Saturday, November 21, 2009

Saturday 11/21 (Very) Quickie

First: Stop reading here (but come back after!) and check out my late-breaking Teblog guest-post over at Yahoo's Dr. Saturday college football blog, about the most important context for today's Florida game: Life AFTER Tebow.

(Believe it or not, Florida's annual cupcake game in mid-November has been marked by really notable events: Tebow's breakout in 2006, Tebow going "20/20" in 2007 and Tebow having what we thought was his last game at The Swamp in 2008.)

That's what goes for a compelling storyline in college football today, on a day when Oregon-Arizona is the most important game of the day; when Ohio State-Michigan is a punchline; when folks will watch Notre Dame-UConn if only for the schadenfreude; when something interesting has got to happen, if only because our collective expectations are so low.

Meanwhile:

*Oh, wow: Syracuse hoops is good. Really good. They solidly beat UNC -- a team most folks had in the Top 5. Wes Johnson is... well, he might be the best player on the East Coast

*The Magic showed that the Celtics' offseason moves -- even the return of KG -- still doesn't make Boston better than the Magic. Why? Because Orlando is younger, deeper, more spry and just plain ol' more talented. Losing to Vince Carter must be painful for Celtics fans.

*Josh Smith. How about Smith as 1/8th-season league MVP? Nah: My MVP would still be...

*Brandon Jennings: 29 points and 7 assists in a Bucks W. Forget a mandatory year in college; every high school player should have to play a mandatory year in Europe.

*Otherwise, the NBA story of the day was that the Knicks were passing on Allen Iverson. I think this was a mistake. Longtime Quickie theory: If you're not going to win the championship (or even contend for the playoffs), you better be entertaining. AI puts on the best show of any current player I have ever seen play live. The Knicks need that. (Otherwise, Knicks fans could simply adopt the Bucks and watch Brandon Jennings.)

*Of course France won't have to play a replay with Ireland. That's like asking the Yankees to play a replay of the Meier game with the Orioles.

*Hey, Boise State won! Of course they did. Be interesting to see what Boise's record would be if they played a BCS-league schedule... or even in the Mountain West.

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