Sports

UNC, up 11 in the second half. Game in hand, officials were bringing East Region Champion hats over, but somehow, some way, the Tarheels found a way to lose. Running the floor all game, the Tarheels had Hibbert gasping for air. The Tarheels were riding their bread and butter to the title game.
Then with 7 minutes remaining in the game, UNC decides to abandon their run and gun offense.
Georgetown slowed the tempo of the game, UNC never changed it, and the Hoyas went to business, orchestrating their Princeton Offense to perfection, while playing great defense on the other side of the ball, not allowing UNC’s big men to penetrate. At this point in time, when the Hoyas cut down to a 5 point lead, I would suspect Roy Williams would change things up and speed up the tempo that got them the big lead, but this alteration of game plan never came, Hibbert and company dominated the boards, and John Thompson III’s youngsters killed the Tarheels when it mattered.

To have 3 Top 10 Prospects, Tyler Hansbrough, arguably one of the top big men in the country, and the rest of the roster with quality players, Roy Williams somehow manages to mess this thing up. He did it with Kansas, and now with UNC. You ask, what about 2004? I could of won with that squad, the 2004 UNC Tarheels are one of the best teams in college basketball history, please save that arguement.

Roy stay off the Coke

In the first round of this year’s Big Dance, there weren’t as many as upsets as years past. Notre Dame was upset over Winthrop and VCU over Duke. The upset round was round 2, as Wisconsin, a #3 seed, was upset by #7 seed UNLV, USC over Texas, and Vandy over Washington State. The Cheesheads completely blew it. Star Alando Tucker didn’t show up late in the game, Flowers choked, and besides Kameron Taylor, the Badger’s heart just wasn’t as large as the Sin City’s collegiate squad.

Other than those upsets, the tournament has been that mad. The vast majority of the upper seeds are moving on, and the likeliness of a big upset could lie with Memphis over an elite team, and Oregon over Florida. Other than those two, I see no upset from here on out.

Final Four Predictions

Oregon
Freshman Sensation Tajuan Porter, and veterans Aaron Brooks & Bryce Taylor play at high tempo all game raining threes like no tomorrow. Joakim Noah becomes frustrated after multiple turnovers and confesses after the game he didn’t have his head in the game after contemplating to come out about his recent sex change. Al Horford fouls out early in the fourth quarter, and Taurean Green and Coach Donovan get in a verbal fight that results in Green’s sitting. Oregon wins 76-69.

Kansas
goes uncontested, athletically unmatched, great depth, versatile players

Georgetown
Jeff Green outsmarts the thug-like Reyshaun Terry, putting up 35 points. Roy Hibbert and Patrick Ewing Jr. provide an overwhelming presence inside. Tyler Hansbrough leaves the game in the first quarter in order to not miss his pedicure appointment. Georgetown wins a close one, 71-69.

Texas A&M
Squeezes by Memphis, goes into a bloody battle with Ohio State. A&M shuts down Ohio State’s great guard play, as they go 1/25 from the arc. Greg Oden proves worthy of his first overall pick achieving 16 points, 1 rebound, and 10 blocks against the collegiate athletes of Texas A&M.

-Championship

Georgetown
Slams A&M with their powerful presence in the post, and discipline with the ball, giving up only 1 turnover in the game. Acie Law IV forces overtime with a 56 foot jumper, but Georgetown walks out of this one on top.

Kansas
Outruns the running Oregon Ducks squad, scoring 26 points on transition. Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rusch and Julian Wright dominate the threesome of Oregon, Brooks, Taylor and Porter by outscoring them 48 to 31. Kansas beats Oregon 89-74

Champion
Kansas runs the floor, not letting Georgetown get into a half-court set all game. Jeff Green goes cold scoring 16 points from 1/17 shooting. Kansas runs away with it early 71-56

Nice to see Michigan fans are excited for the NIT

Apparently Michigan played last night in the NIT. Don’t know if you could feel the excitement, but most Wolverine fans last night didn’t come dressed in bags like the happy fellow above, they came dressed as empty seats. In front of the smallest crowd in 23 years, wait, let me say that again. In front of the smallest crowd in 23 YEARS, Michigan put on a heroic effort and beat Utah State to advance to the second round on the NIT. Let me be the first to say…

Um, great?

Apparently I’m not in the minority here when I say I could really care less about this year’s NIT run. Are you kidding me with this crowd? The smallest in 23 years? You do realize that Michigan went 10-18 in 2001 and they still drew better then this. It actually makes me happy that the fans are pist off enough about not making the NCAA’s that they aren’t showing up for the NIT. Perhaps the sight of all those empty seats will make some of the power brokers see that a change is necessary.

Personally I can’t say I watched much of this game. I flipped over as Michigan was blowing the lead (they were only up one in the later stages of the game) and figured they were going to blow it and the season would be over. Flipped back to see they actually played well down the stretch to get the victory. Hooray! Now it’s on to Florida State Thursday….on ESPNU. If that doesn’t tell you how “great” the NIT is I don’t know what does. FEEL THE EXCITEMENT!

At least he knows how to get tackled

Apparently the Lions, dead set on acquiring every Rams player possible, have signed receiver Shaun McDonald to a two year deal. This does not mean they aren’t still trying to get Rams receiver Kevin Curtis as well, as they are said to still be hot on his trail. If they do manage to sign Curtis that would mean that three of the four starting receivers for the Lions would be former Rams. I guess the question I have is, what happens when Mike Martz leaves?

You have to think it’s only a matter of time before Martz gets another head coaching position, especially if the Lions offense plays well. He got a bunch of interviews this offseason and another year could bring more and more. I understand that the Lions are trying to bring in receivers who know Martz’s system, but are we going to keep this system in place when he eventually leaves? What happens when a new offensive coordinator comes in and the talent at receiver doesn’t match the system he runs? And why the hell are we not looking at Calvin Johnson?

I think that last question is the one that perplexes me the most. During the offseason the Lions have filled needs at defensive end, offensive tackle, and running back. This means, generally speaking, that they probably won’t be looking that way when it comes to the number two pick in the draft (though trading down and drafting defensive end Gaines Adams from Clemson seems like a possibility). So what I don’t understand is why not take a guy like Johnson there if you still need help at wide receiver? The kid is a FREAK! He’s tall, he’s fast, and he’s even got his head on straight. Hell, he even played with a horrible quarterback in college so he’ll fit right in with the Lions.

I understand that Matt Millen is afraid to draft another receiver as the public relations fall out will be pretty big. Message boards will light up with, “ANoTHER REcIEvER? WTF?!? MILLEN IS THE SUXORS~!” and newspaper columnists (Drew Sharp I’m looking your way) will call for his head, but to that I ask, what else is new? Should the public backlash that would follow drafting another receiver really be enough to scare the Lions away from what could be a superstar player? When teams start worrying about fan reaction to moves, that’s when things go wrong.

I for one say the Lions forget Kevin Curtis and just draft Calvin Johnson. For the long term future of the Lions it’s probably the best move because Martz isn’t going to be here forever and Johnson has superstar written all over him.

Someone needs to tell Lester to just shut up

I was looking over at mlive today and found this story on Michigan’s trip to the NIT and was struck by the headline.

Abram on NIT: We have to play it

I decide to read a bit further to see what Lester had to say and found this quote….

“You’re always happy to keep playing, but nobody wants to play in the NIT,” senior Lester Abram said. “It’s just something you have to do.”

What struck me is how basically Abram sounds like he’s just going through the motions since they are going to the NIT and not the NCAA tournament. Well here’s a small tip for you Lester, shut up. You guys had ample opportunity to make the NCAA tournament and blew every chance you had. Maybe I’d feel sorry for you if you had a great season and were snubbed by the committee, but you weren’t. This team didn’t win a big game all season and continually failed to live up to expectations. Maybe if you guys had actually played harder and closed out some games (*cough*OHIO STATE*cough*) you would be planning a trip to the NCAA’s instead of bitching about going to the NIT.

It’s stuff like this that makes it frustrating as a fan. If you don’t like playing in the NIT every year then maybe you should win some big games! Don’t bitch about not making the NCAA tournament after blowing chance after chance at making it. No one feels sorry for you.

Life is full of small disappointments, Lester, going to the NIT is just one of them.

Also in the article Tommy Amaker calls making the NIT “an honor.” I don’t even have the words to adequately describe my feelings at that answer. Just another reason this guy needs to be shown the door.

The Buckeyes #1 and Badgers #2 faced off today. This was one of the few times 1 and 2 faced off in college basketball history. The game went down to the wire, a true nailbiter as Senior guard Ron Lewis swatted a desperate Badger shot to seal the victory right after a clutch layup by highly touted freshman Mike Conley Jr.

I tip my cap to the Badgers squad. There talent level is minimal compared to ohio State’s. They have executed efficiently all season and have had great leadership play by Alando “The Alamo” Tucker. It’s amazing they can dominant the opposition without giving much credit or respect. On the other side of things, Ohio State has been hyped all year even before the season began with the freshman Greg Oden.
Personally, I think Greg Oden is a little overrated. Before today’s game, I thought he was legitimate, but he let guy after guy blow by him in the paint only being efficient at rebouding. Yes, he has a broken hand, but the way he has played it doesn’t make a difference. He looks a like a confused caveman stumbling around.
Ohio State’s guards though, are probably the best in the country. With diaper dandies in Mike Conley and Daequan Cook, they have a serious outside threat, let’s not forget junior Jamar Butler either.
Come March, I believe you will see another showdown between the two programs somewhere deep in the tournament, and I’m predicting a Wisconsin win after a late run lead by Alando Tucker. Ohio State will probably shoot the three all game, chuckin up countless shots, waiting for Oden to let them off the hook. Tucker will end that philosophy though with good technique by boxing out the 7′ mammoth. Cheeseheads take this one late.

At the start of today’s first round of the Match Play Championships everyone had a chance to knock off the top 64 players in the world, at the end of the day 32 players were going home! Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, and Vijay Singh all won, but on the other hand Adam Scott, Erine Els, and Stuart Applleby all lost. There were only 11 upsets where the higher seed beat the lower seed. Tomorrow the field will be cut down to 16. Watch for Tiger to have a hard time beating Tim Clark, Tim has beat Tiger before. Also other key match ups Luke Donald vs. Aaron Baddeley, two players who have been playing good this year. The match of the day is going to be last week’s winner Charles Howell vs. Sergio Garcia, two of the young guns on tour.

March madness comes a little early for golf fans! This week the top 64 players in the world gather in Arizona for head to head competition! Just like in the college basketball tournament the top seed plays the lowest seed, but unlike the basketball tournament, the number 1 seed has been knocked off before. Tiger Woods is looking for his 8th straight PGA Tour wins and is the top seed again this year. J.J. Henry is looking to be the first play to knock Tiger out in the first round. Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, and Adam Scott are the other number one seeds.

Look out for the top seeds to get knocked out early; none of the top 10 players in the world have made it into the finals the last 3 years. Other matches to look out for Stuart Appleby (#5) vs Charles Howell (12) last week’s winner, Geoff Ogilvy (3) vs Steve Stricker (14) both past winners of the Match Play Tournament.

I must say that I would be a fool not to take Tiger this week, but I think that it’s not going to be his week. I look for him to get past the first two rounds, and then get knocked out. Look for a player in the 30’s or 40’s to have a break out week and take the tournament. What do I know I have been wrong that last two weeks, maybe this is the week I will be RIGHT! Stay tuned for a recap of Wednesday’s wins and losses!

Two weeks is all that it took Phil Mickelson to make everyone forget about the tragic U.S. OPEN! It all changed on Sunday, just like he has done in the past Phil’s putter let him down, when he needed it the most. Sunday started out so well for Mickelson building a 3-stroke lead after his first 3 holes. Howell as many as 6 shots back at one time, made 6 birdies in his last 14 holes. Including a key 15-footer for par on the last hole to force a playoff. Mickelson on the other hand was not so lucky. After leading by 3, the wheels started to come off. Trying a “Phil” shot on the 9th hole, where he was on the front of the green (the pin was in the back) took out a wedge and tried to chip it, but stubbed it and the ball only went 3 feet! That lead to his first bogie, but followed it up with a birdie on the next hole! Along with birding the 10th hole, he 2 putted for birdied the 11th getting to 17 under par. But a missed 3 footer on the 13th hole put him only 1 up. It looked like he got the monkey off his back when he birdied the 17th hole to hang on to a one shot lead with one to play, but a bad chip on 18 lead to a bogie, to force a play off!

The play off started on the 18th hole where both players made par. Next they played the short 10th hole where it looked like Phil had it in the bag, after Charles was stymied behind a tree. Once again Phil left the door open with another bad chip shot. Both players made par and took the play off to the par 3 14th. Both players came up short of the green with their tee shots, Mickelson made another bad chip leaving him 30 feet away, where he could not make his par putt. Charles chipped it to 3 feet and made the putt to be the 2007 Nissan Open. Wednesday starts the March madness of golf… stay tuned.

According to ESPN.com, days after retired NBA player, John Amaechi came out of the closet, Hardaway then used strong words against homosexuality after the topic of Amaechi arised.
Hardaway went on in saying, `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. I am homophobic. I don’t like it. It shouldn’t be in the world or in the United States.” Later on he continued, “First of all, I wouldn’t want him on my team,” and second of all, if he was on my team, I would really distance myself from him because, uh, I don’t think that is right. I don’t think he should be in the locker room while we are in the locker room. But stuff like that is going on and there’s a lot of other people I hear that are like that and still in the closet and don’t want to come out of the closet, but you know I just leave that alone.”

After hearing Hardaway’s comments, Amaechi said this about it, “His words pollute the atmosphere, it creates an atmosphere that allows young gays and lesbians to be harassed in school, creates an atmosphere where in 33 states you can lose your job, and where anti-gay and lesbian issues are used for political gain. It’s an atmosphere that hurts all of us, not just gay people.”

As a result of Hardaway’s comments, Commissioner David Stern has banished Hardaway from NBA All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas. “It is inappropriate for him to be representing us given the disparity between his views and ours,” Stern said in a statement Thursday. “This is an issue overall that has fascinated America. It’s not an NBA issue,” Stern said, pointing to the ongoing debate over gay marriage at the state and federal levels.

Hardaway publically apologized days later after the fiasco.

Personally, I see where Hardaway is coming from. He takes showers with 12 of the same guys over 80 times a year. I myself couldn’t but help feel a little tension in the locker room if I knew one of my teammates had a different sexual preference then mine. Hardaway just has to learn that under any circumstances, even if he is a neo nazi, to always be politically correct in all interviews and appearances and show tolerance toward the minority. In today’s society, it is all about tolerance towards the minority, ironically, after the years’ of prejudice toward the black populus in America, Hardaway didn’t take that into consideration that the gay populus are facing the same discrimination.

Padraig Harington takes the lead at the Nissan Open after the first round! Firing a 63, 8 under par, to take a 3 shot lead into the 2nd round. But a few other big names are right on his tail, the likes of last weeks winner, Phil Mickelson who is in second at 5 under, Jim Furyk and Sergio Garcia are in 5th place at 4 under, Vijay Singh, Aaron Baddeley, and U.S. Open Champion Geff Ogilvy are in 10th place all at 3 and Erine Els is right behind them in 15th place at 2 under.

Pardraig’s round included birding his first 3 holes and 4 out of his first 5. On the day he had two bogies and TEN birdies! For a second straight week Phil is right in the mix to get back-to-back wins. Shooting a first round 66 with six birdies and no bogies on his card. Watch out for things to get really spicy this weekend with the top players in the world to make a movie!

The best field of the year starts tomorrow with no Tiger Woods at the Nissan Open. Played at Riviera Country Club. Last weeks winner Phil Mickelson is trying to win back-to-back tournaments and is the favored this week. Also in the field is Ernie Els, making his first PGA Tour start. Along with else, Jim Furyk, Adam Scott, Vijay Singh, and Retief Goosen. Last years winner Rory Sabbatini is trying to defend his title.

After making a total bogie by picking Luke Donald (who missed the cut) over Phil Mickelson (who won the tournament) I am going to try to do it again this week. Watch for Ernie to have the first round lead, with Phil a few back. Sundays final round Ernie and Phil, where Ernie makes no bogies and takes down Phil.

According to ESPN.com, today Marty Schottenheimer was fired by Chargers President, Dean Spanos. It seems Marty was having problems with the GM, A.J. Smith. That and he refused to sign his one year extension for 2008 worth $4.5 million, with a $1 million buyout.
It seems Marty just got out there in time, his coordinators are gone, and has two players publically known for steroid use. Now he will probably head on to another coaching job.
Either way, the Chargers just went from a Super Bowl contender, to a bubble team for the playoffs next year. Marty knew how to use all of his players strengths and compress their weaknesses. He knew the ins out and outs of Charger football. Sure he has been a bust in the playoffs in his career, but look at Bill Cowher, he played in 21 playoff games, six of those AFC Championship appearances, and had two Super Bowl appearances. Bill Cowher came into the NFL under the tutelage of Marty Schottenheimer, and in his last year, Cowher won the Super Bowl. Marty isn’t the ambitious lad he use to be either, he is practically on his last leg. Therefore, Schotty wins in it all in ‘09.
My conclusion, Chargers go into a tail spin as their new head coach Dennis Green implements the new team motto, “They are who we thought they were”, into the locker room. After seasons of letting teams off the hook, the Chargers front office then tries to find revive the team by drafting a new quarterback in Brady Leaf, QB of the Oregon Ducks.
Brady signs the largest rookie contract in NFL history and begins his NFL career winning his first three preseason games. He then is released after blowing up in fellow teammate’s face, Shawn Merriman. Merriman said later on, “He told me to not talk to him, and to knock it off. I don’t know why he got so mad, I was only chasing him around with my syringe.”

The Chargers made a big mistake, one that they better fix before history repeats itself.

Fire A.J.!!!

As usual Texas and coach Mack Brown have started the football recruiting season with a bang. Texas held their first Junior Day on Sunday, and by the end of the night had commitments from 9 players according to Orangebloods.com. If you are a Longhorn fan and you aren’t already a paying member of Orangebloods.com I highly recommend it. The depth of their coverage is just amazing.

Rivals.com has yet to put out their star rankings for the 2008 class, but based on early word the group of players who have committed to the Horns is impressive. Here they are broken down by position:

Running back:
Jeremy Hills- The 5′11″ 180 Hills is the little brother of the Horns starting offensive tackle Tony Hills. He was expected to take his time in the recruiting process and some even considered him a Texas A&M lean despite his brother being a Horn. But he was blown away on the visit and committed immediately. He is projected as a 4 star prospect.

Ryan Roberson- The 5′10″ 210 pounder is expected to play fullback for Texas. He’s one of the rare prospects these days who actually WANTS to play fullback. He is projected as a 3 star prospect.

Wide Receiver:
Dan Buckner- The 6′5″ 200 pound Buckner is in all likelyhood the best WR prospect in Texas and one of the best in the nation. At the very least he will be a high 4 star and possible 5 star prospect.

Brock Fitzhenry- A 5′9″ 172 pound jitterbug with great speed. He was timed at a UT camp last season at 4.42 and has run a sub 4.4 at his school. Fitzhenry has played mainly qb in high school and is a 2,500 yard per season rusher. He may end up a 3 star but has a good shot at a 4th star.

Offensive Line:
David Snow- A 6′4″ 300 pound mauler. He was Texas’ top guard prospect. He is projected at a high 4 star and possible 5 star player.

Mark Buchanan- Buchanan is a 6′5″ 265 tackle prospect. He is very quick and light on his feet. He has a lot of upside. A little more unkown at this point than some other offensive line prospects. Based on his video he will probably end up a 4 star.

Defensive Back:
Aaron Williams- At 6′1″ 175 Williams is a guy who could play corner or safety. He’s already drawing comparisons to Thorpe Award winners Michael Huff and Aaron Ross in terms of size, skill set, and potential. He should be a high 4 star player.

D.J. Monroe- A small and shifty speedster at 5′9″ 165. He is a playmaker with great coverage skills and will likely be a 4 star prospect.

Kicker:

Justin Tucker- Not many kickers are offered scholarships but Tucker, who is rated as the top kicker in the country, is an exception. One thing that makes kickers hard to project in terms of college success is the fact that high school kickers kick field goals off of tees and it’s hard to know how they will do in college without a tee. Well, Tucker already kicks without a tee so he is more college ready than most high school kickers.

All in all a great kickoff to the recruiting season for the Texas Longhorns. Several other players ended up with offers, and more, who were not offered, put Texas at the top of the list. Their next Junior Day is coming up soon so stay tuned for more commitments.

Do you remember when the New York Knicks were biggest bullies on the block? Remember when they took a page out of the Detroit “Bad Boys” playbook and applied it to the Bulls. Remember when the Knicks were in some of the greatest rivalries in the league. Those were the good old days. Well these are not your dad’s New York Knicks. I’ll let you in on a little secret, I’m from Chicago. I’m not considered an old timer by anyone, but it hurts me to see the Knicks as the butt of everyone’s joke. I remember when that NBA on NBC song came on and the Bulls and Knicks were about to battle it out for eastern conference supremacy. But now, well you get the idea. Some famous and infamous demises were eventually expected; the Bulls struggling after Jordan, Pippen, and Phil leave, the Lakers not making the playoffs when Shaq leaves for greener pastures, all of those make sense. But the irrelevance that the Knicks are currently enjoying puts them only ahead of the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics as the current worst franchises in the NBA (Patrick Ewing is rolling over in his grave). What makes the situation worse is that the Knicks have the most expensive roster in the league. One would think that with all that money, they could get a few more wins. Adding insult to injury they just fired a hall of fame coach and had to pay him like 30 million just to get him out. Sounds like a hopeless situation to me. So what I’ve decided to do is give the Knicks some advice. Here are my top 5 things they can do to improve their chances because I really do miss rooting against the Knicks.

5. Remind Isaiah Thomas, that you only need a couple of guards, not a roster full.
4. Start the bench, those guys will be playing most of the minutes anyway (see: blowouts)
3. Build a time machine and set the date for 1992.
2. Ask Isaiah Thomas if he still likes number 11.
1. Thank the stars that they play in the Atlantic Division (all teams not named the Toronto Raptors are currently below .500)