Lebron will be Witnessing the Finals from home...

Here we are. It's early June, to me that means two things, NBA Finals and the MLB season is really kicking into gear.

I will focus mainly on the NBA right now. I was 50% on my picks for the finals. I had the Lakers beating the Nuggets and the Cavs beating the Magic. Little did I know that the Magic would shoot an INCREDIBLE 48% from 3 for the series and that Lebron's teammates all decided to stop helping him and Mike Brown decided to not have any offensive plays and let Lebron go 1 on 5.

I have the Lakers winning the Finals in 6. I think that they will hold home court games 1 and 2 and take 1 of 3 in Orlando. They have the big bodies to throw at Dwight and I don't think that the incredible shooting the Magic have been displaying since game 7 against Boston will continue. Kobe will be ready and close out the Magic in game 6 at home. 

Now, as far as what Lebron did in that series. What he did was amazing! He averaged 38, 7 and 7! He kept his team in every game (except game 6) and had little to no help the entire series. He had to do everything on both ends of the floor every possession. He just flat ran out of gas at the end. (But can you blame him? And by run out of gas I mean he "only" had 25, 7 and 8)

If the Cavs go out and get a younger post, or reliable wing (Richard Jefferson?) and unload some contracts, I think they'll get that ring next year. 

My key to the finals though is....wait for it....drumroll....Lamar Odom! Yes, the man who on any given night can go for 20-10, or 8-2. You just never know with him. When he's on, the Lakers are almost impossible to beat. 

If the Magic can keep their hot shooting going and Dwight continues to demand a double team (which I'm not sure he does. Think about it, the Magic single-covered Lebron, let him get his and shut down his teammates. Don't you think that Phil Jackson is smart enough to realize that they need to let Dwight get his and stick to their shooters?) they could pull off a huge upset.

I am looking forward to this series, not as much as Lakers/Cavs but still looking forward to it. 

Just for the record, I am 100% convinced that if the Celtics had a healthy KG it would be a finals rematch from a year ago. 100% convinced. I would be writing about how the Celtics are going to win back-to-back titles and not about how this may be Kobe's last chance to win his 4th ring....wait, I would write about that too. Nevermind. anyway, point being that the Celtics are the best team when 100%.

Baseball news:

Josh Beckett pitched a gem tonight (although I jinxed him by verbalizing his no-hitter in the 7th...) and the AL East is once again tight. The Sox and Yankees are atop the standings, the Blue Jays are hanging around and the Rays are about to turn the corner and make a run.

I love baseball. I love summer. I love the beginning of June!

(Final thoughts: How dumb do Vitamin Water and Nike look now with those premature Kobe/Lebron ads?  Also, Lebron not shaking hands and leaving the arena early and not talking to reporters? Loved it. Old school. Losing sucks, pissed him off, walked out. Good stuff. Him leaving made his teammates, for the first time all series, have to help him out by covering for him! ha!)

Have some stuff to vent about

Call me late or behind the times but I just got my own twitter and am intrigued with who all is on. I am currently following the likes of Shaq, Dwight Howard, Kenny "the Jet" Smith, Lang Whitaker (writer for my favorite magazine Slam) and my favorite sports writer, Bill Simmons.

I say all that because most of them update their thoughts on the current playoff games as they are played out and it's rather enjoyable to read their comments. 

Well, after tonights Cav/Magic game 1 thriller (and last nights Lakers/Nuggets thriller) facebook blew up with status updates from people who make themselves sound stupid because they sound like they have no idea what they're talking about.

Let me explain. Tonight, LeBron was amazing, his teammates..... not so much. The Magic showed a lot of guts and they earned this win on the road. (What makes it even more impressive is the fact that the refs were clearly favoring LeBron on EVERY call! He travels 90% of the time he has the ball BTW.) 

So what do I see on Facebook after this shocking game 1 upset? People automatically calling out LeBron for passing up the last shot and saying that he'll never be like MJ or Kobe because of this (I kind of agree with this except his passing is what got them to within one in the first place), Kobe not letting his team lose and that the Cavs are "trash".

Listen people, I'll admit, I'm rooting for Cavs/Lakers in the Finals, but it's 1 game of a 7 game series! Don't forget that the team that just lost has the MVP. I still think the Cavs will win in 5 (although I should probably change that to 6....oh well....) 

I do like watching Lebron play, and I've been known to root against Kobe. Let me just rehash the Lebron passing the last shot argument and why that "means" he'll never be on a Kobe/MJ level. 

If my memory serves correctly, (trust me, it does) wasn't it Kobe's Lakers who blew a 24+ point lead to the Celtics in game 5 last year in the Finals? MJ would NEVER let that happen, ever! I decided that the Kobe vs Jordan argument ended right there. Kobe is a top-5 all-time in my opinion, but challenging MJ? No way. Especially after that game in the FINALS! 

He may redeem himself this year and get a ring without Shaq (finally), but I still don't think he can be on the same level as MJ anymore. But I do think that Lebron, by the time he's done, will be in that level. 

As for the Lakers, I think they'll win in 6 or 7. They're good, but after struggling with the Yao-less Rockets for 7 games I have my doubts about them. 

Also, in other, more encouraging news, Big Papi FINALLY hit HR #1 tonight! Yes! I hope that takes the pressure off of him and he gets back to being Big Papi, not the big popout. The Sox are within 1 1/2 of the Blue Jays after tonight's win. 

That's all the venting for now on the playoffs, if more idiots voice their uneducated, irrational opinions on facebook or twitter I'm sure I'll hop back on here and vent again.

A great night of sports

Allow to me to gloat for a second, reason being that so far (knock on wood, still have the rockets playing right now vs the Lakers and a game 7 in boston) my NBA picks have been spot on.

Tonight is a great sports night, two game 7's in the NHL and two game 6's in the NBA. I have been changing channels back and forth between the games and so far so good. 

The Celtics collapsed down the stretch, which I think can be attributed to the MASS amount of games they have played in the last 2 years. 

I will admit that I love watching the Celtics play in the post season because of all the injuries they have endured, they are defending their title with heart, and that's all that a fan can ask for. 

Now if they somehow win game 7, they will get destroyed by the Cavs but for them to even get to the Eastern finals would be amazing with what they've had to endure.

Speaking of defending titles, the Red Wings played an exciting game tonight winning 4-3 against the Ducks. The game winning goal coming with 3 min to go. You can just feel the intensity of the playoffs in the these game 7's. 

As I write this the Bruins and Hurricanes are tied up at two in the 3rd  of their game 7, I think I'm pulling for the Bruins just because they're in Boston. 

And since I mentioned Boston I would like to vent for a moment. I appreciate that Terry Francona like to stick up for his players and have faith in them but what David Ortiz is doing (or not doing) is disgusting.

Today he was 0-7 and left 12 men on base....12!!! He had bases loaded in the top of the 12th against the Angles and hit a 10 foot grounder. He needs to be moved down in the order until he starts hitting again. 

On top of a great night of sports watching I am enjoying a running chat with the Sports Guy Bill Simmons on ESPN.com. He's my favorite writer and very funny and a HUGE Boston sports fan so I have enjoyed his interaction with fans who write in during these games. 

I have written in about 10 times with comments and have yet to make the cut but I'll keep trying.

Also, Houston looks great so far out of the gate vs the Lakers, just for the sake of having my picks look good I'm pulling for the Lakers to make a comeback.

NBA post season running picks

Well, haven't had a blog in awhile so I thought that I'd revise my NBA playoff picks (in progress) in response to my good friend Adam Beatrice's blog post on the same topic.

Since we're in the conference semi-finals game 3s already I'm going to cheat and pick from what I've seen so far.

Eastern Conference:

Lebron's vs Hawks: Cavs in 4

Easiest pick by far.  Not even close. It's like the Cavs are playing a NIT college team. Next pick.

Boston vs Orlando: Celtics in 7

I know that currently the Magic are up 2-1 in this series and Boston looks very venerable this round, (especially to the inside out game of the Magic) but I just can't shake the fact that the Celtics have been there done that and will some way, some how prevail.

Western Conference:

Lakers vs Rockets: Lakers in 6

So the road to the finals isn't as easy as once thought, huh LA? The Lakers are up 2-1 after tonight but I think that the Rockets toughness and defense will allow them to hang around for 6 games before Kobe decides he's ready to move on.

Denver vs Dallas: Denver in 5

Ok, before this series started I would have picked the Nuggets in 6 or 7, but after two games, wow, this series is being dominated by the Denver. Dallas may get a game at home but I think that's it.

And here is a bonus link, a spin off of those awesome NBA Playoffs commercials. Enjoy. 

Let me just say that one thing I have always wanted to witness in person is a no-hitter. 

It is such a rare feet and so hard to do as an athlete that to see it in person would be awesome. So when I saw this story of a pitcher throwing four straight no-no's, I was blown away.

Oh, and the pitcher is a high schooler! 

FOUR STRAIGHT NO HITTERS! That's incredible! On any level.

He goes to Mitchell High in Florida and has signed on to play at Florida next year, but I'm guessing that he'll be going pro. He's a lefty who pitches in the 90's and has an array of pitches, he'll go pro. 

Anyway, I think this is a story that is so unbelievable that when I saw the headline I thought it was a typo. It wasn't, I'm impressed, good story. 

Here's hoping he gets number five. 

When in Rome...

I was originally going to write about how badly the Yankees lost to the Indians this past weekend. (Which, I might add, I found hilarious!) 

Then I stumbled across this Norman Chad article and it got me thinking. 

Is America like the Roman Empire?

Rome wasn't build in a day, neither was America. 

Rome was the power of its era, America is the power of its. 

Rome loved sports, America loves sports. hmmm.

The newly opened Yankee Stadium, a cool 1.5 BILLION dollars to build, and the Mets new ballpark, Citi Field, $800 million to build, both opened the same weekend... during the second biggest recession our country has seen, ever!

Now I am as big a sports fan as anyone, I'll be the first to admit that. But at what cost do we as Americans lose ourselves in a game?

Both of those newly opened parks were mostly paid for by taxpayers. I think that taxpayers money should be used more wisely, say, for education. 

I do think that during a time like this, with the economy bad and joblessness reaching record numbers, that sports is a great escape from everyday worries and trouble. But what family can afford to take a trip to see the Yankees play when ticket prices are in the hundreds?

I think that education is the backbone of any good country, and our backbone is suffering from scoliousis. Our backbone appears to be sports. And so we cut school programs, under pay teachers and have our tax dollars pay for plush new stadiums and million dollar contracts. 

I think America needs to re-focus what is important, especially during times like these.

I love sports as much as anyone, but I don't want to have my future children growing up in an unintelligent, sports run world. 

I think sports should be an escape, entertainment and be played for fun. But not at the expense of future generations. 

The job of a mid-major manager

I realize that the season is long been over and Lipscomb basketball just had our end of season banquet. 

What has prompted this entry is the just mentioned banquet, a SI.com video about the Phoenix Suns equipment manager and someone asking me what I did for four years all within this past week. 

I will give you an example of a typical day for a manager at Lipscomb, both at home and on the road.

At home:

As a manager for Lipscomb, we have two main jobs, laundry and setting up practice. Sounds easy right? Well yes and no.

Typical Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday:

Go to class like normal, make sure that practice is set up early, normally a 2 p.m. start time. Setting up practice consists of setting up the clock, making sure all of the basketballs are out, having towels out for wiping up sweat, getting pads/cones/practice pennies out for drills and rebound for the players as they come out to warm up.

During practice: run the clock, help with drills whenever a coach requests it, keeping stats and filming practice are sometimes needed, as coach requests.

I am somewhat of a computer wizz on Mac's and the coaches often call me or text me with issues that come up with video stuff, so I am always in the basketball offices helping the coaches out with computers. I also set up the computer for watching game film in the locker room after practice for scouting reports on the next team.

After practice one of the managers washes laundry and another one hangs it up in the players lockers for the next days practice.

Thursday (usually a game day):

Game day's are usually pretty busy. We have shoot around usually five hours before tip off. So we set up for it like a normal practice. After shoot around one manager will throw the laundry in the washer while the team goes to eat pre-game meal. 

I was the one who also hung up the game jersey's, shorts and warm up tops in each players locker along with their laundry that had just finished drying.

I also had the responsibility of getting Gatorades for the post game meal, which consists of getting a coaches credit card and running to Kroger to buy an absurd amount of Gatorade and putting it in a cooler on ice for post game.

I would then go to my room, change into a shirt and tie and then head back to the arena to set up the video equipment for the game. 

I make sure all the players have what they need (i.e. socks, different pair of shorts, new shoes if a pair blow out etc.). During the game I sit on the bench while another manager films the game. On the bench I keep the opponents shots, makes and misses to give to an assistant coach during media timeouts. I am also a water boy. 

Post game, I tear down the video equipment, make DVD copies for the opponent and our coaches and make sure we have all of our equipment off the court. 

Post game laundry is tough. I have to wash not only the game jerseys but also game towels, and their own loops (they each have a loop they put all of their gear on that we throw in the washers). Depending on game time, I usually don't get out of the arena until around midnight and often later. 

On the road:

On the road is where a lot of work is done. First, I am responsible for packing everything we will need on the trip: projector to watch film, jerseys, shorts and warm up tops, all of the guys dirty laundry (we often practice right before we leave so I don't have time to wash) and the video equipment. 

If we bus I load up all the bags we take and coolers of snacks and Gatorade for the guys as they get on the bus. 

If we fly to a game, I assign the extra bags to freshmen who have to check the bag under their name. 

Once we get to where we're going and check into the hotel, my first question to the front desk is ALWAYS "do you have guest laundry?" Now, I judge how good a hotel is not by location, cleanliness, comfortable beds and all of that jazz, no, if a hotel has guest laundry I am ecstatic! 

If there is no laundry in the hotel, I ask for the nearest laundry mat and for them to call a cab. After I check into my room (roommates differ each trip) I go do the dirty laundry. I cannot tell you how many laundry mats I've been to in the middle of the night in some random town doing the teams laundry. 

After completing laundry, usually in the wee hours of the morning, we wake up for breakfast and I put the laundry bag out in front of my room and tell the guys to come get their gear. Then it's usually time for practice or shoot around. 

After practice/shoot around I put the laundry bag outside my room and the players bring their gear by. I then head out to wash it. (You can see why having laundry in the hotel is such a big deal to me, I spend a lot of time washing stuff on the road)

On the road coach expects me to help with food. Anthony, our athletic trainer, is in charge of ordering food (coach isn't very patient and likes to pre-order so we have food ready when we get to the restaurant.) If we go to pick up food to bring back to the hotel, I help out. Coach often asks me to go get the players Gatorades at a near by gas station, so I run over with his credit card and load up on Gatorades. (We give Gatorade a lot of business!)

Game days on the road I have to hurry and do the laundry right after shoot around and then lay the jerseys out before we leave for the guys to pick up. 

At the game I get the job of filming. So I am usually way up near the rafters filming the game for the coaches to break down after. (example, Indiana this year, I could stand up and touch the roof. Indiana is a huge arena. I was at the highest point. They looked really small. But we won and I don't care, it was awesome!)

After the game I go with Anthony to get the post game food after dropping the guys off at the hotel (the bus takes us all these places by the way) and then I get to do the laundry! 

During league play we will often play a team and then head straight to the next city/hotel for our game a day later. This means that I basically get zero sleep because I have to have the laundry done by morning for practice. 

That is just a glimpse of what I did for four years as manager for Lipscomb. Oddly enough, I loved doing it! 

There's more that I did, running errands and different odds and ends things for coach that I won't go into detail about but this is a general overview of my job. 

So in case you were wondering what I did on the team for all these years, there's your answer. I was the man behind the scenes. 

NBA playoffs and awards

The NBA playoffs are just around the corner. The seeds are mostly worked out and the long process (and I do mean long) of crowning a champion begins.

Let me first begin by saying that the Celtics do not, I repeat, DO NOT have any chance of repeating without Kevin Garnett. He has been hurt for the past month or so and if he cannot produce like he normally does, there will be a new champion for sure.

Now, I would like to offer my picks for the playoffs. I will use the teams' seeds as they stand now (April 13th).

East:

Cavs over Pistons in 4

Celtics over Sixers in 6

Magic over Bulls in 5

Heat over Hawks in 6

Semis:

Cavs over Heat in 5

Magic over Celtics in 6

East Finals:

Cavs over Magic in 6

West:

Lakers over Jazz in 4

Nuggets over Mavs in 6

Rockets over Hornets in 7

(upset special) Blazers over Spurs in 6

Semis:

Lakers over Blazers in 5

Nuggets over Hornets in 6

Finals:

Lakers over Nuggets in 5

NBA Finals:

Cavs over Lakers in 7

My postseason awards:

MVP: Lebron James (barley over Kobe and DWade)

Rookie of the Year: Derrick Rose (He was the most consistent through the whole year)

Coach of the Year: Stan Van Gundy (Have you watched the Magic this year? Great job)

Defensive Player of the Year: Shane Battier (He's a great defender who gets little to no credit. Plus he went to Duke)

Sad day in baseball.

The beginning of baseball season is usually a joyous time for me. But seeing the headlines today on ESPN.com made me sad.

Nick Adenhart, a 22-year old pitcher for the the Angels was killed just hours after he pitched in his fourth Major League Baseball start. 

He had just pitched a stellar game and within hours of throwing his last pitch he was killed in a hit-and-run accident. Being 22 myself, I can't imagine being a professional athlete, I also can't imagine what his family and friends are going through after his tragic death.

It seems as though baseball has had many accidents in recent years that have claimed young lives. 

Josh Hancock, a relief pitcher for the Cardinals died in a car accident in 2007.

The Bluffton University bus accident in Atlanta in 2007.

Cory Lidle, pitcher for the Yankees crashed a plane he was piloting into an apartment building in Manhattan. 

For all of the joy that baseball brings, I was sad to hear the game lost another young, talented player.

I would rather...

UNC just won the national title tonight. Michigan State didn't have a chance from the tip. I hated every minute of that game.

 So in honor of seeing my most hated team cut down the nets, I will now proceed to let you know scenarios I would rather do/listen to than seeing the Tar Heels win the title.

I would rather: listen to finger nails on a chalkboard for an hour.

I would rather: be punched in the gut by Mike Tyson in his prime.

I would rather: listen to Brittany Spears' new CD on loop for 24 hours.

I would rather: have someone roll over my foot with their giant SUV while I'm wearing brand new Nike's (wait, that happened to me two weekends ago. Oh well, I'd do it again!)

I would rather: have a root canal. Seriously.

I would rather: have my legs waxed.

I would rather: see Belmont play in a post-season tournament... on second thought, this one's a toss up.

On a happier note, it was opening day today in the majors. The Sox got rained out, so I have to wait another day to see my beloved Sox begin their march for another World Series title. 

Even happier note, the Yankees lost their opening game. CC Sabathia was the losing pitcher. Ha!

The weekend ahead

Well, Penn State is NIT champs. I picked them as a dark-horse to win the Big Ten tourney, was wrong. I picked them to make the final four of the NIT, I was right. I didn't pick them to win the whole thing, I was wrong. 

So with PSU I'm batting .300. 

As far as the NCAA goes, the Final Four in the big dog tournament is this weekend. I don't really care that much although I will be watching the games. 

On the women's side of the NCAA tournament, it's kind of a given that UConn will win. I know it's dangerous to crown the champ before the games are played but this team may be one of the best ever. 37-0 and counting.

In other news, Jay Cutler was traded to Da Bears today. The Bears are much improved with Cutler under center. That is all I have to say about that news.

Baseball begins this weekend as well. 

So find a comfortable couch or La-Z-Boy and a TV and settle in for a weekend full of sports.

Final Four Set, time for baseball and much more...

The Final four is set for Detroit. My bracket is really messed up and UNC looks like a team that might win it (which makes me sick to think about). 

Although I don't care about any of the teams in this years Final Four, and this being the last day of March, I got to thinking, "what is the best sports month of the year?"

April may be the best sports month of the year. NCAA Final Four, Opening Day and the first month of the MLB season, The Masters, NBA and NHL playoffs start (although I don't really care about the NHL playoffs) and the NFL draft. 

That is a lot of things happening in one month. The culmination of March madness, clean slates for every MLB team, Tiger, Lebron/Kobe/Wade/KG story lines, Canadians are gitty, and millions of people watching hours of a draft. That's a little of everything for everyone.

(I will add to this list too, for those who enjoy it, WrestleMania is in April. The SuperBowl of professional wrestling. Here's a classic clip of one of the biggest WrestleMania moments in its history.) 

So enjoy the warmer weather and the vast array of sporting events happening during this time of year. 

As for me, I will enjoy the weather, the sporting events and my second to last semester in college. 

NIT update

So the final four is set for New York and the NIT. I have three of four correct. The only problem I run into is that my prediction to win it all lost tonight in the nightcap game. St. Mary's was put out by San Diego State by four. 

Although my predicted champ is no longer in the NIT, I am still pleased that I have 75% of my final four correct. 

Notre Dame took care of UK, thus ending the most difficult season in recent memory for the Wildcats. It also may have been Billy Gillispie's last game as the UK coach. 

Penn State beat Florida, at Florida. 

Baylor nipped Auburn at Auburn. 

My predictions for the final four had all but one team playing on the road, now those are some bold predictions that were mostly correct. I will pat myself on the back for that. 

I wish I was this good at predicting the NCAA field. Which, by the way, Duke plays 'Nova tomorrow night, to say that I'm excited/nervous is an understatement. I am so ready to watch this game it's ridiculous. 

For all of my friends and family and those around me, I hope Duke wins, so they don't have to put up with me in a sour mood.

March Madness in full swing

The Sweet 16 is set. Most of my brackets are busts. No Cinderella's. Duke's still alive. Another Atlantic-Sun team put a scare in a big time program in the first round. The Big East is flexing its muscle and the NIT is on the back burner.

My team is still alive in the NCAA tournament and all of my teams that I've predicted to make the final four in New York City for the NIT are alive. I count that a good week of basketball.

Notre Dame will host Kentucky, who upset number one seed Creighton, for a chance to make the final four. (That sentence right there sums up how tough of a year it's been for UK. They UPSET Creighton. UK, with all it's national titles and all-Americans, had to upset a mid-major in the NIT just to extend their season.)

Baylor travels to Auburn in a 1 vs 3 seed battle.

My dark-horse pick, Penn State, faces a tough road game at Florida . 

As I write this St. Mary's is up seven on Davidson late in the second half. 

Although my NCAA tournament bracket is a little messed up (come on Wake Forest!) I am still alive with my NIT predictions.

Check back in a few days to see if all four of my picks make it to NYC.

Side note: Belmont lost tonight to Old Dominion in the Collegeinsider.com Postseason Tournament. A few thoughts:

1: I had no idea this tournament existed! Having my schools arch-rival get invited to a tournament 1% of America knows exists and see that they won a game in it? Made me mad.

2: I found great joy knowing that they lost. There are a few teams that anytime they lose, to anyone, I find joy in it. Those teams are North Carolina, Belmont, the Yankees and Alabama football. 

One day away...

We are one day away from the greatest tournament in all of sports. The conference tournaments are over (tournaments where I might add, I picked one winner; my picks were horrible!).

The Cinderella's, the buzzer beaters, Gus Johnson, one shinning moment, "expert" predictions , filling out the brackets, I love it all.

But for all the love that the NCAA tournament gets, no one really ever pays attention to the other major tournament happening at the same time, the NIT.

Since the last time I picked the winners of a tournament (conference tournaments, last post) I was not very accurate, I figured in the spirit of March Madness, I will pick the winner of the NIT.

Since a few of the games were played last night, I will give you my picks for the Final Four and the winner of the little brother tournament.

My final four picks:

St. Mary's: This team is one that many believe should have made the NCAA tournament. It is a 26-win team with a chip on its shoulder and Patty Mills in its back-court. Expect to see them in Madison Square Garden.

Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish under achieved by their standards this year. They were a top-10 team early in the year but fell off after a brutal Big East schedule. I expect them to be battle tested and fight their way to New York. Plus they have a guy named Luke Harangody you may have heard of.

Penn State: I picked them in the Big Ten tournament and they got put out early, so here's my chance for redemption. They won their first round game last night after a buzzer beating three by Talor Battle to send the game into overtime. Another bubble team with a chip on its shoulder.

Baylor: A team that made it to the Big 12 finals and lost out to Missouri. Their reward? A three seed in the NIT. Luckily for them, I think they have the easiest road to New York City. I think the Big 12 schedule will prepared them for post season play. (Plus, I really like their uniforms)

As for the champion of the NIT I have St. Mary's winning it over Notre Dame.

So while everyone in America is infatuated with the NCAA tournament (let's face it, I'll be infatuated too) I'll be keeping an eye the NIT.

Conference Tournaments

This week it's time for the big boy conferences to crown their champions. So in honor of "Championship Week" I thought I'd give my thoughts on who I think will win the automatic bids from the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big East and Big 12.

ACC: The granddaddy of them all. The conference tournament that started the conference tournaments. 

The favorite: UNC. No. 1 ranked team. No. 1 seed. Tyler Hansbourgh...blah, blah, blah.

My pick: Duke. (yes, partially because I'm a homer) Here is why I pick Duke. They have the talent obviously and UNC's Ty Lawson is hurt with a toe injury. Wake Forest, the No. 2 seed, is a young and inconsistent team, so I don't expect them to even make the finals. So that leaves a Duke squad that has let both UNC games slip away from them.

Big East: This conference is STACKED. 

The favorite: Pitt. And why not? They are loaded, deep and have DeJuan Blair, co-player of the year in the Big East. Plus, they beat UConn twice when they were ranked No. 1. 

My Pick: Pitt. For all of the reasons listed above.

Big 12: Kansas again? All year it looked like a one-horse race, Oklahoma. Boy how injuries can change the landscape of a conference.

The favorite: Oklahoma. Even with the injuries they now have back the national player of the year front runner, Blake Griffin. With a healthy Griffin this team is a Final Four threat.

My Pick: It's hard to go against OU with Griffin in the line-up but I think that they will have a tough time even getting to the title game having to most likely play Missouri. So I'm going with the regular season champs, the young and (in my opinion) over-achieving Kansas Jayhawks. 

SEC: Down year. The league with perennial powers Florida, UT and UK is now lead by division winners South Carolina (SOUTH CAROLINA!) and LSU. 

The Favorite: LSU. They ran through the SEC this year, shocking many people along the way. I couldn't tell you one player on their roster or who their coach is but apparently they had one heck of a year. 

My pick: LSU, mainly because Tennessee and Kentucky just aren't their normal productive teams this year. I do think UT has a very legitimate chance to win the tournament the way they have been playing lately and UK is playing for their NCAA tournament lives, so they could make some noise as well.

Big Ten: The league you love to make fun of. (Mostly for football, especially being in the heart of SEC country I hear people making fun of this conference for all sports. It's like they're the little brothers of the big conferences. Occasionally they will do something good and then they run into older sibling who puts them in their place. Anyway, moving on.)

The favorite: Michigan State. They again were impressive on their way to another regular season title for Tom Izzo. 

My Pick: Upset pick: Penn State. That's right, I said that. Read it again. Penn State. I don't know why but having watched them twice this year they seem to play with a chip on their shoulders, the "so you only think we have a football team huh? Well, we'll show you!" kind of chip. 

Those are my big conference picks. I realize I went out on a limb with the Penn State pick but hey, it's march, anything can happen!

Bad Weekend

This weekend was rough. Lipscomb had its season ended in the semi-finals of the A-Sun tournament and the next day Duke lost to UNC. Ouch. Sports wise this was a really tough weekend for me. 

So, since I would rather not be a downer I'm going to look forward to my spring break where I will get to see a Red Sox spring training game in Fort Myers, Florida. 

Something that has been on my mind for awhile now has been my sports bucket list. Not sure why I have been thinking about this recently but I decided to list my sports bucket list.

In no particular order:

- Attend a Duke vs UNC game at Duke- Any game at Cameron Indoor Stadium would be awesome to attend, but this game? Wow! Top three greatest rivalry in sports. Period. 

-Attend a Duke senior day game- Just to hear the senior speeches at the end of the game. 

-Watch a Red Sox vs Yankees game at Fenway- Legendary stadium, legendary rivalry. Great atmosphere. Give me a Fenway Frank and a seat anywhere in the stadium and I'm a happy camper. 

-Watch a Red Sox game from the top of the Green Monster- This is a tough ticket to get, and if you do get it, it's expensive. I'd pay it for it without a second thought. 

-Attend a National Title game for both college football and basketball- I don't care as much for pro sports title games, even the Super Bowl you miss the commercials which are often the best part of the game. With college you normally get a great game, amazing atmosphere and I would love the chance to watch either of these games in person.

-Go to a soccer game in Europe- Never been to a pro soccer game. I've never been to Europe. But have you seen how crazy those fans are? 

-Run with the bulls- I count this because it takes athleticism and a set of....good running shoes...

-Attend a night game at Wrigley field- I mean it's Wrigley Field! 

-Interview John Wooden- Arguably the greatest coach ever. In any sport. Plus a class act.

-Attend the Gold Metal game of team USA men's basketball at an Olympics- I love my country, I love basketball, I love the Olympics. Mix them all and it makes the list.

-Attend a World Cup soccer game- Again, worlds most popular sport on its biggest stage. Crazy fans and intense action. I love just watching this game on TV, I can only imagine what the atmosphere is like in person. 

The Bison crushed the Campbell Camels tonight to advance to the semi-finals of the Atlantic Sun tournament. I'm excited. I'm scatter-brained. So in honor of my scatter-brained-ness (new word, just made it up) this post will be my thoughts of what has caught my attention in the world of sports.

A-Sun tournament- MARCH MADNESS!

A-Rod- Hurt hip, out for months? Karma.

Belmont's first round win in the A-Sun tournament- Luck. (Plus, the guy who hit the game winner was standing out of bounds when he got the rebound. Fyi.) 

Warm weather- Red Sox baseball

T.O.- got cut, funny. (also karma)

Missing Football players in the ocean- sad. 

Manny finally signing with Dodgers- Angry. He should still be with the Sox.

NHL trade deadline- Who cares? (I mean, no one in America does. Plus, I can't even pronounce half of the foreign names of hockey players.)

Sportscenter (lately)- Yawn. Can we please get back to showing highlights? Who wants to watch 25 minutes of analysis of why T.O. got cut and where he'll end up? Not me!

Well, I'm sure there is more going on in the sports world but this weekend I'm contained in the the bubble that is the A-Sun tournament (seeing as I'm in the arena about 10 hours a day working it). 

The next post I have will be post-tournament, I'll fill you in on either my extreme joy or extreme sorrow. 

It's that time of year again...

March. Spring is just around the corner; and so is madness! 

March Madness is a huge event for any basketball fan in America. Teams across the country dream of making it to the "Big Dance", including Lipscomb. 

For mid-majors, winning their conference tournament is often the only way they have a chance of making the NCAA tournament. This week begins the Atlantic Sun tournament on Lipscomb's campus. Seven teams are all hoping to win the tournament and punch their ticket to the dance. I am confident that the number four seeded Bison will be the ones punching our ticket. 

The Bison ended the year on an eight-game winning streak. We beat the teams in front of us in the standings (rather handily I might add) and have the eight longest winning streak in the country. Playing at home is a HUGE advantage as we are a very tough team on our home court the past couple of years. 

I am extremely excited about our chances of winning the tournament. We have the momentum, the home court and the confidence to be the team cutting down the nets this year. 

Look for Lipscomb to be carried on the shoulders Adnan Hodzic who continues to be the most dominate post player in the A-Sun.

Check back later this week to see how we did. 

Top 5: Sports Movies

Tonight I saw the movie The Wrestler starring Mickey Rourke. It's a well made movie about a washed up wrestler who is struggling with being alone and growing old. Rourke nails his part as the past-his prime wrestler, but I don't feel like I can recommend this movie without some disclaimers. If you would like to know my disclaimers, feel free to ask, this post isn't about the Wrestler.

Watching this movie got me thinking about my favorite sports movies. So I decided to list my top five.

(Disclaimer: I am not listing the best sports movies ever, I have not seen all of the sports movies ever made. I am simply stating my favorite, top-five sports movies. If you disagree, feel free to comment and let me know why.)

Number Five- Rookie of the Year (1993)- Loved this movie as a kid. Classic Disney sports movie. A kid breaks his arm and it heals tight and now he throws 90? It's so far fetched that it worked great! Put this kid on the team everyone feels sorry for, the Cubs, and you have a winner. 

Favorite moment- When Henry accidentally breaks his doctors nose and the doctor yells, "Funky Butt-lovin'!" Thought it was the greatest saying in movie history when I first heard it. (side note: I have used this saying as recently as an intramural basketball game 3 days ago) 

Number Four- The Sandlot (1993) - Classic. Every kid growing up needs to see this movie. It should be mandated by the United States constitution that by the age of 12, every red-blooded American child needs to have seen this movie. It captures the essence of America's past time. The innocence. The pure love of the game. Watching this movie makes me miss my childhood memories of summer time and staying out all day with the neighborhood kids playing baseball. Plus, who didn't want a pair of PF Flyers after seeing this movie?

Favorite moment- When they guys have their sleep over in the tree house. Classic lines happen in this scene. First was the "S'more of what?" line. Great line, still used today. Then the story of the Beast and the line "Foooorevvver" (also, still used today). 

Number Three- Remember the Titans (2000)- If anyone tells you they didn't get chills on the final play of the state title game, they're lying or don't have a pulse. I've seen this movie countless times and I still get chills. Denzel Washington was the perfect actor for this role. Love the story. Love the football scenes (looked real, which is always good). Love the soundtrack (people underestimate the impact a good soundtrack has on a movie. i.e. Eye of the Tiger will forever be connected to Rocky). 

Favorite moment- The state title game. Especially the last play. Chills, end of story. 

Number Two (tie)- Rudy (1993)- The ultimate underdog story. A kid with little athletic ability and a big heart fulfills his dream of playing for Notre Dame. First time I watched this movie I wanted to chase after all of my dreams. This is a very inspiring and incredible movie. Notre Dame is hated by many people, but even the haters had to feel inspired and choked up when Rudy finally gets into the game.

Favorite moment- When the players and fans all start chanting Rudy's name and his sack. Chills and inspiration every-time I see that part. This guy was a walk-on and dressed for one game, played in two plays, ever, and his teammates carried him off of the field. Incredible. 

Number 2b.- Cinderella Man (2005)- I know this technically makes six movies for this list, but hey, it's my list. First of all, Ron Howard is the director, so right away that tells you it's going to be a good movie with at least one tear-jerker moment. This is another inspiring movie about a down and out fighter catching his big break and making things happen for his family. Set in the era of the Great Depression, it's very relatable to today's current economic situation...sort of.

Favorite moment- Russell Crowe's final big fight. Watching his boys sneaking to listen to their hero dad's fight and jumping up and down as he starts to win is one of the most inspiring moments of the movie.

Number One- Hoosiers (1986)- Great, great movie! So many reasons to love this movie. It's about basketball, the underdogs win, it was made the year I was born and I'm pretty sure I wanted to grow up to be Jimmy Chitwood after watching it. (side note: has there every been any better shooter in a movie than Jimmy Chitwood? I mean this guy DID NOT miss! Seriously, check out the title game. I'm pretty sure he hit every single shot he took. The man was a machine.) 

I loved the coaching aspect of it too. I want to be a coach and seeing Gene Hackman taking this small group of rag-tag boys and molding them into winners was awesome. I have seen this movie approx.. 200 times in my lifetime. I love the soundtrack, and the old school setting of the 1950's. Everyone is sporting the old school Chuck Taylor's and short shorts. The good old days of basketball.

Favorite moment- When Shooter has to coach the boys and draw up the game winning play, "We're going to run the picket fence now boys. Don't get caught watchin' the paint dry!" C'mon, classic line right there. I've actually used that line when I coached a 5th grade AAU team a few years ago. Went right over their heads. Had to educate the boys on what a good movie was all about. 

Well there you have it. My top-five sports movies. (I know, I know, it's really six, but top-five sounds so much better than a top-six. It's a rounder number for the mind to comprehend.) 

I realize that some very solid movies were left off of the list (Little Big League, Rocky, He Got Game, Longest Yard, Blue Chips, Glory Road, Dodgeball, Field of Dreams, The Replacements...ok, maybe not the Replacements.) I mean, there are a lot of great sports movies. But this being my list, these are my top five.

Don't Challenge my Fanhood!

There are few things in life that get me riled up quite like being called a bandwagon fan. Much to my dismay, I get this a lot from friends. My favorite teams are the Duke Blue Devils basketball team, the Boston Red Sox and University of Tennessee Vols football. 

To an average person, that would appear to be a very eclectic and random pick of teams, especially with me being from Ohio. I would like to take this time to explain and validate my reasons for my teams, so without further introduction:

Duke Basketball- This is by far my favorite team. I get the bandwagon comments from liking them the most. My earliest memories of watching the NCAA tournament are watching Duke in the early 90's as a little kid. My family lived in Durham for a few years, my sister was even born at Duke medical hospital so growing up my parents were always watching Duke, so I was always watching Duke.

I guess you can say I jumped on the bandwagon in the early 90's but I never jumped off, and don't ever plan on jumping off. I am a loyal fan, even during rough years (1995, the past four years of the NCAA tournament). I love Coach K, I love the cameron crazies, I love Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley and Wojo, and JJ Redick. If they wear the Duke jersey, I root for them. 

Red Sox- This team is the one where I do not have any family reason to like them. The year I became a fan (1998) they didn't even make the playoffs. So why Boston? Three reasons:

1) My neighbors cousin. My next door neighbor was the same age as me, so needless to say we hung out a bunch. Often his cousin would be over at his house while I was there. His cousin was much older than us and picked on me often. I didn't like him. He liked the Yankees. I chose the Red Sox.

2) Pedro Martinez. Great pitcher in his prime. Loved watching him pitch. Was hooked long term after his 1999 Cy Young year and All-Star game performance. It was a sad day when the Sox let him walk away.

3) Nomar. Loved me some Nomar! He was the batting champ, wore my favorite number, fan favorite, what's not to like? Only winning the World Series in '04 eased the pain of trading him mid-season.

UT Football- Now, being from Ohio (and an hour from Columbus) most people expect me to be a huge Ohio State fan. I am not an OSU fan in the least! The only time I cheer for Ohio State is when they play Michigan, and that's only because I was raised not to like Michigan. 

Many of my extended family members are ginormous OSU fans. My immediate family is not. My parents have always been SEC football fans and growing up the SEC was what our family watched on Saturdays. In the 1990's UT was THE program of the SEC, and Peyton Manning was the man. I loved Peyton, he's why I began liking the Vols. Been a fan ever since Peyton. 

Now if I were a bandwagon fan, I would've jumped off of the UT wagon long ago. But I haven't. I'm loyal. Through good and bad. I stick by all of my teams. 

I guess all I can say is sorry for liking consistently good teams. I've liked them for years and have been a loyal fan for years. 

So you can judge for yourself whether I'm a bandwagon fan or not. But I for one believe bandwagon fans have no loyalty. I do. 

I also realize that many of my friends get on my about my teams because they know I get defensive and will defend my teams until the end. I know this, and it still gets me going. No matter how bad a season one of my teams may be having, I will still cheer for them and make no excuses for why I like them. 

That, my friends, is not something a bandwagon fan would do. 

So be warned, don't challenge my fanhood without being ready to get into an argument. (That'll you'll probably lose)

What's on my mind

The Bisons won the battle of the hottest teams in the Atlantic Sun tonight. By beating Mercer 88-67 the Bison extended their win streak to five games. 

With the team playing so well, all I can think about is basketball, specifically the Atlantic Sun tournament. This is my fourth year being on the team and have never been to the NCAA tournament, the way this team is playing right now has me thinking about the big dance.

I can honestly say that I am sick and tired of watching our arch-rivals down the road win the tournament the past three years and I fully expect us to defend our home court this year.

Up next for the Bison is Kennesaw State. I smell win number six in a row.

On a roll

    

Four game in eight days. That's what the Bison faced coming off of two tough road losses. But after those eight days, the Bison have four wins. It started with a beat down of Campbell at their place and ended tonight with a HUGE win over ETSU. Sandwiched in-between those games was an emotional win over our arch-rival Belmont and a 33-point shellacking of USC-Upstate. 

The win tonight versus ETSU was especially sweet. We had lost seven straight games to them, all of them on the last few possessions. Our team is finally looking like the team that I thought we would be at the beginning of the year. We are finally playing team ball and maturing in the process. 

Up next we travel to Mercer to play an equally hot team on a televised Friday night game. For those of you interested in watching, it'll be on CSS Friday night, 7pm EST. 

I'm excited about the rest of this year and the conference tournament that we host. We seem to be clicking at the right time of year and heading into the home stretch of the regular season I still feel like our team can get better. 

Check back later this week to see if the Bison can continue our hot streak.

The Bison and Hockey

Valentines day. Singles awareness day. Depressing day. It is a day that has many names and for me this year it was a great day of sports. 

To begin the day coach Sanderson cancelled our shoot-around for our afternoon game (which I believe is our first afternoon game this year) so I got to sleep in. After sleeping in, I woke up and went to our pre-game meal, which today was Cracker Barrel! Delicious! To top off my afternoon the Bison played a great game and blew out USC-Upstate by 33 points. Michael Teller and Adnan Hodzic both played great. 

This game is our third win in a row and two days after an emotional and hard fought win against our arch-rival Belmont. Our team is looking like it is maturing and Adnan Hodzic is becoming an un-guardable force down low, which is freeing up our outside shooters who are starting to consistently hit their shots. Next up is another big game, this time against ETSU, who we had beat at their place and let the game get away from us in overtime. 

I fully expect another inspired and hard fought game from the Bison come Monday night in Allen Arena. 

Following the Bisons victory I had made plans to take three kids I babysit to a Predators game. The tickets we had were their families season tickets and great seats, having been to a pre-season game last year I was excited to get to experience the NHL in person again. 

I am like a typical American guy, I don't like hockey. If it's on TV, I don't watch, even the playoffs. I have a hard time following the puck and don't understand the rules. That being said, I have come to love watching hockey in person. The speed, intensity and athleticism seen up close is a totally different experience than watching hockey on TV. 

The game tonight was great. The Preds played the Boston Bruins and won in a shootout. The crowd was awesome! There were so many people there and it was loud and energetic the whole game. It caught me by surprise, especially with it being valentine's day.  I think everyone should experience an NHL game live at least once in their lives, from my experience you'll leave with a new appreciation for the game. 

I ended the day with a trip out to a friends house where many close friends were still having their valentine's day party. The only regret I have is that I missed the NBA 3-point competition and the slam dunk contest. I cannot give my opinion on these contest until I have caught up with the highlights. All I know is who won, nothing more. 

Outside of missing some NBA action I can chalk this day up as one that I loved. (yes, I did just use a cheesy valentine's day-ish joke, deal with it.) As this new week begins, so does another full slate of sports action. Check back later this week for more of my thoughts.

Steroids

Once again, steroids is dominating the headlines. Yesterday A-Rod admitted to taking steroids from 2001-2003 while with the Rangers. I can't say that I'm surprised. Having grown up during the "steroids era" of baseball, where some of the most prolific offensive numbers in the history of the game were put up, I want to think, "is it really so bad that pro athletes use performance-enhancing drugs?" 

With the outlandish salary's that today's pro athletes make, especially Alex Rodriguez, and the high prices of tickets just to see these millionaires play, is it so bad that they "juice up" so they can put on a show? I know they don't use these drugs for the fans, but the pressure they are under to perform day in and day out forces many of them to take a route deemed unethical by many. 

In 1998 I was mesmerized, as was the whole country, by the Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire home run record chase. I can remember being at a high school football game and they announced that McGwire had just hit his 56th home run, the crowd went nuts. When news came out that they were suspected of using steroids many felt the that the summer of '98 was tainted. I on the other hand still cannot deny the magic that I experienced that summer. 

Was that chase a result of steroids? Perhaps. Most likely actually. But that summer rejuvenated the love America has for her past time. 

In football, there hasn't been a report like the Mitchell Report that came out for baseball, but you would have to be naive to think that pro football players don't use performance-enhancing drugs. But do fans refuse to buy tickets to watch these men play? No. Even in hard economic times stadiums are still full, TV ratings are still high and America still loves sports.

So I ask, is steroids really that bad for sports? Fans complain about it's use and say it's unfair, but I think that if it had be readily available back at the turn of the 20th century, athletes would've used it then too. 

So as long as American sports fans are willing to pay high ticket prices and watch games on TV at record numbers, then there will always be athletes feeling the pressure to win now and use performance enhancers. It's the sports culture we live in, like it or not.

Duke vs Clemson running blog

Well here we are again, Duke is playing at another top-10 team, aka the ACC schedule. I thought I'd give you an experience of what goes through my mind as I watch a Duke game.

Pre-game- I'm watching ESPN waiting on the game to start and every-time I see Steve Lavin I cannot help but stare at his hair. I mean how much gel does this guy use? Also, he needs to stop using cheesy tag-lines during game highlights. (Example- "There he is from deep, and tickles the twine!" He might as well just use "Boom goes the dynamite!" just as cheesy but at least there's some comedic value to it)

Yes! Mike Patrick is calling the game as the play-by-play announcer and Jay Bilas is doing the color commentary! I'm really happy that Dick Vitale is not calling this game, that guy bugs me. 

19:32- Bilas points out that Scheyer is shooting 29% in ACC play....ouch! 

16:38- Mike Patrick update, "Wake Forest is getting wacked by Miami." Well, that's discouraging, a team that just beat us is getting "wacked" by the team we're playing next. 

14:23- Media timeout, so far Clemson has forced a couple Duke turnovers and are up 11-9. I hope this isn't another ugly, fight to come back (a la Wake Forest) type of game. 

Does anyone else think that Vonage is really getting much business? I mean I'm sure there are some people out there who still use a land line  but no one that I know. I just feel like they don't get much business.

14:23- Making his first appearance of the game, the 7-foot waste of space, Brian Zoubek! 

11:23  -2nd media timeout, Duke has made a few more plays, only down 2, 15-13. Zoubek's been in for almost 2 whole minutes and hasn't fouled yet! This must be a personal record! (Can you tell I'm not a Brian Zoubek fan? I mean you're a 7-footer and average 6 points and 4 rebounds? If you aren't going to be a scoring threat at least rebound.)

11:01-close up of Oliver Purnell and his ORANGE blazer. Where do you even find an orange blazer?

10:31- Zoubek with his first foul. Shock.

10:20- Booker just had a huge dunk on Zoubek and Singler, no switching up top caused that dunk. Clemson- 19, Duke-15.

Commercial break- the classic "You just won the super bowl, Ben Roesthlisberger and Santanio Holmes, what are you going to do?" 

- "We're going to disney world!"

Sportscenter Right Now update- there is evidence that Barry Bonds did steriods. No?! Really? Thank you Sportscenter Right Now for that breaking news.

7:30- Heather Cox is tonight's sideline reporter, makes me sad that Erin Andrews isn't there. For the record, I'm pretty sure I'd marry Erin Andrews in a heartbeat. 

6:27- Game is final, Miami-79, Wake Forest-52. YIKES!

6:20- Another Duke turnover. These turnovers are killing us! Clemson hits a 3-pointer as a result, Clemson up 26-17.

5:06- If you go by the Clemson crowds reaction they have not fouled Duke yet this game. They are booing every foul called against them. Let it go people, at this point you have 1 more foul than Duke, the refs have been calling a tight game all night both sides.

4:22- Come on! 9th turnover by Duke, who averages 13 a game! The 1st half isn't even over yet. 

3:50- Turnover #10, I just yelled at the TV.

2:00- Internet just froze, I have a slight freak out moment, but luckily it starts working again. Close call.

1:18- Clemson goal tends a Duke shot, no call. Clemson up 33-21. Duke is looking horrible. 

:15.9- Clemson timeout. Minuets away from being mesmerized by Steve Lavin's hair.

Halftime. Duke down 33-21. Clemson looked good, Duke did not. 

Interview time with Oliver Purnell. Either Heather Cox is really tall or Purnell is short because she was looking down at him during that interview. 

Lavin just said "Scamper like a hampster." Wow. 

Coke Zero commercials, some of the best on TV.

Edge shaving cream, some of the worst commercials on TV.

More Lavin-ism's- "Torching it up." "Bottoms of the net." "Kicks it back for the big man. Bottoms of the net." 

For the 2nd half I have moved back into my room from the living room to watch it on our big TV.

19:45- Singer has 2 points and 3 turnovers. Not a good sign. Clemson bucket, Duke down 35-21.

18:37- Bad Call! Singler called for a blocking foul, Clemson player completes the and-1. Singler's 4th foul. My roommate laughs at me for yelling at the TV.

17:44- foul called on Lance Thomas, replay shows it's a jump ball. I yell once again.

17:03- Another Duke turnover, Henderson saves a dunk but is whistled for the foul. I get three facebook chat messages, two making fun of how Duke is playing, one is a fellow Duke fan (shout out- Jenna Bartsokas) sharing her frustration.

15:29- Henderson gets hacked, crowd boos. Duke down 17. 

State Farm's LeBron playing for the Browns commercial airs, causing Browns fans in Cleveland to cry.

Matt Hasselback (seriously, the 40 year old, bald, washed up Seahawks QB) just did a commercial for EAS! Wow!

15:29- Duke has 13 turnovers and 10 field goals. Unbelievable.

14:45- My roommate and his girlfriend are talking about the universe and black holes. I feel like a black hole watching this game, Duke down 20, Paulus just got dunked on. ouch.

ESPN's bottom line just showed LeBron's stats vs the Knicks, 52, 10, 11! So in back to back games the Knicks have given up 61 points to Kobe and now a 52 point triple double to LeBron. Stinks to be a Knicks fan. 

12:52- Zoubek has back to back good plays! A put back and then on the other end he took a charge. 

12:43- Two Henderson free throws. Duke down 48-32. Still venting to whoever will listen.

11:41- Media Timeout. I can do nothing but hold my hands on my head. I'm annoyed. Down 21.

Ok, Pizza Hut, did you really go all the way to Italy to have Italians try your lasagna? I highly doubt that. In no way does that commercial convince me that Pizza Hut makes a quality lasagna. 

10:45- My roommate conveniently points out that through 30 minutes of the game Duke is averaging just above a point a minute. Thanks MT. 

Media timeout. Lead cut to 17. Teammates are sending text messages and facebook chat messages giving me a hard time about Duke. I'm taking the high road. No response.

9:05- Singler hits a 3. But not before stepping out of bounds. 15 turnovers. Almost cursed.

8:07- Booker gets another dunk, I yell in frustration subsequently scaring my suit mates' girlfriends dog. 

6:30- Zoubek bails Clemson out with a stupid foul. Shooting free throws. Down 23.

4:47- Bilas comments on how there's going to be "some blood on the floor at Duke's next practice." Clemson now up 70-43. I'm embarrassed. 

This may be the first and last time I do a running blog of a Duke game. Duke is getting their butts kicked. 

Awkward Viagra commercial. If not for this blog I definitely would've turned the game off by now. 

Oklahoma is struggling with Texas A&M, how would that be for a night? The #2, #3 and #6 teams potentially being upset. 

1:57- Oglesby (little white dude who's hitting everything he's shooting) just missed his 2nd dunk. I had a nice little chuckle. Only good thing that's happened for me this half. 

Let me just say, I would not want to be a player for them the next day at practice. It's going to be ugly. 

ESPN shows the graphic about how it's been 11 years since Duke last lost by 20 points. Awesome. 

0:00-Students rush the court. Clemson's first win vs Duke since 1997. I'm mad. Already looking forward for the game vs them at Cameron. 

Next up for Duke doesn't get any easier as we have to play a Miami team that just throttled Wake Forest by 27. Needless to say I won't be doing a running blog of that game.

 

What a game

The super bowl was an average football game until the fourth quarter, and what a fourth quarter it was! I was pulling for the Cardinals in this one and had predicted an Arizona victory but the Steelers pulled out a drive for the ages! The Cardinals defense was great all night long, they had three goal line stands. Three! That's very impressive to do against a smash mouth team like the Steelers. And what to say about Larry Fitzgerald. That man is a freak athlete and an amazing receiver. I also have to give my appreciation for the Super Bowl MVP, Santanio Holmes. He had big plays after big plays and made one of the greatest catches in Super Bowl history to win it. I was disappointed in the outcome but not in the excitement of the game. 

I did have a few thoughts on the game from where I was sitting (which happened to be a Hampton Inn in Fort Myers, Florida). 

1) Was it just me or did the refs look like they were trying all they could to make sure the Steelers were going to pull this one out? I mean three unsportsmanlike conduct calls on ONE drive!? All of those penalties were questionable too. On the last play of the game when Kurt Warner was stripped and fumbled the ball I thought it at least deserved a second look from the refs, but they decided that the play was an easy call, which it wasn't. 

2) Kurt Warner has played in three Super Bowls, holds many passing records for Super Bowls and has played in three of the most exciting championship games in the history of the Super Bowl. His first trip there the Rams win by a yard, in his second trip to the big game the following year the Patriots win at the gun on a field goal. Now in his third trip to the championship he gets beat with :35 to go, on an incredible catch, after leading a huge fourth quarter comeback! When this guy plays in the Super Bowl, you need to watch! If not for an amazing Holmes catch (and that HUGE interception at the end of the first half, Warner's only hiccup in the game) Warner would be walking away with his second MVP award. 

3) Half-time was great....if you were over 35 years old. The Super Bowl half-time has turned into a mini-concert, and the only one that I can remember watching recently and saying, "Wow! That was great!" is the 2002 Super Bowl with U2. Maybe I just don't appreciate the music like some older folk do but last night I knew only one of Springsteen's songs, Glory Days. I wasn't a fan of the show, but I digress. 

4) The commercials weren't too bad. The winner of this years commercials was the Doritos ad with the magic ball, which was funny and made by two unemployed brothers. I thought the animal commercials were a little over-kill this year and not as funny as in years past. My top five favorite were: 1) Talking flowers insult valentine; 2) the Dorito's crystal ball; 3) Bud Light's first commercials where the accountant gets thrown out the window; 4) Pepsi's McGruber and 5) Coke's classic remake of the mean Joe Greene commercials done with Troy Polamalu.

Moving on to basketball. 

Lipscomb lost another close game, this one to Stetson in overtime. With the loss Lipscomb dropped to 0-6 all time at Stetson. Mike Lusk played great in this game, hitting big shot after big shot and ending with 22 points, 13 of them coming in overtime. The story of the game (really, the story of the team so far this year) was the inability to finish. Silly turnovers, porous defense and dumb fouls down the stretch. 

By my count that is eight games that we have lost in the last three minutes of either regulation or overtime after having the lead late. I realize this team is young, and next year will definitely be a great team, but we have yet to see a complete game on both ends of the floor by this team. 

Next up is a game vs Florida Gulf Coast, prediction for this game- 80-76 Lipscomb victory.

In more encouraging news, Duke once again played great coming off a loss, dismantling an over-matched Virginia team 79-54. Duke's defense was again impressive, forcing the Cavaliers into 23 turnovers and scoring 29 points off of those turnovers. 

Next up is a tough stretch of games vs Clemson and Miami before the big game against North Carolina. 

Well, those are my thoughts and opinions, like 'em or not, they're probably right.