2011 NBA Draft Lottery

Past Mistakes

Let me start by saying that I am about to embark on eating my big plate of crow. In a past article that I posted just after the hectic NBA trade deadline, I was very critical of the Cleveland Cavaliers for sending Jamario Moon and Mo Williams to the Clippers for Baron Davis and a 1st round pick. Well, I was wrong. I figured that that pick would be at best a mid-lottery pick in a not so talented draft and the Cavs would have to absorb Davis’ sour contract and attitude. That wasn’t the case at all, however, as that Clippers pick, which had a 2.8% chance of winning that #1 pick, was the last pick announced and thus the Cavs got the first pick in the draft.

Coach D’Antoni Needs To Go

Flashy Offense

There is no denying that Mike D’Antoni’s fast paced offense is fun to watch. Averaging over one hundred points a game year after year with quick, long range 3s and run and gun passing is going to draw in crowds. His Suns teams between 2004 and 2008, the four years D’Antoni was coach the whole season, won at least 50 wins all four years and at least 60 in two of those seasons. He won NBA Coach of the Year his first season as head coach of the Suns and the team made it to the Western Conference finals twice during his reign in Phoenix. His “7 seconds or less” offense, referring to his preference of having his team shoot no later than 7 seconds into the 24 second shot clock, in Phoenix became a 

VCU: First Four to Final Four

Beating the Goliaths

The single greatest run to the Final Four in NCAA history. 11 seeded VCU, thanks to the introduction of the First Four games, became the first team ever to make it to the Final Four by winning five games. Of those five wins only one, their Sweet Sixteen matchup against 10th seeded Florida State, was the only close one. In beating USC (by 13), Georgetown (by 18), Purdue (by 18), Florida State (by 1 in OT), and Kansas (by 10) VCU of the Colonial Athletic Association defeated members of 5 of the 6 power conferences: Pac-10, Big East, Big Ten, ACC, and Big 12 respectively. It is too bad that the Rams could not play an SEC team in the Final Four, then maybe they would have won. But fellow mid major Butler gave the Rams all they could handle in a 70-62 win for the Bulldogs (a score that really does not represent how close the game truly was).

Arizona’s Derrick Williams in the NCAA Tournament

Pulling Away From the Field

Derrick Williams was a man amongst boys playing in this tournament. Straight up. The sophomore forward for the Arizona Wildcats was already a top prospect in the NBA draft but with Kyrie Irving recovering from a toe injury and with Jared Sullinger announcing his return to Ohio State, Williams proved to be, as of now, the consensus number one pick in the 2011 NBA draft. It seemed like he was playing so well in the regular season that all he could go was down in stock. He may have been playing for the Arizona Wildcats, the Pac-10 regular season champions, 

Outdoing Blake Griffin’s Car Dunk

Dunk Contest First

It didn’t take long for some to surpass Blake Griffin’s dunk during the Dunk Contest of All-Star weekend when he jumped over a car. If you watched the contest, or any new Kia car commercial, you know that Griffin for his final dunk and set it up just out from under the rim, the sun roof then opened and a grinning Baron Davis popped his head out of the opening, holding the ball and ready to toss it to Griffin. While the car was getting set up, an entire choir (not just a few people, an ENTIRE CHOIR) lined up at half court and began to sing ‘I Believe He Can Fly’ and Griffin began to back up, ready to start his run. Finally, he started his sprint and just as he reached the car Davis tossed the ball up and Griffin jumped over the

Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel Suspended

Withholding Information

Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel has been suspended by OSU for the first two games of next season and fined $250,000 for withholding information about his players’ involvement in selling football memorabilia in exchange for benefits. As you may recall in my article “Suspended Players Lead Ohio State to Bowl Victory,” five OSU players, including QB Terrelle Pryor, were suspended for the first five games of the 2011-2012 NCAA season but were still allowed to play in Sugar Bowl against Arkansas after it was found that they violated NCAA rules. Now, it has been discovered that months before the NCAA found out about the players selling their football items, their coach found out about it and decided not to report it to the school nor the NCAA, hoping that everything would disappear and his star players could remain on the field.

2011 NBA Trade Deadline

          The NBA trade deadline ended Thursday February 24 at 3:00 PM ET. It seemed like a lot of teams waited until then or pretty close to make trades and change up their roster before it was too late. The last few minutes were so busy that I had trouble taking notes in my classes, I was so focused on refreshing my page and waiting for breaking news as the countdown came to an end. This year more than ever, trades came down to the last minute and even after the deadline passed, news still trickled in regarding major transactions and power shifting moves. The NBA saw many of these power swings as players changed teams, not only among divisions but among conferences. Teams that were stranded in no-man’s-land suddenly become threats to make the finals while potential finals contenders slid down a few notches. Here are the major trades that took place at or around the deadline and analysis and grades of each one.

Knicks Land Carmelo Anthony

Long Awaited Trade

It’s been a long first half of the season for the Denver Nuggets but they have finally traded Carmelo Anthony. After much drama over the past months, it’s finally over. The Nets gave a hard push in attempting to get Carmelo Anthony, as well as teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets, but he has finally found a team, the New York Knicks. The Knicks, Nuggets, and Minnesota Timberwolves have completed a trade that sends F Carmelo Anthony, G Chauncey Billups, F Renaldo Balkman, F Sheldon Williams, and G Anthony Carter from the Nuggets as well as F Corey Brewer from the Timberwolves to the Knicks. The Nuggets get F Danilo Gallinari, F Wilson Chandler, G Raymond Felton, C Timofey Mozgov, a 2014 1st round pick, two 2nd round picks, and $3 million all from the Knicks. Finally, the Timberwolves receive from the Knicks both C Eddy Curry and F Anthony Randolph.

Packers Win Super Bowl XLV

Green Bay Wins

After 14 years without a Super Bowl and a whole lot of Brett Favre drama, the Lombardi Trophy has finally returned home to Green Bay. The Green Bay Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in a game that came down to the last drive. Aaron Rodgers, the Super Bowl MVP, threw for 304 yards and 3 touchdowns despite some major drops by his receiving core. The Packers had to overcome some major injuries in the regular season in order to make it to the Super Bowl, so it was only fitting that they fight through more

No Suspension for Kevin Garnett After a Cheap Shot

The Low Blow

In a game between the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns, Celtics’ forward Kevin Garnett got whistled for a foul and ejected from the game after hitting Suns’ forward Channing Frye in the groin on a 3-point attempt. Frye obviously took offense to this and got in Garnett’s face. The hit can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV-iGBfTkD0&feature=related. After watching the replay and considering Garnett’s reputation, it seemed like disciplinary actions would occur. However, instead of suspending Garnett for the cheap shot, the NBA decided to do nothing. Now one may question the decision for the league not to punish Garnett for an unnecessary shot to the man region, but once

Oregon’s New-Look Basketball Court

Grand Opening of a Different Style

In Oregon’s game on January 13 against USC the Ducks broke out their new basketball floor that has a interesting new design that has not been seen before. The floor, designed by Oregon alum Tinker Hatfield who is a vice president for Nike, is named after former Oregon athletic director Pat Kilkenny and is meant to pay tribute to the Pacific Northwest by surrounding center court with forrest firs. Much like Boise State’s blue football turf, the new floor is meant to be iconic and well noticed. Trying to be well noticed is

Suspended Players Lead Ohio State to Bowl Victory

OSU Suspensions

On December 26 five Ohio State University football players were suspended for selling championship rings, jerseys, and awards in addition to receiving improper benefits. QB Terrelle Pryor, RB Dan Herron, WR DeVier Posey, OT Mike Adams, and DE Solomon Thomas are suspended the first five games of the 2011-12 NCAA football season. These five include OSU’s top passer (Pryor), top 2 rushers (Herron, Pryor), and #2 receiver (Posey) from this season.

The controversy occurred on the decision to suspend the players for next season, but not for Ohio State’s BCS Bowl Game against #8 Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl, which took place January 4 and resulted in a 31-26 OSU win. These athletes were recognized for breaking rules, but their punishments 

Magic Shake Up Their Roster with 2 Blockbuster Deals

Trade 1: Defense for Offense

In a matter of hours, the Orlando Magic managed to almost completely change their roster. In their 1st trade, the Magic sent guard Vince Carter, guard/forward Mickael Pietrus, center Marcin Gortat, a 2011 1st round pick, and cash considerations to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for forward Hedo Turkoglu, guard Jason Richardson, and forward Earl Clark.

It seems that the Magic got the best of this deal. Let’s start with Turkoglu, who helped lead the Magic to a finals appearance in 2009. Ever since Turkoglu left Orlando for Toronto during free agency, neither party has been the same. Turkoglu couldn’t find his stride in Canada, where his level of play was nowhere near the 5 year/$53 million deal the team signed him for, which is why they subsequently traded him to the desert where he still

The Badger Herald’s “Naughty List”

Naming Names

On Sunday December 5th at 9:00 PM CT 5,800 tickets for the 2011 Rose Bowl went on sale for University of Wisconsin students. 20 minutes later they were gone. Shortly after that multiple posts went up on facebook marketplace looking to sell these student tickets for outrageous profits. Face value for these tickets is $150 and some are going for $400.

In response to such posts, The Badger Herald, one of the student newspapers at the University of Wisconsin, wrote up a “Naughty List” of 

Greg Oden Out for the Season (Again)

Déjà Vu All Over Again

It seems like we hear this story just as much as we hear stories about Brett Favre’s retirement (every year). In another heartbreaking beginning to a season, Portland Blazers’ center Greg Oden finds himself sitting on the bench for the rest of the season once again. The former #1 pick in 2007 out of Ohio State must undergo microfracture surgery on his left knee and is officially done this year. Sound familiar? Oden had to miss his rookie season, ’07-’08, because of microfracture surgery on his right knee. Over the 4 seasons Oden has been in the league, he has only played one season’s worth of games (82).

This isn’t just déjà vu for Oden, however, but for Portland as well. In 1984 Portland picked Sam Bowie #2 overall. #3 that year? Michael Jordan. 

Cam Newton Scandal in College Football

Old Problem, Current Player

In the midst of a Heisman year, it has surfaced that Auburn super-Quarterback Cam Newton and Kenneth Rodgers, the person who represented Cam as a recruit, allegedly sought $180,000 from Mississippi State in order for Cam Newton to play there. Obviously, the deal didn’t happen because Newton is at Auburn now, but these allegations are the last thing that the BCS needs to be hearing right now.

Not only is Cam Newton having a record breaking year, setting the SEC single season record for most rushing yards by a QB, he is also a Heisman Trophy front runner. In addition,

NBA’s New Technical Foul Rule

          The NBA has added to it’s list of technical foul violations that referees can call. Now, refs are allowed to blow the whistle for the reactions of players to a call. Before this year, a player’s instant reaction to a call was allowed to be overlooked by the refs, but anything excessive would be called. This year, those instant reactions are no longer allowed.

Whistles While You Watch

With this extra technical foul rule, the games are going to be filled with whistles. Because the instantaneous reactions are so uncontrollable, they are very difficult to control and therefore, many players will break this new rule. If the refs follow the letter of the law, then this will lead to many more whistles during the game which will ultimately result in

Team USA in the FIBA World Championships

          Team USA’s basketball “B” team has been competing in Turkey at the FIBA World Championship tournament. Although no member of Team USA’s gold medal Olympic team from 2008 is on the world championship team, it is no excuse for the way they have played through their first 5 games.

Age is Only a Number

The team may be young, led by 21 year old and reigning NBA scoring champ Kevin Durant, but that is no excuse for the immature way that this team has been playing in their group stage games.

Game after game, this team has played offensive basketball as if they were in an all-star game. They attempt to run flashy fast breaks with jaw dropping alley-oops and other unnecessary moves. It’s one thing to run the fast break, which they should definitely be doing with the likes of speedsters Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook running the point, but too many times

The Worst Story a Knicks Fan Can Hear

WHY????!!????

It’s been more than 2 years and almost all signs of the Isiah Thomas era in New York have been wiped away. Just as things are starting to look good for the Knicks and the expectations are as high as they’ve been in a decade, James Dolan brings back the one person guaranteed to ruin everything. The Knicks re-hired Isiah Thomas as a consultant.

There is absolutely NO reason for this to happen. The only way one can look at this optimistically is that he is consulting on draft picks for the Knicks. The one thing right that he did in his reign of terror was make good draft picks low in the draft. In the 2004 Draft he selected Trevor Ariza with the 43rd pick. In 2005 he drafted Channing Frye (8th overall), David Lee (30th), and traded 

A-Rod’s Search for 600 Home Runs

Relax

Since #599, which took place on July 22, and as of August 3, 2010, Alex Rodriguez is 9-46 (.196) in 12 games with no home runs. Out of the 6 other players to hit 600 home runs or more; Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), Willie Mays (660), Ken Griffey Jr. (630), and Sammy Sosa (609); A-Rod has already gone the longest stretch between games in seeking #600.

It may be easier said than done, but A-Rod just needs to forget about 600 and just go up to the plate with the mindset of getting on base. While in his slump, the Yankees have already lost hold on their lead in the AL East, currently behind the Tampa Bay Rays by a game. It is obvious

Henry Signs With Red Bulls

The Signing:

MLS’s New York Red Bulls has just signed French star forward Thierry Henry and his debut will take place July 22 against the English Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspurs. Henry was the face of Arsenal in England and a scoring machine from 1999-2007 and was then transfered to Barcelona where he played up until his signing with the Red Bulls. His last season with Barca, Henry rarely started and was played quite sparingly. Recently he played in the World Cup for a very disappointing France team and, like for Barca, sat on the bench and was usually subbed in mid-2nd half only to not help the team score anyway, France only scored 1 goal in 3 games, and that was in their last

2010 NBA Free Agency Recap

          July 1, 2010 will officially go down as the most anticlimactic day in sports history. I guess people thought that as soon as the clock struck 12:01 AM, all their questions would be answered. Star players would immediately announce the team they intend to sign with and therefore, we wouldn’t have the drama that we have had for the past week and a half. But instead, the public saw absolutely nothing happen. I’m not disappointed, because I didn’t expect anything, but with all this hype for the past few years over this 1 day, it seemed like Y2K all over again.

Knicks

          With the official signing of Amar’e Stoudemire, the Knicks have a low post presence that they have missed since the Patrick Ewing days. Both on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor, Amar’e should be able to stake his claim down low and not only increase points in the paint on offense, but 

United States’ World Cup Elimination

          The United States has been knocked out the 2010 World Cup by the same team that eliminated them 4 years ago and by the same score, Ghana 2-1. Last World Cup the U.S. was eliminated in the Group Stage, this year they managed to put up a fight in the Round of 16.

Optimism

          Looking at the tournament as ‘the glass is half full,’ the U.S. won their group over powerful England. They went down early against England, Slovenia, and Ghana but managed to fight back in all three, tying England 1-1 and Slovenia 2-2 (after going down 2-0), and losing to Ghana after tying the game. They didn’t lose to Ghana without battling back, having the game sent into extra time before they were put away. Their ‘never say die’ attitude was inspiring as they continued to

2010 NBA Draft

Knicks

          Let’s start with my favorite team of all time, the New York Knicks. A team I have waited loyally for year after year to make any kind of splash. They may not have had a 1st round pick this year and may be living and dying on this year’s free agency, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t have drafted decent players with their two consecutive 2nd round picks, but they blew it...BIG TIME. I waited 3.5 hours anticipating their pick, and they could not have let me down any more. There are 2 positions the Knicks desperately need, and it just so happens that those 2 positions are not available in free agency. They need a point guard and a center. Maybe Bosh and Amar’e can play center, but they are true power forwards, and the best point available is Raymond Felton, which isn’t much. Donnie could 

2010 NBA Playoffs Recap

What we learned from this year’s playoffs:

Kobe’s Not Done Yet

First of all, congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers for not only winning back-to-back championships, but also beating the rival Celtics in the process. To all the people who said that Kobe was past his prime and that it wasn’t his league anymore, how do your word’s taste? Because Kobe just fed them to you. Kobe Bryant just proved to everyone out there that not only his is still in his prime, but that no injury too severe can stop him. Playing with almost every injury known to man: a broken finger, a spastic back, a bad ankle, and whatever else that we don’t about, Kobe still managed to win his 5th NBA Championship and 2nd NBA Finals MVP. He is now tied in the championship category with Magic Johnson and one, yes one, behind Michael Jordan. He may not have had his best shooting game 

2010 FIFA World Cup

The Best of the Best

With the World Cup in South Africa only one day away, it’s as good a time as ever to defend it as the greatest sporting event in the world. First of all, it’s one of very few tournaments where the champion can truly be named “world champion.” The term is thrown around in the NBA, MLB, and NFL, but are the teams that win the NBA Finals, World Series, and Super Bowl truly world champions? No, because they are competing nationally, not internationally, thus the title “world champion” is inappropriately used. Other than the World Cup, there are pretty much two schools of thought in terms of greatest sporting events. In my opinion, both NCAA March Madness and the Olympics can be compelling arguments, but in the end both fall short. Starting with March Madness, the single elimination tournament

Ken Griffey Jr. Retires

A Bright Light in a Dark Time

After 22 seasons mostly filled with injuries, the highly liked Ken Griffey Jr. retired from Major League Baseball as a member of the Seattle Mariners. In an era riddled with steroid allegations and shamed with records with asterisks, Griffey stood alone. Out of all the great players that he played with throughout the years; Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire just to name a few; Griffey was the only untainted player with similar numbers. With 630 career home runs, he ranks 5th all-time. He won an MVP award, was a 13-time All-Star, and 10-time Gold Glove winner and maybe most impressive, absolutely ZERO sign of him using steroids at any point of his career.

What If?

The biggest question to Griffey’s career will always be ‘What if?’ What if Ken Griffey Jr. never followed his dad to the Cincinnati Reds and instead

NBA Draft Lottery System

The Lottery

Since the NBA Draft Lottery was last week and the Nets (worst team) got the #3 pick, the T-Wolves (2nd worst team) got the #4 pick, and the Kings (3rd worst team) got the #5 pick, the argument has opened once again about whether or not to get rid of the lottery completely. As it is now, the NBA Draft Lottery works as follows: It is essentially for the top 3 picks in the draft involving the non-playoff teams. Each team has a certain percentage of winning each of the top 3 picks. The worse your record, the better your chances (the worst record has a 25% chance of getting the #1 pick). The first 3 picks are randomly drawn and picks 4-14 are in descending order of record based on the teams remaining. For example: New Jersey had the worst record in the NBA this year. This means that they can do no worse than #4 because if they don’t get top 3, they have the worst record out of the teams remaining. Conversely, the Houston Rockets, who had the best record out of the non-playoff teams, either get a top 3 pick or the #14 pick, nothing in between, 

The Summer of LeBron

Eliminated!

          Lebron James has been knocked out of the 2010 NBA Playoffs so now is a perfect time to say...Told ya so!!! This just strengthens my position that Lebron is not a closer and chokes under pressure. The “best player in the league” has been knocked out of the 2nd round of the playoffs. What does this mean? It means that Lebron James can’t handle the spotlight and do what great players like Jordan and Kobe can do, and that is finish you off. The two players just mentioned will get you on the ground and step on your throat, Lebron can’t do that and has proven it time and time again. Yes, Lebron had a triple double last night in the Game 6 at Boston (27 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists) but, and that is a big but, he shot 8-21 from the field (38%) and had 9 turnovers. 9 TURNOVERS!!!???? In an elimination game??? That’s at least 18 possible points the Cavs could have scored, which would have definitely the pace of the game considering the Cavs lost by 9. If you consider the points that he had 9 turnovers shooting 38% in a loss in an elimination game, in addition to going 3-14 with 15 points in Game 5, the triple double really doesn’t seem that great. Free agency for Lebron officially starts now.

Stupid Phillies’ Fans

The Morons and a Baseball Team

There must be something passing through the water in Philadelphia because this baseball season already has produced 3 of the most moronic fan events, all taking place at Philadelphia Phillies games. I don’t know what is happening there, it’s not like I am bias against the Phillies because I am a Yankees fan, but something is going on because these are some of the dumbest fans I have ever seen. Here is the breakdown of all 3 events in chronological order:

The Vomiter

On April 15, the Phillies were playing the Nationals on the field, but that’s not where the attention seemed to be. In the stands, a man was thrown out after he intentionally vomited on an 11 year old girl. Need I say more? I will. This man, sitting behind an off duty cop and his 2 daughters, actually

Super Fight Mayweather vs. Pacquiao

Boxing Separately

Yesterday Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeated Shane Mosley in a unanimous decision. On March 13, Manny Pacquiao easily beat Joshua Clottey. The two best boxers in the sport are inexcusably fighting other people. Mayweather, 41-0 with 25 KOs, and Pacquiao; 51 wins, 3 losses and 2 ties; refuse to fight each other because Floyd is accusing Manny of using illegal substances, with absolutely no proof to back up his claims, and that he won’t fight Manny unless he agrees to blood and urine testing 14 days before their fight as well as after. Pacquiao refuses, agreeing to testing 24 days before the fight at the latest, and both sides are at a stand still.

It's Time To Rumble

It’s clear that these two boxers are so superior to their competition that they need to fight each other in order for either of them to get any sort of a 

2010 NFL Draft Thoughts

Tim Tebow

It’s pretty obvious that the most surprising pick in this year’s NFL draft was Tim Tebow going 25th overall to the Denver Broncos. It seems that not many people like this pick because they do not see Tebow as a starting quarterback in the NFL. In my opinion, to understand this pick you have to understand that the Broncos already has Kyle Orton, last years starting QB, and newly acquired Brady Quinn. After the Tebow selection, Mel Kiper Jr. went on a rant saying that he doesn’t see Tebow as a good starter now nor in the long run, but maybe Denver didn’t pick Tebow to be a starting QB. Last year Denver was not shy about running the wildcat offense through their running back, Knowshon Moreno. What if the Broncos picked the former Gator to run the wildcat? In college he was a QB known for his threat 

The Ben Roethlisberger Suspension

The Suspension

Today Roger Goodell announced that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will be suspended the first 6 games of the 2010-2011 NFL season. Roethlisberger was handed this suspension as a result of the accusations that he sexually assaulted a college student in a nightclub in Georgia in March. Last week, however, prosecutors decided not to press charges on the quarterback. If Ben behaves well, he can shorten the suspension to 4 games, but misbehavior can result in a longer suspension.

The First, But Not Last

Roethlisberger, under Goodell’s conduct policy, is the first player to be suspended who was not arrested or charged with a crime. Even though he no longer faces charges, I believe that Roethlisberger definitely deserved a suspension and the 6 games handed to him was a good amount. Was it harsh? Yes. Was it too harsh? No. It seems that the only way to teach

Spike Lee as the “Knicks’ Biggest Fan”

Dedicated Fan is More Like It

As a devoted New York Knicks fan, I watch absolutely every game I can. No matter where I am, if there is a chance I can catch some of the game, I will catch some of the game. A great example happened just last week, when the Knicks were playing their 2009-2010 season finale against the Toronto Raptors. Unfortunately, I had a softball game the the same time as the game, so what did I do? I brought my computer and watched between innings. Like I said, any way possible. And since I watch so many games I know how often the following happens and how angry it makes me. I can say that not a whole lot gets my blood boiling more than when Spike Lee is referred to as the New York Knicks’ biggest fan, or some form of that title is used. Over and over again I have

Jets’ Busy Offseason

          At the beginning of the 2009 season, few people had much trust in the New York Jets. The biggest turnoff was what seemed to be a poor offense in the air. Yes, they had Thomas Jones to run the ball, but a team can’t win by just running. The Jets had traded up in the 2009 draft and selected quarterback Mark Sanchez out of the University of Southern California who became their starting quarterback. Not only did they seem to be weak at the QB position with a rookie starter, but it didn’t really seem like Sanchez had anyone to throw to either. But what the Jets lacked on offense they more than made up for on defense, which consisted of, but certainly was not limited to, shutdown cornerback Darrelle Revis. As a result, they made it all the way to the AFC Championship game, 

Duke Wins the 2010 NCAA Tournament

Chalk in the End

When is it a surprise when a #1 seed (Duke) beats a #5 seed (Butler) in the NCAA championship game? Usually the answer is never, but after the large string of upsets throughout the first 4 rounds of the tournament, why shouldn’t it continue into the championship game? At the beginning of the tournament if someone had asked you who would win between Duke and Butler if they were to meet in the national championship game there wouldn’t be a doubt in your mind that Duke would win. What if someone had asked you that same question right before the game started, I bet you wouldn’t answer as quickly. Chances are if you didn’t have Duke in your bracket you were rooting for Butler because who doesn’t want to see an underdog come out on top? But there is a difference in terms of rooting for 

NCAA Experts

A Tournament of Unpredictability

It’s been a wild NCAA basketball tournament thus far. In the first weekend alone, 8 double digits seeds moved on to the 2nd round. 3 of those; #12 Cornell, #11 Washington, and #10 Saint Mary’s; moved on to the Sweet 16. Those don’t even include the biggest upset of them all, when #9 Northern Iowa beat #1 overall seed Kansas in the second round, ruining an unbelievably large amount of brackets country wide. Now the Final Four consists of #5 Michigan State, #5 Butler, #2 West Virginia, and #1 Duke. So raise your hand if you got this Final Four right. That’s what I thought.

The Experts

I woke up this morning and, as usual, put on Sportscenter where I saw Doug Gottlieb making his predictions on who is going to the championship game in Indianapolis and who will eventually be holding the trophy. I sat there and thought to myself “What do I care what Doug Gottlieb predicts, did 

Jeremy Tyler Quits Maccabi Haifa

         In April 2010 high school junior Jeremy Tyler announced that he would be skipping his senior of high school and play professional basketball in Europe for two years before entering the NBA Draft in 2011. In August of the same year, he announced his signing with Israeli team Maccabi Haifa. Tyler played only 10 games for Maccabi Haifa, averaging a mere 2.1 PPG in only 7.6 MPG. On Thursday March 18, 2010 Tyler declared that he will leave his professional team and return to his home in San Diego, California.

Brandon Jennings

One year removed from the Brandon Jennings experiment, Jeremy Tyler decided to take it one step further. While Jennings circumvented the NBA age minimum of 19 by joining Lottomatica Roma, a professional team in Italy, Tyler decided to skip both his freshman year of college AND his senior year of high school. Instead of going into

NCAA Tournament Opening Round Game

         In honor of the start of the 2010 NCAA tournament, it’s time to discuss one of the most pointless games in one of the best sporting events of the year, the opening round game. The first game of the NCAA tournament is played on the Tuesday after Selection Sunday between the two lowest seeded, automatic bid teams. The winner has the honor of playing one of the number one seeds in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. If you ever wondered why 65 teams, as opposed to 64, make it into the tournament, it’s because of this extra game. This year, the opening round game is between Winthrop, winner of Big South Conference, and Arkansas-Pine Bluff, winner of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The victor then plays Duke in the first round. Is it me or is this game 100% useless?

The Play-In Game

Originally named the “play-in game,” the NCAA now refers to it as the “opening round game” because technically the two teams playing in it are in 

Floating Realignment in MLB

The Committee

Commissioner of Major League Baseball Bud Selig created a “special committee for on-field matters” that has already come up with a big idea for a change. The committee proposed the notion of floating realignment. Under floating realignment, teams will be able to change divisions based on payroll, location, and potential to make the playoffs. For example, a team like the Tampa Bay Rays, who are in the AL East, could move to another division so that they can get out of the shadow created by the Yankees/Red Sox and compete for a playoff spot without having to compete with those two teams every year. Conversely, a rebuilding team, such as the Kansas City Royals, can move to the AL East 

Baylor’s Brittney Griner Suspended

The Punch

In a women’s college basketball game between Baylor and Texas Tech, Baylor freshman phenom Brittney Griner and Texas Tech’s Jordan Barncastle got their arms tangled up while Barncatle was trying to guard Griner in the post. Barncastle was called for a foul as she spun Griner around and tossed her aside by the arm. Griner responded by throwing a punch at a defenseless Barncastle, who wasn’t even looking at Griner at the time, hitting her square in the face and breaking her nose. Griner was ejected from the game. If you haven't seen it, here is the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtaPtQnu370

The Punishment

As a result of her punch, Griner has been suspended for two games (one by the NCAA and one by the school.) Baylor has one game left in the regular season so Griner will miss that game and Baylor’s first round game of the Big 12 tournament. This seems to be an absolute joke of a 

Possibility of NBA Retiring Michael Jordan’s 23

          Everyone knows that Michael Jordan is more than likely the best player in NBA history. If you don’t agree with that, since there is no definitive list, you should agree that he is definitely top 2, but definitely reconsider your stance on who is number 1. However, as great as Jordan was on the court, can you mention him and someone like Jackie Robinson in the same sentence? Probably not, but Lebron James seems to try to.

The Thought

We may not know if Lebron James is going to have a new team for the 2010-2011 season, but we do know that he will have a new jersey number. James said he filed paperwork to change his number for next season from #23 to #6, the number he wore for Team USA during the Summer Olympics. James has been enthusiastic about his beliefs that the NBA should retire

Nate Robinson’s 3 Straight Dunk Contest Victories

         I know this is a little late in comparison to the 2010 SLam Dunk Contest, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t still be said. If anyone is less deserving of just one dunk contest trophy, let alone three, it’s Nate Robinson. If you break down the three contests in which he won, he only really deserved to win the 2009 competition, still arguable though, when he beat out Dwight Howard. Here is a breakdown of the 3 he won.

2006 Dunk Contest

In the end, the two best dunkers made it to the the finals, Nate Robinson of the Knicks and Andre Iguodala of the Sixers. But in the finals, injustice occurred. I have to make a side note about the 1st round though: In my opinion, Dala’s second dunk, an alley-oop

NCAA Tournament Expansion

Argument For

Over the past few years, there have been serious talks about expanding the Division 1 NCAA Tournament from 65 teams to 96 teams. The argument is that with the increase in parity among teams, it is getting more and more difficult in deciding which at-large teams are worthy of playing in the prestigious postseason. Every year it seems like the NCAA committee makes at least one mistake in selecting a team that doesn’t deserve to get into the tourney along with neglecting one team that did deserve it, and that’s where the argument of expansion stems. But I am here to argue the other side of this debate.

The Cinderellas

March Madness is arguably one of the greatest sporting events in the world. There are few other events that may be able to top it. What makes March so mad is the single elimination system. This gives underdogs a much greater chance to do well in the tournament than any other type of playoff format because they don’t have to be the best team in the country, 

New York Knicks Trade for Tracy McGrady

Trade

I am going to make myself very clear, I am a HUGE New York Knicks fan. Only HUGE in all caps is still an understatement. As a Knicks fan, I have obviously lived through a lot, particularly the dark ages of “he who must not be named.” But he is gone and Donnie Walsh has taken control as General Manager and has done a great job of clearing cap space for the highly anticipated summer of 2010. This past trade deadline, Walsh traded for Tracy McGrady and his expiring contract of almost $23 million. When asked what I thought about the trade, it’s a question that has no answer now, but will have a very distinct one in just a few months.

McGrady

Speaking in the here and now, the trade for McGrady was very smart because it gets people into the seats at the greatest stadium in the world, 

Lebron James’ 2010 Free Agency

Redeem Team Take 2

Lebron James has come out and said that he would prefer a championship ring over a maximum contract. If that’s true, then it is time to put his money where his mouth is. Sign a minimum contract with a team and let them sign higher priced players to play around him. 3 of the 4 stars of the 2003 Draft and the 3 headliners of the 2010 draft class, James, Dwyane Wade, and Chis Bosh, have 1 ring combined. Lebron has made it to the finals once, where he got swept by the Spurs in 2007, Wade won in 2006 but hasn’t come close since, and Bosh has been to the playoffs twice, never making it past the first round. In order for one of them to have the best chance of winning some jewelry, 

Tiger Woods’ Apology Speech

The Apology

Tiger Woods has “apologized” for his series of affairs that he had in the past although he was married with kids. You may have noticed that I put apologized in quotation marks. That’s because Tiger may have considered his speech apologetic, but nobody else should. The man who everyone thought was above it all, the man who everyone thought could handle the fame and money, and other than his inappropriate raves on the golf course, was pretty much the perfect celebrity in the eyes of many, really wasn’t that above it all after all. It seemed like neither his fame nor his money had gone to his head... and then came black friday, when his car crashed into a tree and somehow triggered a slew of women coming out and saying that they had an affair with Tiger.

Heartfelt Speech

But back to the speech. Before the press conference even started, it was obvious that he would be reading off lawyer written notes so as not to 

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