The latest apocalypse

One of my favorite Sports Illustrated features is the little blurb called “This Week’s Sign That the Apocalypse is Upon Us”. Today a story came out involving Jimmer Fredette, BYU’s star basketball player, that I believe should be featured in the next column.Too-famous Jimmer forced to stay out of class  Apparently, the University has requested that Fredette NOT attend classes because his presence is too disruptive on campus. Instead of actually being a college student, as required by the scholarship the school gave him, Fredette has been forced to take online courses to get his degree. This is the same University that evoked its honor code to dismiss another basketball player from the team for daring to have sexual relations with his girlfriend (I still don’t understand how this ever was confirmed). BYU’s responsibility here is to ensure that Fredette can go to school and if necessary, amend their honor code to prohibit harassment of basketball players along with alcohol, coffee and other stimulants. Otherwise, what is the point of the whole student-athlete concept?

Fredette's SI Cover

Random Thoughts

My daughter is off from school for Easter (yes, this early!) so I’ve spent the last few days entertaining her meaning my posts become entirely less cohesive. Anyway, here’s what’s on my mind:

1) I just watched the Butler-UConn title game last night (living in London means I don’t watch alot of live games) and I must say that I almost fell asleep during the second half. That was one of the most boring match-ups I’ve ever seen which is a shame given how exciting the tournament was. Butler’s shooting was horrendous -18.8% from the field and only 2 points in the paint – as they only managed 41 points.  UConn played well, especially Kemba Walker who undoubtedly will declare for the NBA draft, but Butler looked completely out of sorts offensively. While I’m glad the Big East was somewhat vindicated, I can’t help but thinking UConn should’ve been banned from tournament play for their recruiting violations.Their punishment was definitely a slap on the wrist.

2) The Reliant Energy Center should not host the Final Four again. I understand that massive numbers of people attended the games but watching on TV, I sensed no buzz whatsoever. That may be partly due to Butler’s presence as it’s a tiny school (under 3,000 undergrads compared to a huge state school like UConn) but the venue is realistically a football stadium.

3) Who’s hot in baseball right (all of 5 games into the season): Mark Teixeira is batting .333 with 4 homers and 10 RBIs which will hopefully put to rest the annoying talk about his slow starts; the Baltimore Orioles are 4-0 and are leading the AL East – that won’t last but Buck Showalter as Manager is a major step in the right direction;  the Cincinnati Red are also undefeated and should prove that last season was no fluke.

4) Who’s not hot in baseball: Manny Ramirez is batting .063 and has been given a “rest” by Joe Maddon; the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays are struggling as pitching has surprisingly been a weak point for both teams.

5) Is Tony Romo guaranteed to start for the Cowboys if there is a season? According to some of his teammates, Romo should be made to “compete” for his job with Kitna who did a great job at QB during Romo’s injury.  Always drama in Cowboyland!

 

AP Photo / Jessica Hill

 

 

 

The morning after a bracket hangover

Remind me to never fill out a bracket again! Watching yesterday’s VCU-Kansas game put me in such a foul mood – pun not intended – that the question I’ve been trying to suppress throughout the tournament finally reared its head: Does my completed bracket, staring at me judgmentally from my desk like in that annoying Geico commercial, diminish the pure enjoyment of March Madness? Increasingly, I think the answer is yes as I silently (and not-so-silently) cursed the anonymous VCU players when they repelled Kansas’ second half comeback. Seriously, could you have named a single one of their players before the tournament or even the team’s mascot (I have an odd propensity to remember these)? Now they’re in the Final Four!

As I was checking the sky for falling Rams (VCU’s mascot apparently which I’ll never forget now!), I berated myself for not picking Gonzaga over St. John’s in the opening round – sentiment is your worst opponent with brackets and fantasy leagues – even though it had no consequence whatsoever. And then there was Florida State which messed up my Southwest region picks almost as much as VCU did! You see- I’m going crazy. Normally, I would whole-heartedly root for the underdog in a tournament like this but VCU and Butler – the other mid-major team – have taken away the joy of rubbing my successful picks in other people’s faces. Unsurprisingly, as I picked UNC to advance, Kentucky is the remaining team going to the Final Four so I’ve decided to tear up my bracket and just enjoy the last weekend of college basketball. Until, that is, another season rolls around and I decide that the UAB Blazers (love their dragon mascot) are the team to beat. You heard it here first!

p.s. Before I get hate mail, I’m not suggesting that VCU didn’t deserve to beat Kansas as they played great defensively. However, Kansas had ample opportunities but were doomed by atrocious shooting – if they had made at least a few of the wide-open 3 pointers or free throws, I wouldn’t be writing this post.

Happy times for Rodney the Ram

The Sweet 16 is set…

and frankly I’m exhausted from watching game after nail-biting game, my bracket in disarray (although my predicted Final Four of UNC, UConn, Florida and Kansas could still materialize). Here are my random thoughts which aren’t the most coherent I’ve ever written but my brain is still trying to comprehend how VCU, a First Four team, has made it into the round of 16.

- From what I gather, I’m not the only college basketball fan having bracket issues right now but I’m still pleased to have picked 10 out of the 16 teams left correctly, the same number as President Obama I might add. By the way, Obama is clearly one of the busiest men in the world but please cut him a little slack – the world didn’t end in the time it took to fill out his bracket with Andy Katz.

- Every season there’s a cinderella team that defies expectations by knocking off one (or more) high seeds. In years past, schools such as NC State, Gonzaga, and Princeton have all worn the glass slipper with the Wolfpack winning the tournament in 1983. Last year, Butler occupied this position going all the way to the title game and, proving they’re no fluke, still continue to be a story in this tournament having just beaten Pitt. Given the wide open field, however, they’re not THE story. Instead I look to VCU, a team playing with a chip on its shoulder, having been forced to play an extra game just to gain admission to the ball. All they’ve done is take out Georgetown and Purdue!

- What on earth has happened to the Big East? As of today, only UConn and Marquette have been left standing! I’m not surprised obviously that all 11 teams haven’t made it, especially as several inter-conference match-ups played out over the weekend.  I am deeply shocked though that Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse and Louisville went out as quickly as they did. I won’t back away from my assertion that the Big East was the best regular season conference this year but with a one game playoff format, the smaller conferences always have a better chance at sending through their teams.  (Please note that I don’t advocate a BCS system!)

- Of the remaining 3 top seeds left, Kansas has the clearest path to the Final Four as they play 12 seed Richmond next. Assuming they win that game (not a certainty this year!), the winner of 11 seed VCU vs. 10 seed Florida St. awaits. At least I hope this happens because I’ve picked Kansas to win it all and I’d like to say I got that right at least so Rock chalk, Jayhawk!

 

Yikes, I spoke too soon!!

I can’t tell you how bitter I am at the moment as Morehead St., in a monumental upset, beat 4 seed Louisville followed by Temple’s last second win against Penn St. My bracket is officially busted! The good news is that the level of clutch shooting has been phenomenal. How many of these games are going to come down to the last second? I’m thinking quite a few as I’m now on to Princeton vs. Kentucky which is still a tight game going in to the second half.

By the way,  I love watching games Bill Raftery analyzes as his commentary is humorous and passionate without being over the top (yes, I’m talking about you Dick Vitale!) My last random thought is that the officiating has been good – the no call on Louisville’s last possession was correct. After the debacle of the Big East tournament, I hope the referees stay in the background.

 

 

My completed bracket as promised

Hopefully you can read the small print. I’ve got Kansas, Florida, UNC and UConn in the Final Four with Kansas emerging as the Champion. I know – I’m surprised too, especially as I don’t have Ohio St. or Duke making it past the Elite 8! This is probably due to my previous bracket failures where I’ve played it safe. Not this year baby

March Madness is finally here

And I for one couldn’t be any happy given my recent depressing post concerning the sorry state of the NHL! College basketball has its share of problems (UConn and Baylor suspensions spring to mind) but they all seem to fade in the background come tournament time. This season has been a wild one, making the seedings a nightmare for the selection committee. I just printed my bracket and will include the completed version in a later post which is sure to bring much embarrassment as I never predict the early upsets (I once won a golf bet despite knowing nothing about the sport so clearly ignorance is bliss!) In the meantime, here are my immediate thoughts:

1)   Why on earth was Pitt given a Number 1 seed? They didn’t win a single game in the Big East tournament and lost to Notre Dame on their home court. The latter should’ve received the higher seed, especially with their late season run.

2) Every year, several teams have legitimate grievances for being left out of the dance and this season is no exception. Colorado clearly deserved to be included, especially when you consider Penn St. and Michigan had similar records.

3) The Big East has an unprecedented number of teams – 11 – in this year’s tournament, a possibility which I wrote about on March 1. I won’t take credit though as Joe Lunardi predicted this earlier but I didn’t argue at the time and I’m actually glad to see the re-emergence of this conference. By the way, a big cheer goes to St. John’s – the seed (6) doesn’t matter as much as a return to relevance for that program. Congrats to their seniors especially who have suffered through the previous disappointing seasons! On a down note for them, I fear for their first round match-up against Gonzaga…

4) BYU is a wildcard in this tournament.  I wouldn’t exactly call them a sleeper with a 30-4 record and a big name player (Jimmer Fredette) but with the suspension of Davies, I’m curious to see how deep they’ll get as a 3 seed.

5) So what are my sleeper picks? I’m going with Richmond at the 12 seed (a bit low for a team that won their conference) and Marquette, a Big East team that’s had its fair share of strong competition.

Has this been a good year for college basketball?

This has been the prevailing question among sports talk shows as teams play hot potato with the number 1 ranking. Duke, Texas, and Ohio State have all been top ranked at some point but there doesn’t seem to be a clear-cut favorite this season as in years past. Remember when we wondered whether Ohio State could go undefeated? Seems like eons ago although they should still get a top seed in the upcoming NCAAs assuming they perform well in the Big 10 tournament.

Personally, I think parity does wonders for college basketball as is the case with the NFL. Given that I root for big market New York teams, you know I’m being sincere here! Certain schools like Duke and UNC for instance are “legacy” programs who are almost always competitive but even they have down years as the latter did last season. Sports are after all cyclical (just ask the Detroit Pistons who have fallen off a cliff but I digress) so this year, it’s time for some upstart teams to grab headlines. St. John’s has a rich basketball history but nobody predicted they’d be so good this year. With a strong Big East tournament showing, they could be as high as a 4 seed in the NCAAs. Same goes for Notre Dame who Sports Illustrated predicts may have replaced Duke as one of the top seeds! This tournament should be full of surprises, making brackets even more difficult than usual to complete. And that’s a good thing as people identify with the underdog even if that team does win a conference title.

Speaking more of Notre Dame, read this article from SI about Ben Hansbrough Ben Hansbrough fuels Notre Dame’s rise in Big East – Jordan Conn – SI.com. It’s amazing how much he’s emerged from his older brother’s shadow and just in time as he’s helped his team peak at just the right time.

Sports Illustrated/ AP photo

11 Big East teams in NCAA tourney?

That’s what Joe Lunardi, ESPN’s “bracketologist” (apparently he’s got a ridiculously good track record) is predicting. Bracketology – NCAA College Basketball Brackets and Predictions – ESPN. Whether this pans out remains to be seen but I wouldn’t be too upset by this conference over-weighting. Without question, the Big East has the most depth as game in and game out, teams are playing nationally ranked opponents rather than simply bottom feeders. Take a look at the ACC standings for example where, as of today, 7 of the 12 teams have .500 or below .500 overall records.

Let’s take a closer look at this past weekend’s games. Duke, while clearly deserving of their high ranking, lost to Virgina Tech, a decent although not outstanding team. St. John’s, which upset Duke at MSG, (I can’t remember the last time that happened) beat a tough Villanova squad on the road. This win is more impressive given how they handled Villanova’s late comeback, outscoring the Wildcats down the stretch behind Dwight Hardy’s 34 point performance (he should be Big East player of the year by the way). Then, in the other marquee Big East match-up, Louisville squeaked by Pitt, a team which has the best record in the conference. The Big East tournament will decide the NCAA entrants and seedings but I don’t think 11 teams is a stretch although Marquette and West Virginia are definitely on the bubble. This intense competition though will make all of the Big East teams selected tournament ready and I suspect that at least 1 (if not 2) will make the Final Four.

Can’t wait to fill out my bracket!

Dwight Hardy in action. Photo courtesy of ESPN website and Howard Smith/US Presswire

 

What to watch this weekend

Here’s a quick guide to what I’ll be paying attention to this weekend in between children’s parties, yoga classes, and a dinner date with my husband!

Friday

Rangers vs. Capitals (NHL) – This is a really important Eastern Conference match-up, especially for the Rangers as they’re struggling to secure a playoff spot. Plus, Ovechkin is bar none (with all due respect to the concussed Sidney Crosby) the most exciting player in the NHL right now.

Photo courtesy of the Washington Capitals website

Saturday

England vs. France (Rugby) – The 6 Nations game that everyone has been gearing up for.  France has talked alot of trash this week saying how much they dislike the English (shocker!) so I’m looking for a tense atmosphere at Twickenham. It will be tough for England without their injured captain Lewis Moody but I’ll be pulling for them!

St. John’s at Villanova (College Basketball) – Another important Big East test for the Johnnies as they’re up against a highly-ranked opponent in what has become a regular occurrence. This time though the Red Storm are finally included in the Top 25 for what seems like ages so I hope they continue in this direction.

Sunday

Indiana at Ohio State (College Basketball) – This is also a key conference match-up. Ohio State lost its Number 1 ranking recently but that doesn’t make them any less dangerous. In my opinion, they’re the best team in the country regardless of the polls. Indiana is a compelling story though as that program may be on the upswing again. Do I smell an upset? Nah but it should be entertaining nonetheless.

Happy viewing!