Thursday, April 3, 2008

sorry

For the lack of posts....my computer is completely dead and there's not much I can do about it. Enjoy the Brett Favre rumors and I'll be back soon.

-Pat

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Oooo....How Fitting

Oh no, what? Wait. It happened again? Yes. It did. Call it a reoccurring nightmare, call it déjà vu, call it the collapse 5.0, call it brutal. Syracuse’s disaster third round NIT loss to UMass - in which the Orange led by 19 at half, 22 points with 15 mins left, 14 points with just under eight minutes left, 10 points with five minutes left, five points with a minute and a half left left, and then lost - well you might just call it this.


How fitting is the fact that he’s wearing an orange wig? Is he the Orange Santa from the Dome?

Yes, sorry for the graphic nature, but that’s what Syracuse basketball has given us. If it’s something you don’t want to hear about, don’t continue. And don’t become a Syracuse fan.

Instead of being a welcome relief from the relentlessly painful football program, the Syracuse basketball team has given us fans several kicks to the nether region. Torn ACLs, then last second losses to Georgetown, UConn, Pittsburgh. The home losses to URI and UMass. The no-show at South Florida. Relentless ball bashing. Sorry again, but I just can’t think of anything more fitting. As a man myself, the pain is just eerily parallel to the sting of this Syracuse basketball season. Just as the fellas start descending from one’s stomach, just as you get comfortable, bam! Right to the babymakers.

But you know what? As my fearsome twosome begin their descent from the Minutemen’s unforgiving booting, I really am not that upset. I’m not sure why, but I think it’s because of a tolerance that this season has helped to build up. If you think of this season as a complete failure, think of it this way. We got to see three more home games, one that was extremely entertaining (Maryland), experienced some great crowds and didn’t have to hear Dunk N’ Bright furniture commercials. I know, that’s not enough. But what might be the most valuable asset from such a horrific season is the ability to take a kick to the balls (for the fans that is, it’s not a good trait for the players to accept). Things just can’t get worse than this. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty desensitized. Or at least, the losses don’t leave me absolutely distraught. And after being so low I think that this team can only go up. Hopefully they got the, “holy shit we can’t close out a game” syndrome out of their systems this season. Because next year, the team will likely have enough talent to be a force. Paul Harris throwing the ball away again, a completely distraught half court offense and a zone in disarray - that’s really going to need to be fixed in the offseason.

So enjoy your time off from the ball bashing, it’s now baseball season! There are 100baseball games played before they even start to get nerve-racking. So sit back, relax, and let ‘em hang. I think they’ll be safe for a while. At least until Daryl Gross hexes the lacrosse team.

-Pat

Monday, March 24, 2008

March Sadness?

I know there are a lot of sports fans out there who, like me, have the end of March blues. You're favorite College Hoops team just lost in the Tournament (National Invitation, that is), you're brackets have more red ink than MC Hammer's bank statement and you're favorite NBA team can't win a court case, let alone a basketball game. The week until MLB season begins feels like year.
For fans like me, I give you this list of things to look forward to:

Lottery Watch: For fans of the Pistons, Celtics, Lakers and anyone in Texas, this time of the year is about watching your favorite NBA team fight for the top seed in their conference or claw for a playoff spot. For fans like me, it’s about watching the Knicks fight just as hard for ping pong balls in the NBA Draft Lottery. Right now, the ‘Bockers have the fifth worst record in the league with 19 wins. However, they stand only one game ahead of Minnesota and Memphis in the win column, and are getting cold at the right time with a 1-9 record in their last ten games. With every Crawford miss, every key injury, and every poor Isiah coaching decision the Knicks are moving one step closer to having a shot at landing the next superstar.

Unfortunately, the NBA Draft is only for players. The Knicks cannot draft an owner, coach, or GM.

Barry Watch: If you’re dumb enough to think that Barry will quietly ride off into the sunset, then you’re probably also naïve enough to think the moon landing was real and Oswald acted alone. While it is certainly possible that an AL team will snag him in the next week, I think it is pretty likely that he will start the season without a contract and have to follow in the footsteps of Ricky Henderson and play in the Independent League. When by the end of April he already has thirty home runs, an underachieving AL team will finally say “ah, what the heck” and the Barry Bonds chronicles will be resumed.

Mitchell Report Fever: It’s a no win for a baseball announcer early in the season. Whenever a player comes to the plate or the mound who was mentioned in the MR, the announcer will be faced with the question of “do I talk about the report, or awkwardly avoid the 300 ton elephant?” For the fans, I say, have fun with it. You can even make a drinking game out of it. You drink whenever they say the word “Mitchell,” drink twice when they awkwardly hint at it (eg “On the mound for the Yankees is Andy Pettitte, who had a tumultuous off season”) and chug the rest of your beer when the announcer says, “PLAYER A made a mistake, but now he has straightened himself out and is eager to earn back the trust of the fans.”

Hank Wisdom: Hank Steinbrenner showed a lot of promise last season with some great trash talking, and it seems like he has elevated his game during the off season. He is primed for a breakout year, and may be the next budding superstar in the world of trash talk. What separates Hank from trash talkers like Ozzie Guillen or Curt Schilling is that he mixes some cleverness and even occasionally tact into his rants. Most people are either so angry and off the wall or try so hard to be clever and tactful that it’s hard to take them seriously. Hank has a good balance of both. He is like a less offensive version of John Rocker, who also was a great trash talker but for some reason inexcusably took out his wrath on New Yorkers, homosexuals, minorities and people with a terminal illness instead of opposing baseball players.

The next ‘George Mason’: In the Sweet 16, there are two 12 seeds and a 10 seed. At least one will probably make the Elite Eight, and I’d say there is a decent chance one of them (probably Davidson, who I almost took to beat Georgetown) makes the Final Four. My biggest curiosity is how George Mason feels about potentially having a double digit seed equal their feat. If UCLA tops Western Kentucky, will they pop champagne like the ’72 Dolphins? Will we hear Jai Lewis declare after a Davidson loss: “This just shows that no low seed can make the Final Four. Except in 2006”? I anxiously await.
-By Andrew Vitelli
Picture credits:
http://360oz.wordpress.com/2007/11/16/barry-bonds-indicted/
http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/blog/hanks

Monday, March 17, 2008

Forget March Madness, I've Got NIT Fever

Well here we are. I figured I'd throw together a quick post before I go out to celebrate my namesake. Sorry if you've missed me, I know you have, but I just got back from Spring Break. Anyways, after a gut-wrenching, nail biting and downright professional NIT selection show, the news we all were expecting fell upon us. Syracuse, and its mirror program from BMore, the Maryland Terrapins, will be in the NIT. We’ve discussed how similar these teams are (well before deadspin did the same), and how alike the programs have been in the past few years since their respective championships. I’m not surprised to see both teams in the tournament. But as an added surprise, the NIT committee (does that really exist?) has sprinkled the Orange and Terrapins in the same bracket. Somehow, they stuck Maryland with a five seed. SU, sitting at seed No. 1, are aligned to meet the Terrapins in the second round if both teams win. There are two possibilities here.
One is that both teams lose both first round games - Syracuse to Robert Morris and Maryland to Minnesota (the second being no gimme for the Terps). Or they both win and play an epic 5 OT game before the Dome management dismantles the court for the lacrosse team to practice because, well, that squad still has a shot at a legit national tournament. In all seriousness though, it would be pretty fitting for Cuse and Maryland to meet in the second round, and it would be an interesting game considering all of the parallels.

As Andrew pointed out this morning, Seth Greenberg of Virginia Tech made some interesting comments. He really went out on a limb after his team’s loss on Saturday to UNC. It was a great game and the coach clearly was stating his case for the Hokies to receive an NCAA bid. Here’s the video (it seems to be bugging out a little bit, watch it at this link if the video below is giving you trouble)


The problem is, he pissed off some people...and was a bit irrational as Andrew stated. I have to agree with my fellow blogger. One close loss doesn’t make a season. A measly one win against a top-50 RPI team does. Losing to Penn State and Old Dominion does too. I mean, sure, they were on the bubble. But is leaving them out certifiably insane? I don’t think so. It’s just kind of tough to say after a loss, with a thin resume. But hey, come join the NIT party. It’s pretty awesome.

I’m not sure if any readers have seen this new Subway Jared commercial. I’m sure most of you are quite sick of the guy. And now, as if he wasn’t in your face enough, we are assaulted with an advertisement filled with athletes telling you all about Jared and his achievements. By no means am I slandering his weight loss. Good job Jared. It’s impressive. But I just love the commercial. This one seems a bit different from the TV version I’ve seen, where they relentlessly repeat that he ate subway, and throw in a quick reference to exercise also being helpful in losing nearly 250 pounds. But still, what a collection of athletes. Brady Quinn, wrestling’s John Cena? I mean Brady, you’re a backup, maybe you should try learning the playbook instead of doing ads for Jared and Myoplex. Clearly, you’re not half the actor Peyton Manning is.

- Pat

Selection Sunday

The nice thing about Maryland losing in the first round of the ACC Tournament instead of winning a game before losing is that I was able to watch the NCAA Selection show without sitting in the fetal position and rocking, cringing every time a 12 seed was announced and it wasn’t Maryland. Having no vested interest, I think the committee did a pretty good job. I don’t think anyone was snubbed. My biggest issue is with George Mason being a 12 seed. Any other CAA team with a similar resume would be a 14, Mason is basically the Duke of mid-majors now in that its name wows voters.

My greatest joy came out of Virginia Tech being in the NIT instead of the dance. Coach Seth Greenberg’s ridiculous statement and letter to the selection committee asking them to put his team in thankfully fell on deaf ears. In case you missed it, here it is:
Anyone who watched that game that knows anything about basketball, if you don't think this team is one of the top 65 teams in the country, you're certifiably insane. Because I don't know who else could come into this environment, basically play a road game, and play those guys the way we just played them. The only thing we didn't do is win the game.
Let’s focus on the last sentence. “The only thing we didn’t do is win the game.”

Well Seth, isn’t that kind of a big thing? He throws it in their like he’s saying “the only thing we didn’t do is box out the shooter on free throws in the second quarter.” But winning? Isn’t that a focus of the gameplan? Should that not be something the selection committee looks at?

Greenberg is making the argument that a close loss is almost as good as a win. Well, I guess the committee should go back this season and look at every team within two points of a win. Instead of quality wins, it should be called “quality wins/2 points losses.” And if the National Championship game is close, then we’ll have two National Champions.

I know not every loss is the game. If VT (19-13, 9-7 ACC) was really on the edge of the Bubble, a strong showing agianst UNC might have put them in. But really, VT wasn’t close. They had a good conference record because they beat up on bad teams. They were 1-7 against the RPI’s top 50, with the one being a win against Miami, not a Duke or UNC or anything like that. Really, they arguably had less of a resume than Maryland, who got a five seed in the NIT. VT had one more win, but Maryland’s best win (at UNC rather than Miami) was much better.

Another issue I have is with him saying “if you don't think this team is one of the top 65 teams in the country, you're certifiably insane.” The best 65 teams in the country don’t get at-large bids. Throwing that number out there is misleading since it clearly doesn’t really have any meaning in this context. To get an at large bid, a team has to be one of the best 30 or 40 teams in the nation. Yes Seth, you guys were better than Coppin State. You want to be in the play in game?

I think Greenberg should write a letter to the NIT thanking them for giving his team a one seed.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Top headlines that may have gone under your radar

Yanks, D-Rays bad blood boils over in pre-season brawl
Zimmer wisely stays in dugout this time

Tony Parker to Yanks’ Heath Phillips: I will fight you!
Later retracts statement after learning Phillips plunked EVAN Longoria

Rockets win seventh straight game without Yao
Isaiah immediately places Knicks’ center Eddy Curry on DL

Billy Crystal bats leadoff for Yankees, strikes out in only at-bat against Pirates
Yanks in talks with Stallone for next meeting with Rays

Patriots cut ties with veteran wide receiver Troy Brown

Ask Brown to return team-issued camcorder

Tony Stewart blames poor performance on Goodyear Tires
Isaiah then blames Nike for Knicks’ poor season

Boston’s Schilling placed on 60-day DL
Curt’s Warcraft ranking expected to skyrocket

Giants sign QB Carr to 1 year, $1M deal
GM Reese addresses need to find new oft-criticized QB drafted with top pick

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Sterning the ship in the right direction

Anyone who has been tuning into the NBA this season knows it. Everyone who has been ignoring the league for the past few years needs to reevaluate their stance. The NBA is back. And this is coming from a Knicks fan.

Last night I watched Lebron James single-handedly dismantle the Knickerbockers, and although it wasn't the outcome I was looking for as the Cavs pulled away late, it was pretty damn entertaining. Lebron lit up the Garden, dropping 50 points on an array of deep three pointers (including one at the halftime buzzer that he shot like a normal pull up from about 40 feet out), dunks and layups. At one point, David Lee took both hands and shoved James in the stomach as he rose for a dunk. LBJ didn't fall back, but simply lowered his hand from dunk position and as his feet were about to touch the floor, hoisted in a shot off the backboard. Also last night the Celtics and Pistons (the two top teams in the East) battled in Boston in a very entertaining contest that could be a playoff preview. The funny thing is, this is the Eastern Conference. It's by far the inferior conference depth wise, but holds some serious weapons at the top of the standings.


While watching Lebron has been truly marvelous, what has really drawn me back into the NBA has been the teams of the Western Conference. The past few years I sort of agreed with some of the NBA cynics who harped on the negative aspects of professional play such as the lack of defense, the isolation one-on-one plays, lack of teammwork, etc. I'd usually tune in for just Knicks games and the occassional primetime matchup. But this season, the league has returned to "must-see TV" status. The top 8 teams in the West are separated by 5 1/2 games (the 8th place team's record is 37-23). The pace of the games out West is frenetic. Teams, even those weighed down by Shaq, run up and down the court. There are tons of superstars, from the loud (Kobe Bryant) to the quiet (Brandon Roy). There are great, highly watchable point gaurds: from Derron Williams to Chris Paul to Steve Nash to Baron Davis. Thanks to the solid play from the court leaders, the squads in the West play a great brand of team ball...and score...a lot. And seemingly each team has at least two real stars, immediately making each game full of flair and storylines. The teams play hard night in and night out. While I'm not sure I can say that for my Knicks, I'll still say the NBA is definitely back. Now, just fire Isiah.


-Pat

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Super Tuesday...is Hillary Next?

Did Brett Favre actually retire?
Is it for real this time? Apparently, according to just about every media source out there, Brett Favre has notified the Packers that he won’t be returning to the Green Bay Packers for his 18th season. For seemingly the past few years, Brett Favre talking retirement was about as common as Al Davis trying to ruin the Raiders franchise. It happened every offseason.

But apparently, this time it’s for real. I can’t completely buy it, as he’s done this too many times. I’m still leaving a 20 percent chance for Favre to return. But if this time he’s a man of his word, it’ll be a new day for the Aaron Rodgers led Green Bay Packers. It’s just tough to completely believe Favre would retire after an MVP-caliber season.

Despite my nausea from relentless rumors year after year of Favre crying and pondering hanging it up, you have to give it up to the guy. Three MVPs, a Super Bowl win, the most TD passes in NFL history, 275 straight starts. Those are pretty impressive numbers. Favre was always fun to watch. And last season he flourished, setting records and tossing 28 touchdowns with only 15 interceptions. But in a fitting end for the gunslinger with the most career interceptions in the NFL, he ended his career throwing an interception in overtime against the Giants to set up New York’s winning field goal in the NFC Championship Game. Favre will be missed. But what certainly won’t be are the hours and hours spent debating his future. Hopefully that’s decided. Brace yourself for the ESPN love-fest. And more Wrangler commercials.

While Favre made the choice to end his career, another pro-athlete was given his career back. Although not on the same prestigious level of fame and success as Favre...

Chris Andersen is returning to the NBA from his drug banishment!
I know, you’re all excited. So am I. The Lakers added Pau Gasol, the Suns picked up Shaq, the Mavericks grabbed J Kidd, and every Western Conference team beefed up at the trade deadline. The New Orleans Hornets made a few minor moves, but now add the high flying “Birdman” Andersen. They apparently are ready to sign him if he passes a physical. Hopefully, whatever dope he was dabbling in (under the banishing rules it has to be amphetamine and its analogs, which include methamphetamine; cocaine; LSD; opiates, including heroin, codeine and morphine; and PCP according to ESPN.com) is well out of his system. Those are some serious drugs, maybe he was already using when he went through this hilarious debacle.





Flying off on another tangent, I have to say I’m impressed with the Jets so far this offseason.
They’ve made a ton of moves. New York has added offensive linemen Allen Faneca (a consistent Pro-Bowler) and Damien Woody (a solid fixture on the right side), LB/DE Calvin Pace as a pass rusher in the 3-4 scheme and DT Kris Jenkins.

The pickups address many of the Jets’ needs, especially on the offensive line which struggled last year. With two veteran signings added to the young and talented Nick Mangold and D’Brickashaw Ferguson, the line becomes a strength. And while some may debate if the Jets are overspending, the team has the money to shell out, and the players acquired should fit in to coach Eric Mangini’s 3-4 defensive scheme better than their predecessors.

It’s good to see the Jets finally addressing these needs to form a defense that does more than settling for the bend but not break strategy. And the offensive line should open holes for a talented backfield that may even add Arkansas’ Darren McFadden if New York catches a few breaks in the NFL Draft (the team has the 6th pick). If we base the pattern of the past seasons, the Jets are due for a 10-6 campaign. A little early I know, but in the past four years, the team has gone 10-6, 4-12, 10-6, 4-12. Looking ahead six months, I know, but I have to look for some bright spots right now. As Andrew told you, we haven’t had the best winter.


Things could be starting to turn, especially if the Knicks fire Isiah Thomas, which is slowly looking more possible. You really have to wonder what the team is waiting for. Deadspin sums it up eloquently.


-Pat

Monday, March 3, 2008

Tale of Two Bubbles



First, sorry for the time off. Between midterms, hoops-related depression, and the Professional Bull Riders coming to Baltimore we have had very little free time. Besides, February is a slow sports month.

- Last week we talked about the similarities between Maryland and Syracuse, two teams that weeks ago looked like they would both be dancing in March. Both teams hit a rough patch that put them on the bubble.

Well, the similarities continue. The Orange had an 11 point lead over Pitt at the Carrier Dome with three minutes left, and a win would have put them right back into the thick of things. They coughed it up, and now the Not-In Tournament looks like a decent bet.

Meanwhile, the Terps had a 20 point lead in the second half against Clemson in a game that would have just about sent those Maryland NIT t-shirts to Nicaragua had they held on. But of course, they managed to blow it and lost on a three pointer with under three seconds left.

These two teams could end up facing each other in Manhattan.

- Players aren’t the sports figures that engage in trash talking. Hank Steinbrenner and John Henry proved. Hank started it, with the following rant:

“Red Sox Nation? What a bunch of [expletive] that is. That was a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans. Go anywhere in America and you won't see Red Sox hats and jackets, you'll see Yankee hats and jackets. This is a Yankee country. We're going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order."

To which Henry responded:

“I’m a big Hank fan. Just to ensure he knows how cool Red Sox Nation is, [Saturday] we officially inducted him as a member.”

It’s good to see the old guys getting in on the fun. Hank has a few potential moves now. He could buy the naming rights to Fenway and rename it Bucky Dent Field, or he could simply remind Henry that members of “Red Sox Nation” are responsible for Gigli and Taxi. We eagerly await his next move.

Picture Credits: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0316732/
http://www.longhornrodeo.com/bullriding.htm

Monday, February 25, 2008

Bubblerrific

If you haven’t noticed, there’s been a little bit of anxiety and paranoia seeping into the wondrous columns of Giving 111 Percent.

Well, we may be somewhat naturally aggressive people, but the restless tone is fueled from something other than our normal opinionated convictions. It’s the fact that the schools at which we both reside, Syracuse and Maryland, sport two college basketball squads floating around the NCAA tournament bubblesphere.

Maryland has dropped two straight games to ACC foes Virginia Tech and Miami. Syracuse has done the same, to better competition on the road at Louisville and Notre Dame. Each team finds themselves at 17-11, with Maryland boasting a 7-6 record in a down ACC conference, and the Orange with a 7-8 mark in the brutal Big East. Pretty similar records. Why did we start this blog? This seems like a terrible omen.

Syracuse sits at No. 48 in the RPI rankings, with the eighth best strength of schedule in the nation. The Terps are at No. 67 and 18 respectively. There’s no beating around the bush, both these teams have a ton of work left to do if either wants to find itself being considered for the NCAA tournament. Both teams should try to at least get to 20 wins. If that’s the case, I (Pat) would have to opt for Syracuse over the Terps – because the team has better numbers and overcame great odds stacked against them in a much better conference. But right now, it’s foolish to assume that either of these teams will be dancing. Unfortunately.

The parallels continue. Maryland has missed the NCAA tournament twice in the past three years. Syracuse missed it last year (albeit questionably), and has been on the bubble the two years before that. Maryland was coming off a championship title earlier this decade in 2002. Syracuse won in 2003. The titles obviously affected our school choices, and well, they haven’t exactly paid off. Year after year the fingernails disintegrate and selection Sunday is either doomsday or an unpleasant nerve racking two hours spent staring at Greg Gumbel.

Hopefully both teams can make runs, or this blog could become quite bitter until baseball season starts. Of course, we’ll keep up with the posting and observations as well as we can, but I’d like to avoid the disappointment. And Andrew can at least still bask in the Giants glory – so if it comes down to these two, I’m not going to feel bad for him if the Cuse makes it.

Andrew gave you some Maryland insight yesterday.
Here are some thoughts on the Orange after a tough 94-87 loss at Notre Dame:


- With the loss sending the Orange to 17-11 (7-8 Big East), I believe SU must win out. Winning a game in the Big East tournament would likely shore up a bid. That would equal four more wins. That total is likely the magic number. If the Orange struggles in the upcoming games against Pitt, Seton Hall and Marquette, it will have to make serious noise in the Big East Tournament.

- If Syracuse is hoping to make the run I just mentioned, the team is going to need Donte Greene to show up. I cannot believe what I am seeing out of this guy. I don’t like to be too critical of college players, but he is really driving me insane. The 6’10 Greene came into SU as a great recruit, likely one-and-done. He showed off a nice jump shot early in the year and skyrocketed to the top of the Big East scoring leaders list. But once conference play started, Greene has disappeared. Going into Sunday’s game, the Orange was shooting 29 percent from three-point range in conference play. Greene is not helping that as the team’s main shooter. He’s been very cold, scoring in double figures in only two of the last five games. He looks lost in SU’s offensive sets, and actually has been removed from NBA Draft.net's 2008 mock draft– which previously had him as a top-10 pick. It looks as if the site administrators think Donte will stay another year.
Regardless, this kind of thing happens. Big East play has been tougher than Greene expected, he’s playing a ton of minutes with a thin frame, and he’s not getting a lot of open looks. That’s all fine. He needs more time in the Big East and needs to learn how to cut, drive and do something other than pop three pointers. But what I find unacceptable and infuriating is his effort and intensity. Greene showed zero emotion during the game and when he was picking up several fouls. He was torched by Notre Dame forwards on the perimeter when the team switched to man-to-man defense. He seems very, very out of it. Someone needs to light a fire under him. If SU isn’t going to get offensive numbers out of him, the team needs rebounding and defense. Right now, Greene is offering pretty much none of the above.

- Paul Harris is a man-child who hopefully won’t even think about moving to the NBA this season. Right now, he’s by far our best player, and is even sinking his jump shots consistently. Harris is starting to shine and become more dependable. Sure, he still has his lapses. But if he stays another year or two, he can be scary good, as can Syracuse as a team. Onuaku, too, was an absolute beast as well. He can outmuscle just about anyone in the Big East, and seems to actually know that after a mid-season slump.

- I think Scoop Jardine has to see even more time. He played well against Notre Dame, and appears to be fully recovered from his suspension. Yet again, he of course has his lapses, but he’s a healthy body and someone who can penetrate and finish on a team with six other healthy players.

- The team still scored 87 points with only five from their leading scorer (Greene). This was encouraging, especially because of all the layups that somehow rimmed out. The problem is there were so many opportunities that a win could have been possible. If SU can play well at both sides of the court like they have shown on separate occasions, the team might be able to make a late push.

Woa. A few thoughts turned into a thorough therapy session. Here’s to hoping the improbable seven man team can make a late run. And if that happens, well, good luck to Maryland as well.

Life on the bubble. You can’t beat it.


-Pat


Photo credits: roanoke.com, sportsnetwork.com

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Terps need to turn it around

If the Maryland Terrapins fail to make the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years, it won’t be hard to point to the game that doomed their season. Wednesday’s 69-65 loss to Virginia Tech at Comcast Center was one of the ugliest games that I can remember. The Terps jumped out to a big lead early, then inexplicably stopped scoring. The game was so disgusting that guard Dorenzo Hudson actually vomited on the floor in the first half. On Saturday, they lost to Miami.

It seems like a lot of fans seem quick to blame the team’s struggles on guard Greivis Vazquez. Early in the game, when the Terps were jumping out to a double digit lead, Vazquez had 11 quick points. He then tried a risky pass and threw it out of bounds.

“Get him off the court, Gary!” yelled a fan, who continued to curse at Vazquez every time he missed a shot.

I know that the guy has more turnovers than a pastry shop, but if not for his play this season Gary would be calling MSG every night begging for NIT consideration. Not only does Greivis lead the team in scoring (17.5 ppg) and assists (6.7 apg), he is the only player that can create a shot. Imagine the offense with Adrian Bowie and Eric Hayes running around for 35 seconds? Vazquez has also had a knack for knocking down the big three pointer.


The biggest problem that the Terps have is their lack of production from the bench. Braxton Dupree, who was supposed to come in and play right away, looks like he is a long way from making any contributions. In fact, if Gus Gilchrist is not the next coming of Elton Brand, the team might have to beg Hassan Fofana to come back. Bowie had a couple big games in January and looked like he was becoming a dependable guard for the Terps. Now, he rarely sees the court.

The bench has been abysmal all year, but with Vazquez, Gist, and Osby dominating Maryland was still winning. The past couple games, Gist has struggled and Maryland was not able to replace his offense. One watching Wednesday’s loss had to wonder if Gist had somehow forgotten how to use his hands, as he not only turned the ball over five times but couldn’t hold onto countless rebounds that were in his grasp. He has seven and 10 points respectively in his last two games, his lowest and third lowest total since ACC play started. Gist has been one of the ACC's best players all season, and the Terps badly need him to step up in the last few games.

The Terps, at the very least, need to split their next two games. They have three games left before the ACC Tournament, and will probably need at least 20 wins to get in. If they win three more games this season, it puts them on the bubble with a decent chance of making it. Four more wins pretty much punches their ticket. Two wins, and Gary can all but book his flight to New York for the NIT.

Picture credit: http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2007/01/23/PH2007012301355.jpg

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Funny Joke??

I'm not exactly sure what's gotten into Alex Rodriguez, but he had quite an interesting quote in an article on ESPN.com yesterday. Here is the excerpt if you missed it:

Rodriguez also praised teammate Andy Pettitte, who was forced to give a deposition and affidavit to Congress in which he admitted using HGH in 2002 and 2004. Pettitte also said Roger Clemens discussed HGH use nearly a decade ago -- Clemens said Pettitte "misremembers."

"Andy is one of the greatest human beings I've ever met," Rodriguez said. "I have two daughters -- well, I have one and one on the way. If I had a daughter, I would want 'em to marry Andy Pettitte. The age difference might be a little awkward, but in today's day and age anything is possible."

Sure, it's good to see ARod back up one of his teammates, but what?! What did he just say? He would want his daughter to marry Andy Pettitte. Oh, well that's nice. Wait, how old is ARod's daughter Natasha Alexander? Three. Nice. And ARod, although it may not be your style, Andy appears loyal to his wife and four children already. So I guess we'll give ARod credit for toeing the line with a somewhat creepy but funny joke. But the last line is just weird. "In today's day and age anything is possible." Coming from ARod's mouth that just sounds too serious. Anyways I'll give credit to ARod for loosening up and trying to have some fun. Granted, it's spring training, so we'll see how long this mood lasts.


-Pat

Photo credit: lillypulitzer.com

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Please ESPN, no more.

So, the other night I (Pat) am up late as usual, and I had been surfing the web with ESPN on the TV in the background. It’s easy to tune it out, because the same news gets recycled every hour or so and they repeatedly hit you with it. Anyways, I’m minding my own business and I look up at the bright flashing lights of the television screen. I was horrified. I looked for the remote faster than I would have if I had seen the Poltergeist fuzzy screen or that mysterious video from The Ring. What had I seen? NASCAR Now - a new segment dedicated to solely stock car racing. The second I realized it wasn’t a Sportscenter segment the television was off. I sat in absolute silence in the pitch black for five seconds thinking about what I had just witnessed. Being that it was about 2:30 a.m. and I had seen the Fresh Prince episode airing (that’s about the best thing on at that hour), I went back to watching South Park on my computer. But I couldn’t laugh. I had been too mortified.

You readers may have had a similar experience, albeit maybe less traumatic. But I think you get the point. For fellow blogger Andrew Vitelli and I have had enough. It may have been because the Daytona 500 was this past weekend, or that we think there’s some bass fishing event coming up soon, but we can’t help but think that there has been a recent onslaught of crappy, uninteresting and well, frankly, redneck type sports programming thrown our way on the ESPN networks. We continue to see ads of men sitting in their hotel rooms at 4 a.m. desperately trying to pick out which fishing rod to use for the day, and then dramatically setting out on the lake for an action-packed thrill ride only the BassMasters and ESPN can bring you. There is non-stop NASCAR coverage. We, along with hopefully many of you, just don’t care ESPN. Sure, there are ratings to be had, NASCAR diehards to satisfy, and well, deluxe lures and sinkers to be discussed. But you know what? Take it elsewhere. And take Blue Collar Comedy Tour with you. Please. We have nothing against the states where this programming may be more popular or the people who enjoy it. You can have your gators and grits, but keep this stuff too.

We all know ESPN is pretty business savvy for the most part. Our solution to this whole ordeal? Simply start a new channel. ESPN South. ESPN Rural. EXPN. Anything. And sure, we know writing this that some people in our home state of New York like this programming. It will still be offered to you, for free or a small charge. But it won’t be on everyone’s sets, because well, we can’t have anyone mistakenly tuning into the ESPN original film “3.”

In fact, while we’re at it, maybe ESPN should take a lot of its dumb programming and dump it onto another channel. There is a lot of useless stuff on ESPN. Some of you may be saying, but then there is going to be more NFL Live reruns in March or more over-discussed stories. We have a solution for that too. It’s called, “ESPN spend some of the billions of dollars you have and buy up Friday Night Lights reruns, some movies, and bring back Playmakers.”

Anyways, Southerners or NASCAR lovers don’t be offended. We don’t just want to single out your dumb programming, there is other crap we want to see gone too. So ESPN it’s up to you. We’ve set the table, and we’ve even laid out the listings for your new channel of crap, EXPN. The only time we want to hear about these sports is if someone passes out during a spelling bee, or if Tony Stewart punches someone. Enjoy, and may we never see another 2 a.m. drag racing competition ever again.

EXPN

Friday
6 pm - World Series of B-List Celebrity Poker
7 pm - NCAA Division 3 Blindfolded Bass Fishing Finals
8 pm – Outside the Lines: The Stump McCrackin Log Chopping Tragedy
9 pm – Cockfight Tonight: Hosted by Pedro Martinez and Juan Marichal
10 pm – EXPN Movie of the Week: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby


Saturday
6 pm – Canine Chess NIT Semi-finals
7 pm – Alabama Spelling Bee (four letter limit)
8 pm – The Y-Games: Drunk Snowmobile Capture the Flag Finals
9 pm – Outside the Lines: Steroids in Bowling
10 pm – Virginia Dog-fighting Championships (postponed)

Sunday
6 pm – Tobacco Chewing Tour
7 pm – Outside the Lines: The Integration of NASCAR
7:01 pm – World Series of Hunting Finals: Randy DeDecker vs. Dick Cheney
8 pm – Daytona 500




Photo credits: www.760kfmb.com/rick_blog, pokerallstar.com, autoracingsport.com, espn.com

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Weekend wrap

Huge win for Syracuse yesterday. After a miserable defeat to South Florida earlier in the week, the Orange rebounded by dominating Georgetown on Saturday en route to a 77-70 victory. The win was key for the Orange as it tries to get back into NCAA tournament consideration. The Orange is 17-9 (7-6 Big East). With all the parity in college basketball this year, I’d say reaching the 20 win mark would be good for a tournament berth. So the Orange would have to win 3 of its next 5 games, and possibly a win in NYC in the Big East Tournament to shore up a bid.

Here are SU’s next five games:

Monday at Louisville
Saturday at Notre Dame
March 1 vs. Pitt
March 5 at Seton Hall
March 8 vs. Marquette

That’s a tough stretch, but it also presents quite a few “resume-building” wins. The next two (Louisville and ND) are extremely tough contests. If Syracuse can steal one from either the deep Cardinals (one of the hotter teams in the nation) or the strong inside-out Irish (who have won 35 straight home games) it would be a huge boost. The Orange should be able to then win at least the next two of three. Seton Hall is a game the Orange should win, but it won’t be easy on the road. Pitt and Marquette are both solid squads above SU in the Big East standings, but they have been struggling somewhat, and considering both games are in the Dome, SU should be able to at least split those. So three wins will be tough, but doable. As I said, if the Orange can do that and win a game in New York, I’d find it difficult for the selection committee to once again leave Syracuse out.

As for Saturday, it was an unreal game. It was just about perfect. Attendance had seemingly been falling off a little since Gerry McNamara left, but yesterday there were 31,000 plus howling fans. The atmosphere was great, it was probably one of the loudest crowds I’ve heard in the Dome in the past few years. And an unranked team bursting out to a 26-4 scoring run against a top-10 Hoya squad? As I said, unreal. This team will find it challenging to keep up such intensity with only a seven man rotation, but what the team lacks in a bench, it makes up for with resiliency. This team really never quits, even at South Florida when down 20. Center Arinze Onuaku could have quit after hearing just about everyone harp on his disappearance, but instead he came out and beasted on Roy Hibbert. I will have to take some credit for Hibbert’s poor play – during the shoot-around I was screaming at him about his chicken legs. His teammates must kid him about it and were all laughing, but Roy, alas, was not. Seeing a sensitive side of the big man, I moved on to tell him what a bad idea it was for him to return to college and seeing his numbers fall instead of going to the NBA last year. Sure, it was probably a fine decision, and Georgetown is in the top-10, he’ll still be a high pick, and as long as he doesn’t get hurt another year of college is probably a lot of fun. But of course I had to tell him it was the worst decision ever. I mean, Arinze throwing nearly 300 pounds into Hibbert probably affected the big man’s play, but I’d like to think I may have had a very minimal impact. Probably not though. But I definitely bothered the Hoya fans:

This was the moment I believe when the cop felt bad for them, to which I asked the cop, "When you were twenty did you paint your face? I think not."

Anyways it was great to see the team and the crowd fired up. But there’s still a lot of work left to be done. If the atmosphere against Pitt and Marquette rivals the environment on Saturday, SU could be in business for two big wins as they seem to really feed off the support. So yet again there is life to the season and expectations are again beginning to rise. Although I’ve broken down the next five games, the team has to take it game by game (we saw at USF what happens if it looks ahead). It’s still an uphill battle, but Saturday the Orange made a push towards the summit.

Dunk you very much
Saturday was a great day of basketball, with SU winning, buzzer beaters galore and just excitement everywhere. And the icing on the cake was a fantastic dunk contest. There are a lot of articles out there proclaiming that the dunk contest is back, and I will cautiously say, yes, it is. Eventhough it’s still missing a lot of big names, last nights affair was extremely entertaining. The creativity was off the charts – from blowing out a candle sitting in a cupcake on the back of the rim, to literally flying through the air in a Superman outfit. Dwight Howard put on an absolute show. Despite the fact he didn’t really dunk on his Superman attempt, he had two other unbelievable dunks.

If I were to have one suggestion, other than the common thought to get in bigger names, I’d say have a wild card spot. Open up some sort of competition for an open entry to challenge NBA players. And-1 mix tape players, anyone, can go through a few competitions and qualify for the event. Would it be time consuming and probably logistically impossible? Most likely. But would it be awesome to just up that challenge to NBA players one more notch? Absolutely. Plus, there’s a guy out there who can do a 720. It’s impressive.


Here's a nice compliation


And here could be one of those challengers


-Pat

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Nuts and Bolts, Nuts and Bolts, We Got.....

Here are some sports tidbits to hold you over before you’re barraged with 72 straight hours of ESPN coverage of the Roger Clemens congressional testimony.

What game were they watching?
Somehow, inexplicably, the Big East coordinator of officials Art Hyland stood behind the last second call that handed Georgetown a win over Villanova. For those who didn’t see the game, ‘Nova was whistled for a foul as Georgetown recovered a loose ball and started moving upcourt. Sounds OK right? Well, factor in that Georgetown’s Jonathan Wallace was 80 feet from the basket, and there was .1 seconds on the clock, and it becomes a bit murky. Murky enough for the somewhat reserved ESPN commentator Sean McDonough to call it “absolutely awful.”
Here is the play:


This is what Hyland said of the call thanks to an ESPN article:

“There is no force-out rule and if [Wallace] was forced out, he either was bumped for a foul or he stepped out of bounds," Hyland said. "When a kid is bumped and goes out of bounds, you have to make a call. It's a judgment call."

Hyland said the timing of the foul does not matter.

"A foul is a foul," Hyland said. "It's a judgment situation."

I’m sorry, but that is just horrible reasoning. A player got a slight hip check, 80 feet from his basket. Even if he was falling out of bounds, you let the clock run out. There was no way Georgetown was going to score or even get off a shot. No way. At this time, officials always just take the whistle out of their mouths. Unless there’s a clear punch to someone’s face, no fouls are going to be called in such a situation so far from the hoop. Even near the hoop, once the clock gets inside five seconds or so, foul calls are rare. So shame on you Big East officials, that’s one time when a fan actually can definitively point to a referee and say, ‘he cost us the game.’

You stay classy Mr. Stewart
Right off the bat, I don’t know anything about NASCAR and I want to keep it that way. But ESPN, looking for every last viewer on the planet, decides to pound racing coverage into everyone’s head. Thankfully this time it was pretty funny. Tony Stewart, who is almost like the Ron Artest or Stephen Jackson of NASCAR, is always getting in trouble. I don’t follow racing at all, but I feel like every few weeks I hear about Tony Stewart punching someone else. This time it was Kurt Busch who he socked after an on-track incident. First of all, someone needs to man up and just knock him out. Why does he get a free pass to just walk around and punch whoever he pleases? Maybe it’s because he seems to keep piling on pounds like he was trying to qualify for the Heavyweight class. He seems to be getting fatter and fatter each time I see him after punching someone. But as big of a jerk as he seems, he’s just about the only one producing interesting news relevant to NASCAR.


And you too Sports Illustrated, stay classy
I find it hilarious that every year Sports Illustrated, the media company dedicated to hard hitting sports news, analysis and great columns and writing, basically sells a soft core porn issue. The swimsuit edition is just amazingly creepy. I understand, most guys like sports, and those guys also usually like scantily clad women. But SI comes off as a classy sports outlet, with sports all the time and interesting human interest pieces. The formula of guys liking both sports and women is usually saved for the Maxims of the world. But each year, SI seems to throw everything out the window and produce the swimsuit issue. Maybe there is some sort of Title IX thing at SI, where they have to have an equal amount of men and women pictured in their magazines per year, and this is their way of making that even out. Maybe. Or maybe it just sells. Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate it. And I might still have a few issues. But I just can’t help laughing at the breasts peering down at an angry Roger Clemens.


Lastly
I’ll leave you with this clip. We’re just about rounding out the time when Giants fans can acceptably bask in the glory of their Super Bowl victory. So as one last entry, I’ll throw this video in. Now I don’t like the Giants, but the lyrics are pretty accurate in hating on the Patriots, which I thoroughly enjoy. Despite the horrific Michael Jackson imitation and the wretched voices of Giants fans, it’s worth watching (thanks to Craig for the tip).




-Pat

Photo credit: si.com, community.foxsports.com/blogs/nascarfan_fanzone

Monday, February 11, 2008

Pedro - no, not the cockfighter

There are some great perks of the college life. We know about the partying, co-eds and such. But one undeniable advantage of attending college is the frequent opportunity to see speakers and figures from all sorts of backgrounds and professions. On Monday night, that guest at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications was ESPN’s own Pedro Gomez.

I figured since there’s not much else consuming my free time these days that I'd wander over and see him speak. I’d seen him before on Sportscenter and believed he had some minor interest in Barry Bonds (link - on the middle of the page to the right).

Turns out, there’s more to Pedro than just the San Francisco slugger. One of the first things the ESPN reporter did Monday was slam Curt Schilling, which meant Gomez was already a good man in my book.

He talked with a moderator for about 30 minutes about various issues ranging from steroids to clubhouse relations to journalism. Then Gomez took part in a 30 minute Q+A session with the audience of about 100 (filled with journalists, sports buffs, and nutcases wearing ESPN hats – yes, I’m serious).

Pedro had some very interesting things to say. Frankly, rather than bore you with a summary and interruptions from me, I’ll list some of his comments (taken with my best shorthand):

On the federal hearings and indictments
“When you lie to the federal government they don’t take kindly to it, whether you’re Richard Nixon, Marion Jones, Martha Stewart or Roger Clemens.

The government doesn’t tend to indict someone that they can’t get. They have a very high batting average.”

On steroids and its impact on Hall of Fame voting (Gomez has a vote as a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America):
“I personally have a big problem with anyone who used performance enhancing drugs.”

He continued to say that most voters draw the line there, and that he did not vote for McGwire – who received less than 30 percent of the votes (a player needs 75 % to be inducted). Gomez added that he doesn’t ever really see McGwire reaching 75 percent.

"It would be interesting if the all-time hit leader (Pete Rose), HR leader (Bonds), and one of the all-time wins leaders (Clemens) would all be left out of the Hall of Fame.”

On Curt Schilling and his antics during the 2001 World Series when he “held his team hostage” and told his manager he could not pitch game 7:
“Schilling is basically a con-man”

On what is worse: insider gambling on baseball or steroids:
“They both rank high but I’d say gambling.”

On the upcoming 2008 season:
“The NL is just weak. The AL Central should be a great division, I think the White Sox will recover. The East is always the same two teams.”

He didn’t respond when someone shouted out, ‘so who’s going to face the Mets in the World Series?’

Interestingly, Gomez crossed himself a little bit with these next two quotes, which were separated by a few questions:
“I’ve been asked before, ‘straight up did Barry Bonds do steroids?’ I said I wouldn’t answer. If Wolf Blitzer had been asked if Bill Clinton slept with Monica Lewinski, he wouldn’t answer either.”

“I will not vote for anyone I believe took performance enhancing drugs, and I think Bonds did…I don’t know that a lot of these guys will get in.”

Overall it was an interesting talk and fun to see what appears on TV to be a brainwashed ESPN employee in a different setting than on the San Fran infield or outside a stadium filing a report. Gomez cracked a few jokes and was patient and interested in each person’s question. No one pestered him too much about covering Bonds non stop for about two years, but he did voluntarily offer this gem:

“Covering Barry Bonds will be in my obituary, I’ve come to terms with that.”


With that, I'll sign off....Pat DiSalvo, Giving 111 Percent (In that annoying ESPN rhythm)


Photo credits: si.com, the700level.com

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Loose Change II, Super Bowl Edition

This ridiculous video was brought to our attention, and I felt it was our role to ridicule the makers and everyone else who is involved or persuaded by it. It is similar to Loose Change, but is about how the NFL had a conspiracy to give the Giants the Super Bowl by mismanaging the clock and giving them more time. It’s long and poor quality, but if you want to watch it here is the link.

Where the Patriots Robbed of a Super Bowl Win? This conspiracy theorist`s video proves that the referees gave the Giants extra time on the clock.

In case you skipped it, it basically says that when Jacobs converted on fourth and one the clock stopped when it shouldn’t have and when Manning was tackled and lost the ball it shouldn’t have stopped. In both cases, he’s at least somewhat wrong. Even though the officials did not bring out the chains after Jacobs’ run, they met on the field, which calls for a clock stoppage. After Manning lost the ball, there was a pile up as players thought the ball might be live. An unnecessary pile up also calls for a time stoppage (I didn’t look this up, someone else said it, but it sounds right). The refs might have left a few more seconds on the clock than they should have, but it’s nowhere near the amount of time that this guy claims. Also, the Giants scored with 35 seconds left so it’s not like a few ticks would have necessarily mattered.

What is even more ridiculous is the reaction that some Patriots fans have had to it. There is a petition for Commissioner Roger Goodell to review the last two minutes with over 12,000 signatures. There is a Facebook group dedicated to it with over 8,000 members. There is even a clothing line with articles of clothing bearing the phrase “New York is where wins are handed down. Foxboro is where wins are won.”

This is not representative of Pats fans in general, as I’m sure that the vast majority of them probably find this video, clothing line and petition dumber than a Dick Cheney workout video. It was just too ridiculous for me to not comment on. Also, the maker of the website doesn't know the difference between were and where.

- Andrew Vitelli

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Step aside George Muresan

If you somehow haven’t heard of Kenny George, well, it’s about time you did. No, he’s not special because he has two first names. He stands out because the UNC-Asheville center measures 7 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 365 pounds. He has a 93 inch wingspan and wears a size 28 shoe (26 according to some). For reference, Shaq only wears a size 22 or 23, is 7’1 and tips the scales at 325. Yao Ming, standing at 7’6, is only 310. So you get the idea. Kenny George is a large man. In fact, he’s the biggest player in college basketball.

Watching him play is unbelievable. He averages a solid 13 points, eight rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game. But it’s more the way he plays. George doesn’t need to leave his feet to dunk. The Bulldog’s most effective play is an inbounds pass where they simply lob it to George standing with his hands above his head and let him lay it in the hoop. George is also solid on defense, as he averages five blocks per game. It’s really unfair for most of Asheville’s opponents, who are mostly lower tier collegiate programs with undersized centers matching up against him. He did square off against Tyler Hansbrough and played well, with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks. But Hansbrough dunked on George, one of the rare times that’s ever happened.

But it’s not all easy for George. According to NBA Draft net, “It appears likely that George has giantism (whether he has had or can have the surgery to remove the abnormality in his pituitary gland is unknown - a procedure that can have negative effects on a player's abilities).” George has had several knee surgeries and doesn’t even start at UNC-Asheville because of conditioning problems. In a well written story on George featured in the NY Times, it’s revealed that he doesn’t have a driver’s license because he’s too big to fit into the drivers seat. Life’s not very convenient for the big guy.

“When the semester ends, his father drives 650 miles from Chicago, his hometown, to Asheville so George does not have to squeeze into an airplane seat.

By his senior year, his feet had grown beyond size 23, the largest athletic shoe made. In search of a size 25, VanderMeulen appealed to college and N.B.A. teams. Weeks later, Shaquille O’Neal sent several pairs of his size 22’s to Chicago. VanderMeulen shipped them to a New York City shoemaker who cut off the soles and toes and reshaped them into 25’s.
Asheville has a contract with Nike, which makes 12 pairs of size-26 shoes for George. They are the only shoes he wears.”


While George does face some problems because of his stature, it’s that same size that causes the opposition to fret. He’s nearly impossible to guard and his presence in the lane is, well, gigantic. Last season he shot 77 percent from the field. And apparently he’s into creative writing and production, a route which he may follow because of uncertain NBA prospects. So this Bud Light goes to you Big Fella.

Here are some great clips of Kenny George, including a piece done by ESPN’s college gameday. Set aside a few minutes and watch these:









-Pat

Photo credit: scout.com

Thursday, February 7, 2008

19-0? Not as bad as some of these titles

Much has been made about the 19-0 book that was available on Amazon.com for preorder. However, there have been many lesser known books that have been pulled from the bookshelf:


Mo than a Feeling: How the Mo Vaughn trade led the Mets to the World Series

No KG, No Problem: Story of the Timberwolves’ rise to greatness after trading overrated stiff Kevin Garnett (sequel to We Don’t Need Ew!: How the Knicks finally got their title after trading Patrick Ewing)

Yes We Ken!: How the Jets gamble to take Ken O’Brien over Dan Marino paid huge dividends

The American President: The Rudy Giuliani Story

Simply the Best: Knicks guard Stephan Marbury proclaimed himself the best point guard in the NBA. This is the story of how he proved it on the hardwood.

Joe Lamath: How Broadway Joe embarrassed himself with ridiculous guarantee (only on list to make Pat happy)

Finally!!: The tale of how Barry Bonds got that elusive ring.

Urbina’s Gardening Guide: How to keep your yard and garden in great shape without having to do too much work yourself

The Right Choice: The tale of Drew Henson's path to baseball immortality

Loyalty 101: co-authored by Bobby Petrino and Rich Rodriguez - telling the story of how loyalty lasts forever

Picture Credit: Amazon.com

Shaq vs. Kobe

I guess it’s been coming since the beginning of the new millennium. But it was 2003 or so that it really seemed like it had to happen. Recently, it seemed like it never would. But after yesterday’s trade, the possibility is greater than ever.

I’m talking, of course, about Shaq vs. Kobe in the playoffs.

The Suns and Lakers, right now, are two of the best teams in the Western Conference. The Lakers trade for Pau Gasol should only make them stronger. As Steve Nash admitted, the jury is still out on the Shaq for Marion trade, but if O’Neal comes out to prove that he has something left in the tank the Suns should be able to hold onto the top spot in the conference. Shaq may not be a great fit, but we’ll leave that debate to the real NBA analysts. Then, all we need is for both teams to win in the first two rounds and we’ve got a Shaq vs. Kobe Western Conference Finals.

We never got to see Batman fight Robin. Starsky and Hutch never went toe-to-toe. The Babe and Lou Gehrig were teammates as long as they were in the league (Ruth’s stint with the Boston Braves not withstanding). Bill and Ted never really went to fisticuffs. Therefore, Shaq vs. Kobe would be as good a clash between former colleagues as we’ve ever seen.

It seems like this has been a long time coming. In the later years of the Lakers dynasty, you could tell how much the two disliked each other. For a while, they wouldn’t admit it. Shaq called their relationship similar to a marriage. However, after the Kobe rape scandal, it exploded. Kobe made comments about Shaq, and when the two played for the first time in the regular season Shaq wouldn’t even make eye contact.

A Suns-Lakers conference finals has to be any sports fans dream. These are two athletes that I don’t think could deal with losing the series. Could you imagine the post game interview with Shaq after he had just lost to Kobe in the Western Conference Finals, or vice versa? Steve Nash, Amare, Pau Gasol etc. would be pretty much irrelevant.

Of course, there is little that the two could do to stop each other from scoring. If Kobe gets to the basket, he may have to watch out for an elbow from the Kazaam star. However, the battle would more be each player just trying to outscore the other. The Suns already aren’t Kobe’s favorite team, especially after the Raja Bell clothesline and the Lakers-Suns series two years ago.

Kobe vs. Shaq. Kobe trying to prove he can win without Shaq, and Shaq trying to break his tie with Duncan and get his fifth ring.

Obviously, a lot has to happen to get there. Shaq has to stay healthy. Both teams have to get to the conference finals. However, the prospect of this clash of superstars has to have even Knicks fans excited about the NBA again.

Monday, February 4, 2008

Super Bowl Recap




I know, you’ve seen that play a million times now, and will probably see it about a billion more in your lifetime. If Eli had broken those tackles, then jogged five yards for the first down before stepping out of bounds it would still be played on every highlight show of the game. But the fact that he threw a perfect pass into triple coverage, which David Tyree (a Syracuse alumn - thanks Pat) somehow trapped against his helmet and held onto it as he was hit by star safety Rodney Harrison makes it one of the best plays in sports history (despite the monotone call by Joe Buck).

As Pat pointed out, despite the throw and catch being an amazing play, it has two things going against it. First of all, the play did not end in a touchdown. While it helped the Giants advance the ball, they still had to make a few more plays to get into the end zone. Second, the play came on third down and not fourth down. Had Tyree not held on, or even if Eli had been sacked, the Giants would have had one more chance to get five (or more) yards. These facts probably put it a notch below the Immaculate Reception, Christian Laettner’s shot or Bobby Thompson’s home run.

I still would put it above The Catch, just because in a vacuum it is a much better play. In the past ten years, the only plays in professional sports that come close are Jordan’s last shot with the Bulls and Jeter’s flip (sorry but somehow this is the only video I could find on youtube), and Tyree’s catch trumps both of those plays because of the context. If the Mets win the World Series in 2006, Endy Chavez’s catch in Game 7 of the NLCS enters the discussion.

Much has been written about how it came to be that the New York Giants, a team who’s best win in the regular season came against the Redskins, beat a team that was on the verge of being considered the best ever. One can certainly point to the play of the defensive line, the growth of Eli Manning, etc., but to me there was one play that may have been the difference in the game.

It was the first New England possession of the third quarter, and the Patriots were driving until Tom Brady was sacked on third down the make it fourth and 13 from the Giants 31. It would have been a very make-able 48 yard field goal attempt, one that would have given the Pats a touchdown lead. For some reason, Bill Belichick decided to go for it. Brady threw an incomplete pass and the Giants took over on downs with good field position and momentum.

I know that if the Pats (Patriots, not fellow poster Pat DiSalvo and his namesakes) had converted and scored a touchdown, FOX could have started House early because the game would have been over. But in a game where points were so hard to come by and field position was so important, how could you turn down a chance at points or a chance to pin the Giants deep with a punt? Converting on 4th and 13 is a long shot. The play gave the Giants momentum, and more importantly, didn’t give the Patriots points.

- Another reason the Giants won: Karma. First of all, the Patriots started out the season with bad Karma after the whole Spygate incident and Rodney Harrison’s suspension for using HGH. There was the Patriot’s cockiness all season, Belichick’s running up the score, and Gisele’s pre-game confidence (trust me, more on that later). Also, many Giants said the Patriots were inviting them to their post-game celebratory parties (backup quarterback Jared Lorenzen, however, was not invited because Brady was worried about being short on finger foods). But what sealed the deal for the Pats was the publication of a book called "19-0: The Historic Championship Season of New England's Unbeatable Patriots." This book, written by the Boston Globe, was available for pre-order before the Super Bowl. Clearly, the football Gods took note (although there was also a book about the 2008 Super Bowl Champion Giants available on Amazon before the game).

- Now, back to Gisele. Before the game, she promised that if the Pats lost, she would run through Manhattan naked. It’s one thing when an athlete, like Plax, says something that comes off as extremely cocky. They are on the field and can control the outcome of the game, and can make their prediction come to fruition. But when supermodels are guaranteeing games that they have no effect on, it’s a little frustrating. I mean, if the Pats do end up winning, does she look like Joe Namath? Of course, I wouldn’t be upset about this had she not backed out of her promise after the game.

- How does this game affect Tom Brady’s legacy? Well, had Eli not engineered that game winning drive, then Brady would have yet another fourth quarter comeback. Plus, his prayer to Moss at the end of the game wasn’t that far from being caught. One could argue that the Giants won the game because Brady just didn’t have enough time when he got the ball back.- Finally, I’ll leave you with another gem from Giving 111’s favorite quote machine, Brandon Jacobs. Apparently, the Pat’s Richard Seymour was telling the Giants to get ready to go home late in the game.
Jacobs’ post game response?
"I'll give you a quote on Seymour," Jacobs said. "You can write that he's a soft [rhymes with ‘duck’]. He said we should get ready to go home. Well, now he's on the team that went 18-1."

Friday, February 1, 2008

Super Bowl Betting Guide

Everybody knows that the Patriots are 11.5 point favorites and the Over/Under is 54.0, but there are plenty other bets that you can make for the big game. If you like any of these odds, you still have two days to get in touch with your bookie.

Odds

-Tiki tries to take credit for Giants success: 1-2 (I think he’ll play the “mentor” card)
-Peyton gets more screen time than Eli: Even
-Pam Oliver, on Giants sideline, points out “it’s warmer than Packers game!”: Even
-After a Maroney 5-yard run, Buck/Aikman claim that “he is really the key to the Patriots success”: 2-1
-Terrell Owens demands to be traded minutes before kickoff, overshadowing game: 3-1
-Aikman claims to have played at stadium in college against the University of Phoenix: 3-1
-There are more ads for erectile dysfunction medication than there are for beer: 7-2
-Joe Buck mistakenly refers to Eli as “Peyton”: 5-1
-Brady takes Jessica Simpson to Cabo before game just to make a point: 7-1
-Moss held to 1 catch, then claims he “didn’t really want to play”: 8-1
-Buck mistakenly refers to Eli as “Archie”: 10-1
-Buck makes comment about Gisele that borders on creepy, followed by awkward silence: 15-1
-Aikman makes comment about Brady that borders on creepy, followed by awkward silence: 8-1
-Someone on the FOX pre-game show actually picks the Giants: 22-1
-Tom Petty exposes nipple in "wardrobe malfuction": 25-1
-Plax reveals his prediction was based on his numbers in a Super Bowl box: 35:1
-Ruben Droughns gains 10 or more yards: 50-1
-Buck mistakenly refers to Eli as “Cooper”: 80-1
-Super Bowl airs without a single appearance from Frank Caliendo: 100-1


Over/Under

-Play clocks destroyed by Brandon Jacobs: 1.5
-Commercials featuring MC Hammer: 4.5
-Times Buck/Aikman say after Brady completion “His ankle looked fine there!”: 7.5
-Times Buck/Aikman point out that RB Brandon Jacobs “Could be a linebacker!”: 8
-References to 2004 ALCS: 22.5
-Monday ESPN.com articles discussing how “cool” Brady is: 31.5
-Ads for the Sarah Connor Chronicles: 138
-Times Chris Berman takes the lords name in vain during the countless hours of NFL live filming (WARNING: VIDEO BELOW CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE): 435





Video Credit: Jon Fish

Thursday, January 31, 2008

No, I will not title this "Here's the Scoop." Well, I guess I just did. SCOOP UPDATE

So while wandering around some of the Syracuse message boards, I found this link to the official arrest report from Public Safety in the Scoop Jardine food scandal that I posted on yesterday.
[Props to Llandz on realcusefans.com, I don't know who you are, but props regardless for the report link]

Apparently, two girls, Maureen and Shannon, who are somehow not being charged and just hang up their cell phones on police officers, found a student ID card at Denny's. They then suggested to use the card, so they went out to breakfast with Jardine's 40 year old cousin in early January.

According to Robert Washington (Jardine's cousin), he got coffee, a donut, and the girls got pancakes eggs and juice. They then ordered food later that night, or the next day, from Goldstein Dining Hall on south campus. As an answer to my questions in the last post on Scoop, this was their order: gatorade, juice, philly cheese steaks and hamburgers. Washington had a philly cheesesteak and juice, and the girls ate philly cheese steaks, burgers and juice.

Take it as you will from Scoop's troublemaking cousin, but that's quite a bit of food for two girls. Also, how does a small breakfast and a dinner equal $115.65? I totaled how much food would have to be purchased to reach that total. These girls must be Kobayashi like in their consumption - there had to be numerous sandwiches and burgers (which go for about $5).


Two ridiculous things here. Washington ironically comes from Philadelphia, home of the cheesesteak. He has to come all the way over to Syracuse, order some horrible college knock off of the great sandwich from his hometown, and get everyone in trouble. Second, what the hell is the deal with these girls? This is Washington's statement from the report, "I called Shannon and she told me she was in class, I handed the phone to Lt. Thompson but Shannon hung up as soon as Lt. Thompson spoke to her." So you're just allowed to do that to a police officer in an investigation with no reprecussions? Good to know.

This whole thing is getting a bit absurd. Get a statement from the girls, either charge them or don't, and figure out what involvement Scoop had. Even if he took a bite of the food, I'm pretty sure stealing laptops, getting invloved in huge brawls, assaulting girlfriends or driving drunk like these Missouri players or most other incidents leading to suspension are worse than Scoop's actions. Sure, his actions warrant a suspension...but a season long punishment or even the boot from school? As the great Bob Barker would encourage his contestants to say, "That's too much!"

-Pat

Photo credits: whatsckooingamerica.net, cbit.syr.edu

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

OK sir, your total will be $115.65

I remember during the 2004-05 school year, I was grabbing some food at Schine’s cafeteria between classes. I had about $6 or $7 worth of food and stepped in line before a mammoth white guy. It was former Syracuse Basketball center Craig Forth. Now while a Craig spotting isn’t as exciting as say, seeing Hakim Warrick, it was kind of cool. Craig was treating his girlfriend (I believe) to a nice romantic Schine dinner, and in an act of great kindness, turned towards me and said to the cashier, “swipe for him too.” After I thanked him, Craig said “you’re welcome” and walked away as if it were no big deal. When I got to class I told a friend about it, and he said that athletes get around $2,000 on their SUpercard (used for campus eateries outside of dining halls) per semester. Regardless, I still thought it was a nice gesture.

So why am I telling this irrelevant Craig Forth story? He’s been long forgotten on the Hill hasn’t he? Well, with the recent development of why SU’s latest scholarship guard is not playing, it’s quite relevant. Scoop Jardine, a freshman that had stepped in for the injured Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins, was suspended because he had knowledge of a purchase of $115.65 on a stolen student SUpercard. Apparently, according to the Syracuse Post Standard, Jardine had his 40 year old cousin Robert Washington visiting. Washington and two girls ordered a lot of food and had it delivered to Scoop’s apartment. Scoop had knowledge of the whole thing and apparently helped carry the food inside (nearly $120 of food is gonna take some extra hands).

OK, so it’s not as bad as we probably thought. But it’s pretty boneheaded. With $2,000 on your SUpercard for the semester, there is no way Scoop maxed it out a few days into the spring semester (that is if they reset it before January 13 – it may have counted for the end of the fall semester, but I doubt it). And then ordering it to your apartment, brilliant. Scoop had to know this was going to come back to him, all for some crappy Campus Delivery pizza and wings. Honestly, what did they get for nearly $120? That’s more than 4 people could eat for dinner. Were they stocking up on Campus Delivery sandwiches? Let’s be honest, their food isn’t that great. I would have at least sent someone out to Kimmel to nab a couple hundred tacos from The Bell. I believe athletes also have card access to dining halls (and if they didn’t I’m sure they’d be let in anyway), I used to see basketball players at Sadler all the time. So you really have to question why Scoop and his cousin had to splurge on Campus Delivery, when they could have easily gotten food elsewhere. Or we could just blame it on the student who’s ID card it was. You gotta cancel the lost card, and then swiping it would not work…and Scoop would still be playing.

So what do you think the order was that now has given Syracuse a rotation of 4 good players, and 3 guys who probably wouldn’t be playing normally?

First, it was a Sunday. It could have been slightly after midnight Saturday night, and they could have been intoxicated like many college students are at that hour, so I’ll consider that in my estimation here:

Judging from the Campus Delivery Menu (below), I’d say the threesome (we won’t include Scoop I guess because according to his cousin he didn’t eat anything) ordered a combination similar to this:


- 100 wings: $65.29
- 4 extra blue cheese sauces: 4 @ $0.79 each = $3.16
- 2 supreme Sbarro pizzas: 2 @ $14.99 each = $29.98
- 3 Pints of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream: 3 @ $3.59 each = $10.77
- 3 Gatorades: 3 @ $1.69 each = $5.07
- 1 bottled water (for the next morning): $1.49

Total: $115.76

So give or take a couple dimes that could be a possible order. I don’t even think ordering that much Campus Delivery is worth the risk of an indefinite suspension. Let’s hope Scoop did nothing more. It could have been a lot worse, and hopefully the SU Judicial Board will realize that and just force Scoop to take the student out to dinner. Sounds fair to me.

-Pat

Photo credits: foodservices.syr.edu, rivals.com