Home Sweet Home?
As a small, private school competing mainly against large, state-run institutions, Wake Forest and its basketball team are at a decided disadvantage when compared to the other ten members of the ACC.
From recruiting to fundraising to merchandise sales, it's hard for Wake to keep up with bigger schools and thus makes sustaining a big-time basketball program infinitely more difficult.
This discrepancy is never more apparent then when the Deacs play a game at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, their off-campus home since 1989.
Wake’s small enrollment (3,600) is dwarfed by the size of their home coliseum (14,400), which makes for a 4:1 arena/student ratio (no other ACC school has even a 1:1 ratio).
Coupled with a largely apathetic Winston-Salem community, the sparse crowds that greeted the Demon Deacons in years past shouldn’t have been a surprise.
However, things have changed at The Joel this year. Last season’s run to the Sweet 16 and this year’s massive preseason hype invigorated both students and townies alike. Now Lawrence Joel is packed for every game and the atmosphere, once tranquil, is frenzied.
For the first time ever, Wake Forest truly has a home-court advantage.
Lawrence Joel Coliseum is an all-purpose arena, designed as much for the concerts, rodeos and circuses that frequent the venue as it was for Wake Forest basketball.
As a result, the arena has always had a sterile feel that wasn’t helped by thousands of empty seats on game day.
Even when the arena was packed (as it was during the Tim Duncan years and the two games per season against UNC and Duke), the atmosphere was never all that great. Poor placement of the student section (behind the basket, extending towards the side of the court without the benches) ensured that.
When Skip Prosser took over for Dave Odom in 2000, his first order of business was to move the student section, a difficult endeavor since the city of Winston-Salem dictates where the Wake students sit. After some negotiating, Prosser got the student seats moved over a few sections so that they were still behind the basket, but were now on the side of the opposing teams bench. This move endeared Prosser to the Wake student body and helped out his team as well, since the students were now behind the opposing team’s basket in the second half and could get loud and rowdy during free throws and big possessions.
Prosser’s change helped a lot, yet even with a team firmly entrenched in Top 25 and the ACC Player of the Year (Josh Howard) on the court, Lawrence Joel still didn’t have “it”.
I remember going to a game against UVA during my junior year with my friend Scott. It was a Sunday night game on Fox Sports Net between two teams ranked in the Top 25 (Wake was in the Top 10 while UVA was hovering around #20), yet Scott and I had the entire upper-deck to ourselves. Granted, the upper deck at The Joel is a terrible place to watch a game and no students should have had to sit up there, but this was a huge game with major ACC ramifications... It should have been packed, but it wasn't.
The only time the Coliseum was filled was when Duke and Carolina came to town. (The students would come en masse to the Duke games (even the non-basketball fans in the student body knew the importance of beating Duke) while Carolina fans would buy up the tickets for that contest.)
When my cousins came down from Maryland during my senior year to watch the defending NCAA champions play a Wake team in the Top 10 and saw a good deal of empty seats in the Joel, they were shocked. Cole Field House was sold out for games against Drexel and Wake couldn’t fill up their place for the defending champs?
But, with the small student body it was tough to do.
That’s why the changes this year at Lawrence Joel have been so remarkable.
For each Wake home game this year, there have been almost 2,500 students in attendance, which is about 70% of the enrollment. I don't need to tell you how unbelievable that is.
The townies, in true fair-weather fan fashion, have snatched up all the remaining tickets, meaning that LJVMC has been filled to the rafters for each game this season.
The attendance, in itself, isn’t what is so surprising. In year’s past Wake's success wasn't predicted, so they weren’t able to build a big following. With all the hype this year, it was easy to market the team, hence the sellouts.
No, what shocks me isn’t the attendance, but it how the atmosphere at The Joel has done a complete 180.
Even when Lawrence Joel would be sold out for those Duke games a few years ago, it still wasn’t an intimidating place to play. Sure, it would get loud on a breakaway dunk or big three-point shot, but that was it. There wasn’t any palpable excitement before the game.
All of that changed when UNC traveled east to Winston earlier this year.
The noise in The Joel was deafening from the opening tip and didn’t let up all game. Dick Vitale and Mike Patrick said it was the loudest they had ever heard the Coliseum and I don’t doubt it.
For the Duke game, the student section was on J.J. Redick from the get-go and they didn’t stop until his final shot rimmed out, giving the Deacs the home-sweep against their Tobacco Road rivals.
Even during contests against Miami and Florida State, the fans were loud throughout the entire game. In the latter game, the crowd was primed for revenge stemming from the Seminoles upset over the Deacs in Tallahassee. Wake got out to an early lead, but the fans didn’t stop cheering or leave early, as they would have in the past.
Wake’s home court is now a tough place to play and that has helped the team immeasurably.
Still, even with their newfound vigor, the Deac fans have a lot of room for improvement. Chanting “Er-ic Will-iams (clap clap clap clap clap)” when the Wake center dunks is lame, but not as lame as doing the same thing for Chris Paul (his name doesn’t really lend itself to a four-syllable chant) after he got into a tussle with the aforementioned Redick.
A “You’ve Got Backne!” or “NBDL” chant would have been more appropriate in that situation, but that’s OK. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
The little game where one side of the arena yells “Wake” while the other side yells “Forest” was fine when there were 10,000 people there and shaking you keychain passed for team spirit, but with boisterous fans and a national television audience, it’s time to retire that one too.
I was impressed yesterday when some Wake students chanted “ECU” to Virginia coach Pete Gillen, a dig at the soon-to-be-fired coach and the vacancy open in Greenville, where Gillen’s former boss Terry Holland is the new AD. That never would have happened in years past.
Is making fun of a coach about to be fired over the line? Maybe, but Wake fans have been so polite over the past few years that they’re entitled to a few suggestive cheers.
As for the tie-dyed t-shirts, I’m not really a fan, but at least they give Wake fans a much-needed identity.
On Wednesday night, the Demon Deacons close out their home schedule against Georgia Tech.
Five years ago such a contest would have been watched by a quiet crowd consisting of a couple hundred students mixed in with 10,000 or so fans. On Wednesday there won’t be an empty seat in the house and the crowd will be anything but quiet as they try to will their Wake Forest team to an undefeated season at home; something that wouldn't have been possible without the changes at Lawrence Joel.
Monday, February 28, 2005
Friday, February 25, 2005
Week in Review
Monday - Tobacco Robbery
The Gist: Coach K controls the officials in the ACC
The Follow-Up: Duke played at Georgia Tech on Wednesday night
It was a rematch of the game in which Coach K provided one of his greatest ref-manipulating moments in history.
In their first meeting in Cameron, the refs were actually calling fouls on Duke, a cardinal sin in Durham. Krzyzewski was dumbfounded, as he should have been. This was his building, after all. How dare the officials call the game fairly!
In order to get things back to normal, Coach K took matters into his own hands, walking towards the center of the playing floor and promptly faking a fainting spell. From that moment on, Duke received all the calls and Georgia Tech fell apart.
Perhaps remembering the scary sight of Krzyzewski pretending to be hurt, the refs continued to show their unabashed Duke-love as the scene shifted to Atlanta.
As I detailed on Monday, referees at Duke games always call “big” fouls (shooting and offensive) against Duke’s opponents early in the contest.
Then, when Duke gets settled in with a lead, the officials even out the team fouls by calling defensive touch-fouls on the Blue Devils when their opponent has the ball. Those fouls have no ramifications on the game.
Indeed, the refs did this again on Wednesday night. Six minutes into the game, Duke had one team foul (touch) while Tech had four (three shooting, one offensive – that’s one touch foul for Duke to four “big” fouls for GT).
Duke, who had been behind early, climbed back to the early lead at 10-8, whereupon the officials decided to even up the team fouls. On Tech’s next possession, the refs called three defensive touch fouls on Duke in a span on 32 seconds, which evened up Duke and Tech's team counts.
Each school now had four fouls a piece, yet to that point, Duke had scored six points off Tech’s four fouls while Tech had zero off Duke’s four.
And this happens in every game Duke plays.
Later on in the contest, the refs called a double foul on J.J. Redick and Will Bynum.
This season, I’ve only seen a double foul called two others times, both of which occurred in, gasp, Duke games.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. The double foul is the most spineless call in sports (other than the out of bounds jump-ball, which I’ve also seen once in a Duke game), and since Coach K is the most spineless coach in sports, it makes sense that the two go together like bread and meat.
By the way, while we’re all busy piling up on Temple coach John Chaney for sending in a “goon” to foul St. Joe’s players, let’s not forget that Mike Krzyzewski did the same exact thing against Wake Forest and nobody said a critical word about it. Just because Coach K’s guy didn’t break Chris Paul’s arm doesn’t make a difference.
Tuesday - Tuesday Thoughts
The Gist: Laveranues Coles wants out of Washington
The Follow-Up: Coles won’t be cut, but could get traded
It appears that the “Redskins Will Cut Coles” headline which shocked the District on Monday morning was erroneous. Despite published reports to the contrary, it’s tough to believe Joe Gibbs ever promised Laveranues Coles he would be cut. It just didn’t make any sense, financially or personnel-wise.
But, Laveranues still wants out and it appears that the Redskins would like to accommodate him, even if it means taking an absurd $9 million cap hit this season. Coles allegedly will not restructure his deal and since most teams will be reluctant to give the wideout a big signing bonus, it is unlikely that Coles could forfeit the money the Redskins owe him (to alleviate their cap hit) and get it from his new team instead.
So, the only recourse is to restructure Chris Samuels contract (which would free up the necessary cap room to take the Coles hit) and trade Laveranues.
Actually, I misspoke. There is one more way for the Redskins to solve this problem. They could sit Laveranues Coles down and SHOW HIM HIS FREAKIN’ CONTRACT which says that Coles is a Washington Redskin. If he doesn’t like it, he can sit out and not get paid. But Coles won’t do that because a) he wants his money and b) he’s not that kind of guy.
There's no way the 'Skins should use up 1/9th on one player who won't even be on the team, just because said player doesn't like how the offense played last season.
Sadly, it looks like they will because current reports say that the Redskins and Jets are in discussions to trade Coles straight-up for Santana Moss, which would mean Washington would have to absorb Coles’ $9 million. (This is all dependent on Chris Samuels restructuring his contract.)
Moss is a fine player and could fit into the Ricky Sanders role quite nicely. But if Moss does indeed come to Washington it doesn’t change the fact that there are no Art Monk or Gary Clark type receivers on the team, and without them, a Ricky Sanders is worthless.
The irony of the 'Skins apparent desire to get Moss is that the team passed him over in the 2001 draft. With the 15th selection that year, Washington took Rod Gardner out of Clemson instead of going with Miami's Moss, who was taken with the next pick by the Jets. Gardner, of course, won't be back with the team next season.
This whole episode just reitirates the Redskins need for a General Manager. The Coles situation has been escalating all week, and is now, perhaps, past the point of no return. The Redskins and their embattled wideout have dug themselves so deep into this mess that the only way to get out is to probably trade or release Coles.
But, if there had been a GM in place I would bet that all this fuss never would have occurred.
If Coles was unhappy, he would have gone to the GM to express his displeasure. The GM would have told him one of two things: "Shut up and go play, you're under contract" or "OK, I'll see what I can do." Then the GM would have told Gibbs the situation. Gibbs would have been understandably unhappy with the circumstance, but would have been powerless to do anything since he would have no say in player personnel.
Instead, Coles went first to Gibbs and Gibbs, acting like any head coach would, said "I don't want a guy on my team who doesn't want to be here." Unfortunately, there's more to it than that. Gibbs was thinking as a coach when he talked with Laveranues, he wasn't thinking as a GM.
In those situations, it's impossible for a coach to seperate the game from the business. When Coles first told Gibbs that he wasn't happy, Gibbs the coach said he didn't want him. That's what he should have said. But It took a little while for Gibbs the GM to remember that cutting Coles would put the 'Skins in cap hell and wasn't feasible.
It's difficult for any coach to seperate the two sides of the game and no coach should have to. This isn't Joe Gibbs' fault, it's Dan Synder's fault.
He needs to swallow his pride, hire a General Manager and give him full control. It might be the only way to return the Redskins to glory.
Wednesday - On the Bubble
The Gist: Who’s in and who’s out of the NCAA Tournament
The Follow-Up: Bubble teams continue to struggle
Georgia Tech and George Washington both suffered huge losses in their quest for at-large berths to the Big Dance. Tech, as you know, lost to Duke, while GW dropped a must-win game at Xavier.
On Wednesday I also detailed the absurdity of Wake Forest’s game against 330th ranked Longwood:“This is a lose-lose game from Wake. If they play poorly and beat Longwood by only, say, 18 points, the team might become demoralized since Texas A&M-Corpus Christi beat them by 20. And even if Wake dominates, they still will take a big hit in the RPI.”
Sure enough, Wake destroyed Longwood but dropped from 2nd to 6th in the RPI after their 39-point win. Hopefully the fall won’t affect Wake’s chances at a #1 seed.
If it does then Skip Prosser has nobody to blame but himself.
Thursday - Chris Makes Up, Then Answers, PTI’s Questions
The Gist: The title is pretty self-explanatory
The Follow-Up: More NBA trades and that picture is still hilarious
The big-winner of the NBA trading frenzy was the Philadelphia 76ers.
Billy King managed to snare Chris Webber away from Sacramento for next to nothing, finally giving The Answer a big-time forward to play with. They also got Rodney Rogers in the Glenn Robinson-Jamal Mashburn contract exchange. The former Wake Forest star will be a huge asset coming off the bench for Jim O’Brien.
Weekend Predictions: Seton Hall over Boston College - A demoralized BC team drops one after blowing their chance at a #1 seed earlier this week.
Alabama over Kentucky - If the ‘Cats should win, they have to be a contender for a #1 seed.
Connecticut over Pittsburgh - Chris Taft, like John Gilchrist and J.R. Giddens, needs to stop listening to the NBA agents in his ear and start playing basketball.
Washington over Arizona - Every other contender for a #1 seed is losing, it's about time the Wildcats join the party.
Georgetown over Villanova - The Hoyas won the first meeting up in Philly, but need this one to keep their Tournament hopes alive.
Wake Forest over Virginia - This will likely be the last time Skip Prosser faces his mentor Pete Gillen.
Kansas over Oklahoma State - I just can't see the Jayhawks losing four in-a-row.
North Carolina over Maryland - Just like Hillary Swank, this one won't be pretty.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Chris Makes Up, and Then Answers, PTI's Questions
Because of the World Match Play Championships, PTI hasn't been on since Tuesday. In a weak attempt to fill that massive void in all of our lives, I made up PTI-like questions and answered them for your reading enjoyment.
Did the Kings get robbed in the Chris Webber trade?
Chris Webber is past his prime.
His knees have been a bit creaky since his 2003 surgery which has caused Webber to be a little less explosive on his drives, a little less accurate with his jumpshot and has taken a little hop out of his jump-step.
Since his infamous timeout in the 1993 NCAA Finals, C-Webb has never been a go-to guy late in the game and his penchant for sulking is well-known in NBA circles.
His body is a ticking time-bomb; every game he plays could be his last for the season or even his career.
But he’s still Chris Freakin’ Webber and why the Kings shipped him east to get Corliss Williamson and Kenny Thomas (and his $43 million contract) is totally and utterly baffling.
Did the Kings get robbed? No, liquor stores get robbed. The Kings got ripped off like the Lenape Indians at the sale of Manhattan. Not only did Sac-town get rid of their best player just to make Peja Stojakovic happy (is Pej’ taking advice from Kobe now), but they weren’t even able to get Glenn Robinson or one of the 76er's young guys like Samuel Dalembert or Kyle Korver in return. Seward’s Folly will soon give way to Petrie’s Folly in California’s capital.
I hate to still harp on this (actually I don’t, that just seems like the proper thing to say when you keep beating a dead horse), but Petrie didn’t even get guys with expiring contracts so he could free up cap space for LeBron and the future crop of free agents. He’s stuck with Kenny Thomas and Corliss Williamson until at least 2007 and that won’t cut it in the West.
Did the Vikings get robbed in the Randy Moss trade?
Minnesota didn’t get jobbed as bad as Sacramento, but they too didn’t get enough in return for trading their superstar.
In exchange for dealing Moss to Oakland, the Vikings will receive the 7th pick in this year’s draft and Napolean Harris, a solid, if unspectacular, linebacker who has yet to live up to the hype that surrounded him coming out of Northwestern.
Now, Minnesota was never going to get full value for Moss, but with this deal they didn’t even get half value. Imagine if HBO traded James Gandolfini to NBC in exchange for the black guy from Law & Order and a Last Call with Carson Daly guest to be named later and you’ll get an idea of how bad this trade is.
Moss is arguably the best receiver in the NFL, and while his attitude problems are well documented, it’s difficult to imagine that Harris and the 7th pick was really the best deal the Vikings could have received. (The inclusion of Harris in the trade is especially vexing when you consider that Minnesota already has E.J. Henderson on their roster, who is, essentially, the same exact player as Harris.)
I’ve never been a huge fan of Moss because he takes off on plays when he isn’t the intended target and blocks about as often as Bryant McKinnie skips a meal. But Randy’s game-breaking ability is unparalleled and it will be impossible for Minnesota to find a suitable replacement.
Still, the Vikes will be hunting for a new wideout via free agency (Plaxico Burress might be a good fit) and could use their newly acquired draft choice on either Braylon Edwards or Mike Williams, this year’s top two receiving prospects.
Moss will join Jerry Porter on the Raiders and the two will form the most formidable receiving duo in the league, which will make Norv Turner’s inability to get either of them the ball all the more hilarious.
Why isn’t Illinois getting more respect?
The ACC team with the lowest RPI is Florida State at 142. The Big Ten has four teams below that – Northwestern (144), Michigan (148), Purdue (214 – Gene Keady, what the hell happened?) and Penn State (222 – somehow the Nittany Lion brass has found a way to blame this on Joe Paterno).
So, the long and the short of it is, the Big Ten is terrible – that’s why Illinois isn’t getting the hype that a Duke or Kansas would be if they were undefeated.
The Big Ten is 5th in the conference RPI rankings and the lack of quality teams has hurt the Illini’s profile (amazingly, Illinois is only 3rd in the RPI).
Nobody thinks Bruce Weber’s team is overrated or that their undefeated record is the product of an easy schedule, but don’t expect the hype to reach epic proportions unless the Fighting Illini win the Big Ten Tournament. If that happens they’ll be the first team since UNLV in 1991 to enter the NCAA Tournament undefeated and the media will be all over the story like Clearasil on J.J Redick’s back.
I don’t think they’ll make it that far though. Look for Illinois to go down to Ohio State in the regular season finale. (And if not there, then sometime in the Big Ten Tourney.)
Does any team want a #1 seed?
Well, Boston College certainly doesn’t and Oklahoma State seems to be avoiding a top seed like the plague, as are all the other teams looking for to be a #1 (with the exception of Illinois and North Carolina).
Every contender for the two remaining #1 seeds has dropped a game within the last four days – Wake lost at Duke, Kansas lost at Oklahoma, Oklahoma State lost at Nebraska and Boston College lost at Villanova.
Each loss (with the exception of OSU’s) was acceptable, but damaging nonetheless.
Boston College had leapfrogged everyone to get in position for the final #1 seed, but their loss last night at Villanova drops them back down a few rungs and now the Eagles will likely have to win out (regular season and conference tournament) to get back on top.
Wake Forest’s loss to Duke was the least harmful of the contender’s losses and, at the moment, the Deacs have a stranglehold on a top spot and the requisite first-round date in Charlotte.
Oklahoma State blew a golden opportunity to snatch the Big 12’s #1 seed away from Kansas with their loss in the Husker state and now the conference championship will be decided Sunday when the Cowboys meet the Jayhawks in Lawrence.
Three weeks ago I predicted that Illinois, UNC, Wake and Kansas would get the #1 spots. I’m comfortable with the first three teams, but KU’s play of late has me and the Jayhawk Nation worried. Even a win against OSU wouldn’t be enough to clinch a top seed for Kansas, since they still have to go on the road to play arch-rival Missouri in the final game of the season. If Kansas should beat the Cowboys, but lose to Quin Snyder’s team, don’t be surprised if a darkhorse like Arizona or Kentucky sidles into a #1 seed.
I’m not man enough to predict that though, so I’ll stick with my original four.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how awesome is this picture?
So awesome that I’d trade both Chris Webber and Randy Moss for the portly, shaggy, suffixed-sign holding young man who has become my new hero.
(Thanks to Falkow and that 'Cuse lovin' Canadian Craig Hilts for the link.)
Toss Up:
Who will be in Dallas longer: Drew Bledsoe or Bill Parcells?
Bledsoe, because this year is going to be Parcells’ last season as a head coach in the NFL. Despite Len Pasquarelli’s report to the contrary, one has to assume that Bledsoe’s arrival in Big D is a sign of an ever-growing rift between the Big Tuna and the ‘Boys Skeletor-like owner Jerry Jones.
Jones loves Drew Henson (why he does is anybody’s guess… maybe he loved his range at third) and was upset when Parcells played Vinny Testaverde late in the season instead of giving the former Michigan quarterback a test drive.
Now, Henson is put on the back-burner again, this time in favor of another immobile, aging quarterback.
I’ve read a lot of revisionist history this week about Drew Bledsoe. One guy was wondering if he was Hall of Fame material (depends on which Hall of Fame – football, no. Hall of Fame for guys named Drew? First-ballot) and Peter King wrote a ludicrous column praising Scott Pioli for making the no-brainer decision to trade Bledsoe and keep Brady after Brady led the Pats to their first Super Bowl back in 2002. (Seriously, King made it seem like Pioli’s wisdom makes him a modern day Solomon.)
Some of these commentators are suggesting that Bledsoe will be the savior the Cowboys have been searching for since LaVar Arrington hit Troy Aikman into early retirement.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves people. Bledsoe’s last two seasons in Buffalo have been the worst of his career (excluding his rookie year). Over those seasons the former #1 pick has 31 TD against 28 INT and hasn’t topped the 3,000 yard plateau, something he did in each of his previous eight full seasons (he even topped 4,000 twice).
Bledsoe could have late-career renaissance like Rich Gannon, but it’s unlikely. Those years of throwing of 600 balls had to take effect on Bledsoe’s arm and body and a move to Dallas, where the best receivers are way past their prime, isn’t likely to cure it.
But, Bledsoe will likely start this year and if he does well will start in 2006. If not, his contract should be low enough to retain him as a backup.
Parcells, partly because of Jerry Jones and partly because the Cowboys will miss the playoffs again, will retire for good next January, leaving Dallas much like he found it when he arrived.
Who’s the best shooter in the country: J.J. Redick or Salim Stoudamire?
Let’s look at some statistics, shall we:
3P% FG%It’s easy to listen to Dick Vitale or watch Sportscenter and deduce that J.J. Redick is the best shooter in the nation simply because they say so. But the statistics tell a much different story.
Player A 49% 48%
Player B 42% 42%
If you showed the stats listed above to 100 college basketball fans, 100 would agree that Player A is the better shooter. If you took the statistics away though and just showed names, 100 would agree that Player B is the better shooter.
Player B, you won’t be surprised to hear, is J.J. Redick. Player A isn’t Salim Stoudamire though. Not even close. Player A is Chris Lofton, a freshman guard for Tennessee. Ever heard of him?
Of course you haven’t (most people that know all the words to “Rocky Top” probably haven't heard of him either), but that’s because guys like Dick Vitale continue to promote Redick as the best shooter and player in the country, even though other guys at schools other than Duke are putting up great numbers also. Vitale ignores the other guys and then raves about Redick being the best shooter he’s ever seen, despite evidence to the contrary.
True or False: J.J. Redick is the best free-throw shooter in the country?
Even Redick haters would have to admit that this is probably true, since J.J. is currently the NCAA’s all-time leader in the category. But this season Redick isn’t the best free-throw shooter in the country. He isn’t even the best free-throw shooter in his own conference. That distinction belongs to Maryland’s Chris McCray and I guarantee Dick Vitale isn’t mentioning that during Duke games.
Redick is now 4th in the country in free-throw shooting, by the way.
I still haven’t answered the original question, which was: Who is the better shooter: Redick or Salim Stoudamire?
The answer is, of course, Stoudamire – the single most underrated player in college basketball.
Much like Illinois, Stoudamire isn’t getting his hype because he plays in an inferior conference, but also because most of his games take run past midnight eastern time.
If you have caught an Arizona game though, you probably saw a guard with a mini-‘fro shooting lights out from all over the court.
Stoudamire is dropping it at a remarkable 56% clip from downtown and hits 54% of all shots. The knocks on Stoudamire are his defense and his penchant for turnovers, but his unconscious shooting more than makes up for it. That three-point percentage is nasty, people.
Stoudamire is, without question, the best shooter in the country. Redick maybe cracks the top 10.
How do you like your NBA: With an age-limit or without?
The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement expires before next season, so David Stern and player rep Billy Hunter have been hard at work trying to come up with a new CBA so the league can avoid a work-stoppage like the NHL couldn’t.
One of the league’s main desires is to install a minimum-age requirement. The rule would state that a player could only enter the NBA two years after his high school class graduates.
I will answer this question in-depth one day in the near future, but my short answer is simple: The NBA needs to do this in order to save the game.
Yes, LeBron wouldn’t be in the league right now if this rule existed, but he is the exception, not the rule. All other high-schoolers come into the league as unknowns and become impossible to market.
Look for this rule to be approved by the player’s union (it means more jobs for veterans) and for the inevitable lawsuit to be thrown out of court, a la the Maurice Clarett ruling.
More on this next week.
Barry’s press conference: Revealing or Creepy?
A little from column A… and a whole lot from column B.
My favorite part was when Barry started yelling at a reporter for asking, for the umpteenth time, about the grand jury testimony (which Bonds repeatedly said he wouldn’t talk about). Bonds then went into this five-minute diatribe on the guy and, at no point during so did his rambling, incoherent comments come close to anything that could possibly be considered a rational thought.
More surprising entry in Paris Hilton’s phonebook: Lil’ Bow Wow or John Stamos?
You aren’t anybody in Hollywood unless you have the number of John Stamos in your phonebook. I heard that Brad Pitt was denied a table at Spago once because he wasn’t able to produce Uncle Jesse’s Blackberry address to the maitre d’.
As for Lil’ Bow Wow – well, I just have so many inappropriate jokes brewing in my head that I’m going to call it a day.
In response to the question, neither John Stamos or Lil’ Bow Wizzie’s appearance in Ms. Hilton’s phonebook was surprising. However, the omission of Dave Coulier was.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
On the Bubble
Selection Sunday is a mere 18 days away. Some teams know they're in, while others are battling for their NCAA Tournament lives.
Chris's Sports Blog breaks it down:
America East
Bubble: Boston University, Vermont
Tom Brennan’s Catamounts are making a strong case to become the first team from the America East conference to receive an at-large bid to Tournament.
Behind All-America candidate Taylor Coppenrath, Vermont has an RPI of 20 (buoyed by road losses at Kansas and North Carolina) and leads the AmEast by two games over BU, a team that knocked them off earlier this month.
A disappointing road loss at Nevada put Vermont squarely back on the bubble and they will likely stay there until Selection Sunday if they don’t win the conference tournament.
However if the Catamounts should win out and lose to BU or Northeastern in the conference finals, the selection committee would have a hard time leaving them out since no team with an RPI of 33 or better has ever been left out of the Big Dance.
BU will likely to have win the America East Tournament to get in.
Atlantic Coast
Locks: North Carolina, Wake Forest, Duke
Bubble: Maryland, Miami, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, N.C. State
Last night’s shorthanded win over State put UNC in the driver’s seat for a #1 seed and even a late-season loss to Duke might not be enough to knock the Tar Heels off their perch.
Wake Forest is also in position for a top seed, especially after Oklahoma State’s shocking loss to Nebraska.
Tonight, Wake plays one of the most inexplicable late-season games in NCAA Basketball history, as they face off against tiny, one-win Longwood. The Lancers, in their first season in Division I, have a 1-28 record and an RPI of 330, which ranks dead last among Division I teams.
Wake could win by 90 points tonight and still take a massive hit in their RPI, which is what makes this match-up so unbelievable. What could Skip Prosser and AD Ron Wellman have been thinking when they scheduled this game?
Every ACC team gets two byes during the conference season, one on a weeknight and one on a weekend. Most teams choose to fill one of those games with a non-conference, made-for-TV game (Wake usually plays against Cincinnati) and then use the other bye for a week off. Not Wake… they chose to play a game against a team that has a picture of their coach on a bulldozer featured in their media guide.
The only reason that I could possibly fathom why Wake would be playing this game is because maybe Skip Prosser wanted to play a poor team late in the season so his team wouldn’t be caught off-guard by facing a 15 or 16 seed in the first-round of the tournament. Prosser’s teams have traditionally struggled against lesser opponents in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament and perhaps this match-up against Longwood is meant to prepare the Deacs for small teams without much talent. But even saying Longwood doesn’t have much talent is a stretch, since they got creamed by Utah Valley State and Division III’s Hampden-Sydney earlier this season. Every #16 seed in the Tournament would beat Longwood, so Wake probably won’t get any preparation from this game.
Money is the obvious reason why WFU would agree to this contest, but with all their sell-outs at Lawrence Joel this year, the Wake athletic department hardly needs a game against the worst team in Division I to break into the black.
This is a lose-lose game from Wake. If they play poorly and beat Longwood by only, say, 18 points, the team might become demoralized since Texas A&M-Corpus Christi beat them by 20. And even if Wake dominates, they still will take a hit in the RPI.
Like I said… this is the most absurd match-up that I can remember.
But I digress, I’m supposed to be writing about bubble teams, and one team that finds itself back on the bubble after scampering into “lock” status last week is the Maryland Terrapins.
After sweeping Duke, the Terps appeared to have wrapped up an at-large berth and seemed poised to roll into the Tournament on a high note.
Instead, Maryland has dropped two of three, including last night's humiliating home loss to Clemson, which gave the lowly Tigers the season sweep against the Terps.
At this point, Maryland doesn't deserve a spot in the NCAA Tournament. There is no way they should be getting swept by Clemson and N.C. State after doing the same to Duke.
It's as if John Gilchrist and his teammates think that the only games that matter are against the Blue Devils and everything else doesn't count. Last night, in particular, the lack of hustle in chasing down rebounds and loose balls was atrocious, as was the shotselection.
Maryland will eventually get into the Tournament (just imagine where MD would be if they hadn’t escaped Charlottesville with a double-OT win on Saturday), but it's safe to say that this year's Terps will go down with the '97 team in terms of wasted talent.
Georgia Tech is also a team that is hovering on the bubble that will find themselves with a berth come Selection Sunday. Their RPI (47) and reputation are both too high for the NIT.
That leaves us with Miami, Virginia Tech and N.C. State. Tech’s win over Duke catapulted them back on the bubble, but it was the Hokies win over Miami that made VT a serious contender for an at-large berth.
Both Va. Tech and State have low RPI’s (105 and 90, respectively), due in large part to a major tweak the NCAA made for their RPI formula for this season.
In year’s past, the RPI didn’t distinguish between home wins and road wins. This year, the NCAA correctly took steps to modify the formula, but overshot their value of said wins.
Now, a victory on the road counts as 1.4 wins while a home win only counts as .6. That is far too great a difference and has made for some interesting results.
Mid-major teams like Vermont, Gonzaga and Southern Illinois, who usually finish close to undefeated in their conferences, love the new formula since they accumulate so many road wins against inferior opponents. As a result, their RPI’s have skyrocketed.
Where the new formula hurts teams is in the so-called BCS Conferences, since wins on the road in those leagues are tough to come by. Losing on the road is no shame in the ACC, but now a poor road record negates good home wins.
Let’s say an ACC teams finishes a respectable 8-8 in the conference (which is normally enough to get a team in). It would be realistic for that team to have finished 6-2 at home and 2-6 on the road, totals which would equal 6.4 wins. In essence, the solid home record is rendered irrelevant because of expected road losses.
A mid-major team that finishes 11-5 in their conference (6-2 at home, 5-3 on the road) would have 10.6 wins in the eyes of the RPI, a huge difference even when factoring in strength of opponents and the like. Most would argue that 8-8 in the ACC is a far superior achievement to finishing 11-5 in the Missouri Valley, but not the RPI.
Even worse for the schools in major conferences is that big home wins (like Virginia Tech over Duke) don’t mean as much under the new system.
Of course, Virginia Tech didn’t do itself any good by dropping games to VMI and St. John’s early in the season, so they would have nothing to complain about if they don’t go dancing.
Miami (FL) has the highest RPI (50) of the three true ACC bubble teams, but their 2-5 record against the RPI Top 50 will come back to haunt them.
At least one of the three true ACC bubble teams will make it, with as many as two going. The selection committee doesn’t want to see Virginia Tech continue to win, since they’d have to break from their beloved RPI. But two more conference wins gets them in and with State, Clemson and Maryland remaining on their schedule, it’s not hard to imagine the Hokies finishing with a 9-7 ACC record.
Atlantic 10
Lock: George Washington
Bubble: St. Joseph’s
Last year’s Tournament darlings, the St. Joe’s Hawks have rebounded from a disastrous 3-8 start to climb back to 15-9 overall and 12-1 in the weak A-10. Phil Martelli’s team shouldn’t wait around for an at-large berth though, since the only his team could possibly get one is if they lose to GW in the A-10 finals.
The Colonials are as good as in thanks to their wins over Maryland and Michigan State, but can’t afford any bad losses or they’ll be back on the bubble.
Big 12
Locks: Kansas, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech
Bubble: Iowa State, Texas
Who wants to win the Big 12? After Kansas gift-wrapped the top of the conference for OSU following three straight losses, the Cowboys slipped up against Nebraska, leaving the conference up for grabs once again.
While those two will duke it out for a #1 seed, Oklahoma and Texas Tech can feel comfortable with their Tournament invites.
Iowa State and Texas are probably two more wins from feeling comfortable, but both will make it to the Tournament giving the Big 12 six in the field of 65.
Big East
Locks: Boston College, Syracuse, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Villanova
Bubble: Georgetown
The Big East’s big four will all be five seeds or better (the best conference showing) and Notre Dame could sneak as high as a six or seven if they continue their hot streak.
Villanova might be a little iffy as a “lock”, but I can’t imagine a scenario where the Wildcats wouldn’t make their first NCAA’s since 1999, so they get the distinction.
Georgetown has spent part of their season in the “lock” column, but the Hoyas have slipped of late (can’t lose to St. John’s) and need to finish strong to make their first tournament since 2001.
Big 10
Locks: Illinois, Michigan State, Wisconsin
Bubble: Minnesota
My, how the Big 10 has fallen. When Indiana needs two big wins (vs. Michigan State/at Wisconsin) just to get back on the bubble, you know the Big 10 has problems.
Colonial Athletic
Bubble: Old Dominion
Tough loss to George Mason, but the Monarchs are still in good shape for a bid, provided they win out and don’t lose too early in their conference tournament. Winning the whole thing would thing would make all the RPI and quality wins discussions moot though.
Conference USA
Locks: Louisville, Cincinnati, Charlotte
Bubble: DePaul, Memphis
Memphis, left for dead after their early-season woes, has climbed back onto the bubble and is in prime contention for an at-large berth with their 9-3 C-USA record.
Quemont Greer and DePaul (sorry, I just love mentioning Quemont Greer) are also in at the moment.
There are a slew of Conference USA teams that could play their way back onto the bubble (Marquette, UAB, Houston, TCU), but until a team emerges from the logjam of .500 teams in the middle of the conference, C-USA’s bids appear to be set.
Mid-American
Bubble: Miami (OH), Buffalo
Miami and Buffalo? Since when did the MAC turn into the AFC East?
The Red Hawks are in solid position for an at-large berth if they should fall in the conference tournament, while Division I newbie Buffalo will need to make a deep run in the MAC tourney to garner at-large consideration.
Missouri Valley
Lock: Southern Illinois
Bubble: Wichita State, Creighton
The Salukis look set to ruin the Wolfman’s bracket again in this year’s NCAA Tournament, while the Blue Jays and Shockers will battle it out for the MVC’s second bid. (It would be hard to imagine the selection committee giving the MVC three bids, unless some major conference teams stumble to the finish).
Mountain West
Lock: Utah
Andrew Bogut’s stock is already sky high, but a dominating performance in the NCAA will raise his national profile to Carmelo-like proportions.
Pacific 10
Locks: Arizona, Washington
Bubble: Stanford, UCLA
Salim Stoudamire makes J.J. Redick look like Ollie from Hoosiers.
Stanford and UCLA will both earn at-large berths.
Patriot
Bubble: Holy Cross
The Crusaders could merit at-large consideration if they don’t win the Patriot League tournament, but winning it would remove all doubt.
If Holy Cross doesn’t win it, the selection committee should put them in anyway (it wouldn’t be a gift, the team has an RPI of 39) since they are guaranteed to play a classic 1st round game (see previous games vs. Kansas and Kentucky).
Southeastern
Locks: Kentucky, Florida, Alabama, LSU
Bubble: Mississippi State, South Carolina, Vanderbilt
Mississippi State will get in, but I put them in the bubble column because they’re a bunch of underachievers that will almost certainly not see the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
South Carolina and Vanderbilt both need to win three of their last four to make it.
Southern
Bubble: Davidson
The tiny North Carolina school is 15-0 in conference play and will finish undefeated with a win against Wofford this weekend.
Personally, I think the NCAA should make a rule that if a team finishes undefeated in conference play, they should get an at-large berth regardless of what happens in their conference tournament. Running the table in a conference over a 16-game schedule is a much more impressive feat than getting hot over a three day span in early March.
Davidson should be rewarded for their achievement and not have to worry about winning their conference tournament.
Plus, who wouldn’t rather see a team like Davidson in the tournament rather than the likes of Virginia Tech or South Carolina.
While the Wildcats story is a nice one and their RPI proves they are for real (48, although they are the beneficiaries of the new formula), it will probably take a conference tournament victory for them to dance.
West Coast
Lock: Gonzaga
Bubble: St. Mary’s
Few bad losses and that win over Gonzaga will likely push the Gaels into the tournament.
Western Athletic
Lock: Nevada
Bubble: UTEP
A few bad losses and falling to Pacific will likely push the Miners into the NIT.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Tuesday Thoughts "Since I don’t feel like paying a fine and getting a two-hour lecture on a conference call with John Swofford and Fred Barakat, I’m going to bite my lip and not say that Coach K wields more influence on officials than Carlo Gambino had over Federal judges. Nor will I say that Duke wouldn’t have even lost to the Globetrotters tonight, since there was no way the ACC would let the Blue Devils drop their third straight game. Losing streaks are for Clemson; they don’t happen at Duke, where the sun always shines and the streets are paved with a combination of lollipops and gold. I also won’t ask if you saw that foul they called on Jamaal Levy when Duke threw the ball out of bounds. He wasn’t within two feet of a Duke player! But I didn’t say that. I can't, or else I'll end up with the severed head of a Demon Deacon in my bed when I wake up tomorrow morning. I won’t get started on the ridiculousness of Redick’s four-point play either and how one of the refs wanted to give him five points because Redick was, in his words, "like, so awesome at basketball." Also, instead of saying “Jeez, the calls tonight made the ’72 Olympic Basketball Final look fair”, I’ll keep that nugget restricted to my inner-thoughts along with my recurring dream where I punch Krzyzewski while standing in front of a mirror, so he can watch me kick the crap out of him. That’s it from me. Goodnight. Oh wait, J.J. Redick’s a tool and has more backne than Jason Giambi and Jose Canseco. I will say that. Alright, I’m really done now.”
- Looks like I wasn’t the only one displeased with the officiating in Sunday night’s Wake Forest-Duke game.
In his post-game press conference Wake coach Skip Prosser expressed his displeasure with the referees, taking particular umbrage at the rough play of Duke walk-on Patrick Davidson, who could have beat down Chris Paul with a crowbar and still not gotten a foul called.
The normally mild-mannered Prosser, fully conscious of the fact that complaining about calls after a Duke game would result in a fine and/or smiting from the heavens, chose his words carefully when discussing the foul situation after the game. Reporters in the room said they could actually see the sarcasm dripping off Prosser's words when he said:"Duke does a great job of guarding hard without fouling. We have to learn to do a little better job of that because it seems that we foul more than they do and we're trying to guard as hard as they are.”
Translation:
- Much like Travis Tritt, the Kansas Jayhawks are in T-R-O-U-B-L-E, trouble.
In their last three games, the supposedly efficient KU offense has finished with 63, 56 and 69 points at the end of regulation. 56 points? James Naismith's teams were putting up more than that and they were playing with peach baskets.
The past two games (vs. Iowa State and at Oklahoma) were huge contests for the Jayhawks, yet they came out flat from the tip and never seemed to get in any sort of groove on the offensive end, not a good sign for a team expected to contend for the National Title.
Wayne Simien didn’t shoot much in the loss to Iowa State, Keith Langford has been shooting free throws like Chris Dudley and J.R. Giddens has been giving John Gilchrist a run for the money for the coveted “Most Inexplicable Draft Prospect” award.
What’s the cause of all the problems in Lawrence?
Maybe the Jayhawks are tired. Bill Self is reluctant (for good reason) to dip into his bench and fatigue could be a factor. KU has three extra sessions in their last three games, after all.
Or Kansas could just be stuck in their February rut. Connecticut went through the same thing last year before winning the National Title.
Spiro, Chris’s Sports Blog resident college basketball expert, has another theory: “I am not sure that the "Roy Williams players" have bought into the "Bill Self system." It was easy for UNC's players to buy into Roy Williams - after all UNC had missed the NCAA two straight years and were generally regarded as a bunch of misfits. However, for KU's players who had already tasted so much success with Roy Williams, adjusting to Self's half court, high low style has not been a walk in the park.”
Whatever it is, Kansas needs to fix it, fast. With the showdown for a #1 seed looming this Sunday against Oklahoma State, the Jayhawks have no time to regroup.
- Illinois and UNC seem to have their #1 seeds wrapped-up (although UNC could easily lose theirs if they slip-up against N.C. State and Duke), which means that Boston College, Wake Forest, Kansas and Oklahoma State will be battling for the final two.
It's unlikely that both KU and OSU will get a top seed and even more unlikely that neither of them will, so that leaves Boston College and Wake Forest to duke it out for the final spot. BC has the advantage at the moment, but if they should lose to Villanova or Pitt before the Big East tournament, the #1 seed will be Wake's to lose.
- I have no clue what to think about the Laveranues Coles saga that is gripping the Nation’s Capital.
A brief summary for those who have no clue what I’m talking about: Redskins WR Laveranues Coles apparently wants out of Washington, and let Joe Gibbs know as much during a meeting the day after the season ended. The reason: Coles was unhappy in Gibbs’ offense. The Washington Post reported in yesterday’s editions that Gibbs would grant Coles his release, as long as the wideout was willing to pay back some of his $13 million signing bonus. Yesterday afternoon, however, the Redskins said they wouldn’t cut Coles but would attempt to trade him.
Some thoughts:
This year though, more often than not, whenever me and my boys would bring up Coles during games, it was to criticize him. Either he dropped the ball or didn’t make a block or got called for a worthless holding penalty. Rare was the time that we celebrated a play made by Laveranues Coles.
By week seven I was reluctantly comparing him to Peerless Price, the quintessential second-receiver getting first-receiver treatment. Peerless made his bones in Buffalo, where he tore up the second corner on opposing defenses because Eric Moulds was drawing the attention from the top dog. The moment Peerless went to Atlanta and started getting covered by a defense's best corner, the only thing he became Peerless in was the amount in which he sucked. James Thrash had a similar experience when he went to Philadelphia after beginning his career in Washington. Thrash is a great third receiver, and that’s it. Once he was the go-to guy, he flopped like Daniel Ewing taking a charge.
Coles was the #2 guy with the Jets, behind Santana Moss, when he had his break-out year. Maybe Laveranues was never cut out to be a #1 guy... Just a thought.
That being the case, one would have to assume that Vinny Cerrato will be in the market for another wideout. Derrick Mason, Mushin Muhammad and Issac Bruce are all marquee names (and we know how much Snyder likes marquee names) and will likely draw attention from the Redskins. (An aside: The Coles meeting with Gibbs took place in early January, yet was just leaked to the media this weekend. Why? I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this story appeared in The Post the day after the Titans announced they were preparing to release Derrick Mason… but that’s just me.) Anyway, it’s very likely the Redskins will overpay for one of these receivers (Mason, obviously, is my early front-runner).
But even if the ‘Skins should get one of those wideouts, the other side of the field will still be vacant (there’s no way Gibbs goes into the season with Taylor Jacobs starting), meaning Washington will try to fill the gap via the draft. With the 9th pick this year and Mike Williams and Braylon Edwards likely to be available, it would surprise nobody if the Redskins went with a recevier. It would make a lot of people mad though.
In the past, the Redskins have had bad luck with taking receivers in the first-round. (If you want to see a grown man cry, find a ‘Skins fan and say the names Desmond Howard or Michael Westbrook.) Recently, the team hasn’t fared much better.
Two years ago, the Redskins gave up the 13th pick in the 2004 draft in order to acquire Coles. Two years earlier, Washington used their first-round pick on Gardner, who has been an unqualified bust.
Four years, two receivers, two first-round picks: nothing to show for it in 2005.
So of course it makes perfect sense to fill that void by taking yet another receiver in the first-round.
Picking a wideout in the first-round hasn't worked the previous four times the Redskins have tried it. Maybe the front office thinks the fifth time will be the charm.
Monday, February 21, 2005
Tobacco Robbery
(Note: I started writing about the Wake-Duke game, but soon after turning on my computer, Larry Rose whistled me for five quick fouls and I found myself back on the bench. Here's what I had written before being called for my final foul (stepping on DeMarcus Nelson's shoelace):
Considering that the officials had already determined who was going to win last night's Wake Forest-Duke game before it began, don't you think it would have been nice to let Wake know in advance so they could have stayed in Winston?
The officiating in Cameron last night by Larry Rose, Bryan Kersey and Leslie Jones was atrocious from the opening tip and didn't let up until the final buzzer sounded.
Apparently the refs didn't realize they were allowed to call fouls on walk-on starters, as they let Patrick Davidson maul Chris Paul on Wake's opening possessions. It was as if they were saying to Coach K, "we're on on-board with your whole motivational strategy, Coach. You want this stiff to play way-too physical defense on Wake's best player to set the tone and pump up your guys and the crowd? Noooo problem. Hey, we'll do you one better... we won't call a foul on him until he gets in a few good elbows and slaps on Paul!"
Not only did the refs play right into Krzyzewski's hands, but that scowling prick had the audacity to bitch about the calls. He looked like he was trying to pull a Norman Dale and get T'd up on purpose (another motivational technique perhaps? Did they teach that one at West Point?), but since he's Coach K, the refs were too scared to do so.
From then on, the officials dictated the pace of the game and Wake never stood a chance.
Don't get me wrong, Duke out-played Wake late in the contest, but the game was decided in the first few minutes of each half when the refs got two of the Deacs best players (Justin Gray and Jamaal Levy) into foul trouble and made it clear that J.J. Redick wasn't to be touched.
At one point Vytas Danelius was called for a foul while guarding Redick and I could have sworn that when the ref was giving the foul to the scorer's table he said: "Number 1-3... Gold... Breathed on Duke player."
And what was with all those tech's? I half-expected Jamaal Levy to get a second one for blinking too much.
I'm sure I'll hear from some Dukies that will defend the officiating by saying, "Wake only had one more team foul than Duke did in the game." But that stat is as inconsequential as Jason Williams' NBA career.
With 13:00 left in the second half and Duke in the midst of 21-9 run, Wake Forest had been whistled for eight team fouls while their opponents only had three. The fouls on Wake gave Duke momentum early in the half, which the Deacs never recovered from.
Sure, the refs eventually evened-up the fouls, but the calls they made against Duke were quite different from the ones they made against Wake.
The majority of fouls called on the Demon Deacons were either shooting fouls or offensive fouls. Obviously, when Wake is whistled for a shooting foul, Duke gets to attempt free throws. When the Deacs are called for an offensive foul, a turnover occurs, giving Duke the ball (while sometimes taking WFU points off the baord.) In both of those instances, Duke either gains points or possession based on Wake Forest fouls.
The make-up calls against Duke, however, were almost always touch fouls that occurred far from the basket. In that case, the penalty is minimal for Duke. They are simply charged with a team foul as Wake maintains possession. The Deacs gain no advantage, the discrepancy in team fouls evens out and nobody is the wiser.
It's a joke, just like officiating in the ACC.
For years, Mike Krzyzewski used to complain that there were two sets of rules in the Atlantic Coast Conference: One for Dean Smith and one for everybody else.
Maybe Mike, Dean and the pot that called the kettle black can go get some brunch tomorrow to discuss the irony of it all.
Friday, February 18, 2005
Duke Gets Served
When you live by the three, you die by the three, and last night Duke died by the three, just as they have in each of their four losses this season.
Virginia Tech’s upset of the 8th ranked Blue Devils will be looked at by many as a sign that Duke has lost it and that their early success was nothing but a mirage. In reality, Duke was never as good as their start indicated and aren’t as bad as their loss last night would suggest.
The Blue Devils have always been a team that needs to shoot a high-percentage of jump shots in order to win. If those shots aren’t falling, then Duke’s interior players have to grab at least a dozen offensive rebounds and accumulate second-chance points.
Last night they didn’t (hitting 39% of their FG’s and 27% beyond the arc), and didn’t (six offensive rebounds, two less than VT forward Coleman Collins), yet still had a chance to tie with under five seconds remaining, but Daniel Ewing pushed his three-point attempt a few inches left and Virginia Tech emerged with the biggest win in school history.
Tech’s victory throws the middle of the ACC into chaos, as one game now separates fourth place from eighth. Georgia Tech and NC State, in particular, must have cringed when they heard last night’s result, since both are now looking up at Virginia Tech in the ACC standings.
The Hokies poor RPI (113) will likely keep them from an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, and that could spell big trouble for GT and NCSU.
If Va. Tech doesn’t get into the Big Dance, it might be tough for the selection committee to justify giving bids to two schools that finished behind them in the conference standings.
Even if Seth Greenberg’s team doesn’t make the field of 65 though, he has to be proud of the way his team competed in their inaugural year in the ACC.
I’ve been an outspoken critic of the ACC expansion, and will continue to be for as long I live. John Swofford sold the soul of the conference for one lousy football game per year and due to him and the hypocritical, money-grubbing university presidents, the proud tradition of ACC basketball, with the double round-robin format and Mid-Atlantic membership, is now a distant memory, replaced by an unbalanced schedule and schools stretching from Boston to Miami.
Even with expansion’s bitter taste still lingering, I have to give credit to Greenberg, the Virginia Tech players and, most importantly, Hokie fans. (Take notice, because this will be the last time I ever praise anybody associated with VT.)
It would have been easy for Tech to come into the ACC, roll-over for the powerhouses and play in front of half-empty crowds at Cassell Coliseum, as they did during their short time in the Big East. Instead Tech’s on-campus arena is filled to the rafters and the fans have instantly made Cassell an intimidating place to play.
When Wake played in Blacksburg the crowd stayed loud even when the Deacs pulled out to a 20-point lead and then, late in the second half, the fans seemed to will their Hokies back into the game. Last night they got on J.J. Redick like they were old ACC pros.
Cassell will be a tough place to play for years to come and with the Duke win, one has to believe that Seth Greenberg’s recruiting will become a whole lot easier. Seven national television appearances this season (up from one a year ago) won’t hurt either.
For Duke, the loss knocks them out of the race for the ACC regular season title, but Mike Krzyzewski had to know that his team was playing with house money this season and the ACC title was merely a pipe dream.
The Devils never had a realistic shot at slipping by Wake and UNC and last night simply confirmed that. The loss changes nothing for the Dukies.
Forget what people are saying this morning about how Virginia Tech exposed Duke’s weaknesses, because that’s nonsense: Duke’s weaknesses had been exposed long before Daniel Ewing bricked that three-pointer.
Coach K’s team has no depth (which, contrary to popular sentiment, is entirely his fault – he had to know Luol Deng was going pro after his freshman year and couldn’t have been surprised when Shaun Livingston skipped college like everybody had been predicting) and relies too much on jump shots. And like any team that is dependent on mid-to-long-range jumpers, when the shots don’t fall, they lose.
If the shots are going in, Duke can hang with any other jump-shooting team in the country. But against high-octane offenses like Wake Forest and North Carolina, the Blue Devils have to do a lot more than hit 50% from behind the arc to stay competitive. The problem is, the team really doesn't have the personnel to do that.
Shelden Williams has been an anchor in the middle, but without a competent forward on the floor, defenses can double him, play zone out on the perimeter and force Duke to hit their shots, which they haven’t been doing of late.
Opposing defenses are happy to give Williams his 16 points and Redick his 18 as long as Shavlik Randolph and Sean Dockery stay in single-digits.
Dick Vitale might think Daniel Ewing is the most underrated player in the country, but he turns the ball over way too much (1.4/1 assist-to-turnover ratio) and isn’t particularly effective from long-range.
It’s rare that a Duke team can’t rely on their point guard for production, but that’s exactly what Coach K is dealing with this year. Without a distributor, Duke players are forced to create their own shots (J.J. Redick, in particular, is not adept at this skill) and often get poor looks, which leads to missed shots.
This was a problem long before last night and was evident even when Duke was in the midst of their 15-game winning streak to start the year.
It’s clear the Blue Devils aren’t in the same class as Wake and Carolina (lost in the excitement over Duke’s win against the Heels was the fact that UNC played absolutely terrible and Duke played great, yet the game wasn’t decided until the final buzzer).
That doesn’t mean they can’t beat those teams, but with their thin bench, weak point guard and lack of forwards (don’t write me to say that Shelden Williams is a forward, he’s not, he plays center), the Blue Devils are at a decided disadvantage against college basketball’s premiere teams and are vulnerable every time they step on the court.
In one game, Virginia Tech forced Duke to show all their flaws, managed to sneak back onto the bubble and made coaches from Atlanta to College Park nervous about their own NCAA chances.
Not bad for a team picked to finish next-to-last in the best basketball conference in the country.
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Answering Questions Directed Towards Somebody Else
Yesterday, Andy Katz hosted a chat on ESPN.com. Today, I'll answer some of the questions that were asked as if they were directed towards me.
Richard (Columbus, OH): Andy, what is more important in getting a #1 for the NCAA when it comes to the ACC? regular season title, or tourney title?
It depends on which team you’re talking about. Chances are that the school who wins the ACC regular season title (Wake Forest, Duke or Carolina – with Wake holding the tiebreaker against UNC and likely against Duke, even if the Deacs should lose to the Blue Devils this Sunday) will get a #1 seed in the NCAA’s, no matter what happens in the ACC tournament.
Those three teams have been in the Top 10 all season and the selection committee will have to reward the winner of the best conference in the country, even if they suffer an early exit in the ACC’s.
With Illinois and Kansas likely to take the two other #1 seeds, there will be one more available come conference tournament time. Kentucky, Oklahoma State, Boston College and the remaining two ACC teams will all be candidates.
If one of those two remaining schools wins the ACC Tournament, then they’re almost guaranteed to get the final #1 seed, although even a finals loss might be good enough for an ACC team to grab a top seed, provided none of the other non-ACC teams wins their respective conference tournaments.
At this point, Kentucky has the strongest case of the other schools in the hunt for the #1 seed, with Oklahoma State close behind and Boston College running a distant third.
The lack of competition in the SEC might hurt the Wildcats’ resumé, but if they can run the tables from here on out, it would be hard to deny Kentucky a top spot, even with their loss to South Carolina on Tuesday.
An OSU Big 12 title would likely have to go through Kansas, and a win like that would probably be enough to give the conference two #1 seeds.
But, Kansas always does well in the Big 12 tournament (at least they did under Roy Williams) so expect OSU to nab a #2 seed.
Boston College will lose at least two more games before the NCAA Tournament, but with every other team in the Top 10 slipping, the Eagles could still hang onto a #2.
Getting back to the ACC, there’s always one team that puts together a surprising run in the conference tourney (Maryland last year, NC State the year before), and this year should be no different. One team that is currently on the bubble (or even off it completely) will win a few games in D.C. and give the selection committee a seeding headache.
The surprise team could be a squad on the bubble looking to clinch an NCAA berth (Georgia Tech) or a band of underachievers seeking respect (Virginia) or a terrible team that can only seem to beat Maryland (Clemson).
Quick predictions: Wake Forest wins the regular season title, followed by UNC and then Duke, who will be behind by more than people think. Wake then loses to N.C. State in the second round of the ACC’s, while UNC beats State in the Finals.
Matt (Bethlehem, PA): Andy, What do you think Kansas has to do to hold onto their apparent #1 seed?
The Jayhawks have three tough games remaining (at Oklahoma, vs. Oklahoma State and at Missouri – yes, Missouri is terrible and if Quin Synder was anybody else besides Quin Synder he’d be an assistant coach at Vanderbilt, but the KU-Mizzou rivalry is a fierce one and you can throw records out the door when they meet. And doesn't the fact that Synder's first name si spelled Q-U-I-N instead of Q-U-I-N-N make him eminently more hatable?)
If the Jayhawks win two out of those three and then make it to at least the semis of their conference tournament, they’ll get a #1 seed. This, of course, is all dependent on Oklahoma State not winning out. If the Cowboys do that, they’ll get a top seed and Kansas will be battling the schools mentioned above for the 4th #1 seed.
For what it’s worth (nothing), I think Illinois, Kansas, Wake Forest and UNC will grab the #1 seeds.
Ryan (Boston): Hey Andy! I have a question concerning Boston College. What do they have to do to earn a #1 seed?
BC needs to watch a Three’s Company marathon on Nick at Nite and then, culling inspiration from Jack Tripper and Larry, tell the Illinois team they set them up on a blind date with the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders and that they’re supposed to meet at a storage facility. Once the Illini walk into the storage room, the BC team should pop out of the shadows, lock the doors, steal their jerseys and play as Illinois for the rest of the season. Then, after each game they would meet the gang at the Regal Beagle (Mr. Furley excluded, because he wouldn't know about this since he'd probably narc) and share laughs over some beers as the credits roll.
That’s pretty much the only way BC will get a #1 seed, unless Al Skinner decides to sleep with C.M. Newton.
Brandon (Greensboro, NC): Andy, you were at the Duke-UNC game, so what is the deal with Rashad McCants and Ray Felton in big games? It seems like the former loses interest and the latter can't hold on to the ball. Whatcha think?
Felton has never been a big game guy. He choked against Texas last year in the NCAA Tournament and has been handled by both Chris Paul and the vastly underrated Daniel Ewing this season.
Paul, in particular, wrecked Felton on both ends, thus proving correct Rashad McCants’ assertion that Paul is the better point guard.
McCants reminds me, in a way, of Manny Ramirez, minus the wild hair, copious tobacco use and penchant for right-field throwing errors.
I kind of get the feeling that McCants asks Sean May on the plane who the Heels are playing that night and even if May would respond, “the Lakers”, McCants would nod and put back on his oversized headphones blasting the Game CD. He just never really seems to be too aware of what’s going on.
McCants played well against Wake, and not so well against Duke (but nobody on UNC played well at Cameron), but he's streaky in most of his games, so I wouldn’t read too much into that.
Felton might have McNabbulosis, and if he does, all the Tar Heel hype will end quickly this March.
By the way, if Sean May played on Duke, Dick Vitale would be proclaiming him the greatest center of all-time. May gets the least press of Carolina’s starters (even UNC sixth-man Marvin Williams gets more pub), yet is their best player.
He’s like the George Harrison of the Tar Heels.
JamesOn Curry, by the by, fits the Pete Best role quite nicely.
Justin (Rapid City): Give me good news Andy... Minnesota will be in the tourney right???
Some good news? Well, I did just save a bunch of money on my car insurance, but that probably isn’t the kind of February cheer you were looking for. So, it is with some certainty that I can make your day: Minnesota will be in the tourney.
But it won’t be the NCAA’s (maniacal laughter and hand-wringing).
The Gophers loss to Northwestern likely popped their tournament bubble and barring a deep run in the Big 10 tournament, Minnesota will likely find itself the third or fourth team out of the field of 65.
But, since I don’t want to rain on your parade, you can take solace in the fact that when Minnesota makes it to the NIT they often cut down the nets in the Garden (two NIT titles for the Golden Gophers in the past 12 years).
Richard (Raleigh): What does NC State need to do in order to slip into the Dance? 8-8 in the ACC? Make it to at least the finals in the ACC tourney? Thanks alot!
Last night’s win against Maryland (a game that didn’t even need to be played since everybody knew the Terps would come out flatter than month-old Sprite, due to MD thinking that the only games that count are against Duke) gave State a stay of execution, but the Pack still face a steep climb to the Tournament.
NC State has a 5-7 ACC record, but has games against UNC and Wake (both at home) coming up. Their other two games (vs. Va. Tech and at UVA) are winnable, but 7-9 might not be enough to sneak the Wolfpack in due to their surprisingly low RPI (81).
Herb Sendek teams always find ways to creep into the field of 65 though and nobody should be surprised if they do it again this year. After all, Julius Hodge didn't spend nine years in college to make the NIT in his final season.
If State can win three out of their last four and win a game or two in the ACC’s, the selection committee would almost have to take them. But if they don’t, their bubble would likely be burst by a miserable non-conference RPI.
It seems that Herb Sendek took a cue from the Georgetown teams of the late ‘80s in his scheduling this season, playing early season games againt Campbell, Liberty, Manhattan, Elon, Louisiana-Lafayette, Columbia and New Orleans.
As a result, State’s non-conference strength-of-schedule ranked 273rd in the country, behind such perennial college basketball powerhouses like Winthrop, Maryland Eastern-Shore, UC-Riverside, Longwood and Stony Brook. Seriously, when Stony Brook is scheduling tougher games than you, you’ve gotta problem.
A 5-7 record against the RPI Top 100 won’t do State any favors either. If the Pack finish at 8-8 in the ACC, that would mean they’d get a marquee win against either Wake Forest or UNC, which would probably be enough to push their RPI into the high 50’s. That, coupled with a first-round ACC Tournament win, might be enough.
But, if I were Herb Sendek, I’d probably start scouting Minnesota.
Jordan (Philadelphia): How come it seems like everyone is counting Syracuse out. I mean there what 22 and 3? There ranked number nine and i dont think thats fair. Andy, is Syracuse under rated?
Syracuse is perfectly rated and Jordan is a girl’s name. (How do I know that Jordan from Philadelphia isn’t a girl? Because most girls understand the difference between “they’re” and “there”).
Anyway, I picked Syracuse to go to the Final Four this year and so far I haven’t seen anything that would prove me right or wrong.
Hakim Warrick is a threat on both ends and if Gerry McNamara is hot, the ‘Cuse can be unstoppable. But, Warrick has his off games and McNamara hasn’t been able to find his touch in big contests as of yet (he was 5-21 against Pitt on Monday night).
This season Syracuse has been about as mediocre as a 22-win team can be. They have yet to beat a good team, but haven’t lost to a bad team either. (The Orange’s four losses have come to ranked schools, yet their best win is only against Villanova - and, yes... I know Syracuse beat Mississippi State, but the Bulldogs are terrible and won't see the second weekend of the tournament.)
Saturday’s game against Boston College will be very telling for both schools and should determine which team is a serious Final Four candidate.
TFF (Arlington, VA): Mike Davis: Stay or Gone next year?
Unless Indiana can somehow sneak into the Tournament, I’d have to say it’s curtains for Mike Davis.
Since the Hoosiers made their magical run to the 2002 NCAA Final (where they lost to Maryland), the team has stumbled to a 46-40 record, which wouldn’t cut it at Iowa, let alone at one of the most successful programs in college basketball history.
From 1972 to 1979 Bobby Knight’s Hoosier teams lost a grand total of 43 games. Mike Davis has reached that in a little over 2 ½ seasons.
On the bright side, I hear there’s a great Kinko’s in Bloomington, which could help Davis in fancying up his resume.
Joey (Durham): What teams do you think have a legitmate shot of winning the championship this year. Where is Duke at on that list.
Anything can happen in the NCAA Tournament, which is why it’s the greatest event in sports. But, except for the odd years when a Villanova or N.C. State snatch the title away from heavily favored teams, the winner of the Tournament usually isn’t all that surprising.
Last year most people had UCONN winning, the year before Syracuse was kind of a dark-horse (and remember, they should have lost to tournament favorite Kansas in the Finals and would have, if KU had managed to shoot a mere 52% from the free-throw line (the Jayhawks shot 40% from the line in what ended up being Roy Williams’ final game with the team)) and in the years prior, Maryland, Duke and Michigan State were all favorites headed in.
This year, I think there are six teams that can realistically cut down the nets.
Obviously, things can change between now and Selection Sunday and once the brackets come out everything will become more clear, but at this point my six teams most likely to win are (in order): Kansas, Wake Forest, Illinois, North Carolina, Oklahoma State and Syracuse.
Duke’s bench is too thin and they rely too much on three-pointers to win six in a row. Plus, they’ve lost to Maryland twice, and Maryland just got swept by N.C. Friggin’ State.
Dave (Washington DC): How can you say Comcast is better than the Carrier Dome? Come on, what other venue gets 30,000+ for a home game. NBA teams can't do that. The Dome is the best place to play if you are a player. (Plus the Carrier Dome serves Beer, a plus for most fans over 21)
More fans don’t make for better fans, just ask the Redskins. The 54,000 people that crammed into RFK were ten times as loud as the 93,000 that watch from FedEx Field.
The Carrier Dome is too big and too sterile to be a great arena. Comcast isn’t that great either (anything would be a step down from Cole Field House), but I'd bet it gets louder than the Dome.
For my money, I’ll take the old, on-campus arenas like Cameron and Allen Fieldhouse any day over the new ones with their luxury boxes and Starbucks stands.
And, for your information, Comcast Center has beer also, chucklehead.
Ken (NYC): Better division top to bottom... the Big East or ACC?
If Wake Forest, UNC and Duke played in the Big East, they would be the top three teams in the conference. If Boston College, Syracuse and Pittsburgh played in the ACC, they would be somewhere in between Miami and Clemson in the standings.
That’s all I need to know before naming the ACC the best conference in college basketball.
Those that say the Big East is a better conference because they’ll get seven teams into the Tournament while the ACC will be fortunate to get six probably think that Leno is funnier than Letterman because he gets higher ratings.
Steve (Minneapolis, MN): Who do you think wins Big East Rookie of the Year Rudy Gay or Jeff Green.
Georgetown’s Jeff Green doesn’t have the hype that Gay has, but he has clearly had the better season. Green has been the Big East Rookie of the Week five times, is averaging 13 and 7 and drops double-doubles in big games like a young Emeka Okafor.
Gay is a great talent also, but is averaging less points and rebounds per game and is the 5th option on Connecticut, as opposed to Green, who is the Hoyas go-to guy.
Both will be stars in the league, but Green should (and will) win the award hands down.
Kevin (Arlington, VA): The Wahoos chances at the NCAA are on life support... UNC, Wake on the road and Md at home in the next three. How many do they need to win.
After last night’s blowout loss to Carolina, the ‘Hoos are now 4-8 in the ACC. If they were on life support before, the hospital called in a priest this morning.
Remarkably, UVA’s RPI is a solid 45, which is no doubt buoyed by their strong non-conference SOS (13).
I could break down what the Hoos needs to do in order to make the tournament (off the top of my head: finish 7-9 in the conference and win two in the ACC Tourney), but we all know that it would just be a tease, since the only place the Cavs are going is to the NIT (unless they turn down the invite because it takes place during exams).
Al Skinner (Chestnut Hill, MA): National Coach of the Year?
If Illinois finishes the season undefeated, one would have to think that Bruce Weber would get the nod, even though a trained seal could coach Dee Brown, Luther Head and Deron Williams.
Some other candidates: John Thompson III, Ray Giacoletti, Skinner (of course) and whoever the head coach is at Savannah St.
Thad (Butte): I am an Arizona fan, should I expect another flop in tournament play, or do you think that Salim can finally lead them deep into the NCAA tourney.
Thad, as long as Lute Olsen remains the coach at Arizona, you should feel free to make travel plans for the first weekend in April.
Scott (Chicago, IL): Hello Andy... If Miami University wins the outright MAC regular season championship by 2 or more games, how will this add to Miami's at large resume, if at all?
You lost me at hello.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Eraser (Me, Not the Schwarzenegger Movie)
Picture it… Sicily… 1934, except it's 71 years later and instead of Sicily, it's the P.E. office at a suburban elementary school in Maryland.
Can you picture it?
Now imagine me, typing sporadically throughout the day, adding and subtracting to my column on Trot Nixon's verbal beatdown of Alex Rodriguez.
It was a difficult endeavor, to be sure, what with the shot-up foot and the pain pills and all. But anytime I'm writing about my hatred of A. Rod (especially when Trot Nixon calls him a "deadbeat dad"), I get a little bounce back in my step.
Unfortunately, a little side effect of these pills is that they cause me to develop the attention span of an ADD-riddled gnat (alright, I'm that way all the time), so writing anything that can just pluck the strings of coherence is all I'm really looking for.
Of course writing a few sentences is a piece of cake compared to explaining freeze tag to 23 squirmy kindergartners, one of whom would repeatedly sidle up to me and whisper that he couldn't play because he cracked one of his ribs.
I told him he had been watching too much Maryland basketball, prescribed him two high-fives and sent him on his way, whereupon he made a miraculous recovery just in time to not be "it" for the next game.
With that potential medical disaster averted and the kindergartners off to celebrate a birthday (of somebody born in 1999 – I kid you not), I turned my attention back to ripping A. Rod.
I eventually finished and congratulated myself on a job done. It wasn't my best work, or even very good for that matter, which was strange because usually I'm at the top of my game whilst writing about effeminate Yankee players. But, I was finished and ready to post what I had written (however bad it may have been).
I'm not claiming my work was influenced negatively by an injury, mind you, but let's just say that at one point Freddie Mitchell had to come in and re-type all my vowels.
But, it was done, so I hit "publish" on the good ol' Blogger page, turned off the computer and kicked back with the sports page to wait until 3:45 so I could dip out.
Except that I apparently never did hit "publish". I certainly thought I did, but when I arrived home and flipped open my computer to proofread what I had posted, all I saw was yesterday's mailbag staring right back at me, sheepishly shaking it's head in pity and saying, in a comforting way, "you're not an idiot".
But I knew better.
I suppose I ended up turning off the computer without hitting publish or even saving what I had written in Word.
Smooth move, Chris, not even the kid with the broken rib would have pulled this one.
Looking back on it, my erasing of a day's work seems about right, considering the way my past few weeks have gone. I fully expect to wake up tomorrow and find out that my car has been stolen by gypsies and then, when filling out the police report, I'll get kicked in the shin by a nun.
What bothers me is that I can't seem to recall turning my computer off at all, although I'm sure I did. Is my forgetfulness the result of the pain and pills or am I losing it? I hadn't planned on forgetting stuff until I reached my early 30's, at the very least.
Hell, just yesterday it took me an entire late-night Seinfeld episode to remember what I ate for dinner (for three of those fateful 30 minutes I convinced myself that I hadn't eaten, even though I seemed relatively full).
But, I've said too much. Please forgive me for subjecting you to a 500 word complaint, when a simple "I erased what I wrote" would have sufficed.
Check back tomorrow, when I'll hopefully begin to grasp the concept of the "publish button".
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to the hospital. I think I cracked a rib.
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Mailbag!
Do you think it's appropriate to say that the Patriots are not a dynasty? I don't think there can ever be another dynasty in the NFL; the cowboys were the last one in my mind. You could make an argument that New England has had many of the same players, but they more or less won with 3 different teams, nothing as consistent as what the cowboys or steelers had back in the day. I guess what I'm asking is
what is the true definition of a dynasty and am I being just a bitter Patriots hater, or is there any legitimacy to this argument?
- Greg Falkowski - Philadelphia, PA
Whether we like it or not, the Patriots are a dynasty. Three Super Bowl wins in four seasons will do that for a team, no matter what you or I can say about them.
However, unless New England wins next year, I can't imagine ever putting them on the same level as the dynasties of yesteryear. The Packers, Steelers, 49ers and Cowboys were great teams that dominated the NFL during their reign. The Patriots needed a bogus ruling in the snow and two kicks by a guy from South Dakota to win their titles.
Maybe they are great and we're just missing something. But I've got a sneaking suspicion that in 50 years I won't be putting my grandson on my knee and telling him about the time I saw Teddy Bruschi play.
Plenty of people would disagree with me, but of them, I bet most, deep down, don't actually believe New England is all that special either.
When the Cowboys ruled the league in the early '90s, nobody was doubting their place in history. Sports Illustrated wasn't running articles asking, "Is Dallas a Dynasty?" because everybody knew that the Cowboys were, in fact, a dynasty. The mere fact that people are questioning whether the Patriots belong in the same class as that team indicates that they aren't. You shouldn't have to question greatness, you should just know.
Let's look at it another way: Would Montana's 49ers ever have been favored by only 1.5 at home in a divisional playoff game, as the Pats were this season against the Colts?
Sure, New England proved everyone wrong in that game, but that lack of respect demonstrates the public's belief that the Pats can be beat.
The Patriots don't have to prove anything to anybody, they've earned their spot in history by winning three titles in four years. The way New England has won, however (tuck rule, Mike Martz, Vinatieri heroics) comes into play if the exercise is ranking the greatest teams ever.
By the by, I have no clue what you're talking about when you say that New England has won their three SB's with three different teams. Except for the addition of Corey Dillon, the Pats starting lineup has remained largely the same during their run, just like the Cowboys.
I'll give you a pass on this football faux-pas though since there's a good chance you were dry heaving when you wrote this e-mail.
The link below is from the Tuesday "pulse" on espn.com SportsNation. I am about halfway down the page on "Highlights from the show". I wrote in to the chat with Steve Lavin on espn.com. I write in to these chats nearly every day pumping up Wake to the pundits and discrediting BC's cupcake schedule and narrow victory margins. Anyway, my tirades are normally far too disrespectful for print, so I toned it down for this one. Not only did I get "post of the day" calling out BC, but they suffered their first loss the very same evening.
I have also gotten into it w/ Digger Phelps. Check out the last chat w/ him if you have Insider.
Loved the Dick Vitale column, dog. I was screaming at the TV during nearly the
entire telecast for the retarded coverage.
BTW, it seemed Mike Patrick was possibly MORE biased than Di