Welcome to Marty's World

Boone, NC. Football Capital of the World

2007-09-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

On February 16, 2007, the Detroit Free Press reported that Michigan had completed their 2007 football schedule by agreeing to start the year by hosting the 2-time defending 1-AA national champs, the Appalachian St. Mountaineers. Here is some of the reaction on a Free Press message board. It's pretty easy to tell by the comments who likes Michigan and who likes Appalachian St. (or doesn't like Michigan):

This should be a free game, no charge for tickets.
I would not overlook this App State team. They are an impressive team. I surely would not be putting a W in the win column yet.They have one of the best QB's in the nationwide with soph. Armanti Edwards.I would prepare extensively for this team.
I don't think App State is the one to worry about this game....They will get respect at the BIG HOUSE...probably be some people sweating that day.
Yuck! Why is Michigan playing a division I-AA school. What's next? Concordia College?

I didn't think Michigan would blow App St. out, but I thought they would take control by halftime. Usually in games that feature BCS vs. non-BCS opponents, the difference is depth in the offensive and defensive lines and the BCS conference team wins the line of scrimmage and thereby takes control of the game.

Michigan never did that. In the 4th quarter, the line of scrimmage battle was still very even. And usually when the non-BCS team on the road turns the ball over 3 times in the 2nd half, the home, BCS team takes advantage and puts the game away. Michigan didn't do that either, and instead let App St. stay in the game by making mistakes of their own. Combine that with Michigan's continued inability to stop the spread offense, especially those run by a mobile quarterback and well, you have the makings of an upset.

And when Appalachian St. makes the kind of plays they did with the talent and pedigree they had (2-time defending 1-AA champs, nation's longest winning streak), you have trouble. Then, when all of the above is mixed with what sounds like poor preparation and some looking ahead to next week, uh oh.

Does this upset rank among the biggest ever? Yes. How high does it rank? Personally, I'm not sure. After all, Appalachian St. has won a lot of games and had a lot of experience coming back from last year's national championship team. But, to beat Michigan, an elite Division 1 program, in the Big House when they were expected to compete for the Big 10 and national championship commands a lot of attention, even when the winning team is a highly respected program such as Appalachian St.

To put it in basketball terms, it's not the equivalent of a 16 beating a 1 in the 1st round. A 15 beating a 2, most definitely.

I like the "Michigan Who" t-shirts some of the Appalachian St. students were sporting after the game yesterday, very nice.

Maybe Michigan should've scheduled Notre Dame as their cupcake game to get ready for the rest of the year.

And as much as Michigan has been hurt by mobile quarterbacks, you'd think they would start recruiting them. When's the last time Michigan had a quarterback that could be considered mobile? Chad Henne, John Navarre, Drew Henson, Tom Brady, Scott Driesbach, Brian Griese, Elvis Grbac, Todd Collins, all of the same mold. You have to go back to 1989 and Michael Taylor, who started in Bo Schembechler's last year. And the QB in waiting? Ryan Mallet, 6'5, dropback passer.

Other thoughts from the weekend in college football:

Ohio St. was never in trouble vs. Youngstown St. but they didn't really dominate them. Chris Wells, 16 carries for 46 yards, disappointing.
East Carolina really came to play at Virginia Tech. Sean Glennon is the Chad Henne of Virginia Tech. And yes, I cried during the pregame tribute to the shooting victims.
Michigan St. and Alabama were very impressive. Granted, UAB and Western Carolina aren't exactly the toughest competition, but recently, the Spartans and Tide have not played well against those type of teams. They both made statements Saturday.
Two things were confirmed yesterday: Cal has great team speed and Tennessee is once again overrated.
Another unimpressive team: Texas, who only beat Arkansas St. 21-13. Texas/TCU will be interesting next week.
I took Central Michigan as my preseason pick to win the MAC. After losing to Kansas 52-7, I'm starting to have 2nd thoughts. It should've been a lot closer than that.

Team USA finished off the Tournament of Americas by beating Argentina more impressively than when they met a few days ago. LeBron James's jump shot might have been the most impressive aspect of the tournament. That, and Kobe Bryant's defense.

Happy Labor Day!

The End of an Era

2007-08-29T17:16:00.001-07:00

Until this evening, my primary mode of transportation was a '95 Chrysler Concorde (Big Blue) that I bought from my grandparents. I bought it in the winter of 2003, and it had about 50,000 miles on it. Today, it has 106,000 miles on it and a lot of memories. This was the car that took me to Miami and back, to my ex-girlfriend's and back, all over the Midwest in search of a job, then finally to Detroit to begin my career. There has been much singing along with the radio, yelling at other drivers, conversations with myself, thoughts running through my head and even some tears. In the last couple of years, I've had to get quite a bit of work done on it, but it's still a pretty smooth ride for its age and the amount of work that's been done to keep it running. Its 6-cylinder engine can still give a pretty mean acceleration.

But ever since I first saw the Pontiac Solstice on The Apprentice a couple of years ago, I wanted it. Today, I finished the buying process I started about a couple of months ago by signing the paperwork and driving away in my brand new, '07 Solstice (red color of course). It won't be as powerful since it's only a 4-cylinder, but it has a little giddyup. And I think it just looks awesome. It should be a very smooth ride. I did keep the Concorde for occasional use, specifically winter use since it's bigger and would provide a greater deal of balance on the slick roads that a Solstice would struggle with.

But as great as the Solstice will be, there will be only one Big Blue. You're my boy Blue!

The long summer wait ends tomorrow. College football begins tomorrow night. Here are my predictions certain to go wrong:

In the MAC, Central Michigan will beat Miami for the championship. Central did lose 2 1st-day NFL draft picks, but they return QB Dan LeFevour, RB Onterrio Sneed, and WR Bryan Anderson. New head coach Butch Jones is familiar with the Central players and the system, so there won't be a loss of continuity. Western will challenge in the West and will host Central late in November, but Western always seems to fall 1 game short. Ball St. will be a solid 3rd with their great set of offensive talent, led by their QB Nate Davis. Eastern Michigan will be improved, and Toledo and Northern Illinois will struggle. Toledo is still having to deal with the point-shaving scandal that came about in the spring. Northern Illinois lost a number of starters and will have its youngest team in awhile. In the East, I honestly think Miami will win the division. Miami lost a lot of close games in the 4th quarter due to their lack of depth which was caused by numerous injuries. So far, everybody's healthy, including the offensive line, which should allow Miami to exploit their depth and the young talent they've accumulated in the last couple of recruiting classes. Kent St. will finish a close 2nd, led by QB Julian Edelman. Kent was the best team in the East during the st half of last year. Bowling Green returns 16 starters, 8 on each side of the ball, so they'll be a legitimate threat. OU is the defending champ, but they lost a lot of key pieces from last year's team. Temple, Akron, and Buffalo challenge the top of the league on their respective home fields, but are too young to contend.
Wisconsin will go undefeated and win the Big 10. They get Michigan at home and even though they have to go to Columbus, they've had OSU's number in recent years. Tyler Donovan looked good at QB at the end of last year, he'll have a good year. I see Michigan losing 2 games. The right side of their offensive line is weak and there are too many question marks in their secondary. If you're curious, I have OSU going 8-4. Tressell-ball will keep them in games, but I don't see them scoring a lot of points offensively. I like Boeckman as a QB, but I don't see any consistent big-play guys on the outside as of yet. They're a year away offensively.
In the Big 12, I like Texas A&M to beat Colorado in the Championship. I see Texas and Texas A&M being undefeated when they meet in College Station. A&M has a lot of guys back that lost a lot of close games, but beat Texas in a defensive slugfest. I don't see Oklahoma winning the South with a freshman QB and a relatively inexperienced front 7. I know a lot of people are excited in Lincoln, but Sam Keller won't help them on defense where they only return 4 starters and must travel to Missouri, Texas, and Colorado. Colorado was pretty competitive for a 2-10 team and their toughest road game is at Kansas St. Missouri, Oklahoma, and Nebraska all must come to Boulder. I don't know if Colorado is best team in the Big 12 North, but they certainly have the most advantageous schedule.
In the SEC, I like Alabama to beat Kentucky for the Championship. Yup, you heard me correctly. The Tide basically return their entire offense, and you know their defense will be good under Nick Saban. The SEC West is down as a whole, and they get LSU in Tuscaloosa (Bama might have just a little bit of a home field advantage for that game). I don't think a Les Miles-coached team can win the big, big game. Beating Notre Dame in front of a partisan Superdome crowd doesn't count. In the East, there are a lot of questions. How good will Florida's defense be with only 2 returning starters? Can Georgia play consistent football every week? Will Tennessee beat a name opponent away from Knoxville? Does Steve Spurrier have the talent level to win the East? That brings me to Kentucky, whose program is on a high after winning their first bowl game in forever last year. QB Andre Woodson is one of the top 10 QBs in the nation. They get LSU, Florida, and Tennessee at home. Their losses at South Carolina and Tennessee could've easily been wins last year.
In the ACC, Boston College will beat Virginia for the Championship. The Atlantic division is the weaker half in my opinion. Even with a new coach, BC has a lot coming back, including QB Matt Ryan. Wake Forest will prove they're new fluke by going 9-3. Florida St. might have a new scheme offensively, but their talent level still isn't what it used to be and the 'Noles will struggle. On the other side, Virginia and Virginia Tech will go into their season ending meeting in Charlottesville undefeated and Virginia will pull the upset. Virginia has a lot coming back from a 7-5 team and the schedule works out for them as their toughest trip is to the Orange Bowl to play a Miami team that they beat last year.
No surprise in the Pac-10, I like USC. And I think USC will win the National Championship. I think UCLA and Arizona will contend but USC has too much experience and too much talent. In my opinion, Cal is a little overrated, but they will get revenge vs. Tennessee, emotion will carry them to victory in that game.
One more surprise for you. I think South Florida will win the Big East. Matt Groethe is another QB you probably haven't heard of, he's a dual run/pass threat. And the defense is fast, they were one of the few to contain West Virginia's running attack. They get West Virginia and Louisville at home, where Da Bulls are even tougher to beat. I don't see Louisville and West Virginia stopping many people on defense, and Rutgers won't have the magical season they did last year, but they'll back it up by going 9-3. It might be possible that no one outside of the top 4 in the Big East will be bowl eligible.
Hawaii will go undefeated but won't be in the running for the BCS because they don't play anybody.
TCU will not give Texas the challenge most people think. Texas will win by at least 3 TDs.

So there ya go, predictions bound to go wrong.

Football tomorrow, yessss.

Live From the Windy City

2007-08-26T18:38:00.000-07:00

I'm in Chicago on business until Tuesday, staying at the Club Quarters in the Loop. I shouldn't complain, but I've stayed in nicer places. I haven't found the Bible yet, but there is a dictionary, encyclopedia, and The Jordan Rules by Sam Smith (which I read when I was like in 5th grade). One cool thing though is they have water stations with bottles so you can have your own bottled water. I ate dinner at a pub down the street, very good cheeseburger. I talked with a Red Sox fan who was in town to watch them play the White Sox. Interesting guy. And, the new Batman movie (I didn't know there was going to be another one) was being shot just around the corner in front of the Board of Trade. I didn't seen anyone or anything happen for that matter, but I thought that was cool. I love this city, and not just because they are home of Da Bears. The only bad thing I'd have to say is the construction on the Dan Ryan. That, combined with the White Sox traffic made it take 45 minutes to go the last 6 miles. There's always something.

The really big news since I spoke with you last is that I have bought a new car! A 2007 red Pontiac Solstice, the car I've wanted since I first saw it a couple of years ago. I had to do a dealer transfer, and unfortunately, it didn't arrive in time for me to drive here (Lakeshore Drive in my new convertible would've been sweet), but I will be able to drive it to Ohio for Labor Day.

I'm watching USA basketball play Brazil in the Tournament of Americas, the qualifying tournament for the Olympics on this side of the world. The US is up 19 at the half, 57-38, thanks to a strong 2nd quarter. The new faces on this US team from last year's 3rd place World Championships team include Jason Kidd, Chauncey Billups, Michael Redd, Mike Miller, Deron Williams, and most notably Kobe Bryant. As expected, the US has rolled through the tournament so far, with Brazil being the toughest team they've faced up to this point (Argentina is the only other team that could potentially keep the game close). I've watched this game and the game vs. Canada and here are my impressions:

This look more and more like a Coach K led team. Offensively, get the ball up the floor and score in transition with either the layup or the outside shot now that there are some guys on the team who can consistently make shots. If transition isn't there, the offensive sets are quick hitters designed to get shots early in the shot clock before the defense can get set. Defensively, very aggressive man-to-man defense, overplaying the passing lanes.
Carmelo Anthony is a more skilled basketball player in terms of basketball ability. When it comes to athleticism, Dwayne Wade and LeBron James are the best at exploiting their athletic ability and turning it into good basketball. But when it comes down to just basketball, give me Carmelo. He can shoot from the outside, score on the drive and take you down low.
I'm still not sure how LeBron's game fits in with the international game. He's not a good shooter or a great help defender. But he can make plays, finish in transition, and can play multiple positions. He's making shots tonight and playing really well. In fact, his jumper looks as good as I've ever seen it.
Chauncey Billups looks a lot better tonight than he did yesterday. But I think I'd take Chris Paul over Chauncey. Paul is quicker and more of a true point guard who gets the ball up the floor much quicker than Billups does.
If Kevin Durant has a really good rookie year and is able to keep some weight on, he'll make the Olympic team. Greg Oden, maybe. But how can you not like Durant, especially after he put up 22 in the July scrimmage.
The team's biggest weakness is still half-court defense. The US plays with great intensity and is doing the right thing by playing airtight man defense. But that kind of defense leaves you susceptible to back door cuts and dribble penetration if you don't have good help defense. And it's not like the US isn't playing help defense, some guys just don't know how to. In the NBA, you can't play help defense basically, thanks to the defensive 3 second rule (one of the dumbest rules in all of sports). And a lot of the NBA guys, especially the ones who didn't go to college, didn't practice or never learned how to play help defense.
The guys are playing with great intensity and are buying into Coach K's plan, which is nice to see. That means these multi-millionaires are coachable, which is refreshing.
One other note, are John Saunders and Bill Walton announcing the games or do they think since the games aren't very competitive that they can talk about whatever they want. Yesterday, Walton felt he had to give the viewers a lesson in Canadian history. Tonight, they're talking about everything, but the game it seems like.
Also, international basketball referees may be the worst officials in all of sports. Even worse than MAC basketball officials.

And some other tidbits:

Have you seen Ben Roethlisberger's new girlfriend? I didn't think he could do better than Natalie Gulbis but he has. Missy Peregrym, who was on Heroes last year, is her name.
I'm more interested in what Maria Sharapova's going to wear at the US Open than the PGA Tour FedEx Cup. I mean, Tiger Woods didn't play and he's still in 4th place in the standings.
The Reds are only 6.5 games behind the Cubs in the NL Central. Yes, those Reds?!?!?!
I haven't watched one of David Beckham's MLS games. I guess I never got that memo.

I think I'll use tomorrow night to talk a little college football if I have time. Things open up Thursday night with Miami traveling to Ball St.

The Playmaker

2007-08-04T18:34:00.000-07:00

My dad coached high school football so I started watching football at an early age. One of the players I can vividly remember watching was Michael Irvin, "The Playmaker". What first stood out to me about Irvin was the jersey number he wore at the University of Miami, 47. 47 isn't a typical number for a wide receiver, which helped Irvin stand out. While at "The U" and then with the Dallas Cowboys, Irvin was a key part of those winning teams and Irvin always made big plays.

But it was tough to appreciate Irvin's on-field performance after you read what he was doing off the field. Pleading no contest to cocaine possession, the Cowboys' "White House", and the '98 horseplay incident couldn't be ignored. After retiring, Irvin seemed to have turned things around and made it all the way to ESPN's pregame show where he didn't much insight honestly, but I loved watching his enthusiasm and passion for the game. But he got into trouble after being pulled over for speeding in 2005 where the police searched his car and found drug paraphernalia that Irvin said wasn't his. Finally, he was let go by ESPN a couple of months after a controversial comment on the Dan Patrick show.

Tonight, Irvin was inducted into the Hall of Fame, despite questions about his character. I usually watch the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductions because it's the unofficial beginning to football season and the speeches by the inductees are usually good. But I wondered what Irvin would say, knowing that his selection was in some ways controversial. He wouldn't be able to give the typical acceptance speech because of the trouble he had gotten into. In some way, there would probably be something wrong with his speech.

It won't go down as one of the greatest speeches ever, but it was one of the most heartfelt, genuine speeches I've seen. Yeah, he was cocky (what did you expect), some of it didn't make any sense and he rambled quite a bit, but when it counted, he was a man. What sold it for me was when Irvin acknowledged that the people his kids should look up to were the members of last year's class, which included Troy Aikman, Reggie White, Warren Moon, and John Madden. Irvin acknowledged the negatives around him, and did it in a very humble way. He spoke like a man grateful to be there who is still haunted by many demons in his head.

Although I will say Jerry Jones was a bit over the top with his introduction. But then again, it was Jerry Jones, what did you expect?

And it's good to hear Tom Jackson's voice. Tom Jackson's voice means football is very close.

I apologize for not having written in a month, I was on the road for 4 of the 5 weekends in July, so this weekend is my first Detroit home game in awhile. Time for some quick-hitters:

I don't know if there's anything more annoying than having a cold in the summer, especially when it's been as hot as it's been. It's 95 degrees outside and I'm eating chicken noodle soup and drinking hot chocolate. On the days when I've felt well enough to workout, I can't take a cold shower to cool off, I have to take a hot shower to keep the nasty stuff inside loose.
One of my weekend trips took me to Chicago, and it was spectacular. Late nights, great friends, awesome backdrop, and beautiful women. What more can you ask for?
Alberto Contador won the Tour de France, surviving the final time trial on what was one of the most exciting days in the Tour I can remember. The top 3 finished within 31 seconds of one another thanks to the best day in Levi Leipheimer's life and Cadel Evans's guts. Too bad it'll be overshadowed by the numerous positive drug tests that marred this year's tour. But I think cycling is on the right track because they have a testing system that is now actually effective and catching people. The Tour will rebound, just like it did on that final Saturday.
One more thing about the Tour. If you're Cadel Evans and you're just 23 seconds behind, don't you have to attack at least once on the last day?!?!?! Yes, tradition says you don't, but c'mon!!!! 23 seconds?!?!!? You just have to win the stage by 4 seconds, get the 20 second bonus, and you win the race. At the very least he should've tried to attack. It probably wouldn't have worked because Discovery was attentive and breakaways rarely work on the Champs-Elysses, but he at least should've tried.
I wish I could've seen the last few holes of the British Open live. I left Chicago for Detroit with Padraig Harrington seemingly in control until later I found out the outcome. How do you win the Open after playing the 18th 6-5? When Sergio Garcia is the guy closest to you. Sergio is still probably whining about his bad luck as I write this.
Tadd Fujikawa, 16, turned professional and played in the PGA Tour's Reno-Tahoe Open, and missed the cut by 5 shots. Fujikawa, a Hawaii native, was having trouble covering playing and coaching costs that resulted in many trips to and from the mainland, so naturally he turned professional. Despite tying for 20th at the PGA Tour Hawaiian Open earlier this year, Fujikawa was ranked as the 687th amateur in the world. 687th!!!!! I wish him all the best, but c'mon.
Barry Bonds just hit his 755th home run.
Preseason college football polls's primary purpose is to get fans excited, but Florida 3rd? I haven't read through my magazine yet, but I know the Gators only have 2 starters back on defense. I know the SEC is strong, but 3rd for Florida? Not sure about that.

My prayers and thoughts go out to those affected by the Minneapolis bridge collapse. I just can't imagine driving home from work, zoned out, then falling 60 feet, trying to survive. Those poor people.

Le Tour? Oui.

2007-07-08T18:24:00.000-07:00

It's July, which can only mean one thing. It's time for Le Tour De France. But this year is unlike any other since I first recall watching the tour in 1985 (yes, 1985 when I was 4). This is the first year where doping has clearly overshadowed the beginning of the race. Doping has haunted cycling ever since Tom Simpson collapsed on the Mont Ventoux and died with amphetamines in his system. Cyclists are probably the most tested out of any athletes, yet they still take the risk as seen in the Festina affair of 1998, the fallout of Operation Puerto, and most notably the Floyd Landis saga. Just think, no one can say who won the Tour last year because we don't know. We might know this week if Landis's arbitration case is decided.

The questioning of Lance Armstrong's 7 tour wins had become an annual rite. Circumstantial evidence came out against Lance, he sued, he won. But the last year has been different. Landis's positive after his great Stage 17 performance, the forced retirement of Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso withdrawing from Team Discovery, and Bjarne Rijs giving up his 1996 Tour title because he admitted to using EPO. Rijs ended Miguel Indurain's 5 year reign by winning 2 crucial stages. He took the lead in that tour after winning a weather-shortened stage that ended up being a sprint up to Sestriere. Then, he destroyed the competition by dominating the Hautacam. I liked Rijs. He rode hard and was a great team manager for CSC. That 3rd week of the '96 Tour was as good as anyone has ever ridden. It's too bad he was helped out and now he won't be looked at in the same way anymore.

What do I think about Landis? I'm not really sure to tell you the truth. I go back and forth whether I think he's innocent or guilty. Let me give you a reason that could lead me either way. He could be guilty because that was an extraordinary ride. Just one day after hitting the wall and suffering from dehydration, he came back with arguably the greatest single day performance ever seen in the Tour. When Lance won his 5th tour, he suffered from dehydration during the 1st time trial and didn't fully recover from that until several days later. And Lance at his peak was definitely a better rider than Landis at his peak.

Why could he be innocent? Landis's ride wasn't as mythical as one may think. The other top teams let him go off the front, allowing him to build a big lead. When they decided to chase, it was too late, the mistake had been made. It was a huge tactical mistake. Plus, what Landis used would've shown up in his other drug tests when he won/retained the yellow jersey.

Am I going to watch this year's Tour? Yes. Do I feel the dark cloud hanging over it? Yes. It's tough to see one of my favorite sporting events be viewed so negatively, but it rightly deserves some of that negative attention. Hopefully the Tour can overcome it. It's a beautiful sporting event, from the opening this year right in the Queen's backyard in London to the roads that are home to the Belgian classics before heading south for the mountains and the familiar backdrops of the Alps and Pyrennes.

Who's going to win? Honestly, I haven't followed the spring races as much as I usually do, but I don't think it would've mattered because the race is wide open. Levi Leipheimer is now leading Discovery and is the best American hope. But he's never finished in the top 5 and I think he lacks the explosiveness to put in a great performance in the time trial and/or the mountains. Discovery has another strong team that will help, but you have to be able to finish off stages by yourself and Levi's never been able to do that. I like Alejandro Valverde. If you can outsprint Lance at the top of a mountain, you're pretty good. If he can stay out of the 1st week crashes, I think he'll win. My top 5 would be Valverde, Andreas Kloden, Denis Menchov, Leipheimer, and Cadel Evans.

On a non-Tour related note, I have to give shoutouts to the Williams sisters for competing hard at Wimbledon. What Serena did with her injured leg was incredible. 99 out of 100 players would've packed it in and not risked their career, but Serena fought and earned a well-deserved victory. And Venus now has won 4 Wimbledons, this one despite only being seeded 23rd. When these two come close to a tournament at even 80%, they're favorites to win because no one else can match their competitiveness or power. Now, if they just came to tournaments at 80% or better more often....

I just finished reading a memoir a guy born and raised in Detroit wrote about his city upbringing. It was interesting to get a feel about race relations in the city, but after awhile, the author basically turned racist, which made the last 60% of the book unenjoyable. His racist tones, coupled with his superior translations of some of the great novelists (superior in his own mind) became a little annoying. I can't say I read half of the great books that he read, but I can say he wanted to make sure he came across as an elitist, and I didn't like that. He should've just stuck to his story, without the racism.

Now I'm reading a David Beckham biography my brother bought for me when in London recently. After reading about a third of it, I will be a Posh and Becks expert I think. Interesting stuff so far.

Speaking of soccer, I caught the last 30 minutes of the Under-20 World Cup game between the US and Brazil. I can't remember ever being on the edge of my seat like I was during the end of this game. The US led 1-0 when Brazil tied it with about 25 minutes to go. The action was wide open, up and down the field with the pace of a Stanley Cup playoff hockey game. With about 10 minutes left in regulation, Freddy Adu made a couple of great moves, which ended up in the go-ahead goal for the US. Brazil furiously rushed the US goal, forcing the US keeper to make a couple of brilliant saves to protect the 2-1 lead. I wonder how many times the US has beaten Brazil, at any level of soccer. It can't be too many. I'll tell you one thing, Freddy Adu is worth the price of admission, or at least he was in this game. He was brilliant.

NBC News dropped the ball again. After the Glasgow airport car bomb, Lisa Meyers was asked if she knew whether or not Al-Qaida was involved. She replied something like, "We're not sure if the suspects (at that time) were of Middle Eastern descent, so we can't be sure." Oh, so if they're Middle Eastern, they're automatically Al-Qaida. If they're white, black, American, Asian, or from anywhere else, they can't be Al-Qaida. What a terrible answer.

Remembering Coach Hep

2007-06-24T15:45:00.001-07:00

This past week, Miami University lost its 3rd member of the Cradle of Coaches in the last 12 months. Randy Walker, Bo Schembechler, and now Terry Hoeppner, who was the head coach while I was a student at Miami. In terms of football, Coach Hep will probably be most remembered for recruiting Ben Roethlisberger to Miami which led to the 2003 MAC Championship and tons of national recognition.

After leading Miami to the 2004 MAC East Championship, Coach Hep left for the only job he wanted besides the Miami job, Indiana as Coach Hep was a native Hoosier. Coach Hep put everything and more into the IU job, building fan, specifically student support, and improving facilities. Last year, Indiana was 1 win away from going to a bowl game, the closest they've been in awhile. Coming into this year, it seemed like this would be the year. But Coach hadn't been seen in public since February, and everyone feared his health had taken a turn for the worst. Just after it was announced that Coach Hep would remain on a medical leave of absence for this year, he was rushed back to the hospital not even 24 hours after he had been released after fighting pneumonia. Surviving longer that weekend than the doctors thought, he passed early Tuesday.

I never played football, but Coach Hep will always be my football coach. My HawkHead role allowed me to meet Coach Hep on a few occasions, and though he never remembered me specifically each time, I could tell he truly appreciated our efforts in building school spirit at Miami. After a conversation with Coach Hep, if you weren't excited or passionate, you weren't alive. At football games, you fed off of Coach's energy. His intensity and excitement rubbed off on you. IU students, in response to Coach's "wanting you" to come to games, wore shirts that said "Coach Hep Got Me". The perennial basketball school broke ground the day Coach Hep died on a new football facility because that's what Coach would've wanted.

I didn't really know Coach Hep well, but I feel especially bad because he gave me some of my greatest college memories, yet I did basically nothing in return. I got a few students to come to football games; he gave me memories I will absolutely never forget. It doesn't seem fair. But I think Coach Hep enjoyed sharing his passion, excitement, and intensity with others and seeing it rub off on others. I think he felt like if he could get people to be passionate about what they were doing after seeing how Coach Hep was passionate about Miami, Indiana, or football in general, then he accomplished something.

Coach, thank you for the memories. You are in my prayers along with your family and the Miami and IU communities. Go Redhawks and Go Hoosiers.

The Mighty Duck

2007-06-17T17:28:00.000-07:00

Only in golf can a duck beat a tiger and a bulldog. After stinking up the joint yesterday with a 76, Angel Cabrera came back with a 69 to beat Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk by one to become the third straight foreign born player to win the US Open.

For an instant, Cabrera led by 3 with 3 holes left in his round before he, then the event got tight. On the long par 3 16th, Cabrera 3-putted after a not so great iron shot, which followed a Furyk birdie on 15. Then on the drivable par 4 17th, Cabrera didn't go for the green in one and laid up in the fairway, but he still drove the ball too far leaving a tough half-wedge pitch shot which is all feel. With the adrenaline obviously running, he hit that shot too hard and through the green. After a chip that barely got on the green, Cabrera missed the 7-foot par putt, leaving him in a tie with Furyk with Tiger 1 back now, still grinding out pars. After a great 2-putt par at 16, Furyk went for the green at 17 even though he probably wouldn't have reached the green. He killed his drive left into 9-inch deep rough, which required 2 shots to get out of, leaving a tricky downhill par putt. His par attempt hit the back edge of the hole and trickled on, leaving Furyk with a bogey and 1 behind. Cabrera hit a huge drive down the middle of the 18th fairway, the toughest hole on the course. He found the green with his 2nd and 2 putted for par posting +5.

Furyk found the 18th fairway, but pulled his approach through the green. His birdie try never threatened the hole, and he finished 1 behind. Tiger came to 16 1 behind. The realistic scenario was: par 16, birdie 17, par 18, go to a Monday playoff. Tiger got a tough 2-putt par at 16, then pulled out 3-wood on the 17th tee because driver would've been too much club (haha). His 3-wood missed the green and ended up in Bigfoot bunker, not great, but certainly than the tall grass Furyk had just been. Tiger hadn't been able to pull off the great shot on the back 9, but you felt like this would be it. He had made a number of clutch par putts, but he hadn't made the big birdie to really announce his presence. This was his chance. Tiger's bunker shot was good, but it never stopped on the green and stopped in the fringe. Tiger actually had to work to get his par, leaving him with a must birdie on the toughest hole on the course where he had only even parred the hole once.

You think, if Tiger can just hit the fairway, he'll make birdie, because that's the toughest part of the hole and the most questionable part of his game, can Tiger find the fairway. He crushes the ball, the crowd goes nuts, Tiger poses with his finish, you figure the drive is going right down Broadway. But what makes Oakmont's last hole so tough is that the fairway slopes left to right and will kick balls toward the rough. Tiger's ball hit in the right center part of the fairway, but kicked right, ending up right against the tall grass leaving him a tricky shot. You still expect Tiger to knock it stiff close to the hole. He crushes his 2nd shot, Tiger likes it, but the ball carries about 2 yards too far and rolls to the back of the green leaving him about a 1 in 5 putt. If Tiger's ball would've stayed in the fairway, his 2nd shot would've had enough spin to stop close to the hole. Now Tiger had to make a miraculous putt to tie Cabrera, it really would've been miraculous. But this is Tiger Woods, if anyone's going to do it, he will. He didn't, and a duck won the US Open.

So for the next couple of days, the media will harp on the fact that Tiger hasn't come from behind to win a major when he's had a chance to do so. It's surprising that he didn't do it this time and hasn't come from behind in a major at all, but this doesn't mean the fall of Tiger Woods. He now has 4 2nd place finishes in majors. Remember Jack Nicklaus finished 2nd 19 times in majors!!!! In his last 4 majors, Tiger's finished 1st, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, still pretty darn good. And I have to think he still wasn't as sharp coming in as he'd like to be because he's getting ready for the baby and taking care of his wife. I'm sure that's distracted him some.

I do think Tiger will never win a major in the way he did the '97 Masters or 2000 US Open. The new swing he's had to go to because of his knee won't allow him to do so. But do I think he'll surpass Nicklaus's total of 18 majors, yes.

Looking at the whole tournament, Cabrera was the best player all week: 69, 71, 76, 69, he was able to survive the bad round that most contenders have in a major. Cabrera survived his bad round; Tiger's good Saturday round needed to be better. And what a great back 9 run by Furyk, who had the Bill Cowher jaw going after his birdie on 15. I was waiting for the Terrible Towels to come out or the chant "Here We Go Steelers".

I hope the US Open comes back to Oakmont sooner than later. This wasn't a course of just 480 yard par 4s, it had some of those. But it had tricky short holes, birdie holes, tall grass, short grass, fast greens, slower greens, it had it all. What a great course. And the scary thing is it could've played a lot tougher if the USGA staff of 2004 (the year Shinnecock Hills almost became unplayable) were in control this year.

Real Life Miss Congeniality

2007-05-29T18:30:00.000-07:00

This is a big week of competition. Forget the Stanley Cup Finals (which I almost did last night), the NBA playoffs, the Memorial, or even the French Open (which the American men want to forget every year). Miss Universe 2007 last night and the National Spelling Bee Thursday night. It doesn't get any better than those two events. It's always interesting watching events like these, so here's my thought process as last night's Miss Universe took place live from the National Auditorium in Mexico City on NBC.

Parade of Nations: My top 15 were Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, India, Japan, Mexico, Peru, USA.
Slovenia looks just like Paris Hilton.
With the pageant being held in Mexico City, that means altitude is a factor. Will the contestants have enough endurance to last despite the high elevation?
The duo of Mario Lopez and Vanessa Minillo is a lot better than Nancy O'Dell and Billy what's his face from Access Hollywood.
Mario is so old, he hosted Vanessa's 1999 Miss Teen USA win.
The reigning Miss Universe appears for the first time without her crown?!?!?! Is it gone, is something up?
The real top 15: Venezuela, Thailand (huh?), Denmark, Nicaragua, Angola (proudest moment other than getting beaten by the Dream Team to open the '92 Olympics), Slovenia (I guess that Paris Hilton look paid off), USA, Brazil, India (absolutely gorgeous), Mexico (when does the host country's rep not advance?), Japan, Ukraine, Tanzania, Korea, and the Czech Republic.
The top 15 run off stage, and with running comes, well some bouncing.
NBC introduces their new take on The Bachelor. "Tennis star" Mark Philippoussis will star in the Age of Love where he will choose between 40 year old and 20 year old women for his bride. Philippoussis won 11 career pro tennis titles, his biggest being at Indian Wells, one of the 9 biggest tournaments after the 4 grand slams. He played in 2 grand slam finals, the '98 US Open and '03 Wimbledon. Unfortunately, Philippoussis has been compared to Anna Kournikova for his good looks but disappointing results. In my opinion, Philippoussis had a solid pro career. He did actually win tournaments, which Kournikova didn't do obviously. But he did not realize his full potential. Nicknamed "Scud", Philippoussis's serves consistently hit the 130-140 mph range. However, his volleying was inconsistent and his groundstrokes were never very good. As his career wore on, he had a lot of knee problems, pretty much ending his career. Still, Philippoussis could have any woman he wanted. Why is he on this tv show? This upcoming relationship won't last.
Asia has as many representatives in the top 15 as Latin and South America combined, that's different.
Because Hispanics are now the #1 minority in the US, can the US be considered part of Latin America?
Now it's time to meet the judges and see how they're affiliated with NBC. Hey, it's Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys quarterback. I wonder how Carrie Underwood feels about this. It's a long way from the football fields of Eastern Illinois to the judges box at Miss Universe.
Hello Michelle Kwan. Michelle Kwan vs. Miss USA who would win. Mich-elle!!!!!!
What if a certain Coach Ditka entered the Miss Universe pageant......
Wake up Statler, here come the bikinis!!!!! Oh we better set our pacemakers..... The judges like Japan, I like India. I think India is amazing with Brazil a close 2nd.
The background music for the Swimsuit competition: RBD? Basically a Spanish combination of the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys put together. Very corny, except the lead girl singer is attractive. These guys sold out the LA Coliseum? Guess there was nothing else going in LA that night, at all!!!!
Another reason why I like India: I can see a little Kate Middleton in her.
Korea's name is Honey Lee. So will she be a Bond girl or a future Austin Powers lover?
What?!?! Already time for the top 10, after just one event? What a joke. I get 8 of the top 10: Japan, Brazil, Korea, Tanzania, USA, Venezuela, India, Nicaragua, missing Angola and Mexico.
When revealing the top 10, one of Miss USA's interests is playing with her dog. And there's nothing else you could've thought of????
Angola's life ambition is to be a Miss Universe judge. She really has high goals.
I want to know who writes the script the hosts read off because it's a joke. And I wonder how many years some of the lines have been used, come onnnnn.
Time for the Evening Gown, and nothing sets the mood better for the Evening Gown than Sean Paul playing in the background.
Angola has really sexy eyes.
Ohhhh, USA falls on her butt. It's all over for her now. But wait, she recovers nicely and her score gives her a chance to make it to the next round if this is the only event for the last 10.
After USA's fall, now everyone is walking slowly in their dresses. In fact, after USA, 3 of the next 4 fail to top USA despite her fall, including Mexico. Mexico is out of it, the crowd isn't going to be happy.
The Final 5: Brazil, Venezuela, Korea, Japan, USA. The crowd isn't happy.
Now it's time for The Final Question. Brazil is up first and she draws Dave Navarro (yeah, that Dave Navarro). Basically, his question goes like this, "Hey baby, for a man would you like someone wild or conservative."
Now it's USA's turn and the crowd turns on her like it's the US playing Mexico in soccer in front of 110,000 crazed fans at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. The crowd is jeering her with boos, whistles and chants of "Mexico" while the question is read and while she answers the question. Very classy. USA doesn't give a great answer, but she still pays respect to the Mexican people, making them shut up and at least making them be respectful to her the rest of the way.
Before the winner is revealed, it's time to see what Miss Universe wins. She gets a lot of stuff, including BSC swimwear. And guess where BSC swimwear is based. Thailand. Ahh, now I see why she made the top 15.....
Donald Trump gets booed when he's introduced, the crowd is relentless. I don't think Miss Universe will be coming back to Mexico anytime soon.
Final results: 5. USA, 4. Korea, 3. Venezuela, 2. Brazil, 1. Japan. Japan's 1st win since 1959. I was surprised since Brazil was my 2nd choice after India.

Well, there you have it. Who knew there could be so much drama in a beauty pageant. For 15 seconds, it turned into a soccer game.

Where Did All The Jobs Go?

2007-05-19T17:33:00.000-07:00

The Michigan economy is still stuck in the mud. Another 4,600 jobs were lost last month, the unemployment rate is 7.1% (national unemployment rate is 4.5%), and the state budget deficit is $800 million, $400 million more than previously thought. And it really all can be traced back to the problems GM, Ford, and Chrysler are having. The Big 3 continue to lose market share, so they produce fewer cars. And with higher gas prices, consumers are buying smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, which are primarily made by foreign imports. Cutbacks in production lead to cuts in employment, and over the last 2 years, there have been big cuts in employment. Employment cuts mean people's incomes are lower, which lowers their tax expenses, which has contributed to the state's budget deficit. If the budget deficit continues to grow, spending on schools and hospitals will be cut. Lower incomes lead to lower consumer spending, especially on big ticket items such as housing. The housing market here is great if you have the money. But for those living here who are struggling and trying to sell their home, it is rough to say the least. Housing market troubles have led to decreases in construction-related employment.

When the autos finish restructuring, the state's fortunes will turn for the better. But this summer, the United Auto Workers union will renegotiate their contract with the Big 3. Big 3 union workers, in total compensation (wages + benefits), make between $35-$40 more than their non-union counterparts who work at a Toyota, Honda, Nissan plant . That extra compensation is due to the pension plans the union workers receive, which amounts to about $1,600 of the total price of a car. It is thought by many that the union will have to give up some of their compensation, but will they after they've been receiving these benefits for so long? That's the wild card in the whole equation.

Does Michigan have to diversify its economy, yes. Will the auto industry always have a presence here, yes. That presence needs to focus more on the technological, innovative side. In a couple of weeks, I'll have the privilege of touring a state of the art auto supplier plant. This plant could've located anywhere in North America, but they chose Michigan because of the knowledge base here and the skill of the labor force.

In short, the auto plants will be just as big but will employ more technology and fewer people. Those people need to get 2-year degrees in a skilled trade so they can secure their futures because the days of high school diplomas followed by 30 years in the plant are over. And if Michigan can develop a climate that retains all of the talent attracted here by the colleges and universities present, then maybe Michigan will never have to go through a restructuring period such as this one.

While the economy struggles, the sports teams continue to do really well. Even the Lions may show some signs this year (hopefully not against Da Bears).

Tomorrow is the pivotal Game 5 in the Stanley Cup Western Conference Finals between the Wings and Anaheim. If you want to know how important hockey is in this town, just ask the dismissed police officer who wanted to know the score of a Red Wings game in April of last year even though his wife had apparently overdosed on marijuana brownies and was lying on the floor of their house barely conscious.
The Pistons have made it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the 5th consecutive year. (How the Red Wings are in the NHL West and the Pistons in the NBA East, I don't know.) I don't like the Pistons because they don't play hard all the time, they coast. As a fan of the game of basketball, I feel not playing hard all the time is the biggest sign of disrespect for the game. Why wouldn't you want to play hard? I don't get it.
If the Pistons/Cavs series is anything like last year, it's going to be brutal to watch. The Pistons don't play hard and the Cavs can't shoot from the outside. If I'm Cleveland, I have to play Daniel Gibson more, the rookie from Texas. He's a very good player, just young, and he gives them a jump shooter.
Back to hockey for a second. Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals between Ottawa and Buffalo in which Ottawa led the series 3-1 coming in, was upstaged by prerace coverage of The Preakness. Ottawa was 1 win away from the Stanley Cup finals, but Buffalo had pushed the game to overtime, and NBC cut to their 1 hour buildup of the Preakness. Ouch. Horse racing and boxing were the only two sports more irrelevant than hockey, until today.....
I bought a 3 DVD set of Michael Jordan's best, which includes all the personal highlight videos of him, plus 5 full length games: his 63 pointer vs. Boston, 69 pointer vs. Cleveland, double nickel vs. Phoenix in the '93 Finals, the flu game vs. Utah in the '97 finals, and Game 6 of the '98 Finals (the shot). It's been fun to watch to say the least.

Have a good rest of the weekend.

Cleveland Rocks

2007-05-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I found myself in Northeast Ohio for a mini-college reunion, the setting being a wedding between two fellow Miami University graduates, or what we like to call a Miami Merger. For the life of me, I didn't remember the bride, despite the fact she was an RA in the residence hall next to mine which shared the same theme as my hall. But I was a member of the same service fraternity as the groom, a great, upstanding guy who does everything the right way (and he likes basketball). Yes, Alpha Phi Omega was out in full force this weekend in Cleveland and I quickly felt like I was transferred back in time to an APhiO formal.

Admittedly, I was very nervous about seeing old friends because it had been a long time and I drifted away from APhiO after a couple of years because of other commitments. At the beginning of my junior year at Miami, I was an RA for freshmen, I was vice-president of Hawkheads, the spirit group, getting ready to become President, and there was APhiO, plus school (oh yeah, school). Unfortunately, APhiO didn't make the cut in terms of getting my time and commitment. Did I plan it that way, no. And I'm sure people understood, but I still felt bad because joining APhiO opened a lot of doors for me and helped me become the person I am today. And the people that had a huge influence on me in APhiO would be at this wedding, the same people I guess I turned my back on at a certain point even though I didn't mean to.

I won't use their names, but I can describe them. I already mentioned the groom, but the other three people I'll mention were very good to me and I hope they know how appreciative I am for all they have given me. First, there is a young woman who is Ms. Who-Dey, the female ambassador of all Cincinnati Bengals fans out there. In fact, she even sang the Bengal fight song after the reception last night. She's always fun to hang out with; she and I did every stupid old person dance on the dance floor last night, which was tons of fun. She's kind and caring, and best of all, she's a teacher. What more can you ask for?

Second, there's my Miami basketball buddy who loves basketball as much as I do. In addition to her high basketball IQ, she is very knowledgable about the banking industry in which she works (I learned quite a bit from her last night). She also has this sweetness about her that makes you feel comfortable and allows you to feel good about yourself. I think that's very important.

Next is another teacher, but she has the pleasure of teaching gifted students. The first word that comes to mind when I think of this person is passionate. She does nothing halfway, it's all or nothing. She was an RA with the bride in the same hall when I was a freshman, but she and I quickly became good friends. She taught me to be passionate and to show it, especially when doing service. She always has a smile on her face and she's absolutely wonderful.

And last, but certainly not least, one of my best friends. I think what makes us great friends is that we appreciate each other's perspective on life. When we put our respective perspectives (try saying that 10 times fast) together, we complement each other well. Before this weekend, I knew we would be best friends forever; after this weekend, I now know our relationship is special and that we will definitely be best friends forever, nothing more, nothing less. And I am thankful for that.

It was a very good weekend. Here are some other tidbits at least I found interesting:

I had one of the best chocolate milkshakes of my life on the way there Friday night. Vermillion travel plaza, Ohio Turnpike, TCBY Yogurt, heaven I swear.
I-90 in Cleveland was one big speed trap. There would be 2 highway patrol cars every several miles, one manning the gun, the other ready to chase the offender down.
It's hard to not be distracted by Jacobs Field staring you in the face as you drive through downtown Cleveland. I'd really love to see a game there sometime.
The only thing I wasn't crazy about (of course) was the DJ. Everything else was perfect: the ceremony, the reception, the food. But he did partially save himself with blaring Livin On A Prayer at the very end.
Kudos to the people at Damon's Friday night for getting dinner out to my best friend (who suffered through a 9 1/2 hour car ride) quickly and for making a perfect prime rib for me, at 9:30pm of all times.
You know the Toledo-Sandusky portion of the Turnpike is dead flat when the Canadian soft rock station is coming through loud and clear from the other side of Lake Erie.

And now for the sports portion of the program:

Good to see Lefty win The Players by striking the ball beautifully. I wonder how Tiger feels when he sees Lefty and Butch Harmon hugging after Lefty wins "the fifth major".
Memo to Rory Sabbatini: Stop talking smack about Tiger. Last week, you wanted Tiger. Well you got him, and he beat you, with his B- game at best. This week, you said you think he's as beatable as ever. Well, despite his poor performance this week (tied for 37th), you still couldn't beat him, despite sharing the 1st round lead.
I'm kind of excited for the French Open tennis tournament. Can Federer beat Nadal and become arguably the greatest player of all time?
As far as the NBA playoffs go, I've really enjoyed the Golden State/Utah series. Very entertaining and good offense. But I'm getting the feeling we're heading for a Pistons/Spurs finals, which means another unwatchable finals.

That's all I got for now, talk to ya later.

Too Long

2007-04-29T18:03:00.000-07:00

The 1st round of the NFL Draft took about 6 hours. 6 hours?!?!?! The first day didn't end until after 11pm on the East Coast. Do teams really need 15 minutes in the 1st round and 10 minutes in the 2nd round to make picks? Of course they don't, the NBA draft only allows teams 5 minutes in the 1st round to make picks. But the NFL Draft has become all about the ratings. And it's basically free publicity for the NFL since every team is featured, especially the teams that aren't as well known and aren't as good. Of course I watched gavel to gavel coverage, seeing where guys went. But I don't think it would hurt if things were shortened up just a bit.

I couldn't decide if I wanted Brady Quinn to get picked or not. If he got picked, then ESPN would've stopped talking about him. But if he didn't, he would have to sit and wait a little longer, and I was enjoying him suffer through the 1st round. I don't believe he will ever be an elite NFL quarterback. As proven in his senior season at Notre Dame, he needs pieces around him in order to be great. I don't think he's capable of putting a team on his back and carrying them to a championship. That said, I think the Browns did the right thing in trading up to get him because next year's quarterback crop won't be any better at the top than this year's. Right now, I only see Brian Brohm being better than Quinn.

I'm not sure why the Eagles took Kevin Kolb with their 2nd round pick, their 1st pick of the draft. Did they watch any Houston games? Houston's offense is basically backyard football with crazy formations, relying on deception to gain yards. Kolb is nothing more than a system quarterback who won't make it in the NFL. He has Andre Ware, David Klingler, and Tim Couch written all over him. The same is true for Jeff Rowe from Nevada, who got taken by the Bengals in the 5th round instead of Troy Smith. Rowe has the measurables Smith doesn't, 6'5 225. But Rowe played in the pistol offense, another quirky system that allowed him to succeed. So Smith wound up at Baltimore, where he'll probably end up as the #2 QB behind Steve McNair. The Bengals didn't have a terrible draft, but it was far from great. Why did they draft a Rudi Johnson clone in Kenny Irons? He's not a change of pace back, Irons does his work between the tackles.

And I loved how this year, ESPN would run updated mock drafts from their various analysts on the bottom of the screen like they were important. It seems like everyone has a mock draft nowadays. Maybe I should start doing one daily and it will become read daily along with the other draft fodder. Some of it is just outright ridiculous.

ESPN can show the clips of the bad New York Jets picks all day long and it will never get old. Also the commercial with "TJ Who's Your Mama", funny everytime it's on.

So April is over and May will begin this week. The days are getting nicer. Today was beautiful, especially good since the March of Dimes walk was this morning.

I've got the Sebastian Telfair movie on the tele. What a waste, very sad.

Let's Go Hokies

2007-04-17T18:33:00.000-07:00

Usually at work, I have the stock ticker going with business and general news updates to keep me abreast of what's happening and if I should be aware of anything. Anything news-related will have some effect (small or large) on the economy. But yesterday morning I was busier than normal and didn't get a chance to look at the ticker. So I knew nothing until I turned on the news around noon during my lunch. I couldn't believe I was listening to an account of a school shooting worse than Columbine, one that was much worse in terms of numbers, I never thought it could get worse than Columbine.

But what was different was from then on, every 20-30 minute update saw an increase in the number dead and/or injured. The number stopped at 33 dead. My last year as an RA, I had 33 guys living in my corridor at some point or close to that number.

Then I heard one of the first guys shot was an RA, who may have been trying to break up a dispute between the shooter and his girlfriend. This hit me hard because I probably would've been shot in the same situation. I always had my door open so I could know what was going on (unless I was asleep or studying). If I heard arguments or loud noises in general, I emerged to see what was going on. I would've intervened in this particular situation so I could've suffered the same fate as Ryan Clark, who from all accounts I read was a great student leader.

There have been a lot of complaints about the delayed, ineffective communication of the first incident by VT's exec, helped by the media. I don't think they handled this part of the day ineffectively. At 7:15am, I'm sure exec were still arriving for their workday. Plus, you don't want to incite panic, so you want to obtain as much information as possible. And, it takes emails sent on listservs time to circulate.

I do think there should've been more of a security presence on campus from campus police, SWAT, Blacksburg police, even maybe the cadets there. I don't think a lockdown of campus was possible by 9:30, but a presence on some of the main areas and quads may have deterred the 2nd incident. Plus, they would've been available to communicate the situation to students as they went from 8am classes to 9am classes.

Even with that, I don't think the criticism should be as harsh as it has been. I'm sure (I hope) Virginia Tech had a plan for a situation that called for a lockdown. But it's hard to imagine something of this nature happening. The media has overcriticized the staff and their decision-making, it's very easy to Monday morning quarterback.

The media also did a very poor job in highlighting the gunman's nationality. I like Keith Olbermann when it comes to sports, but with news, I usually don't agree with him and in the case of last night, he really got it wrong. He opened his Countdown program with a report from the Chicago Sun-Times from an unconfirmed source that the gunman was a "Chinese national". Whoever watched interepreted "Chinese national" as Communist who hates America and shares strong national feelings with China. An obvious negative connotation. Then today, a majority of the news organizations led with the fact the gunman was a South Korean resident alien (before saying his name). "Chinese national" or "South Korean resident alien" shouldn't be the first words out when describing someone. It's like saying, "Well, he wasn't American, Americans aren't capable of this. He hates America. He's sending a message. Those darn Chinese or Koreans, etc." I think that's just terrible.

I've been busy all day today so I'm still getting updated on what's transpired just today. I did get to see clips of the morning convocation where students were dressed in school colors as if they were going to a sporting event. Virginia Tech is one of the toughest places to play, especially when it comes to night football games because of the energy and passion the students have for their teams. I thought it was great when they chanted, "Let's Go Hokies." From now on, I will always root for Virginia Tech.

Pray for all the victims and their families and for those effected.

Off-Season

2007-04-15T18:34:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Florida for giving me my first national champ in 5 years. It will be at least another 20 years until we see another repeat champ. What Florida accomplished is rare in this day and age. Just look at how many coaches changed jobs in the last couple of weeks. Billy Donovan could've left, he didn't. Florida's "04s" could've left after last year, they didn't. Now, they could've come back next year but that wasn't going to happen and it wouldn't have been the right decision. As much as I'm for guys coming back, the pressure on those guys would've been ridiculous and they would've been risking a lot. And credit to Ohio St. for making Florida play to a high level. With OSU playing a strong game, they brought out the best in Florida.

But the off-season has begun as far as I'm concerned. I put the NBA and NHL playoffs but I really don't have a vested interest in either. Although the article on Chris Drury in SI was great, you should read it if you get a chance. The guy has worked himself into the player and person he has become and he's a winner. Of course, all the pressure in the world's on him now since he's playing for Buffalo, who have never won anything.

Actually, I like putting the Tigers on and reading, that combination works pretty well. I feel bad for them too because expectations are so high after what happened last year. Again, it's tough to repeat. It'll be a great accomplishment if they can. I must admit, I'm not a fan of the Gary Sheffield signing, I wasn't from the beginning. He took a spot away from Marcus Thames and Chris Shelton who deserved some PT.

And Prince William has broken up with girlfriend of Kate Middleton to the delight of every British (and global) female. I've read a number of articles on the breakup because I think Kate is lovely and seems like an intelligent, fun girl, someone I would like. Putting all the information together, it sounds like things were already a little rough after Wills graduated from Sandhurst and went off with the military to his training ground. Then he gets caught with his hand in a compromising spot on a girl's breast. Plus, he took a girl back to his barracks and participated in a drunken escapade with some of his military buddies. It sounds like Kate wasn't too thrilled about this and confronted Wills, the boy who can do no wrong in the eyes of most. The result of the dialogue was Wills wants to be single and "doesn't want to be pressured into getting married".

There are now other things emerging such as Kate's middle-class background not fit for the Prince and how some of the royal family didn't approve of her. There's the royal family's fear of another Charles/Diana fiasco (like father, like son, Wills and Harry seem to be doing a good job of that). There's William's military commitment and some other things that will probably come out, thanks to those lovely British tabloids.

But I give kudos to Kate for not settling to be William's lady-in-waiting (sorry, couldn't think of a better term). She put a lot on the line in confronting William, which puts her high up on my list. I guess a couple of years ago, they actually took broke up but William wanted her back and got her. Kate, stay strong, you deserve better. Plus, the latest pics of William haven't been that flattering. Besides the compromising pics, he's losing his hair and the beer is going straight to his gut.

Friday night, I had the local golf club's front 9 to myself. 5:30pm, 50 degrees, sunshine with some wind, which probably drove people away, but not me. Since it was just me, I got to play 2 balls and practice all kinds of shots on the course, which is definitely more helpful than just hitting balls on the range. And I love playing late in the day, so peaceful, so relaxing.

If you're in the Northeast, hopefully you're not under water. Good luck to all those running the Boston Marathon, you're going to need it tomorrow.

Gators or Buckeyes?

2007-04-01T18:23:00.000-07:00

Repeat or revenge? Well, only revenge for the millions of Ohio St. alums who are still replaying the football game in their mind every day (and believe me, there are plenty of those people). Florida is 40 minutes from making history. On the other side, Mike Conley and Greg Oden are 40 minutes from winning another championship together.

What's going to happen?

When Ohio St. has the ball:
Ohio St. must make this a half-court game and pick and choose when to get into transition. In the first meeting, when the pace became more frenetic, Florida had the edge. Mike Conley must be able to dictate the pace of the game, so he must be able to penetrate and score or create for others. If he can't penetrate, OSU will be settling for jump shots, which has been their downfall, including the 2nd half of the Florida game. Ron Lewis will have to go against Corey Brewer. In December, Lewis was just 3/10, 1/4 from 3; Brewer was 7/13. And of course, Greg Oden has to find a way to not get into early foul trouble, which has happened in OSU's last 4 games. Without Oden, OSU has to rely further on Conley to penetrate, which is a lot for one guy to handle against a good defensive team like Florida. Oden has to come up big in order for OSU to have a chance. In the first meeting with one hand basically, he was just 2/6 shooting, scoring 7 points to go along with 6 rebounds and 3 blocks. He didn't get his first rebound of the game until very late in the 1st half. He will go against all of Florida's bigs because I don't think they will mind getting caught on switches since Florida's bigs all bring something different to the table. Horford and Richard are physical while Noah is long and can block shots with regularity.

When Florida has the ball:
If Green and Humphrey make shots, Florida wins without question. Green must be able to handle Conley's ball pressure. I looked at the stats from the 1st meeting and divided it into two parts: the 40-40 game, then the 46-20 Florida run to end it. In the first 23 minutes that were even, Green was 3/6 shooting, but had 4 turnovers to just 1 assist. During the Florida run, he was 6/6 shooting, including 3 triples with 1 assist and 0 turnovers. Humphrey will be guarded by Butler and must make shots. If he puts the ball on the floor, he's a turnover waiting to happen. I don't see OSU playing zone unless Oden gets in foul trouble and I don't see them double teaming the post either (did UCLA learn anything from last year?). If Florida takes care of the ball and their guards make shots, I just don't see them losing.

Ohio St. has to play their best game of the year to win. Florida doesn't, their margin of error is bigger than OSU's. If Green and Humphrey can't hit shots and they turn the ball over, then it will be close, but Florida can still win. But if Oden gets in foul trouble and Conley can't dictate the pace of the game, OSU can't overcome that.

One thing Florida won't be familiar with is how well OSU is playing now with/without Oden, they've learned to better balance the inside/outside game. And OSU is quick, especially on the defensive end, they can give Florida's guards trouble as they did for some of the 1st meeting.

But Florida can smell it, and they've gotten better with each game in the tournament. One big advantage they have on the Buckeyes is their size. Florida put on an offensive rebounding exhibition last night and they could do it again with OSU's lack of frontcourt size. During Florida's 46-20 run in the 1st meeting, the Gators shot 19/24, OSU was just 8/26. They had 9 assists in those last 17 minutes, equal to the 9 they had in the first 23 except they committed just 4 turnovers during their run compared to 12 in the first 23 minutes.

If both teams play their absolute best, Florida will win. OSU will have to try and do something to bring Florida down to their level.

By the way, OSU should send Jeff Green a thank you card for not showing up last night. How can the Big East player of the year take just 5 shots?!?!?! OSU had no one who could guard him. David Lighty did a pretty good job on him, but Green is a junior while Lighty is a freshman. Green should've been demanding the ball more. He didn't get shut down, he shut himself down. I did think OSU's quickness bothered Georgetown, but some of their turnovers weren't caused by OSU's defense, Georgetown was very careless with the ball.

The second game was well, a lot like last year's title game. Florida didn't put on a clinic, but they played awfully well, except for the last few minutes when they lost some of their working margin. UCLA played great defense at the start, not allowing Florida to make a shot until the 12 minute mark. But at that point, UCLA was only up 6-5. Uh oh. UCLA's big guns were in foul trouble and when they weren't in foul trouble, they couldn't score. UCLA thought they could win, Florida knew they were going to win.

Hopefully it's a good game tomorrow night. I'll be rooting for Florida since they're my bracket champ.

The Final Four

2007-03-27T18:25:00.000-07:00

Seriously, this Sanjaya thing needs to stop. He was absolutely terrible, and I'm not talking about his hair. I think the judges had it right, "What else can we say?" I would be ok if Haley got voted off, she's not even that attractive. Gina and Melinda were the best tonight. It was interesting that Melinda and Lakeisha, the two front-runners, went head-to-head with Donna Summer songs. Melinda outsang her, without a question. But the real winner, Gwen Stefani. I find her as sexy to begin with, but I really liked her without the red lipstick and the hair pulled back with some bangs. She was looking really good tonight.

So we're down to the last 4, and 3 of them happen to be mine. Let's see if I can break it down:
Georgetown v. Ohio St.

Last year they met in the 2nd round of the NCAAs at UD Arena in front of a pro-Buckeye crowd. Georgetown led for the last 37 minutes and won 70-52. Roy Hibbert scored 20 and grabbed 14 boards and Jeff Green scored 19 and grabbed 8 while adding 6 assists. Jonathan Wallace and Jessie Sapp didn't score. For Ohio St., Jamar Butler scored 12 points while Jamar Butler and Ivan Harris were shut out, shooting 0/5.

This game will be a treat to watch because we get to see the big on big matchup. Both have gone up against big men this year, Hibbert matched up with Aaron Gray 3 times while Oden went against Florida's 1-2 punch of Joakim Noah and Al Horford. Georgetown can play at both ends, they can shoot, drive, pressure, and rebound. Sapp and Wallace are good all-around guards who can shoot and drive. Wallace can't be left alone or he'll hit the 3, which is the mistake Carolina made. Summers is a young wing player who can do a little bit of everything when he plays under control. Green is one of the top 5 all-around players in the country. He can do it all. Hibbert has become more athletic and is a bigger threat, if he can stay out of foul trouble. The Hoyas run the Princeton offense, but they do it to space the floor and dictate tempo. They take the 1st good shot available, but can hit the pullup 3 as the shot clock winds down. Defensively, they play physical man defense, but can play zone in order to keep Hibbert out of foul trouble. They are also the hottest team in basketball right now, winning the Big East regular season and tournament titles, and now own a comeback win vs. a good Carolina squad.

Ohio St. may be playing their best basketball of the year. I only say may because it may be a product of their draw, and they could have lost twice along the way. What makes Ohio St. tough is the presence of Oden, which allows OSU to play pressure man defense. OSU is quick enough to guard most players 1-on-1, which has saved them in games where they've shot the ball poorly. Offensively, they seem to be finding the right balance between Oden and the 3. Conley is so good with the ball, he's a magician when he runs the team. The keys are Ron Lewis and Jamar Butler and how well they play. Lewis has stepped up big-time in the tournament while Butler has been quieter, but still solid. David Lighty has emerged as a guy who can play at both ends and not just defensively. He played his best basketball of the year in the regional. Oden, is Oden. Intimidating at both ends, he gets better and better with each game. The key for OSU is to play inside-out. When the ball goes inside, either to Oden or the guards get dribble penetration, then comes back out, that's a good 3 point shot. When OSU starts passing, then takes the 3 off the pass, that's a bad shot, which is when OSU gets in trouble.

I think Georgetown will have to play some zone vs. OSU like they did vs. Carolina. OSU is quicker top-to-bottom than Carolina and I think Conley can take Wallace. But Georgetown's zone the last 10 minutes was effective in cutting off dribble penetration, forcing Carolina into jump shots. Once the Hoyas controlled the boards, it was over. The zone also keeps Hibbert out of foul trouble. OSU needs to push the tempo a little bit, but that's hard to do vs. Georgetown because they can play at any pace and can slow the tempo down. I like Georgetown because their depth is of higher quality and they'll force OSU into contested jump shots and limit their 2nd chance opportunities. In addition, OSU has no answer for Green and overall, they're more experienced.

Florida vs. UCLA

Last year, these two met in the National Championship. Florida dominated, led the last 37 minutes, and won 73-57. Joakim Noah had 16 points and 9 boards, Al Horford had 14 points and 7 boards, Corey Brewer had 11 points and 7 boards. Lee Humphrey hit 4 3s and Taurean Green had 8 assists. For UCLA, Aaron Afflalo was 3/10 for 10 points, Luc M Bah A Moute 3/9 for just 6 points. Florida put on a clinic, which was beautiful to watch.

Florida stepped their game up after the first 30 minutes at Tennessee. Green and Humphrey are shooting well and when they shoot well, Florida is almost impossible to beat. Brewer is doing his all-around thing and Noah is the emotional spark. But Horford is the man, he's unstoppable when he gets position down low. The challenge Florida has this weekend is to play with a sense of urgency, something not easy to do when you're the defending champs. They have to bear down and play 40 minutes worth of basketball. They won't be able to simply flip the switch.

UCLA may have been the most consistent team all year. Darren Collison is the straw that stirs UCLA's drink. When he takes care of the ball and hits outside shots, UCLA becomes awfully tough to beat. When he has a bad shooting night and/or plays out of control, UCLA struggles to score. Afflalo is the big-time player who makes big-time shots, M Bah A Moute was more aggressive offensively vs. Kansas, which UCLA needs, and Mata does the dirty work. Off the bench, Westbrook provides quality minutes at the point, and Aboya has proven to be solid on the glass. Then there's Josh Shipp, injured and unable to play in last year's championship. Shipp is the 3rd scorer every team needs, plus he can lock you down defensively.

Saying UCLA will be ready to play Saturday night is a huge understatement. But I think Florida will also. All year, Florida's best has been better than anyone else's best. Last year, despite scoring 18 points, Jordan Farmar was controlled by Taurean Green. Green controlled the game. Last year, UCLA had the bigger frontcourt, but Florida dominated. This year, Florida has the bigger frontcourt and the more experienced backcourt. Afflalo had a big-time game vs. a big time defender in Brandon Rush Saturday, but Brewer is even better. Brewer is quicker and longer than Rush, and I think he'll contain him again. UCLA will fight, but Florida is just better.

This has all the makings of the greatest Final 4 of all time.

I Think Spring's Here

2007-03-24T19:08:00.000-07:00

Despite accumulating snow Monday morning, the weather has warmed and I think spring has made it to Michigan. Fall ends here in early November and Winter follows until about now. I like it that daylight savings is earlier, I didn't have many clock issues. But anyway, I've been able to drive home with the window down, which is exciting. What wasn't exciting was the 20 minutes I spent in the bank drive-thru window this morning, which was followed by the disappointment of the driving range being closed!!!! I was all excited to use my new Taylor Mades for the first time, but no, even the driving range with mats is closed until April 1.

Last year, it was Kelly Clarkson who could be heard on every sort of radio station. This year, it isn't one artist, but one particular song. Nelly Furtado's "Say It Right" I think it's called. But I've heard this on radio stations that play everything from rap to R&B to top 20 (we know it's top 20 not top 40) to 70s/80s/90s/today mix to stations that play Delilah or John Tesh in the evening. Driving back to Ohio last weekend, I heard this song 4 times in a 30 minute span. Now don't get me wrong, whenver Nelly Furtado comes on, I have nice images of her backin it up, but I prefer a little variety in my music.

You know I don't like to talk politics, but how about the joke of a bill the House passed that is ending the war in Iraq, but isn't really ending it? And all that talk from the Democrats back in campaign season about ending earmarks on bills. Well, on this particular bill there were at least $20 billion in earmarks.

Well my bracket is still in play, surprise surprise. 25-7 in the 1st round, 11-5 in the 2nd, 5-3 in the 3rd, and 1-1 so far in the regional finals with Florida and Georgetown, my two finalists in play tomorrow. If Texas A&M got 1 rebound off those Memphis misses and Tennessee hadn't blown a 17 point halftime lead, I could be doing some serious damage. But anyway, it's been another good tournament, here are some thoughts:

First, what a great effort by Miami vs. Oregon. You probably didn't get to see it as it was the 5pm eastern game Friday, which is only available to local areas. Miami took Oregon's best 2 punches, 1 in each half, and were a 3 point shot from sending the game to overtime. If you haven't noticed, Oregon hasn't been seriously challenged since, except for the last minute vs. UNLV. Miami has a lot coming back next year, plus a great recruiting class and will probably be preseason favorites to win the MAC. Great job Redhawks!!!!
It has turned out the committee did a great job of seeding, as evidenced by the lack of upsets. From the 2nd round on, every game has been great to watch.
The Big 10 redeemed itself and showed some strength by going 5-1 in the 1st round (6-0 if Illinois didn't choke) and being competitive throughout the tournament. Michigan St. just ran out of gas vs. North Carolina and Purdue took Florida to the limit.
I thought the best basketball of the year was played in the Pac 10 and it's showed. UCLA is in the Final 4, Oregon gets their chance tomorrow, USC ran out of gas vs. Carolina but played well, and Washington St. should've at least made the Sweet 16, failing to put away Vanderbilt.
Do you want some reasons why the tournament shouldn't be expanded? I'll give you some: Stanford, Arkansas, and even Old Dominion weren't very competitive in their respective games and they were among the last at-large teams in.
I wonder if any of the people, including the pundits, who picked Oral Roberts to beat Washington St. even saw them play. Oral Roberts essentially has 2 guys who can score and that's it. Not a recipe for an upset.
How many lives does Ohio St. have left? First, I don't think Greg Oden's foul at the end of the Xavier game was intentional. Justin Cage has to hit those free throws and Xavier should've fouled after the miss. Second, Thad Matta hasn't exactly put on a coaching clinic this tournament, but his teams are resilient and always have a spurt in them. The Buckeyes are playing some of their best basketball of the season right now. Ron Lewis is really playing well and David Lighty had a great regional at both ends of the floor. He's starting to steal minutes from Daquean Cook. Mike Conley continues to be amazing with the ball in his hands. Oden though was the difference today vs. Memphis. Memphis had the tempo in their favor, but when Oden returned after picking up his 3rd foul, his presence made it enough of a half-court game that Memphis became uncomfortable and the tempo became more favorable to Ohio St. Ohio St. caught a break by not having to play Texas A&M in San Antonio. I think if you're an OSU fan, you want to see N. Carolina beat Georgetown tomorrow. OSU doesn't match up well with Georgetown as the Hoyas are just as quick and more physical at basically every position. Georgetown also handled the Buckeyes in last year's tournament with relative ease.
I was pretty confident UCLA would beat Kansas, which is why I took them. Kansas was playing "so well" according to the experts. But look at who they played. The Big 12 wasn't exactly a great conference, especially the Big 12 north. Niagara can't play defense, Kentucky can't beat anybody good, and SIU just didn't finish enough plays. But UCLA is tougher, stronger, and more experienced, and all that came through today. Kansas controlled the game for most of the 1st half, yet they were only up 4-6 points, despite all of UCLA's turnovers. Once UCLA stopped throwing the ball away, they took it to Kansas offensively, which got their defense going. Kansas wilted, missing a lot of close-in shots simply because they're not tough enough, physically or mentally, and that was their story all year. Suddenly a possible UCLA/Florida rematch has all the makings of a certain Duke/UNLV game 16 years ago. Look at all the similarities: UNLV and Florida won in dominating fashion and had essentially the same players coming back for a try at a repeat, but had to face the runner-up in the Final 4. No one gave Duke a shot vs. UNLV in their rematch and basically the same was said if UCLA and Florida were to cross paths in the Final 4.
Florida/Oregon is an intriguing matchup. Florida has the size advantage, but Oregon's guards have more talent. But that doesn't mean they'll outplay Florida's guards. Tajuan Porter had a big game vs. UNLV, can he produce against Green tomorrow? Who is Lee Humphrey going to guard? He can't possibly stay with Aaron Brooks. That assignment will probably go to Corey Brewer, leaving Humphrey with Bryce Taylor, but he's no slouch offensively either. If this is a half-court game, which I have to believe Florida will try and make it, the Gators will win. The Gators can play at any pace, but Oregon only has a chance if the pace is quicker. Florida needs to try and match their opponent's intensity at the start. The Gators are ready to play, but their opponent is more fired up because they're playing the defending champs, which is why Florida has been falling behind. Florida can't afford to do that from now on.
Carolina/Georgetown could be a classic. The way to beat Carolina is to turn them into a jump shooting team, which Michigan St. and USC did for about 30 minutes. But neither the Spartans and Trojans could match Carolina's depth, allowing Carolina to pull away at the end of each game. That won't happen with Georgetown. Carolina will have to make 3s to soften up the Hoya D. The key for Georgetown will be their ability to make shots, but more importantly take care of the ball. I think Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert can have big games for Georgetown, if they get the ball in places where they can be effective. If this game is tight, you have to like Georgetown's experience also. The crowd will be pro-Georgetown also, so that will help them as well. Carolina can't have Tyler Hansbrough get in foul trouble, the Heels must have him in a half-court game.

And another disappointment for the Duke women, losing to Rutgers in Greensboro after Lindsey Harding missed 2 free throws that could've won the game (1 would've sent it to OT). I caught the 2nd half and Duke was severly outcoached. Rutgers' pressure D and ball-control offense took Duke out of their game and made their team, with the exception of Allison Bales, tighten up. Duke's coach had a stunned and concerned look on her face throughout the 2nd half, a look you don't want to have in a tournament game.

Congratulations to Miami hockey. They upset top-seeded New Hampshire up in Manchester 2-1 to win their first ever NCAA hockey tournament game. Their reward: a chance to avenge last year's tournament loss to Boston College in the regional finals tomorrow.

I think I'm going to stay up and watch Peyton Manning on SNL, it could be funny.

2007 NCAA Tournament

2007-03-14T20:14:00.000-07:00

Well, I've done this the last couple of years and I wasn't about to start disappointing, despite the late hour. It won't be as extensive as I would like it, but I'll cover the basics.

First, let's take a look back at the beginning of the year to see how I did:

All 4 of my ACC picks made it, I just forgot about Maryland and Va. Tech among others.
St. Louis, ouch.
Syracuse should've been in over Arkansas. That pick was a joke. How does Arkansas from the really bad SEC West get an at-large?
Illinois was lucky to get in. I have them, Purdue, Michigan St., and Indiana all losing in the 1st round. The Big 10 was painful to watch all year. Illinois can't score. 41 points against Wisconsin?!?!
35 of my preseason 65 made the cut. 14 of my preseason Sweet 16 made it (c'mon LSU and Alabama).

Now, a quick look at my thought process in picking my bracket, starting with the Midwest:

Florida's best is better than everyone else's best. They reappeared at the SEC Tournament, they're the team to beat.
Arizona plays no defense and has little team chemistry. Plus, Marcus Williams is thinking about the NBA.
Butler is not the Butler of November.
Notre Dame can score, but they can't stop anybody and you have to be able to stop people at this time of year.
Winthrop gets their 3rd chance at winning an NCAA game this year with their core group of players. Besides being able to shoot the 3 well, they can dump it inside to Craig Bradshaw for easy hoops.
Oregon's Pac-10 tournament run wasn't that impressive considering who they beat: Arizona (see above), Cal (emotionally drained from their win over UCLA), and USC (thanks in part to Bryce Taylor's 11/11). And remember last year, Iowa, Syracuse, and Kansas all had impressive conference tournament runs. Then they all lost in the 1st round.
UNLV isn't as good as the experts have been saying all week.
Wisconsin can't score without Brian Butch.

Florida beats Winthrop in the regional final. Notre Dame won't be able to stop Winthrop. Winthrop matches up perfectly with Oregon. Winthrop gets their rematch with Wisconsin and beats them because Brian Butch won't be there to score 17 points like he did in the 1st meeting and the game isn't in Madison.

Ok, to the West:

Kansas plays to the level of their competition. They struggle with the lesser teams, they play great vs. the great teams.
Kentucky hasn't beaten anyone good in my opinion.
Which Virginia Tech will show up? Lucky for them, they get offensively challenged Illinois.
Southern Illinois/Holy Cross will be close, but Holy Cross has trouble manufacturing points down the stretch in big games. I like SIU over Va. Tech, another rematch from earlier in the year when SIU beat Va. Tech at DisneyWorld.
Duke has trouble against athletic guards. VCU has athletic guards who can shoot and defend. I like VCU.
Pitt/Wright St. will be close until the last 10 minutes. Pitt has Final 4 talent, but they haven't shown it all year.
Indiana did great in their first game vs. Big Ten opponents. But during the 2nd go-round, teams started to catch on and they struggled. I like Gonzaga.
UCLA, despite the end of the year, has been consistent all year. Plus, they don't have to leave California.

UCLA beats Kansas in the regional final. Kansas has been very good defensively, but so has UCLA. UCLA has better point guard play and has a go-to guy for the end of the game, Kansas doesn't.

Ok, the East:

North Carolina has trouble against teams that make them shoot the 3 and can match their athleticism and depth.
I can't believe all of the people picking Michigan St. to win 2 games?!?!!? Neitzel will have to score 40 for them to beat Marquette.
Texas has trouble finishing games because of their young guards. Augustin and Abrams are good, but they dominate the ball too much at the end of games. They forget they have the nation's best player on their team. I thought about taking them over Carolina, but Carolina is deeper and will be able to penetrate their D. Texas will also struggle against New Mexico St. in the 1st round.
Washington St. will slow Vanderbilt and make them shoot jumpers. Vanderbilt's big wins were all at home.
Boston College is mentally tougher than Texas Tech. And they will give Georgetown fits in the 2nd round.
But Georgetown is hot, their only loss being at Syracuse's Senior Night, the Monday after they knocked off Pitt to win the Big East. They will make Carolina shoot 3s and can match their athleticism and depth.

Georgetown over Carolina in the regional final.

The South

Ohio St. is overrated. They're not shooting the ball well and they don't get Oden enough touches. They'll go as far as Ron Lewis and Jamar Butler take them.
Tennessee/Long Beach St. will be a good 1st round game. Tennessee will win, but closer than the experts think.
I really wanted to take Albany over Virginia because there's no way Virginia should be a 4. But Albany isn't that good, and Virginia's guards can neutralize Jamar Wilson. Albany got destroyed by UConn at the beginning of the year even though Albany had more returnees from the rematch in which Albany led for 30 minutes vs. the #1 team.
Texas A&M has become a really good offensive team, and if they play the kind of defense they're capable of, they can make a deep run, and I think they will.
Nevada is all reputation. Creighton is playing really well and Josh Dotzler is healthy. I like Creighton, they'll be more ready to play.
I like the way Memphis shares the ball, but they still don't have enough shooters. They turn the ball over too much for my liking also.

Texas A&M over Tennessee in the regional final. OSU/Tennessee: another rematch, but I think Tennessee is playing better than they were at the time of the first meeting. Plus, the game isn't in Columbus, and you have to think Tennessee, despite being a bad free throw shooting team, will do better than 5/11. The Buckeyes have had trouble scoring, I think Tennessee gets them. Texas A&M will have a homecourt advantage in San Antonio. They'll play some D and be able to score because Tennessee isn't a great defensive team. Plus, Acie Law will do his thing in the last 10 minutes.

Florida over UCLA. Florida only loses when their guards are forced into turnovers and UCLA's guards won't be able to do that.

Georgetown over Texas A&M. Georgetown is hot and they can beat A&M at their own game.

Florida over Georgetown 67-61. Georgetown was very close to knocking them out last year, and the Hoyas are better this year than last. But Florida's best is still unbeatable and I think they'll get it done. Watching the SEC Tournament, the fire is back in their eyes and they want it. And they're good enough to do it.

I wish I could write more, but I can't. Enjoy the games!!!!

And how about those Miami Redhawks, I can't forget?!?! Dancing in style after that Doug Penno Saturday night deposit after the glass. That's how to do it fellas. They're going to have trouble slowing Oregon down, but nothing's impossible with the Professor, Charlie Coles at the helm.

Silence

2007-02-24T18:59:00.000-08:00

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

2007-02-17T20:22:00.000-08:00

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

2007-02-10T19:08:00.000-08:00

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

2007-02-03T19:54:00.000-08:00

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.

Let's Go Bears

2007-01-27T18:58:00.000-08:00

I've played the Super Bowl Shuffle on average twice a day since Sunday. I'm excited to see my favorite pro team in the big game for the first time since January 26, 1986. Of course I'll be excited if they win and disappointed if they lose, but not nearly as disappointed as say when Miami loses in a big game. The Bears being in the Super Bowl might prompt me to watch 10 minutes more of the pregame show than I usually would. Super Bowl pregame shows are ridiculous if you didn't know already. At least it hasn't come to the point yet where the game still starts and finishes at a decent hour.

As a kid, I used to make a replica of the field because I always thought the Super Bowl field looked cool with all of the extra logos on it. After I made the field, then I would put my electric football players on it and play the game out. It would be great because since I would use crayon, it would rub off on the players' uniforms, so it looked as if they were dirty. Anyway, I think Da Bears win 24-20.

Let's talk hoops:

Michigan/Indiana. Michigan might as well make their reservations for the NIT. After today, I don't see them beating anyone good on the road or anyone really good at home. Michigan went 29/35 from the line and lost!!!! Indiana hit 10 3s, Michigan hit 2.
Dayton/Xavier. I couldn't believe my eyes when UD scored 43 in the 1st half. Then the real UD showed up in the 2nd half as X started the 2nd half with a 19-3 run. I thought UD might have a chance since X was without Josh Duncan, but no. X was too much down low, winning the boards by 12 and getting a career high 24 from Justin Doellman. The A-10 might only get one bid again unless Xavier gets hot.
N. Carolina/Arizona. Talk about a statement. Carolina had no Brendan Wright or Marcus Ginyard and still made it look easy. Granted, UA lost Marcus Williams with an ankle injury, but UNC would've still won by at least 15 if he stayed in. UA has no bench and they play no defense. Mustafa Shakur was outplayed by the freshman Tyron Lawson, who was already good at the beginning of the year and is now stellar. 18 points, 8 assists, and just 1 turnover for the freshman. No Wright, no problem. Deon Thompson and Alex Stephenson are more than capable inside. This was a beatdown similar to the one Maria Sharapova got from Serena Williams last night.
Oklahoma/Texas A&M. First time watching the Aggies this year and they're not top 10 good in my opinion, but they're good, no doubt. Acie Law is great in the clutch and even though Joseph Jones was a relative non-factor, Antanas Kavaliauskas made up for it and then some. Josh Carter is a nice role player/athlete who can get to the rim and hit the open jump shot. The Aggies aren't a great offensive team, but with their physical defense and discipline, they're a sleeper Final Four team if they get the right draw. Oklahoma will be good with Jeff Capel as their coach. OU was a lot better today than they were vs. Villanova earlier in the year.
Villanova/Notre Dame. Notre Dame was the stronger team in the end, going 29/37 from the line and limited Nova to 33% shooting. ND needed this win to stop their slide and keep them off the bubble for the time being. If you're Nova, how did you let Colin Falls go off for 23?!?!?! He can shoot and that's it. Curtis Sumpter was back, but his hamstring looked like it was bothering him. He didn't have the lift in his shot that he usually gets.
Another team heading for the NIT: UConn. The 2nd half of their game today vs. Providence looked like an And 1 streetball game with all of the dunks.
Big win for VCU at Drexel. If VCU wins the Colonial regular season title outright, they may not have to win the conference tournament to get a bid.
Memphis is overrated.
2 teams you don't want to play right now are Louisville and Vanderbilt.
Another team going to the NIT: Illinois. The Illini's guards were 5/31 shooting.
Air Force losing at BYU isn't that big of an upset. BYU is tough at home.
Duke's home court advantage isn't necessarily their students anymore, it's the number of calls they get from the officials. What horrible officiating at the end of the game.
I think Winthrop should get an at-large if they win the Big South regular season title. Playing all those major conference teams tough on their respective home floors, you've gotta think they win a couple of those if it's at Winthrop or at the very least a neutral site.
Michigan St./Ohio St. What a gutty 2nd half by the Spartans. Drew Neitzel is a gamer. I think he got tired at the end of the game because that's the only way he misses those shots down the stretch. Ohio St. helped by coming out flat in the 2nd half. And when you live by the 3, you die by it. OSU's 3s were nonexistent in the 2nd half, consequently they let the lead slip away. As Lewis and Butler go, as I've said, so go the Bucks, and they didn't do anything in the 2nd half. I'll say it again, OSU basketball fans are some of the worst in terms of giving their team a home court advantage. I guess when you can't tailgate and can't identify with anything other than football, they don't know what to do.

Interesting editorial in today's Wall St. Journal about the negatives of ethanol. Higher corn prices would in turn lead to higher livestock prices, that's a given. Another given was that ethanol can't be shipped using oil pipelines. But in terms of energy output, ethanol outputs only exceed inputs at a margin of 1.3 to 1 whereas energy outputs from oil exceed inputs at a margin of 10 to 1. So you would need more ethanol to drive the same number of miles you would with oil. And ethanol increases the level of nitrous oxides in the air, which causes smog. Obviously, the sooner we can switch to cellulosic ethanol, then hydrogen fuel cells, the better off we would be. And this one editorial doesn't turn me off to ethanol, but it got me thinking....

I'm not going to waste any space talking about the State of the Union.

If I'm the Cameron Crazies, I jump on this. An admissions department e-mail sent from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill congratulated 2,700 prospective freshmen this week on their acceptance to the school. The problem is that none of the applicants have been admitted. They won't start finding out until March whether they've made the cut. Oops.

Limited Drainage

2007-01-20T19:58:00.000-08:00

The last couple of days, my bathtub drain has gotten backed up. The water drains ever so slowly. I returned from work Friday to the smell of old bathwater. Not as bad of a smell as something gone bad in the refrigerator, but it's not pleasant. The service department can't fix it until Monday, so I'm stuck with it. Thankfully I can still shower, but I can't clean the tub, so it's pretty dirty since the water sits there for hours. I've done the put baking soda down the drain and pour boiling water down it to try and help things, but it hasn't worked, so I'll just have to be patient. It could be worse, as I said.

Ok, basketball recap:

Louisville/DePaul. Ugly game except for Juan Palacios's 21 points in 23 minutes. DePaul would've been in third place in the Big East with a win, but instead are looking like a bubble team. Louisville is working their way back to the bubble, but they don't have anyone who can shoot the ball consistently from the outside.
Purdue/Michigan. Basically the same kind of game as a week ago, just that Michigan was the home team that won by a large margin. Against Penn St. and Purdue, Michigan shot the ball really well, which should only help their inside game. It's hard to believe but Michigan is 4-1 in the Big 10. Purdue has lost 29 true road games in a row.
Texas/Villanova. It had to be tough for Texas to fly to Philly after playing their 3OT thriller at Oklahoma State. For most of the game, they didn't play with a lot of energy, especially Kevin Durant, who had no legs. This was an especially good win for Nova because Curtis Sumpter was out with an injury. Scottie Reynolds had a big time game, 26 points, 6 boards, and 5 assists off the bench. He's a better shooter than I thought. Despite losing, Augustin and Abrams for Texas both played great games. Augustin was unguardable at the end. Texas just couldn't get defensive stops when they needed them.
Wisconsin/Illinois. Illinois put a big effort into the game, but they came up short thanks to poor foul shooting. Alando Tucker was just 6/18, but Kammron Taylor was clutch and Greg Stiemsma was unstoppable from 17 feet, hitting jumper after jumper. If you're Illinois, it's not good when your best player at creating his own shot is Warren Carter. Chester Frazier can't shoot and Rich McBride is still just a catch and shoot guy. Illinois really needed to win this game.
All I heard was how Kentucky was the sleeper team to watch out for since they were on a long winning streak, especially from Digger Phelps. Well, UK finally played someone worth mentioning, and lost. Vanderbilt beat them, at Rupp. And nothing's really changed, UK is still lacking a consistent perimeter threat. Ramel Bradley, Joe Crawford, and Jodi Meeks were a combined 10/34.
Don't get too excited about Duke yet. They beat The U, Wake, and NC State, the bottom of the ACC. Let's see them play well, specifically their guards, against someone worth mentioning.
Indiana/UConn. I have to give Kelvin Sampson credit where credit is due. He's made IU one mentally tough bunch. Of course, it helps when your players aren't hearing about their coach possibly being fired for the first time in 3 years, but Sampson has always instilled mental toughness in his teams. IU started strong, then held on the rest of the way as UConn kept coming at them. But on the road of all places, IU finished strong and got a big win for them and the Big 10. IU is definitely the 3rd best team in the Big 10. That was the best game I've seen DJ White play in 2 years and Roderick Wilmont is shooting the ball confidently. His great game at Penn St. has carried over nicely. UConn is in danger of missing the Big Dance. Tell me, who have they beaten? Their best wins are at home vs. South Florida and at St. John's. UConn has talent and athleticism, but they're young and they can't shoot. When's the last time you saw a college team try 5 three-pointers in a game?
Arizona/UCLA. Mustafa Shakur, you might as well call Darren Collison your Daddy. For the 4th straight time, Collison badly outplayed Shakur. It doesn't show in the stats, but if you watched the game, you could tell the difference. Collison was under control, in charge of tempo and in charge of his game. Shakur was out of control, rattled, and not in charge of his team. No Luc M Bah A Moute, no problem for UCLA. UCLA's front line combined for 13 points and 16 rebounds. Arizona never got in an offensive flow and were visibly frustrated.
Kansas/Texas Tech. Mark it down, Kansas WILL NOT win the national championship. They may not even get to the Sweet 16. They continue to play to the level of their competition. Now Texas Tech is a solid team, but Kansas has McDonald's All-American talent at every position. But, they don't have a go-to guy (although Sherron Collins looks more and more like the guy), they don't have consistent perimeter shooting, and they take possessions off. Despite Kansas's late charge, Tech deserved to win the game. Darryl Dora came in averaging 5 points a game, he had 19, to go with Jarrius Jackson's 15 and Martin Zeno's 14. Kansas only attempted 4 free throws, for the game!!!! Not aggressive enough.
San Diego St./Air Force. I'm glad I got to see Air Force. The only other team I saw them was vs. Duke and Duke took it to them. SDSU played well, but Air Force is a veteran team and anyone can hit the big shot. Nick Welch is their name player, but Dan Nwaelele can get his own shot at the end of games, which is huge for a team like Air Force. 13 of their 16 field goals were assisted, outstanding.
Washington St. 75, Washington 47. Yo!!!!! Washington St. has now beaten Washington and Gonzaga, so they're state champs. When's the last time Washington was held to 47 points in a game?
Oklahoma St. also fell victim to the after effects of the 3OT game.
Georgia Tech/N. Carolina. This game was over when none of the Tar Heels got hurt getting off the team bus. Tech likes to run, which plays right into Carolina's hands. Carolina played good defense for the 2nd straight game. Of course, Tech made it easy by standing around on offense.
Interesting matchup tomorrow night between Virginia Tech and Maryland. Maryland is only 1-3 in the ACC, they need to win.
The Big 10 is weak, if you didn't know that already. UConn is in 11th in the Big East and almost knocked Indiana, 3rd in the Big 10. I only see 4 teams getting in, with the 4th being a battle between Michigan St., Illinois, and Michigan. Purdue and Penn St. have played themselves out of it for now.
In the Horizon League, Butler has the head to head over, don't look now, but Wright St. The Raiders made a great hire in getting Brad Brownell from UNC Wilmington. Wright St. is a program on the rise with him, he's a really good coach.
Wichita St. is now 3-6 in the Valley after losing at Bradley, unbelievable.
A team you don't want to see if you're a 1 or 2 seed: Delaware St. They're athletic, but are disciplined and control tempo. They play great defense and won't be intimidated. Remember 2 years ago they had Duke frustrated for the majority of their 1st round game. Delaware St. leads the MEAC at 6-0.
You want to know how good the Pac 10 is? Arizona is 7th.
The only conference better: the SEC. In the Pac 10, Arizona St. and Oregon St. are just not very good. In the SEC, even Mississippi made a run at Florida in Gainesville this afternoon.

Big day of sports tomorrow. Miami hosts OU at 1pm. Then it's Da Bears and New Orleans at 3pm. Colts/Pats at 6:30.

Knowing When To Stop

2007-01-13T20:32:00.000-08:00

I have a new man law:
Thou shall not paint thy face or dress up in some sort of costume for a sporting event when either married or over the age of 30.

Some Buckeye fan who looks to be at least 45, probably 50 years old dressed up as "The Animal" for James Laurinaitis. Then today, there were multiple Ravens fans (men and women) at least 50 who had their faces painted in solid purple, the whole face. Wearing a jersey, hat, even necklace is acceptable. But anything more than that does not look good.

Now for today's hoops review:

Marquette is not a great shooting team, but they're good at rebounding and penetrating, and they did both of those things really well against West Virginia. They got into the gaps of West Virginia's 1-3-1, creating makable shot attempts and giving them offensive rebounds. The one 3-point marksman they have, Cubillan, went 4/4, thanks to the driving ability of Dominic James. It's rare when West Virginia makes fewer 3s than their opponent.
Ohio St./Tennessee was a very good game. It was also well officiated until the last 15 seconds. Ron Lewis's go-ahead basket looked like a 2 to me, which would've put OSU up 1 instead of 2. Still, it was close enough that the officials should've stopped play to review the shot. OSU would've gotten to set up their defense, but maybe Tennessee gets a better look. Despite that, Tennessee got to the rim, and when the ball was in the corner, Jamar Butler's foot was on the line with the ball with 1.8 seconds left. Oops. Ohio St. will go as far as Ron Lewis and Jamar Butler take them. Today, they were only 3/10 combined for 7 points. OSU needs at least 25 points from the 2 of them. Tennessee is better than I thought and Chris Lofton is a great player. The Vols only went 7/31 from 3, but they stayed aggressive on D and played well down the stretch. In an 11 minute stretch in the 2nd half after falling behind by 10, they only gave up 10 points, on the road. Bruce Pearl is doing another great job.
Kansas/Iowa St. showcased some great athletic plays. Iowa St. has a guy named Wesley Johnson, who was 6'4 just a couple of years ago. Now he's 6'7, still growing, and he's gonna be good, really good. Iowa St. deserved to win the game, but Brandon Rush and Julian Wright showed up for Kansas at the end. Rush hit big shots at the end of regulation and overtime to put KU ahead. But again, they played down to the level of their competition. Russell Robinson didn't have a good floor game, Mario Chalmers was nonexistent, and there was no overall offensive cohesivenss. Only 9 assists on 26 field goals, there was a lot of 1on1 play going on. Sherron Collins was impressive off the bench. His weight loss is obvious, he's much quicker and stronger than he was earlier in the year.
UCLA got another big shot from Aaron Afflalo to beat USC, despite Nick Young's improbable 4 point play that gave USC the lead just seconds earlier. It will be interesting to see how USC responds after this heartbreaker on their home floor. They are very athletic, are streaky shooters, and can make big plays. UCLA will need Josh Shipp back, but for now, Russell Westbrook is a more than capable replacement. He's a good looking player for a freshman.
I actually turned this game off in the waning minutes, so I missed UNC's big comeback, but the story was Va. Tech's backcourt. Va. Tech's guards scored 57 points, UNC's scored 43. UNC needs more than 5 points from Reyshawn Terry. Without him, Wayne Ellington is their only 3 point threat. UNC was exposed in that, if they run up against an athletic, big team like Va. Tech, they won't be able to drive the basket and get the ball inside at will. They will have to make perimeter shots, and they only have a couple of guys who can do that.
Pittsburgh/Georgetown was one of the cleaner basketball games you'll ever see. Both teams shot at least 60% from the floor, committed no more than 10 turnovers, and had at least 16 assists. Even Patrick Ewing Jr. was 5/6, 2/2 from 3 in the game. Pittsburgh has a lot of offensive weapons. Can they clamp down defensively when they have to? If Georgetown can consistently produce this type of offensive effort, they'll get back on track and win some games. They go as Jeff Green goes, and he played pretty well tonight. Pitt was just better and they had their Oakland Zoo tonight.
Indiana started out slow, but shot lights out again to win at Penn St. Roderick Wilmont single-handedly kept them in it in the 1st half. IU is 3-1 in the Big 10, though that's not saying much.
Villanova's backcourt played well, but with the exception of Curtis Sumpter, their frontcourt didn't. Syracuse's did, and they consequently won by 11. Terrence Roberts went for 17 and 14. He should be a double/double guy every night.
Clemson is no longer unbeaten, but you had to expect Maryland to win after their porous performance against The U.
If I had to rate conferences in terms of strength, I'd go: SEC, Pac-10, Big East, ACC, Big 12, Big 10, MVC. And the Big 10 isn't that far ahead of the MVC, they're close.
The two teams tied for the ACC lead: Boston College and Virginia Tech. The team in 11th: Duke.
Want to know how good the Valley is, Wichita St. is currently in 7th. They were ranked in the top 10 just a few weeks ago.
Looking forward to Arizona/Oregon tomorrow night (if it's shown here in the metro Detroit area)

Why are the Golden Globes on Monday night? Bad move I think. Doesn't matter for me, I usually just watch the Red Carpet coverage (not Joan/Melissa Rivers).

Gator Bait

2007-01-12T20:04:00.000-08:00

Well, there's been enough post-game analysis of Ohio State/Florida, but here are my feelings summed up:

Ohio St. got outcoached, period. If they played 10 times, I really think OSU would win 6. I don't think Florida has that much more talent or is that much faster than OSU. Urban Meyer had a brilliant gameplan and his team executed it to a tee. Jim Tressel had a John Cooper-like gameplan and we know how that worked out for Cooper.
I've never seen Jim Tressel panic until he went for that 4th and 1. After that, I knew OSU wouldn't win.
This was the first time a controversial #2 won the championship.
Troy Smith should give back his Heisman. He had no pocket presence, got happy feet in the pocket.
I talked about how I didn't know how good Ohio St. really was after Michigan got soundly beaten by USC. Well, I think they're still good, but definitely not all-world good.

So I finished 20-12 in bowl season, I'll take it. But I've failed to pick the winner in the last 3 national championships. I'm going to have to fix that. USC would be my preseason #1 for next year.

Tomorrow, this is what I'm looking forward to in hoops:

West Virginia/Marquette. Can WVU rebound from their loss at Notre Dame? They'll need to shoot the ball better. Marquette was struggling until breaking UConn's home winning streak to get their first Big East win. Marquette's guards against WVU's 1-3-1 will be an interesting matchup.
Indiana/Penn St. Indiana 85, Purdue 58. Maybe I've underestimated Kelvin Sampson and IU? I root for IU, I admit it. They're one of the traditional names in college hoops. It's always nice to see Indiana, UCLA, North Carolina, etc., doing well. After such a big win, State College could be a trap. Penn St. is tough at home.
Villanova/Syracuse. Villanova got a big win at Georgetown, Syracuse won at Marquette. This will be a battle of frontcourts. They might cancel each out which means it will come down to Mike Nardi of Nova and Eric Devendorf of the Cuse.
Tennessee/Ohio St. Tough week for the Buckeyes (darn). OSU still hasn't beaten a top 25 team. Here's their chance before the Vols fall out of the top 25 after losing to Vandy this week. OSU can't win the Big 10 or the national championship without Greg Oden being able to fully use his right hand. Ron Lewis can't have another game like he did at Wisconsin.
Kansas/Iowa St. Iowa St. has been playing better of late and the Hilton is always a tough place to play. Will Kansas bring the intensity like they did vs. Oklahoma St and not play to the level of their competition. If they don't, could be an upset here.
N. Carolina/Virginia Tech. Va. Tech brings it against the big names. Blacksburg will be ready. UNC needs to play a full 40 minutes, which they didn't do at Virginia. If UNC doesn't play good defense, this game will be close. Va. Tech's guards have the athleticism and size to get to the rim.

And of course, I'll be keeping my eye on all of the scores.

I watched Ocean's 12 tonight, the first time since I saw it in the theater. I liked it a lot better and am actually looking forward to Ocean's 13.

The Eagles are the only road team I like in the NFL playoffs this week.

David Beckham coming to play soccer in the US will only help the LA franchise. He's nowhere near the level of Pele. Until there are American born and bred global soccer stars or we win a World Cup, soccer will not take off here. Unfortunately, a sport that doesn't see more offense than hockey will have trouble catching on. Look where hockey has been relegated to, Versus, better known for the Tour De France. I like soccer. I'll watch the World Cup and the NCAA Final 4s. I hope it catches on, but I don't see it in the near future.

Prince William's girlfriend, Kate Middleton, seems perfect. I think I would like her, even more than Keira Knightley.

We've been spoiled with good winter weather in Michigan. That's about to change this weekend as the first big winter storm rolls in.

I'm really looking forward to attending my first North American International Auto Show. Seeing all the cars, especially the concept cars should be very cool.

Should be a great day of sports tomorrow.

Merry New Year

2007-01-06T20:24:00.000-08:00

The blog is back from vacation and starting its third year of existence. I can't believe it's 2007.

One of the things I enjoy is reading Sports Illustrated's "Best of the Worst", some short stories from 2006. My favorites were:

Former Florida St. receiver Fred Rouse, charged with burglarizing the house of an ex-teammate, allegedly left a wide receiver's glove with his uniform number on it at the scene. This happened at Florida St.?!?! What a shock?!?!
In a red-carpet interview at a post-Oscars party, Serena Williams said she admired the work of actor "Phillip Semen Hoffmore". I think she meant to say Philip Seymour Hoffman.
And fishermen were drug-tested at the World Angling Championships in Portugal. Glad to see they're doing this, but how could drugs help you fish? And if Fishing is doing it, why not golf?!?!? I wonder if anyone tested positive.

It's amazing how conference play in college hoops never disappoints. Now we find out how good teams really are, and here's what I've found out so far:

Duke won't beat anyone with experienced, athletic guards. 22 turnovers at home, including 6 by your starting point guard in just 18 minutes won't cut it. Josh McRoberts needs to play the 1st half like he does the 2nd half of games. He needs to establish himself on the block at the start of games, then expand his game.
Ohio St.'s win at Illinois was impressive to say the least. Illinois doesn't have great scorers, but it's still Champaign, still a tough place to play and OSU controlled the game. I hope Greg Oden comes back to school next year because it's fun watching him impact the game and his offensive game needs work. He doesn't play "big" offensively with his back to the basket. Part of that is that his right wrist still isn't 100%, but he's shooting the ball below shoulder level, leaving himself vulnerable to getting his shot blocked. He'll get it corrected, but I think he should get it done while at OSU.
UCLA losing at Oregon didn't surprise me, Mac Court is a tough place to play. You knew Oregon would be up for the game after losing to USC Thursday night at home. Oregon's guards are playing really well, despite no Malik Hairston today, and Marty Leunen is doing enough inside to give them balance. I'm not sure if UCLA is #1-worthy. They're good, but they have weaknesses. As good as Aaron Afflalo is, his jumper is ugly, which won't go in consistently when contested. Darren Collison's level of play has slipped since Maui, and is Lorenzo Mata good enough inside to go against Florida, Arizona, UNC, etc. down the road?
Notre Dame and Michigan St.: overrated. If the Spartans were going to contend for the top 4 of the Big 10, they needed to win at Iowa Thurs. night. Iowa has slipped, and good teams take advantage of that, Sparty didn't. Notre Dame caught Maryland after a big win at Illinois and got Alabama at home, but other than that played cupcakes except for their loss to Butler. They're a middle of the pack Big East team at best.
LSU will have to rely on their defense even more this year, they're worse at shooting the ball than last year. Big Baby Davis's conditioning improvement is obvious, he's able to do a lot more things offensively and for longer periods of team. But the shooting is atrocious. UConn's freshmen are probably the most immature of all the freshmen on teams. If they can't run, they break down, mentally and physically. The potential is there, but they have a ways to go.
The Missouri Valley is looking at 4 bids again: Northern Iowa, SIU, Wichita St., and Missouri St./Creighton. Wichita St. had the best non-conference season of all, but are only 1-2 in the Valley so far. That's how tough the Valley is.
DePaul over Villanova. DePaul is 10-6, 1-1 in the Big East. They have lost to Northwestern and St. John's (bad), but have beaten Villanova and Kansas. After winning big at Oklahoma, Villanova has lost to Drexel, West Virginia, and DePaul (3 of their last 6). Speaking of West Virginia, 3-0 in the Big East, all double-digit wins. John Bielein is one of the top 5 college coaches.
Duquesne over St. Louis. After their tumultuous off-season, Duquesne has now knocked off Boston College and St. Louis, both on the road. A .500 season would be a great accomplishment for them, but these 2 wins by themselves show how they've come together as a team and how good they could be next year when they're at full strength.
OU is the best team in the MAC right now, starting conference play with a home win over Akron. Miami opens MAC play at home vs. Kent St. tomorrow.
And Clemson is the lone unbeaten team left. They'll finish high enough in the ACC to play in the NCAAs. Even though he was at UD, I like Oliver Purnell, he's a good coach and he's done a good job bringing the Clemson program up to the level it is now.

Oh, what else:

Monday night, we'll find out how good Ohio St. really is. I'm not sure now after how Michigan got beat in the Rose Bowl. Is USC that good? Did Michigan lay that big of an egg or were they overrated? OSU opponents who played in bowl games: 3-4 (counting Texas as a win and Iowa as a loss), Florida opponents who played in bowl games: 6-3. But, Penn St. beat Tennessee 20-10, Florida beat them 20-10. Wisconsin held a full-strength Arkansas team to 14 points, Florida gave up 21 offensive points when Darren McFadden was hurt on the first series. So I don't know. I don't feel as good about my pick as I did.
By the way, I'm 19-11 and have accumulated 340 points, my best showing in a loooong time. I've been lucky instead of unlucky. My luck has included Oregon St.'s comeback, Georgia's comeback (really lucky), Cincinnati hanging on, and Texas Tech's comeback that cost Glen Mason his job.
Boise St. deserved to win. If you can control the line of scrimmage no matter what kind of program you have, you're going to win, and Boise St. controlled the line of scrimmage. Jared Zabransky had time to throw and Ian Johnson gained 100 yards against a very good Oklahoma defense. I just wish Miami got their chance 3 years ago to get that kind of win.
Charlie Weis is 19-6 through 2 years with one so-so upset of Michigan in Ann Arbor in his first year. Ty Willingham was 15-10, and beat Michigan and Florida St. (at Tallahassee) in his first year. Both have been drilled in their big-time bowl games and against big-time opponents on the road. So, when will the criticism start on Weis? ND didn't belong in the BCS, not even close to LSU's level of talent.
Matt Millen will be back as Lions GM. William Clay Ford is displaying the kind of loyalty that got his company into the trouble they're now in, refusal to change.
I've got the Ravens over the Bears in the Super Bowl, though goodness knows I'll be rooting for Da Bears and rooting against the Ravens in every round.

I hope you had a great holidays!

Survivor winner can't make fire

2006-12-17T19:11:00.000-08:00

Oh how embarassing would that be! I've watched some of the finale tonight in between Indiana/Southern Illinois and I caught the part where 2 of the final 4 contestants had to make fire in order to stay in the game. After an hour, neither had been able to start their fire, so they were given matches to help them out. Are you kidding? Oh, but it only got better. One of the contestants ran out of matches without their fire!!! Finally, the other of the two got her fire going and snapped the rope over the fire to end the tiebreaker but my goodness. I think it's fair to say she's not going to win. If she did, Survivor would lose all credibility.

Anyway, some thoughts from the weekend:

Pittsburgh's lack of defense against Wisconsin surprised me. Granted, Wisconsin was on fire. First Alando Tucker, then Brian Butch, and finally Cammron Taylor. But they got good shots and Pitt didn't seem to have much intensity defensively. Another problem I see Pitt having in the future is their lack of true point guard depth. When Levance Fields got in foul trouble, Pitt had no other true point guard. Now Ronald Ramon played well, but he needs to play off the ball so he can get his jumper going. Aaron Gray was impressive despite having strep throat. Brian Butch, you've made a believer out of me. I've ridden you hard in the past for your habit of hanging around the perimeter and chucking 3s. But you established yourself on the block, then expanded your game. Butch is finally living up to his McD's All-American status.
Butler/Purdue was the best game I saw this weekend. Purdue played well, having to deal with Carl Landry in foul trouble. Purdue came at Butler with spurt after spurt and it looked in the last 5 minutes or so Butler was worn out. But Butler was gritty, they kept fighting back and ironically it was Brandon Krone, who was 1/12, made a driving layup and got fouled, the grittiest play of the game. That gave Butler the lead for good. Butler will need to have a miserable Horizon league performance to not make the NCAAs. While Wisconsin and Ohio St. are definitely the top 2 of the Big 11, Purdue will be in the mix for the #3 spot.
Kentucky's young players are starting to play better. Jodie Meeks made some big shots and provided the offense for UK as Joe Crawford struggled and Randolph Morris was in foul trouble. Louisville was not impressive at all. Ugly shooting to say the least. They're going to struggle in the Big East, more than I thought.
Don't overlook Texas Tech in the Big 12. With Kansas's inconsistent play and Texas's youth, Tech could be the #2 team in the Big 12. Good guard play, good defense, and you'll know they'll be well-prepared. The first 10 minutes against Arkansas was a clinic.
Ohio St. dominated Cincinnati, and they probably could've played better. I thought they sleptwalked through most of the game, they didn't look into it. But they were solid defensively and efficient offensively. Plus it doesn't help when you have the second coming of Patrick Ewing in the paint intimidating the opposition. And, UC was so cold they almost lowered the windchill in Indianapolis themselves.
Indiana/Southern Illinois was even uglier than I thought it would be. SIU can't afford to have the refs call the game tightly, which they did, limiting the effectiveness of SIU's aggressive man defense. Another thing SIU can't afford is to see a 1-3-1 defense. 1-3-1s are easier than 2-3s and matchup zones in my opinion. Flash high/low, then the weak side wing player back cuts to make the back side defensive wing player play somebody, then swing the ball. The funny thing about this game was, Indiana needed it more than SIU.
While shopping for Christmas presents, I stumbled upon two interesting things. First, you can now practice your putting while sitting on the toilet. No kidding, front of the box is a guy sitting on the toilet, pants down while putting on a very small putting green into the hole. I should've asked how many of these have been sold? I mean, one part of your body leaning over the putt while the other is about to umm, deposit a package going the other way. I think about golf all the time, but while I'm on the toilet is not one of those times. Second, you can now buy your very own Luke Skywalker or Darth Maul lightsaber. When I saw these, I instantly thought of the video of Star Wars kid hehe.
Oh, and the Santa Claus at the mall was way too skinny. Plus, his hair was hanging out of his hat, he didn't look very believable.
Ok, what would you do in this situation. Packers up on the Lions 10-6, about 7 minutes left in the game. Lions have 4th and 3 on the Packer 5, closest Lions have been to the end zone. So what does Rod Marinelli (head coach) do? He kicks the field goal?!?!?! Dude, you're 2-11, what do you have to lose? Maybe he is really playing to keep the #1 pick so he can choose Brady Quinn. (Packers won 17-9)
What other sport goes to commercial when there are 50 seconds left in a quarter. NFL games are just one long commercial I swear. And unless you get DirecTV, you can't flip to another game when your hometown team is playing. Annoying.

Last week before Christmas vacation!!!!

"Fragile, must be Italian."

2006-12-15T18:59:00.000-08:00

Watched A Christmas Story for the first time this year. I've watched it so many times, but it's still fresh. Speaking of Italian, some of us from work ate at the Roma Cafe near downtown after work tonight. Wow, was it good! Healthy portions, to say the least. My salad was as big as my dinner plate. The tortellini went 2 deep. And my ice cream sundae was a great way to top it all off. We had a little gift exchange and I received a $10 gift certificate to Coldstone Creamery. I haven't been there in a little while, so I'm looking forward to going back.

Ok, here are my bowl game picks. Some of the reasoning is fact and football-based, and some of it isn't. So there's your warning:

Poinsettia Bowl: Northern Illinois over TCU. Here's an example of basing my pick on things other than what took place on the football field this year. 3 years ago, Miami should've played TCU in the GMAC bowl, but because the bowl game would interfere with final exams, TCU instead decided to play in their Ft. Worth bowl (in their home stadium) vs. Boise St., which they lost. Miami had final exams that week of the game as well and still played. So I root against TCU because it appears they dodged Miami. TCU is the better team, they went 10-2, but no matter. Go Huskies!
Las Vegas Bowl: BYU over Oregon. BYU had a good season while Oregon slipped toward the end of the year. I think BYU will stop Oregon a couple more times than Oregon will stop BYU. John Beck is a good quarterback.
New Orleans Bowl: Rice over Troy. I know 2 things about this game: it's the first bowl game for Rice in 45 years and they have the leading receiver in the country. I know nothing about Troy, so I'll go with Rice.
Papajohns.com Bowl: South Florida over East Carolina. South Florida played in the Big East, they won at West Virginia and almost beat Rutgers. Matt Groethe is a tough QB.
New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico over San Jose St. Upset pick here. Game at New Mexico's stadium, I'll go with the Lobos.
Armed Forces Bowl: Utah over Tulsa. Truthfully, I didn't see either team play this year. Utah has had the better program recently, I'll go with the Utes.
Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii over Arizona St. ASU fired their coach. Hawaii is tough to beat at Aloha Stadium. Colt Brennan & Co. will put some points.
Motor City Bowl: Central Michigan over Middle Tennessee St. Central has a great, young quarterback. The Chips have a lot of skill on offense. They were far and away the best team in the MAC. Plus, they'll have the crowd behind them at Ford Field.
Emerald Bowl: UCLA over Florida St. The Bruins are riding high after beating USC. If UCLA's defense can stop USC, they should certainly be able to stop FSU's non-existant offense. I don't think the Noles will be particularly fired up to play in a non New Year's Day bowl game.
Independence Bowl: Oklahoma St. over Alabama. Bama fired their coach, and they don't have a permanent head coach yet. OSU has a prolific offense with Bobby Reid at QB. I think they'll want to be there more.
Texas Bowl: Rutgers over Kansas St. Rutgers was more consistent. K St. played a great game vs. Texas, then played poorly the next week at Kansas. Ray Rice will take over in the 4th quarter, and the defense will get pressure against Josh Freeman.
Holiday Bowl: Texas A&M over California. Cal went from preseason national championship contender to the Holiday Bowl. A&M went from almost losing to Army and firing their coach to beating Texas in Austin. A&M's losses were all close games, I think they'll pull off the mild upset.
Music City Bowl: Clemson over Kentucky. Tempted to take UK for the upset, but I can't pick against James Davis and CJ Spiller. As inconsistent as Clemson was, those two are two of the best in college football.
Sun Bowl: Oregon St. over Missouri. Oregon St. won at Hawaii, which is tough to do. Missouri slipped toward the end of the year. Mike Riley does more with less at Oregon St.
Liberty Bowl: South Carolina over Houston. Houston has a tricky offense and an experienced QB, but that's not enough to make me pick against Spurrier.
Insight Bowl: Texas Tech over Minnesota. Minnesota made a bowl game? This could be ugly. As much as I don't like Tech and Mike Leach, I don't think the Gophers can stop them.
Champs Sports Bowl: Maryland over Purdue. Maryland is more balanced on offense and has a better, faster defense.
Meineke Car Care Bowl: Boston College over Navy. I think this will be a close game. Navy has the athletes to be able to compete with BC, but BC will pull it out in the end.
Alamo Bowl: Texas over Iowa. Tough to pick against the Longhorns in San Antonio and considering how bad Iowa played at the end of the year. But, if Colt McCoy gets hurt, Texas has no proven backup QB since Jevan Snead transferred. Still, Horns win.
Chick-fil-a Bowl: Georgia over Virginia Tech. I like the Dawgs in a defensive struggle.
MPC Computers Bowl: Nevada over Miami(FL). Nevada knows where Boise is and they know what the blue turf is.
Outback Bowl: Tennessee over Penn St. Tennessee has a better offense. They'll win 24-10. I don't see Anthony Morelli and the PSU offense doing much against UT's defense.
Cotton Bowl: Nebraska over Auburn. Nebraska plays good defense, they'll force Brandon Cox to beat them. I didn't think Bill Callahan would be as successful as he has been in Lincoln. He's done a great job so far.
Gator Bowl: West Virginia over Georgia Tech. I think West Virginia's offense can score on anybody. I don't think the same can be said for Georgia Tech's offense.
Capital One Bowl: Wisconsin over Arkansas. The difference will be Wisconsin's quarterback play. As good as McFadden and Jones are, I think Wisconsin can match up in the trenches with Arkansas.
Rose Bowl: Michigan over USC. Michigan is the 2nd best team in the country. They're physical, fast, and they'll be motivated. I don't think USC will be able to run the ball against Michigan's front 7, and John David Booty will start to hear their footsteps and become inaccurate.
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma over Boise St. I'll be rooting for the Broncos, but Oklahoma's offensive and defensive lines have played really well since the Texas loss. I don't think Boise St. will be able to handle them for 4 quarters.
Orange Bowl: Louisville over Wake Forest. As great a story as Wake Forest has been, I don't think their defense has seen an offense like Louisville's.
Sugar Bowl: LSU over Notre Dame. Notre Dame doesn't have the size, strength, and speed that LSU has. Plus, playing in the Superdome, I don't think so.
International Bowl: Cincinnati over Western Michigan. I'd love to pick the MAC team, but UC has a great front 7 and will stop Western's run game. UC will do enough on offense to win the game, but it'll be their defense that puts them in position to win.
GMAC Bowl: Southern Miss over Ohio. I haven't seen Southern Miss play, but they usually are a good defensive team. OU still relies heavily on the run. I don't think the Bobcats are balanced enough to hurt Southern Miss.
National Championship: See previous post.

There are some good college hoops games tomorrow: Pitt/Wisconsin, Purdue/Butler, UK/Louisville, Texas Tech/Arkansas, Ohio St./UC just to name a few. I have to admit, I hope the OSU/UC game is televised up here so I can watch Greg Oden. I hope I can get myself to workout in the morning so I can relax and watch hoops the rest of the day.

Ohio State 35, Florida 17

2006-12-03T18:48:00.000-08:00

That's my pick and I'm sticking to it. I know, I was wayyyy off last year (I had USC by a lot), but for Florida to win, Ohio St. is going to have to help them by turning the ball over. The bigger the game, the bigger Troy Smith plays, and as good and fast as Florida's defense is, how will they account for all of Ohio St.'s offensive weapons. I'm just not talking about Ginn, Gonzalez, and Pittman. How will they cover Robiskie, Hartline, Hall, 3rd, 4th, and 5th receivers that contribute in major ways. Or Nicol and White, both tight ends, and of course Wells, the backup running back. You have to cover EVERYBODY, which is what Michigan found out. Smith will spread the ball around to all of them. Florida hasn't seen an offensive line like Ohio St.'s, an offensive line that goes 2-deep at every position for that matter.

Florida's offense will be shut down. Chris Leak will be Gator Bait and he will turn the ball over. He has every week, what's going to stop him in a month or so. If anyone will shut down Tebow left, it will be Ohio St. The only chance Florida's offense has is if he gets time to throw and find holes in an Ohio St. secondary that's good, but not great.

And special teams haha. Not even close, advantage Buckeyes.

This is also Ohio St.'s 4th trip in 5 years to the desert, so they'll be comfortable, they know the routine. And they have a coach who's 9-2 combined in Michigan and bowl games, and his only bowl loss came with Steve Bellisari at quarterback so that explains that.

One more thing about the vote today, I heard an argument that, "Well, Ohio St. won ugly in 2002-03, the same as Florida this year." This year, Florida committed 24 turnovers and had a turnover margin of +3. The national championship team from Ohio St. committed 17 turnovers and had a turnover margin of +13.

Oh, and (sorry, one more thing haha), don't give me, "Well, Florida played Alabama, Michigan played Iowa and they ended up not being any good." Last time I checked, Alabama and Iowa went 6-6, and Alabama fired their coach, so by their own admission, they weren't very good. So don't include Alabama as one of the tough teams Florida played.

And the thing is, I'm not a fan of either school (especially the Buckeyes). You know where my allegiance lies. Yes, even though they only went 2-10, Go Redhawks!

Well, tonight wasn't all good for Florida. On the basketball court (where they have this thing called a tournament, works pretty well), they lost to Florida St. in Tallahassee 70-66. Florida is not healthy right now, Corey Brewer is out with mono and Joakim Noah saw limited minutes due to an upper respiratory infection that clearly affected him. Then Al Horford got in foul trouble, so at one point in the 2nd half, Florida had 4 freshmen and 1 sophomore on the floor. Down 15 in the 2nd half, the Gators got within 2 with less than a minute left, but Taurean Green took a bad shot (maybe got fouled) and that was it. Al Thornton was huuuge down the stretch, ending the Gator spurt with spectacular individual play. He finished with 27 points. Florida committed 19 turnovers, way too many.

I can't wait to see how all the coaches voted in their respective poll. USA Today will have them tomorrow.

Rematch?

2006-12-02T18:55:00.000-08:00

If you haven't figured it out already, I root for upsets (unless it involves my team of course) and chaos, especially when it comes to college football. And we have some chaos. USC was stymied by UCLA's fast defense and John David Booty heard their footsteps. Booty was unable to get the ball to his playmakers and USC will be going to the Rose Bowl after losing 13-9.

Meanwhile in a wild and wacky game, Florida won the SEC Championship 38-28 over Arkansas. The Gators jumped out to a 17-0 lead, then Arkansas came back to go up 21-17. After forcing Florida to call their last timeout with 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, Arkansas muffed a punt inside their 5 which Florida recovered for a touchdown. Momentum shift, game pretty much over.

So who is Ohio St. going to play: Florida or Michigan? Unless the voters consciously vote for Florida over Michigan, it will be Michigan. Florida won't be able to make up the deficit they face in the computers alone I don't think. Here's how I break down the argument:

For Florida:

If you believe the SEC is the toughest conference, then Florida played the toughest schedule. The Big 10 isn't as tough top to bottom as the SEC.
Florida won a conference championship whereas Michigan didn't.
Florida's loss came in a game where there was a controversial call against them and they didn't give up an offensive touchdown.
Michigan had their chance, why should they get to play Ohio St. again?

For Michigan:

They played a tougher non-conference schedule: Central Michigan (MAC champs), at Notre Dame (10-2, a dominating 26 point win), Ball St. and Vanderbilt was a tougher slate than Central Florida, Western Carolina, Florida St. and Southern Mississippi.
Michigan's one loss was at the #1 ranked team by just 3 points, Florida's loss came against a team currently unranked
Visually, Michigan looks more dominant. They dominated everyone else in their conference whereas Florida had too many close calls against mediocre teams.

I'm a little biased I admit it. I think it should be Ohio St./Michigan again. Florida hasn't impressed me. Every game, they have at least one bad turnover in their own territory that costs them a touchdown. Tonight, it was the intercepted Chris Leak shovel pass that was returned for a touchdown. Michigan doesn't make those mistakes. Florida's only offense is Percy Harvin. Chris Leak can't seem to make big plays unless Harvin is involved. Defensively, I think Florida and Michigan are even. Special teams, not even close. Edge: Michigan. When your kicker is 4/13 with a season long of 34, that's not good.

If Florida plays Ohio St., I think it could get ugly, I really do. Think about it, has Florida played a diverse offense like Ohio St. that can run and pass? Let's see: Auburn (heck no), LSU (getting warmer, but no), Florida St. (haha no), Arkansas (great running team, little passing), Tennessee (probably the closest thing, but Tennessee is no Ohio St.). Ohio St. has the speed to run by and stop Florida.

If Michigan plays Ohio St., I still think Ohio St. wins, but in a closer game, 10 to 14 point margin. Michigan played a great 2nd half 2 weeks ago. The only bad thing about that is now Tressel & Co. can study those adjustments for the next month and be ready for them. I don't know if Michigan can play any better against Ohio St. than they did in that 2nd half. They got 3 turnovers, and still couldn't win (only scored 10 points off those turnovers).

I'm one of those in favor of a playoff. The people (like John Saunders) who say these games wouldn't mean as much are wrong. USC/UCLA wouldn't have as much riding on it as USC would've been in say an 8-team playoff, but Louisville/UConn would've meant more as would have Rutgers/West Virginia. And if Arkansas beat Florida, maybe Arkansas makes the 8-team playoff and Florida doesn't? Plus, you get 3 straight weeks of single-elimination playoffs, why wouldn't you want that? I'm not going to get into the economics of college sports, but basically the reason we won't and probably will never have a playoff is money, pure and simple.

There were some hoops too:

N. Carolina 75, Kentucky 63. I really, really like Wayne Ellington as a player. He displays great shooting fundamentals. Notice when he catches the ball, the ball never drops below his waist when he goes to shoot. Every young player should watch a tape of him catch and shoot the ball, it's textbook. Reyshawn Terry stepped up his game, making some big jumpers in the 2nd half. Kentucky played a pretty good game, they slowed the tempo and were able to get Randolph Morris involved, and he responded playing a great game. But outside of him and Joe Crawford, UK has no offense. Bobby Perry is inconsistent, Ramel Bradley is not a point guard, and there's no scoring off the bench.
DePaul 64, Kansas 57. Who said look out for DePaul??? Hehe, I'm bound to be right on one team. Sammy Mejia was 8/16 from the floor, scored 23 points. DePaul was more aggressive. Free throws: KU 9/14, DePaul 19/26. Kansas has to learn to show up every night like they did against Florida. Brandon Rush, 1/7 shooting, 3 turnovers, 3 points, won't get it done. I think he'll be running on the treadmill some this week for Bill Self.
Gonzaga 87, Texas 77. Derek Raivio 27 points, 4 assists. Pargo added 18 points and 6 assists. Heytvelt had 13 points and 12 boards. Gonzaga shot 50% as a team and outrebounded Texas by 4, really good effort by the Zags. And, AJ Abrams only shot 3/17 tonight, negating the 2 in the 1-2 punch of Kevin Durant (29 points) and Abrams. Texas is going to struggle, they are really young.
Ohio St. 78, Valparaiso 58. In his first 23 minutes at Ohio St., Greg Oden scored 14, grabbed 10 boards and blocked 5 shots. Not too shabby.
Arizona 84, Illinois 72. Arizona's offense is as good as anyone in the country. After the first 15 minutes, they picked up their defensive intensity and Illinois cooled off after their hot start. All 5 Arizona starters were in double figures, and it looks like Mustafa Shakur has learned to balance scoring and play-making. 16 points and 8 assists are great numbers for him. Illinois really needs Jamar Smith back. Brian Randle will certainly help, but Smith will take away minutes from Rich McBride, who is still nothing more than a catch and shoot guy. He can't handle the ball and he can't defend anyone.
Duke 61, Georgetown 52. Good to see Josh McRoberts a little more assertive offensively. But Duke still needs more from him than 15 points and 5 boards. Georgetown is only as good as their shooting. 43%, including 2/14 from 3 point range isn't good enough.
Wichita St. 64, Syracuse 61. At the Carrier Dome, the Shockers shocked the Orange, jumping out to a big lead, then held on for dear life in the 2nd half. Despite only 3 points from PJ Cousinard, Kyle Wilson scored 17 and Ogirri added 16. The defense held Syracuse to 36% shooting and the Valley has another big win. Syracuse usually doesn't lose in December because they don't leave New York until Big East play starts. So this is a really big win for Wichita St.
Butler is still undefeated.
And North Dakota St. won at Marquette tonight. Last year, the Bison won at Wisconsin. North Dakota St., a program on the rise.

Lastly, if you get a chance, try and find the story about the University of Louisville marching band member who is blind. He was born with no eyes and can't extend his arms, so he's confined to a wheelchair. But he's an unbelievable musician (piano and trumpet). His dad wheels him around in his wheelchair on the field, during games and practices while working the 3rd shift at UPS. A great story, you should check it out.

Happy Hoops!!!

2006-11-29T19:10:00.000-08:00

I had a great Thanksgiving, it was good to be home. I've eaten turkey 6 of the last 7 days, and I'm not tired of it, yet. Actually, I love my mom's homemade stuffing. She really nailed it this year. You'll be very proud of me, I did get in a run after Thanksgiving dinner. I think I averaged about 9 hours of sleep over the break. I didn't think I was that tired, but I guess I was.

I've asked Santa Claus to bring me a set of new Taylor Made irons. They were only $300 at Dick's, half off the regular price, you can't pass that up. I really don't need anything else, maybe some new basketball shoes. Getting back into playing has worn out my already worn out shoes even more. It's time for a new pair of kicks.

Well, college hoops is underway, so life is really good. Now let's see if I can remember all of my thoughts from all of the teams/games I've seen:

Kansas/Florida. This was worth staying up for til almost 2AM last weekend. Kansas played with great energy and played very well. Florida can play a lot better, yet they were still in the game. Florida wasn't as good defensively as they were at the end of last year. Julian Wright for Kansas is fun to watch. For a guy as tall and long as he is, the way he can handle and pass the ball is incredible. Taurean Green for Florida kept them in the game with solid play and good shooting. He continues to improve.
Duke/Indiana. Right now, Duke is not a top 10 team. It's been painful watching them play offense this year. They're very young, they can't do anything about that. But with the exception of DeMarcus Nelson, Duke's veterans aren't stepping up. Josh McRoberts has great skills, but where are they during games? Greg Paulus is still getting healthy, but his decision-making should be better than it has. Duke's freshmen will be good, but they're not ready yet. If you've read the blog, you know I was a Mike Davis fan and that I'm not a Kelvin Sampson fan. Seriously, does Sampson coach offense? I've watched them against Butler and Duke now and I thought I was watching Oklahoma, ugly. I do like Bassett and Joey Shaw, their two freshmen, they're going to be really good players.
Xavier/Miami. I really like Xavier a lot, they have what it takes to go far, hence my Final Four sleeper. Stanley Burrell, the ballplayer not MC Hammer, is turning into a big time player. Drew Lavender is playing under control and shooting the ball well. If Lavender can continue to shoot the ball well and Josh Duncan can play up to his potential, X is dangerous. Miami is 3-4, losing to the likes of Kentucky in Rupp, Illinois in Chicago, and Xavier at Cintas. They've played all those teams tough, but the missing ingredient is perimeter shooting. Despite Nathan Peavy playing like the MAC Player of the Year and Tim Pollitz rounding back into form, Miami is shooting just a shade above 40% from the floor, 29% from 3.
Obviously, the big story is Butler, now 8-0 after winning at Valparaiso tonight. If you have good guards, you can beat anybody. Graves is the prototypical Butler guard, great shooter, gritty defender. Green is the x-factor with his quickness and shooting ability. And their big guys, most notably Brandon Krone shoot the ball really well from outside also.
The Missouri Valley is up to their old tricks again. Wichita St. winning at LSU, Missouri St. beating Wisconsin, Bradley playing Illinois tough, and Northern Iowa beating their old coach and his Iowa St. team tonight.
Georgetown has already lost to Old Dominion and Oregon at home. The Big East hasn't been too impressive yet.
As I write this, Air Force is beating Wake Forest 63-31?!?!?! Air Force has routed Stanford and Colorado along with beating Texas Tech.
Maryland/Illinois. Maryland is 8-0 and they're playing basketball the way their coach wants them to play. Mike Jones and James Gist are playing really well. Vasquez may be the most underrated freshman in the country, he is tough. What a 2nd half he played against Illinois. Speaking of Illinois, their best guard right now is the UD transfer Trent Meachem. Chester Frazier is still maturing, and Rich McBride is nothing but a catch and shoot guy, still. They'll be better when Jamar Smith and Brian Randle are back and 100%. After Wisconsin and Ohio St., the Big 10 is wide open.
Michigan St. has good chemistry, but the talent isn't there, especially at the 4 and 5 spots. Raymar Morgan and Maurice Joseph will be good players.
Ohio St./North Carolina. Wow, what a game. So many young players, so much talent. It looks like UNC will win. UNC wore out the Buckeyes with their depth and OSU got in a little foul trouble. I hadn't seen Ohio St. yet and all of their freshmen, but wow. Mike Conley is a little jitterbug with the ball, Daeqean Cook is doing everything he did at Dunbar, he's just in a different uniform. David Lighty is a good wing player, and the juco Othello Hunter is solid. How did Ron Lewis go from Bowling Green's 6th man to a great Big 10 player? Jamar Butler is the glue guy and a great shooter in his own right. And they don't even have Greg Oden yet!!!! Ohio St. can win the national championship. As for UNC, there are going to be some unhappy people with their playing time, and I guess the complaining is starting to occur just a little bit. They don't have their identity yet, but it should start with Hansbrough and Wright down low. Lawson is lightning quick, Ellington is a great shooter, and it goes on and on. They want to play fast, but can they play in the half court in March and will they remain happy?
Gonzaga is doing it again. They beat Carolina and controlled much of the game. Raivio has taken the next step to improve his shooting and Heytvelt is a beast inside. But how long has Sean Mallon been there. Is he a 7th year senior, it seems like he's been there forever!

Now for some quick hitters:

An Ohio St./USC championship would be intriguing, but Ohio St. will win. Troy Smith is a better QB than Vince Young. Young is a better athlete, Smith is a better QB. I'm glad OSU/Michigan lived up to the hype.
I hope it's not Michigan/Notre Dame in the Rose Bowl. Michigan will win by at least 3 touchdowns again.
As much as I like smaller conference teams getting to play in bowl games, I can't say I'm that excited to see Western Michigan play Cincinnati in the International Bowl.

Alright, UNC has this one in the bag, but I was really impressed with Ohio St. I thought UNC would literally run them out of the building, but Ohio St. has a lot of great shooters (especially for all of those guys being so young) and when they get Oden, if he's half as good as the hype, Ohio St. will be in the Final Four.

2:59.36

2006-11-06T17:14:00.000-08:00

Lance Armstrong crossed the finish line of the New York City Marathon in 856th place. Not a place you're used to seeing from Lance, but maybe one of his more impressive performances. He came in with nagging shin splints and having only run 16 miles as his longest training run. And during the 2nd half of his race, it appeared he wouldn't achieve his goal of breaking 3 hours. But in true Lance fashion, he found something at the end and achieved his goal, despite being in obvious pain as he crossed the finish line. If I would've known nbcsports.com had a live webcam on him throughout the race, I would've watched. It was great to see Lance out competing. With all the recent talk about former teammates doping and his supposed involvement in it, a performance like his yesterday makes you remember how much competitive fire he has and what a treat he is to watch.

Other weekend thoughts:

I made the trip to Kalamazoo to watch Miami take on Western Michigan and again the Redhawks came up just short, losing on a late chip shot field goal 27-24. Western improved to 7-2, keeping their MAC West hopes alive while Miami is now 1-9. Once again, Miami had a chance in the 4th quarter to win the game, but another crucial mistake robbed them of victory, this time a fumbled handoff inside the Western 15 with 8 minutes left proved to be the turning point. But the 16 starters that will return for Miami next year are gaining valuable experience and learning great lessons. Miami football will be back.
Ohio St. and Michigan got their wakeup calls this past weekend. Can both of them make it through one last game before The Game on the 18th. Ohio St.'s trip to Northwestern is a little tougher now after the Wildcats' win at Iowa. Michigan travels to Bloomington to face a fired up Indiana team trying to become bowl eligible and coming off a blowout loss at Minnesota. You can be sure Coach Hep will have his guys and Bloomington itself fired up and rockin, but will it be enough to pull the upset? These games are on at the same time on different channels, so there will be some flipping going on.
Unfortunately, a lot of football fans are rooting for Louisville to lose so they won't play for the national championship. You can't blame Louisville for beating everyone on their schedule. They scheduled programs that were good at the time of the scheduling who are having down years: The U, North Carolina, Kansas St. All but one of their wins have come without star tailback Michael Bush, and some of them have come without star QB Brian Brohm. If they can run the table at Rutgers, vs. South Florida, and at Pittsburgh, they have every right to play for the national championship. And to all those SEC fans, play somebody out-of-conference!!!! With the exception of Florida/Florida St., Georgia/Georgia Tech and Tennessee/Cal, Arkansas/USC this year, your nonconference schedules blow. Sorry Auburn, Washington St. (I'd be impressed if you went to Pullman), Buffalo, and Arkansas St. among others won't get it done.
I may have to go see this Borat film this weekend, I need a good, long laugh.
Election Day is tomorrow which means the last day of political ads, woohoo!!!!! I will be voting after work.
Current book I'm reading: Kennedy and Nixon. Written by Chris Matthews, it's very good so far (about 100 pages in). And yes, I'm very surprised I like a book written by Chris Matthews, although it would be hard to write a bad book about Kennedy and Nixon given all the subplots surrounding the two.
And college hoops starts this week. And I'm more than ready.

Go vote tomorrow. Do your civic duty.

Happy Halloween

2006-10-31T17:32:00.000-08:00

The only good thing about switching clocks back an hour is that college hoops is on the horizon. If there was no college basketball, I don't know how I would get through winter, seriously. In Michigan, since we're further north obviously, the days are shorter. The sun is up about 7:10 and it is down about 5:30, a little more than 10 hours' worth. And it's only October 31st. It feels like it should be late November/early December, but it's only the last day of October. I don't like it when I know the day of sunlight begins and ends while I'm at work. Maybe it's just me, but I think that's wrong.

One more week until Election Day, and it can't come sooner. Earlier today, 12 consecutive political ads were broadcast on TV. 12?!?!?!?! It's so bad, I yearn for the days of Alligator Arms girl from Victory Toyota and Dayna Alexander selling Weather Guard windows. When I was in Ohio this past weekend, I swear I wasn't bombarded by political ads like I am every day here.

Well since I have time to blog, I have time to talk MAC Basketball. It should be another competitive year, with everyone beating up on one another resulting in just one NCAA team. In the MAC, you really do have to defend your home court and steal games on the road because winning on the road, even in Ypsilanti and Mt. Pleasant, is a challenge:

MAC East
1. Akron. My NCAA pick and the consensus NCAA pick from previews that I've seen. Dru Joyce and Nick Dials are one of the best backcourts you'll find. Both can shoot and defend. Dials is a little small for a 2 guard, but he can make up for it with his shooting and intensity. Cedrick Middleton is the swingman, who can shoot and take it strong to the goal. Again, small for a swingman, but tough and athletic. Romeo Travis will probably win Player of the Year. He's almost impossible to defend 12 feet in. Jeremiah Wood adds some bulk inside. Nate Linhart has some size, but he's more of a step-out shooter. Akron is small, but they're deep, confident, and motivated to finally win the league and go dancing.

2. Miami. Who will take the clutch shots and handle the ball now that William Hatcher is gone? There's talent at point guard, but it is young and inexperienced. Sophomore transfer Carl Richburg gives Miami quickness they severly lacked last year and will push the pace. Freshman Alex Moosman will see the floor as he possesses deceptive quickness, shooting ability, and toughness. Doug Penno will be at shooting guard. Mr. Deadeye needs to be a little more consistent. Nathan Peavy will push Romeo Travis for Player of the Year. He needs to have a big year, and he's more than capable of it with his athleticism and inside/outside capabilities. Tim Pollitz is one of the savviest basketball players out there. An undersized power forward, he knows how to score and rebound despite not being blessed with great physical attributes. Monty St. Clair is healthy finally and should have a strong year at center. Mike Bramos could start also. The 6'5 swingman can shoot it, put it on the floor and hang in the air. Eric Pollitz is ready to contribute off the bench. Adam Fletcher and Tyler Dierkers give Miami some inside depth.

3. Ohio. Not a good regular season team because they turn the intensity on/off too much, but definitely not the team you want to play in the MAC Tournament (just ask Miami). The distraction that was Jeremy Fears is gone, so Antonio Chatman is the full-time point guard, who played well down the stretch. Whitney Davis can light it up, but he needs to become a more consistent shooter and put the ball on the floor, he has the ability to do so. Same goes for Sonny Troutman, who at 6'6 can post most big guards/small forwards up and shoot over them. Leon Williams needs to stay out of foul trouble. When he is on the floor, OU is tough to beat. Jerome Tillman is a good inside player now with experience. Bubba Walther is available after transferring from Akron and should give the Bobcats a solid night in-night out player who won't do anything eye-popping except give you 10 points, 4 rebounds, and a couple of assists a night.

4. Kent. The Golden Flashes lost a lot, but don't discount Jim Christian's ability to coach the young players up. Besides Armon Gates and Omni Smith, Kent doesn't have much experience. Jacksonville transfer Haminn Quainatance will help, Mike Scott played well in limited playing time, and Julian Sullinger needs to contribute. You want to get Kent early while they're still getting their feet wet because by tournament time, they'll be tournament tough. They'll be quick, good shooters, well-coached by the end of the year.

5. Bowling Green. BG returns 3 starters led by gunner Martin Samarco. If you let him touch the ball, he will shoot it and make it from wherever he is on the floor. Erik Marschall was a solid contributor at the forward spot until he wore down late in the year. Center Matt Lefeld has some ability inside, but needs to be more athletic and stronger with the ball. As has been the case recently, BG will need some of its young players to step up. Ryan Sims looks to be the strongest candidate. He has the makings of a solid combo guard, good ballhandler/shooter.

6. Buffalo. Da Bulls lost a lot. The starting backcourt of Calvin Cage and Roderick Middleton are gone. Sean Smiley played some last year, but was inconsistent. Darwin Young will step into the other guard role. Greg Gamble and Parnell Smith will be asked to carry the load inside along with Yassin Idbihi. Idbihi has 3 point range, but he needs to stay on the block and rely on his baby hook, which is unguardable. When Idbihi doesn't get involved early in the game, he starts to wander offensively and gets into foul trouble. Smith can bang with the best of them inside. We've learned Reggie Witherspoon is a good block, and Buffalo has become a tough place to play.

MAC West.
1. Northern Illinois. I'm taking the Huskies over Toledo because NIU has proven size returning for them. NIU returns 5 players who started for them at one time or another. Ryan Paradise and Zach Pancratz give NIU a solid backcourt. Paradise is a 46% 3 point shooter. Pancratz is a guy who can do a little bit of everything. Mike McKinney is the best player on the team. He needs to average at least 15 points a game. Ben Rand played well last year before getting hurt. He and McKinney both are better than 50% shooters from the floor. Center James Hughes needs to provide double figure scoring, as well as the tall inside presence who rebounds and blocks shots. There's no reason NIU shouldn't go undefeated at home since DeKalb is the longest road trip for most of the MAC. NIU also has 3 junior college transfers coming in that should contribute immediately.

2. Toledo. In the middle of last year, there was talk coach Stan Joplin was on his way out. After winning 10 of their last 11 and finishing 20-11, losing to Kent in the MAC finals. Joplin got an extension and Toledo will battle for the MAC Championship. Justin Ingram leads the way with his clutch offensive play. Kashif Payne is lightning quick and keys the attack. Keonta Howell takes it to the goal strong for only being 6'4. Tyrone Kent is the lockdown defender, and Florentino Valencia is the post man who battles inside. The problem: Valencia is 6'5, and he's the best inside player Toledo has unless a couple of guys step up. Allen Pinson was hurt last year, he would give UT a 6'10 presence. If he's still hurt, it's up to 6'7 freshman Shane Ross. Small lineups have worked, but they work up to a point.

3. Ball St. If Peyton Stovall is anything close to what he was before injuring his knee last year, Ball St. will have a good year under first year coach Ronny Thompson (yes, related to that Thompson). Add in Skip Mills and Ball St. has a very good backcourt. D'Andre Peyton is a poor man's Carl Landry. He can score in the post, hit the 15 footer and get to the foul line. If Charles Bass can give them anything inside, this will be a tough team to beat. The rest of the team is young and/or inexperienced, making for a short rotation most likely.

4. Western Michigan. Dan Hess and Joe Reitz give Western two dependable post players. Unspectacular, but they'll do the grunt work. The guy to watch is freshman David Kool, the first Mr. Basketball from Michigan to go to a MAC school. He wound up at Western due to some concerns over a bum knee, but if he turns out to be healthy, what a steal he could be.

5. Central Michigan. Just a few years removed from a MAC title and NCAA berth, Central went 4-24 last year. Ouch. But a new coach brings new optimism. 14 point scorers Giordian Watson and Sefton Barrett are back, as is Chris Kellerman who gives the Chips something inside. Central has 6'9 Marko Spika from Serbia, who ended up at Central after not qualifying academically at UCLA. He could be the wild card in how fast Central's improvement progresses.

6. Eastern Michigan. All everything John Bowler, gone. Gino Smith, transferred. Danny McElhinny, gone. Carlos Medlock and BJ Ford are back, two sophomore guards who give Eastern something to fall back on. But Coach Charles Ramsey likes his new players and if they turn out to be solid contributors this year, Eastern has a bright future.

Well, the end of the month means time to pay the bills. Happy Halloween!!!!

Let's Talk Some Hoops

2006-10-22T15:20:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to waste anytime, here's my field of 65, mark it down:

ACC: UNC, Duke, BC, Tech. Looking at the ACC, looks very similar to last year, down. UNC is loaded. How Roy Williams is going to allocate playing time, I don't know. David Noel is the only big loss. Frasor, Miller, Ginyard, Terry, and Hansbrough are back. Add Lawson, Ellington, Stepheson, and Wright, not to mention Danny Green who didn't play much and you have a bonafide national championship contender. Duke will start off slow, especially with Greg Paulus out injured, but McRoberts, Nelson, and the 2 touted freshmen Gerald Henderson and Koubek will carry the load. BC had Jared Dudley back along with Sean Marshall. Gunner Tyrece Rice is back on the outside to shoot the 3. Tech has all of their key contributors back from a disappointing 2005-06, but the potential is there to finish 2nd in the league. Morrow and Dickey can be a formidable inside-outside duo.
A-10: Xavier, St. Louis. Xavier could be really, really good. Oklahoma transfer Drew Lavender and Stanley Burrell in the backcourt, Justin Cage, Justin Doellman, Josh Duncan up front, Brandon Cole, BJ Raymond and Johnny Wolf off the bench. That 8 man rotation on paper is as good as you'll find anywhere.
Big East: Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Marquette, Syracuse, Villanova, UConn, Louisville, DePaul. Pitt is a Final 4 contender with big man Aaron Gray back. Ramon and Fields are a solid backcourt, Sam Young is a mismatch at the 4, Levon Kendall is the glue guy, and Gray is the big fella. There will be more shots available with no Carl Krauser, but where will the leadership come from? The Hoyas have their own big man in Roy Hibbert plus one of the most valuable players to his team in Jeff Green. Marquette's 3 guard lineup is as good as you'll find led by Dominic James. Syracuse's now seniors came to play in the Big East tourney, can they do it for a year? Villanova lost 3 of their 4 guards to the NBA, but Curtis Sumpter is back along with all those forwards/centers who gained experience in his absence, plus star freshman guard Scottie Reynolds. DePaul has all 5 starters back from a team that played well at the end of last year (beat Syracuse by 39). Louisville might be a little bit of a sleeper with freshman Derrick Caracter helping Juan Palacios and David Padgett at the forward spot.
Big 10: Wisconsin, Ohio St., Indiana, Penn St., Purdue, Michigan. Yup, no Illinois or Michigan St., those are not typos. Wisconsin will win the Big 10 regular season title. Taylor is the do-it-all guard, Tucker is the do-it-all player who can take you off the dribble and post you up. The Bo Ryan offense is still hard to figure it out. Ohio St. and the Thad Five will improve as the year goes on, just like Michigan's Fab Five. Greg Oden gets all the hype, but Daequan Cook might be the best player in the freshman class. Indiana will have DJ White for a whole year and will be tough to guard with all their shooters. Penn St. returns 80% of its production from an NIT team that beat Illinois in Champaign, which ended their home court win streak. Purdue, if healthy, will be there also. Carl Landry is back from a knee injury, David Teague's knee is in good shape, and Nate Minnoy is healthy. Michigan will be fighting again to make the NCAA, but I think they'll do it.
Big 12: Kansas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma St., Kansas St., Texas Tech, Texas. Kansas might have the most talent of anyone in the country. Russell Robinson and Mario Chalmers in the backcourt, Brandon Rush, Julian Wright, and Sasha Kaun up front, CJ Giles off the bench, and Sherron Collins the incoming star freshman makes them a national contender. Texas A&M has maybe the best inside-outside duo in Acie Law and Joseph Jones. Billy Gillespie is one of the best coaches in the nation. OSU responded to Sean Sutton and they return their late season starting lineup. Bob Huggins is the beneficiary of a full cupboard at Kansas St. Cartier Martin is no longer suspended by the school (big surprise). I think Texas will struggle more than people think, they are really young. Their youth is talented, led by Kevin Durant, but with no real experience to rely on, they'll be a middle of the pack team.
Missouri Valley: Creighton, Wichita St., So. Illinois. Creighton gets Nate Funk back along with their top 8 players from last year. Funk has more game than Kyle Korver, Creighton could be scary good for a "mid-major". So. Illinois has their 5 starters back which means tougher defense and better offense. Wichita St. returns 6 of their top 7 players, led by swingman Kyle Wilson.
Pac 10: UCLA, Arizona, Oregon, Washington. UCLA could return to the Final 4 if they stay healthy and find a backup point guard to relieve Darren Collison every now and then. I love saying Luc Mbah A Moute. The only thing that could prevent Arizona from going all the way is inside toughness. Mustafa Shakur, Jawann McClellan, and Marcus Williams give them shooting and quickness outside. Chase Budinger, Ivan Radenovic, and Kirk Walters are good face up inside players, but play too soft. We've been waiting a couple of years for Oregon and their talent. If they don't show up this year, Ernie Kent may be gone. Washington, though with some key losses, is an established program and they'll be in NCAA discussion. Spencer Hawes will be one of the top freshmen.
SEC: Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas. Toughest conference top to bottom, 8 teams have legit NCAA hopes. Florida, well you know. Kentucky will be tough defensively. They'll have to be to make up for their lack of offense. Magnum Rolle will be a good inside complement for Glen Davis. Not a game changer like Tyrus Thomas, but he'll be solid. Chris Lofton will make some All-America teams for UT. Ronald Steele is just what his name implies.
And the others: Long Beach St., Memphis, Houston, Akron, San Diego St., BYU, Nevada, Fresno St., Gonzaga, Vermont, Belmont, Northern Arizona, Winthrop, Hofstra, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Penn, Delaware St., Marist, Missouri-Kansas City, Robert Morris, Samford, Bucknell, College of Charleston, Sam Houston St., Western Kentucky, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Just missing: Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, UMass, Providence, USC, Mississippi St., Georgia, Air Force

I was going to go conference by conference, team by team, but I don't think I'll have time to do all of that.

Sweet 16: North Carolina, Duke, Xavier, Pitt, Georgetown, Marquette, Villanova, Ohio St., Kansas, Texas A&M, Memphis, Creighton, UCLA, Florida, LSU, Alabama

Final 4: North Carolina, Kansas, Florida, Xavier

Champ: North Carolina over Florida. Florida is awfully good, but UNC has the depth, quickness, and strength to beat them.

Of course, I'll be wrong, but oh well, it's fun talking hoops. We'll talk football later in the week.

Tiger Town

2006-10-16T18:49:00.000-07:00

In the last 16 months, Detroit will have hosted an NBA Finals, Baseball All-Star Game, Super Bowl, NCAA Tournament, and now a World Series. And everyone tells me, if you think this town has gone nuts over the Tigers, wait until the Lions make the playoffs, then they'll REALLY go nuts. I think it'll be at least a couple more years before the Lions make a playoff run, but the World Series will be here Saturday night and the Tigers are on a roll. This season is the definition of a storybook. Honestly, the one game where I thought it could be a special season was back in May on a Friday night with the Reds in town. In the 7th inning, Ken Griffey Jr. hit a grand slam off of Joel Zumaya, the big blow that looked to be the decisive one. But the Tigers fought back and tied the game on a 2-strike, 2 out homer by Curtis Granderson to the opposite field. The Tigers won the game in the 10th and they continued on. I've never witnessed a celebratory, ticker-tape parade. The Tigers are 4 wins away from exactly that.

It's been a couple of weeks, what's going on:

We're a month away from possibly the greatest game in college football history. I think I've said this already, but could you imagine #1, unbeaten Ohio St. hosting #2, unbeaten Michigan in Columbus with the Big 10 and Fiesta Bowl on the line??? It would be the equivalent of North Carolina playing Duke for the NCAA championship in hoops, the Bears playing the Packers in the Super Bowl, the Red Sox and Yankees playing in the World Series, and Tiger Woods playing Jack Nicklaus in an 18 hole playoff for the US Open championship. With the hype already building, it's probably not going to happen. Ohio St. appears to have an easy road. This week's home game vs. upstart Indiana, coming off their upset win over Iowa is the toughest game left on paper. The only way the Bucks lose is by looking ahead, maybe the week before at Northwestern but Ohio St. hasn't been caught looking ahead under Jim Tressel. Michigan hosts Iowa this week, their toughest remaining test on paper. Their trap game is a road trip to Bloomington the week before. These are the two best teams I've seen play this year. I'm hoping they get to The Game unscathed so we can witness history.
USC only beating Arizona St. 28-21 is not a good sign for the rest of the year. With games against Oregon, Cal, Notre Dame, and UCLA left, USC will have to step up their game. The one advantage they'll have in the first three of those is they'll be at home. I mean, Arizona St., who plays no defense, scored a defensive touchdown!
The SEC may be the toughest conference top to bottom, but I would still take Ohio St. or Michigan on a neutral field. I was surprised Tim Tebow wasn't used in 2 goalline situations like he had been. He came in on the 2nd down play before the Chris Leak fumble, but why not 3rd down like he had been? I thought the fumble was an incomplete pass; Leak's intent was to pumpfake and tuck the ball, but what actually happened was a pass. Tough break for Florida, but Auburn deserved to win the game. Auburn's offense still isn't very good, settling for too many field goals after their defense put them in position to score TDs. If the SEC wants to prove itself, here's a novel idea: play tougher non-conference schedules!!! Tennessee played Cal, at home and recently played a home and home with Notre Dame. Florida does battle with Florida St. Get off your horse and go play somebody.
Miami is off the snide with a 38-31 win at Buffalo. It wasn't pretty, but a win's a win, right? I saw Miami play Northern Illinois the week before last and the frustrating thing was Miami didn't look like a bad team all night like bad teams usually do. Miami has good, young players, but with youth comes inexperience and mental mistakes, and Miami makes many of those. The future is bright, but that's just what it is, the future.
The Bengals' two losses have come without Chris Henry. Coincidence? I think not. Henry is a first receiver playing the role of a third receiver. He has great speed, height, and the skill of a first receiver. But as a third receiver, he often draws a safety or nickel back, creating an advantage in his favor. If only he could keep himself out of trouble.
Don't give up on the Steelers. Once Ben Roethlisberger gets his confidence back, he becomes tough to stop. He has his confidence back after Sunday, look out. I haven't seen Ben play that poorly since the Iowa game in 2003. He was able to bounce back and have a good year I recall.

And lost in the fray, Midnight Madness was Saturday morning so college hoops practice is underway!!!! Once I do my research, the conference previews will start appearing. The youth and inexperience of last year is now a year older and despite the return of Florida's Fab Five, there are many teams that have a legitimate chance of winning it all.

Back to see if the Bears can come back from a 20-0 hole. The offensive line got dominated in the 1st half, they have to play better in the 2nd half, right? And as much as I don't like Matt Leinart, he played a good half of football.

So, Who Do I Vote For?

2006-10-02T18:33:00.000-07:00

One of the most intriguing things about moving to Michigan this year is being stuck in a heated race for governor. On one side is Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D), incumbent, and on the other is Dick DeVos (R), businessman. The Governor's four years have been plagued by the auto industry's troubles, which she isn't directly responsible for. Meanwhile, DeVos has been CEO of Amway, a company that sells all kinds of household products through salespeople. Amway has made a lot of money, making the DeVos family very rich. DeVos has also invested heavily in Grand Rapids as I've mentioned before, helping it become a major destination for various conferences. Grand Rapids might as well be called DeVos Rapids or DeVos City, his name is everywhere.

Now when I vote, I do not just simply vote for all Republicans, I get to know the candidates, put them up against my beliefs and see who I want. Tonight was the 1st of 3 debates between the two candidates and of course, I'm now more confused than ever as to who I'll vote for. Here's an idea of what was going through my head during the debate:

Ok, I look at the economic numbers every day at work, they are simply not good. And even though it's not all Granholm's fault, there are some things she could've done better. Siding with the unions isn't good, not going after Honda aggressively enough wasn't good, and raising the minimum wage I think was a bad idea. It sounds good on paper, but it raises firms' labor costs and ultimately excludes the non-union worker out of the labor market since the difference between union and non-union wages becomes small and puts a premium on skilled tradesman, putting the unskilled low wage laborer at a disadvantage.

How about DeVos then? He's done a lot of good. Yes he invested in China but because of the laws there he had to fully invest there, nothing he could do there. He's created jobs, but his company revolves around employees selling products, which through the Amway business model made DeVos a lot of money. But all DeVos talks about is creating jobs, which is good, but Michigan needs long-term solutions, namely education.

Granholm thinks education is important, more funding for secondary schools and universities is a must. Tougher curricula is also a must. But the performance of schools compared to Ohio is not very good. The state is going to be in financial trouble to cover all of the state employees' health and pension plans. More could've been done here. Back to DeVos. We have to invest more in schools, duhh. Then it's back to the old, "we need leadership, yada yada yada."

Ok, well what about social issues. Granholm made a mistake in releasing a prisoner who went onto commit more murders (don't know the whole story with that). DeVos is pro-life, but his stance on births resulting from incest and/or sexual assault isn't clear. DeVos seems to have no idea on what he's talking about when it comes to social issues. He brings everything back to fighting for Michigan jobs and being a true leader. Granholm is asked about cutting back on police officers. She goes back to the budget deficit being the biggest among all the states, Gov. Engler (previous governor) leaving me in a tough spot. I don't like hearing excuses. I'm like Janet Jackson, what have you done for me lately?

So the reigning Governor is putting a good deal of blame on her predecessor, and the challenger has no real answers except he's going to create jobs. The good (or bad) news, there are 2 more debates.

I was gonna talk some sports too but it's getting late, that'll have to wait.

Vintage Michigan State

2006-09-26T18:22:00.000-07:00

As the game went on Saturday night and the cold front came through throwing waves of wind and rain in our faces, my dad and I wondered when it would happen. Which quarter would be Michigan St.'s bad quarter, or had it already passed? You have to understand, in recent years, Michigan St. is known for playing 45 minutes of great football. Unfortunately, the other 15 are not very good, full of mental breakdowns, mistakes, turnovers, etc. After State jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the 1st quarter, would the 2nd quarter be the one? Nope, an INT for a TD helped State keep a 31-14 halftime edge. How about the 3rd quarter? Negative. In the monsoon, State appeared to be the mentally tougher team, running the ball down Notre Dame's throat to lead 37-21. At the beginning of the 4th quarter, State started down the field again, playing power Big 10 football.

Then it began. Multiple holding penalties took State out of scoring position and gave the ball back to ND. Several plays later, Jeff Samardzija was running into the end zone after catching a Brady Quinn pass to make it 37-27 . Then, Drew Stanton fumbled (uh oh). Quinn to Rhema McKnight, 37-33 State. On the ensuing kickoff, Demond Williams took a knee at his 12 yard line because the hands team, not the normal kick return team was in the game. Williams could've gotten another 5-10 yards on his own, but instead he put his team in a big hole. On 3rd and short, State actually tried to throw the ball. But Stanton threw into a crowded middle, got picked off by Terrell Lambert, and you know the rest. Notre Dame 40, Michigan St. 37. After a loss like this, Michigan St. is known for going in the tank the rest of the year. Will it happen again? Maybe not next week vs. Illinois, but back to back games with Michigan and Ohio St. loom which will be a challenge.

Notre Dame is set up to be 10-1 going to USC to end the year. Purdue will score some points but won't stop ND. UCLA could be interesting and Navy has played the Irish tough recently, but if the Irish are anything but 10-1, it will be a disappointment, especially considering 5 of the next 7 are in South Bend. ND needs to get the running game going to help Brady Quinn. Quinn is back in the Heisman race after throwing 5 TD passes Sat. night, but Troy Smith is my front runner.

Some other notes from our Saturday night in East Lansing:

3rd largest crowd in stadium history, 80,000+. Magic Johnson was there with other notable basketball alumni.
I knew the open container rules were lax, but I had to get used to people walking around with open cans and bottles a mile away from the stadium. What a tailgating scene though, very fun atmosphere.
Yes, when the weather got bad in the 3rd quarter it was tough. But we were prepared, with only my shoes taking on water. It was a little eerie with the portable lights and the goalposts blowing back and forth. Thankfully, no lightning.
We parked in a field and when trying to depart after the game, we got stuck for a few minutes and I got covered in mud pushing the van out of it.
Included with the game program was a program from the 1966 "Game of the Century". Which makes me wonder, how many "Game of the Centuries" were there? Wasn't the 1971 Nebraska-Oklahoma game a "Game of the Century"? I'm sure there were others too.
It was fun and not so fun sitting in the Notre Dame section. It was great being around the spirit and tradition, but I can't believe how wild it got after the comeback was complete. I mean, it was only Michigan St. (sorry State). Now USC, Michigan, Ohio St., someone like that I could understand. But Michigan St???? Michigan St. doesn't have that good of a program. Notre Dame should beat State 8 times out of 10 at least. Plus getting hit with 2 elbows in the back of the head without a word of acknowledgement left a little sour taste in my mouth. But in the end, a good experience.

Now some other sports notes:

Miami: 0-4. I knew it could be rough, but 0-4 is still surprising. UC and the Battle for the Bell loom this week. The Hawks are about a touchdown underdog and deservedly so after UC played OSU and Va. Tech pretty tough the last couple of weeks. Whichever team's offensive line plays better will win the game because both aren't very good.
Da Bears: 3-0. First win at the HankyDome since 2001 and nice to see Rex Grossman bounce back from a bad throw to throw the game winner. That's one thing about Grossman, he's a gunner and he never loses confidence, which can be good and bad. Now if the running game can get going, all will be well.
If Ohio St. gets by Iowa, I can't see them losing until possibly to Michigan to end the year. Iowa will test that OSU secondary with their talented receivers and the experienced QB Drew Tate. If the Bucks can keep getting pressure with just their front 4, that will help things. What an environment Kinnick Stadium will be Sat. night. I hope OSU/Michigan will be a battle of undefeateds, when's the last time that happened?
Not shedding a tear that Free Shoes U. and The U are out of the national title picture. Larry Coker won with Butch Davis's players. The U lacks the offensive playmakers that they had in the past. Bobby Bowden needs to retire, he's not getting the recruits he normally goes. FSU, with all that talent, should not have trouble running the ball.
The Ryder Cup, yuck. Captain Lehman did all the right things. Too bad he couldn't get out there and make some putts. It's getting to be a broken record, the Euros on and around the greens, holeing shot after shot. You can analyze it all you want, but they simply outplayed us, period. If I had to make one change, I would make the US Ryder Cup venues PGA Tour venues so there actually was a true home course advantage. Oakland Hills, Valhalla, Whistling Straits, and Medinah are all great venues, but they only host a major every 6-7 years. Meanwhile, The Belfry and the K Club host Euro tour events every year. Venues that come to mind: Pebble Beach, Torrey Pines, Riviera, Sawgrass, Cog Hill, Bay Hill among others. I know it would take a minor miracle to make this happen, but how about Augusta??? Last Euro to win there: Olazabal in 1999. No matter how poorly Tiger and Phil are playing, they put together good tournaments at Augusta. So what if the flowers aren't in bloom, we need to win this thing.
The Tigers are in the playoffs for the first time since 1987. Not a bad first sports year here in Detroit. Super Bowl, NCAA Tournament, Pistons won a couple of rounds, and the Tigers are the feel good story of baseball.
Contender season finale, I like Steve Forbes tonight. He will take Grady Brewer seriously and will defeat him. His punches will do more damage and I think he'll wear Brewer out. What a great 2nd season, kudos to ESPN for putting on a good show.

Speaking of The Contender season finale, it's on now. G'night.

The Notre Dame Mystique

2006-09-19T18:30:00.000-07:00

I'm not the biggest Irish fan, but I have to admit I was rooting for them this past week for one major reason. I have bought Notre Dame/Michigan St. tickets from someone at work, so my dad and I will be at Spartan Stadium Saturday night for the big game which should be a lot of fun. I was hoping both teams would go in undefeated so there would be a lot on the line, but Michigan made sure that didn't happen. The Wolverines appear to be for real and ND's defensive secondary still has some issues. Michigan St. did their part by beating a pretty good Pitt team in Pittsburgh, so it should be a very entertaining game.

Michigan St.'s offense is very good and can put up points quickly. The biggest obstacle for State is usually State. Mental breakdowns and/or lack of intensity get in the way of the great talent State usually has. Drew Stanton is one of the top QBs in college football, Javon Ringer is a future Heisman candidate, and the receiving corps is deep, big, and fast. Defensively they're fast, but are prone to the big play. This game should be a shootout, just like last year when State won 44-41 in overtime.

This will be my 5th Big Ten Stadium (Michigan twice, OSU twice, Indiana, Northwestern), not bad ehh?

Anyway, here's the roundup:

My remote got a workout with all of the great games on this past Saturday. One I would've liked to have seen was the first 3 quarters of Ohio St./Cincinnati. UC did not look good at all vs. Pitt the previous week, but they were very close to taking a 14-13 lead at the half if not for a great interception by James Laurinaitis. Ohio St. should've been able to name the final score, but you can't blame them for the let down. Penn St. comes to Columbus this week, followed by the big road trip to Iowa.
Speaking of not looking good, Miami losing at home 16-14 to Kent Read, Kent Write, Kent St??? First Kent win in Oxford since 1988 and only the 5th win in 27 meetings. I was able to watch the game online and for 3 quarters, there was no fire, no intensity from the Redhawks. I knew it was going to be a tough year with so much youth, but I didn't think effort would be a problem. Now a road trip to Syracuse looms before the Battle for the Bell with UC. Miami could be 0-5?!?!?! Let's go boys, let's get one!
LSU/Auburn was about as physical a college game as I've seen. Usually, 7-3 games are boring. Not this one. I could feel the impacts of the hits through the tv. Auburn is very good, but can they make it through the SEC unbeaten?
And yes, I think Oklahoma got screwed at Oregon. The NCAA should make the instant replay rules uniform for all of football.
Florida is going to be really good next year with Tim Tebow. Chris Leak is pretty good, but he is like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole with that offense. Even in beating Tenn., the running of DeShawn Wynn was the difference. And how about Tebow? You knew by the 4th quarter he was going to run everytime he was in the game. And he still got that 4th down with a tough run.
The Florida schools are no longer getting the best athletes, as evidenced by the struggles of The U and Free Shoes University. Larry Coker might be on his way out, he's only won with Butch Davis's players. Bobby Bowden needs to retire. When he is interviewed, he responds as if he's an honorary coach who is just a fan and is there for the game. I can't believe how much they're both struggling on offense. I know they have lost guys to graduation and to injuries, but historically they've been so deep, they reload, not rebuild. This year, they are rebuilding. It's not good when you rely on missed/blocked kicks for points.
Watch out for TCU. Anytime you can hold a Texas Tech team to just 3 points is a job well done. As much as I don't like Texas Chicken University, they have a team capable of sneaking into the BCS.
What's with all of the missed extra points this year??? Has kicking become that much harder or are there that many poor kickers this year?
Da Bears, 2-0, 60 points in 2 games. I know it's only Green Bay and Detroit, but I like the way Rex Grossman has played. Desmond Clark looks like an all-pro tight end and the defense hasn't missed a beat. Even Danielle Manning is playing well. We'll see how good they are at Minnesota this week, the HomerDome has traditionally been tough for Da Bears.
It's Ryder Cup Week and the Americans are the underdogs every way you look at it, even on paper. The Americans have lost 4 of the last 5, they should be the underdogs. But I'm quietly optimistic. Tiger has become the team leader. He actually has a partner who isn't afraid of him. Woods/Furyk and Mickelson/DiMarco were a combined 5-0-2 in last year's President's Cup when paired with their respective partners. Tom Lehman is letting the guys have fun. Now, can they make some putts?
Big Ben's debut went about as I expected, a little less than mediocre. Against a good Jacksonville defense with a 100.4 temperature and not 100% from his appendectomy, he struggled a little bit, showing quite a bit of rust. But he had to get that out of his system at some point. I disagree with everyone that said he shouldn't have played. If he didn't play this week, he would've been rusty next week. That's just how it is. Next week, he still won't be back to top form, but he'll be much improved.
What happened at Duquesne, scary. And it hit closer to home because I have an immediate family member that goes there and is an athlete. My prayers are with the players, the program and everyone involved. I'll be rooting for them this year.

That's all I've got for tonight. Is it Saturday yet?

5 Years Later

2006-09-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

It was one of those days that gave you a lot of energy from the word go. Even with an 8am class, it had all the makings for a great day. Clear, blue skies filled with sunshine with a little breeze that made it not too hot. The day felt just right. It was a normal Tuesday, Intro to Microeconomics from 8-9:15 followed by the customary Bell Tower brunch with friends. I walked back to the dorm loving the day, loving the weather and mentioned this to a friend I started to chat with online. Then she told me to turn on the tv and that I should look at what was happening. And the complexion of the day changed. I went to my other 2 classes in a daze, like everyone else. I don't think the events of the day hit me until I watched the prayer service at home Friday. I'll certainly never forget.

But it seems a growing number of us are, again being consumed by the political consequences of our actions. We're looking for the easy way out of situations, not focusing on what will be needed to get the job done. We have a long fight ahead of us, but we've made good progress. Of course, you wouldn't know it by watching most newscasts. There are some out there that think there's a better way to do things, but we don't know what that entails. Just as we were 5 years ago, we are politically divided. It makes me wonder, did we learn anything? It almost seems like we're setting ourselves up for another 9/11. I certainly hope not, but the patriotism and the unity the country showed after 9/11 is gone.

I watched the ABC 9/11 'docudrama' and thought it was actually pretty good. From the history I've read, not counting the acting and making the scenes more dramatic, I thought it was pretty accurate. Presidents Clinton and George W. had opportunities to possibly prevent 9/11, but they didn't think it could happen, they didn't grasp the scale of what could happen. President Bush has acknolwedged his mistakes, I don't know why Clinton and his administration didn't do the same. Instead they attacked the movie, probably in fear that their great presidency would be tarnished some. They argued more of the blame would be put on Clinton than Bush. I didn't think the moviemakers slanted it one way or the other. Certainly Clinton had more chances because he had been in office longer. But Bush didn't make it a priority either instead focusing on uniting the country politically after the close 2000 election.

By the way, what's up with Harvey Keitel, who played John O'Neil the FBI agent, coming out and criticizing the script of the movie??? If you didn't like the script, why did you do it? I think it's a case of needing the work, then trying to make a statement.

Anyway, President Bush spoke to the nation tonight, urging Americans to keep believing in the cause and to stay committed. It's not going to be won overnight or in a year, it will probably continue for years to come, hopefully not as long as the Cold War, but we will have to be patient and supportive of our troops. I didn't see Bush the politician tonight, but Bush the leader, someone who truly cares about his people. So what do the networks concentrate on? The political ramifications and how this will affect the upcoming midterm elections.

I don't care if you agree with me politically. I do hope that we never forget that we were attacked and those people that attacked us are still out there, ready to pounce on any sign of weakness we show. Pulling back means they won. We can't pull back, we must win or we will be at the mercy of others. Here's hoping that America stays strong.

Not Exactly North Texas

2006-09-09T20:46:00.000-07:00

So Ohio St. won the big game 24-7 in Austin, confirming their #1 ranking. Texas quickly found out OSU is a little better than North Texas. Colt McCoy still has a lot of growing up to do. Texas needs to find a way to throw the ball downfield more. I thought Texas got outcoached as well as outplayed. OSU got killed by the option and swing pass last week against Northern Illinois. The Texas drive that ended in the Billy Pittman fumble consisted of mostly option and running on the edge which OSU had trouble stopping again. But after that drive, Texas went away from it. Troy Smith played a Heisman-like game, he showed off a strong arm. Most of his incompletions were drops. And what's with everyone saying, "Anthony Gonzalez is developing into a sound receiver." He already was a solid receiver last year. The OSU defense played better but the secondary still missed a lot of tackles and they don't fight off blocks very well. Both teams have placekicking issues, the two missed field goals weren't even close.

Interesting day of football to say the least:

Oh Miami. 31-all, 15 seconds left and Nathan Parseghian's 39 yard field goal attempt is blocked. Purdue goes onto win in overtime 38-31. Despite the loss, Mike Kokal threw for 354 yards and 4 TDs. Ryne Robinson caught 10 balls for 169 yards, one of 10 receivers to catch balls, a far cry from last week. The defense forced 3 turnovers, but gave up too many big plays. But, this is a young team that has improved a lot over the course of 2 weeks. They will be a force in the MAC.
Speaking of the MAC, Akron got the big non-conference win, beating NC State 20-17 with a Dennis Kennedy TD run on the last play of the game. Gutsy call by coach JD Brookhart to go for the win instead of kicking the field goal and going to overtime. Congrats to the Zips. Chuck Amato's leash in Raleigh just got a little bit shorter.
Surprise of the day in the MAC: Ohio 35 Northern Illinois 23. When's the last time an OU and/or Frank Solich coached team threw for 332 yards?!?!?! Garrett Wolfe rushed for 196 yards in a losing cause.
Buffalo took BG to 3 overtimes in BG before losing. Ball St. had Indiana down 23-7 before losing 24-23. Western Michigan took it to Toledo 31-10. There is growing parity in the MAC which is a good thing.
Florida St. needed 2 fourth quarter touchdowns to come back and beat Troy 24-17. Tennessee held on at home to beat Air Force 31-30. Drew Tate couldn't go for Iowa today with an ab strain. Iowa needed overtime to win at Syracuse 20-13.
And one week after beating Colorado, Montana St. lost to Chardon St. 35-24. Talk about the ultimate hangover game. A strange day of football.

Maria Sharapova defeated Justine Henin-Hardenne in straight sets to win the US Open, her 2nd major title. Sharapova finally looks to have stopped growing, which affected her game last year. Her big serve was working and her inconsistent forehand was not so tonight. I don't think it's fair to compare her to Anna Kournikova. 1. I think she's more attractive than Anna. 2. She wins tournaments. 3. She really wants to win, she's about tennis first and foremost. I do like the I Am Pretty commercial, especially John McEnroe's little part. In the men's final tomorrow, it's Roddick/Federer. Just as Sharapova was the most impressive woman in NYC, Roddick has the been most impressive male this summer. Jimmy Connors has him hitting down the line backhands, staying aggressive, and retruning serve better. Federer has been a little off. Even when he won in Toronto, he didn't dominate.

These weekends go by too quickly.

Baby You Can Drive My Car

2006-09-06T18:47:00.000-07:00

Today was the last of the 4 economic forums we hosted statewide, this last one being in Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids is a very nice city with a lot going for it. It has become known for hosting all kinds of conferences because of the great facilities it offers. The room we had our forum in today was top notch. Downtown has great hotels and restaurants and there are more going up. Grand Rapids isn't really booming, but because it isn't directly tied to the auto industry as most of the other major Michigan cities are, the local economy is holding its own. At 9pm last night, there was country line dancing taking place in the middle of downtown, a very big group of people were participating. If I didn't have to get a workout in, I might've stayed.

It's been awhile since I've updated, I'm going to try and hit everything and I apologize if I don't:

Andre Agassi has completed his career. I was happy to see him win a couple of great matches before losing in the 3rd round. During the latter half of his 2nd round match and throughout his 3rd round match, you could tell Agassi was in pain, unable to walk properly. His return game was nulified because he couldn't bend over and get into his normal crouch. But he fought until the end, still believing he could win the tournament. His farewell speech will go down as one of the most memorable, possibly greater than all of those except for Lou Gehrig's farewell. Agassi is what life is all about, continually finding yourself, getting better in every facet of life every day, enjoying your profession, bringing joy to others and giving back to the community.
Ohio St./Texas will be the first regular season 1 vs. 2 matchup since 1996. The Buckeyes showed off some of their offensive weapons against Northern Illinois, ending the competitive phase of the game very early. OSU probably could've thrown deep every play and run up the score if they wanted to. There are still some question marks about the defense. The pass rush is there, but how good is the secondary? They didn't have to make many plays thanks to NIU's ineptitude at throwing the ball downfield, and when given the chance to tackle Garret Wolfe, they struggled. Wolfe is arguably one of the top 10 players in the nation, he'll get some Heisman voters. But when you know he's getting the ball, you should be able to contain him a little better than how OSU did last week. Texas didn't get tested at all. North Texas would get blown out by Northern Illinois. Watching some of Texas/North Texas, North Texas was slow, small and intimidated. If Colt McCoy didn't put up the numbers he did, I'd be really worried if I were a Texas fan. Now without their top cornerback, Texas must rely on secondary depth to contain the OSU receivers. I might give Texas the slight edge not solely on their home field advantage, but because OSU has no place kicker, and the kicking game will be key in what should be a close game.
Tennessee was the most impressive team in Week 1. At every position (except QB and kicker hehe), they are fast! Is David Cutcliffe that good of an offensive coordinator? Erik Ainge could become a Heisman darkhorse at this rate. Is Tennessee that good or is Cal that overrated? I'm thinking the former. Tennessee has always had the talent, but they've lacked the focus and discipline needed to compete at a high level the last couple of years.
If I'm a Notre Dame fan, I'm not worried about last Saturday. Georgia Tech will win at least 7-8 games with their fast defense. Tech needs to get Calvin Johnson the ball. If he has a 45 inch vertical leap, Reggie Ball should be able to loft the ball up for the big man because the only other athlete I know of ever having a 45 inch vertical was David Thompson from the 70s. We'll find out more about the Irish's secondary this week vs. Penn St.'s passing attack. Penn St. QB Anthony Morelli will have a great college career, he looked very good last week, in the rain nevertheless.
What else is there to say about Tiger Woods? This will be one of the few times his game will be ready for the Ryder Cup. I don't think he'll have a losing record this year, especially since he's playing in the HSBC Match Play at Wentworth the week before, so he'll be in match play mode.
After our forum in Gaylord, MI, we played the par 3 Threetops course, the one featured on the Par 3 shootout that is shown on ESPN every summer. Each hole is its own self portrait. The couple of holes that feature the 100 foot plus vertical drops are amazing. Driving the golf cart was like driving your own personal roller coaster thanks to the elevation changes. And the greens were the purest I've ever putted on. It was a time to not worry about score but hit different shots and enjoy a beautiful afternoon. The more time I spend in northern Michigan, the more I love it.

I think that's enough for tonight, there will be more forthcoming, have a good night.

Katrina: One Year Later

2006-08-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

This week at work I made the comment to someone, "You know, we haven't had a major hurricane yet this year." So of course, Ernesto has formed and begun to organize itself southeast of Cuba. Not yet a Hurricane, Hurricane Watches are out throughout the Caribbean with a tentative storm track that would take it on a path similar to Katrina's. This can change since Ernesto is at least 5 days from hitting the Gulf.

A year later, the Gulfport-Biloxi area is starting to show signs of life, especially the casinos. A recent article about the Gulf Coast casinos says the area could be more vibrant than before as the hurricane actually allowed the casinos to be built better and offer more amenities. Mobile is selling office space and are building a new skyscraper, bringing their downtown to life. But Louisiana still has a ways to go, as the billions of dollars appropriated to them by the US Congress have yet to be distributed thanks to the large, slow Louisiana bureaucracy. Then there's the wonderful Mayor Nagin, when asked why it was taking so long for areas to be repaired, he shot back, "New York still has a big hole in the ground and nothing's been done about it, why aren't you criticizing them." (something to that effect) I shouldn't be surprised by the comment but you have to wonder, "How did this guy become Mayor of such a large city?" As Don King would say (his one good contribution to society), "Only in America."

But, more than half of the city has come back. The Superdome will be ready for Monday night football September 25th, and tourists are slowly coming back. Hopefully, progress continues to be made.

ESPN Classic had a College Football Marathon of games from last year, and one was Texas/OSU. Of course, I happily (hehe) reminded friends and family that are diehard OSU fans that this game was on today. Honestly, and I said this last year, OSU should've won the game and could've won the national championship, especially if Troy Smith was allowed to play vs. Miami in the opener. Watching the Ryan Hamby debacle again, I think after he lost it the first time, the way he momentarily held the ball before getting hit in the end zone, he would've dropped it again. It looked like the ball was going to slip through his hands.

I'm reading a sports economics book, Major League Losers. Not a bad book so far, but there have been two glaring mistakes. The author, an IU professor, wrote about the Carolina Cougars NFL team (excuse me, that would be Carolina Panthers). Then he mentioned Northwestern playing in the 1996 Rose Bowl and how NBC used the occasion to talk up the academic repuation of the university. Only problem is ABC and not NBC televised that Rose Bowl. I'll keep reading, but those are two mistakes you just can't make.

Driving home from my run at the park, I saw a woman putting her hair in a ponytail while driving, with both hands. Therefore, she was driving with her knees, which I've seen a fair number of people do in Detroit. Is it really that important? I saw another guy looking down at his lap, paying no attention to the road. There's no easy drive anywhere in this city. You always have to be careful driving, but driving in Detroit takes it to a new level. I mean I have to look out for people on the way to and from church, a drive that's supposed to be easy.

I'd like to stay up and watch the US play Australia in the round of 16 at the Worlds, but I'm tired.

Greatest Athlete Ever?

2006-08-21T18:45:00.000-07:00

On espn.com, there's a column written by Gene Wojcheowski that proclaims Tiger Woods as the greatest athlete ever. I read Gene's columns regularly because usually they're pretty good. However, this time he missed the mark. I think I've said this before, I feel that Tiger may eventually go down as the greatest competitior of all time. 37 out of 40 when he's held at least a share of the lead going to Sunday, 12/12 in majors. And he leaves it all out there. I love seeing someone care so much. His reaction to bogeying 17, even though the tournament was in hand, was classic Tiger. It's going to take someone special or a special performance to beat Tiger in a major when he's ahead. Bob May and Chris DiMarco each came close, but both fell victim to one last Tiger salvo, both times in playoffs.

But greatest athlete? No way. I agree with Dan Patrick, Jackie Robinson is probably the greatest athlete of all time. Jackie was a 4-sport star at UCLA. He was an All-American football player, led the Pac 10 in scoring in basketball, won the long jump in track and played baseball. After Robinson, my order would probably go Jim Thorpe, Jim Brown, Bo Jackson, and Michael Jordan. Tiger is a great athlete but can he play another sport at a high level? It doesn't appear so, but he doesn't have to, he's the best at what he does and he's fun to watch.

And elsewhere:

Stewart Cink and Scott Verplank were Tom Lehman's picks to round out the US Ryder Cup team. Cink has played in the last 2 Ryder Cups, going 2-4-1. He was on the Presidents' Cup team that won last year, only going 1-3-1. Cink is 5-3-1 in his Presidents' Cup career. Verplank was 2-1 in the 2002 Ryder Cup, his only appearance. He was also on last year's President's Cup where he was 2-2-1. He is 4-5-1 in his President's Cup career. Both give the US more experience and Verplank can make putts, which is what the Ryder Cup is all about. Davis Love had a decent week at the PGA, but he's been hurt and inconsistent which makes him unreliable. Lucas Glover hasn't played well in the big moments and the Ryder Cup is one huge moment. I'd like to see Jerry Kelly make the team one of these years, but he needs to play his way in.
The US is 2-0 so far in the World Championships. While the US has looked good, there are three teams that could beat them: Spain, Greece, and Argentina. I watched the Argentina/France game and it's scary how talented Argentina is. Manu Ginobili is a great basketball player, the international game allows him to shine. Andres Nocioni from the Bulls, the do it all forward is on the team as well as the veteran big man Oberto. He and Luis Scola, the young talent, play really well together, they're fun to watch. The point is Pepe Sanchez, the former Temple point guard. Add in Carlos Delfino off the bench and this team may be the most talented on paper. They should've blown France out (France is without Tony Parker), but they didn't play consistently. Also, pressure defense seemed to bother them, which is what the US will bring.
And it was nice to see Andy Roddick play with fire and intelligence this past week in Cincinnati. The big serve and forehand are working, but so is the net game and the down the line backhand, 2 things that haven't been there. The down the line backhand has been the real surprise, Roddick has never possessed the ability to behind his opponent with that shot. He's caught everyone off guard and he could make a run in New York if he keeps his focus. Federer is still the man to beat, but Roddick now may have the game to challenge him on a hard court.

The Tigers are now 6.5 up on the White Sox after taking the first game of their series 7-1. I don't care what Jim Leyland says, this is a big series.

Anyone Not on Drugs?

2006-08-18T19:04:00.000-07:00

Let's see Barry Bonds (supposedly), Floyd Landis and Justin Gatlin (all positive tests), and now Marion Jones, whose A sample from the Nationals in Indy has come back positive with EPO. Jones had been under suspicion because of her affiliation with ex-husband CJ Hunter and boyfriend Tim Montgomery, who both tested positive for drugs. Her former coach was Trevor Graham, who was Gatlin's coach and had BALCO connections. After dominating the 2000 Olympics, Jones's performances dropped off dramatically, failing to medal in 2004, struggling with the accusations and injuries that had people wondering if she was legit. This year, she returned to the top of her sport winning the 100 meters at Nationals. Now, it appears like Landis, her story will end in disappointment. Her B sample must still be tested, but things don't look good for her.

It has not been a good year for Olympic sports: the Bode Miller saga, the removal of softball from the Olympic program, drugs at the Tour, Gatlin, and now Jones. Asafa Powell just ran another 9.77 100, his 2nd of the year. Unfortunately, questions will start to mount against his amazing year.

And while I'm on the subject, I have a problem with baseball hall of fame voters' take on the steroid era. I've heard mulitple writers say they'll vote Mark McGwire in, despite the accepted opinion that he took steroids, because he was the best during that era when most were on drugs. So because the majority of baseball was on steroids, because he was the best of all of them, he should be in the Hall of Fame. What kind of an example are we setting by doing that??? Some high-school kid could be thinking, "Hey, if everyone is using steroids, I'll use them too. And it'll be ok, as long as I'm the best of all of them." Basically, if you cheat and do the best, it's ok because everyone cheated. If writers think McGwire is innocent of using steroids (he is innocent still currently) and feel his career is legit, then I have no problem with them voting him in. But if they use the other line of reasoning, I have a problem with that.

There is something (or a lot of things) that are not right with John Mark Karr, the self-confessed killer of JonBenet Ramsey. I know this is a serious matter, but there are a couple of things that strike me about this. First, what's with the first, middle and last name thing? Is that only reserved for 'special' killers. John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, James Earl Ray, Sirhan Sirhan Sirhan. Why does this guy deserve it? I don't remember Jeffrey Dahmer's middle name. If OJ were guilty, would he have changed to Orenthal James Sampson? Second, the way the media is covering this, it reminds me of the Eddie Murphy SNL skit, "Who killed Buckwheat?" I think the killer's name was John David Stubbs? Thanks to the media, I know everything about John Mark Karr's life, a lot more than I wanted to know. Which brings me to my third and final point: Why does he wear his pants so damn high???? Look at a picture of him, he's a walking wedgie.

I don't get why so many of the basketball analysts are pessimistic about the US's chances at the World Championships, which begin later tonight. I don't think the US will keep winning by 30 points, but I think we're playing really well and have a great chance to win the whole thing. Yes, this team hasn't played together a lot compared to others, but neither did the successful Dream Teams when they dominated. I don't think that's as big of a factor as being fundamentally sound. The international game is more like the college game, movement without the ball, all out effort all the time, tough defense, good shooting, things you don't see regularly in the NBA now. That's why the US has struggled. Those issues have been addressed thus far. Coach K has got the team playing tough, college like man defense. The effort is there every minute, and the shooting is getting better.

Staying with the shooting issue, some are concerned as to what will happen when teams play zone against the US? Well, from my experience, being able to play zone defense is predicated upon scoring offensively. Most teams play zone after they make a basket and man defense after a miss because it's easier to set up in zone after a made basket since the other team has to take the ball out and bring it back down the court. So if you don't score, you'll most likely play man defense because it's easier to find the man you're guarding than try and play zone where you're assigned specific spots. So far, the US isn't allowing opponents the opportunity to score, playing great defense themselves. So if the US keeps playing great defense, they won't have to worry about facing zones because if the other team doesn't score, they won't play zone.

G'night, have a great weekend.

What is Integrity?

2006-08-15T18:53:00.000-07:00

According to Webster, integrity can mean:
1. the quality or state of being complete; unbroken condition; wholeness; entirety
2. the quality or state of being unimpaired; perfect condition; soundness
3. the quality or state of being of sound moral principle; uprightness, honesty, and sincerity

According to Miss Teen Montana, integrity means being driven, doing whatever it takes to succeed no matter what, I believe those were her words.

Her definition could almost mean the opposite of integrity. Young beauty queens, oh boy. Granted, she's only 15, 16, 17, something like that, but I think at that age you should know the definition of integrity cold.

So of course, Montana WON?!?!?!!?! So either the dictionary is wrong or there are some people lacking in intelligence, I guess. Wow.

And now for sports as I'm in shock:

The Tigers have righted their ship, winning the first 2 in a series at Fenway. A good sign for them is that they have gotten good starting pitching the last two nights, which hadn't been as good the last couple of weeks.
I have no opinion on Tony Kornheiser's first MNF game. It's hard to make a preseason NFL game interesting. I watched most of the 1st half before switching programs. So many in the press were willing to jump on him after 1 game it's amazing, including someone from his own paper The Washington Post. Dan Patrick (as he often does) made a great point on his radio show. He's done PTI in some form with Mike Wilbon for 20+ years, he's been with Mike Tirico and Joe Theismann for one game. Chemistry takes time.
Tiger and Phil together the 1st 2 days of the PGA, lovin it.
I think Bruce Bowen will be the last cut for USA Basketball, which has looked even more impressive than I thought they would so far. Can they maintain that focus through adversity? I think that's where Coach K will be a huge calming influence because he's used to getting everyone's best shot as coach at Duke.
If I'm a Bengals fan, I'm worried if Anthony Wright has to start the first 4 games, he didn't look good when it was 1st team vs. 1st team Sunday night.
16 days until college football starts.

And it looks like I could play basketball 3 nights a week in various Farmington public leagues if I wanted to this fall. I might actually have to go get a new pair of basketball shoes, it's been awhile since I have.

Canada

2006-08-12T13:33:00.000-07:00

The great family vacation concluded today as we returned from a week in Canada. We spent Saturday through Tuesday in Montreal, Wed thru Fri. in Toronton and returned today. As far as cities go, I would rank Toronto 2 and 3 respectively as far as my personal favorites (Chicago being #1).

So here are some highlights from vacation:

I was able to speak a little French in Montreal although I don't think it was received warmly. Since my other family members don't speak French, I got the feeling the Montreal people felt I was trying to show off (I guess). We must have had tourist and American written all over us, we didn't get many hellos, people didn't hold the door for us, I felt like I was in Europe.
I didn't realize Montreal has 4 colleges/universities in the city, so there are a lot of young people around. Walking around downtown a little Sat. night, Montreal was buzzing with activity, everyone was out.
Sunday we took a double decker bus tour of the city which was amazing. Montreal has a great mix of old and new, the old, narrow streets right up against the modern skyscrapers gives the city a great feel. There are numerous breathtaking views of the city, hence I have two disposable cameras' worth of pics of Montreal. If I go back, I'm definitely spending more time on the Mont Royal, the hill that overlooks the city.
The food was good, the shopping was disappointing. It seemed like everything was geared toward 18 year old girls.
Montreal is very proud of its Olympic heritage, there were multiple exhibits commemorating the 30th anniversary of the 1976 Summer games that were in Montreal. Getting to see Olympic Stadium and Olympic Park was neat, although I'll remember Olympic Stadium for, technically, never getting finished, or at least never being built to its original specifications.
While there we watched The Da Vinci Code. I can see why it caused such an uproar. I thought it was pretty good. It definitely had me on edge the whole time.
Other things that made it feel like Europe: the number of smokers, the very public public affection, and how thin the kids were. There's no obesity problem in Montreal. There are a number of parks in the city and they were filled to the max every day.
Driving to Toronto on Wednesday, the Montreal-Toronto connection is the 401 freeway, one of the most travelled in the world. Around the Toronto airport, the 401 goes 8 wide on each side, the widest freeway in the world, and all 8 lanes are filled during the day. I thought Michigan drivers were bad, Toronto drivers have them beat. The 401 in Toronto might as well be one long amusement park ride.
Wed. night we took in the 2nd round of the Tennis Masters Canada men's tennis tournament. The featured match involved Rafael Nadal. I would've preferred Agassi or Federer, but Nadal is a great shotmaker and allows the crowd to get involved in the match easily. His hustle, ability, and intensity make him fun to watch. A little sidenote, the Canadian announcers for the event (every match is televised in Canada) are not very good. Where's John McEnroe when you need him?
Walking around Toronto Thurs. and Fri. brought back great memories and I remember why I loved the city so much when I first visited. Great shops, a lot to do, great energy in the city, clean, little worry about security, just a great place. Our hotel was by the old Maple Leaf Gardens just off of Yonge St.
I never thought the first professional sports hall of fame I would ever visit would be the Hockey Hall of Fame. Yes, I got my picture taken with the Stanley Cup replica. It was neat seeing all of the various trophies and old jersies, but I'm surprised there wasn't more. There aren't a lot of interactive activities for kids.
We also went to the Art Gallery which had a special Andy Warhol exhibit which featured some of his work from the 60s. There were no Campbell's Soup cans in this one. There were silk canvas paintings of pics of Liz Taylor and Jackie Kennedy (in fact the audio commentary said Warhol wanted to be Jackie). There were also random video tapes of things that went on in his Studio. And these included your everday naked girl on the couch, a guy getting a blow job, and people making out. I didn't know I was walking into a porn movie. I wonder what would've been worse, the strip clubs on Yonge St. or the Warhol exhibit? Needless to say, I didn't find out. Andy Warhol, interesting guy for sure.
Watched Over The Hedge in Toronto. Very good movie, very funny, definitely recommend it.

That's all for now, it's nice to be back in the USA.

Heat Wave

2006-08-01T18:47:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it made it to 100 degrees here today, at 4pm it was 98 with a heat index of 106 so I'm guessing it did. As I write this, it's 89 with a heat index of 99. At 9:43pm!!!!! My air conditioner isn't helping much, it's 80 in my apartment. I don't know how people without A/C survive in this, I'm very uncomfortable right now. It's ONLY supposed to get up to 95 tomorrow before some thunderstorms move in tomorrow night and highs fall back into the 80s Thursday.

I'm trying to remember the last time it was this hot. I remember landing in Phoenix in the summer and it was 126, so that's by far the warmest. But 110-ish heat indexes, I can't really remember another day like this. Back in the day at Alter basketball camp playing on the blacktop it might've been this hot one year, but normally the hottest it'll get will be 95 with 105 heat indexes. I took a cold shower after my workout and was still sweating afterwards. I like summer, but this is a little much.

Today being August 1st means the countdown to football season is officially on. Miami opens at home with Northwestern in 30 days. There is no USC-like team this year. They will be one of the contenders. How can they not be with all of the talent they have. Ohio St., Texas, and Notre Dame are contenders also, but all will have to make up for key players lost to graduation and/or the NFL. Texas lost Vince Young, Notre Dame needs to play better defense, and Ohio St. needs to replace theirs. The talent is there in all cases, it will come down to who comes around the fastest. Texas and Ohio St. won't have much time to do so since they play in Austin in September in the return match from last year. Oklahoma could sneak in there as their youngsters from last year now have a year of experience and Adrian Peterson seems to be healthy.

Stay cool.

Positive

2006-07-30T17:50:00.000-07:00

It hasn't been the best week for American Olympic sports. First Floyd Landis and now Justin Gatlin have both tested positive for performance-enducing enhancements. After winning Stage 17, Landis's A sample revealed an "abnormal" testosterone ratio. He will have his B sample tested in the next couple of weeks. There are a lot of questions to be asked about Landis's positive:

Though we shouldn't be surprised, but why was this leaked by the French, again? The dopee is supposed to remain anonymous until both samples are tested. I bet you if Laurent Jalabert, Richard Virenque, or even Bernard Hinault had a positive A sample, it wouldn't have been leaked.
Was the positive test a cause of other things? Landis has been taking cortisone shots for his hip which would affect the ratio, as well as the beer and whiskey he supposedly drank after stage 16. The test reportedly revealed that Landis's testosterone levels were normal, but his epitestosterone levels were low.
Why didn't his other tests come up positive? When you use the patch or get injected with testosterone, it stays in your system for several weeks. Landis took drug tests the days he was in the yellow jersey before stage 17, why weren't they positive? The designer of the test said this was an unusual positive since testosterone stays in your system.

Gatlin tested positive for the use of testosterone or its precursors, or anabolic steroids. His coach now claims that it was a conspiracy, that it was someone they fired, then rehired that sabotaged Gatlin. Gatlin's coach though has been linked with other athletes that are linked to the BALCO case. If the US Anti-Doping Agency confirms the result, Gatlin faces a lifetime ban because he has already been suspended for using Adderall to help with his attention deficit disorder, but Adderall is on the banned substance list.

Not good, not good.

Oh, what else is there:

Once again, I'm sick of hearing about T.O. in the end of July. I swear the sports world has revolved around the Yankees (specifically A-Rod), Red Sox, and the Cowboys. These really are the dog days of summer sports-wise.
2nd round, Wednesday night, Tennis Masters Toronto tournament, the family and I will be there.
Two friends came up for the Muse concert in the old State Theater in downtown Detroit. Believe it or not, this was my first live rock show and it was amazing. Muse is British, so when they finished their set, it turned into a mini-soccer game with the British and English flags waving and the chants of "Ole, Ole" getting the band to come back out and play a little more. The lead singer/guitar player can also play the piano very well, which added to the quality of the show. Sometimes it was hard to concentrate on the music with the crowd-surfing and people running into each other (is there a term for that?) on the floor. We were in the lower balcony, so we didn't have to mess with it.
Last night I got to spend with a special friend in Ann Arbor. I was pleasantly surprised with how nice UM campus is. For a big campus, it doesn't have that commuter school feel like so many of the bigger ones do (sorry OSU). We ate at Cottage Inn, great lasagna, and had milkshakes at Pizza Bob's. It was a great evening.

That's it for tonight, have a good one.

End of July?

2006-07-26T18:59:00.000-07:00

I can't believe July is almost over, it feels like summer just began. I know technically it's only been summer for a little more than a month, but I've always associated the beginning of summer with Memorial Day, if not a little sooner. But it seems like fall is just around the corner with football just a month away and the Tour finishing up last weekend. The family and I are going to Canada in a week or so for family vacation (Toronto and Montreal), which I'm looking forward to.

So Brad and Michelle got married, and it was wonderful meeting all of high school friends, whom in fact may actually read this. Ladies and gentlemen, you are fabulous people and it was a pleasure meeting all of you, I had a great time. I wish the happy couple nothing but the best, I loved seeing them so happy.

A lot to catch up on:

Congratulations to Floyd Landis, continuing the American dominance of the Tour de France. Landis took 3rd in Saturday's time trial, giving him a 57 second overall advantage over Oscar Periero. Give credit to Periero for fighting his tail off in the time trial, something he isn't known for, he had to make Landis work for it. Let's hope his hip surgery is successful and he can come back and validate his title next year. This wasn't Lance-like in terms of winning the Tour, but his single-day performance to Morzine was as good as anyone's done in any sport on any given day.
Congratulations to Tiger Woods for winning his 3rd British Open (1st other than St. Andrews) and his 11th major overall. Tiger had to work for this one, shooting 67 in the final round to hold off a charging and determined Chris DiMarco, who was also playing for a loved one (his mom died a couple of weeks ago). While Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia went away as they usually do when trying to beat Tiger on Sunday, DiMarco started making putts from everywhere, including a bomb for par on 14 that kept him within a shot of the lead and seemingly put fate on his side. But as the great ones do, Tiger rose up, birdieing 14, 15, and 16 to give him the cushion he needed. As he walked up the 18th, you could see the emotion was coming, the question was how much. The answer was a lot, which was touching to see. Tiger isn't a robot, he's a man. He isn't obsessed with winning, he loves winning and competing.
Congratulations to Miami University, my alma mater if you forgot already haha. Miami signed a 1-for-1 with Colorado football. Miami will travel to Boulder next year; the Buffs will come to Oxford in 2009 with both games scheduled to be part of the ABC/ESPN package. Another great job by athletic director Brad Bates for getting another BCS opponent to travel to Oxford.
I like what I'm reading from Team USA basketball training camp. Coach K and the coaching staff have put their imprint on the team. It will be the uptempo offense of the Phoenix Suns (thanks to USA assistant Mike D'Antoni, the Suns coach) combined with in your face man defense of Duke. All of the guys will play substantial minutes, and it appears there really will be no I in this TEAM. I can't wait to see them in action, I have a good feeling about this.
I like the fact Andy Roddick has taken on Jimmy Connors as his coach. Connors has the intangibles that Roddick needs to get to #1. I never saw Connors in his prime, but I do remember watching his incredible US Open run in 1991. At the age of 39, Connors made it all the way to the semifinals on pure guts, which is what Roddick doesn't have currently. This is the smartest move Roddick's made in awhile, I hope he sticks with Connors and doesn't dump him like he did with Brad Gilbert.

I promised myself I'd get to bed early tonight, so that's it. I hope I satisfied your hunger.

Brutal, but Hilarious

2006-07-21T20:18:00.000-07:00

Brutal, but hilarious refers to thatgirlemily.blogspot.com. I won't say anymore because you need to go there and read this blog, it's that good.

Have a bunch to catch up on:

For the first 2 weeks as expected, it was a so-so, unpredictable tour. Who would be the last man standing was the question. But now, it's who's going to win it. This was Floyd Landis's Tour, especially the way he rode up Alpe D'Huez. But he bonked, cracked, ran out of gas, whatever, he hit the wall Wednesday, falling 8 minutes behind. When you're a Tour contender, you don't come back from that deficit and win the tour, much less do it the day after you cracked. No one told Landis that. The peloton let him go and they paid for it. Landis rode like a man possessed, refusing to let the heat get to him Thursday (he went through 70 water bottles!). Lance Armstrong dominated Tours, but he never did a ride like Landis did. Staying away over all the climbs, including arguably the toughest of the Tour, the Jeux-Plane, and losing little of his maximum advantage was incredible. Going into tomorrow's time trial, he only trails the lead by 30 seconds. Even if the two men ahead of him, Oscar Periero and Carlos Sastre ride the best time trial they're capable of, if Landis rides his best time trial, he will win the Tour. All with a bad hip.
Tiger Woods leads Ernie Els by 1 halfway through the British Open. Chris DiMarco is 3 behind, Retief Goosen 4 behind, Phil Mickelson 8 behind. Tiger added to his list of great shots with his eagle from the 14th fairway with a 4-iron, 205 yards away. It's crazy how dried out the course is and how hot it is over there. Definitely to Tiger's advantage to not have to hit driver and the need to shape shots into the greens to keep the ball close to the hole.
I'd love to be in the gym watching Coach K direct training camp for Team USA in preparation for the World Championships. I'm anxious to see how things go next month, if it's a more athletic, bigger version of the Duke we see during the year. I expect to see in your face man-to-man defense, a fast tempo, and a lot of intensity.
Our family vacation looks like it will go through Toronto and Montreal, and we've made tentative plans to see Andre Agassi play in the Canadian Open in Toronto in the early rounds. I hope we're able to see one of the great athletes and humanitarians play before he retires, it's not often you get to see one of your childhood heroes compete.

Brad is getting married tomorrow, congratulations to him, I wish him nothing but the best. I'll be at the wedding, it should be a great time, I can't wait!

Scorching Hot

2006-07-16T18:30:00.000-07:00

The last 2 days, temperatures have hit the mid-90s here, with another one on tap for tomorrow. When I got in my car this afternoon, I instantly started sweating it was that hot. I had a great workout in the heat yesterday and today I got to have dinner with a very close friend of mine whom I hadn't seen in almost 2 years. So it was a very good weekend, too bad it's over already.

The Tour is into its final week, which begins Tuesday with the climb up Alpe D'Huez. I don't like Floyd Landis's decision to give up the yellow jersey, it's dangerous giving up the jersey this late in the race. This tells me his team is tired and they don't have much left. Oscar Pereiro has the ability to climb, can he do it for 3 straight days, then ride the time trial of his life?

Surprisingly, gas prices didn't go up further this weekend with the continued fighting between Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon. So gas prices are where they should be, which doesn't make me feel any better since the price is $3/gallon. This week's economic reports will tell us more if the economy continued its slow down last month. The probability of a recession happening in the next year has jumped to 36%. Let's just hope this hurricane season is a quiet one.

I guess everyone's trying to copy Gwen Stefani. First Paris Hilton, now Jessica Simpson. I heard her new single and could've easily mixed her up with Gwen Stefani. Needless to say, the song didn't rock my world.

I thought I'd have much more to say, but I guess not.

No Excuses

2006-07-11T17:49:00.000-07:00

So it came out today that Italian defender Marco Materazzi verbally insulted Zinedane Zidane, which led to the infamous headbutting incident. Why this guy would come out and admit this I have no idea, but in my opinion, this doesn't excuse Zidane from what he did. Rule #1 as an athlete: Keep your composure, no matter what happens, especially when you're the captain. When you have that title, you not only represent your team, but also the people you represent. I learned this the hard way. There were a few instances, especially during tennis matches where I was prone to losing it and embarassing myself. As I matured, I got over it. In fact, I made my opponents lose their composure many times because no matter what, bad shots, good shots, I'd keep the same facial expression (Pete Sampras was the best at this, which is why he's one of the greatest athletes of all time). Losing your composure is the ultimate sign of weakness and insecurity. When you lose your composure, it tells me you don't have the confidence in yourself to win. Zidane should've known better, not only for himself, but for the people he represented.

But I'm not done with Marco. "I did insult him, it's true," Materazzi said in Tuesday's Gazzetta dello Sport. "But I categorically did not call him a terrorist. I'm not cultured and I don't even know what an Islamic terrorist is." Maybe he didn't call him a terrorist, but the last part is ridiculous. I like watching soccer, especially the World Cup, the Beautiful Game. But I'm afraid this edition will be remembered, ironically, for the ugliness that seemed to dominate the event. From the poor officiating to the flopping to the fighting to the headbutting, the beautiful game was not always that.

In more World Cup news, German coach Jurgen Klinsman will not remain as coach of the German team. US Soccer Federation: Go get him!!! This guy is charismatic, his team scored a lot of goals and were fun to watch, and he's got that foreign pedigree which I think the US needs in their game. He took a team that wasn't supposed to do much to a 3rd place finish.

And the English are now blaming their poor performance on the shopping and drinking sprees by the players' wives and girlfriends?!?!?! I've heard some in my relatively short lifetime, but COME ON!!!!

First mountain stage of the Tour tomorrow, but not a mountaintop finish. But, that doesn't mean there'll be some excitement. The body can react strangely on the 1st day in the high mountains, which is why Lance Armstrong always liked to attack on those days. There may not be major time gaps tomorrow, but we'll see who's got the best climbing legs.

Danica, what are you doing?!

2006-07-10T19:37:00.000-07:00

When I saw this story this morning, I wasn't surprised, but I was dumbfounded. It appears Danica Patrick is looking to join the NASCAR circuit, beginning next year. Her contract with the IRL Rahal/Letterman team expires at the end of the year and Danica's daddy has reportedly been talking with some NASCAR teams. The first thought that comes to mind: What is she thinking??? Besides finishing 4th at last year's Indy 500, she's done NOTHING! She has actually regressed in her performance. One thing that worked in her favor last year is that her team was one of the few teams that used a Honda engine. Now, every team uses the fast Honda engine, negating the advantage the Rahal/Letterman team had. I mean, she hasn't even been close to contending for a victory since last year's Indy 500. What makes her and her dad think they're going to compete and win at NASCAR?

The real reason for this decision: $$$$$$$$$. There's much more exposure in NASCAR, and she'd become a bigger attraction, but she's going to quickly turn into the Anna Kournikova of racing unless she shows some improvement. I'll also admit I'm not going to read the autobiography she's already written? What makes her any different from Janet Guthrie, Lyn St. James, and Sarah Fisher? One top 5 finish in a watered down Indy 500 field which somehow led the usually smart people at Sports Illustrated to have a braincramp and put her on the cover? Talk about the ultimate SI jynx. If she would've raced at Indy 15 years ago when the Indy 500 and not the Daytona 500 was the premiere racing event, she wouldn't have finished in the top half. Danica, I hope you prove me wrong, but I don't like the looks of this.

Today was a rest day in Le Tour. The sprinters get one more opportunity tomorrow before the Pyrennes begin on Wednesday. Floyd Landis will undergo surgery on his hip after Le Tour. He says he'll be able to continue, it'll be interesting to see how it affects him in the mountains.

And Miami may have stolen a big-time recruit from the big boys. Today, wide receiver Chris Givens, touted by many as the #1 wide receiver in Ohio for the class of 2007, has given a verbal commitment to Miami. Recruits are rated by various services by the number of stars given to them on a scale of 1 to 5. The big-time schools get the 5-star recruits, a school like Miami is just happy to get a 3-star recruit. Currently, Givens is a 4-star recruit. I don't get too excited about recruiting, I want to see what happens on the field before getting excited about someone, but it was hard not to get excited, especially hearing that Ohio State was starting to pursue him.

That is all, g'night.

Italy

2006-07-09T18:13:00.000-07:00

They're going crazy in Italy tonight as the Azzuri beat Les Bleus to win the World Cup. So the month long celebration that is the World Cup is over. Am I sad, not reallly. I enjoyed watching it, don't get me wrong, but I'm not going to miss all of the overreacting by countries' fans and all of the flopping done by the players. I'll be ready for it again in 4 years and I'll be excited. And just like this year, when that World Cup is over, I'll be ready to move on with my life. One thing to keep in mind, the US tied Italy while playing the whole 2nd half down a man (only 9 guys in all).

I can't say I'm not surprised at how the Americans (except Floyd Landis) fared in Saturday's time trial at Le Tour. It's one thing to be a team member or have top 10 ambitions. But to be "the guy" is a whole different thing. Just ask Scottie Pippen after MJ retired for the 1st time or Steve Young when he replaced Joe Montana, it's different having all of the attention focused on you. There's still time left for George Hincapie to contend, I'm afraid the same can't be said for Levi Leipheimer. 6+ minutes is too much. The race is still wide open as Seryei Honchar is not a good climber and will probably give up his lead in the Pyrennes in a couple of days.

Tiger Woods is back, finishing 2nd to Trevor Immelman in the Western Open, giving everyone some thrills with a back 9 charge. I've said it before, but there's no greater competitor in sports than Tiger right now. Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Roger Clemens, and Lance Armstrong have had this honor in my estimation, and now it's Tiger. Behind Tiger, I think I'd have to go with Dwayne Wade and Rafael Nadal.

What happened to Monica, the singer? She had those two big hits, "Angel of Mine" and "The Boy is Mine" with Brandy, and they were great songs.

Fast Food Nation

2006-07-06T18:14:00.000-07:00

To show you how far behind I am in my reading, a couple of weeks ago I just started reading Fast Food Nation, which I've had for a couple of years. Repeatedly, everyone tells me, "Oh, you have to read it, it's a great book." And I respond, "I know, I know, but I'm like 10 books behind, I'll get to it eventually." Well, I'm almost finished and it is one of the best and most eye-opening books I've read. It goes into the history of fast-food restaurants, centering on McDonald's. Then it talks about how it got to be so big and how it became the model for all types of chain stores (the founders of Gap went to a McDonald's to see how they provided the same service at each store). Following that, they get into how the burgers and fries are made, which is downright scary. The poor people that live and work at the slaughterhouses, how unsanitary and dangerous it is there. It also goes into detail how E. coli came about, and how it's worse to have than AIDS in the most severe cases. I've cut back on my eating at fast food places, Friday nights I get pizza or eat at Panera. I do stop at McDonald's for a milkshake on the road, but from now on, I'm going to think twice about where I stop and eat on the road. Will I cut out McD's, Burger King, Taco Bell, etc. for good, probably not, but you will find me there less frequently. Anyway, great book, should definitely read it.

Now for sports:

Oscar Freire survived a crash-filled day as the Tour worked its way to the Normandy coast. Tom Boonen, deprived again of a stage win finishing 2nd, is the overall leader by 13 seconds. One of the few non-American threats to win the Tour still in the race is Iban Mayo. You may recall 3 years ago, Mayo won the Alpe D'Huez and looked to be the next revelation, but he's been a huge disappointment the last couple of years. His form is reportedly better and he didn't crash today, which was good news. The bad news, he had crashed the previous two days. Hey Iban, ride up front if you want to win, get a clue!
It appears Phil has recovered from his US Open brain cramp. He's only one off the lead at the Western, shooting 67 where he almost made a double eagle at his last hole. The same can't be said for Tiger, who struggled to a 72.
Tennis may have its next great rivalry as Rafael Nadal has appeared to learn how to play on grass. He is in the Wimbledon semis, one match away from playing Roger Federer for the title.

Oh, what else:

Kim Jong-Il did go to college, he graduated from Kim Il Sung University. Kim Il Sung was his daddy. Talk about a scary guy. Dictator, who thinks he's a playboy, loves porn, and now is testing nuclear missiles whenever he pleases. My big question is: Will the UN actually confront them, or will they design another superb Oil for Food program so Kofi Annan's song can get some more kickbacks?
Not that I'm complaining, but what happened to John Basedow?
And what's up with Survivor winners. First Richard Hatch doesn't pay his taxes, then Brian, the used-car salesman, shoots a puppy with a bow and arrow? He claims he thought it was a coyote. Must've been one big puppy.

Well, I thought I had more, but I guess not. Have a good one.

Happy Birthday America!

2006-07-04T18:22:00.000-07:00

I love seeing the red, white, and blue flags and hearing the patriotic music. I love the barbecues and the fireworks. The 4th of July is great. I watched the Capitol Fourth celebration (because the Boston Pops weren't on TV), and you gotta love Stevie Wonder. But what's Michael Bolton doing there singing Frank Sinatra songs??? And where is Ronan Tynan, the Irish tenor when you need him? I don't particularly like the Yankees, but one awesome thing they do is have him sing God Bless America during the 7th inning stretch. During the 2001 playoffs and World Series after 9/11, he sang it before the game if I'm not mistaken. He does such a great job.

Stage 3 of the Tour was a killer. 99 degree temperatures and 8 short but biting climbs in the last half of today's stage. Yesterday, Matthias Kessler tried to break from the field near the end, but was caught with about 100 meters left. Today, he tried again, getting away after the last climb with 2000 meters to go. This time, he was able to get the victory, sweet redemption from yesterday. Tom Boonen is the new race leader, leading Thor Hushovd by one second. But the big news is that Alejandro Valverde, one of the overall contenders, is out with a broken collarbone after crashing today. He, Freddy Rodriguez and Erik Dekker are all out. 3 very good bike riders they are and they will be missed.

Back to work tomorrow, kinda weird it being Wednesday already and I haven't been there in 4 days. Lovin the short week!

Glory Road

2006-07-03T17:49:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to seeing the movie about Texas Western (UTEP) and their run to the 1966 National Championship, the first school to start 5 African-American players. Being a basketball nut, I was interested in learning more about the story and seeing how it developed. Well, the movie, thanks to Disney, was no help, I was a little disappointed. I know you have to change some stories around to make a good movie, but Disney changed too much with this.

For instance:

Don Haskins began coaching at UTEP in 1961-62, not 1965-66. And from the start, he began recruiting whites and African-Americans, looking for the best players. UTEP made the NCAA Tourney in 1963 and 64, so they weren't totally unknown. They were big underdogs going into the game despite going 27-1. They didn't have many quality wins and certainly didn't play the schedule and have the history that Kentucky had.
Haskins never had any political objectives during the season, he felt his best players were African-Americans. It wasn't until afterward the game really became significant from a historical perspective.
Texas Western led for the last 30 minutes of the game, sparked by Bobby Joe Hill's back-to-back steals. UK did cut the lead to one early in the 2nd half, but UTEP responded and had a 6 to 8 point working margin for most of the 2nd half. What should've been shown was Adolph Rupp, UK's coach, telling his team to foul thinking African-Americans couldn't shoot free throws. UTEP was 28/34 from the line, sealing the deal.
I know this was a Disney production, which is probably why they didn't step on anyone's toes and showed a "safe" version. But from the majority of things I've read, Adolph Rupp was racist. He refused to recruit African-Americans. He would call newspaper reporters when looking at high school game box scores, and ask if the high scoring players were white or black. He put a lot of pressure on his team to win and thought they would, he was very confident. Also, the crowd was mostly pro-UK, which the movie showed. But they were arguably the most hostile crowd UTEP played in front of all year. Another great shot would've been panning the crowd after the game, standing in silence, stunned by the loss.

On another note, I bought the SNL Best of Belushi, Murphy, Sandler, Farley, and Ferrell for $45. What a deal!!!!

Robbie McEwen won the sprint in Stage 2 of the Tour. Thor Hushovd took back the yellow jersey, gaining 14 seconds in time bonuses throughout the day. George Hincapie & Co. were more than willing to give up the yellow, they'd just like it back later in the race.

Hopefully the weather holds up tomorrow, I'm heading to the golf course.

George, George, George of Discovery, Strong as he can be!

2006-07-02T17:25:00.000-07:00

George Hincapie is your new Tour de France leader after Stage 1, taking a 2 second lead on Thor Hushovd. For those of you unfamiliar with the Tour, during some stages there are sprints within each stage where riders can earn bonus seconds. At the sprints, you get 6 seconds if you're 1st, 4 seconds for 2nd, and 2 for 3rd. At the finish, you get 20 seconds if you're 1st, 12 for 2nd, and 8 for 3rd. At the last sprint of the day, Hincapie broke from the pack and grabbed 3rd place to give himself the lead. When Hushovd and Tom Boonen failed to finish in the top 3, Hincapie had his yellow jersey. Hushovd though is questionable to start tomorrow. He bumped into something while sprinting along the crowd barrier that someone from the crowd was holding, which produced a massive cut on his right arm. It is up in the air as to whether or not he will be able to continue. In a very unorganized sprint, Jimmy Casper of France won the stage.

And there will be an 18 hole playoff tomorrow to decide the US Women's Open Champ. Pat Hurst and Annika Sorenstam finished at even par, two clear of a group that included Michelle Wie. Sorenstam birdied her first two holes and looked to be assuming control until she pulled her approach into the water on the 7th. 2 more bogeys on the next two holes put her behind Hurst. But 2 straight birdies on 15 and 16 gave Annika a 1 shot lead, which she gave back with a bogey on 17. Annika had a chance to win on 18, but her birdie try hit the right edge of the hole. Hurst made a 6 footer for par to force the playoff. I'm telling ya, women's golf is sitting on a gold mine. They had huge crowds this week, especially today where they even got a little rowdy.

I'm taking tomorrow off, haven't yet decided what I'm going to do with my day off, but it'll be good.

Happy Canada Day

2006-07-01T17:46:00.000-07:00

Two positive things I'd like to say about Canada. First, I loved the fact the entire Edmonton crowd sang the national anthems during the Stanley Cup playoffs, both in fact. If that doesn't give you goosebumps, nothing will. Second, another advantage of living so close to Canada is being able to watch Canadian football!!! Hey, it's something, especially during the dog days of summer.

Now that the Tour has started, I'll probably update more regularly:

Thor Hushovd, the Norwegian sprinter, is the leader after the Prologue. George Hincapie is a close 2nd, less than a second behind. Hincapie was the last man to start, a spot usually reserved to the defending champion. But, with no Lance, Lance's 1st Lieutenant got the call and he almost pulled it off. Floyd Landis missed his starting time due to a mechanical problem, but still finished 9th. Levi Leipheimer was disappointing today, finishing out of the top 30. The sprinters will have their day tomorrow as Stage 1 goes clockwise around Strasbourg, going into Germany for awhile before finishing back in the city.
It wasn't a good day for the Americans at Wimbledon. Andre Agassi ended his Wimbledon career, losing in straight sets to Rafael Nadal. The 1st set was classic tennis, with Agassi up 5-2 in the 1st tiebreaker. But Andre missed a couple of forehands, letting Nadal back in the breaker, which spurred him on to win the match. Also, Venus Williams and Andy Roddick lost, Roddick losing in straight sets to Brit Andy Murray, who salvaged an otherwise horrible sports day for England.
Speaking of England, they lost to Portugal in the World Cup quarters in penalty kicks. I think the English would play a lot better if their fans didn't put so much pressure on them. It's only a game people!!!!
Annika Sorenstam is a co-leader after 36 holes at the US Women's Open. Michelle Wie is in a group 2 behind. Wie made an all-world par on the 7th hole, her 16th. She pulled her tee shot into an unplayable lie, took a drop, then played an incredible shot from a muddy lie that just cleared the water hazard in front of the green. The ball checked 12 feet from the hole, and she made the putt for par. Also, Paula Creamer is in a group 3 behind the leaders. They will all play 36 holes tomorrow.

Halfway through the year, it's been a good one so far.

A Not So Good Day in Sports

2006-06-30T19:40:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago when Ben Roethlisberger was involved in his motorcycle accident and the US failed to show against the Czechs in the World Cup, I thought that was a pretty bad sports day. Today made my statement from a couple of weeks ago look silly. One of the first things I saw when I got up was the news that former Miami and current Northwestern football coach Randy Walker died due to a reported heart attack. Walker coached at Miami for the majority of the 90s before going to Evanston, he's originally from Troy, OH. I did not get to meet him, but I did meet one of his kids at Miami, so I feel for her and the rest of the family. Everyone that knew Coach has only the best to say about him, he will be sorely missed. On top of that, in more of a disappoint to me, nothing as tragic as the passing of Coach Walker, the Tour de France has found itself in the middle of another doping scandal. As of this moment, 13 riders have been kicked out, among those being Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich, two of the big favorites. No one man is bigger than the Tour, it will still be a great Tour, but it won't be as good as it could've been.

So, who's left that can win? Americans naturally haha:

Levi Leipheimer is now the top returning finisher from last year's race that will be competing this year. He is solid in the time trial and in the mountains and now has good Tour experience. His team historically hasn't been strong, can they help him in the mountains? He won the Dauphine Libere, one of the big Tour tuneups, so he appears to be on form.
Floyd Landis is unquestionably the leader of his Phonak team. This year, he won the Tour of California, Tour de Georgia, and Paris-Nice. He's had great days in the Tour before, can he have 3 great weeks.
George Hincapie takes over for Lance as leader of Discovery. Known more for his high finishes in the spring classics, he has gradually gotten better at time trialing and climbing during his service for Armstrong. His win in the Pyrennes last year showed he could climb. Can he pull it off while dealing with the pressure of being the team leader?
Alejandro Valverde could be the next big cycling star. He outsprinted Lance to the top of Courchevel last year before pulling out of the race as planned. Now he'll try and go all the way to Paris. Can he win in his first try at completion?
Another name being thrown out there is Cadel Evans. A better climber than time trialer, you have to be wary of him getting in a breakaway and stealing time because he's just a great bike rider, period.
Christophe Moreau is now 35 (seems a lot older now), and this is his last real shot at winning. With no clear favorite, can he give the French their first victor since Hinault in 1985?

It should be an exciting Tour, no one really knows what's going to happen. But the plan to win is still the same. Don't crash during week 1, ride a good time trial, get into position in the Pyrennes, then attack in the Alps.

Tomorrow is a solid summer sports day, the beginning of the Tour, World Cup quarterfinals, US Women's Open 2nd round (Annika, Michelle, and Paula are all there after round 1), and Agassi-Nadal at Wimbledon.

The fireworks were impressive Wed. night and everyone at our barbecue had a great time. The best fireworks show I've seen (and I forgot until the other night that I went) were the Cincinnati Labor Day fireworks on the Ohio River. I'm looking forward to a 4-day weekend to rest up, get a little break.

"You're only furniture makers!!!"

2006-06-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the Windsor-Detroit fireworks show on the Detroit riverfront. It's supposed to be pretty spectacular, the fireworks originating from barges in the Detroit River between the two cities, set to music, accompanied by lasers. We'll have a pretty good view at the Fed, so we've invited employees, retirees, and their families to come down for a barbecue, some fun and games, then the fireworks. I'm excited, I've never been to a fireworks show this big, hopefully the weather holds up, there's a 60% chance of rain.

I haven't complained about Michigan roads in awhile, so I'm going to make up for lost time. In most states, there are the little blinkers that help you distinguish lanes, roads, etc. during rain and darkness. Well, there aren't any of those on Detroit roads. Add to it the filthyness of the roads, and during a hard shower, you can't tell one lane from another, you have to guess. You can get in the far left lane and get next to the yellow line, which still stands out, but the white dashes that divide the other lanes, blend in with the wet concrete, asphalt, and the rain. It's like driving blindfolded, it's very scary.

Time for sports:

Today, the Booz Allen Classic in Washington D.C. ended with Ben Curtis winning for the 1st time since the 2003 British Open. But the strange part of it was they made him come back today and play one more hole, despite holding a 7 shot lead. He had to finish 17 and play 18, but the tournament was all but over. I don't think it was televised today (or yesterday), so no TV money was up for grabs. So, why?!?!? Plus, I'm sure the volunteers and other people involved had more important things to do, like make sure their own homes weren't underwater from all the rain that part of the country has gotten.
Wimbledon is underway with no real surprises today. James Blake and Andre Agassi both dropped a set, but won. Agassi is looking at a possible 3rd round match with Rafael Nadal, which would be huge. An intriguing 2nd round match pits Roger Federer against home favorite Tim Henman. What would England get more excited about: a Henman upset or an England win over Portugal in the World Cup quarters? I'm guessing Henman since it seems the English expect the worst with every match.
There's talk the NCAA Tournament may expand to 128 teams. I'm not in favor of this at all. The only reason behind this is $$$$$$$. This would basically eliminate the NIT, and would allow more mediocre major conference teams to get in. There would be a few more little guys, but not as many as you would think. It would also allow for a more lucrative TV contract, which the bigger schools would get a bigger piece of. I don't want March Madness to become March/April Madness. It's perfect as it is right now, as evidenced this year. The majors and "mid-majors" were both well represented, it's not too long, and the basketball is at a high level. Allowing more teams in allows for more mediocre basketball in March and a decrease in intensity that would be seen in the regular season and conference tournament.

Here are guys I'd take in tomorrow's NBA Draft:

LaMarcus Aldridge, Texas. I think the Bulls would be crazy not to take him at #2. He's proven he can score with his back to the basket and was a pretty good rebounder. He was out all year 2 years ago with an injury, so last year was his 1st year at the college level, and he was very good.
Brandon Roy, Washington. Maybe the most complete player in the draft, he'd get more respect if he played on the East Coast. Can shoot the 3, the mid-range jumper, take you off the dribble, and defend. With UW short on outside weapons last year, he had a huge year although he was keyed on.
Adam Morrison, Gonzaga. Not the greatest athlete or defender, he can score and knows how to do it with what ability he has. His diabetes didn't affect him at Gonzaga, he played major minutes, I don't think it will affect him in the pros.
Randy Foye and Kyle Lowry, Villanova. Villanova was my team, and these two guys were two main cogs. Foye can elevate on his shot and defend; Lowry can run the show and defend as well. Both are tough as nails and refuse to lose.
Quincy Douby, Rutgers. He's Brandon Roy, but shorter. He didn't play on a great team while playing in a tough conference, but he still put up huge numbers against everybody. He can fill it up in a hurry. He probably won't go until the last half of the 2nd round, but whoever gets him will get a steal.

And here are guys I'd pass on:

Tyrus Thomas, LSU. I love him as a defender, I love his work ethic, and I love his potential. But he needed another year to work on his offensive game. He missed a good chunk of the year due to injury, so his durability is a question.
Rudy Gay, UConn. By now, I think you know I don't like guys who take possessions off. This kid can be a world-beater sometimes, other times he looks like he doesn't care. He's got the skills, no doubt, but does he have the desire?
JJ Redick, Duke. I was a big fan of Redick, but after the DWI, and now his back trouble, I'm not so sure. He hasn't failed any physicals yet, but arguably the 2nd most important body part for a shooter is his lower back. After the legs get into the shot, your lower back has to be there to support the lift, if not, you start leaving everything short.
Josh Boone, UConn. Why did he come out early? Brian Cardinal can contribute more than him.
Rajon Rondo, UK. Can't shoot and was a team cancer last year. The word has been, "Oh, his poor shooting won't matter, he'll just beat everybody off the dribble." That won't happen when teams play 10 feet off of him, daring him to shoot. Is Wayne Turner playing in the NBA? Didn't think so.

Full analysis will come probably not tomorrow, but Thurs. night.

The title of tonight's blog refers to what the Germans were chanting at Sweden during their World Cup game. That may be the best sports chant of all time. It shows you can be creative without being derogatory.

Twenty-five

2006-06-21T17:36:00.000-07:00

The first day of summer of course means another birthday and today I hit the big 2-5. At work, there was a little party thrown for me which was very nice of them. I received a "bumpy cake". It's like a big HoHo, chocolate icing, chocolate cake with white cream filling. It is native to Michigan and is very good. My favorite part of my day is hearing from all of my family members on the phone. It's nice of them to think of me. At any instant when I start to feel the least bit lonely, I quickly remind myself of my support system of family and friends. Then I no longer feel alone. Thank you family and friends.

Anyway, in honor of my 25th birthday, I thought I'd give 25 unknown facts about me, and I think I'll stump most of you with these.

My parents believe that my fascination with sports, specifically ESPN, began with the 1983 America's Cup. The America's Cup is the world championship of yacht racing, held every 4 years or so, an event that the US won every time from 1851 to 1983. I believe it's the oldest existing sports trophy. In the summer of 1983, I got sick and my dad stayed up with me while I couldn't sleep. During those summer nights, I guess we watched the America's Cup. Oddly enough, Australia defeated the US, making history as the 1st country other than the US to win the Cup.
The 1st thing I can remember doing was watching Da Bears, no joke. I think I liked Da Bears because my room's wallpaper was made of bears, and I had the stuffed animal Paddington Bear. I remember watching Da Bears lose the NFC Championship to the 49ers. Of course, we know what happened the next year.
Staying with Da Bears, the next year was when my middle uncle got married. One of his groomsmen's first names was Steve. So of course, being the 4-year old that I was, I thought he was related to Steve Fuller, who was Da Bears backup quarterback. During the wedding events, he pretended that he knew him, humoring me. I must have been really annoying haha.
My first time on a plane was when another uncle of mine got married in Omaha, Nebraska. It took place during the fall, so I thought it was a huge deal getting to fly somewhere during school. We had to stop in Chicago, which I thought was great. In the hotel, we got HBO, and I got to see the Tyson/Bruno fight. I kept calling my aunt's parents, again annoying me haha.
I apologize to some of you because I've lied about something. The first movie I saw in the theater was not Follow That Bird. It was An American Tail, Fievel, "Somewhere Out There."
The first music tape I owned was the single, "Kokomo". First whole album, MC Hammer "2 Legit 2 Quit".
I was in a split 2nd/3rd grade class, and I happened to always be ahead in my work. If I didn't feel like reading, I would take the restroom pass and slowly make my way down and back, multiple times during the day, even if I didn't have to go to the restroom.
I went to my first basketball camp after 4th grade, and my first pair of bball shoes were Chuck Taylors. It's fair to say I quickly learned they weren't in haha. My first coach was Spud Collins, great guy. I hope he's doing well wherever he is.
In 5th grade, in the school spelling bee, I misspelled the word "knottiness" (left out one t).
That was also the year I dressed up as Steve Urkel for Halloween. Sadly enough, my voice can no longer go that high.
At my first junior high dance, I was so shy I refused to dance with a single girl. At the spring dance, I danced with basically the whole girls cross-country team. Boy, did I think I was hot stuff.
In the same 7th grade bball game, I hit 2 free throws with 4 seconds left to send the game to overtime. But in overtime, I crossed the inbound line before throwing in the ball, costing my team possession. Talk about going from high to low.
I ran for Freshman Class President, and lost.
I had a good freshman year, except for one thing. During a concert, I got a measure ahead during one of the songs. So for one section of a piece, the band was like a runaway train. I was so embarrassed. The director didn't yell at me, but I could tell he knew it was me, his stare was not good. We had another concert the next night, and he moved us Bass Clarinets to the back so we wouldn't be heard as much (another sign he knew it was me). Luckily for the band and me, I came back strong during that concert, and we were moved back to our original spot near the front.
For junior year homecoming dance, I was turned down by three girls that I regularly hung out with. I have the feeling they thought I'd be too much of a stiff. So what did I do. Naturally, I went stag, hung out with them, since they were my main group of friends and danced circles around their dates. I felt pretty satisfied with my performance afterward haha.
In my last basketball game, I hit two free throws late in the game, which were received by a standing ovation from the Northmont crowd, something I'll never forget.
On our family vacation to Yellowstone National Park, I made my first videotape depicting stupid things people did. These ranged from people stopping in the middle of the road blocking both lanes of traffic to look at a deer to getting too close to a black bear and other assorted things.
On the first day of freshman year at Miami, one of my roommates showed up in capri pants. Not the best way to make a good first impression.
After Miami beat Temple that year in basketball, my friends and I saw ourselves on every local newscast and SportsCenter.
Also that year, I volunteered at a soup kitchen in Over-The-Rhine in Cincinnati, where later that year, riots would break out. I'll never forget the impression that was made on me.
My three final choices for schools were Miami, Notre Dame, and Indiana.
In elementary school, I scraped my knee badly enough one day I had a small rock stuck in my knee. That was not fun.
When I first went to my dad's football games when he coached, I did play-by-play in the stands, then if the game was a blowout in the 4th quarter, he'd let me come down on the sideline, which I thought was the greatest thing in the world. In his last year when I was in 3rd grade, I was the team's ball boy. I thought I was hot stuff.
After I save enough money, I would like to begin a scholarship at Northmont or Miami or both if possible that I would give to someone like me. Involved, spirited, good student, caring, someone who does the little things without fanfare and carries a good attitude with them.
Wow, I'm 25 years old, ahhhh!

Alright, gotta finish folding laundry before bed, talk to you later.

Reunion

2006-06-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I met with up my dad's side of the family again for a family reunion in Cleveland. Cleveland is actually closer than Dayton, and believe it or not, it was my 1st time on the Ohio Turnpike. With that, I am very close to have been on every mile of Ohio interstate highway. I haven't been on the Turnpike west of Toledo, I-90 west of Cleveland, and most of I-77. Maybe one day, I'll decide to travel those stretches just to say I've done it. Anyway, the reunion was fun, the suburbs of Cleveland have really grown.

Well, a lot has taken place in sports, let's see if I can cover it all:

I'm just getting over the shock of what happened in the last 30 minutes of the US Open. It looked like the Mickelslam would be 3/4 complete with Phil 2 up with 3 to play. But Phil's wayward driver caught up with him, and a short time later, he was tied for the lead with Colin Montgomerie, who made a birdie bomb on 17. With Phil leaking some oil, and Monty finding the 18th fairway, it became Monty's tournament to lose. Well, he lost it. After waiting for 10 minutes to hit his approach, Monty at the last minute changed clubs and left his approach short and right in the deep rough. A double bogey took him out of it, leaving Geoff Ogilvie and Phil. Ogilvie, after chipping in for a miraculous par on 17 to stay one behind, found the 18th fairway, but his ball rolled into a sand-filled divot, basically leaving him with a 160 yard bunker shot. He left it short, but got up and down with a great chip and 5-foot putt for par. Phil just needed to find the 18th fairway, but instead of playing it safe with his 4-wood or 3 iron, Phil hit his driver again, and found the souvenir tent/kitchen on the left. Then, he tried to play a miraculous slice 3 iron on the green when he could've chipped back in the fairway and played for a Monday playoff. His shot hit a tree, and the ball only went 25 yards. Still in trouble, he went for it again, hitting an iron up and over the trees, but into the left greenside bunker, plugging in the sand. With a plugged lie, the only way Phil could get his bunker shot to stay on the green was to somehow hit the hole. He didn't, and his ball rolled into the rough. He failed to chip in, and settled for a double, giving the championship to Ogilvie. Ogilvie will now be mentioned in the same breath as '99 British Open Champ Paul Lawrie, who was the beneficiary of some crazy Frenchman named Jean Van de Velde (Remember him?). All that was missing from this championship, was a creek and Phil taking his shoes off and getting in to try and hit some incredible shot.
Because of the reunion, I missed the US/Italy soccer game. Now I have to figure out how I'm going to watch the US/Ghana match, which starts at 10am Thurs. A US win and an Italy win over the Czechs puts the US in the 2nd round, a great achievement in such a tough group, and especially after they played against the Czechs last week.
No real comment on the NBA Finals, they start too late for me. I'm in bed by halftime, I just can't stay up that late.
The Tigers are battling the Brewers tonight, and are still in 1st place with the best overall record in baseball. People here are starting to get excited.
It looks like the Steelers may have made a mistake in drafting Santonio Holmes. First he was arrested in South Beach for misconduct, now he's been arrested in Columbus for domestic violence. Someone said a great line, "Once a Buckeye, always a Buckeye, on and off the field haha."
I can't argue with the Top 10 Most Inspiring Movies, although I think Hoosiers could've been in there.
Le Tour begins in a couple of weeks, and the title might stay in the USA. Levi Leipheimer won the Dauphine, which goes over the high Alps. This is the race Lance used to get ready, it appears Levi is ready to follow in his former teammate's footsteps. Ivan Basso has to be the favorite after winning the Tour of Italy, he was very strong in that race.

I better get my laundry folded. Wednesday, a special birthday edition, my silver birthday, #25, can you believe it?!?!?

The Wedding Singers

2006-06-11T18:05:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, one of my cousins got married down in Dearborn, so I was reunited with my dad's side of the family, some of which I hadn't seen in over 10 years. It was great seeing them and we had a lot of fun at the wedding reception. I'll be able to see some of them again next weekend in Cleveland at a family reunion, which will be nice.

Now the wedding and reception itself were interesting because, well here you can find out for yourself:

After the wedding, there was no receiving line. And during the reception, the newlyweds didn't go around and introduce themselves. Luckily, I was able to see my cousin before the wedding, but I never got to meet the bride. So I really can't tell you anything about her, except she had blond hair and I liked her dress.
At the reception, after the bridal party was introduced was the toast. This usually doesn't occur until a little later on. Also, there was no bridal party table, everyone was mixed in with everyone else.
I never saw the bouquet or garter thrown. In fact, the bridal party disappeared for a couple of hours.
Then there were the wedding singers. They basically covered every song you couldn't dance to. They even sang songs that were played off of their original CDs earlier. It was so bad, we had to go up and ask for the Electric Slide to be played. But, they didn't have it!!!!! So they played some song I hadn't heard of, and we did the Electric Slide. No Electric Slide, YMCA, Hokey Pokey, or any other line dance. The most contemporary song that was played was I believe Prince's "You don't have to be rich to be my girl". I like oldies, and they played some Motown stuff, but you've got to play some new stuff also. Jesse's Girl is a good song for an 80s Party, not a Wedding. The most fun I had on the floor was when a group of us danced to the original versions of "Build Me Up Buttercup" and "I Can't Help Myself" when they were played on CD while the singers took a break. When they came back, they tried to sing "I'll Be There" and "Livin On A Prayer". In a word: pathetic.

At my wedding, there will be a DJ, and we will tell the DJ what songs to play. There will be dancing of all kinds, all night long. Just as the rappers say, "you'll be dancin til 6 in the morning".

Alright, let's get caught up on sports:

I've enjoyed watching the World Cup so far, there's been some good action. I'll be taking a long lunch tomorrow to watch the US/Czech Republic game.
Today's Roger Federer/Rafael Nadal French Open final was a little bit of a letdown. It's weird seeing Federer not dominate his opponent. Nadal is the definition of tenacious, he wants to rip your heart out on the court. His game is tailor-made for the clay, it will be interesting to see how good he can become on the other surfaces.
I know she's only 16, and this was only her 10th major tournament, but that was Michelle Wie's tournament. Tee to green, she is the best woman in the world right now, better than Annika Sorenstam. But on the greens, she's got a long way to go. She should be in the field for the Men's US Open also if she would've made those 2 2-footers she missed. I'm rooting for her, but the way she's failing in the clutch is a little troubling. Today, 16th hole, she missed the green with a wedge from the middle of the fairway. 17th hole, missed 10-footer for birdie. 18th hole, missed the fairway off the tee, misjudged her approach, 3-putted for bogey. I know she's young, I'm just saying Tiger Woods was pulling off some of these shots in US Amateurs to win.
The Tigers are hanging onto 1st place, and I find myself rooting for them. I've watched some of their games, and they play hard, harder than the normal pro sports team. It will be interesting to see how long they can stay in it, they might be a year away. They've got some very good young players.

It's US Open week also. Phil is the favorite, as he's halfway to the Mickel-Slam. Tiger might become the sentimental favorite as he's playing for his dad. Tiger winning on Father's Day would be very emotional.

Close Call

2006-05-30T17:36:00.000-07:00

If you recall, during Memorial Day weekend last year, my dad and I were involved in a car accident. Well, it wasn't over the weekend, but today I came pretty darn close to being involved in another one. Granted, you can argue that when you drive in Detroit, you're always on the brink, but I was very, very close and very lucky today.

I'm driving home from work, going west on Grand River approaching Beech Daly when a car pulls slowly out of a parking lot in front of traffic. The woman was talking on her cell phone and was paying no attention to the fact that it was still a green light and that she basically blocked the two right lanes of traffic (I guess she thought she was important enough that we were going to stop for her). I slowed down, but didn't hit the brakes because it appeared she would turn into the lane next to me. But no, she kept coming, still talking on her cell phone and I literally braced for impact. I thought we were going to touch. I hit the brakes and coasted, somehow by her without hitting her. I looked behind at her to make sure we didn't touch, and there she was driving, talking on her cell phone as if almost getting in a wreck wasn't as important as her cell phone conversation. That is the reason why when my family comes up for my cousin's wedding in a couple of weeks, I'll be doing the driving because they have no idea how incompetent drivers are up here.

Oh, what can we talk about tonight:

This is a great sports town, but they've become a little bit spoiled. First, the Red Wings, the NHL's best team during the regular season, lost in the 1st round of the playoffs (although Edmonton has reached the Stanley Cup finals). Now, the Pistons are on the brink, trailing the Heat 3-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pistons were one of the best offensive teams in the league during the regular season, thanks in part to new coach Flip Saunders who is a good offensive coach and let the players have more freedom on offense. But, anyone can have a great offensive regular season, but it takes a truly great offense to be just as successful in the playoffs with the increased intensity on defense. The Pistons just aren't that good of an offensive team, and they're realizing it now. Pistons, defense was your calling card. You won because of your defense the last couple of years, not because you were great offensively. The last couple of years, there were stretches where it looked like the Pistons' opponent wouldn't score. That isn't the case anymore. And what's Coach Flip doing when going to a 3-2 zone? The 3-2 zone is the EASIEST zone defense to score against. Flash a guy from down low to the foul line, dump it to him, then post the other big guy down low, or kick it out to the guard who floats from the top to the wing for a jump shot. Flip didn't win anything with good talent in Minnesota, he's not going to do it in Detroit. But it's not all his fault, the Piston players need to stop being full of themselves and actually do what they claim to do, which is "go to work".
The 2nd best studio team is the TNT team of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley. They are knowledgeable and entertaining. It's too bad they come on so late most of the time, I'm already asleep when they're on. BTW, the best studio team is, of course, the ESPN College Gameday crew.
The French must look at the French Open as sweet revenge against the Americans since we either don't show up or aren't around for very long. ESPN's Brad Gilbert made a great point yesterday. He pointed out, the Euros and South Americans that grow up on clay, are taking those skills and applying them to the other surfaces (green, hard), and are getting better on those. The Americans only know how to play on hard courts and grass, don't learn how to play and move on the clay, therefore not gaining any extra skills they can use on the clay and the other surfaces like the rest of the world. So is it a coincidence then that the best tennis players these days are NOT coming from America??? I think not.
Ben Affleck going to the hospital because of a migraine was newsworthy on the Detroit local noon news. First of all, is it that slow of a newsday here? I guess since the search for Hoffa has been called off, they needed something. And second, what a woos!!!! Terrell Davis played most of Super Bowl 32 (and won MVP) with a migraine, while poor Ben went to the hospital.

Have a good one.

Summer is finally here!

2006-05-23T18:28:00.000-07:00

The last couple of weeks in Meeechigan it's felt like football weather. 60 degrees, some sun, a lot of wind, not terrible, but not what you want in late May. This week it's warming up gradually. We broke 70 today and we'll be in the mid 80s by the end of the week.

I'm still amazed with how people treat sports up here. Granted, Dayton isn't really a sports town. There's UD basketball, and most people like the Buckeyes and the Bengals, but their homes are in other towns so Dayton isn't a real sports town. Detroit, however, is a serious sports town. All the talk's about the Pistons, on every local newscast, on every local radio show, they're everywhere. And with their hot start, the Tigers are starting to get some attention, which I'm happy about. I've actually watched several of their games on TV. Yes you heard me correctly, I've watched several baseball games on TV. The Tigers play hard and with passion, two things you don't see every day in pro sports. If you play hard and show some emotion, I will get behind you, it's infectious. So I hope the Tigers do well and one of these days I'm going to a game (maybe next week when the Yanks and Sox are in town).

I wonder what it will be like during Michigan football season? I'm kind of curious.

So I watched this whole American Idol thing from start to finish this year, first time since the 2nd season. I thought the top 12 were strong at the beginning of the finals, yet they turned out to be mediocre.

There was Mandisa (I apologize for spelling errors), by far the best female vocally, except on country night, which gave the producers the excuse they needed to kick her off.
And there was Bucky, how was he on for as long as he was. The Buddy Holly song he did was awful.
I liked Lisa McGee, I think she was too young. The producers wouldn't have made as much money off of her record since her target audience doesn't compose of people with much disposable income.
Kellie Pickler. I don't think she was putting on an act. She wouldn't be able to make a good pop record.
Paris was awesome at the beginning, but she tried to be too much of a grown up at the end. I liked little girl Paris, not made up trying to be 25 Paris. Her audition was her best performance.
Elliott has a great voice, but not the personality that's gonna make you buy a record, although I liked his competitiveness down the stretch. He knew he was the underdog and he came to play.
And there was Chris, who should've won, but the producers went for intriguing TV. And something tells me Chris already has a record deal.
So that leaves McPhee, who has an unbelievable voice, but no musicality. And by no musicality, she sings the song note for note perfectly, but there's no feel, no consistent emotion put into the song. When she keeps it simple like in Somewhere Over the Rainbow, she's dynamite. But when she tries to show off (I Believe I Can Fly), it's tough to listen to. But she can be made into a star, that's why she's still around.
And there's Taylor. The feel good story from the hurricane ravaged South. He can sing Soul, he's popular, but can he sell a pop record? That's why I get the feeling McPhee will win because she has the most money-making potential. It worked with Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, but not with Ruben and Fantasia. They're all great singers, but Clive Davis & Co. want to make some money, and I don't know if Taylor can make them a lot of money.
And do you REALLY think they count all of those votes?!?!?! It's all about TV, read the disclaimer at the end of the show. The producers can make whatever decision they want in the end, which means, in the words of Roy McAvoy (Tin Cup, played by Kevin Costner): DOLLAR BILLS!!!! I love the "close" vote last week, great made up totals.

And they're digging for Jimmy Hoffa not too far from here. Right now, the bill is around $500,000, trying to find a guy who's been dead for quite awhile.

Diana, Princess of Wales

2006-05-14T19:13:00.000-07:00

So I went home for Mothers' Day weekend, which was great. Great, but short. One very cool thing I got to do was visit the Princess Diana exhibit at the Dayton Art Institute. This exhibit has toured the country, and contains many photographs and other personal belongings (toys, diary, books, etc.). But a few things stand out:

Her wedding dress. Yup, the one she wore to her wedding with Prince Charles was on display and it was my favorite thing in the exhibit. You see it all the time in old pictures, but to see it in person, the 25 foot long train. That's more than 8 yards!!!
The number of personal condolences she received after she died. I don't know if it was just a sample or the whole collection, but either way, there was book upon book of them. And not just personal journal size books, these were encyclopedia volume type sized books.
The sampling of outfits she wore to events. Diana still defines class and taste. Add to that her big heart (she was involved with 100 different organizations at one point) and she was truly one of a kind.

I had just gotten off work at Kroger and was flipping through the channels when the story first broke. I went to bed, assuming she would be ok, hurt, but ok. When I woke up the morning after, I couldn't believe she was dead. I was immediately transformed back to that past moment when I visited the exhibit today. To be able to view the exhibit was definitely a privilege and an honor.

I also got to see my neighbor's new Pontiac Solstice while I was home. I am officially now saving up for one. I usually don't get excited about cars, but the Solstice, mmm mmm, must have.

Crash

2006-05-06T19:53:00.000-07:00

I went out and bought the Best Picture award winner and watched it today. I had been repeatedly told how good it was and finally I got the chance to see it and it was worth the hype. It's one of those movies that you get mad at because that's now how life it really is, but as you continue to watch, you realize the racism shown is racism that unfortunately takes place somewhere. I won't ruin the movie for those who haven't seen it, but I think the lesson is meet as many people as possible, that way you're exposed to different cultures, habits, races, etc. The more personal experiences you have, the more respect you gain for one's way of life, the less likely you'll have racist attitudes toward someone. I still have a lot to learn, but I have been fortunate enough to have met a lot of people and learned about them and the way they live their life, and every new person I meet, it makes me a better person after the fact. The only other Best Picture nominee I saw was Cinderella Man, and Crash was clearly better.

Congratulations to the Miami University Class of 2006. I hope you are having a great weekend. I can't believe it's been 2 years already since I completed my undergraduate work. Add to that I'll be 25 in a little more than a month and I feel old. Then I think about how much I've been able to accomplish before the age of 25 and it's amazing, I've been lucky to be given as many opportunities as I have to succeed. I'd like to think I've taken advantage of those.

Lance Armstrong is featured in this week's SI, I suggest you take a look. He continues to do great things for cancer patients, but I can't help thinking about him possibly cheating on his first wife, then Sheryl Crow. Is it ok for our heroes to have flaws. Lance does so much good, but his breakups hang over him. Is it ok that I admire certain things about him, but not all things? Does that make him a true hero? I don't know. One thing's for sure, it'll be strange not seeing him ride in the Tour in a couple of months.

Whoa Nellie!

2006-05-03T19:22:00.000-07:00

I'm watching the USC/Texas Rose Bowl on ESPN Classic, Keith Jackson's final game as a broadcaster. He has retired, for good (if you remember, he retired back in 1998 but stayed on). It's always great hearing Keith's voice, because his voice is college football. When he decided to stay on, I wasn't in favor of it. I'm not a fan of people unretiring after they get the big sendoff. And Keith wasn't as sharp as he used to be, but still, Keith Jackson is a staple of fall Saturdays and I will miss him. The great play-by-play announcers are a dying breed. Now, you get these types that get excited about every little thing and are more worried about what their memorable calls and quotes will be instead of sticking to announcing the game and letting the excitement come naturally.

Speaking of USC, Matt Leinart and Paris Hilton are now an item?!?!? I really am not a Leinart fan now. It looks like he's more worried about his image than his football. He thinks he's one of the greatest things ever created. It looks like he has a huge ego. Hopefully I'm wrong, but after seeing him almost cry after falling to the #10 pick, firing his agent (Ben Roethlisberger's agent), and appearing in People's Most Beautiful People issue, I don't know.

My afternoon commute just got longer. So wouldn't you know, my backup route (Grand River) is going to be down to one lane. It took me an hour to get home tonight, ridiculous. This is supposed to only last 2-3 weeks, but who knows. Another highway note, someone left their couch on the ramp connecting I-275 and I-96. You know , your average couch on the side of the road, in pretty good condition, something you see every day, right haha?

Tiger Woods's dad died today, succumbing to prostate cancer. When he and Tiger first hit the national stage, I thought they were brash and cocky. But you know what, they got it right. Earl ended up right about how good Tiger was going to be, on and off the golf course. In fact, Tiger has been better than advertised, becoming one of the greatest athletes of all time. And Earl stepped out of the spotlight once Tiger turned pro, simply becoming a proud dad at a tournament rooting on his son. At first glance, it appeared that Earl was living through Tiger, pushing him to be a pro golfer. But the way Tiger talked about him and the way he broke down after last year's Masters, Earl got him started, but Tiger did the work and is grateful for his dad being there.

Tomorrow, Steve Forbes is coming to the Fed as part of a conference we're assisting at. Yup, that Steve Forbes, as in Forbes magazine and the Forbes 500. Should be interesting.

Busy Busy, but a Good Busy

2006-04-24T19:41:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-16T19:31:00.000-07:00

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...

2006-04-10T19:11:00.000-07:00

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!!!!

2006-04-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-08T18:15:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-04T19:02:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-03T20:56:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

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?!?!?!

Life and Death

2006-03-27T19:10:00.000-08:00

Today, I learned my Great Grandma (dad's side) passed on last night. She was in her late nineties. She resided in Cleveland; it had been a few years since I had seen her last, she had moved onto assisted living. She was very caring and a fighter. She was resilient, which kept her going until she couldn't any longer. Maybe that's where I get some of my intensity because she certainly had some. I have many great memories with her: going to the 4th of July fireworks and concert in downtown Cleveland, going to the Cleveland Public Market, riding the RAPID, Cleveland's public transit, my first ever time on public transit. There are pictures of me and her when I was little, taking walks, even playing whiffle ball. I feel bad for my dad because he only has his siblings now, all of his elders are gone.

Meanwhile, today at work we hosted the Michigan Fed Challenge. 8 high school teams pretended to be the Federal Open Market Committee and presented their thoughts on whether or not Ben Bernanke & Co. should raise the federal funds rate tomorrow. Today took me back to the days of Academic Challenge/Quiz Bowl and competing in that. It was great listening to everyone present, I was able to learn something from each presentation. That's a great part of economics, you can never really know it all and there's always something new to learn. And it's amazing how much these high schoolers knew. My first economics class was sophomore year at Miami. These high schoolers know so much more then than I did in my junior year at Miami. They were very impressive.

Barry Bonds said, "My life is in shambles. It is crazy." I feel really sorry for him. I think I will be buying the book, "Game of Shadows" when it comes out after reading the excerpt out of Sports Illustrated. This is pretty serious stuff. I have looked for the book about Lance Armstrong that was written by the two British authors accusing him of using performance-enhancing drugs, but I haven't been able to find it. I'll have to get it on Amazon or Ebay I suppose. I'd want to see what they put together.

I've had to change my way home, again. Here in Detroit, construction season is SERIOUS. They are totally reconstructing M-14, a highway which connects Detroit and Ann Arbor. Interstate 96 leaves the city heading west, joining up with I-275 the bypass for a little bit, while the highway that continues on M-14. Well, 3 lanes of traffic are now one, creating major backups, so I'm only taking 96 to Telegraph Rd., then taking that to Grand River (M-5), which is the 2nd half of my old way home.

So it's been an interesting day, g'night.

Fantasy Camp

2006-03-26T20:30:00.000-08:00

Today was the Junior Achievement Charity Basketball Shootout at the Palace, and yours truly was lucky enough to take part. 9 teams of 4, one of them being a kid, shooting from different marked spots on the floor (foul shot =2 pts., bank shot = 2 pts., 3 pointer = 3 pts. ,etc.), scoring as many points as you can in 90 seconds. Each team got 2 rounds, and the top 4 advanced to the final round.

We were able to warm up for about 20-25 minutes before hand, and when I took the floor, I had this huge smile. I started shooting like I always do if I were at the Miami Rec Center, the Northmont gym, or my neighbors' court, starting in close and working my way out. But each time I shot, the thought running through my head was, "I'm doing this at the Palace, I'm doing this at the Palace." It was like fantasy camp. Those 20-25 minutes would've been enough, but it was time to compete. My team did very well, it was me, two kids around 12 and 9 I believe, and one of the kid's dads. We ended up in 2nd, the other Federal Reserve team won, so it was a Fed sweep haha. For not having played in 2 months, I did ok, mostly staying in close, taking a 3 here and there. The kids, on my team and all of the teams stole the show. Talk about enjoying the moment and taking advantage of an opportunity, the little boys and girl that participated. On the winning team, there was a boy who couldn't be any older than 8 who lit it up from 3 point range, NBA 3 point range!!!! The girl, just as old was just as good, but she was on a team that wasn't very good. By finishing in the top 4, I won a Pistons championship bag, a visor, 4 free tickets to a WNBA Detroit Shock game, and a couple of other little toys. I could see the girl was disappointed in not winning the bag itself, it was a kid's size bag. I really had no use for it and she played really well and I thought she deserved it so I gave it to her. She had a huge smile on her face, I'm glad I gave it to her. I just hope she keeps playing.

The Pistons/Nets game was, well an NBA game. Poor shooting, poor overall play, just poor. The best parts of the game were the promos and the fan cams. One little kid took off his shirt, flexed, then started rubbing his stomach in a very sexual manner. A little too scary for me. So of course the rest of the game, every little kid in the arena took off their shirt to try and get on camera. Four words: Where are the parents?!?!?!

But even the dull game can't take the smile off of my face. What a day. Who gets a chance to do this?!?!?! It's awfully hard to top this as far as playing basketball goes.

I will say the Palace has the tightest rims I've ever shot on, I didn't get one single shooter's roll. Granted, the balls were a little heavy and outdoor balls, not indoor balls, but it's no wonder Detroit concentrates on defense, it's hard to make long-range shots with those rims.

I did get to watch most of the college action afterward. You can't spell NCAA without CAA haha!!!!:

George Mason 86, UConn 84. UConn brought their A game for the first time in this tournament, George Mason brought their A+++++ game. George Mason shot 50% from the floor, 50% from 3, and outrebounded UConn by 4. Simply amazing. GMU's calling card is their defense, but they were unconscious in the 2nd half and overtime. But it looked like UConn would get lucky again after they forced overtime thanks to a missed Tony Skinn free throw that could've sealed it. Before overtime started, you had to ask yourself, do these guys have anything left??? They did, and in fact, they played even better in overtime. They gave Denham Brown a pretty good look to win it, but it was long, and George Mason is the first "mid-major" since 1979 to make the Final 4. This game is right up there with Kentucky/Duke as far as greatness goes. All that's missing is the buzzer beating shot, but I think the Cinderella story makes up for it.
Florida 75, Villanova 62. When Randy Foye made it a 45-42 game with 11 min. left, I thought Nova would take control. They would find another way to win a game they shouldn't. But even they couldn't overcome 24% shooting, they met their match today. Florida matched their quickness, and proved too hard to guard with their balance offensively. If Florida wins, Joakim Noah will be Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament. Just another 21 point, 15 board, 5 block effort for the big man. Florida had 4 in double figures, including 19 from Taurean Green, who has regained most of his early season form. He's cut down on his turnovers, giving Noah and Horford a chance to make plays inside. Florida has that balance back that made them so good early in the year. Villanova was my pick to win it all, and they fought hard, but they didn't have the players to beat Florida.

I really don't know who's going to win this thing. There's no overwhelming favorite (first time a #1 seed didn't make the Final 4 since 1980). Honestly, George Mason has as good of a shot as the other three. And just like the Big Ten put two in the Final 4 last year despite being called weak, the SEC has 2 of the last 4 this year. Also, when was the last time all of the Final 4 teams came from south of the Mason-Dixon line??? If you know the answer, let me know.

Wow, what a day, I think I'll be smiling while I'm sleeping haha.

We're Halfway There

2006-03-25T18:32:00.000-08:00

I'm excited I'm starting this before 11pm local time, I can actually take my time and collect my thoughts. 8 hours of sleep never felt so good. So of course the first thing I hear on tv this morning is that people who sleep an average of 6-7 hours per night live longer than those who sleep 8. So I guess I'm doing the right thing by not getting to bed when I should?

One national semifinal is set. The theme today: athleticism:

LSU 70, Texas 60. I've been saying along that Texas's guards were the key to their success. Well, they were 11/33 and scored 31 of their points, not scintillating, but they've played worse. Daniel Gibson single-handedly kept Texas in it down the stretch in regulation. But Texas's inside people, specifically Brad Buckman and LaMarcus Aldridge played soft. They settled for jump shots instead of taking it right at Tyrus Thomas and Glenn Davis. Aldridge was 2/14 for 4 points as Davis pushed him off the block time and time again. Texas got off to a good start, leading 9-2, but a Thomas follow up dunk changed the complexion of the game. As Duke did the other night, Texas got tentative inside offensively. At the other end, Texas played their soft zone, trying to deny the ball inside. Well, it didn't work haha. Davis was 11/19 for 26 points, Thomas 10/14 for 21 points. LSU only went 3/18 from 3, but they didn't have to shoot well because Thomas and Davis had their way inside. Again, all of the close games LSU played on the road have helped, they have learned how to win. They are going to be a tough out the way they defend, rebound, and intimidate inside.
UCLA 50, Memphis 45. Well, this game was uuuugly, neither team played very well, but in a way, UCLA executed their gameplan. They forced Memphis to play disciplined, half-court basketball, something they're not very good at, they'd rather run up and down the floor and play freely. And it's been awhile since Memphis had to bear down and focus, they didn't have to do this during conference play, their talent was always too much in the end. But UCLA matched up with them athletically and depth wise and made life difficult for them. UCLA did a good job of attacking the basket and getting to the foul line, although they kept Memphis in it with their inept foul shooting. Basically, the youth of both teams showed, with neither team having experienced a game and atmosphere like this before. Both teams had as many or more turnovers than field goals made. UCLA won but had 17 turnovers compared to 14 made field goals, yikes. But UCLA can guard you, and when you have that going for you, you don't have to be a great offensive team.

Actually, the best game I saw was the Michigan Class A Championship where Saginaw Arthur Hill beat Okemos 85-84 in double overtime, overcoming a 3 point deficit in the last 30 seconds. Okemos's Jonathan Jones scored 38 in a losing cause, including making 6/7 threes.

On the drive into the work, one of the things I look forward to is Sarah's Celebrity Dirt on 95.5 Mojo in the Morning. She has the inside scoop thanks to some sources I guess she has, and it makes for a good laugh. Let's see, Nick Lachey is hooking up with Kristin Cavallari from Laguna Beach, Eva Longoria is unhappy about the interview that quoted her saying she's the "teacher in the bedroom" with Tony Parker, Kevin Federline is trying to start his rap career while his first career, cheating on wives is still going strong, and Lindsay Lohan is just, well, a very lost soul. She doesn't want to be the party girl, yet she's the party girl. I love all of their "statements" also, it must be nice to have a publicist.

4 years ago, we had Britney, Christina, Jessica, and Mandy. Britney is now pregnant all the time, Christina can sing, but she's disappeared, Jessica is trying to show she's smart, and Mandy may actually have a real life. I like the chances of Kelly, Gwen, and Alicia surviving than the previous 4 as a group. One good thing Jessica did was when she imitated Britney in an American Idol spoof on SNL. That was good.

Once basketball is over, I'm going to get back into reading in my spare time. I've lost track on how many books I'm behind. My collection looks impressive though, I just need to read some of these haha.

I'm still working out 4-5 times a week, after work and usually on Sunday. I wish I had a better routine, but this is the best I'll be able to do. I can't wait until it gets warmer and I can run outside again, my back is not a fan of the treadmill, let's just say that. I can't wait to hit the links again also, I'm getting the urge.

Tomorrow is the Charity Basketball Shootout at the Palace. Hopefully I don't lay an egg and make a couple from downtown.

Elite 8

2006-03-24T22:04:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a night of basketball. It definitely made up for the disappointing showing by Miami hockey tonight in their NCAA tournament (5-0 loss).

We're down to the Elite 8:

George Mason 63, Wichita St. 55. In what's turned into Homecoming for the Patriots, GMU started with a 9-0 run and never looked back. GMU shot 46%, 50% from 3 while holding the Shockers, who rely on the jump shot inside and out, to 31% shooting. I can't imagine what the atmosphere will be like on Sunday. GMU better bring the D, they'll need every bit of it.
Villanova 60, Boston College 59. This wasn't the prettiest or the best played game, but it was a game that displayed two teams' collective heart, fire, effort, and competitiveness. There was BC, trying to impose their physicality on the game, running their flex offense and playing tight perimeter defense. Then there's little, overmatched Villanova, fighting to guard BC's big guys, fighting for every rebound, driving into the lane with no fear. BC led 25-9 with about 6 min. to go in the 1st half when Villanova decided to increase the defensive pressure. BC's guards couldn't handle it, turned the ball over and let Nova get within 4 at the half. BC was forced to have Craig Smith and Jared Dudley bring the ball up, which didn't allow them to attack the pressure. Sean Williams was huge inside for BC, making big plays at each end. But the Villanova guards wouldn't be denied. Foye, Ray, and Lowry just refuse to lose. Ray was ice cold all night, but he still found a way to hit 2 big 3s late in regulation. Foye and Lowry appeared to put it away for Nova with their drives late, but Dudley came back and hit a 3 to send it to overtime. Nova went up by 5, BC came back, leading by 1 with 10 sec. left and Nova ball out of bounds under the BC basket. With no timeouts, Nova couldn't setup a play in the huddle, but they didn't need to. They ran the same inbounds play they used to beat Cincinnati late in the season and it resulted in a goaltending call (good call). What a battle, neither team gave an inch. Villanova just refuses to lose, I love watching them battle.
Florida 57, Georgetown 53. The young Gators overcame Georgetown's awkward style and will play Villanova in the regional final. Joakim Noah for Florida: 15 points, 10 boards, and 5 blocks, but it was Corey Brewer's acrobatic shot and ensuing free throw that put the Gators ahead for good. Florida stayed aggressively offensively, getting good shots and getting to the foul line. They have cut down on their turnovers which has been the difference for them in my opinion. But, they haven't played anyone like Villanova yet in this tournament. Still, nice to see Billy Donovan have some success after getting rid of some of the spoiled brats he's had the last couple of years.
UConn 98, Washington 92. Washington did everything but win the game. Their gameplan was perfect. Although smaller, UW is quicker and they got after UConn early. They sacrificed foul trouble for aggressive play, and it almost paid off. They forced 26 turnovers, 26?!?!?! Brandon Roy was unguardable and UConn was frustrated. But early in the 2nd half, UW missed their chance to put UConn in serious trouble. There was a 3-4 minute stretch where UConn took bad shots or turned the ball over, yet UW also turned the ball over or took bad shots, most coming from their freshmen guards. Then after the double technical foul with Roy and Rudy Gay, UConn's run was cued. But UW hung tough with Roy on the bench, Jamaal Williams is an unbelievable 6'6 post player. UW was up 5 in the last minute, but inexplicably let Rashard Anderson touch the ball twice. And guess what, he made 2 big 3s. Add the stupid foul by Mike Jensen that gave Marcus Williams a 3 point play and the game went to OT. UW couldn't afford to go to OT because of their foul trouble and they lost 3 guys to fouls. But they never quit and had the ball down 2 after a Ryan Appleby steal. But UW turned it over and UConn survived. I really don't like UConn's attitude, they came out flat, complained, then flipped the switch and were very fortunate. I just don't know why you wouldn't want to play hard all the time, that doesn't make sense to me. But they have talented players, and they live another day.

I promise I'll write about other things again soon, but it's late and I'm tired. I like Texas and UCLA tomorrow, in close games.

Soft Dukies

2006-03-23T21:20:00.000-08:00

Maybe I should give up doing a bracket next year for Lent. We're halfway to the Elite 8, let's recap tonight's action:

LSU 62, Duke 54. LSU played great defense inside and outside. The tone of this game changed after Tyrus Thomas blocked 2 shots in the 1st half, the 2nd an attempt by none other than the Landlord himself, Shelden Williams. After that, you could see Duke get tentative offensively, scared to take the ball inside. LSU had a great gameplan defensively: make the other guys beat you. Greg Paulus: 2/8, Sean Dockery 0/4, DeMarcus Nelson 1/5, and most of those were good looks. JJ Redick wasn't allowed to breathe and he did the worst thing he could possibly do: he lost his composure. The rest of his team followed suit and that helped cost them the game. When do you see Duke give up an offensive rebound to the guy shooting a foul shot??? With 4 Dukies lined up and no one else lined up for the rebound on top of that??? LSU lost a lot of close games early in the year to tough teams, but they've learned and grown from it obviously, congrats to them.
Memphis 80, Bradley 64. Memphis was just too good, their superstars played like superstars. Memphis was able to quicken the tempo, which made Patrick O'Bryant a nonfactor. The Tigers forced 17 turnovers, leading to easy buckets. Rodney Carney and Darius Washington both played big. Congrats to Bradley on their run, they ran into a team that may just win this thing.
Texas 74, West Virginia 71. What a game this was. Texas was in control in the 1st half, but West Virginia kept shooting 3s and made a good percentage. It looked like Texas would get Pittsnoggled as the big man tied it up with a 3 with 5 sec. left, but Kenton Paulino won it with a 3 at the other end. Rick Barnes made a great move by not calling timeout after Pittsnoggle hit the 3, which didn't allow the defense to get set, giving them a pretty good look, a better look than they would've gotten if they had called timeout. Texas's guards played ok at best, but they outboarded WVU 42-14. 42-14?!?!?! LSU/Texas will be an interesting matchup, LSU plays great defense, Texas has great size, should be a great game.
UCLA 73, Gonzaga 71. I'm trying to understand how Gonzaga lost this game. Gonzaga played defense in the 1st half, I couldn't believe it. They came out with a chip on their shoulder, like the Gonzaga from a few years ago when they were trying to earn people's respect. UCLA was passive on offense, dribbling the ball too much and making silly mistakes. But the curse of the big lead bit Gonzaga. They got tentative on offense and Derek Raivio played a very poor 2nd half, turning the ball over while out of control. It wasn't one guy that brought UCLA back, it was a collective effort. They all played better in the 2nd half, and took advantage of Gonzaga allowing them to stay in the game. Gonzaga outrebounded them by 10, who would've thought, but 16 turnovers, most of those coming in the 2nd half, did them in. And what was JP Batista thinking at the end of the game??? Raivio was behind him wide open. A bad decision by an experienced player.

So I split tonight, losing Duke, but getting Ws with Texas and UCLA. But I'm happy there was good basketball tonight. This thing is wide open, as we all know.

And yes, I will be struggling at work tomorrow since I'll be going on 5 hours of sleep, but it's Friday, I can do it.

Sweet 16

2006-03-19T18:05:00.000-08:00

This is the most interesting group of 16 that I can remember. There is no North Carolina, Kansas, or Kentucky, but we have George Mason, Wichita St., and Bradley. Billy Packer and Jim Nantz must've had trouble sleeping this past weekend. This was the year we were going to have this type of Sweet 16. The major programs are filled with youngsters while the "mid-majors" have experience and players who aren't afraid of the big boys because they've played with and against the top recruits many times. While AAU basketball hasn't been good for the fundamentals of the game, it is a reason why there's more parity in the game. After you've competed against someone many times, it becomes just another game when you see them again, regardless of the name on the front of their jersey.

Well, 8 of my Sweet 16 survived. Here's a recap of today:

Bradley 72, Pittsburgh 66. Talk about a fearless team, Bradley was the aggressor, getting to the foul line 32 times and hanging with the bigger, more physical Panthers on the boards. Bradley repeatedly got to loose balls and rebounds first, making up for their low shooting percentage. On offense, they continued to go to the basket, even when Pitt made runs at them. Patrick O' Bryant was unstoppable in the middle: 28 points, 7 rebounds. For a 7-footer, he has a really nice touch from the foul line. Their 13 seed is misleading, Bradley is no Cinderella, they are good. There's nothing mid-major about them. After watching them, there's no doubt in my mind they will play Memphis tough.
UConn 87, Kentucky 83. UConn did just enough again to win, but they're relying too much on their talent. Undersized Kentucky shot 47% from the floor, one of their best shooting performances of the year, and tied UConn on the boards. UK had no answer for Marcus Williams down the stretch, who is automatic at the foul line.
Memphis 72, Bucknell 56. Bucknell couldn't handle the Tigers' athleticism, committing 19 turnovers while only shooting 37% from the floor. Memphis has quietly worked its way into the final 16, but they should beware of Bradley in the next round, they will challenge them.
George Mason 65, North Carolina 60. Carolina jumped out to a 16-2 lead and it seemed this would be quick and easy. But the Patriots switched to a zone and the young Heels got tentative, allowing GMU to get back in the game. The most telling stat of this game: 4. That's how many free throws UNC attempted for the whole game. Not what you expect from a Roy Williams team. George Mason now gets a rematch with Wichita St., whom they beat earlier in the Bracket Buster at Wichita. And, the game is in Washington DC at the MCI Center, a 2 minute metro ride from their campus. There should be a lot of green and gold in the crowd.
West Virginia 67, Northwestern St. 54. The Cinderella of the field couldn't hang onto their glass slipper, or the ball for that matter. The Demons like to play free and loose, which doesn't work against a team like WVU. The Demons couldn't figure out the Mountaineers' defense, committing 24 turnovers and taking ill-advised shots. They never gave up, even after WVU hit a half-court shot at the end of the 1st half to give WVU a 41-19 halftime lead. The Demons got as close as 8 with 4 minutes left, but couldn't get over the hump. But they'll never forget the weekend they had and I'll remember getting to watch a real Cinderella in person. It was fun to be a part of it.
Georgetown 70, Ohio St. 52. Well, Thad Matta and his boys got this one wrong. Against Georgetown, you must make them hit 3s to beat you. Even if they hit a couple, you still give them the 3 instead of opening the back door. But OSU left the back door wide open, playing tight man defense on the perimeter, which played right into Georgetown's hands. OSU became impatient on offense, and even the Dayton crowd couldn't bring them back. It's hard to win when you take 11 fewer shots and only get 2 offensive rebounds.
Texas 75, NC State 54. The Texas guards were 3/14 Friday night; they were 14/26 today. When they make shots and make plays, Texas is as good as anybody, period.
Villanova 82, Arizona 78. Villanova can play at any tempo, and they proved that today. Arizona sped up the game and Nova was up for it. 54% shooting, 47% from 3, and 17/20 from the line, superb numbers for Nova. Credit to Arizona, they brought their A game this weekend, but the Nova guards are too good at the end of games. They get the shots they want and they make free throws. Allen Ray is showing no ill effects from his eye injury. Villanova/Boston College is the marquee game of the Sweet 16, what a battle it should be.
The goal of the 1st weekend of the NCAA Tournament is to survive and advance. If you're in the Sweet 16, you have a legitimate shot of getting to the Final 4 and winning it all.
"MVC" was the chant from the Bradley section after their victory. The Missouri Valley Conference has proven they belong. And it was great to see the celebration after the game. The Bradley players went up into the crowd where their fans were and got mobbed. It was one big sea of red.
There will be pictures and movies coming from the games for your viewing enjoyment.

Well, all I can say about my bracket is that my Final 4 are still alive and that's about it. Miami hockey will open NCAA Tournament play up in Worcester, MA as a 2 seed. They play Boston College in the 1st round, yikes. Go get em boys!!!!