You all know how I feel about it: I think today (and, to a slightly lesser extent, tomorrow) is a national holiday, the greatest sports day of the year...
"First Thursday."
The first Thursday of the NCAA Tournament, when 16 games are played in rapid-fire succession (a bit less rapid-fire this year) and you can spend from noon til midnight watching hoops and rooting for some level of madness: Upsets, close finishes, buzzer-beaters.
First things first: Be sure to get your entry into the "Quickish" group of the Tournament Challenge. Just this morning, we cracked the Top 100 groups. Nicely done!
Next: This is sizing up as the biggest day in Quickish history -- but only with your help. Please be sure to check out the site. And please tell friends! Facebook, Twitter, email, word-of-mouth, tap the next person at the bar on the shoulder. It all helps (seriously).
On to the first day, which is different than past years: Because of the four simultaneous games spread out over 4 TV networks -- a great development for fans -- the start times in the afternoon are much wider. It's an hour between the 2nd and 3rd game of the day.
So on the one hand, no more griping at the TV as you watch one close game finish while you're being held at another one; on the other hand, only one game at a time. No more manic finishes -- I wonder what the unintended consequences are of that. How much of the "madness" feel comes from 2 or 3 games all ending at once? (More than a little, I think.)
Let's get to it (times ET, my pick in bold)
12:15 CBS: (5) WVU-(12) Clemson. I picked WVU but now I'm rooting for Clemson -- and hope to hear the coach say "It's because we got our juices flowing in the First Four."
12:40 TRU: (8) Butler-(9) Old Dominion. One of the most intriguing match-ups of the first round, with both teams a popular pick if they were playing anyone else (or, say, Pitt.)
1:40 TBS: (4) Louisville-(13) Morehead St. But I'm excited to see MSU's Kenneth Faried.
2:10 TNT: (7) Temple-(10) Penn St. Ugh. What a grinder. At least it should be close.
2:45 CBS: (4) Kentucky-(13) Princeton. My 4-year-old picked Princeton. It would be wild if he was right.
3:10 TRU: (1) Pittsburgh-(16) UNC-Asheville. Blowout.
4:10 TBS: (5) Vandy-(12) Richmond. A very popular 12-5 upset pick.
4:40 TNT: (2) San Diego St-(15) No. Colorado. SDSU's road as a favorite starts here.
6:50 TBS: (2) Florida-(15) UC Santa Barbara. Pleasedon'tlosenowpleasedon'tlosenow.
7:15 CBS: (3) BYU-(14) Wofford. CBS isn't dumb. They're putting Jimmer in primetime.
7:20 TNT: (3) UConn-(14) Bucknell. Ahh, now we get game tip-times packed together.
7:27 TRU: (4) Wisconsin-(13) Belmont. Arguably the best game of the 1st round. Belmont is a trendy pick for the upset (with the caveat "Wow, if they were playing anyone but Wisconsin...")
9:20 TBS: (7) UCLA-(10) Michigan St. The annual Izzo run starts now.
9:45 CBS: (6) St. John's-(11) Gonzaga. Unlike many, I find nothing awesome about the Johnnies' resurgence. Good riddance with an early exit.
9:50 TNT: (6) Cincy-(11) Mizzou. A classic toss-up.
9:57 TRU: (5) Kansas St-(12) Utah St. It's going to be a late night. And it could end with a nice little 12-5'er.
Good luck to everyone on their brackets! Should be a great day. Hope you can make it to Quickish. We'll be hustling to help you keep up with the best real-time commentary.
-- D.S.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Analyzing The Obama Bracket
It's an annual tradition around here that I analyze Barack Obama's bracket quickly after it is announced.
In this year's edition -- published over at The Awl if you want to see it in full -- I go over Obama's picks, which include picking all four 1-seeds to the Final Four.
It's a little risk-averse -- as is his Sweet 16, which includes only two teams (Arizona, Kansas State) outside of the Top 4 seeds in each region.
Then again, two years ago, Obama was in the 81st percentile among all bracket-pickers; last season, picking Kansas to win it all, he barely nudged past the 50th percentile.
(That's where the "He's right in the middle!" arguments fall short -- the "middle" should be the "national bracket," which is usually in the 75-80th percentile.)
Anyway, I understand his motivation to want to be right by being relatively safe -- in a moment of personal humiliation, I just went against a lifetime of personal policy by creating a second bracket with different, safer picks. It's not that it's a hedge; it's that I wanted to be able to track how I COULD have done, had I not been stupid and picked George Mason over Ohio State or Butler over Pitt. I actually feel a sense of shame over having done it.
So back to Obama: There's nothing wrong with the safe bet. As we all saw last year, it's not always right -- but if everyone is on the 1-seed bandwagon and that team LOSES, the Tournament becomes that much more fun for everyone. Even if you're not winning the pool.
-- D.S.
In this year's edition -- published over at The Awl if you want to see it in full -- I go over Obama's picks, which include picking all four 1-seeds to the Final Four.
It's a little risk-averse -- as is his Sweet 16, which includes only two teams (Arizona, Kansas State) outside of the Top 4 seeds in each region.
Then again, two years ago, Obama was in the 81st percentile among all bracket-pickers; last season, picking Kansas to win it all, he barely nudged past the 50th percentile.
(That's where the "He's right in the middle!" arguments fall short -- the "middle" should be the "national bracket," which is usually in the 75-80th percentile.)
Anyway, I understand his motivation to want to be right by being relatively safe -- in a moment of personal humiliation, I just went against a lifetime of personal policy by creating a second bracket with different, safer picks. It's not that it's a hedge; it's that I wanted to be able to track how I COULD have done, had I not been stupid and picked George Mason over Ohio State or Butler over Pitt. I actually feel a sense of shame over having done it.
So back to Obama: There's nothing wrong with the safe bet. As we all saw last year, it's not always right -- but if everyone is on the 1-seed bandwagon and that team LOSES, the Tournament becomes that much more fun for everyone. Even if you're not winning the pool.
-- D.S.
03/16 (NCAA) Quickie
Be sure to enter the "Quickie" group of ESPN.com's Tournament Challenge. It's not quite the 10,000 entries from a few years ago, but it is in the Top 100 most popular groups of the 140,000 groups that have been created (and most of the Top 100 are either ESPN-related groups or "official" groups created for each team's fan base). Can we at least pass Colin Cowherd?
So last night's First Four was... well, it was a dud, from the standard-def broadcast on my TV (ugh) to the empty seats on the screen to the largely meaningless "close" game between 16-seeds (neither of which have a prayer of beating Pitt tomorrow) to the blowout between the two "at-large" teams that had more people talking about how unworthy UAB was than how Clemson has a puncher's chance against West Virginia (can't believe that game is at noon Thursday). Maybe it will get better tonight. I have VCU winning and then beating Georgetown, so if VCU loses, it's almost like a bonus to my bracket to change the pick tomorrow. (Frankly, I should suck it up and leave it wrong.)
Speaking of my bracket, I am now officially at my "WTF???" point because of that pick to bump Ohio State out of the Tournament against George Mason. Forget that Ohio State is arguably the best team in the country; they are playing in Cleveland! Then again, I just can't shake last year's loss by Kansas -- a team similarly thought of as a lock as Ohio State this year -- losing to Northern Iowa.
My problem: I'm trying to apply pattern recognition to what should more accurately be described as an outlier. Then again: I really do think Syracuse will/would beat Ohio State in the regional final (and Kentucky could beat them in the regional semi), so is it really that bad if I send them out on Sunday, rather than a week later? It's just a few bracket points -- and if Ohio State wins it all, I'm out of it anyway.
So much awesome NCAA Tournament analysis over at Quickish. I'm trying to pull the very best together into a single column, but for the time being, if you hit up the site and scroll back through the past few days, you'll get links to some terrific columns.
-- D.S.
So last night's First Four was... well, it was a dud, from the standard-def broadcast on my TV (ugh) to the empty seats on the screen to the largely meaningless "close" game between 16-seeds (neither of which have a prayer of beating Pitt tomorrow) to the blowout between the two "at-large" teams that had more people talking about how unworthy UAB was than how Clemson has a puncher's chance against West Virginia (can't believe that game is at noon Thursday). Maybe it will get better tonight. I have VCU winning and then beating Georgetown, so if VCU loses, it's almost like a bonus to my bracket to change the pick tomorrow. (Frankly, I should suck it up and leave it wrong.)
Speaking of my bracket, I am now officially at my "WTF???" point because of that pick to bump Ohio State out of the Tournament against George Mason. Forget that Ohio State is arguably the best team in the country; they are playing in Cleveland! Then again, I just can't shake last year's loss by Kansas -- a team similarly thought of as a lock as Ohio State this year -- losing to Northern Iowa.
My problem: I'm trying to apply pattern recognition to what should more accurately be described as an outlier. Then again: I really do think Syracuse will/would beat Ohio State in the regional final (and Kentucky could beat them in the regional semi), so is it really that bad if I send them out on Sunday, rather than a week later? It's just a few bracket points -- and if Ohio State wins it all, I'm out of it anyway.
So much awesome NCAA Tournament analysis over at Quickish. I'm trying to pull the very best together into a single column, but for the time being, if you hit up the site and scroll back through the past few days, you'll get links to some terrific columns.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
03/15 (First Four) Quickie
You do not want to know what time I got up this morning to head back from Austin to NYC. Let's put it this way: It looked like I was the only person at the airport for a good two hours at least.
But I put the early hours to good use, loading up Quickish with all sorts of new and awesome NCAA Tournament analysis -- if you scroll down through yesterday (and even Sunday night), you'll get a ton of really good insights and recommendations to longer* takes.
* - One of my favorite things about the NCAA Tournament is that EVERYONE writes in the "quick-hit" style; it's the only way to hit on all the interesting issues in bracket regions that have so much going on.
(Can I claim to have helped popularize the form? You be the judge: Take a trip back to the "First Thursday" coverage from 1999. I will tell you that my friend and old ESPN.com editor Kevin Jackson once told me my quick-hit, bold-n-bulleted Tournament coverage for SI.com was a key proof-point for him in him supporting me when I brought him the Quickie a few years later. And when you look at it, you can see the philosophical line from that to the Quickie to Quickish. I am bleary-eyed, and I digress....)
Anyway, the point is that there's a ton of good stuff ready for Quickish today. Please give it a look -- and please tell a few friends about it. This is the most important week in the company's young history, and your support through referrals and recommendations are a HUGE help.
Tonight's opening half of the "First Four" should be a nice test run for Thursday and Friday.
Let's talk about the First Four for a sec: I'm a longtime proponent of Tournament expansion. Forget the "soft bubble"; I think that there's a huge appetite for more games if -- IF -- it is executed right. In its first year, the "First Four" is not executed right, on a couple of levels:
*Most of all, the promotion has been horrible. As soon as the First Four was established, CBS and Turner should have been pimping it constantly; I'd be willing to bet that most fans who will avidly tune in on Thursday and Friday have no idea where to find the games tonight -- or why to care. (That online bracket games don't count the First Four is a huge problem in trying to create some validity for it.)
*Competitively, it's a mish-mash: Two of the games are 16-seed play-ins (meaning two 16-seeds don't have to play-in at all). And two of the games are "last four in," which is totally fine. I wish all four "First Four" games had been between at-large teams.
It's way too early to deem the First Four a failure -- there are plenty of lessons from which to learn and improve for next year.
But remember: I've always had a soft spot for the Tuesday night "Play-In" game between 16-seeds in Dayton. It is neat that the games now involve almost-worthy at-large teams fighting to merely get the relevancy of a Thursday or Friday game.
By the way, watch this dynamic (as laid out in my annual Wall Street Journal picks column): I think VCU is going to win, then -- with a bit of a jump-start -- catch a cold Georgetown flat-footed. Typically, teams playing on Thursday or Friday can get away with a cold first half, because both teams are playing their first game. Not so this year. All of a sudden we will be talking about the play-in game as an advantage.
Anyway, I'll be done traveling -- and done with the fun-but-constant distractions of SXSW (which was terrific) -- this afternoon. Then it's full-throttle from here through the Final Four.
Really glad and appreciative you're along for the ride. I come away from SXSW (and the launch of Quickish's first year of NCAA Tournament coverage) so excited about the trajectory the company is on and the chance to keep giving fans a really awesome and unique complement to the rest of their sports diet. Huge thanks for your continued support.
-- D.S.
But I put the early hours to good use, loading up Quickish with all sorts of new and awesome NCAA Tournament analysis -- if you scroll down through yesterday (and even Sunday night), you'll get a ton of really good insights and recommendations to longer* takes.
* - One of my favorite things about the NCAA Tournament is that EVERYONE writes in the "quick-hit" style; it's the only way to hit on all the interesting issues in bracket regions that have so much going on.
(Can I claim to have helped popularize the form? You be the judge: Take a trip back to the "First Thursday" coverage from 1999. I will tell you that my friend and old ESPN.com editor Kevin Jackson once told me my quick-hit, bold-n-bulleted Tournament coverage for SI.com was a key proof-point for him in him supporting me when I brought him the Quickie a few years later. And when you look at it, you can see the philosophical line from that to the Quickie to Quickish. I am bleary-eyed, and I digress....)
Anyway, the point is that there's a ton of good stuff ready for Quickish today. Please give it a look -- and please tell a few friends about it. This is the most important week in the company's young history, and your support through referrals and recommendations are a HUGE help.
Tonight's opening half of the "First Four" should be a nice test run for Thursday and Friday.
Let's talk about the First Four for a sec: I'm a longtime proponent of Tournament expansion. Forget the "soft bubble"; I think that there's a huge appetite for more games if -- IF -- it is executed right. In its first year, the "First Four" is not executed right, on a couple of levels:
*Most of all, the promotion has been horrible. As soon as the First Four was established, CBS and Turner should have been pimping it constantly; I'd be willing to bet that most fans who will avidly tune in on Thursday and Friday have no idea where to find the games tonight -- or why to care. (That online bracket games don't count the First Four is a huge problem in trying to create some validity for it.)
*Competitively, it's a mish-mash: Two of the games are 16-seed play-ins (meaning two 16-seeds don't have to play-in at all). And two of the games are "last four in," which is totally fine. I wish all four "First Four" games had been between at-large teams.
It's way too early to deem the First Four a failure -- there are plenty of lessons from which to learn and improve for next year.
But remember: I've always had a soft spot for the Tuesday night "Play-In" game between 16-seeds in Dayton. It is neat that the games now involve almost-worthy at-large teams fighting to merely get the relevancy of a Thursday or Friday game.
By the way, watch this dynamic (as laid out in my annual Wall Street Journal picks column): I think VCU is going to win, then -- with a bit of a jump-start -- catch a cold Georgetown flat-footed. Typically, teams playing on Thursday or Friday can get away with a cold first half, because both teams are playing their first game. Not so this year. All of a sudden we will be talking about the play-in game as an advantage.
Anyway, I'll be done traveling -- and done with the fun-but-constant distractions of SXSW (which was terrific) -- this afternoon. Then it's full-throttle from here through the Final Four.
Really glad and appreciative you're along for the ride. I come away from SXSW (and the launch of Quickish's first year of NCAA Tournament coverage) so excited about the trajectory the company is on and the chance to keep giving fans a really awesome and unique complement to the rest of their sports diet. Huge thanks for your continued support.
-- D.S.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Hooray: National Bracket Day
What an absurdly busy last 24 hours or so.
Quickish has been on fire -- hope you'll check it out for some really awesome quick-hit NCAA bracket analysis and recommendations to longer reads.
I wrote up my annual predictions column for the Wall Street Journal -- I'll give a smidgen of a spoiler: Duke over Kansas in the title game, joined by Syracuse and -- yes -- BYU in the Final Four.
Reading between those lines, that means I do NOT have Ohio State (or even UNC) coming out of the East, nor Pitt out of the Southwest.
UPDATE: Column just came out. Here it is. Complete obsessive analysis of it will be here tomorrow.
It's a mix of very unconventional (Ohio State losing before the Final Four?) and the very conventional (two 1-seeds in the title game). Hopefully, it's a winning mix that gets me off a multi-year schneid.
Please join up the Quickish (formerly "Daily Quickie Readers") group of the Tournament Challenge. Should be a lot of fun this year. (It's amazing to me that just 5 years ago, the DQR group had more than 10,000 entries and was the third-biggest private group in the country.)
Much much more later. But for a sense of what I'm reading -- and enjoying enough to recommend -- check out Quickish. It's all Tournament, all the time.
-- D.S.
Quickish has been on fire -- hope you'll check it out for some really awesome quick-hit NCAA bracket analysis and recommendations to longer reads.
I wrote up my annual predictions column for the Wall Street Journal -- I'll give a smidgen of a spoiler: Duke over Kansas in the title game, joined by Syracuse and -- yes -- BYU in the Final Four.
Reading between those lines, that means I do NOT have Ohio State (or even UNC) coming out of the East, nor Pitt out of the Southwest.
UPDATE: Column just came out. Here it is. Complete obsessive analysis of it will be here tomorrow.
It's a mix of very unconventional (Ohio State losing before the Final Four?) and the very conventional (two 1-seeds in the title game). Hopefully, it's a winning mix that gets me off a multi-year schneid.
Please join up the Quickish (formerly "Daily Quickie Readers") group of the Tournament Challenge. Should be a lot of fun this year. (It's amazing to me that just 5 years ago, the DQR group had more than 10,000 entries and was the third-biggest private group in the country.)
Much much more later. But for a sense of what I'm reading -- and enjoying enough to recommend -- check out Quickish. It's all Tournament, all the time.
-- D.S.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Sunday 03/13 (Very) Quickie
It's Selection Sunday, one of the best days of the sports year, if only for that hour at 6 p.m. ET when the brackets come out -- then the hours of bracket-picking that dominate afterward.
Two big things:
Fire up Quickish at 6 ET -- and check back through the night and tomorrow -- for the latest, fastest, best analysis from everywhere about the bracket.
Join the Quickish "Tournament Challenge" group. It's easy: Just click here, or if you're in other groups, just search groupname "Quickish" and add yourself in.
Should be a great night, a great week and a great rest of the month.
A few notes:
*"COLD! BLOODED!" joins the list of instantly memorable calls from Gus Johnson and moments in March (even if it was "only" the Pac-10 Tournament final). Isaiah Thomas: Wow.
*As noted at Quickish, UConn had the best run in the history of conference tournaments. Add to that: Kemba Walker put on the greatest individual performance in the history of conference tournaments.
*It's hard to feel bad for teams on the Bubble that will get left out. In the softest Bubble year in recent memory, all had their chances earlier this season. (It's also hard to feel good for teams on the Bubble that get in; will you pick any of them to get out of the first Thursday/Friday? Unlikely.) But if you find the Bubble intriguing, Dayton can steal a Bubble spot by winning the Atlantic 10 tourney title this afternoon.
*I keep seeing that the 1-seeds are locked as Kansas, Ohio State, Pitt and Notre Dame. I can't believe that the Duke-UNC winner won't get a 1-seed.
*I am so excited for the bracket to come out. It's been this way since I was a little kid. This year, Quickish coverage will keep me busy, but there's nothing like that initial "gut" pass through the field, followed by all the self-doubt and second-guessing. It's a unique feeling in the sports year.
*It was like Hanukkah on my laptop yesterday afternoon: I was at a bar with my laptop on, updating Quickish and watching the Harvard-Princeton ending on ESPN3.com. My battery power was down to single-digits and I watched the video feed drain it by the half-minute. With the power down to 1%, there was just enough left to see the Princeton buzzer-beater live, then get a post up about it on Quickish, then... battery out. But what a moment. (I was in a sports bar but the only one actually watching that game online. So my screams and shouts were met with strange stares, until I exclaimed what happened, then the TVs all cut to a clip of the finish.)
*Kobe's ankle sprain: Yikes, that looked ugly. If Kobe himself thought his season was over, you know it was a scary moment.
*NFL Labor: Both sides are hiring very fancy lawyers -- as you would expect them to. The PR effort from both sides is wearying, btw.
Get excited for tonight and the entire week. Hope you'll pop by Quickish.
-- D.S.
Two big things:
Fire up Quickish at 6 ET -- and check back through the night and tomorrow -- for the latest, fastest, best analysis from everywhere about the bracket.
Join the Quickish "Tournament Challenge" group. It's easy: Just click here, or if you're in other groups, just search groupname "Quickish" and add yourself in.
Should be a great night, a great week and a great rest of the month.
A few notes:
*"COLD! BLOODED!" joins the list of instantly memorable calls from Gus Johnson and moments in March (even if it was "only" the Pac-10 Tournament final). Isaiah Thomas: Wow.
*As noted at Quickish, UConn had the best run in the history of conference tournaments. Add to that: Kemba Walker put on the greatest individual performance in the history of conference tournaments.
*It's hard to feel bad for teams on the Bubble that will get left out. In the softest Bubble year in recent memory, all had their chances earlier this season. (It's also hard to feel good for teams on the Bubble that get in; will you pick any of them to get out of the first Thursday/Friday? Unlikely.) But if you find the Bubble intriguing, Dayton can steal a Bubble spot by winning the Atlantic 10 tourney title this afternoon.
*I keep seeing that the 1-seeds are locked as Kansas, Ohio State, Pitt and Notre Dame. I can't believe that the Duke-UNC winner won't get a 1-seed.
*I am so excited for the bracket to come out. It's been this way since I was a little kid. This year, Quickish coverage will keep me busy, but there's nothing like that initial "gut" pass through the field, followed by all the self-doubt and second-guessing. It's a unique feeling in the sports year.
*It was like Hanukkah on my laptop yesterday afternoon: I was at a bar with my laptop on, updating Quickish and watching the Harvard-Princeton ending on ESPN3.com. My battery power was down to single-digits and I watched the video feed drain it by the half-minute. With the power down to 1%, there was just enough left to see the Princeton buzzer-beater live, then get a post up about it on Quickish, then... battery out. But what a moment. (I was in a sports bar but the only one actually watching that game online. So my screams and shouts were met with strange stares, until I exclaimed what happened, then the TVs all cut to a clip of the finish.)
*Kobe's ankle sprain: Yikes, that looked ugly. If Kobe himself thought his season was over, you know it was a scary moment.
*NFL Labor: Both sides are hiring very fancy lawyers -- as you would expect them to. The PR effort from both sides is wearying, btw.
Get excited for tonight and the entire week. Hope you'll pop by Quickish.
-- D.S.
Friday, March 11, 2011
03/11 Quickie: Live from Austin, TX
Somehow, I both traveled to Austin for SXSW and kept Quickish stacked with tons of great recommendations today, including tons of college hoops and the aftermath of the Heat-Lakers game. Then, this afternoon has been all about covering the NFL labor story in real-time(-ish).
Much more to come on Quickish all weekend, and I highly recommend what should be spectacular, must-see coverage for Selection Sunday and its immediate aftermath. Please check it out, please tell friends and please pop by all weekend for great tips.
The only difference is that I'm chilling in 75 degrees and sunny, rather than 38 degrees and rainy.
I've never been to Austin before today, and I already love it -- even with a bit too much SXSW mania.
More soon.
Much more to come on Quickish all weekend, and I highly recommend what should be spectacular, must-see coverage for Selection Sunday and its immediate aftermath. Please check it out, please tell friends and please pop by all weekend for great tips.
The only difference is that I'm chilling in 75 degrees and sunny, rather than 38 degrees and rainy.
I've never been to Austin before today, and I already love it -- even with a bit too much SXSW mania.
More soon.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
03/10 Quickie: College Hoops, Tressel, More
Joined in on the annual Tournament Challenge group? Do it here (or just search for group name "Quickish" -- formerly "Daily Quickie Readers"). Jump in!
Last night I had one of the great sports experiences of my life: I joined a court-rushing of students celebrating their small-conference team earning an NCAA Tournament bid.
I was actually on an assignment for New York Mag, going to the Long Island-Robert Morris game to decide the Northeast Conference tournament title, from downtown Brooklyn, and my angle was clear, at least if LIU won: Attempt to give people an idea of what it feels like to be part of those amazing court-rushing scenes you see throughout Championship Week.
In the end, I wrote a bit about it but I took a "cinema-verite" video of me being caught up in the wave of students rushing the floor, and I think that did more to describe it than any writing could. Maybe I'll take another whack another time. (Here's a link to the video.)
Anyway, it was really really really cool. I've never been involved in a basketball court-storming, let alone one for a Big Dance invite. What a vibe.
*****
Jim Tressel, Cont'd: I am impressed by the in-state media calling out Tressel for his obfuscation and -- as one columnist was blunt enough to put it -- lies. I actually think that the coach and the school actually thought they would get through this relatively easily; they still might, because you can never underestimate the NCAA's ability to not punish its schools. As discussed yesterday, the lasting impact is really that Tressel's carefully manicured reputation has been indelibly marked with scandal.
*****
So much college hoops today. I find the Big East quarterfinals -- with all 8 teams NCAA Tournament locks -- to be underwhelming, if only because there are no real stakes. (In the NY Mag piece, I call it "March Innocuous.") I prefer the desperate stench of the Bubble teams that MUST win today.
*****
Much more throughout the day. Please give Quickish a read -- and be sure to fire up Quickish during and after the bracket reveal for Selection Sunday and all week next week. Can't imagine a bigger moment for Quickish this year.
-- D.S.
Last night I had one of the great sports experiences of my life: I joined a court-rushing of students celebrating their small-conference team earning an NCAA Tournament bid.
I was actually on an assignment for New York Mag, going to the Long Island-Robert Morris game to decide the Northeast Conference tournament title, from downtown Brooklyn, and my angle was clear, at least if LIU won: Attempt to give people an idea of what it feels like to be part of those amazing court-rushing scenes you see throughout Championship Week.
In the end, I wrote a bit about it but I took a "cinema-verite" video of me being caught up in the wave of students rushing the floor, and I think that did more to describe it than any writing could. Maybe I'll take another whack another time. (Here's a link to the video.)
Anyway, it was really really really cool. I've never been involved in a basketball court-storming, let alone one for a Big Dance invite. What a vibe.
*****
Jim Tressel, Cont'd: I am impressed by the in-state media calling out Tressel for his obfuscation and -- as one columnist was blunt enough to put it -- lies. I actually think that the coach and the school actually thought they would get through this relatively easily; they still might, because you can never underestimate the NCAA's ability to not punish its schools. As discussed yesterday, the lasting impact is really that Tressel's carefully manicured reputation has been indelibly marked with scandal.
*****
So much college hoops today. I find the Big East quarterfinals -- with all 8 teams NCAA Tournament locks -- to be underwhelming, if only because there are no real stakes. (In the NY Mag piece, I call it "March Innocuous.") I prefer the desperate stench of the Bubble teams that MUST win today.
*****
Much more throughout the day. Please give Quickish a read -- and be sure to fire up Quickish during and after the bracket reveal for Selection Sunday and all week next week. Can't imagine a bigger moment for Quickish this year.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
03/09 Quickie: Tressel, Heat, CBB
On Jim Tressel, let's start with this: His explanation last night strained all boundaries of credibility, to the point where I -- and many others -- simply don't believe his story.
It is a Fundamental Truth in the Quickie canon that it is always the cover-up and never the crime. And that's where we are here: Tressel's failure to come forward -- to his school in April, to the NCAA in December, to anyone ever (save for being forced to in January).
His self-styled senatorial bearing simply reminded me of yet another shady pol: Smooth talking, but saying absolutely nothing.
Perhaps it is the way that Tressel portrays himself that makes his hypocrisy more nagging than other coaches who are who we (and they) think they are.
Anyway: Two games' suspension feels like a joke. Not when his players got 5.
Here is my suggestion (although it will never really be considered): Tressel should be banned for the entire 2011 season. If the school wants to keep him for 2012 and beyond, fine.
But given that Tressel's entire 2010 season will possibly/probably be wiped off the books completely, it feels appropriate that he give up the season before he has the chance to defile it.
One thing is for sure: For someone who obviously cares desperately about his reputation and his legacy, Tressel has seen both stained with "first-paragraph-of-obituary" conduct.
*****
The Heat lose again (again): When just two of the Big Three play well, the team is ordinary. Chris Bosh is griping. What all of them have yet to figure out -- and Erik Spoelstra is obviously not the coach to help them with that -- is that if they are going to fundamentally alter the concept of a team, they need to be willing to fundamentally alter their concept of how they play.
I always thought that would take at least a full season -- maybe two. That's why I had zero expectation they would have any shot at a title this season or next. But this far into Year 1, none of them have yet to show any willingness to change in this fundamental way, aside from D-Wade begrudgingly giving up the late-game shots to LeBron, which feels more forced than by design.
Here's the upshot: The question isn't whether or not the Heat will win a title this season; it's the level of humiliation they receive when they are bounced from the playoffs. They brought it on themselves, and while they might yet work it out -- years from now, mind you -- perhaps it re-establishes the value of a championship team being more than its stars or top-level talent.
*****
College Hoops: Congrats to Arkansas-Little Rock (its first-ever NCAA bid!), Oakland and a little school called Butler.
Auto-Bids Today: Robert Morris at Long Island, which is about a 15-minute walk from my apartment. Wonder if they'll give me a credential to cover it for Quickish?
The Big East Tournament is loaded: UConn-G'town, Rutgers-St. John's, upstart South Florida-Cincinnati and Marquette (which could use one more win)-West Virginia. (And that's with the top 4 teams in the league still sitting out until tomorrow with a bye.)
*****
MLB: Zack Greinke hurt himself playing pickup hoops. How can players think that it's a good idea, once spring training starts?
*****
NFL Draft: Cam Newton's "pro day" workout yesterday was much better than his combine workout, as expected. He's already considered a Top 10 (if not Top 5) lock, and I would still bet that 6 weeks from now, he ends up as the No. 1 overall pick to the Panthers.
Be sure to join the Quickish NCAA Tournament Challenge group!
Thanks for popping by Quickish today -- and telling friends!
-- D.S.
It is a Fundamental Truth in the Quickie canon that it is always the cover-up and never the crime. And that's where we are here: Tressel's failure to come forward -- to his school in April, to the NCAA in December, to anyone ever (save for being forced to in January).
His self-styled senatorial bearing simply reminded me of yet another shady pol: Smooth talking, but saying absolutely nothing.
Perhaps it is the way that Tressel portrays himself that makes his hypocrisy more nagging than other coaches who are who we (and they) think they are.
Anyway: Two games' suspension feels like a joke. Not when his players got 5.
Here is my suggestion (although it will never really be considered): Tressel should be banned for the entire 2011 season. If the school wants to keep him for 2012 and beyond, fine.
But given that Tressel's entire 2010 season will possibly/probably be wiped off the books completely, it feels appropriate that he give up the season before he has the chance to defile it.
One thing is for sure: For someone who obviously cares desperately about his reputation and his legacy, Tressel has seen both stained with "first-paragraph-of-obituary" conduct.
*****
The Heat lose again (again): When just two of the Big Three play well, the team is ordinary. Chris Bosh is griping. What all of them have yet to figure out -- and Erik Spoelstra is obviously not the coach to help them with that -- is that if they are going to fundamentally alter the concept of a team, they need to be willing to fundamentally alter their concept of how they play.
I always thought that would take at least a full season -- maybe two. That's why I had zero expectation they would have any shot at a title this season or next. But this far into Year 1, none of them have yet to show any willingness to change in this fundamental way, aside from D-Wade begrudgingly giving up the late-game shots to LeBron, which feels more forced than by design.
Here's the upshot: The question isn't whether or not the Heat will win a title this season; it's the level of humiliation they receive when they are bounced from the playoffs. They brought it on themselves, and while they might yet work it out -- years from now, mind you -- perhaps it re-establishes the value of a championship team being more than its stars or top-level talent.
*****
College Hoops: Congrats to Arkansas-Little Rock (its first-ever NCAA bid!), Oakland and a little school called Butler.
Auto-Bids Today: Robert Morris at Long Island, which is about a 15-minute walk from my apartment. Wonder if they'll give me a credential to cover it for Quickish?
The Big East Tournament is loaded: UConn-G'town, Rutgers-St. John's, upstart South Florida-Cincinnati and Marquette (which could use one more win)-West Virginia. (And that's with the top 4 teams in the league still sitting out until tomorrow with a bye.)
*****
MLB: Zack Greinke hurt himself playing pickup hoops. How can players think that it's a good idea, once spring training starts?
*****
NFL Draft: Cam Newton's "pro day" workout yesterday was much better than his combine workout, as expected. He's already considered a Top 10 (if not Top 5) lock, and I would still bet that 6 weeks from now, he ends up as the No. 1 overall pick to the Panthers.
Be sure to join the Quickish NCAA Tournament Challenge group!
Thanks for popping by Quickish today -- and telling friends!
-- D.S.
Monday, March 07, 2011
03/07 Quickie: Ohio St, Hoops, Heat
Don't forget to sign up for the "Quickish" group of the Tournament Challenge.
Heat reaction: There was a flurry of opinion about the Heat yesterday -- mostly about the "crying" thing -- but I found clarity in the simple reality that none of this matters until the 2nd round of the playoffs in May.
And even then, the Heat not winning a title this year will merely illuminate the reality that no one really expected them to win it this year, did they?
I did like Dan LeBatard's reaction (and I'm usually not a big DLB fan) that among fairly equal teams, players who know their roles (as with the Bulls) might/can trump players who don't (yet or ever, as with the Heat).
(As for Heat coach Eric Spoelstra blaming the media for "crygate," the coach is both a dope and out of his depth. He's the guy who said it -- and he was an idiot for saying it.)
Ohio State scandal-ish: It's a simple question, really -- "What did Jim Tressel know and when did he know it?" I trust the Yahoo reporting, but there is no more secure coach in college football than Tressel. He won't lose his job -- I laugh at the thought (and cringe that Urban Meyer would be the logical choice to replace him) -- but he will lose a smidgen of the reputation he has worked so hard to cultivate.
College hoops: Congrats to Old Dominion (an early-round upset special), Saint Peter's, Wofford and Gonzaga.
Today's automatic bids on the line: Arkansas-Little Rock vs. North Texas (Sun Belt), Butler vs. Milwaukee (Horizon), Oral Roberts vs. Oakland (Horizon).
Plus! Princeton at Penn. If Princeton loses, Harvard wins the Ivy League's automatic bid. If Princeton wins, Harvard and Princeton play a one-game playoff for the title on Saturday.
Big East Tournament starts today: The first round is headlined by UConn and Villanova, both NCAA locks regardless of whether they win or lose today. Marquette, which plays, Providence, would be in a bit more trouble if it lost; if Marquette wins, it solidifies their place.
That the Big East has 15 percent of the NCAA field gives it star power, but does it have any real consequence if it doesn't matter whether a team wins or loses? Pride, yes. But if your eye is on a national title, then it feels more like an opportunity to get injured or gassed.
Wes Leonard, remembered: Fennville HS won its first state playoff game since Wes Leonard collapsed on the court and died at the end of the regular season. It seemed like an epically sad event, but the players and Fennville fans seemed to think it was the most appropriate way to celebrate Leonard's life. Cannot imagine how tough it was for those players.
Book Club: "Extra 2%," by Jonah Keri, which is like "Moneyball 2.0" and revolves around the way the Rays reinvented themselves behind a team of Wall Street smart-guys. Keri is a friend, and the book is terrific. You will see it around the Web a lot today and this week.
Give Quickish a look-in or two (or more) today -- and, if you have a chance, tell some friends about it.
-- D.S.
Heat reaction: There was a flurry of opinion about the Heat yesterday -- mostly about the "crying" thing -- but I found clarity in the simple reality that none of this matters until the 2nd round of the playoffs in May.
And even then, the Heat not winning a title this year will merely illuminate the reality that no one really expected them to win it this year, did they?
I did like Dan LeBatard's reaction (and I'm usually not a big DLB fan) that among fairly equal teams, players who know their roles (as with the Bulls) might/can trump players who don't (yet or ever, as with the Heat).
(As for Heat coach Eric Spoelstra blaming the media for "crygate," the coach is both a dope and out of his depth. He's the guy who said it -- and he was an idiot for saying it.)
Ohio State scandal-ish: It's a simple question, really -- "What did Jim Tressel know and when did he know it?" I trust the Yahoo reporting, but there is no more secure coach in college football than Tressel. He won't lose his job -- I laugh at the thought (and cringe that Urban Meyer would be the logical choice to replace him) -- but he will lose a smidgen of the reputation he has worked so hard to cultivate.
College hoops: Congrats to Old Dominion (an early-round upset special), Saint Peter's, Wofford and Gonzaga.
Today's automatic bids on the line: Arkansas-Little Rock vs. North Texas (Sun Belt), Butler vs. Milwaukee (Horizon), Oral Roberts vs. Oakland (Horizon).
Plus! Princeton at Penn. If Princeton loses, Harvard wins the Ivy League's automatic bid. If Princeton wins, Harvard and Princeton play a one-game playoff for the title on Saturday.
Big East Tournament starts today: The first round is headlined by UConn and Villanova, both NCAA locks regardless of whether they win or lose today. Marquette, which plays, Providence, would be in a bit more trouble if it lost; if Marquette wins, it solidifies their place.
That the Big East has 15 percent of the NCAA field gives it star power, but does it have any real consequence if it doesn't matter whether a team wins or loses? Pride, yes. But if your eye is on a national title, then it feels more like an opportunity to get injured or gassed.
Wes Leonard, remembered: Fennville HS won its first state playoff game since Wes Leonard collapsed on the court and died at the end of the regular season. It seemed like an epically sad event, but the players and Fennville fans seemed to think it was the most appropriate way to celebrate Leonard's life. Cannot imagine how tough it was for those players.
Book Club: "Extra 2%," by Jonah Keri, which is like "Moneyball 2.0" and revolves around the way the Rays reinvented themselves behind a team of Wall Street smart-guys. Keri is a friend, and the book is terrific. You will see it around the Web a lot today and this week.
Give Quickish a look-in or two (or more) today -- and, if you have a chance, tell some friends about it.
-- D.S.
03/07 Quickie: Heat, College Hoops, More
Be sure to sign up for the "Quickish" (ne' "Daily Quickie Readers") group of the NCAA Tournament Challenge. It's so easy: Just go here.
****
"The Miami Heat are exactly what everyone wanted, losing games. The world is better now because the Heat are losing."
That's Dwyane Wade after yesterday's Heat loss to the Bulls in Miami, which saw yet another stumble against an equally good (or better) opponent, featuring poor final-play execution.
As a student of schadenfreude, I can say that Wade is right: Many (even most) fans are reveling in the Heat's inability to beat good teams.
For now, that will have to do. But it's not even close to the limit: The only real schadenfreude will come when the Heat get bounced from the playoffs -- they will, it's just a question of when, how and by whom.
But it almost doesn't matter. For most fans, as long as the Heat lose, we're all good.
I created a Quickish discussion about this topic on Facebook. Drop on by and contribute what you think. We'll see where the conversation leads.
****
College Hoops: VCU is ready to burst someone's Bubble. By knocking off George Mason -- a tournament lock -- yesterday and Old Dominion (another tournament lock) tonight, VCU will "bid-steal" from one of those ultra-marginal Bubble teams that, frankly, doesn't really deserve it anyway.
Meanwhile: Holy s--t. Ohio State just had the most prolific offensive performance in college basketball in... well, in a long time. And from 3, where they were 14/15? Ever. (Ever!)
I absolutely buy Ohio State to the Final Four, but I'm not (yet) ready to buy them winning 6 straight -- and a championship.
How much of that is because I hate Ohio State? Probably more than it should be. How much of that is because I'm generally a Tournament contrarian? Probably more than it should be. How much of that is because I'm so wary after Kansas last year? Probably more than it should be.
The common link: All are TERRIBLE reasons not to pick Ohio State to win it all.
And then there is this inverse:
Let's say that my No. 1 preference is to correctly pick the champion. But what if my No. 2 preference is to see Ohio State lose before winning a title? Then the natural thing to do would be to pick Ohio State to go all the way, triggering the reverse-jinx. Then again, I'm concerned that my BYU jinx from last Monday used up ALL my jinx powers.
Last NCAA ticket notes: Congrats to Indiana State. (Sorry, Missouri State. Cant' say you didn't have your chance, when you're left on the wrong side of the Bubble as an at-large team.)
*****
Chris Paul's concussion: Apparently, it looked worse than it turned out to be, thankfully.
*****
We're headed into a phenomenal week -- mostly of college hoops. It all leads up to Selection Sunday next weekend, then the blitz of NCAA Tournament obsession for the following 3 weeks.
Quickish wants to be there every step of the way with you, and we need your help in a couple of huge ways:
(1) Please visit the site. I really do think you'll like it. (And if you don't, I'd love to hear why.) If it's not in your routine yet, what can I do to help get it there? But let's assume that you already know about it and visit at least nominally. There's something even more you can do...
(2) Please tell friends. Word-of-mouth recommendations are great. Facebook updates are great. Twitter mentions are great. I just created a "Share" function for every single post on the site; it's an easy way to pass around Quickish tips.
(3) Please "tip" the site. If you see something that seems awesome and should be recommended to other fans, please tip the site at tips-[at]-quickish-[dot]-com. I'll credit you in the "Tipped By" area. If you don't want to tip the site, absolutely no worries.
Huge thanks. More than thanks. I'm grateful for your support on this (and obviously totally comfortable asking for your help). Hoping for a huge month ahead.
Enjoy the day. Tons of great recommendations and updates coming to Quickish throughout the day and evening.
-- D.S.
****
"The Miami Heat are exactly what everyone wanted, losing games. The world is better now because the Heat are losing."
That's Dwyane Wade after yesterday's Heat loss to the Bulls in Miami, which saw yet another stumble against an equally good (or better) opponent, featuring poor final-play execution.
As a student of schadenfreude, I can say that Wade is right: Many (even most) fans are reveling in the Heat's inability to beat good teams.
For now, that will have to do. But it's not even close to the limit: The only real schadenfreude will come when the Heat get bounced from the playoffs -- they will, it's just a question of when, how and by whom.
But it almost doesn't matter. For most fans, as long as the Heat lose, we're all good.
I created a Quickish discussion about this topic on Facebook. Drop on by and contribute what you think. We'll see where the conversation leads.
****
College Hoops: VCU is ready to burst someone's Bubble. By knocking off George Mason -- a tournament lock -- yesterday and Old Dominion (another tournament lock) tonight, VCU will "bid-steal" from one of those ultra-marginal Bubble teams that, frankly, doesn't really deserve it anyway.
Meanwhile: Holy s--t. Ohio State just had the most prolific offensive performance in college basketball in... well, in a long time. And from 3, where they were 14/15? Ever. (Ever!)
I absolutely buy Ohio State to the Final Four, but I'm not (yet) ready to buy them winning 6 straight -- and a championship.
How much of that is because I hate Ohio State? Probably more than it should be. How much of that is because I'm generally a Tournament contrarian? Probably more than it should be. How much of that is because I'm so wary after Kansas last year? Probably more than it should be.
The common link: All are TERRIBLE reasons not to pick Ohio State to win it all.
And then there is this inverse:
Let's say that my No. 1 preference is to correctly pick the champion. But what if my No. 2 preference is to see Ohio State lose before winning a title? Then the natural thing to do would be to pick Ohio State to go all the way, triggering the reverse-jinx. Then again, I'm concerned that my BYU jinx from last Monday used up ALL my jinx powers.
Last NCAA ticket notes: Congrats to Indiana State. (Sorry, Missouri State. Cant' say you didn't have your chance, when you're left on the wrong side of the Bubble as an at-large team.)
*****
Chris Paul's concussion: Apparently, it looked worse than it turned out to be, thankfully.
*****
We're headed into a phenomenal week -- mostly of college hoops. It all leads up to Selection Sunday next weekend, then the blitz of NCAA Tournament obsession for the following 3 weeks.
Quickish wants to be there every step of the way with you, and we need your help in a couple of huge ways:
(1) Please visit the site. I really do think you'll like it. (And if you don't, I'd love to hear why.) If it's not in your routine yet, what can I do to help get it there? But let's assume that you already know about it and visit at least nominally. There's something even more you can do...
(2) Please tell friends. Word-of-mouth recommendations are great. Facebook updates are great. Twitter mentions are great. I just created a "Share" function for every single post on the site; it's an easy way to pass around Quickish tips.
(3) Please "tip" the site. If you see something that seems awesome and should be recommended to other fans, please tip the site at tips-[at]-quickish-[dot]-com. I'll credit you in the "Tipped By" area. If you don't want to tip the site, absolutely no worries.
Huge thanks. More than thanks. I'm grateful for your support on this (and obviously totally comfortable asking for your help). Hoping for a huge month ahead.
Enjoy the day. Tons of great recommendations and updates coming to Quickish throughout the day and evening.
-- D.S.
Sunday, March 06, 2011
03/06 (Sunday) Quickie
It's that time of year again: Join our 8-years-and-counting ESPN.com Tournament Challenge group. Here's the link (or just search for group name "Quickish." It was a nice run, "Daily Quickie Readers.")
We are into full-on NCAA Tournament mode, with the end to college hoops' regular season for the big conferences and the heart of the small-league tournaments. A few notes:
*UNC beats Duke: I think this probably marks the high point of how overrated UNC is (and how down folks will be on Duke). UNC has no shooters and Duke is badly missing Brian Zoubek, who in hindsight was the MVP of their NCAA Tournament run a year ago.
*Congrats to UNC-Asheville which went into Coastal Carolina and beat the Big South's No. 1 seed to earn the league's NCAA bid.
*Belmont needs a friendly seeding and a decent match-up, but they are looking interesting as a first-round upset pick a week from tonight. (Selection Sunday is a week from tonight.)
*If my "BYU is going to win it all!" from last Monday was the biggest Quickie Jinx of all time, my preseason prediction that Michigan State would win the national title has to be close behind. Yikes. Sorry, Spartans fans.
*I know Pitt is good. I see their resume and find it so impressive. And yet I just can't pick them to win 4 straight in the NCAA Tournament. Maybe this is an example of me over-thinking or being held back by old biases where Pitt has choked on the bracket before.
(Staying in the Big East, I feel the same way about Notre Dame, which had a HUGE win at UConn -- at the end without star Ben Hansborough -- but I just can't see them winning 4 straight.)
*I was nudging toward picking Purdue as a team that could make a run to the Elite Eight... right up until they lost to Iowa. It's going to be hard to forget that one.
(I know, I know: You'd think after a few days with folks who are stats-oriented, I would know better than to use tiny sample sizes and know better than to give in to confirmation bias.)
*Here's how I feel about the teams on the Bubble like Michigan or Clemson or (not really anymore) Virginia Tech or Georgia -- I'm not picking any of them to survive the first round, anyway. (Although if they are in the "First Four" round, as the teams on the very edge of the Bubble will be, I may be picking them to win THAT game -- but, still, probably not -- before losing when the field is cut from 68 to 64.)
Today: Bulls-Heat, which -- given the Heat's struggles against the Magic and Spurs this week -- feels like a must-see for NBA fans.
If the NBA is going to play games overseas, you can do a lot worse than triple-overtime. (You can do much better than Nets and Raptors, however.)
Big milestone: Danica Patrick became the first woman driver to have a Top 5 finish in a Nationwide racing event and her 4th-place finish was the highest-ever for a woman driver in a national race event.
I'm going to try to do a post about the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference for next week, but suffice to say it was a terrific event put on by the MIT MBA students, full of terrific conversations and the chance to see some old friends -- and meet tons of new people (and tons of people I had previously only known through Twitter or reputation).
Enjoy your Sunday!
-- D.S.
We are into full-on NCAA Tournament mode, with the end to college hoops' regular season for the big conferences and the heart of the small-league tournaments. A few notes:
*UNC beats Duke: I think this probably marks the high point of how overrated UNC is (and how down folks will be on Duke). UNC has no shooters and Duke is badly missing Brian Zoubek, who in hindsight was the MVP of their NCAA Tournament run a year ago.
*Congrats to UNC-Asheville which went into Coastal Carolina and beat the Big South's No. 1 seed to earn the league's NCAA bid.
*Belmont needs a friendly seeding and a decent match-up, but they are looking interesting as a first-round upset pick a week from tonight. (Selection Sunday is a week from tonight.)
*If my "BYU is going to win it all!" from last Monday was the biggest Quickie Jinx of all time, my preseason prediction that Michigan State would win the national title has to be close behind. Yikes. Sorry, Spartans fans.
*I know Pitt is good. I see their resume and find it so impressive. And yet I just can't pick them to win 4 straight in the NCAA Tournament. Maybe this is an example of me over-thinking or being held back by old biases where Pitt has choked on the bracket before.
(Staying in the Big East, I feel the same way about Notre Dame, which had a HUGE win at UConn -- at the end without star Ben Hansborough -- but I just can't see them winning 4 straight.)
*I was nudging toward picking Purdue as a team that could make a run to the Elite Eight... right up until they lost to Iowa. It's going to be hard to forget that one.
(I know, I know: You'd think after a few days with folks who are stats-oriented, I would know better than to use tiny sample sizes and know better than to give in to confirmation bias.)
*Here's how I feel about the teams on the Bubble like Michigan or Clemson or (not really anymore) Virginia Tech or Georgia -- I'm not picking any of them to survive the first round, anyway. (Although if they are in the "First Four" round, as the teams on the very edge of the Bubble will be, I may be picking them to win THAT game -- but, still, probably not -- before losing when the field is cut from 68 to 64.)
Today: Bulls-Heat, which -- given the Heat's struggles against the Magic and Spurs this week -- feels like a must-see for NBA fans.
If the NBA is going to play games overseas, you can do a lot worse than triple-overtime. (You can do much better than Nets and Raptors, however.)
Big milestone: Danica Patrick became the first woman driver to have a Top 5 finish in a Nationwide racing event and her 4th-place finish was the highest-ever for a woman driver in a national race event.
I'm going to try to do a post about the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference for next week, but suffice to say it was a terrific event put on by the MIT MBA students, full of terrific conversations and the chance to see some old friends -- and meet tons of new people (and tons of people I had previously only known through Twitter or reputation).
Enjoy your Sunday!
-- D.S.
Saturday, March 05, 2011
03/05 (Very) Quickie
*I'm still in Boston at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, and here's my big takeaway from yesterday:
As they should, the "names" drew big crowds -- guys like Mark Cuban and Bill Simmons and Mike Wilbon -- but the stuff that's going to impact sports and fans was going on in some of the smaller panels, where R&D was being discussed that will change the way teams optimize their performances (and the way fans appreciate the games). Very cool.
*Championship Week really tips off today, when three small(er) conferences crown champs -- it is one of my favorite moments of the sports year, because for these leagues and schools and fans, it's all or nothing. That's why you can't help but root for 15-18 North Florida, the 6-seed out of the Atlantic Sun, which has gone on a run to get one W from the Big Dance.
*The Heat got routed by the Spurs: Did people really think the Heat were going to be legitimate contenders this year? What a stark contrast: The Heat's "Big Three" against the Spurs putting 8 players in double-figures, affirming their place as the best team in the league this season. For all the glitz of Miami, it is decidedly unglitzy San Antonio that is dominating.
*The story about the Michigan high school hoops player who collapsed and died seconds after hitting the game-winning basket to seal his team's perfect season is so sad, it's hard to even fathom.
*Are you going to SXSW? Join me and Darren Rovell on Selection Sunday for a Quickish live event. You'll be enjoying the bracket reveal -- I'll be furiously updating the site. Good times!
-- D.S.
As they should, the "names" drew big crowds -- guys like Mark Cuban and Bill Simmons and Mike Wilbon -- but the stuff that's going to impact sports and fans was going on in some of the smaller panels, where R&D was being discussed that will change the way teams optimize their performances (and the way fans appreciate the games). Very cool.
*Championship Week really tips off today, when three small(er) conferences crown champs -- it is one of my favorite moments of the sports year, because for these leagues and schools and fans, it's all or nothing. That's why you can't help but root for 15-18 North Florida, the 6-seed out of the Atlantic Sun, which has gone on a run to get one W from the Big Dance.
*The Heat got routed by the Spurs: Did people really think the Heat were going to be legitimate contenders this year? What a stark contrast: The Heat's "Big Three" against the Spurs putting 8 players in double-figures, affirming their place as the best team in the league this season. For all the glitz of Miami, it is decidedly unglitzy San Antonio that is dominating.
*The story about the Michigan high school hoops player who collapsed and died seconds after hitting the game-winning basket to seal his team's perfect season is so sad, it's hard to even fathom.
*Are you going to SXSW? Join me and Darren Rovell on Selection Sunday for a Quickish live event. You'll be enjoying the bracket reveal -- I'll be furiously updating the site. Good times!
-- D.S.
Friday, March 04, 2011
03/04 Quickie: Oregon, NFL, Stats
Dateline: Boston, Mass.
I'm in Boston for the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, an event I spoke at last year and found to be one of the most enjoyable events I've ever been to, full of great ideas and even better people.
That's why this year, even without a speaking gig, I am back to hang out, learn, chat and otherwise soak up the smarts.
Quickish is still going full-throttle -- you don't want to know how the site was updated while I was making the 6-hour ride from NYC to Boston (hint: it's normally 4-ish), but suffice to say that today will be a mix of Quickish updates and judicious commentary on my @danshanoff Twitter feed.
One big Quickish thing that I could really use your help with: Last night, we rolled out a "Share" function that lets you recommend individual Quickish posts (or "tips") via Facebook and Twitter. (Just look for the "share" link on the top right of each post.)
We tested it, but until it's live and a bunch of people use it under lots of different conditions, you never know. So if you see something you like and are interested in sharing it with your Facebook or Twitter folks, please give it a try and -- more than anything -- let me know if it doesn't work the way you want it to, why it didn't and what could be better. Just shoot me an email at dan-[at]-quickish-[dot]-com. (I'll take any of your feedback on any Quickish issue, btw.)
Anyway, huge thanks for that -- readers being able to share Quickish recommendations with their friends has been glaringly missing for the past two months and I can't wait to see if it increases the number of people who hear about (and ultimately visit and enjoy) Quickish.
Thanks again. Now...
*Oregon recruiting "scandal"-ish: I break out the "-ish" suffix because Oregon, on its face, didn't do anything wrong. It paid a scouting service, like basically every other major college football program does.
That these "services" might do more than provide video clips or recommendation lists or put together helpful camps or clinics has long been one of the murkier, seedier underbellies of the sport. Frankly, it's one of the ways business simply gets done.
That doesn't make it right, but it does make it de facto institutionalized. Nothing is going to happen to Oregon with this, but to the extent that "sunlight is the best disinfectant," it feels like a net-positive that it's out in the open as a topic of discussion.
*NFL Labor Deadline (or "Deadline"): The 24-hour extension really doesn't mean anything, except that perhaps... well, perhaps nothing. I either expect more extensions or the NFL players' union will de-certify today. (I still contend that the owners are going to win this and win big, that they know it and that the players kind of know it, too. So anything that disrupts the thesis is welcome, but in general, following the tick-tock of this story has been the lamest "big" story on Quickish in its 2 months.
*Tina Stewart Murdered: What a tragedy at Middle Tennessee State. The roommate allegedly did it? It's awful. Thoughts are with her family, friends and the MTSU community.
*Magic shock Heat: It is in the best interests of basketball fans that the Magic become a viable playoff competitor in the East to the Celtics, Heat and Bulls. What a semifinals that will be. (And what amazing schadenfreude to see the Heat lose after being up 20-something.)
*Nuggets beat the Jazz: I know the Jazz aren't the same team as two weeks ago, but the Nuggets aren't either -- they are better. How many wins will it take for "The Carmelo Theory" to supplant "The Ewing Theory?"
*Kings relocation to Anaheim an all-but-done-deal? I feel very badly for Kings fans, who are even more die-hard than Sonics fans (no offense, Seattle friends -- at least you've got the Seahawks and Mariners and Huskies).
*College hoops: So much for St. John's' momentum. Reminder that no matter who the Johnnies have beaten this season, pick in late March at your own risk.
*Championship Week: Title games tomorrow in the Big South (4 p.m. ET), Atlantic Sun (6 p.m.) and Ohio Valley (8 p.m.) -- one-bid leagues where you really appreciate how much the players and students appreciate the ticket to go dancing. Always an annual treat.
Enjoy the day. Lots going on at Quickish. Please stop by.
-- D.S.
I'm in Boston for the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, an event I spoke at last year and found to be one of the most enjoyable events I've ever been to, full of great ideas and even better people.
That's why this year, even without a speaking gig, I am back to hang out, learn, chat and otherwise soak up the smarts.
Quickish is still going full-throttle -- you don't want to know how the site was updated while I was making the 6-hour ride from NYC to Boston (hint: it's normally 4-ish), but suffice to say that today will be a mix of Quickish updates and judicious commentary on my @danshanoff Twitter feed.
One big Quickish thing that I could really use your help with: Last night, we rolled out a "Share" function that lets you recommend individual Quickish posts (or "tips") via Facebook and Twitter. (Just look for the "share" link on the top right of each post.)
We tested it, but until it's live and a bunch of people use it under lots of different conditions, you never know. So if you see something you like and are interested in sharing it with your Facebook or Twitter folks, please give it a try and -- more than anything -- let me know if it doesn't work the way you want it to, why it didn't and what could be better. Just shoot me an email at dan-[at]-quickish-[dot]-com. (I'll take any of your feedback on any Quickish issue, btw.)
Anyway, huge thanks for that -- readers being able to share Quickish recommendations with their friends has been glaringly missing for the past two months and I can't wait to see if it increases the number of people who hear about (and ultimately visit and enjoy) Quickish.
Thanks again. Now...
*Oregon recruiting "scandal"-ish: I break out the "-ish" suffix because Oregon, on its face, didn't do anything wrong. It paid a scouting service, like basically every other major college football program does.
That these "services" might do more than provide video clips or recommendation lists or put together helpful camps or clinics has long been one of the murkier, seedier underbellies of the sport. Frankly, it's one of the ways business simply gets done.
That doesn't make it right, but it does make it de facto institutionalized. Nothing is going to happen to Oregon with this, but to the extent that "sunlight is the best disinfectant," it feels like a net-positive that it's out in the open as a topic of discussion.
*NFL Labor Deadline (or "Deadline"): The 24-hour extension really doesn't mean anything, except that perhaps... well, perhaps nothing. I either expect more extensions or the NFL players' union will de-certify today. (I still contend that the owners are going to win this and win big, that they know it and that the players kind of know it, too. So anything that disrupts the thesis is welcome, but in general, following the tick-tock of this story has been the lamest "big" story on Quickish in its 2 months.
*Tina Stewart Murdered: What a tragedy at Middle Tennessee State. The roommate allegedly did it? It's awful. Thoughts are with her family, friends and the MTSU community.
*Magic shock Heat: It is in the best interests of basketball fans that the Magic become a viable playoff competitor in the East to the Celtics, Heat and Bulls. What a semifinals that will be. (And what amazing schadenfreude to see the Heat lose after being up 20-something.)
*Nuggets beat the Jazz: I know the Jazz aren't the same team as two weeks ago, but the Nuggets aren't either -- they are better. How many wins will it take for "The Carmelo Theory" to supplant "The Ewing Theory?"
*Kings relocation to Anaheim an all-but-done-deal? I feel very badly for Kings fans, who are even more die-hard than Sonics fans (no offense, Seattle friends -- at least you've got the Seahawks and Mariners and Huskies).
*College hoops: So much for St. John's' momentum. Reminder that no matter who the Johnnies have beaten this season, pick in late March at your own risk.
*Championship Week: Title games tomorrow in the Big South (4 p.m. ET), Atlantic Sun (6 p.m.) and Ohio Valley (8 p.m.) -- one-bid leagues where you really appreciate how much the players and students appreciate the ticket to go dancing. Always an annual treat.
Enjoy the day. Lots going on at Quickish. Please stop by.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
03/03 Quickie: On BYU
I have a pretty clear-cut reaction to the BYU-Brandon Davies story.
I don't personally live by the same rules that folks at BYU do, but I respect that they believe in their Honor Code.
Here's something I don't get:
When did it become OK to openly make jokes about Mormons and Mormonism? You see it constantly, especially when talking about Jimmer Fredette or BYU, and especially in light of the Brandon Davies situation.
If folks -- and I'm talking about people in the media -- made jokes in the same ballpark about Muslim or Jewish or Catholic people, they would be fired. And yet, it's somehow OK to do it about Mormons. I don't get that.
I'm thrilled to engage in a discussion about the ramifications for BYU basketball from Davies' booting for the rest of the season -- they are severe, and they have a MASSIVE impact on the NCAA Tournament (especially if -- ahem -- you had them winning it all).
That BYU was absolutely throttled last night by New Mexico -- in Provo, no less -- makes this an even more fascinating story.
But it's a basketball story, not a debate over one religion's value system versus your own.
That this story involves about sex -- sex and religion, no less -- makes it titillating and almost irresistible to chime in on in a catty way.
You are free to say what you want, obviously. You are entirely entitled to your own opinion about honor codes and morality. But when it veers into ugly jokes, I just wonder if people would go there if it involved other religions.
-- D.S.
(Sidebar, which hopefully doesn't diminish my larger point above: Some of the same people that would root for a colleague to be fired for clapping in a press box are making disparaging comments about someone else's Honor Code.)
I don't personally live by the same rules that folks at BYU do, but I respect that they believe in their Honor Code.
Here's something I don't get:
When did it become OK to openly make jokes about Mormons and Mormonism? You see it constantly, especially when talking about Jimmer Fredette or BYU, and especially in light of the Brandon Davies situation.
If folks -- and I'm talking about people in the media -- made jokes in the same ballpark about Muslim or Jewish or Catholic people, they would be fired. And yet, it's somehow OK to do it about Mormons. I don't get that.
I'm thrilled to engage in a discussion about the ramifications for BYU basketball from Davies' booting for the rest of the season -- they are severe, and they have a MASSIVE impact on the NCAA Tournament (especially if -- ahem -- you had them winning it all).
That BYU was absolutely throttled last night by New Mexico -- in Provo, no less -- makes this an even more fascinating story.
But it's a basketball story, not a debate over one religion's value system versus your own.
That this story involves about sex -- sex and religion, no less -- makes it titillating and almost irresistible to chime in on in a catty way.
You are free to say what you want, obviously. You are entirely entitled to your own opinion about honor codes and morality. But when it veers into ugly jokes, I just wonder if people would go there if it involved other religions.
-- D.S.
(Sidebar, which hopefully doesn't diminish my larger point above: Some of the same people that would root for a colleague to be fired for clapping in a press box are making disparaging comments about someone else's Honor Code.)
03/02 Quickie: Sheen, BYU, CFB, More
Let's start with this, one of the most profound moments in the history of this blog:
Yesterday, I said that I was picking BYU to win the NCAA Tournament. I was being entirely serious about that.
Last night, BYU's best frontcourt player was booted off the team for the rest of the season (or, cynically, until he apologizes profusely, the coach reminds the "Honor Code" committee about the greater glory for BYU of a college basketball national championship -- or even a deep run in the Tournament -- and he is reinstated).
But, as it stands, this would be the most vicious example of the "Quickie Jinx" in the 8-year history of the Quickie and its accompanying jinx.
I did not think that I would ever be able to top the "Two Words: It's. Over." Quickie headline from 2004 after Game 3 of the ALCS, blared across the top of the front page of ESPN.com.
But this BYU whiplash is so severe, I actually allow for the idea that -- really? -- the Quickie Jinx might just exist for real, and not just as an inside joke.
Anyway, until Davies is reinstated -- and, to double-down on my BYU prediction skills, I'm going to say that by the end of the week, his expulsion is mitigated to a temporary suspension that leaves him eligible to play for BYU in the Tournament -- I will NOT be picking them to win the national title.
The biggest problem for me with that, of course, is that without the clarity of my BYU pick, I am completely at a loss for who to pick to go 6-0 in late March.
****
Speaking of which, Championship Week started last night with the very early rounds of the smaller conferences. Here is why I love C-Week:
Theoretically, any team in the country can win the national title, regardless of how they played from November through Februrary.
All they have to do is win 10 straight, starting with the prelim round of their conference tournament. Win a few more and you've got the league's automatic NCAA bid. From there, win 6 straight and you've won the national title. No muss, no fuss.
Cinderella doesn't get going the first Thursday of the NCAAs; it starts right now.
*****
NFL Labor: I think the NFL will be just fine without its TV money (at least temporarily). A lot better than the NFL players will be without THEIR money.
CBB: I really want to believe in Florida this season. Since the back-to-back national titles, the team has endured a severe karmic payback. But I'm still skeptical. The SEC is so terrible this year, that the Gators' record is hard to calibrate against other teams that will end up on the 3-seed or 4-seed line, like Florida will. I'm hoping the team's experience will help -- plus two NBA-quality bigs in Vernon Macklin and Patric Young -- but the last few seasons have scarred me. I will content myself by following which contending NBA team Corey Brewer picks...
More: Ohio State's Jon Diebler (30 pts on 10 3s last night) is an incredible complement to Sullinger, Lighty and Craft. I'm loath to buy OSU to go 6-0, but 4-0? Probably.
Mets Mess: If the Wilpons really cared about the team and its fans, they would sell the team outright.
Serena health scare: "Pulmonary embolism" and "hematoma" and "emergency surgery" sound insanely scary. Here's to Serena's complete recovery and long-term health.
Yesterday, I said that I was picking BYU to win the NCAA Tournament. I was being entirely serious about that.
Last night, BYU's best frontcourt player was booted off the team for the rest of the season (or, cynically, until he apologizes profusely, the coach reminds the "Honor Code" committee about the greater glory for BYU of a college basketball national championship -- or even a deep run in the Tournament -- and he is reinstated).
But, as it stands, this would be the most vicious example of the "Quickie Jinx" in the 8-year history of the Quickie and its accompanying jinx.
I did not think that I would ever be able to top the "Two Words: It's. Over." Quickie headline from 2004 after Game 3 of the ALCS, blared across the top of the front page of ESPN.com.
But this BYU whiplash is so severe, I actually allow for the idea that -- really? -- the Quickie Jinx might just exist for real, and not just as an inside joke.
Anyway, until Davies is reinstated -- and, to double-down on my BYU prediction skills, I'm going to say that by the end of the week, his expulsion is mitigated to a temporary suspension that leaves him eligible to play for BYU in the Tournament -- I will NOT be picking them to win the national title.
The biggest problem for me with that, of course, is that without the clarity of my BYU pick, I am completely at a loss for who to pick to go 6-0 in late March.
****
Speaking of which, Championship Week started last night with the very early rounds of the smaller conferences. Here is why I love C-Week:
Theoretically, any team in the country can win the national title, regardless of how they played from November through Februrary.
All they have to do is win 10 straight, starting with the prelim round of their conference tournament. Win a few more and you've got the league's automatic NCAA bid. From there, win 6 straight and you've won the national title. No muss, no fuss.
Cinderella doesn't get going the first Thursday of the NCAAs; it starts right now.
*****
NFL Labor: I think the NFL will be just fine without its TV money (at least temporarily). A lot better than the NFL players will be without THEIR money.
CBB: I really want to believe in Florida this season. Since the back-to-back national titles, the team has endured a severe karmic payback. But I'm still skeptical. The SEC is so terrible this year, that the Gators' record is hard to calibrate against other teams that will end up on the 3-seed or 4-seed line, like Florida will. I'm hoping the team's experience will help -- plus two NBA-quality bigs in Vernon Macklin and Patric Young -- but the last few seasons have scarred me. I will content myself by following which contending NBA team Corey Brewer picks...
More: Ohio State's Jon Diebler (30 pts on 10 3s last night) is an incredible complement to Sullinger, Lighty and Craft. I'm loath to buy OSU to go 6-0, but 4-0? Probably.
Mets Mess: If the Wilpons really cared about the team and its fans, they would sell the team outright.
Serena health scare: "Pulmonary embolism" and "hematoma" and "emergency surgery" sound insanely scary. Here's to Serena's complete recovery and long-term health.
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
03/01 Quickie: Sheen, Hoops, More
Charlie Sheen has totally taken over everything. I guess that's "winning."
So here's an update to last week's "Charlie Sheen-inspired Fantasy Baseball Team Names" list.
More on the radar today:
*NFL Combine: It's all about LSU CB Patrick Peterson's 40 time. Will he go under 4.3?
*Thunder sign Kendrick Perkins to an extension: Let's give them at least two NBA titles in the next 5 years. Not just because of Perk, but just the whole combo they have there.
*Tony Parker out 2-4 weeks. As long as he's healthy by the playoffs -- that goes for every injury between now and April -- the Spurs are fine.
*College hoops: Pick Texas in the NCAA Tournament to go beyond the first weekend at your own risk. (And Kansas State is a total wild card for the bracket. Could go Elite Eight; could flame out on the first day. Playing amazing right now, though.)
Meanwhile, everyone suddenly making BYU a No. 1 seed makes my prediction that they'll win the entire tournament much less bold. In a season this wide open? Hell, it's almost conventional. (In fact, I'll bet you RIGHT NOW that BYU is Sports Illustrated's pick to win it all.)
*More NBA: I actually found myself riveted to the end of the Nets-Suns game, in part because I wanted to see Deron Williams in his home debut, in part because I'm a huge Steve Nash fan and in part because... well, it was just a really exciting finish. (The Nets? Really? Progress!)
*UConn retires Maya Moore's number. I think she's the best player in UConn history, which puts her up among the greatest women's college hoops players ever.
*Dancing with the Stars: Hines Ward will be participating. You know how I feel about this -- football players have an unbelievable track record on the show, and it would be an upset if Ward DIDN'T make it to the final 3. (Expect big voting numbers from Steelers Nation.)
*Must-See Video: The American U. hoops team released a trick-shot video that is awesome.
More later. Pop by Quickish -- the true test is on the slow news days, which today definitely is. And yet: Quickish is rolling along with all sorts of interesting recommendations and quick-hit analysis. Give it a try!
-- D.S.
So here's an update to last week's "Charlie Sheen-inspired Fantasy Baseball Team Names" list.
More on the radar today:
*NFL Combine: It's all about LSU CB Patrick Peterson's 40 time. Will he go under 4.3?
*Thunder sign Kendrick Perkins to an extension: Let's give them at least two NBA titles in the next 5 years. Not just because of Perk, but just the whole combo they have there.
*Tony Parker out 2-4 weeks. As long as he's healthy by the playoffs -- that goes for every injury between now and April -- the Spurs are fine.
*College hoops: Pick Texas in the NCAA Tournament to go beyond the first weekend at your own risk. (And Kansas State is a total wild card for the bracket. Could go Elite Eight; could flame out on the first day. Playing amazing right now, though.)
Meanwhile, everyone suddenly making BYU a No. 1 seed makes my prediction that they'll win the entire tournament much less bold. In a season this wide open? Hell, it's almost conventional. (In fact, I'll bet you RIGHT NOW that BYU is Sports Illustrated's pick to win it all.)
*More NBA: I actually found myself riveted to the end of the Nets-Suns game, in part because I wanted to see Deron Williams in his home debut, in part because I'm a huge Steve Nash fan and in part because... well, it was just a really exciting finish. (The Nets? Really? Progress!)
*UConn retires Maya Moore's number. I think she's the best player in UConn history, which puts her up among the greatest women's college hoops players ever.
*Dancing with the Stars: Hines Ward will be participating. You know how I feel about this -- football players have an unbelievable track record on the show, and it would be an upset if Ward DIDN'T make it to the final 3. (Expect big voting numbers from Steelers Nation.)
*Must-See Video: The American U. hoops team released a trick-shot video that is awesome.
More later. Pop by Quickish -- the true test is on the slow news days, which today definitely is. And yet: Quickish is rolling along with all sorts of interesting recommendations and quick-hit analysis. Give it a try!
-- D.S.
Monday, February 28, 2011
02/28 Quickie: Oscars, Knicks, Combine
We had a ton of fun over at Quickish last night during the Oscars. Check out the best-of here and see the entire stream here.
Here is the biggest sports implication: Given the Oscar haul for "The Fighter" -- BOTH "Best Supporting" awards -- where does that nudge the ranking of the movie among all sports movies?
(BTW: Released a really cool little tech enhancement this weekend: "Endless Scroll." That's where you get to the bottom of the page and more posts load effortlessly. Theoretically, you could go back all the way through the month, through the launch and see the month of test posting I did before Quickish launched. Yes: Re-live that Cliff Lee signing! Or Urban Meyer quitting!)
****
Knicks beat Heat in Miami: It was kind of awesome last night when everyone en masse switched from the Oscars to the final minutes of the game.
That final big play -- Carmelo guarding LeBron and, contrary to his rep as a soft defensive player, forcing him (arguably fouling him) into an awkward shot that Amare swooped in and rejected -- was as good as regular-season NBA gets.
Welcome your new meme: The Knicks are legit; the Heat can't beat good teams in big games.
****
RIP Duke Snider. As a Brooklyn person -- not just recently, but going back more than a decade (not to mention an entire half of my family going back in Brooklyn to the early 20th century) -- Snider holds a place that neither Mays nor Mantle has. I remember rolling through Flatbush -- god, it had to have been 14 years ago -- and having my late grandfather point out Snider's old house. A bit different than reading profiles of Jeter's mansion in Tampa.
****
College Hoops Weekend in Review: BYU. I am fully 100% aboard the bandwagon, to the point where I was watching that BYU win over SDSU on Saturday afternoon and completely convincing myself -- regardless of what happens between now and a week from Sunday -- that I will be picking BYU not just to make the Final Four, but win the national title. BOOM. This is either the most brutal Quickie jinx I have ever applied -- or its exorcism.
Good for VA Tech -- they earned that win over Duke. And even if Duke is a wee bit overrated, it's a win that should put VT on the right side of the Bubble (as long as they don't screw it up against inferior comp over the next week).
****
NFL Combine: I'm still drafting Cam Newton over any other QB and find his long-term prospects to be thrilling. But this isn't the NBA, where a single player can turn things around -- even an elite QB. If he does go to the Panthers or Bills or Bengals or Redskins, it's on the team to match futher talent upgrades with a game-plan that maximizes his talents, not fit him into some orthodoxy of what an NFL offense should be. If this sounds remarkably like what I said about Tim Tebow a year ago, it's because the same rules apply -- and Newton is even more talented.
Oh: That Oregon State guy putting up the 225 bar 49 times was absolutely riveting.
****
I don't want the month's end to slip by without thanking you, sincerely and effusively, for your support of Quickish, which saw a really big jump in traffic from January's hot start to February.
More about the future tomorrow, but I have audacious goals for March: Doubling February's number of visitors. I think between some new social-sharing tools we're launching imminently, some distribution partners, some good PR, expanding the editorial staff and -- of course -- the NCAA Tournament (which is like Quickish's ultimate moment of the year), it is doable. And I'm going to be counting on you to help spread the word.
What's the point in doing this if the goal isn't to go all freaking in and build an incredible experience that every fan would enjoy? As excited as things were with January's launch and February's growth, I am more excited about Quickish than ever.
I'm really really glad you're in this with me and thank you again for your support.
-- D.S.
Here is the biggest sports implication: Given the Oscar haul for "The Fighter" -- BOTH "Best Supporting" awards -- where does that nudge the ranking of the movie among all sports movies?
(BTW: Released a really cool little tech enhancement this weekend: "Endless Scroll." That's where you get to the bottom of the page and more posts load effortlessly. Theoretically, you could go back all the way through the month, through the launch and see the month of test posting I did before Quickish launched. Yes: Re-live that Cliff Lee signing! Or Urban Meyer quitting!)
****
Knicks beat Heat in Miami: It was kind of awesome last night when everyone en masse switched from the Oscars to the final minutes of the game.
That final big play -- Carmelo guarding LeBron and, contrary to his rep as a soft defensive player, forcing him (arguably fouling him) into an awkward shot that Amare swooped in and rejected -- was as good as regular-season NBA gets.
Welcome your new meme: The Knicks are legit; the Heat can't beat good teams in big games.
****
RIP Duke Snider. As a Brooklyn person -- not just recently, but going back more than a decade (not to mention an entire half of my family going back in Brooklyn to the early 20th century) -- Snider holds a place that neither Mays nor Mantle has. I remember rolling through Flatbush -- god, it had to have been 14 years ago -- and having my late grandfather point out Snider's old house. A bit different than reading profiles of Jeter's mansion in Tampa.
****
College Hoops Weekend in Review: BYU. I am fully 100% aboard the bandwagon, to the point where I was watching that BYU win over SDSU on Saturday afternoon and completely convincing myself -- regardless of what happens between now and a week from Sunday -- that I will be picking BYU not just to make the Final Four, but win the national title. BOOM. This is either the most brutal Quickie jinx I have ever applied -- or its exorcism.
Good for VA Tech -- they earned that win over Duke. And even if Duke is a wee bit overrated, it's a win that should put VT on the right side of the Bubble (as long as they don't screw it up against inferior comp over the next week).
****
NFL Combine: I'm still drafting Cam Newton over any other QB and find his long-term prospects to be thrilling. But this isn't the NBA, where a single player can turn things around -- even an elite QB. If he does go to the Panthers or Bills or Bengals or Redskins, it's on the team to match futher talent upgrades with a game-plan that maximizes his talents, not fit him into some orthodoxy of what an NFL offense should be. If this sounds remarkably like what I said about Tim Tebow a year ago, it's because the same rules apply -- and Newton is even more talented.
Oh: That Oregon State guy putting up the 225 bar 49 times was absolutely riveting.
****
I don't want the month's end to slip by without thanking you, sincerely and effusively, for your support of Quickish, which saw a really big jump in traffic from January's hot start to February.
More about the future tomorrow, but I have audacious goals for March: Doubling February's number of visitors. I think between some new social-sharing tools we're launching imminently, some distribution partners, some good PR, expanding the editorial staff and -- of course -- the NCAA Tournament (which is like Quickish's ultimate moment of the year), it is doable. And I'm going to be counting on you to help spread the word.
What's the point in doing this if the goal isn't to go all freaking in and build an incredible experience that every fan would enjoy? As excited as things were with January's launch and February's growth, I am more excited about Quickish than ever.
I'm really really glad you're in this with me and thank you again for your support.
-- D.S.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
02/26 (Very) Quickie
Fun Saturday of college hoops on tap...
*Must-see: BYU at San Diego State at 2 p.m. ET on CBS, both to watch the Jimmer phenomenon, but to see SDSU, which -- if they win out this season -- could get a 1-seed in the NCAA Tourney.
*Carmelo and Knicks lose at Cleveland: On any given night, any team in the NBA can beat any other team -- but this sure felt like wonderful irony, given how this week has gone.
*The Pistons mutiny: It went from the star players having a "sleep-in" and skipping morning practice to Tracy McGrady and others openly mocking coach John Kuester as he was ejected last night, after playing the game with 6 players. Kuester has to be gone, but this team has far bigger problems than that.
*Magic not ready to give up yet? Perhaps energized knowing that designated Howard-stopper Kendrick Perkins has been shipped West, D-12 had 40 on Perk's new team -- the Thunder -- in a Magic win that had few practical implications but sure carried a lot of symbolism.
*NFL Combine: Can we get to some drills already?
*NFL Lockout Watch: The agents wanted to show solidarity with the union, but it's hard to imagine them being much more than self-interested.
*Charlie Weis is getting paid: $2.5M as Florida's offensive coordinator. That's going to be awkward -- not to mention expensive -- when they fire him after two years for not being particularly good. (I'm not bullish on Weis' abilities. Happy to be proven wrong, but still.)
More throughout the day at Quickish. Pop by!
-- D.S.
*Must-see: BYU at San Diego State at 2 p.m. ET on CBS, both to watch the Jimmer phenomenon, but to see SDSU, which -- if they win out this season -- could get a 1-seed in the NCAA Tourney.
*Carmelo and Knicks lose at Cleveland: On any given night, any team in the NBA can beat any other team -- but this sure felt like wonderful irony, given how this week has gone.
*The Pistons mutiny: It went from the star players having a "sleep-in" and skipping morning practice to Tracy McGrady and others openly mocking coach John Kuester as he was ejected last night, after playing the game with 6 players. Kuester has to be gone, but this team has far bigger problems than that.
*Magic not ready to give up yet? Perhaps energized knowing that designated Howard-stopper Kendrick Perkins has been shipped West, D-12 had 40 on Perk's new team -- the Thunder -- in a Magic win that had few practical implications but sure carried a lot of symbolism.
*NFL Combine: Can we get to some drills already?
*NFL Lockout Watch: The agents wanted to show solidarity with the union, but it's hard to imagine them being much more than self-interested.
*Charlie Weis is getting paid: $2.5M as Florida's offensive coordinator. That's going to be awkward -- not to mention expensive -- when they fire him after two years for not being particularly good. (I'm not bullish on Weis' abilities. Happy to be proven wrong, but still.)
More throughout the day at Quickish. Pop by!
-- D.S.
Friday, February 25, 2011
02/25 Quickie: Oscars, Celtics, More
Let's start with a Quickie tradition: The Oscar picks.
Best Picture
Will Win: The Social Network
Should Win: Toy Story 3
Best Director:
Will/Should Win: Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
Best Actor
Will/Should Win: Colin Firth (Should Win: Firth)
Best Actress
Will Win: Natalie Portman
Should Win: Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
Best Supporting Actor:
Will/Should Win: Christian Bale (Fighter)
Best Supporting Actress:
Will/Should Win: Melissa Leo (Fighter)
*****
NBA Trade Deadline: Here's the problem for Danny Ainge and the Celtics. Their window was this season. Not next year. Right now.
They have shown that the Heat can't possibly match them, particularly in the playoffs with its increased intensity. The Bulls aren't there yet. The Magic are cooked.
What the Celtics had to do was consider the Finals -- not the conference finals, the NBA Finals. Against the Lakers, Perkins is/was critical.
Now, the Celtics will still likely win the East -- as they would have with Perk. But once they meet the Lakers in the Finals -- or, god forbid, the Thunder -- they will be in some trouble.
I can't believe Danny Ainge panicked over winning the East. They were on track to win the East; they were on track to give the Lakers all they could handle in the Finals.
The expectations for the Celtics were clear: NBA title or bust. The only difference today is that when they inevitably fall short of that, the blame is on Ainge for trading their only legit big.
(Meanwhile, it's a coup for the Thunder, who can lock up Perkins, who makes a much more title-worthy complement to Durant and Westbrook and Ibaka than Green did.)
****
NBA Last Night: I regularly gripe that the NBA regular season is largely meaningless, but last night's Heat-Bulls game had a distinct playoff feel to it. And the Bulls proved that they are unwilling to concede anything to the Heat. Bosh's 1-for-18 FG performance is foreshadowing of what will end up being an epic playoff choke (it also foreshadows the value of a healthy Joakim Noah to the Bulls' prospects -- who on the Celtics is going to stop him? KG? Then who on the Celtics guards Carlos Boozer?)
****
The way the Tigers are handling the Miguel Cabrera thing is offensive and is so obviously going to implode on them, it's shameful. This isn't "imploding" like "ack, we didn't win the division." This is someone's life. And, god forbid, let's hope it doesn't involve others' lives, too. I said this when the Cabrera story broke -- this is a moment for paternalism by the Tigers and MLB. Unfortunately, the team and the league are acting like absent parents.
****
College Hoops this weekend: The biggest game -- by far -- is the BYU-San Diego State rematch. BYU won in Provo; SDSU figures to be the favorite playing at hom -- and possibly for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They're the new Memphis. (If they do get it, dare I bring back the old Quickie "Boldest. Prediction. Ever." from 2006: That Memphis would be the first-ever 1-seed to lose to a 16-seed? We'll see...)
****
Lovie Smith gets an extension: Won't preclude him from being fired in two years if the Bears can't sustain the playoff pace they had last season.
****
Quickish is rolling today -- yesterday was on fire with the NBA Trade Deadline, but tons of great stuff today, too. Please give it a look -- and please tell your friends. (That's foreshadowing of a much much bigger "Tell your friends!" effort that is going to kick off next week with a new month.)
-- D.S.
Best Picture
Will Win: The Social Network
Should Win: Toy Story 3
Best Director:
Will/Should Win: Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
Best Actor
Will/Should Win: Colin Firth (Should Win: Firth)
Best Actress
Will Win: Natalie Portman
Should Win: Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
Best Supporting Actor:
Will/Should Win: Christian Bale (Fighter)
Best Supporting Actress:
Will/Should Win: Melissa Leo (Fighter)
*****
NBA Trade Deadline: Here's the problem for Danny Ainge and the Celtics. Their window was this season. Not next year. Right now.
They have shown that the Heat can't possibly match them, particularly in the playoffs with its increased intensity. The Bulls aren't there yet. The Magic are cooked.
What the Celtics had to do was consider the Finals -- not the conference finals, the NBA Finals. Against the Lakers, Perkins is/was critical.
Now, the Celtics will still likely win the East -- as they would have with Perk. But once they meet the Lakers in the Finals -- or, god forbid, the Thunder -- they will be in some trouble.
I can't believe Danny Ainge panicked over winning the East. They were on track to win the East; they were on track to give the Lakers all they could handle in the Finals.
The expectations for the Celtics were clear: NBA title or bust. The only difference today is that when they inevitably fall short of that, the blame is on Ainge for trading their only legit big.
(Meanwhile, it's a coup for the Thunder, who can lock up Perkins, who makes a much more title-worthy complement to Durant and Westbrook and Ibaka than Green did.)
****
NBA Last Night: I regularly gripe that the NBA regular season is largely meaningless, but last night's Heat-Bulls game had a distinct playoff feel to it. And the Bulls proved that they are unwilling to concede anything to the Heat. Bosh's 1-for-18 FG performance is foreshadowing of what will end up being an epic playoff choke (it also foreshadows the value of a healthy Joakim Noah to the Bulls' prospects -- who on the Celtics is going to stop him? KG? Then who on the Celtics guards Carlos Boozer?)
****
The way the Tigers are handling the Miguel Cabrera thing is offensive and is so obviously going to implode on them, it's shameful. This isn't "imploding" like "ack, we didn't win the division." This is someone's life. And, god forbid, let's hope it doesn't involve others' lives, too. I said this when the Cabrera story broke -- this is a moment for paternalism by the Tigers and MLB. Unfortunately, the team and the league are acting like absent parents.
****
College Hoops this weekend: The biggest game -- by far -- is the BYU-San Diego State rematch. BYU won in Provo; SDSU figures to be the favorite playing at hom -- and possibly for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They're the new Memphis. (If they do get it, dare I bring back the old Quickie "Boldest. Prediction. Ever." from 2006: That Memphis would be the first-ever 1-seed to lose to a 16-seed? We'll see...)
****
Lovie Smith gets an extension: Won't preclude him from being fired in two years if the Bears can't sustain the playoff pace they had last season.
****
Quickish is rolling today -- yesterday was on fire with the NBA Trade Deadline, but tons of great stuff today, too. Please give it a look -- and please tell your friends. (That's foreshadowing of a much much bigger "Tell your friends!" effort that is going to kick off next week with a new month.)
-- D.S.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
02/24 Quickie: Nets, Cards, More
The Nets' risk in trading for Deron Williams was totally worth it. Even if he goes to the Knicks (or Clippers or wherever) in a year an a half. Even if.
Because he is the best PG in the NBA. Because he allowed the Nets' new ownership to say "We're in." Because the new labor deal might make it favorable to him (and the team) for him to stay. Because he could be the chip to lure Dwight Howard to Brooklyn. And because there is likely more NBA immortality to be had by being Brooklyn's first NBA star -- presuming he can turn the Nets into contenders -- than there is doing it for the Clippers or, yes, the Knicks.
Derrick Favors might turn out to be great -- I'm bullish on him. But he might not. As Steve Politi wrote this morning in the Newark Star-Ledger: The chances of convincing Deron Williams to stay are better than the chances of Favors turning out to be as valuable as Deron Williams (even if you discount an expected value that takes into consideration that Williams might leave).
It was a phenomenal move, and Deron Williams should keep that in mind as he evaluates the franchise. Now, if they could just fire Avery Johnson, who is terrible and will do more to drive away Deron Williams than anything. (If Williams told Prokhorov to fire Johnson, Prok would do it in 5 seconds. Let's hope he does.)
*****
Carmelo's Knicks debut: Yup, he shoots a lot. Yup, it turns out that Chauncey Billups might be the ultimately valuable piece of this. Yup, the game was an "event." Let's see what happens Sunday when Melo and the Knicks play a very motivated Heat in Miami.
Cards lose ace Adam Wainwright for the season: Oh, the Cards are so screwed. Presuming that their season is lost (and the future totally uncertain), it is in the best interests of the team to trade Albert Pujols -- and if Pujols cared about Cards fans, he would agree to be traded as a half-year "rental" to a contender in exchange for the massive stock of cheap talent that would help the Cardinals rebuild for a post-Pujols reality.
NFL combine starts today: As with the Senior Bowl, it lacks the Tebow storyline that was the gravitational force of last year's combine. But there is plenty to watch for: How does Cam Newton do? How does Patrick Peterson do? Who breaks through with eye-popping stats?
CBB: Marshon Brooks scores a Big East record 52 in Providence's loss to Notre Dame last night. It's amazing to think that in the glorious history of that league, no player has ever scored 52 -- not Chris Mullin or Walter Davis, not Allen Iverson, not Ray Allen, not Carmelo, no one. Pop over to Quickish and look for the post near the top with a 3-minute video of Brooks' scoring.
Tiger sucks, cont'd: Golf's big "match-play" bracket of the year -- the Accenture -- doesn't have quite the same vibe as the NCAA Tournament, so a "16-seed" beating Tiger Woods isn't that big of a deal. The bigger question: How on Earth does Tiger Woods earn a 1-seed? Golf rankings are absurd. Tiger isn't one of the top 4 golfers in the Accenture field based on his most recent "body of work." It would be like the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee giving Florida a 1-seed because they won the national title in 2006 and 2007.
Tennessee's NCAA problem: It's beyond Bruce Pearl committing an infraction days after crying an apology about his previous infractions. It's beyond the NCAA smacking down the football coach who isn't even there anymore. There is a culture of impropriety, and that starts at the top -- I'm with everyone else who thinks that Tennessee's AD should lose his job over this. But, hey, he makes the school a lot of money.
Stick with Quickish all day for NBA trade-deadline mania, NFL combine reports and more.
-- D.S.
Because he is the best PG in the NBA. Because he allowed the Nets' new ownership to say "We're in." Because the new labor deal might make it favorable to him (and the team) for him to stay. Because he could be the chip to lure Dwight Howard to Brooklyn. And because there is likely more NBA immortality to be had by being Brooklyn's first NBA star -- presuming he can turn the Nets into contenders -- than there is doing it for the Clippers or, yes, the Knicks.
Derrick Favors might turn out to be great -- I'm bullish on him. But he might not. As Steve Politi wrote this morning in the Newark Star-Ledger: The chances of convincing Deron Williams to stay are better than the chances of Favors turning out to be as valuable as Deron Williams (even if you discount an expected value that takes into consideration that Williams might leave).
It was a phenomenal move, and Deron Williams should keep that in mind as he evaluates the franchise. Now, if they could just fire Avery Johnson, who is terrible and will do more to drive away Deron Williams than anything. (If Williams told Prokhorov to fire Johnson, Prok would do it in 5 seconds. Let's hope he does.)
*****
Carmelo's Knicks debut: Yup, he shoots a lot. Yup, it turns out that Chauncey Billups might be the ultimately valuable piece of this. Yup, the game was an "event." Let's see what happens Sunday when Melo and the Knicks play a very motivated Heat in Miami.
Cards lose ace Adam Wainwright for the season: Oh, the Cards are so screwed. Presuming that their season is lost (and the future totally uncertain), it is in the best interests of the team to trade Albert Pujols -- and if Pujols cared about Cards fans, he would agree to be traded as a half-year "rental" to a contender in exchange for the massive stock of cheap talent that would help the Cardinals rebuild for a post-Pujols reality.
NFL combine starts today: As with the Senior Bowl, it lacks the Tebow storyline that was the gravitational force of last year's combine. But there is plenty to watch for: How does Cam Newton do? How does Patrick Peterson do? Who breaks through with eye-popping stats?
CBB: Marshon Brooks scores a Big East record 52 in Providence's loss to Notre Dame last night. It's amazing to think that in the glorious history of that league, no player has ever scored 52 -- not Chris Mullin or Walter Davis, not Allen Iverson, not Ray Allen, not Carmelo, no one. Pop over to Quickish and look for the post near the top with a 3-minute video of Brooks' scoring.
Tiger sucks, cont'd: Golf's big "match-play" bracket of the year -- the Accenture -- doesn't have quite the same vibe as the NCAA Tournament, so a "16-seed" beating Tiger Woods isn't that big of a deal. The bigger question: How on Earth does Tiger Woods earn a 1-seed? Golf rankings are absurd. Tiger isn't one of the top 4 golfers in the Accenture field based on his most recent "body of work." It would be like the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee giving Florida a 1-seed because they won the national title in 2006 and 2007.
Tennessee's NCAA problem: It's beyond Bruce Pearl committing an infraction days after crying an apology about his previous infractions. It's beyond the NCAA smacking down the football coach who isn't even there anymore. There is a culture of impropriety, and that starts at the top -- I'm with everyone else who thinks that Tennessee's AD should lose his job over this. But, hey, he makes the school a lot of money.
Stick with Quickish all day for NBA trade-deadline mania, NFL combine reports and more.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
02/23 Quickie: Melo, Cam, NBA Trades, Caltech!
First of all, the story of the day HAS to be Caltech snapping a 26-year, 310-game conference losing streak last night. See the video of the celebration here.
Carmelo, cont'd: Knicks debut tonight -- that won't be overhyped or anything. Meanwhile, the Nuggets -- without Melo OR the ex-Knicks -- scored 120 and routed the Grizzlies. Presented without comment.
I'm going to say that the only reason the wheels won't fall off the Knicks' (ahem) .500 season is Chauncey Billups. If it was just Amare and Melo? I'm still skeptical.
Cam Newton professes to want to be "an entertainer and icon." And I have no problem whatsoever with him saying this, even before the draft. Even if humorless draftniks and football writers think it's inappropriate or shows a lack of... something. They all dance around it, some more cleverly than others. But it's not to their credit, that's for sure.
The fact is that I want my NFL QB to aspire to be the most successful player ever. I want him doing a million TV ads, like Peyton Manning. I want him living a jet-setting lifestyle, like Tom Brady. And the fact is: Cam Newton IS the most talented QB in this draft. And he DOES have a massive amount of NFL upside (of course, playing for the Panthers or Bills can ruin even the most promising career). I don't mind the attitude. He HAD to have known it would drive people crazy. If he didn't, THAT says more about him than the statement itself.
Dave Duerson, cont'd: This story continues to be the most troubling of any during the NFL's brain-injury epidemic. This latest, in today's NY Times, is tough. More will come out. (And already has.)
Jim Calhoun's 3-game suspension from NCAA... next year: His intransigence in the face of a smackdown -- no matter how ridiculously softly the NCAA wants to euphemize it -- suggests that he probably deserves worse, if only for not recognizing that there was a problem.
Much, much more throughout the day. Stick with Quickish to keep up with all of it.
-- D.S.
Carmelo, cont'd: Knicks debut tonight -- that won't be overhyped or anything. Meanwhile, the Nuggets -- without Melo OR the ex-Knicks -- scored 120 and routed the Grizzlies. Presented without comment.
I'm going to say that the only reason the wheels won't fall off the Knicks' (ahem) .500 season is Chauncey Billups. If it was just Amare and Melo? I'm still skeptical.
Cam Newton professes to want to be "an entertainer and icon." And I have no problem whatsoever with him saying this, even before the draft. Even if humorless draftniks and football writers think it's inappropriate or shows a lack of... something. They all dance around it, some more cleverly than others. But it's not to their credit, that's for sure.
The fact is that I want my NFL QB to aspire to be the most successful player ever. I want him doing a million TV ads, like Peyton Manning. I want him living a jet-setting lifestyle, like Tom Brady. And the fact is: Cam Newton IS the most talented QB in this draft. And he DOES have a massive amount of NFL upside (of course, playing for the Panthers or Bills can ruin even the most promising career). I don't mind the attitude. He HAD to have known it would drive people crazy. If he didn't, THAT says more about him than the statement itself.
Dave Duerson, cont'd: This story continues to be the most troubling of any during the NFL's brain-injury epidemic. This latest, in today's NY Times, is tough. More will come out. (And already has.)
Jim Calhoun's 3-game suspension from NCAA... next year: His intransigence in the face of a smackdown -- no matter how ridiculously softly the NCAA wants to euphemize it -- suggests that he probably deserves worse, if only for not recognizing that there was a problem.
Much, much more throughout the day. Stick with Quickish to keep up with all of it.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
2/22 (Carmelo) Quickie
There are a lot of angles to cover in this Carmelo story.
*Right off the bat, I'd send you to the Quickish stream of analysis about Carmelo, mostly from the first two hours after the story broke last night. You will get a terrific survey of quick-hit takes and be able to consume them fast.
*Here is my top-level takeaway: The Knicks will not win a championship with Amare and Carmelo -- they probably won't make it out of the first round of the playoffs. And from all expert analysis, landing Chris Paul or Deron Williams in 2012 is wishful thinking.
And so what are the Knicks left with? Relevancy. And -- in an old Quickie maxim -- if you're not going to win a championship, relevancy isn't a terrible 2nd prize. The Knicks had already gotten more relevant with Amare; that gets doubled with Carmelo.
But Knicks fans are crazy if they think this will get them an NBA championship. It was the right move to make, but not necessarily competitively -- unless the competition you're really in is to matter in a sports landscape dominated by superstars.
*Did the Knicks give up too much? Probably not -- again, if the goal was to maximize the star power (which it seems to be).
*Let's be clear: Contrary to months-old reports, Carmelo would have absolutely taken the $65M from the Nets if the Knicks didn't come up with the winning offer. In the end, he wanted the money more than he wanted the location. That he got both is not a product of his design, but of James Dolan and Isiah Thomas paying whatever price they needed to get him.
*The Nuggets did AMAZING. Consider the recent history of superstars changing locations -- either the teams are blinded into thinking the stars would re-sign with them or they get fleeced for pennies on the dollar. Denver got back maximum value for Carmelo -- and it's not pennies. They got three starter-quality players, a promising young center and a slew of draft picks (not to mention financial flexibility). Taking into account the respective contexts, I think the Nuggets did better than the Knicks.
*The Nets didn't get Carmelo, but -- then again -- they didn't mortgage the future (Derrick Favors, who still has huge All-Star upside, and a slew of draft picks, which could easily turn into an all-star talent). The notion that they won by gutting the Knicks' roster is overblown -- as much as I like it in theory; the Knicks only cared about the star power anyway. The brief rumor that the Nets were going to get Gallinari and Mozgov was exciting; it likely won't happen.
*Carmelo will reportedly wear No. 13 -- that's better than him wearing Bernard King's beloved No. 30; Melo had to have known that taking 30 would be a mistake. Good for him for recognizing it. The Melo-Amare Knicks (see what I did there?) will make their national-TV debut on Sunday night on ESPN against the Heat. Wow. Split the screen with the Oscars, I guess.
*On a personal note, I am not a Knicks fan but I do live in New York, and I am thrilled by the idea that Corey Brewer will be playing for the Knicks. I love Joakim Noah and Al Horford from those title-winning Florida teams, but Brewer was/is my favorite.
*I think we can all agree that the best part of all of this is that the Carmelo-Knicks trade saga is now over. In that detail, he unites all fans everywhere.
-- D.S.
*Right off the bat, I'd send you to the Quickish stream of analysis about Carmelo, mostly from the first two hours after the story broke last night. You will get a terrific survey of quick-hit takes and be able to consume them fast.
*Here is my top-level takeaway: The Knicks will not win a championship with Amare and Carmelo -- they probably won't make it out of the first round of the playoffs. And from all expert analysis, landing Chris Paul or Deron Williams in 2012 is wishful thinking.
And so what are the Knicks left with? Relevancy. And -- in an old Quickie maxim -- if you're not going to win a championship, relevancy isn't a terrible 2nd prize. The Knicks had already gotten more relevant with Amare; that gets doubled with Carmelo.
But Knicks fans are crazy if they think this will get them an NBA championship. It was the right move to make, but not necessarily competitively -- unless the competition you're really in is to matter in a sports landscape dominated by superstars.
*Did the Knicks give up too much? Probably not -- again, if the goal was to maximize the star power (which it seems to be).
*Let's be clear: Contrary to months-old reports, Carmelo would have absolutely taken the $65M from the Nets if the Knicks didn't come up with the winning offer. In the end, he wanted the money more than he wanted the location. That he got both is not a product of his design, but of James Dolan and Isiah Thomas paying whatever price they needed to get him.
*The Nuggets did AMAZING. Consider the recent history of superstars changing locations -- either the teams are blinded into thinking the stars would re-sign with them or they get fleeced for pennies on the dollar. Denver got back maximum value for Carmelo -- and it's not pennies. They got three starter-quality players, a promising young center and a slew of draft picks (not to mention financial flexibility). Taking into account the respective contexts, I think the Nuggets did better than the Knicks.
*The Nets didn't get Carmelo, but -- then again -- they didn't mortgage the future (Derrick Favors, who still has huge All-Star upside, and a slew of draft picks, which could easily turn into an all-star talent). The notion that they won by gutting the Knicks' roster is overblown -- as much as I like it in theory; the Knicks only cared about the star power anyway. The brief rumor that the Nets were going to get Gallinari and Mozgov was exciting; it likely won't happen.
*Carmelo will reportedly wear No. 13 -- that's better than him wearing Bernard King's beloved No. 30; Melo had to have known that taking 30 would be a mistake. Good for him for recognizing it. The Melo-Amare Knicks (see what I did there?) will make their national-TV debut on Sunday night on ESPN against the Heat. Wow. Split the screen with the Oscars, I guess.
*On a personal note, I am not a Knicks fan but I do live in New York, and I am thrilled by the idea that Corey Brewer will be playing for the Knicks. I love Joakim Noah and Al Horford from those title-winning Florida teams, but Brewer was/is my favorite.
*I think we can all agree that the best part of all of this is that the Carmelo-Knicks trade saga is now over. In that detail, he unites all fans everywhere.
-- D.S.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Feb 2/21 (Presidential) Quickie
Kobe wanted to own that All-Star Game, and he did. I'm trying to figure out my favorite moment: His baseline, feel-like-I'm-20-again dunk or his breakaway slam in front of a desperate LeBron, followed by a butt-slap and a smirk that said, "I still got it."
Rihanna mania: Based on my Twitter feed, I've got to be the only one who thought Rihanna was just OK. Certainly not amazing. When your standard is "But it was better than Black Eyed Peas at the Super Bowl!" (or "Heh heh: Short skirt!), I can understand the enthusiasm.
All in all, NBA All-Star Weekend was a huge success.
*Bieber in the Celebrity game was an event -- even if you hate Bieber, you were kind of curious.
*The Saturday night event -- headlined by the dunk contest -- was the most-watched NBA All-Star Saturday Night EVER.
*And the game itself was an entertaining romp dominated by the elder stateman of the league (Kobe) and its best player (LeBron, who had a triple-double).
****
Carmelo: Nothing has changed since yesterday morning, except that the Nuggets have asked the Knicks for even more (Mozgov), knowing that the Knicks (or, more precisely, owner James Dolan, advised by Isiah Thomas) will do it if they think there's a chance that Carmelo wants money (meaning the Nets) more than love (the Knicks).
Supposedly, Carmelo will decide by the end of today whether he is OK taking the Nets money and sucking for the next three years (plus the rest of 2011); then again, it's not like he's winning a title with the Knicks over the next three years, either.
****
Daytona: 20-year-old Trevor Bayne wins, entirely unexpectedly. I ended up watching 180 of the 200 laps with my 4-year-old, who was fairly mesmerized and asked a lot of questions. He identified with the two brands he recognized -- Cheerios (Bowyer in the 33 car) and M&Ms (Busch in the 18 car), settling on Cheerios as his car, because it was near the front for most of the race... right up until the final few laps, when Bowyer was involved in a crash and his car was KO'ed. Gabe and I were both disappointed; it was unsatisfying to sit there for 3 hours only to have your car not even get a chance to make it happen in the final laps. But Bayne as a storyline is terrific -- the kid isn't even a Sprint Cup driver, but his reputation is secure for decades.
****
Lots going on at Quickish today. Please check it out (repeatedly!). It's not just about Carmelo -- promise.
-- D.S.
Rihanna mania: Based on my Twitter feed, I've got to be the only one who thought Rihanna was just OK. Certainly not amazing. When your standard is "But it was better than Black Eyed Peas at the Super Bowl!" (or "Heh heh: Short skirt!), I can understand the enthusiasm.
All in all, NBA All-Star Weekend was a huge success.
*Bieber in the Celebrity game was an event -- even if you hate Bieber, you were kind of curious.
*The Saturday night event -- headlined by the dunk contest -- was the most-watched NBA All-Star Saturday Night EVER.
*And the game itself was an entertaining romp dominated by the elder stateman of the league (Kobe) and its best player (LeBron, who had a triple-double).
****
Carmelo: Nothing has changed since yesterday morning, except that the Nuggets have asked the Knicks for even more (Mozgov), knowing that the Knicks (or, more precisely, owner James Dolan, advised by Isiah Thomas) will do it if they think there's a chance that Carmelo wants money (meaning the Nets) more than love (the Knicks).
Supposedly, Carmelo will decide by the end of today whether he is OK taking the Nets money and sucking for the next three years (plus the rest of 2011); then again, it's not like he's winning a title with the Knicks over the next three years, either.
****
Daytona: 20-year-old Trevor Bayne wins, entirely unexpectedly. I ended up watching 180 of the 200 laps with my 4-year-old, who was fairly mesmerized and asked a lot of questions. He identified with the two brands he recognized -- Cheerios (Bowyer in the 33 car) and M&Ms (Busch in the 18 car), settling on Cheerios as his car, because it was near the front for most of the race... right up until the final few laps, when Bowyer was involved in a crash and his car was KO'ed. Gabe and I were both disappointed; it was unsatisfying to sit there for 3 hours only to have your car not even get a chance to make it happen in the final laps. But Bayne as a storyline is terrific -- the kid isn't even a Sprint Cup driver, but his reputation is secure for decades.
****
Lots going on at Quickish today. Please check it out (repeatedly!). It's not just about Carmelo -- promise.
-- D.S.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Feb. 20 (Very Dunky) Quickie
I'm not a fan of the "The dunk contest IS BACK!" meme. Every year, someone exclaims it and it is pretty meaningless.
But last night, at least the 4 contenders tried to raise the bar, creatively. I'm not talking about that contrived Ibaka dunk where he rescued the teddy bear for the kid actor. (Ugh.)
And I'm definitely not talking about the Blake Griffin dunk over the Kia, which -- let's be honest -- was far more sizzle than steak. (At least they decided to go all-in on it with the choir.) In the light of the morning, the stunt feels kind of embarrassing for everyone, Griffin included. He's better than that.
But JaVale McGee did a couple dunks that no other player in the NBA -- including Blake Griffin -- could do: The "two balls on two hoops" and the "dunk three balls at once" dunks.
McGee deserved to win. As Free Darko pointed out last night: Would it have been so terrible if Blake did his Kia dunk and yet still lost to the better dunk-contest dunker?
But DeMar DeRozan had one of those "lost beneath the hype of other dunks" performances: He only had 2 dunks. His first try was muffled by repeated misses. His 2nd dunk was, arguably, the most spectacular of the night.
Say this for the dunk contest: You had to stop what you were doing and watch, because you just didn't know what you might see -- and, on that front, it delivered.
*****
Carmelo: Is it over yet? Nope. Let's try to make sense of the several strands:
He met with the Knicks. Yes, he met with the Nets. But apparently, he only met with the Nets because it was a precondition by the Nuggets for him to meet with the Knicks.
Carmelo affirmed he has no interest in the Nets. The Nuggets would still rather do a deal with the Nets than Knicks. (Tough luck.)
The Nuggets keep asking the Knicks for a ton. Knicks prez Donnie Walsh doesn't want to gut the starting lineup to get Carmelo; owner Jim Dolan (and Isiah Thomas) do. Guess who wins?
(In an added twist, apparently Deron Williams made it clear to friends that he has every intention of signing with the Knicks when he becomes a free agent in 2012. If I was the Jazz, I would call the Knicks and say "We'll take the Carmelo package for Williams RIGHT NOW." And if I was the Knicks, I'd much rather have Williams in hand than Carmelo.)
And so what happens now? Dolan gives up whatever it takes to get Carmelo, and in the next few days -- possibly today -- Carmelo is a Knick. The team makes the playoffs but gets KO'ed in the first round -- as they will next year, too. Then they get Williams in 2012. This is progress?
*****
RIP Dave Duerson. The details that came out yesterday are horrifying -- he killed himself, but just before he did, he told friends to make sure his brain went to research to see what kind of damage he did to it playing football. This is the most troubling brain-injury-related development yet for the NFL. They can continue hoping/banking on people not paying attention or glazing over the details, but this is an awful new chapter in the story.
*****
College Hoops Yesterday: Just in case you thought you had a handle on your bracket, Pitt loses to St. John's and Texas loses to Nebraska. Let's not put too much stock in any single games, but it should serve as a reminder that winning 4 straight to make the Final Four -- let alone 6 straight to win a national title -- is a brutal challenge to predict, this year more than most.
*****
Stern's "State of the NBA": Like the NFL, the league has absolutely nothing to lose by playing hardball with the union to get the deal they want, even if it means losing next season. The league is so good right now that its avid fans will come right back. It's not quite as extreme an advantage as the NBA enjoys, but the NBA won't wipe out all the momentum it has built up by missing half of next season, if it means the owners get the long-term deal they want. As with the NFL, the owners' priority is the long-term; the players' priority is the short-term. That means the players will blink first, and the owners should know it.
(Speaking of blinking first: Will Sacramento give the Kings what it wants or will the team move to Anaheim? For those playing at home, that would make three NBA teams in L.A. Hard to believe that other markets -- Kansas City? -- wouldn't pony up to get the Kings.)
*****
Daytona 500: It's the one NASCAR event each year I watch. This whole conjoined, tag-team, double-drafting stuff is novel, but a bit lame. But if the finish is anything like it was at the Nationwide event yesterday, with Tony Stewart winning by a foot or two, coming from behind in the final fraction of a second, then it's going to be a great race.
-- D.S.
But last night, at least the 4 contenders tried to raise the bar, creatively. I'm not talking about that contrived Ibaka dunk where he rescued the teddy bear for the kid actor. (Ugh.)
And I'm definitely not talking about the Blake Griffin dunk over the Kia, which -- let's be honest -- was far more sizzle than steak. (At least they decided to go all-in on it with the choir.) In the light of the morning, the stunt feels kind of embarrassing for everyone, Griffin included. He's better than that.
But JaVale McGee did a couple dunks that no other player in the NBA -- including Blake Griffin -- could do: The "two balls on two hoops" and the "dunk three balls at once" dunks.
McGee deserved to win. As Free Darko pointed out last night: Would it have been so terrible if Blake did his Kia dunk and yet still lost to the better dunk-contest dunker?
But DeMar DeRozan had one of those "lost beneath the hype of other dunks" performances: He only had 2 dunks. His first try was muffled by repeated misses. His 2nd dunk was, arguably, the most spectacular of the night.
Say this for the dunk contest: You had to stop what you were doing and watch, because you just didn't know what you might see -- and, on that front, it delivered.
*****
Carmelo: Is it over yet? Nope. Let's try to make sense of the several strands:
He met with the Knicks. Yes, he met with the Nets. But apparently, he only met with the Nets because it was a precondition by the Nuggets for him to meet with the Knicks.
Carmelo affirmed he has no interest in the Nets. The Nuggets would still rather do a deal with the Nets than Knicks. (Tough luck.)
The Nuggets keep asking the Knicks for a ton. Knicks prez Donnie Walsh doesn't want to gut the starting lineup to get Carmelo; owner Jim Dolan (and Isiah Thomas) do. Guess who wins?
(In an added twist, apparently Deron Williams made it clear to friends that he has every intention of signing with the Knicks when he becomes a free agent in 2012. If I was the Jazz, I would call the Knicks and say "We'll take the Carmelo package for Williams RIGHT NOW." And if I was the Knicks, I'd much rather have Williams in hand than Carmelo.)
And so what happens now? Dolan gives up whatever it takes to get Carmelo, and in the next few days -- possibly today -- Carmelo is a Knick. The team makes the playoffs but gets KO'ed in the first round -- as they will next year, too. Then they get Williams in 2012. This is progress?
*****
RIP Dave Duerson. The details that came out yesterday are horrifying -- he killed himself, but just before he did, he told friends to make sure his brain went to research to see what kind of damage he did to it playing football. This is the most troubling brain-injury-related development yet for the NFL. They can continue hoping/banking on people not paying attention or glazing over the details, but this is an awful new chapter in the story.
*****
College Hoops Yesterday: Just in case you thought you had a handle on your bracket, Pitt loses to St. John's and Texas loses to Nebraska. Let's not put too much stock in any single games, but it should serve as a reminder that winning 4 straight to make the Final Four -- let alone 6 straight to win a national title -- is a brutal challenge to predict, this year more than most.
*****
Stern's "State of the NBA": Like the NFL, the league has absolutely nothing to lose by playing hardball with the union to get the deal they want, even if it means losing next season. The league is so good right now that its avid fans will come right back. It's not quite as extreme an advantage as the NBA enjoys, but the NBA won't wipe out all the momentum it has built up by missing half of next season, if it means the owners get the long-term deal they want. As with the NFL, the owners' priority is the long-term; the players' priority is the short-term. That means the players will blink first, and the owners should know it.
(Speaking of blinking first: Will Sacramento give the Kings what it wants or will the team move to Anaheim? For those playing at home, that would make three NBA teams in L.A. Hard to believe that other markets -- Kansas City? -- wouldn't pony up to get the Kings.)
*****
Daytona 500: It's the one NASCAR event each year I watch. This whole conjoined, tag-team, double-drafting stuff is novel, but a bit lame. But if the finish is anything like it was at the Nationwide event yesterday, with Tony Stewart winning by a foot or two, coming from behind in the final fraction of a second, then it's going to be a great race.
-- D.S.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
02/19 (Very) Quickie
It's not hard to get excited for the prospects of Blake Griffin in tonight's dunk contest...
Carmelo Update: The Nets and Nuggets have a deal put together, pending Carmelo's approval of an extension with the Nets, which he has given no indication of wanting.
Meanwhile, the Knicks appear to have a deal that the Nuggets will take -- it's better than nothing -- and Carmelo obviously wants to play in NYC.
So the question is: Will the Nuggets demand even more from the Knicks and/or force Carmelo to decide whether he wants to get paid, but play for the Nets.
(I stick with this: Why do the Nets want a player -- a star player, no less -- who doesn't want to play for them? Even if he relents, the 3-year countdown until he leaves is immediately on.)
Last night, Justin Bieber may have been the focus of attention (and, naturally, earning celeb-game MVP, given that voting was done by fans via text), but Secretary of Education Arne Duncan had the best game, doing a bit of everything and out-playing even the NBA alums.
In the Rookie-Soph game, John Wall had the best game, dishing a record 22 assists, including a ridiculous bounce-pass alley-oop to Blake Griffin. (As a huge Wall fan, it was bittersweet: He looked so happy out there; it's a shame his regular team stinks.)
MLB: Miguel Cabrera. This morning, the Tigers are finally saying the right things about Miguel Cabrera -- namely, that's he's an alcoholic who needs help, potentially a lot of help. Let's hope they follow through. It's not just in the best interests of the player; it's in the best long-term interests of the team.
CBB BracketBusters: I'm a big fan of these games, if only because it is one of your best chances to watch potential NCAA spoilers against solid competition -- other potential NCAA spoilers. As always, don't read TOO much into any one win, but you can at least say "Yes, I saw them play this season."
Ads: Nike's big flashy "Black Mamba" ad/"film" released this morning. Check it out here, if you're curious.
Enjoy your day. Give Quickish a pop-in throughout the day to keep up.
-- D.S.
Carmelo Update: The Nets and Nuggets have a deal put together, pending Carmelo's approval of an extension with the Nets, which he has given no indication of wanting.
Meanwhile, the Knicks appear to have a deal that the Nuggets will take -- it's better than nothing -- and Carmelo obviously wants to play in NYC.
So the question is: Will the Nuggets demand even more from the Knicks and/or force Carmelo to decide whether he wants to get paid, but play for the Nets.
(I stick with this: Why do the Nets want a player -- a star player, no less -- who doesn't want to play for them? Even if he relents, the 3-year countdown until he leaves is immediately on.)
Last night, Justin Bieber may have been the focus of attention (and, naturally, earning celeb-game MVP, given that voting was done by fans via text), but Secretary of Education Arne Duncan had the best game, doing a bit of everything and out-playing even the NBA alums.
In the Rookie-Soph game, John Wall had the best game, dishing a record 22 assists, including a ridiculous bounce-pass alley-oop to Blake Griffin. (As a huge Wall fan, it was bittersweet: He looked so happy out there; it's a shame his regular team stinks.)
MLB: Miguel Cabrera. This morning, the Tigers are finally saying the right things about Miguel Cabrera -- namely, that's he's an alcoholic who needs help, potentially a lot of help. Let's hope they follow through. It's not just in the best interests of the player; it's in the best long-term interests of the team.
CBB BracketBusters: I'm a big fan of these games, if only because it is one of your best chances to watch potential NCAA spoilers against solid competition -- other potential NCAA spoilers. As always, don't read TOO much into any one win, but you can at least say "Yes, I saw them play this season."
Ads: Nike's big flashy "Black Mamba" ad/"film" released this morning. Check it out here, if you're curious.
Enjoy your day. Give Quickish a pop-in throughout the day to keep up.
-- D.S.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
02/17 Quickie: Pujols, Lakers, Vick, Leo, More
First, a final "Jerry! HEL-LO!" for Len Lesser, who played "Uncle Leo" on Seinfeld and passed away yesterday.
Albert Pujols and Cards don't come to a deal: This a.m., Pujols said all the right things, most importantly "want to be a Cardinal for life." However! The Cards blew it by not offering him what he deserves before we got to this point.
And now the Cubs or Nationals or any number of other teams are going to have a chance to either offer him 10Y/$300M -- or force the Cards into paying it to match (which I would hope they would do.)
Lakers stunned by Cavs: I'm sticking to my general notion that among NBA contenders -- and the Lakers still qualify -- any individual win or loss in the regular season is meaningless, as it relates to the Playoffs. The Lakers are still the team to beat.
Mike Vick bails on Oprah: What a mistake. First, you don't kiss off Oprah. Second, it makes him look like he is entirely satisfied with his rehabilitation, if rumors are to be believed that the show was going to force him to meet face-to-face with people who adopted his dogs.
Here's where Vick missed it: Oprah wasn't going to "James Frey" him. The "redemption" narrative HAS to include Vick facing his dogs and facing the people who saved those dogs. He could have continued to insist how sorry he was, how bad he feels -- on the biggest stage possible. Instead, he looks petty -- even indignant. That's not the image he wants to project.
(What Team Vick -- including the Eagles -- underestimates is that even if the Oprah thing went horribly, it would have been forgotten the first week Vick got on the field for the Eagles and led them to a win with his restored football career.)
Watson wins "Jeopardy": I'm with Ken Jennings (and "The Simpsons") -- I welcome our new robot overlords. The whole thing is a triumph of science (which, by necessity, is a triumph of humanity). It's an incredible achievement.
The Auburn tree massacre: The jokes about this aren't funny. It's pretty sick, actually. Just hoping that Auburn fans recognize this is the work of one lone Bama fan nutjob and not some sort of Tide-wide initiative. (UPDATE: An arrest has been made. The guy arrested sounds like a bit of a loon.)
SI's Grant Wahl is running for the President of FIFA -- for real! It's a worthy cause to support.
-- D.S.
Albert Pujols and Cards don't come to a deal: This a.m., Pujols said all the right things, most importantly "want to be a Cardinal for life." However! The Cards blew it by not offering him what he deserves before we got to this point.
And now the Cubs or Nationals or any number of other teams are going to have a chance to either offer him 10Y/$300M -- or force the Cards into paying it to match (which I would hope they would do.)
Lakers stunned by Cavs: I'm sticking to my general notion that among NBA contenders -- and the Lakers still qualify -- any individual win or loss in the regular season is meaningless, as it relates to the Playoffs. The Lakers are still the team to beat.
Mike Vick bails on Oprah: What a mistake. First, you don't kiss off Oprah. Second, it makes him look like he is entirely satisfied with his rehabilitation, if rumors are to be believed that the show was going to force him to meet face-to-face with people who adopted his dogs.
Here's where Vick missed it: Oprah wasn't going to "James Frey" him. The "redemption" narrative HAS to include Vick facing his dogs and facing the people who saved those dogs. He could have continued to insist how sorry he was, how bad he feels -- on the biggest stage possible. Instead, he looks petty -- even indignant. That's not the image he wants to project.
(What Team Vick -- including the Eagles -- underestimates is that even if the Oprah thing went horribly, it would have been forgotten the first week Vick got on the field for the Eagles and led them to a win with his restored football career.)
Watson wins "Jeopardy": I'm with Ken Jennings (and "The Simpsons") -- I welcome our new robot overlords. The whole thing is a triumph of science (which, by necessity, is a triumph of humanity). It's an incredible achievement.
The Auburn tree massacre: The jokes about this aren't funny. It's pretty sick, actually. Just hoping that Auburn fans recognize this is the work of one lone Bama fan nutjob and not some sort of Tide-wide initiative. (UPDATE: An arrest has been made. The guy arrested sounds like a bit of a loon.)
SI's Grant Wahl is running for the President of FIFA -- for real! It's a worthy cause to support.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
02/16 Quickie: Pujols, Heat, More
I'm on a hot streak with my birthdays.
Last year, I spent my birthday on an airplane traveling across the country to see a billionaire about a really interesting company I wanted to start.
That didn't work out -- which was fine -- but the past year has seen me found, build and launch a new company, the result of which is that I'm spending my birthday thinking about Albert Pujols.
(It also happens to be that my 2-year-old younger son had to stay home sick from daycare today, so I'm spending my birthday operating Quickish and hanging out with him -- I'll take it.)
But back to Pujols: If I'm Albert, it's not unreasonable that I want to be paid like the best baseball player in the world -- and one of the Top 20 (Top 10?) players of all time. I love St. Louis and want to spend my career there, but if the gap between the Cards and the market is big (and it probably will be, both in duration and average annual pay), I have to explore it.
And if I am the Cardinals?
I pay him.
I offer him the $30M a year for the next 8 years -- their previous offer was 7 years, for a lot less than $30 a year. If he wants 10, I think it's reasonable to ask that he take a bit of a haircut on those last two years.
I do it because Pujols IS my franchise. I do it because he is one of the greatest baseball players of all time, and I want that as part of my team. (I'll hire a bunch of savvy marketers to ensure that we are making it clear to everyone that he is a living legend, to wring every last sales dollar from him -- Pujols has to be comfortable with that. He is a Vegas show. I'm creating the Albert Pujols Channel on YouTube and turning him into a single-handed must-see phenomenon.)
But I do whatever I need to do to keep him. That's easy to say: It's not my money. (As a business owner, I'm totally empathetic to keeping an eye on the P&L statement.) But this isn't Ryan Howard or Mark Teixeira or Prince Fielder.
This is Albert Freaking Pujols -- the greatest living baseball player. (Ironic, given that Stan Musial got the Presidential Medal of Freedom yesterday.) Pujols is superlative in ways that rarely come along in sports, let alone baseball. And you pay for that. You have to.
*****
Lance Armstrong retires: Speaking of one of the greatest athletes in history. His career will always have a cloud over it, but he is the rare athlete who has maintained a defiance, taken plenty of tests and stayed out of trouble. He's untouchable. That by itself is all-time.
Do you believe Bernie Madoff when he says the Mets owners didn't know about his Ponzi scheme? Why would you?
Hickory wins Westminster, becoming the first Scottish Deerhound to win the title: Chalk one up for novelty!
Must-see video: D-Wade to LeBron on a 90-foot alley-oop.
CBB: George Mason crushes VCU. Is GMU, winners of 12 in a row, prepping for a Cinderella run a la 2006?
More later. Please check out Quickish. Have a great day. I have children's educational TV programming to tee up on the DVR...
--- D.S.
Last year, I spent my birthday on an airplane traveling across the country to see a billionaire about a really interesting company I wanted to start.
That didn't work out -- which was fine -- but the past year has seen me found, build and launch a new company, the result of which is that I'm spending my birthday thinking about Albert Pujols.
(It also happens to be that my 2-year-old younger son had to stay home sick from daycare today, so I'm spending my birthday operating Quickish and hanging out with him -- I'll take it.)
But back to Pujols: If I'm Albert, it's not unreasonable that I want to be paid like the best baseball player in the world -- and one of the Top 20 (Top 10?) players of all time. I love St. Louis and want to spend my career there, but if the gap between the Cards and the market is big (and it probably will be, both in duration and average annual pay), I have to explore it.
And if I am the Cardinals?
I pay him.
I offer him the $30M a year for the next 8 years -- their previous offer was 7 years, for a lot less than $30 a year. If he wants 10, I think it's reasonable to ask that he take a bit of a haircut on those last two years.
I do it because Pujols IS my franchise. I do it because he is one of the greatest baseball players of all time, and I want that as part of my team. (I'll hire a bunch of savvy marketers to ensure that we are making it clear to everyone that he is a living legend, to wring every last sales dollar from him -- Pujols has to be comfortable with that. He is a Vegas show. I'm creating the Albert Pujols Channel on YouTube and turning him into a single-handed must-see phenomenon.)
But I do whatever I need to do to keep him. That's easy to say: It's not my money. (As a business owner, I'm totally empathetic to keeping an eye on the P&L statement.) But this isn't Ryan Howard or Mark Teixeira or Prince Fielder.
This is Albert Freaking Pujols -- the greatest living baseball player. (Ironic, given that Stan Musial got the Presidential Medal of Freedom yesterday.) Pujols is superlative in ways that rarely come along in sports, let alone baseball. And you pay for that. You have to.
*****
Lance Armstrong retires: Speaking of one of the greatest athletes in history. His career will always have a cloud over it, but he is the rare athlete who has maintained a defiance, taken plenty of tests and stayed out of trouble. He's untouchable. That by itself is all-time.
Do you believe Bernie Madoff when he says the Mets owners didn't know about his Ponzi scheme? Why would you?
Hickory wins Westminster, becoming the first Scottish Deerhound to win the title: Chalk one up for novelty!
Must-see video: D-Wade to LeBron on a 90-foot alley-oop.
CBB: George Mason crushes VCU. Is GMU, winners of 12 in a row, prepping for a Cinderella run a la 2006?
More later. Please check out Quickish. Have a great day. I have children's educational TV programming to tee up on the DVR...
--- D.S.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
02/15 Quickie: Pujols, Swimsuit, More
One more day until Albert Pujols' world is turned upside-down: I'm sure he is very interested to see what he might command on the open market, but I don't think he is at all prepared for the shit show he will deal with for the next six months.
Tony LaRussa is lining up the straw men by suggesting the union wants Pujols to leave and get the maximum dollars; LaRussa is just deflecting attention from Albert.
Meanwhile, a nice moment for Cardinals fans as Stan Musial is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- a nice moment for ALL fans as Bill Russell earns the same.
MLB Spring Training: Will CC Sabathia opt out? Here's a really good argument why it's inevitable.
Kansas State throttles Kansas: Well, didn't see THAT one coming. K-State may yet make the Tournament field, but it's unlikely they get past the first weekend.
SI Swimsuit: I don't judge anyone if they're really into it, but it was a lot more meaningful to me when I was 14 than now. It is the biggest day of cognitive dissonance of the year at SI offices (except to the extent that they all know (a) it pays their mortgages, and (b) about 100x the number of people visit the site today than typical days).
OJ Simpson beaten up in prison? Yikes. I am convinced that for a good proportion of the population, crimes are actively not committed for no other reason -- and it's a good one -- that you simply wouldn't survive in prison.
Westminster Dog Show: Not for me, but Jonah Keri is doing great work during the broadcasts at WSJ.com.
Jeopardy's Jennings vs. IBM's Watson: Now THIS I can get into. I'm sort of rooting for Watson. Sorry.
Please give Quickish a visit today -- and tell friends!
-- D.S.
Tony LaRussa is lining up the straw men by suggesting the union wants Pujols to leave and get the maximum dollars; LaRussa is just deflecting attention from Albert.
Meanwhile, a nice moment for Cardinals fans as Stan Musial is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- a nice moment for ALL fans as Bill Russell earns the same.
MLB Spring Training: Will CC Sabathia opt out? Here's a really good argument why it's inevitable.
Kansas State throttles Kansas: Well, didn't see THAT one coming. K-State may yet make the Tournament field, but it's unlikely they get past the first weekend.
SI Swimsuit: I don't judge anyone if they're really into it, but it was a lot more meaningful to me when I was 14 than now. It is the biggest day of cognitive dissonance of the year at SI offices (except to the extent that they all know (a) it pays their mortgages, and (b) about 100x the number of people visit the site today than typical days).
OJ Simpson beaten up in prison? Yikes. I am convinced that for a good proportion of the population, crimes are actively not committed for no other reason -- and it's a good one -- that you simply wouldn't survive in prison.
Westminster Dog Show: Not for me, but Jonah Keri is doing great work during the broadcasts at WSJ.com.
Jeopardy's Jennings vs. IBM's Watson: Now THIS I can get into. I'm sort of rooting for Watson. Sorry.
Please give Quickish a visit today -- and tell friends!
-- D.S.
Monday, February 14, 2011
02/14: Love, Dogs, Pujols, Heat, More
First of all, happy valentine's day to everyone. As is the annual tradition here, let's talk about love.
*I'm not a big dog person (allergies), but "Best In Show" is one of my favorite movies of all time -- if you consider "dog show" as part of the universe of "sport," "Best In Show" is arguably the greatest sports movie of all time.
And so the Westminster Dog Show -- today and tomorrow -- is amazing if only for its opportunity to flex your favorite "Best In Show" quotes, which we'll try to do all day on Quickish today.
*If you're a Cardinals fan -- or just a baseball fan -- you love Albert Pujols. Which makes this week's deadline for a deal (which may or may not have EVER had a chance, short of the Cards paying the $300M over 10 years Pujols wants... and probably deserves) all the more difficult.
Cards fans are going to have to go through an even greater cognitive dissonance than Cavs fans, who HAD to have known, down deep, LeBron was bolting. But Cards fans are a chipper, earnest group -- the betrayal will be all the more severe, especially when he goes to the Cubs, who should have no problem with giving him the $300M he wants.
My biggest problem with all this is the notion that Pujols thinks he can avoid six months -- SIX MONTHS -- of daily questions about this, simply because he insists he won't talk about it. That won't keep people from asking about it or talking about it.
(Here's the bright side, Cards fans: Maybe he gets SO sick of it that he decides to sign, just to silence the noise.)
*Celtics fans have to be loving the dominance over the Heat, who have shown no sign of being able to beat Boston this year -- which will extend into the playoffs. If Miami couldn't win yesterday, they sure won't do it in May. The good news for the Heat: The Celtics probably have one year after this before age gets them, so that still leaves three years of the 5-year-plan to contend. Unless, of course, Dwight Howard goes to the Knicks or Lakers...
*Love the nostalgia for Ronaldo, who is retiring today, at his peak -- rather than his later years.
*South Carolina fans are loving it right now: An SEC East title, followed up by landing the nation's No. 1 prospect this morning -- Jadeveon Clowney. If RB Marcus Lattimore is the most punishing offensive force East of Andrew Luck, then Clowney has the chance to match him on the defensive side.
*Have you seen the video of Justin Bieber showing off his ringtone? It's Mike Gundy's "I'm a MAN!" rant. It's not love, but it actually made me like Bieber -- how can you not like a kid who knows the Gundy rant by heart?
There is so much on Quickish this morning, I can barely keep up with all of it -- some great reads, some amazing analysis. Please check it out -- and check back throughout the day.
Otherwise, happy valentine's day to you and yours. Despite the uncertainty in the NFL, it's a good day to remember what you love about sports.
-- D.S.
*I'm not a big dog person (allergies), but "Best In Show" is one of my favorite movies of all time -- if you consider "dog show" as part of the universe of "sport," "Best In Show" is arguably the greatest sports movie of all time.
And so the Westminster Dog Show -- today and tomorrow -- is amazing if only for its opportunity to flex your favorite "Best In Show" quotes, which we'll try to do all day on Quickish today.
*If you're a Cardinals fan -- or just a baseball fan -- you love Albert Pujols. Which makes this week's deadline for a deal (which may or may not have EVER had a chance, short of the Cards paying the $300M over 10 years Pujols wants... and probably deserves) all the more difficult.
Cards fans are going to have to go through an even greater cognitive dissonance than Cavs fans, who HAD to have known, down deep, LeBron was bolting. But Cards fans are a chipper, earnest group -- the betrayal will be all the more severe, especially when he goes to the Cubs, who should have no problem with giving him the $300M he wants.
My biggest problem with all this is the notion that Pujols thinks he can avoid six months -- SIX MONTHS -- of daily questions about this, simply because he insists he won't talk about it. That won't keep people from asking about it or talking about it.
(Here's the bright side, Cards fans: Maybe he gets SO sick of it that he decides to sign, just to silence the noise.)
*Celtics fans have to be loving the dominance over the Heat, who have shown no sign of being able to beat Boston this year -- which will extend into the playoffs. If Miami couldn't win yesterday, they sure won't do it in May. The good news for the Heat: The Celtics probably have one year after this before age gets them, so that still leaves three years of the 5-year-plan to contend. Unless, of course, Dwight Howard goes to the Knicks or Lakers...
*Love the nostalgia for Ronaldo, who is retiring today, at his peak -- rather than his later years.
*South Carolina fans are loving it right now: An SEC East title, followed up by landing the nation's No. 1 prospect this morning -- Jadeveon Clowney. If RB Marcus Lattimore is the most punishing offensive force East of Andrew Luck, then Clowney has the chance to match him on the defensive side.
*Have you seen the video of Justin Bieber showing off his ringtone? It's Mike Gundy's "I'm a MAN!" rant. It's not love, but it actually made me like Bieber -- how can you not like a kid who knows the Gundy rant by heart?
There is so much on Quickish this morning, I can barely keep up with all of it -- some great reads, some amazing analysis. Please check it out -- and check back throughout the day.
Otherwise, happy valentine's day to you and yours. Despite the uncertainty in the NFL, it's a good day to remember what you love about sports.
-- D.S.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
02/13 (Very) Quickie
Don't forget to check out Quickish today: Already have a bunch of good things posted.
Wisconsin beats Ohio State: Yes, Wisco was favored, but it was the way they overwhelmed OSU after being down 15 -- and seemingly out. Their comeback was, based on Wisconsin's typical deliberateness, shocking and eye-opening. Can't help but file it away for March.
(I am not picking Ohio State to win the national title, although their Big Ten regular season title, Big Ten Tourney title and NCAA No. 1 seed seem virtually assured.)
Albert Pujols Watch: I have become increasingly frustrated with St. Louis mainstream media for seeming to abstain from the Pujols situation entirely. I'm not asking for Carmelo-style forced drama, but this is a huge story and they do their readers a disservice by not projecting the fans' interest (and, yes, anxiety).
Bernie Miklasz made up for all of it with his terrific column today. It was worth the wait. (Even if his premise is that this deadline on Wednesday is fake-ish.)
NFL Labor: Read this analysis. It is damning -- but, like most economics arguments, will have no practical implications or consequences on its own. It will, however, help you understand why the owners aren't going to give an inch. (And, given the combination of irrational economics and largely ignorant media, why should they?) This isn't about player salaries; this is about the larger structure of the NFL over the past decade or so.
Today: Heat-Celtics. As repeated here often, regular-season NBA offers few if any games of consequence. There are, however, a few that are entertaining. This should be one of them.
-- D.S.
Wisconsin beats Ohio State: Yes, Wisco was favored, but it was the way they overwhelmed OSU after being down 15 -- and seemingly out. Their comeback was, based on Wisconsin's typical deliberateness, shocking and eye-opening. Can't help but file it away for March.
(I am not picking Ohio State to win the national title, although their Big Ten regular season title, Big Ten Tourney title and NCAA No. 1 seed seem virtually assured.)
Albert Pujols Watch: I have become increasingly frustrated with St. Louis mainstream media for seeming to abstain from the Pujols situation entirely. I'm not asking for Carmelo-style forced drama, but this is a huge story and they do their readers a disservice by not projecting the fans' interest (and, yes, anxiety).
Bernie Miklasz made up for all of it with his terrific column today. It was worth the wait. (Even if his premise is that this deadline on Wednesday is fake-ish.)
NFL Labor: Read this analysis. It is damning -- but, like most economics arguments, will have no practical implications or consequences on its own. It will, however, help you understand why the owners aren't going to give an inch. (And, given the combination of irrational economics and largely ignorant media, why should they?) This isn't about player salaries; this is about the larger structure of the NFL over the past decade or so.
Today: Heat-Celtics. As repeated here often, regular-season NBA offers few if any games of consequence. There are, however, a few that are entertaining. This should be one of them.
-- D.S.
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