. The Big East has 8 teams, the Missouri Valley 4, although Southern Illinois needs a strong finish after losing at home to Louisiana Tech Saturday.

Finally, I watched the premiere of Knight School, the ESPN reality show featuring Bob Knight choosing a walk-on for next year's Texas Tech team. If I haven't said it before, I'll say it again, I put Bob Knight as the greatest coach of all-time. Definitely not the greatest person, but as a basketball coach, he is the best. Every school in America, from elementary to college run run some version of his motion offense. He wins with less talent more often than anyone. He gets the most out of his players, whether you agree with his methods or not, and I would've loved to play for him.

I enjoyed the show, but I wish there were more of the practices shown. Knight is a great coach, who keeps it simple, making him easy to learn from. Watching his practices, they were no different than what I went through in high school. Emphasis on defense, spacing on offense, rebound, play hard, and play smart. Honestly, I think I could hold my own against the players there. The loud-mouth guard is all talk and no game.

If you have any qualms with my bracket, let's hear them. March begins in 9 days!!!!!

First Trip Back Home

Driving back to Englewood last night, I felt like I was coming home for Christmas. It has now all officially sunk in, where I'm at in my life and where I've come from. No matter what I do or where I go, I feel professional, I feel grown up. It's fun having that feeling, especially knowing how hard I had to work to reach this point. That makes me appreciate it even more because I know how quickly it can be taken away. I'm having a hard time remembering when my mind was so at ease. Even with living away from home and having to deal with stitches, I'm loving every minute of life even more. For the last year and a half or so, I've gotten rid of my always worrying ways. Instead of worrying about the negatives, I'm focused on making the positives happen. I used to think that in order to be driven and get the absolute best out of myself, I had to always think about being the best I could be at every possible moment. Now, I just focus on what I can make happen and what I can control. Instead of carrying a nervous intensity, I carry a positive, infectious intensity. Instead of wondering, "What could possibly go wrong," now I think, "What can I accomplish now, no matter how challenging it is, bring it on, let's see what I can do."

Now, although I'm enjoying where I am, I'd be lying if I hadn't already started thinking about what's next. And what's next will probably involve additional schooling that will allow for further advancement in my career. I'm at the perfect starting point, and I'm going to enjoy it. But I think you know by now I want to maximize everything that's been given to me. I want to have used all of my skills, traits, attributes, etc. to the fullest. So for now, I'm going to enjoy where I am. But, there will be more goals to achieve, let's just put it that way.

I've changed my way into work. While waiting to get my stitches taken out, I was watching TV in the clinic lobby and on one of the local stations, they interrupted the program with breaking news. 2 men had barricaded themselves with guns inside a Family Dollar on the corner of Grand River and Evergreen. Well, I take Grand River to 96 to 75 to get to work. I go by there every day, twice. Well, not anymore. I will stick with all freeways, taking 275 to 96 to 75 to work. It can be quicker, it only took me 32 minutes to get to work, a new record for me, but there are also more accidents there. 275 and 96 combine, making it very busy. It is 5 lanes of congestion. Add in some of the crazy Michigan drivers and it becomes NASCAR. So we'll see how this goes.

Now for hoops, and my observations from today:

• It wasn't pretty, but Miami has won 6 in a row, hanging onto a 51-49 win over Illinois St. Miami now has a showdown with Akron next as the battle for 1st in the MAC East and the #1 seed in the conference tourney heats up.
• Speaking of Akron, they got it handed to them by Nevada in their Bracket Buster game. In fact, the MAC overall weren't very good this weekend. Overall, I believe they went 5-7 (Kent, Central, Miami, Eastern, and OU all winning) The MAC, again, will only be a 1 bid league. Against Akron, Nevada made 12/19 3s, which is really good for them because shooting the 3 has been their weakness the last couple of years. Nick Fazekas led the way with 24 for the Wolfpack.
• Bucknell/Northern Iowa wasn't a pretty game, but it was a good game in the fact that both teams never quit. Neither team folded when the other went on a run. Bucknell had this game, but 2 costly turnovers at the end of regulation and 1 at the end of the first overtime let UNI hang around. Ben Jacobson is a really good player for UNI, he needs to handle the ball more and take more shots. Both teams showed how to play good team defense and what having seniors can do for a team. Neither team panicked when down and stuck to running their stuff, confident that it would work.
• UW-Milwaukee isn't nearly as good as they were last year. Too many turnovers, and they don't have the experience they had last year. Not to take anything away from Missouri St., who are very solid, have a nice inside/outside balance and made a strong case they should be in the NCAAs as well. Winning in Milwaukee isn't easy.
• And in the wacky world of the Big 10, we have a tie again. Ohio St. held off Northwestern, Iowa did their Jekyll and Hyde act on the road at Minnesota, and they are now tied with Wisconsin for the lead. Michigan St. looked like the Final 4 team from last year, running and gunning their way to a blowout win over Michigan.
• Florida is very good, but not great. They have a lot of offensive weapons, are very athletic, but have lapses during games. At times today at Arkansas, they looked like world-beaters. Then, they could be mediocre, especially defensively. I think that comes with inexperience, which they have a lot of.

Bode Miller didn't finish today's Super G, making him 0/3 in the Olympics. Bode being Bode isn't working. Maybe it's time for a new Bode.

I watched some ice dancing last night and have no idea how the judges could rate the skaters based on the things they do. Last night was the compulsory round, where the skaters do the same exact thing to the same exact song. I don't understand the judging of figure skating, I particularly don't understand the judging of ice dancing. I don't care how attractive Tanith Belbin is, it doesn't help me understand the sport more which means I probably won't watch any more of it.

Tomorrow, we go shopping and we'll be eating dinner at Maggiano's!!!! It's going to be a long afternoon on the treadmill Monday when I return to Detroit.

I only have good days and great days, this was definitely a great day.

And that quote from Lance Armstrong is so true. There's too much going on in the world that can make you smile, so why get down on yourself???

Here is why my smile was extra big today:

• I was a machine at work today. Got a lot done and am finding out some interesting stuff.
• It was 45 degrees here today, which felt like 65. When I stepped outside early in the morning to start my trek into work, it wasn't cold, it was, dare I say, balmy. Spring is oh so close, yet so far, especially after this rain/sleet/freezing rain/snow moves in tomorrow. But today's weather was great.
• I have been asked to participate in a charity basketball tournament that will be held at The Palace sometime in April. The tournament will consist of me and 3 kids under the age of 18 ( I think) trying to make as many baskets within a 90 second period. Single-elimination tournament (a lot of teams participate I've heard so there will be a lot of rounds), last team standing wins. It will take place after a Pistons game. I will get to play basketball in an NBA arena!!!!! How awesome is that!!!!! I've gotten to play in multiple college arenas, but this by far tops all of those. I can't wait. And of course I'll be trying to help my team win, but what really matters is that it's all for a good cause and it should be great fun hanging with these kids, who will probably be feeling many of the same nervous/anxious feelings I will.
• Workout was awesome, I continue to feel really good. Hopefully the remainder of my stitches come out tomorrow so I can get back to my running/lifting combo.
• And, Miami demolished Ohio University 65-54 to stay in the MAC title hunt. It's always a good day when Ohio University goes down and goes down hard.

Remember the test I took in Chicago for a Bureau of Economic Analysis job about 3 months ago??? Well, I got something in the mail from them today, and I figured, finally, my results!!!! Not so much. In fact, it was an invitation to come and take another test in a couple of weeks. What??????? I tell you, "What in the heck is going on down there???" Sorry BEA, I've already got a job, a great one as a matter of fact.

ESPN is now reporting that Eddie Sutton will resign in the wake of his DUI citation. Sutton is one of the career win leaders in college hoops, but he will never rank in my list of the best coaches of all time. Sutton was a big reason why Kentucky was guilty of NCAA violations in the late 80s, and he still continued to recruit marginal players and junior college transfers while at Oklahoma St. I think there is no excuse for a coach who is guilty of DUI. He needs to be setting a good example for his players, not a bad one. What's with the older coaches and their drinking habits??? Bob Huggins, Frank Solich, now Eddie Sutton??? If coaching is making you drink too heavily, maybe it's time to get out while you can.

And in other sports news:

• Congrats to Bucknell for winning their first game as a Top 25 team. Sometimes, the moment can overwhelm you, but obviously the Bison are too experienced to let that happen.
• Cincinnati 82, Syracuse 65. This took place at Syracuse mind you and UC is short-handed to say the least. Syracuse, with all that physical talent and athleticism are missing one thing: basketball players. Can you spell N-I-T??? That's where it looks like you're going Orange Nation.
• Watch out for Tennessee next month, I'm dead serious. Bruce Pearl's trapping, fast-paced style will give teams fits, just as he did with his UW-Milwaukee teams.
• Penn St. 71, Indiana 68. Whoa!!!!! Mike Davis, you want to get out of town while you're still alive. Only 10 points and 8 boards for Marco Killingsworth. The last couple of times I've seen him he looks tired. He hasn't played a full season in a couple of years and it's showing. You can be in great physical shape, but not have the game shape to match it, and that's what Killingsworth is learning.
• Wisconsin came back to beat Ohio St. after trailing the Bucks by 9 at the half. The Big 10, you never know what you're going to get. Is this Wisconsin's week, they're due for a turn as the team of the week.
• Has the bubble ever been this big?????

And I was encouraged by today's industrial production report. Yes, it went down .2%, but that was due to utilities falling 10%, which is beneficial to consumers. Manufacturing was solid, growing at a .7% rate.

Remember, any statements on the economy I make do not reflect the official position of the Federal Reserve in any way, or any other statements I make on any other subject for that matter. I thought I should put that disclaimer in there.

Have a great evening, catch ya later.

Happy Valentine's Day

For being single, today was pretty good. The sun came out in Detroit today, almost making it up to 40, which felt like 60. At work today, the food service crew served prime rib. It was goooood. I'm enjoying my mom's homemade chocolate chip cookies that seriously taste like they just came out of the oven. And last but not least, the Swimsuit Issue came in the mail today.

And here are some thoughts on the Swimsuit Issue:

• I enjoyed seeing all of the old covergirls on the cover, but there were two notables missing: Kathy Ireland and Christie Brinkley.
• Elle McPherson is at least 40 years old, right? I hope I age like her.
• Nice to see Maria Sharapova in the issue, but I would've rather seen Amanda Beard again.
• Another notable missing, Cindy Crawford. And may I add that Super Bowl commercials just aren't the same without her.
• Heidi Klum is sadly past her prime. The whole classic look didn't do it for me.
• A successful Real Worlder, I didn't think it was possible. Of course it helps when you are athletic and gorgeous. I don't think we'll be seeing Mallory Snyder on any MTV challenges anymore.
• If you get a chance, you should read (yes, actually READ) the story about Petra Nemcova and her encounter with the deadly tsunami of 2004. What an unbelievable story.
• My two favorites were Daniella Sarahyba and Yesica Toscanini. So yes, I say yes to Yesica.

Alright, enough silliness, let's talk Econ. Retail sales were up 2.3% last month, well above the projected forecast of 0.9%. This sent stocks up over 100 points today as the economy appears to be strong. I think it's strong also, but I'm not about to have my underwear tied up in a knot over this report. Most of the gains in retail sales were due to gasoline purchases and auto sales, both of which are very volatile. Auto sales were the reason the economy only grew at a 1.1% rate last quarter, so they can fluctuate dramatically. Gasoline purchases went up because of the high energy costs seen more last month. So I would expect a slower retail sales growth number for February, between 0 and 1%.

I still can't believe Dick Cheney shot a guy. He deserves to get made fun of for that, sorry Dick.

Alright, time for sports:

• Bode Miller's loss was Ted Ligety's gain. Bode was in control of the downhill/slalom combined until he was found to have straddled instead of going outside a slalom gate on his first slalom run. This brought everyone back into the gold medal chase, including Ligety, who came from well back in the slalom, then benefitted from seeing competitors in front of him fail to complete their second slalom run.
• Congrats to Miami University Hockey, 2005-06 CCHA Regular season champs after beating Ohio St. 6-3 tonight. Now the Redhawks are fighting for a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, along with a CCHA tournament title.
• Villanova showed why they can win the NCAAs with their win over UConn last night. UConn has little experience at the point guard after Marcus Williams, and they are susceptible to pressure defense, which they showed last night. Nova is gutty, gritty, and they find ways to win, which is why I will root for them. How can you not, they start 4 guys under 6'4"!!!!!
• Teams I think can go far in the NCAA: Duke, UConn, Texas, Villanova, Ohio St., West Virginia, Georgetown, NC State, Tennessee
• Teams I'm not sure about: Michigan St., Illinois, Memphis, North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, George Washington, Florida, LSU
• Teams that will disappoint in March: Gonzaga, Iowa, Oklahoma, Boston College

And finally tonight, if you, for some crazy reason haven't told that significant other how you feel about them, here are some songs that help (from experience, these have been sufficient I think):

• Unchained Melody, Righteous Brothers
• Anything by Norah Jones
• Bee Gees, How Deep Is Your Love
• Boyz II Men, In the Still of the Night
• 112, Cupid
• Mariah Carey, We Belong Together
• Stevie Wonder, My Cherie Amore

And that's just a small sampling. I wanted to be a little more diversified, and I think I definitely accomplished that haha. Have a great night.

Disappointing Americans

Some of the big names for the USA failed to get on the podium in their respective sports today. Apolo Anton Ohno didn't even qualify for the 1500m short-track speedskating final after taking what looked to be an unnecessary risk in his semifinal heat, which caused him to slip and fall behind. Then in the men's downhill, Bode Miller could only muster 5th and Daron Rahlves fell to 10th, going back and forth on what skis he should use right up until his start time, which couldn't have been good for his concentration. Of course, you could look at it a different way. 12 years ago, 2 Americans in the top 10 of ANY skiing event would've been a great achievement. Now, if no one doesn't win a medal, it's disappointing. My how times have changed.

The big story was Michelle Kwan pulling out of the figure skating competition. I don't fault her for waiting this long, she's given Emily Hughes enough time to come over and compete. I'm wondering about the "field test" the US Olympic Committee gave her determining her competitive status. It must not have been very hard. Unfortunately for Michelle, she probably won't be around in 4 years to try for that elusive gold medal. I think she's handled it all with class and I have a lot of respect for her.

Now, here are some notes from this weekend's basketball action:

• It was another Miami/Ball St. classic in Oxford today. The Redhawks led by 10 at the half, but you knew Ball St. would come back. 2 overtimes later, Miami came away with the victory, staying 1 game out of the MAC lead. Miami has now won 4 straight to get to 13-8.
• Every week, it's a new team that comes to the forefront in the Big 10. This week it was Ohio St., winning at Michigan, then routing Illinois this afternoon. The Buckeyes are in a virtual tie for the Big 10 lead, although Iowa has the head-to-head tiebreaker on them. Thad Matta-led teams have had success in the NCAAs, and I don't think this year's Buckeyes will be an exception. They get good guard play, shoot the ball from the outside well, and have a guy who can finish inside. The only question is can they remain consistent down the stretch.
• Speaking of Iowa, they took advantage of an Indiana team short on confidence and won in Bloomington. Honestly, Iowa doesn't impress me that much. They protect their home court as well as anybody, but on the road they struggle for several reasons: rebounding, outside shooting, and free throw shooting. They almost let Indiana take the game into overtime after being in control throughout. 15/26 from the foul line won't get it done. Indiana is on the verge of playing themselves out of the NCAAs unless they right their ship. Their best road win came at Charlotte, which isn't that great. IU still has to go to Indiana and Michigan and host Michigan St. It could be NIT again for IU which would mean the axe for Mike Davis. Marco Killingsworth is one tired basketball play. He just doesn't have the energy he had at the beginning of the year.
• Speaking of Michigan and Michigan St., what?!?!? Michigan was without #2 scorer Dion Harris, but they still shouldn't have lost at Purdue by a double-figure margin. And Michigan St., 55 points?!?!? Paul Davis is hanging around the perimeter too much. The Spartan offense needs to go through him in the post everytime. Once he gets some touches, then Ager and Brown will have more success.
• JJ Redick had 35 when Maryland played a defense centered around stopping him, incredible. If you want to beat Duke, you let Redick get his and focus on stopping the others, notably Shelden Williams.
• Gonzaga still plays no defense. I agree with Digger Phelps's comment, "They couldn't guard a bank."
• I don't think the Pac 10 will have anybody left after the Sweet 16. UCLA is the best all-around team, despite losing at Seattle. In all fairness, Darren Collison should've made that layup late in the game. If he makes the free throw, UCLA is ahead and probably wins. Brandon Roy is a great all-around player for Washington who should get more national recognition.

This NCAA Tournament is going to be crazier than normal. Teams are so inconsistent, especially on the road, and have young guards that anything can happen.

My Valentine's Day gift will be getting my stitches out. I'm tired of looking at these things and not being able to fully use my right hand.

Let The Games Begin

This is a cool year in sports where we get to experience some events that don't come along every year: The World Cup, the Ryder Cup, the Inaugural World Baseball Classic, and the Winter Olympics. I'm not a big winter sports fan, but I do enjoy among others: hockey, bobsled/luge, skiing, and speed skating. By the way, one perk of living in Detroit is getting the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company, Canada's version of NBC). The CBC has Hockey Night in Canada and will show some of the big events live. So if I wanted to, I could get up at 4am and watch the men's downhill, which is kind of neat, but I'm not enough of a fan that I'll do it.

Anyway, here are some of my observations from the Opening Ceremonies:

• #1 sign your country won't win a gold medal: You have more committee members than athletes.
• #2 sign your country won't win a gold medal: The coach is your flag bearer.
• Some of the countries that have participants surprised me: Senegal, Kenya, Thailand, and Brazil among others. And some of these people are 50 years old. The qualifying standards must be pretty low for some sports.
• What was with the disco music during the Parade of Nations??? I'm not complaining, but pretty surprising. I'm half-Italian, is that why I like disco/70s music that much, because it's in my blood??? I mean, nothing says Olympic Games like "YMCA", does it????
• How did Susan Sarandon get chosen to carry the Olympic Flag????

Here's what basketball games I'm going to be paying close attention to:

• Iowa at Indiana. Can Iowa win on the road??? Can Indiana get their confidence back. Iowa blew a sizable lead at Northwestern; Indiana got it handed to them by an outmanned Wisconsin team. I don't know if the Big 10 is that great, they're all good teams at the top.
• LSU at Florida. Florida is struggling to be consistent, LSU is young, but good. Honestly, they could be undefeated. All of their losses have been close and come in games where they've led late in the 2nd half.
• Duke at Maryland. As bad as Maryland plays sometimes, they play like world-beaters against Duke. Does Duke have enough in the emotional tank after almost blowing it at UNC Tues. night? Shelden Williams will take Duke as far as they go this year.
• Southern Illinois at Creighton. A game that should be televised, what will happen next in the Valley??? Tickets I'd want: 1. NCAA Tournament (got em today by the way, 1st and 2nd round at the Palace). 2. Big East Tourney. 3. Missouri Valley Tourney.
• UCLA at Washington. I haven't gotten to see UCLA play much. I like what they have on paper. Washington doesn't have the offensive punch to make a run in the postsesaon like they did last year.
• UConn at Seton Hall. Seton Hall and Marquette are two of my biggest surprises of the year. Seton Hall didn't have much coming back, but Louis Orr has done the job. How can they talk about firing him??? A win over UConn would be huge for their NCAA hopes. I think if UConn doesn't get upset early in the NCAAs like last year, they'll win it all. They'll get up for the big games, maybe not for the early round games.

And obviously I'll be watching the others that will be televised, but those are the big ones tomorrow in my opinion. March Madness is sneaking up on us, just a month away.

My fingers are doing better, I'm typing some with the right hand now. Stitches come out on Tuesday, that'll be good.

Drive time was 55 minutes this morning due to an inch of snow. It's unbelievable how many accidents there were in the area, but luckily I only encountered one on my way in, and that was just a car dying at the Gratiot/75/375 split (right by Comerica Park and Ford Field by the way).

And I can't believe the story about Wayne Gretzky, his wife and the gambling ring. Gretzky, Michael Jordan, and Pete Rose, all arugably the best in their respective games, all tied to some gambling ring at one point in time. Honestly, Wayne Gretzky would be the last person I would think of to be involved in this type of thing.

That's all I've got, have a good night.

Nothing better than Duke/Carolina

First, let me start by saying I'm playing hurt today. Yesterday while moving a table at work, it slipped out of my hand and cut me badly on my right middle and ring fingers. I have 4 stitches on my ring and 2 on my middle. So if there are some typos I miss, I apologize.

You can't do any better than Duke/Carolina and they played another wonderful game tonight. Not a great game, but a really good, spirited battle it was. I love watching Carolina's young guns play. They could've packed it in after trailing by 17 early in the 2nd half, but they fought back, took the lead at one point, fell behind by 7 with 45 sec. left, fought back again and even had a chance to tie it up at the end. Duke was bailed out by a 35 point effort from JJ Redick and Josh McRoberts played his best offensive game as a Dukie up to this point.

But there are some things that trouble me about Duke:

• Too many turnovers. This was the first time I saw an opponent challenge Duke's ballhandlers and they didn't handle pressure very well.
• Shelden Williams can't disappear. He needs to make himself more available down low.
• Sean Dockery. He hit 4/6 from 3, but his two free throws at the end weren't even close. Then to make matters worse, he committed a foul making it a one possession game. Not how a senior should be playing.
• Duke lets opponents off the hook on the road. They had UNC down 17, but let them back in the game. If it wasn't for Redick's shooting, they would've lost.

Also, Tennessee won for the first time in 7 years at Kentucky. Granted, UK is struggling, but the Vols overcame a big psychological hurdle in winning at Rupp. Bruce Pearl is a really good coach. His press defense is effective and he gets the flex to work at the Division 1 level.

I really need some sleep, so that's it for tonight.

TGIS

Thank goodness it's Saturday, and that means hoops galore. Here's what I'm thinking:

• Gotta start with my team. It was a great week for Miami, winning all 3 of their conference games, 2 coming on the road at OU and Buffalo, 2 very tough places to play. Miami sits at 9-3, 3rd in the MAC East, 4th overall. With 5 of their last 7 at home, Miami is in position to make another run at the overall regular season title as they only sit a game and a half out of first.
• Adam Morrison is my Player of the Year. He gets the nod over JJ Redick because he has more facets to his game and he is the offense for Gonzaga. Duke has other people you have to worry about, Gonzaga has good players, but they're a good supporting cast not in the caliber of Shelden Williams or Josh McRoberts. Redick can get open looks, mainly because of the defense collapsing on Williams. Morrison doesn't have that luxury. He creates his own offense with the variety of talents he possesses.
• Gonzaga won't go far in the NCAA until they can play defense. Even if Morrison scores 50, their 2-3 zone won't stop anyone who's any good.
• I don't think Duke can win it all unless Sean Dockery, Lee Melchionni, and Greg Paulus can make the open shot consistently. They're good for about 1/4 right now, which won't get it done in March.
• Marquette is my surprise team of the year. They had Steve Novak and that was it, at least that's what I thought. They almost won at Villanova today, and despite losing, right now they're an NCAA team with a 6-4 Big East record.
• The only team that can beat UConn is UConn. Their problem is maintaining focus. Rudy Gay is a top 5 draft pick, Marcus Williams has regained his form from last year, and Josh Boone is a beast inside.
• George Washington is legit. Xavier played about as well as they could play and GW still found a way to come back in the 2nd half. I didn't think GW was capable of hitting the perimeter shot consistently. They proved me wrong in the 2nd half. They can make an Elite 8 run.
• How about the slugfest between Southern Illinois and Wichita St????? The Valley was known for its 3 point shooting and up tempo games. Now, it's come down to a possession, half-court man defense, physical type of ball. Southern's got a nice player in Tony Young, who brought Southern back from the dead in the 2nd half, forcing 2 overtimes. Wichita St. has a nice inside tandem of Paul Miller, a classic back to the basket player, and Kyle Wilson who can hurt you inside and outside. Each team can play defense and right now, both deserve to get in to the Tourney.
• If only Iowa could play half as well on the road as they do at home. I'm surprised Bob Bowlsby hasn't tried to place a future NCAA site in Iowa City so Iowa can do well. I still think Michigan St. is the best team in the Big 10.
• Before the season, I thought Kansas and North Carolina wouldn't make the NCAA tourney. Well, they've both made me eat my words. Kansas had more to prove because they had no real experience to rely on. Brandon Rush is shooting over 50% from 3, incredible for a freshman. I really like his game: unselfish, can put it on the floor and can shoot from the outside. If Kansas can win a few more games on the road, they will be very confident going to March. North Carolina has gotten the necessary leadership from Noel and Terry and Hansborough has been magnificent. He plays like an upperclassman the way he plays physical inside. He's not flashy, he just does what's necessary to win.

This week maybe, I'll see how my preseason picks are faring. Some are good, and some not so good. But that's how it goes.

So tomorrow is the big game. My favorite part of Super Bowl Sunday is getting up and watching all of the old highlights run constantly during the day on TV. The deep voice of John Facenda just gets you in the mood for the big game. I think Pittsburgh will win 27-20 and Willie Parker will be MVP. I'm thinking Seattle will actually try and contain Roethlisberger and the passing game, which should open up the running game for Pittsburgh. Detroit has gotten rave reviews, which is great for the city. They've really put their best foot forward and have worked hard for this week.

Have a good Saturday night!!!!

Greetings from the D

Well, it's been awhile and I'll explain why, but I'm coming to you from the 313 (well, really I'm living in the 248, but this is the Detroit metro area still, and I work downtown, so I'm in the 313). Tomorrow, I will finish my 3rd week of work at the Fed. I won't be able to discuss many specifics about what I do. Basically, I work for the Branch President and the Senior Economist, putting together data and doing analysis on various topics. Then, the President and Senior Economist go around the state, region, and country and give presentations on the stuff I worked on to various groups. What's great is that it's basically my work, with their edits, so my work is going to be heard by a lot of people, which is fantastic.

But it all began Saturday, January 14th with one of the craziest, most stressful days of my life. It was crazy and stressful to begin with. It's not everyday your childhood basically ends and you move 3 hours away from everything you know. This isn't moving to Oxford, a place I knew pretty well before I went to school there. This is Detroit, Michigan, a place I don't know much about. Things that happened didn't help our situation. Our rental truck wasn't there when we went to pick it up in the morning, delaying our departure by 2 hours. When we arrived, the original apartment assigned to me was a disaster. On the ground level, it had sliding doors that didn't lock properly, meaning anyone could break in at anytime if they wanted to. Plus, there was a huge spot on the floor that couldn't be cleaned or covered up. Fortunately, I was able to get another apartment which so far has worked out ok. The physical portion of the moving in process didn't end until around 9 that night. I was so drained I was slap-happy.

My parents stayed the night because I didn't want them driving in unfamilar territory in the dark and I still had to get situated. But when they left the next day, it was the most emotional experience I've ever been a part of. This was it. I knew my mom would get emotional, but my dad lost it, which really surprised me. He can usually hold it in, but this moment got the better of him. And so here I am, at full adulthood, and enjoying it.

Here are some tidbits that I'm sure you're interested in:
Drive time for me is 35 minutes on a good day. When it snows, it's double that, especially on the way home. Everything goes west to east here because of the lake effect, making life miserable if you're heading into the wind.

Michigan has the worst drivers of anyone. Cars run red lights, pull out in front of people, and fail to drive in their lane. People are so bad, it's funny. That's the only way I can avoid road rage is by laughing. I have to be on my toes all the time.

Michigan also has the worst roads. I've never seen so many potholes and holes in the road in my life. No wonder so many people have SUVs here. It's to deal with the asphalt.

Then there is the "Michigan Left". Most of the main roads have medians, and because of the amount of traffic, people trying to turn left would bottle up traffic. So instead, you have to turn right on the road you want to go left on, then immediately get in the far left hand lane and do a U-turn, or Michigan left. Something you don't see anywhere else.

On my way to work, I cross 8 Mile Rd, yes, that 8 Mile. It's the road that divides the burbs and the city. Eminem doesn't live there anymore, he's out in Rochester Hills where he has a mansion.

At work, we have our own private food service and cafeteria that's better than even Erickson. The chef is a really nice guy and has a wide range of good eats. Plus, it's usually less than $5, so it's a great deal.

I have had a couple of Office Space moments. If you ask me personally about them, I'll tell you.

The local papers cover Detroit sports religiously. Everyone is frustrated with the Lions, optimistic about the Tigers, crazy about the Pistons, and in love with the Redskins. Michigan football and Michigan State basketball are the favorites, although Michigan has a good year in basketball, finally beating State this year.

I am working out at least 4 times a week: 30 minutes running, 30 minutes lifting. I have a free membership to a gym across the street from my apartment because I'm living in this particular complex. (Leg pressed 410 by the way today)

So, here's my day:
6:15 Get up
7am Leave
7:45 Arrive at work
12:30 Lunch hour
5:00 Leave work
5:45 Arrive home
6:00 Work out
7:30 Dinner

Yesterday I was shopping in Novi, still dressed in my business wear and overcoat, and it's amazing how differently people look at you now. They take you more seriously and look at you with respect, and that's a great feeling to have. I'm really fortunate to be in the postion I am and I'm lucky to be working somewhere that I enjoy going to every day. I know that's not the case with a lot of people.

And I really am enjoying it. I'm not nervous or worried about screwing up during the day when I'm working on something. I'm more confident and loving trying to work at the high level my bosses feel I'm capable of working at. Yeah, it's tough not knowing many people up here, but that's changing and I'm not too worried.

So that's it for now. I'll get into basketball the next time but I wanted to give you all an update of what life is like for me now. It's just what I envisioned the last several years, I'm exactly where I want to be and it's tough to match that.