Basketball Thoughts Before the Big Apple
*This stupid idea of calling everday "Elimination (fill-in the day)" is getting a real old, real fast. For example, on my way home from work tonight, ESPN Radio was talking about the Florida State/Clemson game, and called it an elimination game, hey guys, it’s in a tournament THEY ARE ALL ELIMINATION GAMES!!! Quite honestly neither of those teams should be going to the NCAA Tournament. Clemson started the season 17-0 (against mainly garbage teams) and is 4-9 since, how could ANYONE think they should be in the tournament. Florida State has already lost to Clemson twice (adding to my belief that Clemson has beaten NOBODY) but have a “quality” win against Duke.
*DUKE STINKS THIS YEAR!!! It pains me to say it because they are my second favorite team behind Pitt, but lets face it, they just are not good. They get special treatment because the name on the shirt and the coach on the sidelines, but beating Duke shouldn’t be considered an accomplishment this season by any ACC team.
*Dominic James is the biggest baby I have ever seen play basketball. He was injured AGAIN tonight in the game against St. John’s. This extended his streak to 42 straight games that he left at some point during the game, but miraculously healed in the closing minutes of the game in which he could re-enter and attempt to play the role of hero.
*(PRO HOOPS) Kobe Bryant should be suspended for more than the one game that he was for hitting Minnesota Timberwolves guard Marko Jaric with a forearm after Jaric blocked his shot. This is the second time this year that Kobe was suspended for the same thing. This guy is as graceful and agile as anyone in basketball while in the air. Yet, twice when his shot is blocked in the final seconds of a close game this happens?? Gimme a break.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqqEsZrdQ9Q
*Speaking about violence in sports, the suspension Duke guard Gerald Henderson received for hitting North Carolina center Tyler Hansbrough was an absolute joke. Anyone who as ever played a sniff of basketball could see that Henderson was clearly going for the ball. The ball was knocked away from Hansbrough, and Henderson swung his body towards where the ball was now going. Unfortunately, when he made this move he drilled Hansbrough across the bridge of his nose, and his nose pretty much exploded, leaving blood everywhere. Even Hansbrough said it is a physical game and stuff like that happens. He also said that he didn’t think Henderson hit him on purpose.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAR2tWAj49o
*We have reached conference tournament time and the debate on which conference is the best in college basketball is at an all-time high as conference fight for the fans viewer-ship. Let me help in this one. This is how each of the major six conferences were represented this week in the AP Top 20:
ACC (2 teams): North Carolina (#8) Maryland (18)
SEC (1 team): Florida (6)
PAC-10 (3 teams): UCLA (4) Washington St. (11) Oregon (16)
Big Ten (2 teams): Ohio State (1) Wisconsin (3)
Big XII (3 teams): Kansas (2) Texas A&M (7) Texas (15)
Big East (5 teams): Georgetown (9) Louisville (12) Pitt (13) Marquette (18) Notre Dame (20)
For quality and parity I think it is pretty clear that the best conference is the Big East.
*PREDICTION TIME:
ACC Tournament:
CHAMPION: North Carolina over Virginia
Upset Watch: #6 Georgia Tech over #3 Virginia Tech
Big East:
CHAMPION: Louisville over Syracuse
Upset Watch: #9 Villanova over #1 Georgetown
Big Ten:
WHO CARES?!!!!!!!
BIG XII:
CHAMPION: Texas A&M over Kansas
Upset Watch: #12 Colorado over #5 Texas Tech
PAC-10:
CHAMPION: UCLA over Washington
Upset Watch: #7 Washington over #2 Washington State AND #3 USC
SEC:
CHAMPION: Tennessee over Vanderbilt
Upset Watch: Tennessee BIG over Florida in the semifinals
Okay fine, Big Ten:
CHAMPION: Wisconsin over Michigan
Upset Watch: #8 Michigan over #1 Ohio State
There you have it, all the information you will need over the next few days. I will be back from New York and the Big East Tournament on Sunday with lots of stuff ammo for next week. Enjoy CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK!!!
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
The Penguins and State CLASH
The Penguins and State CLASH
The Pittsburgh Penguins may actually be leaving the city. That is at least what they want the state to believe. When you negotiate a contract you have to be willing to make the other side believe that you are willing to walk away. The Penguins are now to that point. They have bargained, they have dealed, they have conceded points, but now they have threatened to walk.
As Ed Rendell and Dan Onorato continue to play dumb in this whole situation, the Penguins brass came out yesterday and put down the facts. They stated that they offered to pay $2.86 million dollars a year towards the new arena originally, but the state came back and wanted $4 million. That was the number that the Penguins brought to the table yesterday, the exact number the state requested, but again the state said no. All that was said by Rendall was the same thing he has been saying all along, “I still believe that we are very close to getting this deal.”
Really Ed?
What makes you think that?
You aren’t in Philadelphia anymore. You are now talking about the LEFT side of the state. By LEFT, I mean both geographically and politcally. The politics and politicians on this side of the state are more screwed up than the Anna Nicole Smith hearings. This is the same city in which it has apparently been decided to argue for years over who gets the casinos rather than just getting them up and running. It is not just by chance that other casino licenses in the state are being used already as needed, with the working casinos.
I would love to see the Penguins stay, not for the hockey, although I’m becoming a fan, but for the city. Pittsburgh is already on the downswing, and this would just be another step. This city needs the Pens much more than the Penguins needs Pittsburgh, but the politicians don’t see that. Letting the Penguins leave Pittsburgh would be career suicide for for the young leaders of the area, mayor Luke Ravenstahl and county executive Dan Onorato.
What is shocking about all of this is that Mario Lemieux DOES know this about the city of Pittsburgh. He has lived in or around the city his entire adult life. Yet he still is doing everything possible to make this deal happen so the Penguins can stay in Pittsburgh. He already bailed them out of bankruptcy. He let it slide when the Penguins were excluded from the deal that put up state of the art sports facilties on the North Shore. What more does the guy need to do?
This may not be the best next step for the Penguins in their little game of Deal or No Deal that the state is playing with them, but if I were Lemieux, this would be my move. I walk into the next meeting by myself. No lawyers, no NHL spokespeople, nobody. The only thing in my possession is a boombox and a cassette tape. As I put the boombox on the conference table and insert my single of THE CLASH from 1982 that I brought along with me, I say to the political figures, “This won’t take more than a few seconds”, and I push play.
Darling you gotta let me know
Should I stay or should I go?
If you say that you are mine
I'll be here til the end of time
So you got to let know
Should I stay or should I go?
The Pittsburgh Penguins may actually be leaving the city. That is at least what they want the state to believe. When you negotiate a contract you have to be willing to make the other side believe that you are willing to walk away. The Penguins are now to that point. They have bargained, they have dealed, they have conceded points, but now they have threatened to walk.
As Ed Rendell and Dan Onorato continue to play dumb in this whole situation, the Penguins brass came out yesterday and put down the facts. They stated that they offered to pay $2.86 million dollars a year towards the new arena originally, but the state came back and wanted $4 million. That was the number that the Penguins brought to the table yesterday, the exact number the state requested, but again the state said no. All that was said by Rendall was the same thing he has been saying all along, “I still believe that we are very close to getting this deal.”
Really Ed?
What makes you think that?
You aren’t in Philadelphia anymore. You are now talking about the LEFT side of the state. By LEFT, I mean both geographically and politcally. The politics and politicians on this side of the state are more screwed up than the Anna Nicole Smith hearings. This is the same city in which it has apparently been decided to argue for years over who gets the casinos rather than just getting them up and running. It is not just by chance that other casino licenses in the state are being used already as needed, with the working casinos.
I would love to see the Penguins stay, not for the hockey, although I’m becoming a fan, but for the city. Pittsburgh is already on the downswing, and this would just be another step. This city needs the Pens much more than the Penguins needs Pittsburgh, but the politicians don’t see that. Letting the Penguins leave Pittsburgh would be career suicide for for the young leaders of the area, mayor Luke Ravenstahl and county executive Dan Onorato.
What is shocking about all of this is that Mario Lemieux DOES know this about the city of Pittsburgh. He has lived in or around the city his entire adult life. Yet he still is doing everything possible to make this deal happen so the Penguins can stay in Pittsburgh. He already bailed them out of bankruptcy. He let it slide when the Penguins were excluded from the deal that put up state of the art sports facilties on the North Shore. What more does the guy need to do?
This may not be the best next step for the Penguins in their little game of Deal or No Deal that the state is playing with them, but if I were Lemieux, this would be my move. I walk into the next meeting by myself. No lawyers, no NHL spokespeople, nobody. The only thing in my possession is a boombox and a cassette tape. As I put the boombox on the conference table and insert my single of THE CLASH from 1982 that I brought along with me, I say to the political figures, “This won’t take more than a few seconds”, and I push play.
Darling you gotta let me know
Should I stay or should I go?
If you say that you are mine
I'll be here til the end of time
So you got to let know
Should I stay or should I go?
Friday, March 2, 2007
March- In with the Madness, Out with a Champion
Let the Madness Begin
Okay here we are just 9 days from my favorite day of the year, Selection Sunday, and we still have so much unanswered. Who is in, who is out? Who are the top four seeds? What conference will get the most teams? Lucky for you, I am here and we, as a group, are going to try to figure all these answers out.
First things first, who will be the four #1 seeds? What was a given just a month ago, which was North Carolina, UCLA, Florida and the winner of the Big Ten (assuming that is was either Ohio State or Wisconsin) were locks for the top four spots, can be completely thrown out the window. North Carolina has lost four of their last eight games, including two in a row, both to middle of the pack ACC teams. The defending champs Florida look to FINALLY be coming down from their championship high and has seemed pretty average the past two weeks, losing badly at Vanderbilt, LSU and Tennessee. Wisconsin has lost two in a row after winning 22 of 23 games.
UCLA and Ohio State are still on top and they are both almost certain to get a top seed. Both of those teams are ranked one or two in every major poll and in the RPI. This is where it gets crazy, so who will the last two be? Here is the list of teams that I feel deserve mentioning for the other two #1 seeds:
Texas A&M (24-5) 14 RPI, 51 SOS, 12-3 in the Big XII
Kansas (27-4) 18 RPI, 95 SOS, 13-2 in the Big XII
North Carolina (24-6) 3 RPI, 6 SOS, 10-5 in the ACC
Florida (25-5) 11 RPI, 48 SOS, 12-3 in the SEC
Wisconsin (26-4) 6 RPI, 47 SOS, 12-3 in the Big Ten
Pittsburgh (25-5) 4 RPI, 11 SOS 12-3 in the Big East
All of those teams should be and most likely will get consideration for that top seed, but they need to start playing better basketball and do some damage in their respective conference tournaments. By the way, Memphis, who all the basketball “gurus” have raved about during their current 18-game winning streak, is the most overrated team in the country. During that 18-game streak, they have played ZERO potential NCAA tournament teams. They have played just four teams all season with an RPI under 60 and have gone 1-3 in those games. Look for them to be an early exit in the tournament.
So, that takes care of who is the top seeds, or at least narrows the field down. Next up is who is in and who is out. I am sick of hearing the argument that bigger schools get better treatment from the committee, or the old “East-Coast Bias” excuse, so what I’m going to do is list facts about certain schools, but I am not going to list the school. You get to be the judge on whether they deserve to be in the Big Dance.
Information used below provided by realtimerpi.com
TEAM A: 21-7 (13-5) 40 RPI, 101 SOS
BEST WINS: Syracuse, Villanova BAD LOSSES: Rider, William& Mary
TEAM B: 19-8 (8-7) 53 RPI, 91 SOS
BEST WINS: UCLA, Villanova BAD LOSS: Cincinnati
TEAM C: 22-7 (12-3) 60 RPI, 129 SOS
BEST WIN: Louisville BAD LOSSES: Miami (FL), Temple
TEAM D: 25-3 (13-2) 21 RPI, 123 SOS
BEST WINS: NONE vs top 50 RPI BAD LOSS: New Mexico State
TEAM E: 23-4 (16-0) 69 RPI, 253 SOS
BEST WINS: Mississippi St. Missouri St. BAD LOSS: All 4 vs top 15 RPI teams
TEAM F: 20-10 (7-8) 54 RPI, 55 SOS
BEST WINS: Memphis, North Carolina BAD LOSSES: Wake Forest, Miami (FL)
TEAM G: 20-9 (7-8) 38 RPI, 46 SOS
BEST WIN: Kentucky BAD LOSSES: Auburn (twice)
TEAM H: 23-6 (10-5) 58 RPI, 131 SOS
BEST WINS: Marquette, Maryland BAD LOSSES: St. John’s, South Florida
TEAM I: 23-7 (15-3) 36 RPI, 86 SOS
BEST WIN: Georgetown BAD LOSSES: James Madison, Marist
Let me add that if you cannot win more than half of your conference games you should not be able to get into the tournament, but this year, with all the love that the ACC and the SEC are getting for the “gurus” it will probably happen. I think the Big East is the deepest conference and will get the most teams into the tournament again this year, deservingly so. Although the Big East is lacking the powers that they have had in the past at the top, the depth is still there. I think the ACC is again overrated. The Pac-10, SEC, BIG Ten and Big XII have very good teams at the top, they all lack depth. The Big East can give you 6-7-8 teams that could win a game or two in the tournament, none of the other conferences have that.
The Unveiling of the teams:
TEAM A = Drexel
TEAM B = West Virginia
TEAM C = Massachusetts
TEAM D = Nevada (currently ranked #9 in the country)
TEAM E = Winthrop (only losses are to UNC, TX A&M, Wisconsin and Maryland)
TEAM F = Georgia Tech
TEAM G = Alabama (how is this team ALWAYS ranked in the top 25??)
TEAM H = Notre Dame
TEAM I = Old Dominion
I may be in the minority with this thought, but I believe that playing in a major conferences do deserve the benefit of the doubt if you are considering two schools. I realize that eliminating the Cinderella teams from having a chance might not be the best thing for ratings or for a story line, but the bottom line is that the NCAA tournament is set up to find out the best team in the country, not the best stories. The odds of a small conference, or even a mid-major, winning the six straight games against top competition is very slim, especially when it is the first time they are playing at such a high level all season. On the flip side, even the lower ranked major conference teams have at least played at a high competition level all year and proven they can compete.
All of that and I don’t think we figured out a thing on how the selection committee will pick their 65 teams on March 11th, one thing is for sure, I’m glad it’s not my job.
Okay here we are just 9 days from my favorite day of the year, Selection Sunday, and we still have so much unanswered. Who is in, who is out? Who are the top four seeds? What conference will get the most teams? Lucky for you, I am here and we, as a group, are going to try to figure all these answers out.
First things first, who will be the four #1 seeds? What was a given just a month ago, which was North Carolina, UCLA, Florida and the winner of the Big Ten (assuming that is was either Ohio State or Wisconsin) were locks for the top four spots, can be completely thrown out the window. North Carolina has lost four of their last eight games, including two in a row, both to middle of the pack ACC teams. The defending champs Florida look to FINALLY be coming down from their championship high and has seemed pretty average the past two weeks, losing badly at Vanderbilt, LSU and Tennessee. Wisconsin has lost two in a row after winning 22 of 23 games.
UCLA and Ohio State are still on top and they are both almost certain to get a top seed. Both of those teams are ranked one or two in every major poll and in the RPI. This is where it gets crazy, so who will the last two be? Here is the list of teams that I feel deserve mentioning for the other two #1 seeds:
Texas A&M (24-5) 14 RPI, 51 SOS, 12-3 in the Big XII
Kansas (27-4) 18 RPI, 95 SOS, 13-2 in the Big XII
North Carolina (24-6) 3 RPI, 6 SOS, 10-5 in the ACC
Florida (25-5) 11 RPI, 48 SOS, 12-3 in the SEC
Wisconsin (26-4) 6 RPI, 47 SOS, 12-3 in the Big Ten
Pittsburgh (25-5) 4 RPI, 11 SOS 12-3 in the Big East
All of those teams should be and most likely will get consideration for that top seed, but they need to start playing better basketball and do some damage in their respective conference tournaments. By the way, Memphis, who all the basketball “gurus” have raved about during their current 18-game winning streak, is the most overrated team in the country. During that 18-game streak, they have played ZERO potential NCAA tournament teams. They have played just four teams all season with an RPI under 60 and have gone 1-3 in those games. Look for them to be an early exit in the tournament.
So, that takes care of who is the top seeds, or at least narrows the field down. Next up is who is in and who is out. I am sick of hearing the argument that bigger schools get better treatment from the committee, or the old “East-Coast Bias” excuse, so what I’m going to do is list facts about certain schools, but I am not going to list the school. You get to be the judge on whether they deserve to be in the Big Dance.
Information used below provided by realtimerpi.com
TEAM A: 21-7 (13-5) 40 RPI, 101 SOS
BEST WINS: Syracuse, Villanova BAD LOSSES: Rider, William& Mary
TEAM B: 19-8 (8-7) 53 RPI, 91 SOS
BEST WINS: UCLA, Villanova BAD LOSS: Cincinnati
TEAM C: 22-7 (12-3) 60 RPI, 129 SOS
BEST WIN: Louisville BAD LOSSES: Miami (FL), Temple
TEAM D: 25-3 (13-2) 21 RPI, 123 SOS
BEST WINS: NONE vs top 50 RPI BAD LOSS: New Mexico State
TEAM E: 23-4 (16-0) 69 RPI, 253 SOS
BEST WINS: Mississippi St. Missouri St. BAD LOSS: All 4 vs top 15 RPI teams
TEAM F: 20-10 (7-8) 54 RPI, 55 SOS
BEST WINS: Memphis, North Carolina BAD LOSSES: Wake Forest, Miami (FL)
TEAM G: 20-9 (7-8) 38 RPI, 46 SOS
BEST WIN: Kentucky BAD LOSSES: Auburn (twice)
TEAM H: 23-6 (10-5) 58 RPI, 131 SOS
BEST WINS: Marquette, Maryland BAD LOSSES: St. John’s, South Florida
TEAM I: 23-7 (15-3) 36 RPI, 86 SOS
BEST WIN: Georgetown BAD LOSSES: James Madison, Marist
Let me add that if you cannot win more than half of your conference games you should not be able to get into the tournament, but this year, with all the love that the ACC and the SEC are getting for the “gurus” it will probably happen. I think the Big East is the deepest conference and will get the most teams into the tournament again this year, deservingly so. Although the Big East is lacking the powers that they have had in the past at the top, the depth is still there. I think the ACC is again overrated. The Pac-10, SEC, BIG Ten and Big XII have very good teams at the top, they all lack depth. The Big East can give you 6-7-8 teams that could win a game or two in the tournament, none of the other conferences have that.
The Unveiling of the teams:
TEAM A = Drexel
TEAM B = West Virginia
TEAM C = Massachusetts
TEAM D = Nevada (currently ranked #9 in the country)
TEAM E = Winthrop (only losses are to UNC, TX A&M, Wisconsin and Maryland)
TEAM F = Georgia Tech
TEAM G = Alabama (how is this team ALWAYS ranked in the top 25??)
TEAM H = Notre Dame
TEAM I = Old Dominion
I may be in the minority with this thought, but I believe that playing in a major conferences do deserve the benefit of the doubt if you are considering two schools. I realize that eliminating the Cinderella teams from having a chance might not be the best thing for ratings or for a story line, but the bottom line is that the NCAA tournament is set up to find out the best team in the country, not the best stories. The odds of a small conference, or even a mid-major, winning the six straight games against top competition is very slim, especially when it is the first time they are playing at such a high level all season. On the flip side, even the lower ranked major conference teams have at least played at a high competition level all year and proven they can compete.
All of that and I don’t think we figured out a thing on how the selection committee will pick their 65 teams on March 11th, one thing is for sure, I’m glad it’s not my job.
Monday, February 26, 2007
PITT too Black And White With Gray
Pitt Better Without BIG CITY?
Maybe the University of Pittsburgh basketball team is better without their 7-foot, Big East pre-season player of the year Aaron Gray. Could that be? I first had this thought last week before Pitt played Seton Hall and it was clear that his ankle injury was more severe than originally believed. I was further convinced after Pitt was able to leave New Jersey with a three-point win. Now, after traveling to our nation’s capital to watch the Panthers and Georgetown Hoyas square off for the Big East regular season title, I am more convinced than ever.
Sure, Georgetown beat Pitt Saturday, and all but wrapped up the Big East regular season title while doing so, but during that game, one thing became very apparent to me: Big City Aaron Gray should not have played. This is not intended to take anything away from Gray’s play on Saturday. I thought he was very effective, scoring 10 points and grabbing six rebounds in his 21 minutes. Here is my argument; Pitt is too dependent of Aaron Gray being in the line-up.
Pitt has already wrapped up a bye in the Big East Tournament, which begins next Wednesday in the World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden. So, if you really break it down, their last two regular season games do not mean much. Pitt is already a lock for the NCAA Tournament. Seeding is the only thing that might be affected if Gray misses the next two games, and we have seen how seeding doesn’t matter much. Pitt has lost to a worse seed every year in the NCAA tournament since they started making regular appearances six seasons ago. The key for any sports team is to be playing their best at the end of the season. Two of the key factors in playing your best are getting favorable match-ups and being healthy. Right now, Aaron Gray is not healthy, and playing on his bad ankle will only prevent him from becoming healthy.
As I mentioned before, the team is too dependent on Gray being in the line-up. Playing two good teams without him could really benefit the team in the long run. Pitt is much more athletic and a faster team with Sam Young in the starting line-up, moving Levon Kendall to the center position. They are much more aggressive and balanced offensively when Gray is on the bench. Rather than running the entire offense through Gray, every player will need to step up a bit and become more of a scorer. This team is missing that with him in the game. It seems to me that the Panthers run their offense for the first 20-25 seconds of the shot clock through Gray. Then, and only then, if they don’t have something, someone else steps up and makes a play.
I am in no way saying that Aaron Gray in not a valuable member of this team, I think he is the MOST valuable member, but I think it is even more valuable to the team if they learn to play without him on the court. This team needs someone with a killer instinct, and right now, they don’t have that. Pitt needs to learn to put teams away. They need a scorer to step up. They have the scorers, but those players just haven’t had the chance to step up due to the style Pitt plays with Gray in the game. Without him out there, they get that opportunity.
Aaron Gray sits out this week and misses games against West Virginia and Marquette. He gets healthy for the important part of the season. The team gets better for the important part of the season. Add Gray back into a confident bunch of scorers, and this team becomes a tough match-up for teams in the tournament. All of the sudden, if teams take Gray out of the game, the rest of the players know exactly what to do. They don’t panic. They don’t lose confidence. They just pick up the slack. By doing that, they become a better team, and it gives them the best chance to reach the Promised Land in Pitt basketball- a trip PAST the Sweet 16.
Maybe the University of Pittsburgh basketball team is better without their 7-foot, Big East pre-season player of the year Aaron Gray. Could that be? I first had this thought last week before Pitt played Seton Hall and it was clear that his ankle injury was more severe than originally believed. I was further convinced after Pitt was able to leave New Jersey with a three-point win. Now, after traveling to our nation’s capital to watch the Panthers and Georgetown Hoyas square off for the Big East regular season title, I am more convinced than ever.
Sure, Georgetown beat Pitt Saturday, and all but wrapped up the Big East regular season title while doing so, but during that game, one thing became very apparent to me: Big City Aaron Gray should not have played. This is not intended to take anything away from Gray’s play on Saturday. I thought he was very effective, scoring 10 points and grabbing six rebounds in his 21 minutes. Here is my argument; Pitt is too dependent of Aaron Gray being in the line-up.
Pitt has already wrapped up a bye in the Big East Tournament, which begins next Wednesday in the World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden. So, if you really break it down, their last two regular season games do not mean much. Pitt is already a lock for the NCAA Tournament. Seeding is the only thing that might be affected if Gray misses the next two games, and we have seen how seeding doesn’t matter much. Pitt has lost to a worse seed every year in the NCAA tournament since they started making regular appearances six seasons ago. The key for any sports team is to be playing their best at the end of the season. Two of the key factors in playing your best are getting favorable match-ups and being healthy. Right now, Aaron Gray is not healthy, and playing on his bad ankle will only prevent him from becoming healthy.
As I mentioned before, the team is too dependent on Gray being in the line-up. Playing two good teams without him could really benefit the team in the long run. Pitt is much more athletic and a faster team with Sam Young in the starting line-up, moving Levon Kendall to the center position. They are much more aggressive and balanced offensively when Gray is on the bench. Rather than running the entire offense through Gray, every player will need to step up a bit and become more of a scorer. This team is missing that with him in the game. It seems to me that the Panthers run their offense for the first 20-25 seconds of the shot clock through Gray. Then, and only then, if they don’t have something, someone else steps up and makes a play.
I am in no way saying that Aaron Gray in not a valuable member of this team, I think he is the MOST valuable member, but I think it is even more valuable to the team if they learn to play without him on the court. This team needs someone with a killer instinct, and right now, they don’t have that. Pitt needs to learn to put teams away. They need a scorer to step up. They have the scorers, but those players just haven’t had the chance to step up due to the style Pitt plays with Gray in the game. Without him out there, they get that opportunity.
Aaron Gray sits out this week and misses games against West Virginia and Marquette. He gets healthy for the important part of the season. The team gets better for the important part of the season. Add Gray back into a confident bunch of scorers, and this team becomes a tough match-up for teams in the tournament. All of the sudden, if teams take Gray out of the game, the rest of the players know exactly what to do. They don’t panic. They don’t lose confidence. They just pick up the slack. By doing that, they become a better team, and it gives them the best chance to reach the Promised Land in Pitt basketball- a trip PAST the Sweet 16.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Coach Bobby Knight Shows His Age
Coach Bobby Knight Doesn't Like NBA Age Rule
Texas Tech head basketball coach and winningest coach in NCAA history Bob Knight voiced his opinion yesterday about the new NBA rule that prevents high school seniors from entering the NBA Draft, thus forcing them to play at least one year elsewhere, mainly in college.
I like Bob Knight. I think that he is one of the best coaches to ever coach the game. He runs clean programs and preaches discipline and teamwork. Some people may say that he is to hard or old school on his players. I say there should be more coaches like him. I would love to see more coaches that are tough on their superstars (Knight kicked Texas Techs best player Jarrius Jackson off the team this fall until his academics were in order) and force discipline and hard work in what is becoming a show-boaters game. The one thing I don’t get about Coach Knight is the comments he made yesterday. He said that the new NBA rule is, “the worst thing that's happened to college basketball since I've been coaching.” He followed that up by saying, “I think, has a tremendous effect on the integrity of college sports.”
I just don’t get why he would say such a thing. With the young, talented freshman in Division 1 basketball this season it has created a whole new buzz about the sport. This year there is talk for a freshman to win National Player of the Year. Imagine, LeBron, or Kobe or Kevin Garnett playing in college, imagine the buzz that would have been with those guys. Now we finally get to see it happen. True, maybe these players aren’t LeBron or Kobe or Garnett, but now when those types of players DO come along college basketball fans around the country will get the pleasure of seeing them play. Now, to be fair to Coach Knight, I should point out that he made those comments focusing on the academics that come in hand with these freshman, stating, “Now you can have a kid come to school for a year and play basketball and he doesn't even have to go to class. He certainly doesn't have to go to class the second semester. I'm not exactly positive about the first semester. But he would not have to attend a single class the second semester to play through the whole second semester of basketball."
I can see that argument, but I think it is more than that. I think it is the fact that due to his strict rules and hard practices that many top-notch players, the ones that are mostly affected by this rule, don’t want to play for him. I think he is mad that he can’t get a Kevin Durant on his team. Oh yeah, did I mention that these comments came on the eve of the second Texas-Texas Tech game of the season? Texas won that first game 76-64, and freshman star Kevin Durant scored 37 points, including five 3-pointers and grabbed 23 rebounds. Do you think that, just maybe, Coach Knight just doesn’t like losing to the teams that CAN get these superstars, and that is why he is a little upset?
Like I said, I like Coach Knight, but I think he might be a little off with this one.
UPDATE:
After hearing Coach Knights comments it looks like Kevin Durant decided to take it easy on the Red Raiders tonight, maybe in hope to get some love back from Knight. Durant did not lead the team in rebounds or points, scoring 17 points and grabbing eight rebounds. By the way, the Longhorns STILL pounded Coach Knight and the Red Raiders, 80-51.
Texas Tech head basketball coach and winningest coach in NCAA history Bob Knight voiced his opinion yesterday about the new NBA rule that prevents high school seniors from entering the NBA Draft, thus forcing them to play at least one year elsewhere, mainly in college.
I like Bob Knight. I think that he is one of the best coaches to ever coach the game. He runs clean programs and preaches discipline and teamwork. Some people may say that he is to hard or old school on his players. I say there should be more coaches like him. I would love to see more coaches that are tough on their superstars (Knight kicked Texas Techs best player Jarrius Jackson off the team this fall until his academics were in order) and force discipline and hard work in what is becoming a show-boaters game. The one thing I don’t get about Coach Knight is the comments he made yesterday. He said that the new NBA rule is, “the worst thing that's happened to college basketball since I've been coaching.” He followed that up by saying, “I think, has a tremendous effect on the integrity of college sports.”
I just don’t get why he would say such a thing. With the young, talented freshman in Division 1 basketball this season it has created a whole new buzz about the sport. This year there is talk for a freshman to win National Player of the Year. Imagine, LeBron, or Kobe or Kevin Garnett playing in college, imagine the buzz that would have been with those guys. Now we finally get to see it happen. True, maybe these players aren’t LeBron or Kobe or Garnett, but now when those types of players DO come along college basketball fans around the country will get the pleasure of seeing them play. Now, to be fair to Coach Knight, I should point out that he made those comments focusing on the academics that come in hand with these freshman, stating, “Now you can have a kid come to school for a year and play basketball and he doesn't even have to go to class. He certainly doesn't have to go to class the second semester. I'm not exactly positive about the first semester. But he would not have to attend a single class the second semester to play through the whole second semester of basketball."
I can see that argument, but I think it is more than that. I think it is the fact that due to his strict rules and hard practices that many top-notch players, the ones that are mostly affected by this rule, don’t want to play for him. I think he is mad that he can’t get a Kevin Durant on his team. Oh yeah, did I mention that these comments came on the eve of the second Texas-Texas Tech game of the season? Texas won that first game 76-64, and freshman star Kevin Durant scored 37 points, including five 3-pointers and grabbed 23 rebounds. Do you think that, just maybe, Coach Knight just doesn’t like losing to the teams that CAN get these superstars, and that is why he is a little upset?
Like I said, I like Coach Knight, but I think he might be a little off with this one.
UPDATE:
After hearing Coach Knights comments it looks like Kevin Durant decided to take it easy on the Red Raiders tonight, maybe in hope to get some love back from Knight. Durant did not lead the team in rebounds or points, scoring 17 points and grabbing eight rebounds. By the way, the Longhorns STILL pounded Coach Knight and the Red Raiders, 80-51.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
This Weekend in Sports
This Weekend in Sports
I guess this weekend is kind of like the calm before the storm when it comes to sports. Next weekend you will start to have some exciting college basketball match-ups with conference rivals battling it out as the regular season schedule nears an end; you will have a FULL baseball team practicing (do pitchers and catchers REALLY gain that much by reporting one week earlier?) and the NFL Combine will have just concluded, leading to “Who will the Steelers take in the 4th round this year?” talk. But this week was really just boring!! It was so boring that I actually watched the marathon of “Beauty and the Geek” that was on MTV today. Go ahead and make fun of me, but I know everyone out there has their television shows they watch and enjoy but won’t admit it. Hey, I’m admitting it! Honestly though, that is how exciting this weekend was in sports. Anyway, here is my recap.
SATURDAY:
*A bunch of college hoops, but very few, if any, really interesting match-ups. Sure, North Carolina at Boston College was for the ACC lead, but everyone knows that Boston College doesn’t even belong in the same gym as UNC so that wasn’t really worth watching.
*The NBA skills contests were on TNT. Did you know that they actually broadcast the skills contest on ESPN radio???? How boring is that? It was the worst radio that I have ever heard, and that includes my shows on the Point Park station. For the most part those contests are interesting, but I would change them up a bit. For example, the 3-point contest, oops, my fault, the AT&T Long Distance Shootout needs to be more of a game-like shooting contest. I don’t care if a guy can get 24 of 30 points standing still while picking a ball up off a rack. How often do you pick a ball up off a rack during the game? Ok, so we add a passer, and now the guy has to catch and shoot like a game. I also think you need to put up a 7-8 foot high Plexiglas wall about two feet in front of the shooter. This would pose as a defender because again, how many wide open looks do you get during a game? That is enough on the shooting. Next is the dunk contest. All I want to see in the dunk contest is power and verticals. I don’t care if you can jump over a box and dunk a ball; I’ve never seen a box just sitting in the middle of the court during a game. A new rule, if you are going to use props they must be things that are on the court during a game, so that limits us to human beings. If you want to impress me, ask Shaq to stand under the hoop and try to block your dunk. If you make it, you win! Also, I was upset when I heard that Dwight Howard wanted to raise the hoop to 12-feet for a dunk. That would have been impressive, but they wouldn't let him! Yeah, I know, the hoop isn’t 12-feet during the game, but that at least shows some skill for someone to jump that high and dunk a basketball.
SUNDAY
*This Sunday, which is celebrated all over the Deep South and as far North as West Virginia for one thing, we like to call it the Redneck New Year. The running of the Daytona 500 took place today; here is my brief recap:
LEFT TURN
LEFT TURN
LEFT TURN
LEFT TURN
CRASH
*The Penguins did play and win again today, which was nice, they are 14-0-2 in their last 16 games. With a win tomorrow in New York they would match the team record of 17 straight games without a loss, dating back to the 92-93 season.
*The NBA All-Star game took place tonight, although it seemed that more players selected for the game missed due to injuries than actually took part. My brief recap of the NBA All-Star game:
DUNK
DUNK
Unnecessary fancy pass, which leads to a DUNK
Alley-Oop DUNK
DUNK
Hopefully, you were busy this week skiing, shopping, and heck, doing anything BUT watching sports. If you were that fortunate, good job on your scheduling. Just make sure it is the last weekend until Mid-April that you have anything planned because for the next 7 weekends or so, you won’t want to leave your couch.
I guess this weekend is kind of like the calm before the storm when it comes to sports. Next weekend you will start to have some exciting college basketball match-ups with conference rivals battling it out as the regular season schedule nears an end; you will have a FULL baseball team practicing (do pitchers and catchers REALLY gain that much by reporting one week earlier?) and the NFL Combine will have just concluded, leading to “Who will the Steelers take in the 4th round this year?” talk. But this week was really just boring!! It was so boring that I actually watched the marathon of “Beauty and the Geek” that was on MTV today. Go ahead and make fun of me, but I know everyone out there has their television shows they watch and enjoy but won’t admit it. Hey, I’m admitting it! Honestly though, that is how exciting this weekend was in sports. Anyway, here is my recap.
SATURDAY:
*A bunch of college hoops, but very few, if any, really interesting match-ups. Sure, North Carolina at Boston College was for the ACC lead, but everyone knows that Boston College doesn’t even belong in the same gym as UNC so that wasn’t really worth watching.
*The NBA skills contests were on TNT. Did you know that they actually broadcast the skills contest on ESPN radio???? How boring is that? It was the worst radio that I have ever heard, and that includes my shows on the Point Park station. For the most part those contests are interesting, but I would change them up a bit. For example, the 3-point contest, oops, my fault, the AT&T Long Distance Shootout needs to be more of a game-like shooting contest. I don’t care if a guy can get 24 of 30 points standing still while picking a ball up off a rack. How often do you pick a ball up off a rack during the game? Ok, so we add a passer, and now the guy has to catch and shoot like a game. I also think you need to put up a 7-8 foot high Plexiglas wall about two feet in front of the shooter. This would pose as a defender because again, how many wide open looks do you get during a game? That is enough on the shooting. Next is the dunk contest. All I want to see in the dunk contest is power and verticals. I don’t care if you can jump over a box and dunk a ball; I’ve never seen a box just sitting in the middle of the court during a game. A new rule, if you are going to use props they must be things that are on the court during a game, so that limits us to human beings. If you want to impress me, ask Shaq to stand under the hoop and try to block your dunk. If you make it, you win! Also, I was upset when I heard that Dwight Howard wanted to raise the hoop to 12-feet for a dunk. That would have been impressive, but they wouldn't let him! Yeah, I know, the hoop isn’t 12-feet during the game, but that at least shows some skill for someone to jump that high and dunk a basketball.
SUNDAY
*This Sunday, which is celebrated all over the Deep South and as far North as West Virginia for one thing, we like to call it the Redneck New Year. The running of the Daytona 500 took place today; here is my brief recap:
LEFT TURN
LEFT TURN
LEFT TURN
LEFT TURN
CRASH
*The Penguins did play and win again today, which was nice, they are 14-0-2 in their last 16 games. With a win tomorrow in New York they would match the team record of 17 straight games without a loss, dating back to the 92-93 season.
*The NBA All-Star game took place tonight, although it seemed that more players selected for the game missed due to injuries than actually took part. My brief recap of the NBA All-Star game:
DUNK
DUNK
Unnecessary fancy pass, which leads to a DUNK
Alley-Oop DUNK
DUNK
Hopefully, you were busy this week skiing, shopping, and heck, doing anything BUT watching sports. If you were that fortunate, good job on your scheduling. Just make sure it is the last weekend until Mid-April that you have anything planned because for the next 7 weekends or so, you won’t want to leave your couch.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
A Real Rant
A REAL RANT
Here are just some things that I have been thinking about in the sports world over the past few days.
*Tim Hardaway made some comments about former NBAer John Amaechi, who revealed to the public last week that he was gay. In those comments, Hardaway said things like, “You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people,” and “I'm homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States.” First things first. Hey Tim, just so you know, the United States is part of the world in case you missed that day in geography class. Now, for the serious issue at hand. You are exactly right; certain people should not be in our world, but they are not people like John Amaechi, they are the bigots like yourself. Just think if everyone all through history thought the same way Hardaway thinks, he wouldn’t have to worry about sharing a lockerroom with gays, because HE wouldn’t be in it, and people like Jackie Robinson would have never been given a chance.
*By the way, don’t you thing John Amaechi could have come up with a better name for his book revealing his sexual preference than Man in the Middle? That had comedians everywhere waiting with punch lines.
*Bobby Knight was reprimanded today by Big XII officials for being critical of a call in a double overtime loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday. He called the call, “horrendous,” and “maybe as bad a call as I’ve ever seen.” Seeing the play and call as it happened on Saturday and thinking the same thing that Knight said in his post-game press conference got me wondering. Why are referees so protected? Why don’t they have to speak to the media to explain what they saw and why they made certain calls? In this instance, the ref clearly made a terrible call, and possibly changed the outcome of the game, yet nothing is done to him? I have a lot of respect for officials in all sports and I feel that they make the right call 99.8% of the time, but every once in a while, they mess up. Why should the player or coach or administrator get in trouble for being critical or commenting about the situation? All I’m asking for is a post-game press conference for the officials. I think it would help if they had to answer some questions about their performance every game, too.
*March Madness seems to have set-in a little early. Sure, you had Top 10 teams losing at home this week like Pitt, Texas A&M and North Carolina, but that is just the beginning. Going into this week, there were 6 teams that were “on the bubble” for the NCAA tournament, and that are in an all new territory this time of year. Can you imagine an NCAA Tournament without the likes of Arizona, UCONN, Duke, Michigan State, Syracuse or Texas Tech? Ok, you got me with the Texas Tech. So let me say it this way. Can you imagine a March without Lute Olson, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Calhoun, Tom Izzo, Jim Boeheim or Bob Knight pacing the sidelines? All of these coaches and their teams have struggled in the new year. Bob Knight had lost 5 in a row, something he hadn’t done since 1971, before upseting #6 Texas A&M on Tuesday. Coach K and the Dukies had lost 4 in a row and dropped out of the ESPN/coaches poll for the first time since its inception before winning at #21 Boston College last night. Jim Calhoun is breaking in a young bunch at Connecticut this season, and the Big East has not been kind to them. They had lost 6 of 8 and 9 of their last 13 before beating Seton Hall last night. Arizona started 12-1 and is 5-6 since, Syracuse had lost 4 of 5 before winning their last two and Michigan State had lost 4 in a row before a win against rival Michiagn Tuesday night. So all these teams are now back on the winning track, but it is a track they need to stay on if they want to be playing in March. It sure would be an odd tournament without these coaches and teams on the sidelines.
*A cool story to follow that I wanted to pass along. Jon Lester, a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox is back pitching again this spring after going through a tough offseason. Lester’s season ended last August 23rd after a start in Anaheim. It was then that he was diagnosed as having anaplastic large cell lymphoma. Lester went through six rounds of chemotherapy, the final one December 21st, and reported to Red Sox camp cancer-free.
*The Daytona 500 will start off the NASCAR season Sunday. The week leading up to this Daytona 500 has had a little more action and excitement than in years past though, with 5 different crew chiefs being suspended from the race due to their cars not meeting NASCAR regulations. Four of the racers who were penalized were Matt Kenseth, who finished second at Daytona last year, Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and Scott Riggs, but you have really got to give it to the 5th driver. Michael Waltrip and his team were hit with the toughest penalty. When these guys cheat, they really cheat. While the other racers were penalized for using irregular bolts in their cars or for improperly installing wind ducts, Waltrip's team was penalized for having a foreign substance in his car. That substance? JET FUEL. No truth to the the rumor that the song "Danger Zone" from the Top Gun soundtrack was playing in the garage when the team was busted.
Here are just some things that I have been thinking about in the sports world over the past few days.
*Tim Hardaway made some comments about former NBAer John Amaechi, who revealed to the public last week that he was gay. In those comments, Hardaway said things like, “You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people,” and “I'm homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States.” First things first. Hey Tim, just so you know, the United States is part of the world in case you missed that day in geography class. Now, for the serious issue at hand. You are exactly right; certain people should not be in our world, but they are not people like John Amaechi, they are the bigots like yourself. Just think if everyone all through history thought the same way Hardaway thinks, he wouldn’t have to worry about sharing a lockerroom with gays, because HE wouldn’t be in it, and people like Jackie Robinson would have never been given a chance.
*By the way, don’t you thing John Amaechi could have come up with a better name for his book revealing his sexual preference than Man in the Middle? That had comedians everywhere waiting with punch lines.
*Bobby Knight was reprimanded today by Big XII officials for being critical of a call in a double overtime loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday. He called the call, “horrendous,” and “maybe as bad a call as I’ve ever seen.” Seeing the play and call as it happened on Saturday and thinking the same thing that Knight said in his post-game press conference got me wondering. Why are referees so protected? Why don’t they have to speak to the media to explain what they saw and why they made certain calls? In this instance, the ref clearly made a terrible call, and possibly changed the outcome of the game, yet nothing is done to him? I have a lot of respect for officials in all sports and I feel that they make the right call 99.8% of the time, but every once in a while, they mess up. Why should the player or coach or administrator get in trouble for being critical or commenting about the situation? All I’m asking for is a post-game press conference for the officials. I think it would help if they had to answer some questions about their performance every game, too.
*March Madness seems to have set-in a little early. Sure, you had Top 10 teams losing at home this week like Pitt, Texas A&M and North Carolina, but that is just the beginning. Going into this week, there were 6 teams that were “on the bubble” for the NCAA tournament, and that are in an all new territory this time of year. Can you imagine an NCAA Tournament without the likes of Arizona, UCONN, Duke, Michigan State, Syracuse or Texas Tech? Ok, you got me with the Texas Tech. So let me say it this way. Can you imagine a March without Lute Olson, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Calhoun, Tom Izzo, Jim Boeheim or Bob Knight pacing the sidelines? All of these coaches and their teams have struggled in the new year. Bob Knight had lost 5 in a row, something he hadn’t done since 1971, before upseting #6 Texas A&M on Tuesday. Coach K and the Dukies had lost 4 in a row and dropped out of the ESPN/coaches poll for the first time since its inception before winning at #21 Boston College last night. Jim Calhoun is breaking in a young bunch at Connecticut this season, and the Big East has not been kind to them. They had lost 6 of 8 and 9 of their last 13 before beating Seton Hall last night. Arizona started 12-1 and is 5-6 since, Syracuse had lost 4 of 5 before winning their last two and Michigan State had lost 4 in a row before a win against rival Michiagn Tuesday night. So all these teams are now back on the winning track, but it is a track they need to stay on if they want to be playing in March. It sure would be an odd tournament without these coaches and teams on the sidelines.
*A cool story to follow that I wanted to pass along. Jon Lester, a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox is back pitching again this spring after going through a tough offseason. Lester’s season ended last August 23rd after a start in Anaheim. It was then that he was diagnosed as having anaplastic large cell lymphoma. Lester went through six rounds of chemotherapy, the final one December 21st, and reported to Red Sox camp cancer-free.
*The Daytona 500 will start off the NASCAR season Sunday. The week leading up to this Daytona 500 has had a little more action and excitement than in years past though, with 5 different crew chiefs being suspended from the race due to their cars not meeting NASCAR regulations. Four of the racers who were penalized were Matt Kenseth, who finished second at Daytona last year, Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and Scott Riggs, but you have really got to give it to the 5th driver. Michael Waltrip and his team were hit with the toughest penalty. When these guys cheat, they really cheat. While the other racers were penalized for using irregular bolts in their cars or for improperly installing wind ducts, Waltrip's team was penalized for having a foreign substance in his car. That substance? JET FUEL. No truth to the the rumor that the song "Danger Zone" from the Top Gun soundtrack was playing in the garage when the team was busted.
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