But first things first. As we know, in it's infinite wisdom (and another not-so-subtle money-grab), the NCAA recently adopted a format of four "play-in" games. Typically, these are lower level "bubble" teams being given a shot at making the Big Dance.
They are collectively called the "First Four". Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? But it's wrong. They should more properly be dubbed the "Fodder Four". Because all of them will shortly be served up like a bleeding cow being forced into a massive school of hungry piranhas in the Amazon. Yes, the schools get a payday, but the poor athletes will take an unmerciful beating at the hands of a far, by light years, superior team. This is great if one is an administrative bean counter. Maybe not so great if one has to be humiliated on national television in such a way.
For all its pomp and arrogance, the so-called mighty Big 10 (actually 14 now, go figure) appears to be little more than fodderish itself in this year's tournament. Consider:
#8 seed Northwestern, in its first appearance ever, barely squeaked by #9 Vanderbilt, 68-66. Well OK, an #8-9 game is supposed to be close. The Wildcats' reward? A date with # 1 seed Gonzaga on Sunday. Say bye-bye to the "brains" school of the Big 10.
#5 Minnesota got dumped 81-72 by #12 Middle Tennessee. The Gophers can go back in their golden holes now for another year.
#4 seed Purdue, the regular season conference champ, had to scramble at the end to avoid being upset by #13 Vermont. The Boilermakers don't look like they have the "right stuff" to survive very long either.
#6 seed Maryland was unceremoniously kicked to the curb by #11 Xavier. 76-65. Down go the Twerps, excuse, Terps.
After struggling throughout, #8 Wisconsin finally pulled away from #9 Virginia Tech. Again, given the seeds, it was supposed to be hard fought. But like Northwestern mentioned above, the Badgers' reward? How about a dance with overall #1 seed and defending champ Villanova in a couple days? As they say, good luck with that.
Michigan State, which had absolutely no business making the field in the first place, was nevertheless incredibly given a #9 seed. They should have been among the Fodder Four at best. But they get a shot at #8 Miami (Fla). There's a chance the Spartans could play out of their minds and pull that out. If they do, a #1 seed named Kansas will be waiting, pretty much playing in their own backyard. Between the U and UK, Izzo's Fizzos have about as much chance of playing next weekend as Hillary does of winning a recount.
The only Big 10 team that appears semi-interesting is Michigan. Not long ago a "bubble" team themselves, they earned their way into the tournament by winning the Big 10 conference tourney. They can be really good -- or -- really bad. When they're on their game and all the 3-point bombs are going in, they can beat anybody. But if they revert to the way they've often played away from home over the season, a team of those lovely young girls in green uniforms selling boxes of mint and peanut butter cookies this time of year could likely slay the maize and blue dragons on the hardwood. Given their up and down nature, and factoring in the improbable conference tourney win, a #7 seed seemed about right. First up for them is #10 Okla St. Those guys aren't bad. Thing is for the Wolverines, if they get by the Cowboys, #2 seed Louisville will be waiting on them. Big boy time, and likely all she wrote as well.
So it's entirely possible, perhaps even probable, that of all the teams the Big 10 managed to get into the NCAA tournament, um, seven if my math is correct (fully half of them), not a single one of them will make it even as far as the Sweet Sixteen.
And if that happens, for all the pomp they profess year-round at what a great conference they are -- somebody somewhere is going to be eating some serious crow.
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
The NBA dynamic
An interesting question heard posed earlier today -- is Russell Westbrook of the OKC Thunder actually better off now that Kevin Durant is gone? There would seem to be two obvious answers.
If Westbrook wanted to pad his own gaudy statistics, he's got to be in hog heaven right about now. The dude's averaging a "triple double"per game. If he keeps it up for the rest of the season, he'll become only the second player in the history of the NBA to accomplish such a feat -- Oscar Robertson of decades ago being the only other.
But if he has any aspirations of ever winning a championship, they first started to disappear when the Thunder let James Hardin (an MVP candidate himself) get away to the Houston Rockets in free agency a couple years ago. When KD jumped ship and headed west to the GS Warriors, any faint hopes of winning a title officially went poof. Ain't gonna happen. So Westbrook wound up a really good player on an otherwise slightly better than average team. And BTW, the man seems to be in desperate need of a fashion counselor. Some of the outfits he's been seen sporting these days are more reminiscent of what the Gabor sisters wore back in Oscar's day, rather than a current NBA superstar. Furs, leopard skin, and polka-dots? Really? What's next -- paisley and bell-bottoms? C'mon, dude. Man up.
Don't look now, but the San Antonio Spurs have closed the gap with the above-mentioned Warriors for superiority in the Western Conference. By the end of the regular season, it's entirely possible, perhaps probable, Coach Pop's crew will hold home court advantage throughout the playoffs.
This is what happens when a team like the Warriors made the decision to go "all-in" by getting Durant, only to see him go down with an injured knee. Let's not forget the Warriors had to get rid of several very good role players to find salary cap room to accommodate the max contract Durant would get. It seemed odd they would have done such a thing in the first place, given they were the best team in the league before. True, they lost in the Finals last year to Cleveland, but they had put up the best regular season record ever, cruised through the playoffs, and were ahead 3-1 when their applecart got upset by Draymond Green finally getting suspended for, shall we say, improper physical contact on the floor with an opponent. Green had it coming, but it completely turned the whole momentum of the series around. Otherwise, why fix it when it ain't broke? And it just might cost them big-time this year before all is said and done.
Also don't look now, but the Boston Celtics are a force that will soon have to be reckoned with. They're only a couple games behind Lebron and the Cavs for superiority in the East. That could flip-flop too. Though the Beaners pretty much have flown under the radar, these guys are good and, more importantly, will continue to get better in years to come.
Danny Ainge, the General Manager, was allowed by ownership to make the decision to pretty much blow up the franchise a few years ago and start over. He got rid of all the aging players with fat albatross contracts holding the team back. Instead, he traded them away for future draft picks. Lots of them. Sure, the Celtics crashed and burned in the short run. That was to be expected and somebody as smart as Ainge certainly knew it. Then he brought in a young innovative head coach, one Brad Stevens, and started the re-build. It has most definitely paid off. The Celtics still have cap space to burn and lots of draft picks in the next few years. As teams like the Cavaliers get older, yes, Lebron's going to slow down too before long, the Celtics are positioned to be serious title contenders in the years to come. True, whoever comes out of the West will be a formidable opponent indeed, but don't sleep on the Celtics for long, because these guys are surely coming.
Somewhere, the ghost of Red Auerbach is getting ready to light up another victory cigar. And even if he is an Indiana guy, you just know part of Larry Bird still bleeds Celtic green. There's just something about that Beantown thing that never goes away.
Personally, I love visiting Boston. If they could just learn how to talk right and drive automobiles like civilized people, it would be a lot better. But all in all, not too shabby.
If Westbrook wanted to pad his own gaudy statistics, he's got to be in hog heaven right about now. The dude's averaging a "triple double"per game. If he keeps it up for the rest of the season, he'll become only the second player in the history of the NBA to accomplish such a feat -- Oscar Robertson of decades ago being the only other.
But if he has any aspirations of ever winning a championship, they first started to disappear when the Thunder let James Hardin (an MVP candidate himself) get away to the Houston Rockets in free agency a couple years ago. When KD jumped ship and headed west to the GS Warriors, any faint hopes of winning a title officially went poof. Ain't gonna happen. So Westbrook wound up a really good player on an otherwise slightly better than average team. And BTW, the man seems to be in desperate need of a fashion counselor. Some of the outfits he's been seen sporting these days are more reminiscent of what the Gabor sisters wore back in Oscar's day, rather than a current NBA superstar. Furs, leopard skin, and polka-dots? Really? What's next -- paisley and bell-bottoms? C'mon, dude. Man up.
Don't look now, but the San Antonio Spurs have closed the gap with the above-mentioned Warriors for superiority in the Western Conference. By the end of the regular season, it's entirely possible, perhaps probable, Coach Pop's crew will hold home court advantage throughout the playoffs.
This is what happens when a team like the Warriors made the decision to go "all-in" by getting Durant, only to see him go down with an injured knee. Let's not forget the Warriors had to get rid of several very good role players to find salary cap room to accommodate the max contract Durant would get. It seemed odd they would have done such a thing in the first place, given they were the best team in the league before. True, they lost in the Finals last year to Cleveland, but they had put up the best regular season record ever, cruised through the playoffs, and were ahead 3-1 when their applecart got upset by Draymond Green finally getting suspended for, shall we say, improper physical contact on the floor with an opponent. Green had it coming, but it completely turned the whole momentum of the series around. Otherwise, why fix it when it ain't broke? And it just might cost them big-time this year before all is said and done.
Also don't look now, but the Boston Celtics are a force that will soon have to be reckoned with. They're only a couple games behind Lebron and the Cavs for superiority in the East. That could flip-flop too. Though the Beaners pretty much have flown under the radar, these guys are good and, more importantly, will continue to get better in years to come.
Danny Ainge, the General Manager, was allowed by ownership to make the decision to pretty much blow up the franchise a few years ago and start over. He got rid of all the aging players with fat albatross contracts holding the team back. Instead, he traded them away for future draft picks. Lots of them. Sure, the Celtics crashed and burned in the short run. That was to be expected and somebody as smart as Ainge certainly knew it. Then he brought in a young innovative head coach, one Brad Stevens, and started the re-build. It has most definitely paid off. The Celtics still have cap space to burn and lots of draft picks in the next few years. As teams like the Cavaliers get older, yes, Lebron's going to slow down too before long, the Celtics are positioned to be serious title contenders in the years to come. True, whoever comes out of the West will be a formidable opponent indeed, but don't sleep on the Celtics for long, because these guys are surely coming.
Somewhere, the ghost of Red Auerbach is getting ready to light up another victory cigar. And even if he is an Indiana guy, you just know part of Larry Bird still bleeds Celtic green. There's just something about that Beantown thing that never goes away.
Personally, I love visiting Boston. If they could just learn how to talk right and drive automobiles like civilized people, it would be a lot better. But all in all, not too shabby.
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Ezekiel Elliott and the bullet
Former Ohio State star running back and last year's rookie sensation for the Dallas Cowboys Ezekiel Elliott likely isn't smart enough to realize how close that bullet came to hitting him in the head.
It's almost like he tried to commit suicide -- but missed.
Already, and still under investigation by the NFL and your usual law enforcement types for an alleged assault on a woman, EE appeared to go brain dead again.
He had the utter audacity, or colossal stupidity to pull down a woman's top, thereby exposing her breast(s), while attending a parade. And everybody eventually saw the video, which quickly went viral.
In the short interim since it happened, some have come forward saying Elliott is immature, perhaps even juvenile in his actions, and shouldn't be held fully accountable. Such apologists miss the obvious.
Elliott is 21 years old. Long since old enough to vote, serve in the armed forces to possibly kill or be killed, now of legal drinking age, and is considered an adult by any legal standard. If he runs too far afoul of the law, it's not like the authorities are going to gently whisk him off to a juvenile facility somewhere, and counsel him into hopefully becoming a better person as he grows up.
Nope, if he does the crime now, he has to do the time. Prison, slam, clank, outta here, and good luck with what happens inside such places.
To his incredibly good fortune, the lady who was the victim of his lewd behavior has said she didn't take it personally, so wouldn't pursue it legally. All in good fun, as it were.
That's her call to make and more power to her.
However, I dare say had she been like most other women, this would have resulted in a far different scenario. They would not, repeat NOT have found this incident the slightest bit amusing. The cops would have been called, a criminal complaint lodged, a report filed, and the wheels of justice would have been set in motion. Mr. Elliott would have been arrested, fingerprinted, photographed, booked, temporarily jailed, and otherwise righteously jammed up on a sexual assault charge.
If it ever went to trial, any prosecutor would have a slam-dunk case against him. Here's the video, Your Honor, or members of the jury. Watch it and render your verdict. I rest my case. How could the defense possibly counter? Temporary insanity? Character witnesses? Pshaw. Good luck with that. It was what it was and, as they say, the tape doesn't lie.
But that's not going to happen because the not-so-good Mr. Elliott stumbled into yet another rose garden when he should have been in a brier patch.
One is left to wonder if the Cowboys, and in particular owner Jerry Jones, will sit him down and explain how things usually work in the real world. Perhaps....
"You can't do this sort of stuff, son, and you should pray and give thanks long and hard that you dodged this particular bullet. Because it was out there, of your own making. If I hear just one more peep from anybody, anywhere about you being anything less than a model citizen, you're gone. I'll void your contract in a heartbeat under the morals clause, and cut you loose. And good luck catching on somewhere else with the media dogging you every step of the way. Do we understand each other here?"
Though a terrific on-field talent, it remains to be seen whether Ezekiel Elliott will ever actually evolve into a truly "grown up" person mentally. He's at a crossroads right now, but probably still doesn't comprehend it.
He's playing for the Cowboys, of course. A big-time hero for "America's team" in their multi-billion dollar palace. A stud of the first order who was given NFL MVP consideration last year. Surely, unimaginable fame and fortune await him in the future -- right?
Maybe. But so does being bounced out of the league by the Commissioner, financial ruin, and a long-term jail cell if he pulls the same stunt with the wrong woman any time in the future. There are many that frown on that sort of thing, and a whole lot of more than eager prosecutors that would like nothing better than to nail EE's hide to the wall for such behavior.
Here's hoping he has brains enough to appreciate the huge break he just caught, heeds the wake-up call and sees the light. It's staring him right in his so far ignorant Buckeye face.
We shall see......
Already, and still under investigation by the NFL and your usual law enforcement types for an alleged assault on a woman, EE appeared to go brain dead again.
He had the utter audacity, or colossal stupidity to pull down a woman's top, thereby exposing her breast(s), while attending a parade. And everybody eventually saw the video, which quickly went viral.
In the short interim since it happened, some have come forward saying Elliott is immature, perhaps even juvenile in his actions, and shouldn't be held fully accountable. Such apologists miss the obvious.
Elliott is 21 years old. Long since old enough to vote, serve in the armed forces to possibly kill or be killed, now of legal drinking age, and is considered an adult by any legal standard. If he runs too far afoul of the law, it's not like the authorities are going to gently whisk him off to a juvenile facility somewhere, and counsel him into hopefully becoming a better person as he grows up.
Nope, if he does the crime now, he has to do the time. Prison, slam, clank, outta here, and good luck with what happens inside such places.
To his incredibly good fortune, the lady who was the victim of his lewd behavior has said she didn't take it personally, so wouldn't pursue it legally. All in good fun, as it were.
That's her call to make and more power to her.
However, I dare say had she been like most other women, this would have resulted in a far different scenario. They would not, repeat NOT have found this incident the slightest bit amusing. The cops would have been called, a criminal complaint lodged, a report filed, and the wheels of justice would have been set in motion. Mr. Elliott would have been arrested, fingerprinted, photographed, booked, temporarily jailed, and otherwise righteously jammed up on a sexual assault charge.
If it ever went to trial, any prosecutor would have a slam-dunk case against him. Here's the video, Your Honor, or members of the jury. Watch it and render your verdict. I rest my case. How could the defense possibly counter? Temporary insanity? Character witnesses? Pshaw. Good luck with that. It was what it was and, as they say, the tape doesn't lie.
But that's not going to happen because the not-so-good Mr. Elliott stumbled into yet another rose garden when he should have been in a brier patch.
One is left to wonder if the Cowboys, and in particular owner Jerry Jones, will sit him down and explain how things usually work in the real world. Perhaps....
"You can't do this sort of stuff, son, and you should pray and give thanks long and hard that you dodged this particular bullet. Because it was out there, of your own making. If I hear just one more peep from anybody, anywhere about you being anything less than a model citizen, you're gone. I'll void your contract in a heartbeat under the morals clause, and cut you loose. And good luck catching on somewhere else with the media dogging you every step of the way. Do we understand each other here?"
Though a terrific on-field talent, it remains to be seen whether Ezekiel Elliott will ever actually evolve into a truly "grown up" person mentally. He's at a crossroads right now, but probably still doesn't comprehend it.
He's playing for the Cowboys, of course. A big-time hero for "America's team" in their multi-billion dollar palace. A stud of the first order who was given NFL MVP consideration last year. Surely, unimaginable fame and fortune await him in the future -- right?
Maybe. But so does being bounced out of the league by the Commissioner, financial ruin, and a long-term jail cell if he pulls the same stunt with the wrong woman any time in the future. There are many that frown on that sort of thing, and a whole lot of more than eager prosecutors that would like nothing better than to nail EE's hide to the wall for such behavior.
Here's hoping he has brains enough to appreciate the huge break he just caught, heeds the wake-up call and sees the light. It's staring him right in his so far ignorant Buckeye face.
We shall see......
Scott Van Pelt and other silliness
Well OK then. I woke up having to go on an emergency bathroom run (something about that spicy Chinese food does it every time), and upon returning to bed, couldn't get back to sleep. Click on the flat screen, ESPN of course.. What did I see? Somebody asking "Where in the world ISN'T Scott Van Pelt?"
The answer appears pretty simple. He's NOT on the air in prime time, perhaps for good reason. While other peanut-heads the world over continue to send in their pix likening themselves to SVP for their own 15 seconds of "see what a moron I am" silliness , it just doesn't seem to resonate much.
No, dear Scott, having left his afternoon gig with Ryen Russillo, only to be replaced with Mr. Chuckles, aka Danny Kanell, is now only to be seen in the wee hours when the drunks are finally staggering home from bars after getting booted out at closing time. In their typical stupors, they probably don't know, or care, who or what they're watching anyway. Scott Van Pelt, the latest Kardashian rumor, ancient re-runs of Wally and the Beave, what does it matter? Urp.
Hope he's making some serious dough with his latest career move, and maybe there's some sober people out there actually tuning him in every night, but danged if it makes any sense to me.
You've seen it happen, but maybe didn't notice the subtlety of it. That's when a talking head conducting a remote interview with a sports figure says -- "Before I let you go, let me ask you this...". Said talking head has just gotten a cue from his producer to wrap up this particular time segment for whatever reason.
Just ONCE, I'd love to see an interviewee respond -- "Before you let ME go? How about before I decide to terminate this little session of inane questions I was kind enough to grant you in the first place? Hey, you and your people approached me about this, not the other way around. So stop with your silly little subliminal suggestions that you're in charge here. You're not. I am."
Would that be great, or what?
The answer appears pretty simple. He's NOT on the air in prime time, perhaps for good reason. While other peanut-heads the world over continue to send in their pix likening themselves to SVP for their own 15 seconds of "see what a moron I am" silliness , it just doesn't seem to resonate much.
No, dear Scott, having left his afternoon gig with Ryen Russillo, only to be replaced with Mr. Chuckles, aka Danny Kanell, is now only to be seen in the wee hours when the drunks are finally staggering home from bars after getting booted out at closing time. In their typical stupors, they probably don't know, or care, who or what they're watching anyway. Scott Van Pelt, the latest Kardashian rumor, ancient re-runs of Wally and the Beave, what does it matter? Urp.
Hope he's making some serious dough with his latest career move, and maybe there's some sober people out there actually tuning him in every night, but danged if it makes any sense to me.
You've seen it happen, but maybe didn't notice the subtlety of it. That's when a talking head conducting a remote interview with a sports figure says -- "Before I let you go, let me ask you this...". Said talking head has just gotten a cue from his producer to wrap up this particular time segment for whatever reason.
Just ONCE, I'd love to see an interviewee respond -- "Before you let ME go? How about before I decide to terminate this little session of inane questions I was kind enough to grant you in the first place? Hey, you and your people approached me about this, not the other way around. So stop with your silly little subliminal suggestions that you're in charge here. You're not. I am."
Would that be great, or what?
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Bracketology insanity
Well OK. In their never-ending quest for "inclusiveness", the NCAA expanded the potential field a while back. Of course, adding a few games also comes with extra cha-chings for somebody. Never forget the almighty buck aspect.
So instead of just naming the 64 team field, lining them up in seeds and brackets, we now have four "play-in" games. One could logically expect the eight teams involved, having to play an extra game just to get into the dance proper, to be of the lowest permissible variety.
They would be half right. The winners of two of the games will enter the tourney as #16 seeds, have a "first" round date against a #1, and likely be blasted into oblivion for their trouble. Fair enough.
But the other two games are teams vying for #11 seeds. Stop right there. How can it be that these four teams start off at the lowest echelon, but with a victory zoom past five other teams (#12 through #16) in their respective "zones" to a more favorable position? Who are the collective geniuses that came up with this brilliant piece of strategy?
Alas, yours truly stands corrected. In my last post, see UM/MSU stage right, it was with confidence I asserted Michigan State would not make the field. They certainly didn't deserve it. With a mediocre conference record of 10-8, and getting blown out early in the conference tournament, they didn't appear worthy. Add to that that of their 19 overall wins, at least a third of them came against "garbage" teams, see non-conference patsies. The Spartans had a reputation of being pretty good for quite a long time, but they've obviously taken a huge step backwards. Translation? They're not very good this year. But still they got invited to the tournament as a #9 seed, no less. So I was statistically and morally right, but factually wrong as it turned out.
Nevertheless, perhaps a bit of justice looms not far down the road. If MSU can find a way to beat #8 seed Miami (Fla), a possibility, their next game will be against #1 Kansas. And that will be the end of the road they never deserved to travel in the first place. Beat the Jayhawks out in their own neck of the woods? Not a chance. They'll get ground up like Soylent Green.
On the other hand, the Michigan Wolverines suddenly appear capable of great things. True, they played a few patsies themselves, and seemed to choke on the road against even mediocre opponents. But they were tough at home. Yet most had them as a "bubble" team at best, and few thought them capable of much against good competition, especially away from home.
Then something strange happened. The team was on an airplane getting ready to head to Washington, DC. for the Big 10 tournament, and they had a near disaster. Though details are sketchy, the take-off was problematic, had to be aborted, and the plane crashed into an airport barrier. Luckily, no one was hurt. But on eventual arrival in DC, they seemed to be totally focused. Through the Big 10 field they sailed, including knocking off regular season champ Purdue, and Wisconsin in the final to win the tourney outright. For that matter, they not only defeated the Badgers, but pummeled them by a 15 point margin. A beatdown NOBODY saw coming. This wasn't supposed to happen. So of course they barged into the NCAA, and rightfully so.
What did they get as their reward? A #7 seed. They'll face off against #10 Okla St. in their opener.
But here's the thing about Michigan. While many likely don't expect them to go far, if they can keep playing like they did in the conference tourney, the Wolverines are capable of beating anybody. They could conceivably be Final Four-ish.
If they get past the Cowboys, their big test will quickly come against #2 seeded Louisville. It's winnable, if they play like they can. Or they could get blown out themselves if they revert back to their old ways away from home.
Right now, the Wolverines are a team that not many would look forward to facing. A "wildcard", that can be really good -- or really bad on any given night.
It will be interesting to see how it plays out indeed.
So like all the other crazed college hoopster fans out there, by all means -- bring it on and let's see what happens.
PS. Personally, I've long been a closet Gonzaga fan, and can't get enough of Geno's bambinos at UConn, but that's just me. Pretty sure one of them has a good shot at winning a championship this year.
So instead of just naming the 64 team field, lining them up in seeds and brackets, we now have four "play-in" games. One could logically expect the eight teams involved, having to play an extra game just to get into the dance proper, to be of the lowest permissible variety.
They would be half right. The winners of two of the games will enter the tourney as #16 seeds, have a "first" round date against a #1, and likely be blasted into oblivion for their trouble. Fair enough.
But the other two games are teams vying for #11 seeds. Stop right there. How can it be that these four teams start off at the lowest echelon, but with a victory zoom past five other teams (#12 through #16) in their respective "zones" to a more favorable position? Who are the collective geniuses that came up with this brilliant piece of strategy?
Alas, yours truly stands corrected. In my last post, see UM/MSU stage right, it was with confidence I asserted Michigan State would not make the field. They certainly didn't deserve it. With a mediocre conference record of 10-8, and getting blown out early in the conference tournament, they didn't appear worthy. Add to that that of their 19 overall wins, at least a third of them came against "garbage" teams, see non-conference patsies. The Spartans had a reputation of being pretty good for quite a long time, but they've obviously taken a huge step backwards. Translation? They're not very good this year. But still they got invited to the tournament as a #9 seed, no less. So I was statistically and morally right, but factually wrong as it turned out.
Nevertheless, perhaps a bit of justice looms not far down the road. If MSU can find a way to beat #8 seed Miami (Fla), a possibility, their next game will be against #1 Kansas. And that will be the end of the road they never deserved to travel in the first place. Beat the Jayhawks out in their own neck of the woods? Not a chance. They'll get ground up like Soylent Green.
On the other hand, the Michigan Wolverines suddenly appear capable of great things. True, they played a few patsies themselves, and seemed to choke on the road against even mediocre opponents. But they were tough at home. Yet most had them as a "bubble" team at best, and few thought them capable of much against good competition, especially away from home.
Then something strange happened. The team was on an airplane getting ready to head to Washington, DC. for the Big 10 tournament, and they had a near disaster. Though details are sketchy, the take-off was problematic, had to be aborted, and the plane crashed into an airport barrier. Luckily, no one was hurt. But on eventual arrival in DC, they seemed to be totally focused. Through the Big 10 field they sailed, including knocking off regular season champ Purdue, and Wisconsin in the final to win the tourney outright. For that matter, they not only defeated the Badgers, but pummeled them by a 15 point margin. A beatdown NOBODY saw coming. This wasn't supposed to happen. So of course they barged into the NCAA, and rightfully so.
What did they get as their reward? A #7 seed. They'll face off against #10 Okla St. in their opener.
But here's the thing about Michigan. While many likely don't expect them to go far, if they can keep playing like they did in the conference tourney, the Wolverines are capable of beating anybody. They could conceivably be Final Four-ish.
If they get past the Cowboys, their big test will quickly come against #2 seeded Louisville. It's winnable, if they play like they can. Or they could get blown out themselves if they revert back to their old ways away from home.
Right now, the Wolverines are a team that not many would look forward to facing. A "wildcard", that can be really good -- or really bad on any given night.
It will be interesting to see how it plays out indeed.
So like all the other crazed college hoopster fans out there, by all means -- bring it on and let's see what happens.
PS. Personally, I've long been a closet Gonzaga fan, and can't get enough of Geno's bambinos at UConn, but that's just me. Pretty sure one of them has a good shot at winning a championship this year.
Saturday, March 11, 2017
UM in. MSU out
While they were a "bubble" team just a few days ago, the Michigan Wolverines will almost certainly get invited to the NCAA tournament. That's because they've reached the final of the Big 10 -- or is that 14? -- conference hoops tourney. Win or lose against Wisconsin, they've likely already played their way in to the big dance. Currently, they sit at an overall 23-11 record, 10-8 within the conference. Not eye-popping numbers by any means, but probably good enough. Will they go far? Probably not. Maybe the Sweet Sixteen, tops.
Michigan State was on the same bubble. They finished with the same 10-8 conference record, but got bounced early in the Big 10 tourney. Not good. Plus, they were a mediocre 19-14 overall. When they got drilled by Minnesota a few days ago, they likely played their way out. Some local kool-aiders say State's reputation should get them in. Pshaw. Reputation and a couple bucks will get you a small order of fries these days. And BTW, MSU's Nick Ward is a dirty player. Apparently a protege of Draymond Green, now of the Golden State Warriors. The difference? Ward likes to club opponents about their heads, while Dray-dray does his nasty business downstairs with thunderous kicks. Both come out of the Tom Izzo school of evident thuggery.
Another note on State. They have a young player named Harry Giles. The same kool-aiders have long deemed him a "one and doner". Well, this is his one, and he hasn't done anything remotely notable. (What's that? He can absolutely crush a fancy dunk shot on a breakaway? Well, hell's bells, why didn't you say so earlier? By all means give that boy a billion dollars and at least a hundred endorsements. Spare me, please.) Good grief, he's struggled to even stay healthy enough to play. Does anybody seriously think the pros are going to consider him some sort of prize?
To be fair, both schools have played more than their fair share of non-conference "patsy" games to pad their records.
The Green had earlier match-ups with the likes of Florida Gulf Coast, Miss Valley St., Oral Roberts, Youngstown St., Tenn Tech, and even Oakland University of the plankton Horizon League.
The Blue faced Howard, IUPUI (whatever that is), Mount St. Mary's, Kennesaw St., Central Arkansas, Maryland East Shore, and Furman. (Wow, that lying detective from the OJ trial got a university named after him?) At any rate, not exactly a murderer's row for either Michigan mega-universities. They should be ashamed of themselves. Boys, boys, how about picking on somebody your own size for a change?
But maybe their conference records of 10-8 pretty much sum it up. Both UM and MSU were just slightly above average in what appears to be a very mediocre Big 10.
Yet when the "bubble" eyes were upon them both, the Wolverines knocked off a couple decent opponents in Minnesota and Purdue (the regular-season conference champs).
Meanwhile the Spartans crashed and burned early in the conference tourney.
And that will likely spell the difference.
Blue in.
Green out.
Michigan State was on the same bubble. They finished with the same 10-8 conference record, but got bounced early in the Big 10 tourney. Not good. Plus, they were a mediocre 19-14 overall. When they got drilled by Minnesota a few days ago, they likely played their way out. Some local kool-aiders say State's reputation should get them in. Pshaw. Reputation and a couple bucks will get you a small order of fries these days. And BTW, MSU's Nick Ward is a dirty player. Apparently a protege of Draymond Green, now of the Golden State Warriors. The difference? Ward likes to club opponents about their heads, while Dray-dray does his nasty business downstairs with thunderous kicks. Both come out of the Tom Izzo school of evident thuggery.
Another note on State. They have a young player named Harry Giles. The same kool-aiders have long deemed him a "one and doner". Well, this is his one, and he hasn't done anything remotely notable. (What's that? He can absolutely crush a fancy dunk shot on a breakaway? Well, hell's bells, why didn't you say so earlier? By all means give that boy a billion dollars and at least a hundred endorsements. Spare me, please.) Good grief, he's struggled to even stay healthy enough to play. Does anybody seriously think the pros are going to consider him some sort of prize?
To be fair, both schools have played more than their fair share of non-conference "patsy" games to pad their records.
The Green had earlier match-ups with the likes of Florida Gulf Coast, Miss Valley St., Oral Roberts, Youngstown St., Tenn Tech, and even Oakland University of the plankton Horizon League.
The Blue faced Howard, IUPUI (whatever that is), Mount St. Mary's, Kennesaw St., Central Arkansas, Maryland East Shore, and Furman. (Wow, that lying detective from the OJ trial got a university named after him?) At any rate, not exactly a murderer's row for either Michigan mega-universities. They should be ashamed of themselves. Boys, boys, how about picking on somebody your own size for a change?
But maybe their conference records of 10-8 pretty much sum it up. Both UM and MSU were just slightly above average in what appears to be a very mediocre Big 10.
Yet when the "bubble" eyes were upon them both, the Wolverines knocked off a couple decent opponents in Minnesota and Purdue (the regular-season conference champs).
Meanwhile the Spartans crashed and burned early in the conference tourney.
And that will likely spell the difference.
Blue in.
Green out.
The wild, wild west of the NBA
Well OK. Superstar Kevin Durant is out with a knee injury for at least a month. Does this spell major trouble for the Golden State Warriors? You betcha it does. He was their leading scorer and rebounder, besides the fact the Warriors had to get rid of a few pretty good players to make room for him on the roster (see salary cap) in the first place.
And quietly lurking in the bushes all year have been the San Antonio Spurs. Coach Pop's crew is only a game or two behind at last look.
Delete Durant from the equation until the playoffs start (and even the Warriors have no idea if he'll be good to go even then), and it's entirely likely the Spurs will zoom past them into the position of home court advantage throughout the postseason.
Further, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson appear to have fallen into a bit of a funk. Consequently, the Warriors are most definitely beatable these days, by even average teams. See them get blown out at home by the Celtics, and even lose to the lowly Timberwolves. Yikes. This wasn't supposed to happen.
What was once a highly awaited match-up on Saturday night -- Golden State @ San Antonio -- is no more. GS head coach Steve Kerr, through either a total white flag waving cop-out or looking at long term strategy, has decided to "rest" his starters for the game. No Steph, or Klay, or Draymond, and probably not even that Iggy guy. No doubt, Commish Adam Silver, aka Mr. Peanuthead, is not happy. His nationally televised prime-time marquis match-up just went poof. Who is even less pleased than the head suit? The sponsors that had already ponied up mega-bucks to advertise their wares during the game. Once TV viewers grasp what is really happening, or not, they'll be clicking elsewhere in droves. See the ratings plummet. The marketing people hate it when that happens. Something about cha-chings they won't get.
On the other hand, San Antonio's resident superstar, Kawhi Leonard, as humble and low-profile as they come, won't be playing either. Evidently he got bopped on his little coconut in the Spurs' latest contest, and has entered the dreaded "concussion protocol". Cue Twilight Zone theme here. Do-do-do-do -- do-do-do-do.
So what does that mean? The best defensive player in the NBA won't be available to guard the best offensive players not named Russell Westbrook or James Hardin in the league -- because their own coach has benched them for this game. This is some kind of wacky deal.
Know what's REALLY funny? Golden State's Draymond Green not objecting to being sat for this game. After all, quoth the Drayster, the schedule has been absolutely brutal.
Maybe so, DG. But not nearly as brutal as some of those thunderous kicks to the groin you have a nasty habit of delivering to opposing players.
So here we'll have a once great game that has turned into a blah-fest, and a contest that could have been a showdown for Western superiority between the two best teams in a neck and neck race gone off the rails into never-never land.
But hey, look at the upside. Unless another culprit emerges as a nefarious "under" study of dear Draymond, the collective family jewels should at least be relatively safe in San Antonio.
Always a good thing....
So what does that mean? The best defensive player in the NBA won't be available to guard the best offensive players not named Russell Westbrook or James Hardin in the league -- because their own coach has benched them for this game. This is some kind of wacky deal.
Know what's REALLY funny? Golden State's Draymond Green not objecting to being sat for this game. After all, quoth the Drayster, the schedule has been absolutely brutal.
Maybe so, DG. But not nearly as brutal as some of those thunderous kicks to the groin you have a nasty habit of delivering to opposing players.
So here we'll have a once great game that has turned into a blah-fest, and a contest that could have been a showdown for Western superiority between the two best teams in a neck and neck race gone off the rails into never-never land.
But hey, look at the upside. Unless another culprit emerges as a nefarious "under" study of dear Draymond, the collective family jewels should at least be relatively safe in San Antonio.
Always a good thing....
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