Silence

Usually, when a golfer misses a short putt he/she should've made, there's at least a gasp from the crowd, usually followed by groans. But when Tiger Woods missed the putt that would've beaten Nick O'Hern, there was silence. It was the strangest thing, even watching it on TV. The crowd, along with Tiger, was stunned he missed that putt. Just the hole before, he hit a 350 yard drive, wedged into 5 feet and made the birdie putt to send the match to extra holes. That sequence of events made what transpired on the next hole that much more stunning. Of course, if this were Phil Mickelson, everyone would say how he hadn't gotten over Winged Foot. In fact, Rich Lerner of the Golf Channel said this was the biggest collapse since Mickelson's at Winged Foot. What?!?! First of all, this wasn't a collapse. Tiger was 4 down through 7, and in an 18 hole match, that's usually an insurmountable margin. Second, isn't this a little blown out of proportion? I mean, O'Hern beat Tiger in the Match Play just a couple of years ago. And even Tiger said this would be a hard tournament for him to win because anything can happen in 18 hole matches. Another example of today's media making something bigger than it should've been.

2 weeks until Selection Sunday. Speaking of silence, there will be more bubble teams that will be silent after seeing their tournament hopes go down the drain. There are still a lot of questions, especially now with 12 team conferences. In 12 team conferences, you can only play a certain number of teams twice, which makes conference schedules uneven. So you might see a team go 8-8 in conference get in over a team that goes 10-6 based on who they play.

• Marist is a team you don't want to play in the 1st round (if Marist wins the MAAC). Experienced point guard in Jared Jordan (24 points, 15 assists, 7 boards today vs. Siena to win the regular season crown), everybody can shoot the 3 (17/42), and they can dump it inside and get cheap baskets.
• Once again, the Colonial is trying to get multiple teams in. Drexel is 22-7, RPI 48, non-conference schedule rank 4. Virginia Commonwealth is 24-6, RPI just 63 though and they lost at home to Bradley in the BracketBuster. Old Dominion 23-7, RPI 37. And don't forget about dangerous Hofstra, who has NCAA caliber talent. What a conference tournament this will be.
• Virginia Tech is in after getting their 20th win today.
• Syracuse is still alive after beating Providence. They have to split their next two against Georgetown and Villanova, then win their 1st round Big East game at least to have a chance. But Eric Devendorf still takes bad shots and they don't rebound. But they're shooting the ball a little better, they hit 12 3s today. Providence is out right now, they need a Syracuse like run from last year to get in.
• Texas Tech almost blew it again vs. Oklahoma St., but for some inexplicable reason, Mario Boggan ran to the 3 point line after rebounding a miss instead of trying to tie it with a stick back. That mental blunder may cost the Cowboys an NCAA trip. They have a do or die game vs. Kansas St. this week. Texas Tech has the profile to make it, but they need to finish above .500 in the Big 12 and get to 20 wins. Tech needs to close out games better.
• Clemson has gone from 17-0 to 19-9. If they can't score off their press, they're not very good. They're out right now, along with Oklahoma St.
• Tennessee is in right now after winning at Arkansas. Chris Lofton: 10/19 shooting, 31 points.
• In the Southern Conference, Davidson and Appalachian St. are making great cases for themselves. Appalachian St. won at Wichita St., and Davidson is now 26-4. But this is all too familiar for Davidson, who a couple of years ago lost in the Southern semis after compiling an awesome regular season record and were relegated to the NIT. What a conference championship this could be if they play each other.
• It looked like Pitt was going to end Georgetown's streak, but the Hoyas ended the game with a 25-9 run. The Hoyas D really stepped up in the last few minutes. Jonathan Wallace played a great game. What has happened to Pitt's offense the last couple of weeks? They can't make a shot (33% today) and they don't look as confident. They didn't help themselves at the foul line either, just 8/16.
• Illinois might be the 5th team out of the Big 10 because the schedule favors them. Seriously, the Big 10 is heading for a first weekend just like last year when they were all eliminated. The Big 10 isn't nearly as good as last year and they might get 5 teams in?
• 2 teams leaking a little oil: Air Force and Butler. Air Force lost on the road in conference again. Butler lost during the week and won't even host the Horizon League championship unless Wright St. loses. Very interesting that when you compare Butler and Missouri St.'s profiles, Missouri St.'s actually looks better. Well, think about it. Butler beat Indiana, Gonzaga, and Tennessee among others, teams who have not played well the last couple of weeks. Purdue's been ok, but not great. Notre Dame has been solid in the Big East.
• Miami 15-12 and pretty much has clinched a 1st round bye in the MAC tournament, most likely headed for another quarterfinal matchup with OU. Oh boy.
• A team that could be dangerous in the NCAAs: Virginia. Today vs. Georgia Tech, JR Reynolds and Sean Singletary combined for 49 points. Experienced guards give you a chance to make a Sweet 16 run.
• What's going on with Florida?!?! Just like last week at Vandy, they didn't take care of the ball and they couldn't hit from the outside. And LSU did this without Big Baby Davis. Green and Humphrey are the keys for Florida. When they are efficient offensively and make shots, Florida is unbeatable. When they're not, they lost that special quality.
• Bad loss for Alabama at home today. Worst of all, Auburn swept them. That's not acceptable in football, let alone basketball.
• Does the Mountain West get 4 in if San Diego St. wins the conference tournament?
• The SEC West is crazy. Mississippi was the hottest team in the division until today when they lost at South Carolina by 13. Despite the loss, for Ole Miss to even be in the NCAA discussion this year is a great achievement for Andy Kennedy and his club. Cincinnati should've signed Kennedy to a contract, they may come to regret that decision even after this year.
• Impressive 2nd half comeback by Michigan St. against Indiana. And it wasn't just Drew Neitzel, though he got it going with 2 early 3s in the 2nd half. Raymar Morgan is fully healthy and playing like it. Indiana needs Earl Calloway back. Their losing streak is a result of him being hurt.
• I think Ohio St. will beat Wisconsin tomorrow. Ohio St. is good at home and Wisconsin hasn't played as well the last couple of weeks.

I saw Dreamgirls on my day off Monday and loved it. The last 2/3 of the movie are really, really good. Jennifer Hudson owned that part. And yes, I bought the soundtrack immediately after.

Another winter storm warning is coming. 4-6 inches of snow through Monday with sleet and freezing rain mixed in.

I can't decide who I'm more tired of hearing about, anyone associated with the Anna Nicole Smith case or Britney Spears.

Hillary and Obama are already fighting. Who cares?!?!?! It's February 2007 for goodness sakes. That means there are 20+ more months of this.

And I'm proud to say I'm now a member of the Knights of Columbus, so I'm looking forward to getting involved even more here in the community.

Bracket Buster Saturday

3 weeks until Selection Sunday, I'm starting to feel it:

• Winthrop/Missouri St. Winthrop deserves an at-large bid if they don't win the Big South tourney. Torrell Martin is getting healthy, Michael Jenkins can't be left alone outside, and Craig Bradshaw is the difference maker inside. They're experienced, quick, athletic, and good. Missouri St. needs to win out and make the Valley semis. That would put them at the minimum 22-10 with 13 Valley wins, which should be good enough.
• Georgetown/Villanova. Seems like ages since I watched this game. Villanova didn't score during the last 3:30, becoming too conservative on offense, running the shot clock down instead of running their stuff and taking the first good shot. That's what I'd do if I were the coach. Run one set, turn it over unless you get a wide open shot, then clear it out for your point guard. Roy Hibbert was a non-factor, but Jeff Green certainly was. He's played like an All-American since the last time these teams played. Everyone for Nova except for Scottie Reynolds was 11/38, ouch.
• UCLA/Arizona. Mustafa Shakur finally played well against Darren Collison, but Darren is still Mustafa's daddy. Collison had 15 assists to go with 17 points as Arizona is 0-4 against the LA schools this year. Collison had more assists than Arizona did as a team. The Cats are all flash and no substance. There were multiple times in the 2nd half where a defensive stop might have ignited a run, but it never came.
• The only way you can beat Florida is if your guards outplay their guards. Vanderbilt did that, forcing 20 turnovers and shot 58% from the field, 48% from 3. Corey Brewer had 6 turnovers, Taurean Green 5.
• Washington/Pittsburgh. The Huskies at-large hopes are gone, they needed to win this game. They played pretty well, but 15 turnovers are too many against a team like Pitt at their place. What's held the Huskies back have been their guards, and Pitt's guards played well today.
• What a break for Michigan St. to play 4 straight home games at this point of the season. They've gotten Michigan and Iowa, now they get a chance at #1 Wisconsin this week.
• Alabama shouldn't be on the bubble, they're too talented. A lot of things have happened to them that have been out of their control, but there's still time to put it all together and beating Kentucky was step #1.
• Texas A&M is quietly playing their way into a #1 seed.
• How does Tennessee get whipped at South Carolina?
• Indiana/Michigan. Michigan finally beat someone worth mentioning, but IU played without starting point guard Earl Calloway, so this isn't as good of a win for Michigan. Indiana didn't have a good week. They shot the ball like a Kelvin Sampson Oklahoma team would today. Armon Bassett finally looked like a freshman.
• Southern Illinois/Butler. SIU was the better team, but Butler just wouldn't die. SIU's guards wore down Mike Green and AJ Graves, forcing Graves to miss another free throw. Jamaal Tatum was money again, hitting big shot after big shot. Matt Shaw is playing really well also. But credit to Butler for hanging in, they wouldn't quit. Hinkle Fieldhouse was rocking and it felt like an NCAA Tournament game.
• Memphis/Gonzaga. Another NCAA tournament-like game. Gonzaga is trying to prove they're good without Josh Heytvelt, and they did, but they needed to win this one. They've become the ultimate bubble team now. They have a great non-conference resume, but they've lost too many games since and really need to get the automatic bid to be safe. Memphis's pressure gave them a double digit lead, but after Gonzaga settled down and made it their tempo in the 2nd half, it was anyone's game. Memphis moves the ball well, but they still only have a couple of guys who can make jump shots and make free throws consistently. But Memphis does have balance, which makes them hard to guard. Jeremy Pargo's dunk was sick with a capital S.
• What's happened to Oregon?
• Bradley/Virginia Commonwealth. Two teams that are mirrors of each other, but Bradley's big game experience was the difference in this one I think. That and the zone defense they switched to in the 1st half that slowed VCU down. This is when Bradley got hot last year and they have that potential with Michael Ruffin and Will Franklin handling the ball, Jeremy Crouch able to hit 3s in bunches and Zach Andrews able to do some dirty work inside. VCU needs the automatic bid now to get in. Bradley is keeping hopes alive for another 4 bid Valley.
• North Carolina/Boston College. Unfortunately, the difference was Jared Dudley's 5 missed free throws after being fouled on 3 point attempts. UNC is starting to find the going tough so their half-court oriented players have to step up and they did tonight. Tyler Hansbrough had a big night, but more importantly Reyshawn Terry hit big shots. UNC won't be able to run as much as tournament play starts and the game slows down. They'll need to execute in the half court. Tough week for BC. They showed up too late vs. Duke and they could've won this one tonight. But 11/21 foul shooting at home isn't good enough.
• One team I don't want to play right now: Louisville. Everyone's healthy and they're playing some D.

I have to say NBA All-Star Saturday Night was entertaining. I like the whole team competition and the skills challenge. The Charles Barkley/Dick Bevetta (NBA ref) race was funny. Charles somehow won. I've always loved the 3-point shootout. I remember Larry Bird raising his finger in the air before his clinching shot went down. "Who's going to finish second?" he asked when he entered the locker room. And the slam dunk's gotten better. It'll never be like it was in the Jordan/Wilkins/Spud days. But how can you not love 5'7 Nate Robinson? He didn't win this year, but he is electrifying. Plus, the commentary by Barkley, Reggie Miller, Magic Johnson, and Kenny Smith is hilarious.

Tomorrow, I'm getting knighted into the Knights of Columbus. I'm very excited about this. It gives me a chance to get involved at church here and give back to the community.

And I binged on my mom's chocolate chip cookies today. If you had one, you'd keep eating them too. It's good that my long run is tomorrow.

I think I'll go see a movie Monday on my day off. I'm thinking Dream Girls. And maybe I'll see something else, why not? Good choice to put Beyonce on the cover of the Swimsuit Issue. But I would've loved to have seen some other musicians. Maybe Nelly Furtado, Katherine McPhee, Carrie Underwood, ya know?

It's Just A Football Game

I am not mourning the Bears loss to the Colts in the Super Bowl like some, including one of my superiors at work. Sports, especially pro sports aren't worth it. Now if Miami had just lost in the national championship, that might be different since I went to school there. But pro sports, no way. I'm disappointed, yes. But hey, there's always next year.

And I'm not ready to give up on Rex Grossman. Yes, he didn't play his best game, but give the guy a break. He just finished his rookie season basically and he did pretty well. I actually think Da Bears should've thrown the ball more in the 2nd and 3rd quarters instead of being conservative and running the ball. Kansas City and Baltimore tried doing that and they lost. Da Bears threw the ball downfield all year and had success, they should've gone play action since the Colts were putting 8, sometimes 9 guys in the box to stop the run.

I expect Da Bears to make another run next year.

Ok, I watched a lot of hoops today (and am still watching as I write), so let's go through it all:

• Marquette/Georgetown. This was Georgetown's game, but Marquette would answer every run. Finally, in the last 5 minutes, Marquette ran out of answers. Georgetown has gotten a lot better in the last month or so. Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert had great games and the Hoyas made 3s, and made 3s make the Princeton offense that much tougher to defend. For Marquette, Dominic James really struggled, probably the worst game I've seen him play. They needed to make outside shots to make up for their lack of size, and they failed to make shots consistently. Marquette was 4/21 from 3.
• Congrats to Dayton for winning their first true road game of the year. They did it after falling behind St. Bonaventure 17-3. That would've been a really bad loss.
• Bad week for Virginia Commonwealth, losing to Hofstra and Old Dominion. The Colonial is tough, but VCU's at-large hopes if they don't win the conference tourney are fading.
• Villanova almost blew a 16 point halftime lead and their NCAA hopes at Seton Hall, but hung onto win. Curtis Sumpter had 21 and 10.
• Another Big 10 home squeaker for Ohio St., getting by Purdue. Jamar Butler was 3/7, Ron Lewis 2/6, that's not good enough. Another guy whose play has fallen off is Daqean Cook, who was just 2/7 today. OSU was just 3/17 from 3. They're not playing very well, the Big 10 is that weak.
• At least Illinois/Indiana II was better basketball than the first meeting. Armon Bassett continues to prove he's one of the more underrated freshmen players in the country. Roderick Wilmont is still hot, and DJ White had 5 assists to go with his 15 points. Illinois still doesn't have a signature win. Chester Frazier and Trent Meachem both didn't score. That's not good.
• I'm not surprised West Virginia beat UCLA. UCLA was without Darren Collison so they went against John Bielein's D without an experienced point guard.
• My Redhawks are above .500 for the first time all year, going to 12-11, 8-3 in the MAC after beating Ball St. 66-44 today. Usually Miami/Ball St. goes down to the wire, but Miami jumped out to a 26-8 lead and cruised from there.
• Usually a 7 point lead in overtime is good enough to win, but not for Texas Tech which gave it up, then lost in the second overtime to Oklahoma St. Fouls left Tech with no size for the extra 10 minutes and it cost them. Tech was defenseless against Mario Boggan, who won it with an offensive rebound and score. It's the first time a Bob Knight coached team has lost 5 straight since 1972 and right now they probably wouldn't get an NCAA bid if the selection was today. Texas is licking their chops at their rematch with Okie State Monday night since the Cowboys have to go to Austin after playing 50 minutes today.
• Virginia Tech 84, Virginia 57, go figure. The ACC is #1 in the power ratings now.
• What's up with the SEC? Alabama lost at Mississippi, who's in the NCAA hunt. And LSU knocked off Arkansas. Plus, Tennessee took Vandy behind the woodshed. Is the SEC that good or that mediocre?
• Big win for Air Force at the Pit. Right now, I think the Mountain West would get 3 in: Air Force, BYU, and UNLV.
• To know how good of a game Creighton/Southern Illinois was, all you need to know is Creighton shot 54% at SIU and lost. SIU shot 65% from the field, in the defensive-minded Valley?!?!?! Even though Creighton lost, I realize now why Josh Dotzler is so important for them. He didn't score and only had 3 assists, but he initiated the offense, allowing Nate Funk to play off the ball. For SIU, Matt Shaw and Jamaal Tatum were brilliant, hitting big shot after big shot, most of them contested. Despite the 38 combined turnovers ( a result of the intensity of the game), this was a high-quality game.
• The largest crowd ever to see a game at the Nutter Center saw Wright St. upset Butler by 12. Now, I would've told you last night Wright St. was going to win for 2 reasons. First, Butler just played at Cleveland St. Thurs. night. Despite blowing them out, they still had to travel, by bus most likely, so they were going to have tired legs. Second, Butler made 20 3s Thurs. night, so they were probably going to be cold tonight. Just like in golf, it's tough to follow up a really low round with another one. Butler couldn't make anything from the outside, a result of both of my reasons. Even AJ Graves, 97% foul shooter, missed one tonight. DaShaun Wood for Wright St. is the best player you don't know. He was always a great slasher and defender. This year, he's added the jump shot and the 3 ball, and he's unstoppable. Tonight, he went for 30 points (23 in the 2nd half), 7 boards, and 6 assists.
• Xavier 87, George Washington 58, at GW. This was the X I was looking for all year. 4 guys in double figures, X shot 53% from the floor. Where was this performance all year?
• Another big game against a good team, another poor shooting performance from the outside by Kentucky. Credit to them for hanging tough after falling behind by 15 earlier and playing tight defense (and being helped out by Noah and Horford getting in foul trouble for Florida). But they are just not good shooters and I don't see them beating anyone they're not supposed to. Florida didn't play great, but getting out of a very hyped up Rupp with a win is always good.

I watched Barack Obama's declaration speech today and you can't help but like the guy. I don't agree with everything he says, but I like him, something I can't say about the other major Democratic candidate, and I'm not talking about Joe Biden hehe

Just think, if Duke loses at Maryland tomorrow, they're on the bubble. At least I think so.

It's Bloody Cold

As I write this, the temperature is 3, windchill -15 with snow in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow. Tomorrow, the high is supposed to be 6. You can hear the wind howl, giving the day an eerie feel. But even the cold weather can't dampen my excitement for tomorrow's Super Bowl. Sometimes, the best part of Super Bowl Sunday is the morning/early afternoon playing of all the Super Bowl highlights in order. Now since there are 40 to replay, I believe the first one on tonight is Super Bowl XII. But hearing that great deep voice of John Facenda and seeing all those great plays gets you in the mood, and allows you to watch something else than the pregame show.

Now, on to the day in college hoops, and what a day it was:

• SMU/Memphis. Today was the first time I got to see Memphis and I was impressed. I think they're better than last year. Granted, SMU isn't great competition, but Memphis has the pieces to play well. The knock on Memphis recently has been the lack of consistent perimeter shooting. Well, the Tigers were 15/25 from 3 today. Add that to all the finishers up front and they have a well-balanced team. They play at UAB this week and have to go to Gonzaga in a couple of weeks. Those 2 games will give a better indication of how good Memphis is.
• Louisville/Villanova. This could turn out to be an elimination game and Nova is still alive. Louisville just can't score. They play good defense, but they're offensively inept. Villanova can be inept for stretches, but they have guys who can be counted on to make shots, specifically Curtis Sumpter, who stepped up in the 2nd half.
• Washington/Arizona. The Arizona from the beginning of the year and Washington didn't look like an NCAA team today. The Huskies had won 3 straight, but their deficiencies showed up, namely their backcourt. For one day, Arizona's chemistry issues were resolved, 21 of their 31 field goals were assisted.
• Southern Illinois/Wichita St. I thought the Shockers looked good at Northern Iowa in their last game. But Northern Iowa is no SIU, and SIU brought the D. The Shockers shot 12/44 from the field, on their home floor!!! Jamal Tatum hit big shots for SIU, as did Matt Shaw. Right now, I'd say SIU, Missouri St., and Creighton are in the NCAAs. Bradley and Wichita St. are on the edge, they need to make a late season/conference tournament run. Northern Iowa needs to win the Valley Tournament.
• Indiana/Iowa. I can't believe the ESPN Gameday crew overwhelmingly thought IU would win. I thought Iowa would win because IU was coming off the big win at home vs. Wisconsin so they'd still have their heads in the clouds, and deservedly so. But the road trip to Iowa is tough and Iowa had a big road comeback win at Michigan so their confidence was high. Iowa's bigs did a great job against DJ White, getting him in foul trouble. Adam Haluska has turned into a great all-around player. He is more than a catch and shoot player, evidenced by his 33 points today. Iowa always does this in February/early March. They get on a roll, make the tournament, then lose early. Will they be the 4th team out of the Big 10?
• N. Carolina/NC State. The real shocker of the day. I thought NC State didn't have much of a chance, and if they were going to win, somehow the final score would have to be in the 60s. But it's a rivalry game, and NC State showed that's why you throw out the records in such a game. NC State played zone, forcing UNC to hit 3s and slowing tempo. Now because of their lack of size and depth, they left themselves vulnerable to the post and penetration. The zone kept UNC from fast breaking and it lured UNC to sleep at the other end. The Pack shot 61% from the floor, 8/15 from 3. The recipe to beat UNC is to try and control tempo and make them hit 3s. UNC shot 48% from the floor, but were only 4/15 from 3. In the NCAA Tournament, it's easier to slow the game down instead of speeding it up. UNC will be prone to this, especially against their 2nd round and/or 3rd round opponent. That's where they'll be the most vulnerable, against a team they might relax against and get up for.
• Ohio St./Michigan St. OSU needs to play through Greg Oden, period. Get the ball into him and let him look to score or kick the ball out. OSU has to stop the one pass, launch the contested 3 offense. Luckily for OSU, no one other than Drew Neitzel or Goran Suton could score for Sparty. Everyone but those 2 for Sparty were 5/24. Sparty is 4-5 in the Big 10 and they have a tough schedule in front of them.
• Texas A&M/Kansas. I can't believe the Aggies were able to come back and win this game. But the Aggies are disciplined, well-coached, resilient, and they believe in one another, especially in Acie Law, who again was clutch down the stretch. Kansas owned the boards and Sherron Collins was fantastic, but they couldn't close the deal defensively. It's weird, because KU dominated the flow of the game and seemed in control. But A&M hit big shot after big shot in the 2nd half, and if Collins didn't have the ball for KU late, they fell apart. Kansas should be so much better than they are currently.
• This week, of the AP top 25, 12 lost at least once. Of the Coaches top 25, 14 lost at least once. 5 of the top 10 in both polls lost at least once.
• I think Hawaii got hosed tonight at Nevada. First of all, what was the ref under the basket, who was standing right there, thinking??? Second, when the foul was called, the shot was away, so even though the intent was to get the grab by Nick Fazekas before the shot, the actual call came during the act of shooting, so the basket should've counted.
• Wright St. really impressed me today. I'd love to be able to see their game vs. Butler next week. DaShaun Wood has turned into a great all-around player. Before, he was just a slasher and a great finisher. Now, he's expanded his game to where he has a quality mid-range game and can hit the 3 ball.
• I feel good everytime I see that Duquesne has won another game. They scored 111 today at St. Bonaventure.
• Congrats to Iona for getting their first win of the year.
• It's turning into Florida's NCAA Tournament to lose. If they can just stay healthy, they'll be the overwhelming favorite.
• Tough week for Oregon getting swept on their LA road trip.
• LSU is heading for the NIT. Big Baby Davis has no consistent outside help. He went for 27 and 10 today in a losing effort.
• BYU is making a case for 3 teams out of the Mountain West after crushing UNLV in Provo.
• Maryland got a must win at Wake, they need to get to .500 in the ACC.
• Texas Tech needs a road win. They've shown they can play with anyone at home, but now they've lost at Oklahoma and at Missouri, taking them out of the Big 12 title hunt.

I have a feeling the Super Bowl commercials will be duds since the K-Fed commercial is getting all the hype. That can't be a good sign.

I have a gift certificate for Coldstone Creamery. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be using it anytime soon.

The newest Michigan construction project has begun. Dodge the Lodge II is now showing on your Detroit area roadways.

The interior and exterior design of the Detroit Renaissance Center make no sense to me. I guess it makes no sense to some of the people who work inside. It's your classic 70s design, a lot of detail which leads to a great deal of confusion.

Bear Down Chicago Bears.