Busy Busy, but a Good Busy

I have been on full go the last couple of weeks between work and visiting. This past weekend I visited my uncle, aunt and 4 kids in Lafayette and it was tremendous. You can't draw up a better weekend and I hope I'm able to return the favor when called upon. I wish I could've had at least one more day to enjoy with them, I wasn't ready to leave.

This weekend I'll be heading to Cincinnati to reunite with some of my grad school buddies for our NFL Draft/Risk event. It should be another great weekend; I haven't seen these guys in 9 months or so.

I can really see why Detroit is Hockeytown now. Everyone is excited about the Pistons and the Tigers' surprising start, but people get serious when it comes to the Red Wings. I've met someone who has had their picture taken with the Stanley Cup, in their bed of all places. No one misses Red Wings playoff games. They expect another championship, they're not happy to be just in the playoffs.

Besides showing live Olympic coverage, the Canadian Broadcasting Company also shows playoff hockey in addition to what's shown on NBC/OLN. I'm surprised at how I missed playoff hockey. I'd rather watch playoff hockey than the NBA playoffs I'm finding.

The big news in Britain was Queen Elizabeth's 80th birthday, to which I say, "Who cares?!?!" And Prince Harry may not be going to Iraq with his batallion, which he is the commander of. Why am I not surprised? Of course, do you really want someone who wore a Nazi uniform to a party because he thought it would be a good costume?

I can't say I'm not surprised about Lance Armstrong running in the New York City Marathon. He won't win, but he'll post a good time I think. Before he focused solely on cycling, he was a triathlete and a pretty good runner.

Laundry's done, time to fold then to bed.

Drumline

Very good movie. I've only gotten to see a couple of the Southern schools' bands in person, but they are dynamite with a capital D. They are what marching bands should be all about, at all levels, which is entertainment. I'm not a fan of competition pieces, pieces that should be played in a concert hall, not in a football stadium, and pieces that involve wheeling out huge pieces of scenery as part of their show. I want to see dancing and energy on the field and in the stands and I want to hear music I recognize.

One road trip down, two to go. Home for Easter is always a good thing. Of course on the way back: Dayton, 73 degrees and little wind; Bowling Green 51 degrees and a lot of wind. Some things never change. Things that do change are your life at home. While shopping with my mom around town, I felt like a ghost, looking back in on what was going on at home. I guess I have to get used to this, these in and out weekends are going to be the norm from now on.

I think my favorite mass (of the weekend and of the whole year) is Holy Thursday. It is very different from the rest and it sets the tone for the weekend. I seem to get the most out of mass when I'm tired, I seem to focus better on the message being delivered and my mind comes away very clear. I always got that feeling when I went to church at Miami. Walking up High St. to St. Mary's was the end of the week, walking back after a delicious Bell Tower brunch was the beginning.

I finally made it through the backs, receivers, and tight ends sections of the draft preview. Da Bears could go after a tight end with their first choice. My preference would be Mercedes Lewis from UCLA. Big play guy with height and the ability to put on more weight comfortably. He's a better blocker and more durable than USC's Dominique Byrd. Plus, with the exception of Reggie Bush, how good will these USC skill players be by themselves?

And finally, everyone in Ohio needs to quit crying about the new Ohio St. uniforms. There are more important things in life. The last time I checked, uniforms didn't win games.

And Life Has Slowed Down...

When college hoops ends, there is a void, but it frees me up to do other things. Tomorrow I'll be playing some basketball, the 5on5 variety, for the first time in awhile. If teams are hand-picked, I'll probably be one of the last ones picked, if not the last. I'm new, I'm short, and I wear my glasses when I play. I'm the ultimate ringer haha, just like Woody Harrelson's character in White Men Can't Jump. The same thing happened to me at Miami, but after making a few shots, I am no longer picked last. Hopefully the same thing happens tomorrow, but I'm just looking forward to playing.

I've begun to do my research for the NFL Draft and I've read up on the quarterbacks. I don't like it that Matt Leinart doesn't seem to be working as hard as he possibly can. I think he's a good leader with a good arm, not a great arm. When he tried to zip balls into tight places, he wasn't very accurate. And, was he the product of having good talent around him??? The best fit for him would be Tennessee and reuniting with Norm Chow. Jay Cutler will probably come off the board next and will be a top 10 pick. He could go to Tennessee if the Jets trade up for the #2 pick and get Matt Leinart. If that doesn't happen, I think he'll be taken by Arizona at #10. Then there's Vince Young. The guy can compete and he's a super athlete, but that doesn't always translate over to the pros. If he's there at #17 for the Vikings, he's going to Minnesota. But someone may go after him because it's just hard to completely ignore what he did in the Rose Bowl.

In the later rounds, good picks would be: Kellen Clemens from Oregon, Paul Pinegar, Fresno St., Charlie Whitehurst, Clemson, and Drew Olson, UCLA. I'd be worried if your team drafted: Omar Jacobs, Bowling Green, Bruce Gradkowski, Toledo, or Marcus Vick, Virginia Tech.

Tonight, ABC premiered a made for TV version of The Ten Commandments. I'm sorry, but there's only one version of The Ten Commandments in my book. Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner can not be touched (sorry Omar Sharif). Yes it's a little old, but The Ten Commandments is to Easter as It's A Wonderful Life is to Christmas. You don't mess with tradition.

NASA is targeting the year 2018 to send astronauts to the moon. "Astronauts to the Moon? Hahahahaha?" Sorry, I immediately thought of "Coneheads" when I read that. But anyway, NASA plans on crashing a probe into the moon in 2009 to determine if there is ice and/or vapor there I guess as the start of this project. I wonder what it was like in 1969 to watch the live landing of the astronauts on the moon. At the time watching it, it must've been amazing and incomprehensible.

I'm watching the Apprentice and the reward for the winning team was breakfast with Sen. Schumer in Washington DC, and it reminded me of my trip there before Christmas. After my job interview in Silver Spring, I had some time so I took the Metro into to the Mall so I could walk around. I know I talked about this people, but those couple of free hours I had to myself were special. Even when I flew in the day before into Dulles, we had to circle the airport, so I got to see the White House, Washington Monument, Capitol, everything from the air, which was thrilling.

See you later.

Phil!!!!

Of all the contenders today at the Masters, Lefty was in most control of his game. The 2 driver attack worked to perfection, hitting fairway after fairway, which led to good looks at pins and good scores. While Phil seemingly cruised, Fred Couples and Tiger Woods couldn't buy a putt, Jose Maria Olazabal ran out of holes, and Tim Clark didn't have enough length. Lefty has won 3 of the last 9 majors, not bad after going 0 for his first 42 (might be a little off, but you get the idea).

It's funny how things change. Last year, I was starting to reminisce a little bit about Miami and my time there. That now seems like a long time ago. Miami in the springtime was the greatest. All of the trees got their color back, everyone was more upbeat about things, the girls out running, just so many things haha. I remember many late afternoons/early evenings/late evenings walking around campus, most notably from the library before finals and the special feeling I got. Miami is just so beautiful, at any time of day. I don't think I took it for granted, but I do miss the beautiful red brick and the other landmarks. I'm glad I basically had campus to myself over the summer so I could really take it in one last time when no one was around.

In today's paper was the Detroit Metro golf course guide. You wouldn't believe how many courses are in the area. There are probably 10 courses within 20 minutes of Farmington Hills, if not more. But, it's a little more expensive and only being able to play on the weekends is going to decrease my playing time. Once May and June come around, I may have to play more 9 hole rounds after work with the extra daylight.

I'm in the mood to write more, but nothing's hitting me. I'll catch y'all later.

2006-07 Preseason Hoops Top 10

Ok, here's my preseason top 10 for next year. Next year should be better in terms of quality of play. A lot of teams will get everyone back with a year of experience to go along with the talent the players already had.

1. Florida. How can the Gators not be #1? They lose 1 of their top 12 (their 8th man) and everyone else only gets a year older. How do you defend their balance??? Maybe they get overconfident, but it didn't seem to affect them in the Tournament. Being the hunted instead of sneaking around the chicken coop may be the biggest difference they have to deal with. And coaches have all summer to try and figure out how to stop them.

2. North Carolina. Their only significant loss is David Noel with everyone else coming back, plus a great recruiting class. Even though they played well, Carolina's guards can improve upon their play more and become more consistent.

3. Kansas. Everyone will be back (it seems) except seniors Jeff Hawkins and Christian Moody, who contributed streaky shooting and minutes resepectively. Brandon Rush could be a superstar with his offensive capabilities and Julian Wright could be the next Joakim Noah if he gets a little stronger.

4. UCLA. Losing Cedric Bozeman and Ryan Hollins will hurt a little bit, but UCLA has enough depth to make up for their losses. UCLA might've fared better if Josh Shipp was available for the title game; he'll be ready for the start of next season. Luc Mbah A Moute has a lot of potential.

5. LSU. The Tigers only lose Darrell Mitchell, but he's a significant loss since he was their only perimeter threat. Big Baby and Tyrus Thomas will lead the way at both ends, but LSU needs to find another perimeter threat.

6. Memphis. Losing Rodney Carney is big, but the rest of the rotation is back, led by Darius Washington Jr. and Shawne Williams. This team needs another perimeter threat as well in order to take the next step.

7. Pittsburgh. Carl Krauser is gone, but I think the Panthers will be better off. Krauser was undoubtedly the leader of the team, but he was still somewhat inconsistent and sometimes let his emotions get out of control. Aaron Gray was the most improved player in the country, Antonio Graves and Ronald Ramon are good shooters, something Pitt has lacked, and Levance Fields was a good-looking freshman, I was impressed with him when I watched Pitt at the Palace.

8. Ohio St. With the highly touted freshmen set to descend on Columbus, I think they'll have a similar year to the one the Fab 5 had in their first year. They'll start out a little slow but hit their stride in the middle of the year. I don't think they'll all start at once, Jamar Butler is a solid point guard and Ron Lewis will start at the 2. Watch out for Daeqan Cook and Greg Oden, they are worth the price of admission, especially Cook who is a little under the radar.

9. Villanova. They'll undergo the same transition Illinois went this past year. The Wildcats will go from a guard-oriented to an inside focused game. Mike Nardi and Kyle Lowry will handle the ball, Curtis Sumpter will be back, along with the rest of Villanova's frontcourt contributors. If Lowry can add the outside shot to his game and Nardi get more consistent, the Cats will be very tough to beat.

10. UConn. Josh Boone has declared, but I think he'll be back. I'm not sure about Marcus Williams and Rudy Gay, it'd be in their best interest to come back. But Jim Calhoun gets Jeff Adrien back, plus another great recruiting class is coming in.

Also receiving consideration: Duke (when are they not in the top 10), Texas, Alabama, Indiana (not kidding, DJ White will simply replace Marco Killingsworth, everyone else is back)

It should be a thrilling Sunday at the Masters, with the 3rd round finishing up in the morning followed by the afternoon final round. All of the big names have a chance and the course will be its usual Sunday test.

Thar She Blows

The last two days here in Detroit, the temperature has hung in the low-mid 40s with 20 mph winds gusting over 30. The way the wind has blown has reminded me of some of the tennis matches I had to play in high school in these conditions. Early in my high school career, if the conditions weren't good (cold, wind, extreme heat, etc.), I usually lost. My freshman year, just 4 days after finishing 3rd in the league tournament at 3rd singles, beating a junior to make all-conference, I lost in the 1st round of sectionals to a kid who played reserve tennis all year. I won the 1st set and was serving for the match when the weather started to change. It had already been cloudy, but the wind started to kick up and I didn't play for it correctly. I lost in 3 sets.

But as time went on, I became pretty tough. During my senior year, I played a kid in similar conditions to what we had today. I was hitting the ball really well for it being cold and windy and was in control. At the start of the match, we were both decked out in stocking caps, long sleeves, long pants, I even had runners' gloves on. My opponent got frustrated and how did I know this. Well, each changeover, he took off a piece in clothing in disgust. By the end of the match, he was in a t-shirt and shorts in this freezing weather. I was still chillin in my long sleeves, long pants, stocking cap, etc.

One more note about the Final Four, National Championship, etc. What makes it so great is that it's still about the game, the event is the game. There's no pregame rock concert or halftime show with someone we really don't care about singing, i.e. Ashlee Simpson. It's about basketball, period.

It's Masters week, and a great thing about it is that it provides one more week of pure drama, a little extension of March Madness. It's unfortunate hearing about Tiger Woods's dad, hopefully he can get better and become stronger. Even though it's done in an unfortunate context, it's great hearing Tiger talk about his dad the way he does. I don't know if he's going to be able to win with his dad on his mind, but I think he has the right perspective.

Thinking about the Masters has me thinking about those moments that never get old, that you can watch all night long, every night of the week. Here are some of those moments that I can't get enough of:

• 1986 Masters, Final Round. This is the 1st time I ever watched golf on tv. We were at my grandparents' house and I was bored, I didn't want to watch golf. But Jack Nicklaus, the one golfer I knew, the greatest of all time I had heard, was making an inprobable run to the title. That was enough to captivate me. That got me turned onto the Masters and interested in golf, watching Nicklaus on the back 9. I had watched some golf at an early age, I didn't think it was very exciting. Yeah, I was young, but I knew what was going on. When Nicklaus made a putt or hit a great shot on that back 9, golf galleries aren't supposed to be that loud. I don't know how many times I've gone back and watched the highlights, whether on the Golf Channel or online, but I still get excited everytime I watch it.
• Kirk Gibson's World Series home run. You know me and baseball, but this was good stuff. I remember watching this game also. I knew Gibson was hurt and not expected to play, so when he came to bat I thought, "It'd be great if he can just get on base." So what does he do??? He goes yard and the best part of the highlight is seeing all of the people leaving the game early put on their brake lights to either listen to the call or turn around and look to see what's going on. Suckers haha.
• The end of the Duke/Kentucky basketball game. The last 40 seconds was incredible, not just Christian Laettner's game-winner. Laettner put Duke ahead with a 3-point play, making an incredible twisting fadeaway jump shot. Jamal Mashburn answered with a 3 point play of his own, scoring on a great drive and reverse layup. After 2 Laettner free throws, Sean Woods hit that high arching banker to put UK ahead. When I was watching this game, I thought it was over. 2.1 seconds, have to go the length of the floor, Duke's run was over. And then UK put nobody on the ball on the inbounds and Laettner hit the shot that ended the greatest college hoops game ever.
• Miracle On Ice game. I cry everytime I watch this game, especially the last period. I cry during the movie, I'm not ashamed to admit that. Mike Eruzione's goal, Al Michaels' call of the game, the chants of "USA, USA". Us vs. them. Good vs. evil. The ultimate underdog.
• Larry Bird's steal, Game 5 Eastern Conference Finals, 1987. I remember watching THIS game. It looked like the Bad Boys (Pistons) were going to dethrone the Celtics. All they had to do was inbound the ball successfully. But this was Boston Garden, where the Celtics didn't lose big games, the ghosts in the rafters wouldn't let them. When Bird stole that ball and found Dennis Johnson for a layup, I went nuts. Bird just wouldn't let them lose.

And there are more, but I don't have enough time to talk about them all haha.

Rajon Rondo has declared for the NBA draft. I hope he hasn't signed with an agent because he has D-league written all over him. Uncoachable, no jump shot, and not a great year. Someone has given him some bad advice.

Later this week I'll have my preseason top 10 for next year in hoops.

It's Great to be a Florida Gator

Wow. I think I said that at least 20 times tonight. Florida had been the most impressive team in the tournament coming into tonight, but I didn't think they could raise their game to another level. But they did and then some, they were magnificent. They shared the ball well (19 assists on 26 field goals), they were strong inside (this really surprised me), they played tough inside and whenever UCLA even made a shot, they came right back and answered. You can't help off of anybody because they're all so good. If you double down low, Green, Brewer, and Humphrey have open looks; if you double out high, Noah and Horford have dunks. Add on top of that Noah and Horford being able to handle the ball and create on the perimeter (2 6-10 guys remember doing this) and the Gator bench came up big tonight after being quiet on Saturday, and there was no way UCLA could've beaten them. This game was over halfway through the 1st half. The Gators were getting any shot they wanted while UCLA was having to work for everything. And the Gators have been great frontrunners in March, when they've gotten an early lead, they do a great job of building on it and staying aggressive, a lesson a lot of teams can learn from.

And kudos to Billy Donovan for the job he did. He did this with a young, inexperienced team. He lost more than half of his offensive production last year, Joakim Noah basically didn't play last year, can you believe that? But the guys who left, some were more primadonnas than ballplayers. Anthony Roberson shooting the ball every time he got the chance, and Matt Walsh who was more concerned about his social life it seemed. I looked at Florida the last couple of years as a program that didn't play hard and didn't have good team chemistry. Well that has certainly changed haha. Donovan did a great job of mixing up defenses tonight, keeping UCLA off balance. UCLA could only win this game if it was a half court game and Donovan & the Gators didn't let that happen.

That's all I have tonight because it's late. The Madness is over (tear). But the blog will keep trekking on as usual, have no fear!

The Final Two

There's just one more game to be played, and hopefully it's much more competitive and thrilling than last night's semifinals. Florida has been the most impressive team in the tournament. All 5 starters are scoring in double figures, something that made them tough to beat in the early part of the year. Taurean Green is taking care of the ball and making good decisions, he and Lee Humphrey are making perimeter shots, along with Corey Brewer, who is the x-factor with his all-around play. And no one has had an answer for Noah and Horford inside, who continue to amaze with their ability. They can finish inside, rebound, and help bring the ball up against pressure. The Gators' quickness, along with their 3 point shooting, beat George Mason. The Gators were quicker to the ball, giving them more chances to score on the offensive end, which they took advantage of. George Mason wasn't as mentally sharp as they had been, repeatedly leaving Humphrey open for 3s, which he made. But Florida presents major matchup problems for anybody, which is why they're in the finals.

Then there's UCLA, who's had the tougher road. After beating Belmont, they've had to beat Alabama, Gonzaga, Memphis, and LSU, all good teams. They have a great mix of experience and youth, inside and out. MBah a Moute is a good looking freshman, a great athlete with a nice touch to go with great defense. Ryan Hollins has stepped up despite being hurt, becoming a force inside. Afflalo is the x-factor offensively, he can get his own shot whenever he wants. And Farmar makes it all go, he played very well Saturday night, getting the ball up the floor to his finishers and he made some shots. UCLA has the versatility and depth to match Florida at every position. I like UCLA tomorrow night. Florida hasn't seen a team like this in the tournament yet; I think UCLA will be able to guard them, then get the ball inside and get Florida's bigs in foul trouble. Florida isn't a very deep team. When they go to the bench, they don't go to it for extended periods of time. They might have to tomorrow night, which would be to UCLA's advantage.

So we've hit that point in the year where baseball begins tomorrow (boooo), but it's Masters week. Professional hockey and basketball will begin postseason play soon. But they won't be able to possibly match the month of March. 26 of the 62 games have been decided by 5 points or less or have gone to overtime, 2nd most in the tournament's history. CBS, for now, is keeping the 1st-3rd round games archived on their website, so I think I'll go back and watch some of those. I watched Albany/UConn this afternoon. What an effort by Albany, and what a lack of effort by UConn.

Anyway, I thought it'd be fun to go back and look at what I wrote about this year. And that means going back to last April after last year's tournament. I haven't looked at that since, this could be interesting.

• UConn was my preseason #1, a no-brainer. I thought Hilton Armstrong would be the key, and he greatly improved his game, becoming more assertive. But this team plays with no effort and they don't look like they're coachable. How many of these guys will be back next year?
• Then came Kentucky. UK wasn't as hungry as I thought, Rajon Rondo appeared to be somewhat uncoachable as well, although it didn't help that Randolph Morris was unavailable for half of the year (and shouldn't have been able to come back, sorry Tubby, I don't believe that fax was in your desk all along).
• Villanova was next, and even without Curtis Sumpter, they more than held their own. They were followed by UNC, of which I thought a couple of guys would've stayed, specifically Felton and Williams. But they still had a good year and Tyler Hansbrough was probably Freshman of the Year.
• Duke rounded out the top 5, followed by Oklahoma and Texas. For Oklahoma, Drew Lavender transferred, making their guard play more of a question mark, which ultimately cost them.
• Rounding out my top 10 were Wake Forest, Michigan St., and West Virginia. I thought Chris Paul would come back, and if he did, they would've been pretty good. Michigan St. never acquired the toughness a Tom Izzo team usually does, they have to be disappointed.
• No mention of Florida or UCLA by the way haha.

Here are my Sweet 16 and Final 4 from October:

• Louisville. Well haha, they didn't make it. I think one thing that hurt them was being ranked so high in the preseason. They were ranked 4th going to Kentucky, way too high for them and UK blew them out. They were never the same after that.
• Kentucky. Again, Rondo didn't play up to his potential, Morris wasn't available for half the year, and they weren't great shooters and didn't have the size to make up for it.
• Memphis. Check.
• UCLA. Check.
• Maryland. Still no point guard.
• Syracuse. They went as far as their junior class took them, I was right about that. They lost in the 1st round after Gerry McNamara was too hurt to carry them any further.
• Indiana. I thought Mike Davis did pretty well, but not good enough for the IU folks. If DJ White would've been healthy, they could've won the Big 10.
• Nevada. Well, they had a great year, but fell victim to the 12/5 bug, losing to Montana in the 1st round.
• NC State. They started off great, then struggled late. They bowed out in the 2nd round and Herb Sendek is now the new coach at Arizona St., tired of dealing with the crazy Wolfpack supporters who are seem to be never satisfied.
• Iowa. Well, I was right about them late in the year haha.
• Arizona. Not enough perimeter shooting.
• Boston College. Check. So I got (counting my Final 4), 6 right, whoooaaa.

Final 4:

• Texas. Just not deep enough and too soft inside, especially vs. LSU in the regional final. Daniel Gibson had a good year, but not the year I thought he would have.
• Duke. Redick and Williams were huge, but the supporting cast couldn't make shots vs. LSU.
• Michigan St. I'm tried of talking about how disappointing they were.
• Villanova. My pick at the beginning of the year and at the end. They played tough, you couldn't fault their effort. Florida was just too much for them.

I'll keep going down memory lane as time goes on. But for now, it's time to start getting ready for the NFL Draft extravaganza with my buddies in Cincinnati. I bought my Draft guide today, it's time to start studying. But after tomorrow, there's still one more game left to be played. Just a little more Madness, is that ok?!?!?!