There is something particularly special about the late-April/early-May Tuesday night where you find yourself up past midnight when you damn well know you should be asleep.
And yet you are watching a NHL Playoff Game 7 (or NBA Playoff Game 7) on the West Coast that started at 10:30 ET and looks to be ending... well, who-knows-when?
But that's kind of the point.
It is a moment of allegiance to no team -- not even to any particular sport. But to sports themselves.
There was all this chatter last night about whether "real" fans should have been watching the NHL or the NBA.
None of this is ever zero-sum -- that goes from "What game are you watching?" to what column are you reading to what sites you visit to... well, anything.
The only thing that is zero-sum is the game itself. And, as we saw last night, that's just perfect.
***
Kobe has a "moment": The dunk on Okafor, yes, but leading the Lakers past the Hornets in the way we assumed they would all along.
Canucks vanquish Blackhawks in 7: Given that Chicago was sitting on a Stanley Cup, it was hard not to pull for the utterly desperate fans in Vancouver.
Tonight: Canadiens-Bruins Game 7. Why can the NHL put a Game 6 and Game 7 -- in different cities, no less -- on back-to-back nights, but the NBA needs to give the Heat three full days between games?
NFL Draft: 36 hours to go. Evaluating the leading scuttlebutt: Will the Panthers take Cam Newton No. 1 overall, despite the howls of doubters? Yes. Will the Redskins trade up to get Blaine Gabbert? Yes. Will TCU's Andy Dalton go in the Top 10? No. Top 15? Yes. Will the Steelers be able to trade up to get the other Pouncey? No.
NFL Lockout: What a clusterf--- for the owners. That said, I still contend that the p.r. battle is the bright shiny object that really has nothing to do with anything UNLESS part of Susan Nelson's decision incorporating the fans was driven by the overwhelmingly anti-owners stance of most in the media. (I don't disagree with that analysis, but the more interesting thing is if it is having a cumulative effect on the only constituent who matters: The judge.)
Really awesome day on tap for Quickish. Pop by!
-- D.S.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
04/26 (Grizzly) Quickie
Pop over to Quickish to keep up with all the best commentary on the biggest topics: the NBA Playoffs, the NHL Playoffs, the NFL lockout, the NFL Draft, Jim Tressel and more.
*Grizzlies stunning Spurs: It's not a question of jumping on the Grizzlies bandwagon. The question is: How could you NOT jump on the Grizzlies bandwagon?
*NFL Lockout: I just like to envision the awkwardness as players all head to their team facilities, and the coaches awkwardly have to give them the silent treatment, per NFL orders.
*NHL Playoffs: Canucks-Blackhawks Game 7 is a must-see. Chicago is the defending champs -- and conference 8-seed. Vancouver had the best regular-season in the conference; they started the series up 3 games to 0, then the Blackhawks won the next three. Now, the finale is in Vancouver where the atmosphere will be desperate. Amazing.
*Jim Tressel: When Kirk Herbstreit is abandoning Tressel, you know it's over. I appreciate that Herbie went national with his stunning sentiment, but I also suspect that he wouldn't have done it without knowing which way the wind was blowing; he wants to be on the right side of history here, and it must have been stunning for Tressel to hear it. Still: To his credit to say it.
With Tressel, it's "when," not "if" he is going to get fired. Just as it is "when" not "if" Urban Meyer will be brought in to replace him. Aside from Florida, there are probably three jobs in the country worthy of Meyer: Ohio State, Notre Dame and Texas. He doesn't want the latter; the Irish are untouchable until Brian Kelly is mediocre for a few more years. But Ohio State could be available exactly when Meyer feels refreshed and ready to come back to his home state's team, the team he grew up rooting for. It's a perfect fit -- and an inevitable one.
*Should the Knicks re-sign Chauncey Billups? Absolutely. Because, contrary to Carmelo's sentiments, it isn't about winning 50 games in the regular season. It's winning 4 or 8 or 12 or 16 in the postseason. For the Knicks, winning 4 is a good start; winning 8 is overachieving. Keeping Billups gives you the best chance of either.
-- D.S.
*Grizzlies stunning Spurs: It's not a question of jumping on the Grizzlies bandwagon. The question is: How could you NOT jump on the Grizzlies bandwagon?
*NFL Lockout: I just like to envision the awkwardness as players all head to their team facilities, and the coaches awkwardly have to give them the silent treatment, per NFL orders.
*NHL Playoffs: Canucks-Blackhawks Game 7 is a must-see. Chicago is the defending champs -- and conference 8-seed. Vancouver had the best regular-season in the conference; they started the series up 3 games to 0, then the Blackhawks won the next three. Now, the finale is in Vancouver where the atmosphere will be desperate. Amazing.
*Jim Tressel: When Kirk Herbstreit is abandoning Tressel, you know it's over. I appreciate that Herbie went national with his stunning sentiment, but I also suspect that he wouldn't have done it without knowing which way the wind was blowing; he wants to be on the right side of history here, and it must have been stunning for Tressel to hear it. Still: To his credit to say it.
With Tressel, it's "when," not "if" he is going to get fired. Just as it is "when" not "if" Urban Meyer will be brought in to replace him. Aside from Florida, there are probably three jobs in the country worthy of Meyer: Ohio State, Notre Dame and Texas. He doesn't want the latter; the Irish are untouchable until Brian Kelly is mediocre for a few more years. But Ohio State could be available exactly when Meyer feels refreshed and ready to come back to his home state's team, the team he grew up rooting for. It's a perfect fit -- and an inevitable one.
*Should the Knicks re-sign Chauncey Billups? Absolutely. Because, contrary to Carmelo's sentiments, it isn't about winning 50 games in the regular season. It's winning 4 or 8 or 12 or 16 in the postseason. For the Knicks, winning 4 is a good start; winning 8 is overachieving. Keeping Billups gives you the best chance of either.
-- D.S.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Little Help for Quickish?
After a slight delay, we have rolled out the kind of social sharing functionality on Quickish that fits a product that is constantly recommending awesome stuff.
Now, you can very easily share Quickish tips on both Facebook and Twitter. Just look for the button beneath the post you want to share and click -- if it's Twitter, we give you the room to add your own comment to the link.
Anyway, before I get too aggressive promoting the functionality to the world, I would really appreciate it if you would give it a try -- head over to Quickish, scan the stream to find something you think is worth sharing, and pass along through your preferred network. It should take you less than a half-minute.
Let me know if you encounter any bugs or the functionality doesn't work the way you want it to. Just ping me at dan-[at]-quickish-[dot]-com. I really appreciate it. And I hope you find it useful.
-- D.S.
Now, you can very easily share Quickish tips on both Facebook and Twitter. Just look for the button beneath the post you want to share and click -- if it's Twitter, we give you the room to add your own comment to the link.
Anyway, before I get too aggressive promoting the functionality to the world, I would really appreciate it if you would give it a try -- head over to Quickish, scan the stream to find something you think is worth sharing, and pass along through your preferred network. It should take you less than a half-minute.
Let me know if you encounter any bugs or the functionality doesn't work the way you want it to. Just ping me at dan-[at]-quickish-[dot]-com. I really appreciate it. And I hope you find it useful.
-- D.S.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Monday 04/25 (Busy) Quickie
Read my take on the Knicks getting swept below.
I love how everyone is so fired up for the Celtics-Heat series. I agree: It's going to be more hyped than any series in the 2011 NBA Playoffs, including the Finals.
But what happens when the Celtics win in 4 or 5? Because that's what will happen. This has been the Heat's fate since the night of The Decision.
And so the question is what will be more interminable: The week before the series actually starts... or the discussion of how awesome the series will be when the reality is that it's Boston in a walk?
***
Chris Paul upends the Lakers: CP3's performance in the playoffs so far is a great reminder that naming "All-NBA" or "MVP" before the Playoffs start is so misguided. For now, hard to think of a more MVP-worthy player than Paul.
NHL: Canucks choke away Game 6, punctuated by benching starting goalie Roberto Luongo to start, then putting him in for the 3rd period and OT, only to watch him let the game-winning, series-tying goal go by, forcing a once-improbable Game 7 on Tuesday with the defending champs, winners of 3 straight and undoubtedly thinking about destiny.
NBA: Heat tripped up by the Sixers. The Sixers are better than most folks think. Then again, the Heat aren't as good as most folks think. Is it a viable thing that the Heat have to put (at least) one more game's worth of mileage on the tires while the Celtics get to relax?
MLB: Roy Halladay fans 14. That is all. Oh, and the Red Sox swept the Angels. The slow start is a distant memory, aside from its crippling impact on Boston's spot in the standings. But give it another 90 games to shake itself out.
NFL Draft: I'm totally excited about the Draft -- I suspect that it will do much better with fans than the haters are saying. It's a break from the labor posturing; it's "real" football (if only on paper/on a podium). So many great storylines. I'm still saying Cam Newton No. 1 to Carolina.
- D.S.
I love how everyone is so fired up for the Celtics-Heat series. I agree: It's going to be more hyped than any series in the 2011 NBA Playoffs, including the Finals.
But what happens when the Celtics win in 4 or 5? Because that's what will happen. This has been the Heat's fate since the night of The Decision.
And so the question is what will be more interminable: The week before the series actually starts... or the discussion of how awesome the series will be when the reality is that it's Boston in a walk?
***
Chris Paul upends the Lakers: CP3's performance in the playoffs so far is a great reminder that naming "All-NBA" or "MVP" before the Playoffs start is so misguided. For now, hard to think of a more MVP-worthy player than Paul.
NHL: Canucks choke away Game 6, punctuated by benching starting goalie Roberto Luongo to start, then putting him in for the 3rd period and OT, only to watch him let the game-winning, series-tying goal go by, forcing a once-improbable Game 7 on Tuesday with the defending champs, winners of 3 straight and undoubtedly thinking about destiny.
NBA: Heat tripped up by the Sixers. The Sixers are better than most folks think. Then again, the Heat aren't as good as most folks think. Is it a viable thing that the Heat have to put (at least) one more game's worth of mileage on the tires while the Celtics get to relax?
MLB: Roy Halladay fans 14. That is all. Oh, and the Red Sox swept the Angels. The slow start is a distant memory, aside from its crippling impact on Boston's spot in the standings. But give it another 90 games to shake itself out.
NFL Draft: I'm totally excited about the Draft -- I suspect that it will do much better with fans than the haters are saying. It's a break from the labor posturing; it's "real" football (if only on paper/on a podium). So many great storylines. I'm still saying Cam Newton No. 1 to Carolina.
- D.S.
Knicks Swept Out by Boston
Keep up with the NBA Playoffs and all the best takes on all the big topics at Quickish.com.
Really now: Did anyone really think the Knicks would beat the Celtics in this series? If you had to pick between "Knicks win series" and "Knicks swept," you'd take the latter every time.
Oh, maybe you thought the Knicks could swipe a game or two -- make it interesting. And in Games 1 and 2, they did. Games 3 and 4, back in New York, they were not nearly as good, as if they knew they had no chance. In Game 3, they truly believed it; in Game 4, at least they figured out it was worth putting up a fight.
The Knicks get graded on a curve, for some reason. (No, it's a fairly obvious reason: It's New York. It's the Knicks. It's Carmelo + Amare + Spike + MSG + Media Market.)
But I have a hard time imagining this team ever being a true contender -- by that I mean very simply: A team that has a legitimate chance of winning the NBA title.
Knicks fans shouldn't be offended by that -- in any given year in the NBA, about 3-4 teams MAX get that designation.
If you aren't winning the title, you better be relevant. And this season, the Knicks became relevant. But they are closer to the Nets than the Celtics when it comes to being a contender.
Perhaps if the Knicks were entirely healthy -- Amare totally healthy, Billups able to play -- the series would have been very different. Maybe they win a game. Maybe two. But not four.
"But not four."
That feels like it is the Knicks' lot in 2011, Year 1 of the Carmelo-Will-Save-Us campaign. And 2012 -- the Celtics feel like they have one more in 'em, not to mention the Bulls and Heat. In 2013 and 2014, the C's are done, but the Bulls and Heat (and Thunder and whoever snags Dwight Howard -- the Nets???) are going to be much better than the Knicks.
Oh, maybe the Knicks get to the point where they earn a top 4 seed in the East during the regular season, then win four to get to the conference semis. But can anyone see them winning four to get past that?
The relevance of the Knicks in the 2011 NBA Playoffs is foreshadowing. So is getting bounced.
-- D.S.
Really now: Did anyone really think the Knicks would beat the Celtics in this series? If you had to pick between "Knicks win series" and "Knicks swept," you'd take the latter every time.
Oh, maybe you thought the Knicks could swipe a game or two -- make it interesting. And in Games 1 and 2, they did. Games 3 and 4, back in New York, they were not nearly as good, as if they knew they had no chance. In Game 3, they truly believed it; in Game 4, at least they figured out it was worth putting up a fight.
The Knicks get graded on a curve, for some reason. (No, it's a fairly obvious reason: It's New York. It's the Knicks. It's Carmelo + Amare + Spike + MSG + Media Market.)
But I have a hard time imagining this team ever being a true contender -- by that I mean very simply: A team that has a legitimate chance of winning the NBA title.
Knicks fans shouldn't be offended by that -- in any given year in the NBA, about 3-4 teams MAX get that designation.
If you aren't winning the title, you better be relevant. And this season, the Knicks became relevant. But they are closer to the Nets than the Celtics when it comes to being a contender.
Perhaps if the Knicks were entirely healthy -- Amare totally healthy, Billups able to play -- the series would have been very different. Maybe they win a game. Maybe two. But not four.
"But not four."
That feels like it is the Knicks' lot in 2011, Year 1 of the Carmelo-Will-Save-Us campaign. And 2012 -- the Celtics feel like they have one more in 'em, not to mention the Bulls and Heat. In 2013 and 2014, the C's are done, but the Bulls and Heat (and Thunder and whoever snags Dwight Howard -- the Nets???) are going to be much better than the Knicks.
Oh, maybe the Knicks get to the point where they earn a top 4 seed in the East during the regular season, then win four to get to the conference semis. But can anyone see them winning four to get past that?
The relevance of the Knicks in the 2011 NBA Playoffs is foreshadowing. So is getting bounced.
-- D.S.
04/24 (Easter) Quickie
Just got back from the neighborhood Easter egg hunt (all kids welcome), and as I watched a horde of kids find the hundreds of plastic eggs within about 90 seconds -- half the kids hadn't even entered the playground yet -- I wonder where the parents are.
At a minimum, tell your kid they get to find 3 eggs (like we did) and the rest are for everyone else. I saw some kids walking around with a basket with at least 12 eggs, and I wanted to yell at the parents to get over themselves (and their kids). Ridiculous.
Anyhow, if you're celebrating, a happy Easter to you and your family. I hope it's a nice one. Let's get to it:
*Brandon Roy. My goodness. Watch the two video clips in this stream, and check out the reactions.
*Bruins top Habs in 2OT: Also totally dramatic. Finally, a home team wins in this series. Still not sure the Canadiens don't have them right where they want them.
*Zach Randolph and the Grizzlies shock the Spurs -- again! Z-Bo has long been underrated; he hasn't helped his cause by being a bit of a odd one. But this series is reinventing his image.
*The Capitals close out the Rangers in 5: What a change of pace -- that the Caps close out a series early... hell, that they don't choke away an early series lead at all. New mindset there.
*Today: The Heat will sweep the Sixers and the Celtics will sweep the Knicks, giving us a full week to consider a Heat-Celtics semifinals in the East starting next week.
-- D.S.
At a minimum, tell your kid they get to find 3 eggs (like we did) and the rest are for everyone else. I saw some kids walking around with a basket with at least 12 eggs, and I wanted to yell at the parents to get over themselves (and their kids). Ridiculous.
Anyhow, if you're celebrating, a happy Easter to you and your family. I hope it's a nice one. Let's get to it:
*Brandon Roy. My goodness. Watch the two video clips in this stream, and check out the reactions.
*Bruins top Habs in 2OT: Also totally dramatic. Finally, a home team wins in this series. Still not sure the Canadiens don't have them right where they want them.
*Zach Randolph and the Grizzlies shock the Spurs -- again! Z-Bo has long been underrated; he hasn't helped his cause by being a bit of a odd one. But this series is reinventing his image.
*The Capitals close out the Rangers in 5: What a change of pace -- that the Caps close out a series early... hell, that they don't choke away an early series lead at all. New mindset there.
*Today: The Heat will sweep the Sixers and the Celtics will sweep the Knicks, giving us a full week to consider a Heat-Celtics semifinals in the East starting next week.
-- D.S.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
04/23 (Rondo'd) Quickie
Watching the Celtics dismantle the Knicks last night -- even a short-handed Knicks -- does anyone really think that the Heat -- even a top-of-their-game Heat -- can beat the C's 4 times?
We have entered the sluggish portion of the NBA's drag-it-out playoff schedule. I feel like I say this every year: If MLB let its playoff series sprawl out over two weeks, people would freak.
And yet we have the Spurs and Grizzlies playing only Game 3, a week after their series started. And if the Celtics and Heat close things out in 4, we will wait a week for them to start playing.
It's not a huge complaint, and the NBA knows what works for them -- its playoffs are more like "Lost" than an MLB-style mini-series: 8-12 storylines, intertwined and popping up every few days. Given the two-month stretch, it fits.
I just want to get to Heat-Celtics already -- it's possible that will be the culmination of the entire NBA Playoffs, long before we get to the NBA Finals.
****
Pau Gasol breaks through: The hysteria after the Lakers lost Game 1 is a faded memory -- a humorous lark. Because now, like Boston, it's hard to see anyone in the West beating them.
Hawks edge Magic in Atlanta: Loved Crawford's "no-no-no-YES!" banked 3 that the team didn't even need. Orlando is a huge disappointment.
NHL Playoffs: Two OT wins last night? Yes, please. Caps-Rangers with the Caps possibly closing out the first round at home? Yes, please. Habs-Bruins in Boston, tied 2-2, with the road team winning all the games so far? Yes, please.
Brandon Marshall stabbed last night: Sounds like he will be OK, but what an insane story.
Anibal Sanchez's near-no-no: Taking a no-hitter into the 9th is impressive. That it would have been Sanchez's second career no-hitter is even more impressive. A one-hitter is entirely acceptable, by the way. Entirely.
Jim Larranaga from George Mason to Miami: Technically, it's a better job. It's certainly more money and a tougher level of competition. But Miami is buzzless as a hoops program. Maybe he will bring some.
Good afternoon/evening of NBA and NHL playoffs ahead. This morning on Quickish: Reactions to Rajon Rondo and the Celtics' beat-down, Pau Gasol's return to form and the Knicks' deflated performance, plus NHL Playoffs, MLB wrap-ups and a bunch of must-see videos. Check it out!
-- D.S.
We have entered the sluggish portion of the NBA's drag-it-out playoff schedule. I feel like I say this every year: If MLB let its playoff series sprawl out over two weeks, people would freak.
And yet we have the Spurs and Grizzlies playing only Game 3, a week after their series started. And if the Celtics and Heat close things out in 4, we will wait a week for them to start playing.
It's not a huge complaint, and the NBA knows what works for them -- its playoffs are more like "Lost" than an MLB-style mini-series: 8-12 storylines, intertwined and popping up every few days. Given the two-month stretch, it fits.
I just want to get to Heat-Celtics already -- it's possible that will be the culmination of the entire NBA Playoffs, long before we get to the NBA Finals.
****
Pau Gasol breaks through: The hysteria after the Lakers lost Game 1 is a faded memory -- a humorous lark. Because now, like Boston, it's hard to see anyone in the West beating them.
Hawks edge Magic in Atlanta: Loved Crawford's "no-no-no-YES!" banked 3 that the team didn't even need. Orlando is a huge disappointment.
NHL Playoffs: Two OT wins last night? Yes, please. Caps-Rangers with the Caps possibly closing out the first round at home? Yes, please. Habs-Bruins in Boston, tied 2-2, with the road team winning all the games so far? Yes, please.
Brandon Marshall stabbed last night: Sounds like he will be OK, but what an insane story.
Anibal Sanchez's near-no-no: Taking a no-hitter into the 9th is impressive. That it would have been Sanchez's second career no-hitter is even more impressive. A one-hitter is entirely acceptable, by the way. Entirely.
Jim Larranaga from George Mason to Miami: Technically, it's a better job. It's certainly more money and a tougher level of competition. But Miami is buzzless as a hoops program. Maybe he will bring some.
Good afternoon/evening of NBA and NHL playoffs ahead. This morning on Quickish: Reactions to Rajon Rondo and the Celtics' beat-down, Pau Gasol's return to form and the Knicks' deflated performance, plus NHL Playoffs, MLB wrap-ups and a bunch of must-see videos. Check it out!
-- D.S.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Celtics Obliterate the Knicks
Good gosh: What an ass-kicking. Rondo with that triple-double (15 pts, 11 reb, 20 ast). Pierce with 38. Ray Allen with 32 (including 8/11 3-point shooting). The Knicks were overwhelmed -- with the roster they trotted out (especially with Amare at half-speed), this result was inevitable.
As inevitable as the Celtics' close-out sweep on Sunday.
-- D.S.
As inevitable as the Celtics' close-out sweep on Sunday.
-- D.S.
On One-and-Dones
I'm with Pat Forde that Josh Selby never should have been forced to play college basketball for a year before entering the draft.
I'm long on the record as being anti-age-limit. It makes no sense for anyone -- not the players, not the colleges, not "college basketball," not even the NBA.
I wish that all players who know before college that they will be one-and-done would make the economically and competitively rational decision to simply go straight to the D League.
In the D-League they will get coaching geared exclusively and specifically to maximizing their draft stock and their NBA potential, as opposed to college coaching geared specifically to NOT maximize their pro potential, but the coach's win-loss record.
In the D-League they will get paid -- not much (roughly $30,000), but better than nothing (cue jokes about being paid to go to college X). They are also eligible for two things that the college player is not: Endorsement dollars and cash advances from anyone.
But I mainly go back to the idea that you spend a year honing your game (and being honed) specifically to succeed in the NBA, which should -- in theory -- maximize not only your draft status but your long-term prospects, as you get drafted, be productive faster and start the clock to free agency.
The only folks who will claim to lose if top preps skip college hoops are the coaches and media who rely on the star power of the one-and-dones to justify their existence. If they cared about the kids -- or the game, at either the pro or college level -- they would support going pro.
Or they could simply get rid of the unnecessarily paternalistic age limit and let the free market decide if a player is draft-worthy. That worked out pretty well beforehand.
-- D.S.
I'm long on the record as being anti-age-limit. It makes no sense for anyone -- not the players, not the colleges, not "college basketball," not even the NBA.
I wish that all players who know before college that they will be one-and-done would make the economically and competitively rational decision to simply go straight to the D League.
In the D-League they will get coaching geared exclusively and specifically to maximizing their draft stock and their NBA potential, as opposed to college coaching geared specifically to NOT maximize their pro potential, but the coach's win-loss record.
In the D-League they will get paid -- not much (roughly $30,000), but better than nothing (cue jokes about being paid to go to college X). They are also eligible for two things that the college player is not: Endorsement dollars and cash advances from anyone.
But I mainly go back to the idea that you spend a year honing your game (and being honed) specifically to succeed in the NBA, which should -- in theory -- maximize not only your draft status but your long-term prospects, as you get drafted, be productive faster and start the clock to free agency.
The only folks who will claim to lose if top preps skip college hoops are the coaches and media who rely on the star power of the one-and-dones to justify their existence. If they cared about the kids -- or the game, at either the pro or college level -- they would support going pro.
Or they could simply get rid of the unnecessarily paternalistic age limit and let the free market decide if a player is draft-worthy. That worked out pretty well beforehand.
-- D.S.
Friday 4/22 Quickie
First, a quick word on this Colby Lewis paternity leave story: What story? The blogger who ripped him is trolling for relevance; he made an absurd argument.
It's a non-issue: Lewis and the team actually did schedule the birth around his starts, but a weather issue threw the plan off. It happens, but the intent was there.
And even if the intent wasn't there, I'm totally comfortable with the work-life balance choice that Lewis made, with the team's (and MLB's) blessing.
More:
*Yes, yes: The Heat are playing as well as any team in the playoffs. But they are playing the Sixers -- in over their heads from Day 1. Let's see Miami do it against the Celtics.
*NHL: I love that the Canucks are starting to gasp a little bit against the Blackhawks, and I love that the road team has won every game of the Habs-Bruins series.
*Expanding the MLB playoffs: I have been for this for a while. I would expand it to 8 teams per league, frankly, but I'll take what I can get. (But then again, I'm unrealistic. Because I would also dissolve the divisions, balance the schedule and enforce a salary cap that creates more parity.)
*NFL Draft: The storyline, as always, is QBs -- Cam Newton at No. 1? Who goes for Gabbert? Who takes a chance on Mallett? How many go in the 1st round? Andy Dalton's red hair?
*I'm no fan of the BCS, but any taxpayer dollars that are spent pursuing a case against the BCS is the worst use of public money ever, and the local governments behind it should be ashamed.
*MLB: Totally support the MLB takeover of the Dodgers. And just so you don't think I'm an East Coast snob, I would support a forced sale of the Mets.
*More MLB: Ryan Braun gets 5Y/$105M extension from Brewers. Smart to lock him up. He is the face of the franchise, even if Prince Fielder leaves. They avoid the b.s. in a few years of potentially losing Braun to the Cubs or Red Sox or Yankees.
*CBB: George Mason's Jim Larranaga to go to Miami? It would be a fine hire for The U -- although has Larranaga shown he can recruit an entire region? Meanwhile, I kind of love the George Mason opening for a hot young assistant, like VCU keeps doing.
Fun day ahead on Quickish -- and a fun weekend of NBA and NHL playoffs, plus lead-up to NFL Draft week. Give it a look!
-- D.S.
It's a non-issue: Lewis and the team actually did schedule the birth around his starts, but a weather issue threw the plan off. It happens, but the intent was there.
And even if the intent wasn't there, I'm totally comfortable with the work-life balance choice that Lewis made, with the team's (and MLB's) blessing.
More:
*Yes, yes: The Heat are playing as well as any team in the playoffs. But they are playing the Sixers -- in over their heads from Day 1. Let's see Miami do it against the Celtics.
*NHL: I love that the Canucks are starting to gasp a little bit against the Blackhawks, and I love that the road team has won every game of the Habs-Bruins series.
*Expanding the MLB playoffs: I have been for this for a while. I would expand it to 8 teams per league, frankly, but I'll take what I can get. (But then again, I'm unrealistic. Because I would also dissolve the divisions, balance the schedule and enforce a salary cap that creates more parity.)
*NFL Draft: The storyline, as always, is QBs -- Cam Newton at No. 1? Who goes for Gabbert? Who takes a chance on Mallett? How many go in the 1st round? Andy Dalton's red hair?
*I'm no fan of the BCS, but any taxpayer dollars that are spent pursuing a case against the BCS is the worst use of public money ever, and the local governments behind it should be ashamed.
*MLB: Totally support the MLB takeover of the Dodgers. And just so you don't think I'm an East Coast snob, I would support a forced sale of the Mets.
*More MLB: Ryan Braun gets 5Y/$105M extension from Brewers. Smart to lock him up. He is the face of the franchise, even if Prince Fielder leaves. They avoid the b.s. in a few years of potentially losing Braun to the Cubs or Red Sox or Yankees.
*CBB: George Mason's Jim Larranaga to go to Miami? It would be a fine hire for The U -- although has Larranaga shown he can recruit an entire region? Meanwhile, I kind of love the George Mason opening for a hot young assistant, like VCU keeps doing.
Fun day ahead on Quickish -- and a fun weekend of NBA and NHL playoffs, plus lead-up to NFL Draft week. Give it a look!
-- D.S.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
04/21 (Caps Win!) Quickie
On the plus side, I had an unbelievably productive trip down to DC the past 24 hours.
On the minus side, I wasn't able to post earlier this morning -- something I will redouble in effort to correct back to the typical daily morning pace. But I refuse to stop being typically shallow.
Last night, I was driving around looking for a parking spot at 10:30/10:45 and I ended up listening to the local Caps radio broadcast of the 2nd OT against the Rangers.
I found a spot, but sat in the car listening, because I had a flashback to 1987 -- I was 14 years old sitting in my bed listening to Game 7 of the Caps' playoff series with the Islanders, which New York won in a 4th overtime. It remains one of the most vivid experiential memories of my sports childhood.
And so with last night's sudden "HE SCORES!" from the radio guy, I remembered how much I enjoy listening to playoff hockey on a home-town radio broadcast -- even if the last time I could remember doing it was nearly a quarter-century ago.
-- D.S.
On the minus side, I wasn't able to post earlier this morning -- something I will redouble in effort to correct back to the typical daily morning pace. But I refuse to stop being typically shallow.
Last night, I was driving around looking for a parking spot at 10:30/10:45 and I ended up listening to the local Caps radio broadcast of the 2nd OT against the Rangers.
I found a spot, but sat in the car listening, because I had a flashback to 1987 -- I was 14 years old sitting in my bed listening to Game 7 of the Caps' playoff series with the Islanders, which New York won in a 4th overtime. It remains one of the most vivid experiential memories of my sports childhood.
And so with last night's sudden "HE SCORES!" from the radio guy, I remembered how much I enjoy listening to playoff hockey on a home-town radio broadcast -- even if the last time I could remember doing it was nearly a quarter-century ago.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
04/20 (DC) Quickie
Apologies for the late posting today -- I zipped down to DC for some business (hoping to enjoy watching the Caps in a Caps-friendly bar tonight, along with Thunder-Nuggets, if the bar will let a TV be on anything but the Caps).
*The NFL schedule release was everything the NFL hoped it would be -- namely, taken at face value, with more focus on "Ooh! Look at that match-up!" than "Ooh! Week 1 ain't gonna be played."
*The Knicks found an even more brutal way to end a playoff game in Boston against the Celtics. Great game by Melo; awful finish by the ragtag group. That they were in a position to win it in the final seconds is a moral victory. (The whole thing is a moral victory -- no one had them advancing anyway, so playing the Celtics close is as much as anyone could ask of them.)
*NBA Draft: Kentucky's Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones are smart to enter the draft. They were Lottery locks before the other top collegians decided to go back to school. Both could go in the Top 10 (if not even higher) and no guarantee either would have gone that high next year.
*The robot that threw at the first pitch for the Phillies today clunked it short. Humans rule!
-- D.S.
*The NFL schedule release was everything the NFL hoped it would be -- namely, taken at face value, with more focus on "Ooh! Look at that match-up!" than "Ooh! Week 1 ain't gonna be played."
*The Knicks found an even more brutal way to end a playoff game in Boston against the Celtics. Great game by Melo; awful finish by the ragtag group. That they were in a position to win it in the final seconds is a moral victory. (The whole thing is a moral victory -- no one had them advancing anyway, so playing the Celtics close is as much as anyone could ask of them.)
*NBA Draft: Kentucky's Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones are smart to enter the draft. They were Lottery locks before the other top collegians decided to go back to school. Both could go in the Top 10 (if not even higher) and no guarantee either would have gone that high next year.
*The robot that threw at the first pitch for the Phillies today clunked it short. Humans rule!
-- D.S.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
04/19 (NFL Irony) Quickie
In typical years, the release of the new season's NFL schedule is nearly a sports holiday -- part of the programming foundation that the league created that has turned it into a year-round sport.
Of course, this year's schedule release -- tonight at 7 -- comes with built-in snark: What schedule? With the league locking out the players and no end in sight (until late-summer at least, I suspect), analyzing the schedule is an even more theoretical exercise than in normal years.
Here is what the NFL knows, though: Fans will take tonight's schedule release as seriously as ever -- the same way we'll do it with the draft.
No one wants to think about the lockout or the byzantine labor negotiation. What we want to think about is football, and analyzing the schedule -- even one with not even as much basis in reality as a fantasy team -- is as close as we get to normalcy.
And so the jokes will come easily, but they are one-note and depressing. The easier (and more fun) thing to do is pretend this lockout isn't happening and approach the schedule release with as much enthusiasm as any year. It will make us feel just slightly (but only slightly) better.
Then back to the harsh reality that, as of now, there IS no schedule.
****
NBA Playoffs: The Heat are playing great. Who cares? Was getting out of the first round even a question? Let's talk about the Heat playing great after they win 4 of 7 from the Celtics three weeks from now. (And the Bulls are playing sloppy -- they still will likely close this out in 5 games.) Tonight: We see the extent to which the psychologically fragile Knicks were broken by Sunday night's late-game collapse.
****
MLB: Did Aroldis Chapman really hit 106 on the radar gun last night? Better question: Did teammate Mike Leake really shoplift $60 worth of T-shirts from a Macy's?
More later -- and all morning/all day/all evening at Quickish. Please pop by -- great recommendations all day long, then instant reactions to the NFL schedule release at 7.
Of course, this year's schedule release -- tonight at 7 -- comes with built-in snark: What schedule? With the league locking out the players and no end in sight (until late-summer at least, I suspect), analyzing the schedule is an even more theoretical exercise than in normal years.
Here is what the NFL knows, though: Fans will take tonight's schedule release as seriously as ever -- the same way we'll do it with the draft.
No one wants to think about the lockout or the byzantine labor negotiation. What we want to think about is football, and analyzing the schedule -- even one with not even as much basis in reality as a fantasy team -- is as close as we get to normalcy.
And so the jokes will come easily, but they are one-note and depressing. The easier (and more fun) thing to do is pretend this lockout isn't happening and approach the schedule release with as much enthusiasm as any year. It will make us feel just slightly (but only slightly) better.
Then back to the harsh reality that, as of now, there IS no schedule.
****
NBA Playoffs: The Heat are playing great. Who cares? Was getting out of the first round even a question? Let's talk about the Heat playing great after they win 4 of 7 from the Celtics three weeks from now. (And the Bulls are playing sloppy -- they still will likely close this out in 5 games.) Tonight: We see the extent to which the psychologically fragile Knicks were broken by Sunday night's late-game collapse.
****
MLB: Did Aroldis Chapman really hit 106 on the radar gun last night? Better question: Did teammate Mike Leake really shoplift $60 worth of T-shirts from a Macy's?
More later -- and all morning/all day/all evening at Quickish. Please pop by -- great recommendations all day long, then instant reactions to the NFL schedule release at 7.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Monday 04/18 (NBA Playoffs) Quickie
The difference between the NBA Playoffs and the NBA regular season is so profound that it's little wonder the NBA's regular season is as meaningless as exists in sports, a few Blake Griffin YouTube clips and the occasional match-up between heavyweights that have a "playoff feel."
But there's no replicating the playoffs. There's no replicating Derrick Rose's contortions or Chris Paul totally raising his game or the Grizzlies looking nothing like the Memphis teams of previous years in dispatching the 1-seed Spurs in San Antonio or Ray Allen's dagger 3 or Serge Ibaka's block capping the 8th -- and best -- Game 1 of the first round.
And yet there is this interesting feeling: Yes, lots of love for the Game 1s -- it was our first taste of playoff basketball this year and the games had high levels of drama. But best-of-7 series have a way of mitigating Game 1s -- and even opening-round series. We rarely remember Game 1s and we rarely remember first-round series -- short of rare foreshadowing of "Michael Jordan's Bulls will be pretty good in a couple of years," repeated 25 years later with Derrick Rose against the Celtics. Game 1 storylines rarely hold through the course of a playoff season -- let alone a first round... hell, let alone a Game 2 or 3 or beyond.
But damn if these playoffs aren't off to a thrilling start worthy of a sport reaching the apex of a Golden Age -- right before they shut it down for a labor battle. Enjoy it now, friends.
-- D.S.
But there's no replicating the playoffs. There's no replicating Derrick Rose's contortions or Chris Paul totally raising his game or the Grizzlies looking nothing like the Memphis teams of previous years in dispatching the 1-seed Spurs in San Antonio or Ray Allen's dagger 3 or Serge Ibaka's block capping the 8th -- and best -- Game 1 of the first round.
And yet there is this interesting feeling: Yes, lots of love for the Game 1s -- it was our first taste of playoff basketball this year and the games had high levels of drama. But best-of-7 series have a way of mitigating Game 1s -- and even opening-round series. We rarely remember Game 1s and we rarely remember first-round series -- short of rare foreshadowing of "Michael Jordan's Bulls will be pretty good in a couple of years," repeated 25 years later with Derrick Rose against the Celtics. Game 1 storylines rarely hold through the course of a playoff season -- let alone a first round... hell, let alone a Game 2 or 3 or beyond.
But damn if these playoffs aren't off to a thrilling start worthy of a sport reaching the apex of a Golden Age -- right before they shut it down for a labor battle. Enjoy it now, friends.
-- D.S.
Friday, April 15, 2011
04/15 (NBA Playoffs) Quickie
Now that we've got the bland formality of the NBA regular season behind us, we can focus on what really matters: Championship or bust.
As it was in October, there are just a handful of teams with a realistic shot at winning the title: The Lakers, Celtics and Spurs. The Bulls qualified for the group, although they would have to defy the "must go through trial by fire first" rule of the NBA Playoffs.
The Heat? I'll stick with the preseason prediction: The Heat -- as improved as they might be -- are not going to sniff the title. They won't win the East, and I can't see anyone actually picking them to beat the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
And let's remember the rock and hard place that this Miami team is in:
The expectation is that they should win a championship. The reality is that they have no chance and, in fact, will barely do better than the Pacers or 76ers. Because anything less than a title for the Heat IS a failure, fair or not. It's so complicated.
I'm sticking with my preseason pick: That the Lakers will win another title. The Thunder will make it very interesting, upending the Spurs in the semis, then taking LA to 7 in the West finals.
In the East, the Celtics will drum out the Heat in one semi, then evade the Bulls in the other -- exactly the Game 7 disappointment Chicago will need to claim the Lakers' throne next year and beyond.
But the story -- for better or worse -- is that in Year 1 of what appears to be a 5-year experiment (less if they jettison Bosh in the offseason), the Heat failed. At the risk of ruining everyone's schadenfreude, I honestly believe that not only will LeBron not win multiple titles in his NBA career, I think he won't win any (short of signing up with a real contender later in his career).
For now, I'll stick with LeBron failing in '11 -- and Kobe claiming No. 6.
So many amazing things on Quickish today -- NBA playoff previews, NHL analysis, some phenomenal videos, great MLB analysis and a Quickish "original": A must-follow list of top NBA pundits. Please check it out -- and all weekend long.
-- D.S.
As it was in October, there are just a handful of teams with a realistic shot at winning the title: The Lakers, Celtics and Spurs. The Bulls qualified for the group, although they would have to defy the "must go through trial by fire first" rule of the NBA Playoffs.
The Heat? I'll stick with the preseason prediction: The Heat -- as improved as they might be -- are not going to sniff the title. They won't win the East, and I can't see anyone actually picking them to beat the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
And let's remember the rock and hard place that this Miami team is in:
The expectation is that they should win a championship. The reality is that they have no chance and, in fact, will barely do better than the Pacers or 76ers. Because anything less than a title for the Heat IS a failure, fair or not. It's so complicated.
I'm sticking with my preseason pick: That the Lakers will win another title. The Thunder will make it very interesting, upending the Spurs in the semis, then taking LA to 7 in the West finals.
In the East, the Celtics will drum out the Heat in one semi, then evade the Bulls in the other -- exactly the Game 7 disappointment Chicago will need to claim the Lakers' throne next year and beyond.
But the story -- for better or worse -- is that in Year 1 of what appears to be a 5-year experiment (less if they jettison Bosh in the offseason), the Heat failed. At the risk of ruining everyone's schadenfreude, I honestly believe that not only will LeBron not win multiple titles in his NBA career, I think he won't win any (short of signing up with a real contender later in his career).
For now, I'll stick with LeBron failing in '11 -- and Kobe claiming No. 6.
So many amazing things on Quickish today -- NBA playoff previews, NHL analysis, some phenomenal videos, great MLB analysis and a Quickish "original": A must-follow list of top NBA pundits. Please check it out -- and all weekend long.
-- D.S.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
04/14 (DL) Quickie
First, a fond (and navel-gazey) farewell to Dan Levy, whose prolific "On the DL Podcast" ends its 555-show run today. To commemorate it, he mapped the entire Muppets universe to folks around the sports-blog universe. You know what? They're almost all entirely appropriate. (He mapped me to Guy Smiley, which isn't that far off.)
What happened in Sacramento last night -- where the fans staged a don't-call-it-a-protest love-fest worthy of a team that will be bolting the city where it is the only game in town -- was one of the most powerful moments of the last year in sports. You really feel for them.
The NHL Playoffs started last night, and true to my very sincere attempt to follow them more closely, I had the Caps-Rangers game on almost the entire time. I am contemplating growing a playoff beard, but people who know me would note that it will take all of 3 or 4 days to have it grown-in in full.
NBA playoffs start this weekend: Picks and analysis tomorrrow.
Bonds guilty on that one obstruction-of-justice count: A totally meh moment. I side more with the folks saying "What a waste of time/money" than the ones saying "It's the 'guilty' verdict that will stain his career forever!" Like the assumption of guilt hadn't already tainted it indelibly?
Kobe's slur: Kobe always seemed too smart to devolve to that level. The $100K fine by the league is more of a statement than Kobe's apology, which veered between half-hearted (of the I'm-sorry-this-became-a-thing variety) and honestly being sorry he said it.
More later. Please pop by Quickish today. Lots lined up to make your day more interesting.
-- D.S.
What happened in Sacramento last night -- where the fans staged a don't-call-it-a-protest love-fest worthy of a team that will be bolting the city where it is the only game in town -- was one of the most powerful moments of the last year in sports. You really feel for them.
The NHL Playoffs started last night, and true to my very sincere attempt to follow them more closely, I had the Caps-Rangers game on almost the entire time. I am contemplating growing a playoff beard, but people who know me would note that it will take all of 3 or 4 days to have it grown-in in full.
NBA playoffs start this weekend: Picks and analysis tomorrrow.
Bonds guilty on that one obstruction-of-justice count: A totally meh moment. I side more with the folks saying "What a waste of time/money" than the ones saying "It's the 'guilty' verdict that will stain his career forever!" Like the assumption of guilt hadn't already tainted it indelibly?
Kobe's slur: Kobe always seemed too smart to devolve to that level. The $100K fine by the league is more of a statement than Kobe's apology, which veered between half-hearted (of the I'm-sorry-this-became-a-thing variety) and honestly being sorry he said it.
More later. Please pop by Quickish today. Lots lined up to make your day more interesting.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
4/12 (Interregnum) Quickie
A few stray thoughts on a morning I'm feeling chippy:
*It's "Tell-a-Friend Tuesday" at Quickish. All that means is that you recommend Quickish to a friend today. Ideally, lots of friends. Actually, really ideally, you tell lots of friends every day. But we'll settle for just one friend on one day. It's a more concerted effort to get the word out about Quickish. I know most of you already tell friends -- can't tell you how much I appreciate that. So here's a spin-off: Tell your friends to tell friends. Virality!
*Mariners fans deserved that comeback last night. It was as improbable an event in baseball as there exists -- that the wispy-hitting Mariners would be able to come back from a 7-0 deficit in the game's final three innings? (Oh, and in a start where King Felix got shelled, no less.)
*Even more than other years, the NBA Playoffs first round feels like a fait d'accompli. The marquee is Celtics-Knicks. Does anyone actually see the Knicks taking this more than 5 games, let alone winning?
*It's admittedly a low bar, but I'm more engaged in this year's NHL Playoffs than any in recent years I can remember. I'm nominally a Caps fan, so I'd like to see them avoid the ignominy of a first-round exit (particularly after being up 3 games to 1), but I can absolutely see the inherent drama of Bruins-Habs.
*Randy Moss to the Jets? Why not?
*So one-and-done Josh Selby skipped the Kansas hoops banquet because he was looking into his draft status? And? If your dream employer called you a few weeks before graduation and said they'll give you a job but they need you to start right away and you'll have to miss your graduation, you'd skip your graduation. By the way, this was a basketball banquet, not a graduation.
*By the way, this year's NBA Draft is awful. I'm fully on board with Bismack Biyombo going No. 1 overall. He has more upside than any player in the draft. Though that's not saying a lot.
*I think Tom Brady going in the 6th round is the greatest story in the history of the NFL Draft. (His story is being re-told tonight on ESPN, and the clip of him crying while remembering his drop through the draft is the most viral sports video of the week.) I'm totally comfortable using his draft story as a club to mock the draftniks, who are charlatans.
That said, he was pegged as a system QB who needs to be in the right fit in order to succeed in the NFL -- you could say that about most great QBs, from Montana to Elway to Favre. And you can't argue that Brady didn't benefit in some ultimate sense from being paired with Bill Belichick (and vice versa). Brady going in the 1st round to some horrible team would have obliterated his career. The lesson: When it comes to the draft, it's all about fit, about system and about opportunity.
Lots more coming throughout the day at Quickish. Please pop by (and tell a friend!)
-- D.S.
*It's "Tell-a-Friend Tuesday" at Quickish. All that means is that you recommend Quickish to a friend today. Ideally, lots of friends. Actually, really ideally, you tell lots of friends every day. But we'll settle for just one friend on one day. It's a more concerted effort to get the word out about Quickish. I know most of you already tell friends -- can't tell you how much I appreciate that. So here's a spin-off: Tell your friends to tell friends. Virality!
*Mariners fans deserved that comeback last night. It was as improbable an event in baseball as there exists -- that the wispy-hitting Mariners would be able to come back from a 7-0 deficit in the game's final three innings? (Oh, and in a start where King Felix got shelled, no less.)
*Even more than other years, the NBA Playoffs first round feels like a fait d'accompli. The marquee is Celtics-Knicks. Does anyone actually see the Knicks taking this more than 5 games, let alone winning?
*It's admittedly a low bar, but I'm more engaged in this year's NHL Playoffs than any in recent years I can remember. I'm nominally a Caps fan, so I'd like to see them avoid the ignominy of a first-round exit (particularly after being up 3 games to 1), but I can absolutely see the inherent drama of Bruins-Habs.
*Randy Moss to the Jets? Why not?
*So one-and-done Josh Selby skipped the Kansas hoops banquet because he was looking into his draft status? And? If your dream employer called you a few weeks before graduation and said they'll give you a job but they need you to start right away and you'll have to miss your graduation, you'd skip your graduation. By the way, this was a basketball banquet, not a graduation.
*By the way, this year's NBA Draft is awful. I'm fully on board with Bismack Biyombo going No. 1 overall. He has more upside than any player in the draft. Though that's not saying a lot.
*I think Tom Brady going in the 6th round is the greatest story in the history of the NFL Draft. (His story is being re-told tonight on ESPN, and the clip of him crying while remembering his drop through the draft is the most viral sports video of the week.) I'm totally comfortable using his draft story as a club to mock the draftniks, who are charlatans.
That said, he was pegged as a system QB who needs to be in the right fit in order to succeed in the NFL -- you could say that about most great QBs, from Montana to Elway to Favre. And you can't argue that Brady didn't benefit in some ultimate sense from being paired with Bill Belichick (and vice versa). Brady going in the 1st round to some horrible team would have obliterated his career. The lesson: When it comes to the draft, it's all about fit, about system and about opportunity.
Lots more coming throughout the day at Quickish. Please pop by (and tell a friend!)
-- D.S.
Monday, April 11, 2011
My Favorite FreeDarko Post
Below, in my small tribute to Free Darko (which is shuttering today), I mentioned that I contributed one of my favorite things I ever wrote to FD for their Valentine's Day 2007 post.
I'm going to post the whole thing below, because I love it so much:
"He's Just Not That Into U-donis"
Filed by Dan Shanoff
I'm not quite sure I can pinpoint exactly when I knew I WOULD marry my wife, but I'm quite sure I can pinpoint exactly when I knew I COULD:
The year: 2001
The setting: Our first date.
The place: West Village Italian restaurant
The context: 1.2 bottles of wine into dinner.
The topic on the table: The preeminent value of offensive rebounds in relation to (1) a basketball team's chances of success and (2) a basketball forward's worth as a player.
Let me clarify: My wife (then, the random woman I was on a first date with) was making that argument. I was pretending to engage in the discussion. I was nodding. I may have even been responding.
All I know is that her voice was drowned out by the one in the back of my head:
Li'l Danny: "Are you listening to this? Are you listening?!"
Me: "Pipe down. She's trying to make a point about the pro potential of Udonis Haslem."
Li'l Danny: "The fat Florida center? He'll never make it!"
Me: "Shh!"
Li'l Danny: "But here is a woman who not only loves basketball, but appreciates it for its subtle pleasures!"
Me: "Which *I'm* trying to appreciate, save for your yammering!"
Li'l Danny: "I think I'm in love. Go on: Say something smart that will make her respect you for your basketball knowledge!"
Me: "OK...wait: I'm blanking! I'm blanking!! It's all too much pressure! I'm smitten!"
Li'l Danny: "Plus-minus! Plus-minus!"
Me: "What the hell is 'plus-minus?'" (Remember: It was 2001.)
Li'l Danny: "Nooooo! Damn your ignorance! You better switch topics to something more your speed... like pop culture."
Me: "So, uh, how about those...um...'Sex and the City' women?" (D'oh!)
Fast-forward nearly six years, one marriage and one kid later: Her enthusiastic argument on behalf of offensive rebounds remains THE most -- if not only -- vivid detail of our entire first date.
And as we sit in our NYC apartment today watching her favorite NBA player -- David Lee (yeah, she's a Gators fan) -- she's still talking about offensive rebounds. And knowing Lee's NBA-best offensive-rebounding numbers, I couldn't love her more for it.
-END-
I'm going to post the whole thing below, because I love it so much:
"He's Just Not That Into U-donis"
Filed by Dan Shanoff
I'm not quite sure I can pinpoint exactly when I knew I WOULD marry my wife, but I'm quite sure I can pinpoint exactly when I knew I COULD:
The year: 2001
The setting: Our first date.
The place: West Village Italian restaurant
The context: 1.2 bottles of wine into dinner.
The topic on the table: The preeminent value of offensive rebounds in relation to (1) a basketball team's chances of success and (2) a basketball forward's worth as a player.
Let me clarify: My wife (then, the random woman I was on a first date with) was making that argument. I was pretending to engage in the discussion. I was nodding. I may have even been responding.
All I know is that her voice was drowned out by the one in the back of my head:
Li'l Danny: "Are you listening to this? Are you listening?!"
Me: "Pipe down. She's trying to make a point about the pro potential of Udonis Haslem."
Li'l Danny: "The fat Florida center? He'll never make it!"
Me: "Shh!"
Li'l Danny: "But here is a woman who not only loves basketball, but appreciates it for its subtle pleasures!"
Me: "Which *I'm* trying to appreciate, save for your yammering!"
Li'l Danny: "I think I'm in love. Go on: Say something smart that will make her respect you for your basketball knowledge!"
Me: "OK...wait: I'm blanking! I'm blanking!! It's all too much pressure! I'm smitten!"
Li'l Danny: "Plus-minus! Plus-minus!"
Me: "What the hell is 'plus-minus?'" (Remember: It was 2001.)
Li'l Danny: "Nooooo! Damn your ignorance! You better switch topics to something more your speed... like pop culture."
Me: "So, uh, how about those...um...'Sex and the City' women?" (D'oh!)
Fast-forward nearly six years, one marriage and one kid later: Her enthusiastic argument on behalf of offensive rebounds remains THE most -- if not only -- vivid detail of our entire first date.
And as we sit in our NYC apartment today watching her favorite NBA player -- David Lee (yeah, she's a Gators fan) -- she's still talking about offensive rebounds. And knowing Lee's NBA-best offensive-rebounding numbers, I couldn't love her more for it.
-END-
In Praise of Free Darko
When I talk about sportswriting never being better than it is now (and meaning it!), it is a recognition of one driving factor:
The opening of new platforms and distribution channels over the past decade has allowed new talent to emerge.
Because of that new open access, is there more crap than ever before? Absolutely. But the flip side is that the top 10% is better than ever before. And I'll trade the crap to get the great every time.
One of the most distinctive talents in sportswriting -- the Free Darko collective, led by the irrepressible Bethlehem Shoals -- is closing its doors today, moving on to other things.
I contributed a small bit to their 11,000-word final post today -- and I will point you to my favorite contribution to FD, from Valentine's Day 2007. It is one of my favorite things I have ever written.
Good luck to all of the FD crew on whatever they have next.
-- D.S.
The opening of new platforms and distribution channels over the past decade has allowed new talent to emerge.
Because of that new open access, is there more crap than ever before? Absolutely. But the flip side is that the top 10% is better than ever before. And I'll trade the crap to get the great every time.
One of the most distinctive talents in sportswriting -- the Free Darko collective, led by the irrepressible Bethlehem Shoals -- is closing its doors today, moving on to other things.
I contributed a small bit to their 11,000-word final post today -- and I will point you to my favorite contribution to FD, from Valentine's Day 2007. It is one of my favorite things I have ever written.
Good luck to all of the FD crew on whatever they have next.
-- D.S.
04/11 (Charl) Quickie
So there's presumably an optimal way for a sports event to end, but more often than not, we just want it to end distinctively -- "good enough," I guess you could say, where that qualifier is left up to each individual fan (great recent example: did you find last week's UConn-Butler game fascinatingly ugly or just ugly?)
At the Masters, we didn't get the breakthrough of 21-year-old Rory McIlroy -- but if he wasn't going to win, at least he imploded spectacularly (and then seemed to handle it as well as could be expected after the tournament ended).
We didn't get Tiger winning -- I will continue to contend that Tiger losing (Tiger coming close to winning, ideally) is the far more dramatic outcome.
We had an anyone-can-win scenario heading into the Masters' final hour -- as many as a half-dozen golfers with a shot.
That 99% of fans had never heard of Charl Schwartzel doesn't matter -- he distinguished himself with his metronomic birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie finish to the course, pulling away from the rest, who simply couldn't keep up.
And in the end, we got an epic collapse from the "how-can-he-possibly-lose?" leader, a surge (but ultimately failure) by Tiger, a finish that lots of golfers could have claimed and a champ who earned it.
That's more than "good enough."
****
NBA: Yesterday, I said that even if the Heat beat the Celtics and end up claiming the East 2-seed -- and home-court advantage over the Celtics in the Eastern Conf. semifinals -- it wouldn't matter, because the playoffs are so different from the regular season. I still expect most people to pick the Celtics over the Heat in their playoff predictions.
Lakers lose 5th straight: Anyone NOT picking them to win the West? Didn't think so.
****
NFL Lockout: The judge can insist the league and union go back to mediation, but that hardly ensures that either side will budge. There's no urgency. I suppose the judge can indicate to one side or the other that if they don't emerge from mediation with a deal, then you never know what the judge will do (in other words: threats)
****
WNBA Draft: Not much drama. Arguably the greatest player in the history of women's college basketball -- UConn's Maya Moore -- will go to the Minnesota Lynx.
****
Pop by Quickish today to catch up on Masters reactions, NBA analysis, some really good recommendations and more.
Go back and scroll down through the awesome coverage this weekend -- it'll only take you two minutes or so. That's the work of the super-talented Michael Katz, the latest addition to the Quickish team.
-- D.S.
At the Masters, we didn't get the breakthrough of 21-year-old Rory McIlroy -- but if he wasn't going to win, at least he imploded spectacularly (and then seemed to handle it as well as could be expected after the tournament ended).
We didn't get Tiger winning -- I will continue to contend that Tiger losing (Tiger coming close to winning, ideally) is the far more dramatic outcome.
We had an anyone-can-win scenario heading into the Masters' final hour -- as many as a half-dozen golfers with a shot.
That 99% of fans had never heard of Charl Schwartzel doesn't matter -- he distinguished himself with his metronomic birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie finish to the course, pulling away from the rest, who simply couldn't keep up.
And in the end, we got an epic collapse from the "how-can-he-possibly-lose?" leader, a surge (but ultimately failure) by Tiger, a finish that lots of golfers could have claimed and a champ who earned it.
That's more than "good enough."
****
NBA: Yesterday, I said that even if the Heat beat the Celtics and end up claiming the East 2-seed -- and home-court advantage over the Celtics in the Eastern Conf. semifinals -- it wouldn't matter, because the playoffs are so different from the regular season. I still expect most people to pick the Celtics over the Heat in their playoff predictions.
Lakers lose 5th straight: Anyone NOT picking them to win the West? Didn't think so.
****
NFL Lockout: The judge can insist the league and union go back to mediation, but that hardly ensures that either side will budge. There's no urgency. I suppose the judge can indicate to one side or the other that if they don't emerge from mediation with a deal, then you never know what the judge will do (in other words: threats)
****
WNBA Draft: Not much drama. Arguably the greatest player in the history of women's college basketball -- UConn's Maya Moore -- will go to the Minnesota Lynx.
****
Pop by Quickish today to catch up on Masters reactions, NBA analysis, some really good recommendations and more.
Go back and scroll down through the awesome coverage this weekend -- it'll only take you two minutes or so. That's the work of the super-talented Michael Katz, the latest addition to the Quickish team.
-- D.S.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
04/10 (Rory Sunday) Quickie
It's fun to watch a national -- perhaps epic -- sports breakthrough in real-time.
The bandwagon for 21-year-old Masters leader Rory McIlroy is nearly at capacity -- and rightly so: He's young, confident, likeable and, through three rounds in Augusta, fearless.
Where Tiger -- and at this point, it's fashionable to say "35-year-old Tiger," unfairly, in the same kind of way people said "40-year-old Willie Mays" -- stumbled, Rory sizzled.
Barring an epic collapse that would define him just as much as (if not more) a Masters title would, Rory McIlroy is going to win the Masters at age 21 and become sports' Next Big Thing.
He seems to be deserving of both titles.
****
Congrats to Minnesota-Duluth on their NCAA hockey title. I was at a bar with no TV when I saw on Twitter the game was headed to OT. I fired up my new "WatchESPN" app -- on a 3G network, not wi-fi, no less -- and tuned in just long enough to see the game-winning goal live. I kind of hate "game-changing" as an adjective, but in this case, it seems to fit.
****
NBA Today: Heat-Celtics. Yes, there is a playoff home-court advantage seemingly on the line between Boston and Miami, but even if the two should/will meet in the Eastern Conference semifinals in a month and Miami has the home-court advantage, does anyone actually think that the Celtics are losing to the Heat?
It's easy to imagine Boston up 3-2 heading into a 6th game in Boston -- with the Heat folding. And even if Boston is down 3-2 heading into a 6th game in Boston, you can already feel the momentum-reversing rout coming, followed by a Celtics win in Miami in Game 7. So, really: What's the big deal about this game again?
****
MLB: Has the Orioles rookie pitcher Zach Britton turned into the most must-see player in baseball?
****
Fun day of sports today: Masters Sunday and the Rory story, plus Heat-Celtics (with Bulls-Magic as an appetizer, featuring presumptive NBA MVP Derrick Rose with one last chance in the regular season to dazzle MVP voters -- ironically, Dwight Howard might end up runner-up.)
Enjoy it, and please give Quickish a visit (or several) if you want to keep up with the best analysis of the big stories, plus get a bunch of recommendations to really good other things to read on a pleasant Sunday in April.
The bandwagon for 21-year-old Masters leader Rory McIlroy is nearly at capacity -- and rightly so: He's young, confident, likeable and, through three rounds in Augusta, fearless.
Where Tiger -- and at this point, it's fashionable to say "35-year-old Tiger," unfairly, in the same kind of way people said "40-year-old Willie Mays" -- stumbled, Rory sizzled.
Barring an epic collapse that would define him just as much as (if not more) a Masters title would, Rory McIlroy is going to win the Masters at age 21 and become sports' Next Big Thing.
He seems to be deserving of both titles.
****
Congrats to Minnesota-Duluth on their NCAA hockey title. I was at a bar with no TV when I saw on Twitter the game was headed to OT. I fired up my new "WatchESPN" app -- on a 3G network, not wi-fi, no less -- and tuned in just long enough to see the game-winning goal live. I kind of hate "game-changing" as an adjective, but in this case, it seems to fit.
****
NBA Today: Heat-Celtics. Yes, there is a playoff home-court advantage seemingly on the line between Boston and Miami, but even if the two should/will meet in the Eastern Conference semifinals in a month and Miami has the home-court advantage, does anyone actually think that the Celtics are losing to the Heat?
It's easy to imagine Boston up 3-2 heading into a 6th game in Boston -- with the Heat folding. And even if Boston is down 3-2 heading into a 6th game in Boston, you can already feel the momentum-reversing rout coming, followed by a Celtics win in Miami in Game 7. So, really: What's the big deal about this game again?
****
MLB: Has the Orioles rookie pitcher Zach Britton turned into the most must-see player in baseball?
****
Fun day of sports today: Masters Sunday and the Rory story, plus Heat-Celtics (with Bulls-Magic as an appetizer, featuring presumptive NBA MVP Derrick Rose with one last chance in the regular season to dazzle MVP voters -- ironically, Dwight Howard might end up runner-up.)
Enjoy it, and please give Quickish a visit (or several) if you want to keep up with the best analysis of the big stories, plus get a bunch of recommendations to really good other things to read on a pleasant Sunday in April.
Saturday, April 09, 2011
04/09 (Masters & Manny) Quickie
Chicago -- When I graduated from college and stayed in Chicago to begin my career with a scrappy little online-sports start-up, my friends and I used to have this weekend ritual of going to The Original Pancake House on Bellevue Place.
No matter how tired/hungover we were, we would drag ourselves out at 7:45 or so and roll from Wrigleyville to Rush St. Our server, almost exclusively, was Cindy, a lovely woman who we had a nice relationship with.
This morning -- in town for a wedding for one of my wife's closest friends (and to see my 3-week-old nephew) -- I wandered over to the Pancake House for breakfast, sat at the first-available table and... was waited on by Cindy.
She didn't recognize me -- 15 years is still 15 years -- and I didn't want to make either of us uncomfortable by saying "Hey, remember me and my buddies?" I secretly hoped she would say "The Two-by-Four with eggs scrambled and patty sausage, right?" I was getting the legendary Apple Pancake, anyway.
My grandparents on my dad's side lived in an apartment on Bellevue -- it always felt glamorous, and I spent a lot of time there, on family trips and when I was up the road in college. The Pancake House was always a part of that. The street will always have a lot of emotional resonance for me, and walking down it this morning, I was struck by the memories that flood back as I looked around.
Manny Ramirez is just a bit older than I am. He debuted for the Indians at the start of my junior year of college; he left baseball in ignominy yesterday. His professional career has lasted a little longer than mine, but they have basically been the same length -- until now, when he ambles off into whatever quiet place he wants to be in and I continue what is hopefully a new trajectory upward.
It took a little while for me, but I inevitably ended up in the "Manny is the best right-handed hitter of this generation" camp, PEDs or not. He was eccentric. He didn't cultivate the media (to say the least, and they punished him for that). He took some PEDs (something that it's simply impossible to single him out for when an entire generation did it -- to say nothing of the legion of all-time great players who abused amphetamines). And he had genius-level ability, to echo something Joe Posnanski said about Manny this morning. I find myself focusing more on his hitting genius than his quizzical decision-making about what to put in his body.
Just as Manny retires, Tiger resurges. It was a strange juxtaposition to follow the "Manny!" coverage, only to have it flow into "Tiger!" talk, as Woods delivered birdie after birdie, playing himself into the same old fascination that he held for years (right before doing something far stupider than Manny ever did).
The Masters storyline now is whether Tiger can catch the kids, the generation that grew up watching Tiger and seem to be impervious to his aura -- that is, until he is a shot or two back on Masters Saturday or Sunday. On the one hand, they have never known golf NOT dominated by Tiger; on the other hand, they have NEVER known golf not dominated by Tiger.
Today on Quickish: Keep up with the Masters, get a bit of day-after to Manny and a nice selection of recommendations of stuff that's just good.
Now, to walk off this apple pancake....
-- D.S.
No matter how tired/hungover we were, we would drag ourselves out at 7:45 or so and roll from Wrigleyville to Rush St. Our server, almost exclusively, was Cindy, a lovely woman who we had a nice relationship with.
This morning -- in town for a wedding for one of my wife's closest friends (and to see my 3-week-old nephew) -- I wandered over to the Pancake House for breakfast, sat at the first-available table and... was waited on by Cindy.
She didn't recognize me -- 15 years is still 15 years -- and I didn't want to make either of us uncomfortable by saying "Hey, remember me and my buddies?" I secretly hoped she would say "The Two-by-Four with eggs scrambled and patty sausage, right?" I was getting the legendary Apple Pancake, anyway.
My grandparents on my dad's side lived in an apartment on Bellevue -- it always felt glamorous, and I spent a lot of time there, on family trips and when I was up the road in college. The Pancake House was always a part of that. The street will always have a lot of emotional resonance for me, and walking down it this morning, I was struck by the memories that flood back as I looked around.
Manny Ramirez is just a bit older than I am. He debuted for the Indians at the start of my junior year of college; he left baseball in ignominy yesterday. His professional career has lasted a little longer than mine, but they have basically been the same length -- until now, when he ambles off into whatever quiet place he wants to be in and I continue what is hopefully a new trajectory upward.
It took a little while for me, but I inevitably ended up in the "Manny is the best right-handed hitter of this generation" camp, PEDs or not. He was eccentric. He didn't cultivate the media (to say the least, and they punished him for that). He took some PEDs (something that it's simply impossible to single him out for when an entire generation did it -- to say nothing of the legion of all-time great players who abused amphetamines). And he had genius-level ability, to echo something Joe Posnanski said about Manny this morning. I find myself focusing more on his hitting genius than his quizzical decision-making about what to put in his body.
Just as Manny retires, Tiger resurges. It was a strange juxtaposition to follow the "Manny!" coverage, only to have it flow into "Tiger!" talk, as Woods delivered birdie after birdie, playing himself into the same old fascination that he held for years (right before doing something far stupider than Manny ever did).
The Masters storyline now is whether Tiger can catch the kids, the generation that grew up watching Tiger and seem to be impervious to his aura -- that is, until he is a shot or two back on Masters Saturday or Sunday. On the one hand, they have never known golf NOT dominated by Tiger; on the other hand, they have NEVER known golf not dominated by Tiger.
Today on Quickish: Keep up with the Masters, get a bit of day-after to Manny and a nice selection of recommendations of stuff that's just good.
Now, to walk off this apple pancake....
-- D.S.
Thursday, April 07, 2011
04/07 (Masters) Quickie
For the last dozen years or so, I think that all golf majors -- including the Masters -- come down to a binary choice:
Tiger or the field?
And, fairly consistently (at least right up until all that unfortunate business with the adult film stars), I was happy to pick "Tiger" every time.
It is somewhat heretical then that I am now firmly in the "Field" camp. In fact, count me among the folks who agree with Joe Posnanski that while we'd LIKE to see Tiger do well, the far greater probability is that his best years are far behind him and that he is on an irrevocable downward slide.
I'm not even sure I'm rooting for Tiger to do well -- I mean, it would be compelling to see him have a resurgence, but perhaps because I'm a "Tiger over the field" person, I have always found his failure to be so surprising that I find it more appealing than his success.
I feel the same way about other athletes/teams that have a vibe of inevitability of winning: The Patriots, the Red Sox and Yankees, Duke basketball, Ohio State football. Their losses are far more dramatic than their wins.
And so as the Masters starts, I pick "the field" -- unfortunately, this year, no one will give me that bet. The "Tiger kinda sucks" bandwagon is a bit more crowded.
****
Red Sox 0-5 start. I don't get the panic. It's no different than a 5-game losing streak in July. And it's easy to explain away the first bunch; the Rangers appear to be the real deal, particularly offensively. Again, I'll default to "The Red Sox will work themselves out" and I will simply be pleasantly surprised if they don't.
****
Kyrie Irving goes pro: His legacy at Duke is slightly less than another one-and-done, Corey Maggette -- who at least was part of a Final Four team and, in my opinion, the only unguardable player against UConn in the national title game, making Coach K's decision to bench him for being awesome all the more quizzical. That said: Irving will be the No. 1 player taken in the 2011 NBA Draft; that puts him as high as any talent that has come through the program -- Elton Brand-ish, if you will. But really, Irving's Duke career is a big ol' mess of "What if...?"
-- D.S.
Tiger or the field?
And, fairly consistently (at least right up until all that unfortunate business with the adult film stars), I was happy to pick "Tiger" every time.
It is somewhat heretical then that I am now firmly in the "Field" camp. In fact, count me among the folks who agree with Joe Posnanski that while we'd LIKE to see Tiger do well, the far greater probability is that his best years are far behind him and that he is on an irrevocable downward slide.
I'm not even sure I'm rooting for Tiger to do well -- I mean, it would be compelling to see him have a resurgence, but perhaps because I'm a "Tiger over the field" person, I have always found his failure to be so surprising that I find it more appealing than his success.
I feel the same way about other athletes/teams that have a vibe of inevitability of winning: The Patriots, the Red Sox and Yankees, Duke basketball, Ohio State football. Their losses are far more dramatic than their wins.
And so as the Masters starts, I pick "the field" -- unfortunately, this year, no one will give me that bet. The "Tiger kinda sucks" bandwagon is a bit more crowded.
****
Red Sox 0-5 start. I don't get the panic. It's no different than a 5-game losing streak in July. And it's easy to explain away the first bunch; the Rangers appear to be the real deal, particularly offensively. Again, I'll default to "The Red Sox will work themselves out" and I will simply be pleasantly surprised if they don't.
****
Kyrie Irving goes pro: His legacy at Duke is slightly less than another one-and-done, Corey Maggette -- who at least was part of a Final Four team and, in my opinion, the only unguardable player against UConn in the national title game, making Coach K's decision to bench him for being awesome all the more quizzical. That said: Irving will be the No. 1 player taken in the 2011 NBA Draft; that puts him as high as any talent that has come through the program -- Elton Brand-ish, if you will. But really, Irving's Duke career is a big ol' mess of "What if...?"
-- D.S.
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
04/05 (UConn) Quickie
A few thoughts about last night's game:
*Simply because of the epically bad shooting performance, it is possible that people will remember this game as ugly.
But more likely, we will simply remember UConn as champs -- few bring up Maryland's godawful win over Indiana in the 2002 title game.
We will remember Butler's run to back-to-back title games, which is a pretty good consolation prize; they get to keep that legacy no matter how they finished the second game.
We will remember VCU, going from "First Four" to "Final Four."
If the legacy of this Tournament and this Butler team is their awful shooting in one game, then it really is a signal of how superlatively bad this single game was.
But I don't think that happens. I think we remember UConn's epic run, we remember Butler's back-to-back and we remember VCU.
*That said, what strikes me as most remarkable about last night's game is that for the second straight year, Butler -- in a losing performance -- eclipsed the champion.
The legacy of last year's title game isn't Duke winning the championship; it is that Gordon Hayward's halfcourt buzzer-beater that would have won the game almost went in.
And the legacy of this year's title game isn't UConn winning the championship; it is that Butler couldn't hit the broad side of an Indiana barn. In a Bizarro twist, the shots -- again -- almost went in.
(That's unfair and doesn't give nearly enough credit to UConn's defense, which as SI's Luke Winn put it, was the greatest defensive performance ever in a title game.)
*I don't think we will focus on the horrible shooting. Then again, I don't think we will focus on UConn winning the title (or Duke winning the title a year ago).
I think this goes down as the Butler Era -- the "micro-dynasty," a two-year run that set a new standard for smaller programs, turned Brad Stevens into America's most beloved coach and captivated the country for those two months of March when everyone cares about college basketball for a few weeks.
-- D.S.
*Simply because of the epically bad shooting performance, it is possible that people will remember this game as ugly.
But more likely, we will simply remember UConn as champs -- few bring up Maryland's godawful win over Indiana in the 2002 title game.
We will remember Butler's run to back-to-back title games, which is a pretty good consolation prize; they get to keep that legacy no matter how they finished the second game.
We will remember VCU, going from "First Four" to "Final Four."
If the legacy of this Tournament and this Butler team is their awful shooting in one game, then it really is a signal of how superlatively bad this single game was.
But I don't think that happens. I think we remember UConn's epic run, we remember Butler's back-to-back and we remember VCU.
*That said, what strikes me as most remarkable about last night's game is that for the second straight year, Butler -- in a losing performance -- eclipsed the champion.
The legacy of last year's title game isn't Duke winning the championship; it is that Gordon Hayward's halfcourt buzzer-beater that would have won the game almost went in.
And the legacy of this year's title game isn't UConn winning the championship; it is that Butler couldn't hit the broad side of an Indiana barn. In a Bizarro twist, the shots -- again -- almost went in.
(That's unfair and doesn't give nearly enough credit to UConn's defense, which as SI's Luke Winn put it, was the greatest defensive performance ever in a title game.)
*I don't think we will focus on the horrible shooting. Then again, I don't think we will focus on UConn winning the title (or Duke winning the title a year ago).
I think this goes down as the Butler Era -- the "micro-dynasty," a two-year run that set a new standard for smaller programs, turned Brad Stevens into America's most beloved coach and captivated the country for those two months of March when everyone cares about college basketball for a few weeks.
-- D.S.
Monday, April 04, 2011
UConn Beats Butler for National Title!
The Quickie Jinx strikes again. That was an amazing, historic run by UConn -- 5 straight in the Big East Tournament, then 6 straight in the NCAA Tournament, including beating a terrific defensive (if not terrific offensive) team in Butler. Yes, I was convinced Butler was going to win.
I really want to credit UConn's defense for Butler's problems on offense, but they just kept missing shots that were totally make-able. Did they choke? That feels inconceivable. But something went horribly wrong at the worst moment. The jokes on Twitter during the game were brutal.
It's still an amazing run by Butler. And an even more amazing run by UConn. More later.
-- D.S.
I really want to credit UConn's defense for Butler's problems on offense, but they just kept missing shots that were totally make-able. Did they choke? That feels inconceivable. But something went horribly wrong at the worst moment. The jokes on Twitter during the game were brutal.
It's still an amazing run by Butler. And an even more amazing run by UConn. More later.
-- D.S.
On Brad Stevens
Brad Stevens shouldn't leave Butler.
Why should he? He got to two straight national-title games there. Why would he have a better shot at that if he was at a "big" program? (Let's ask Bill Self or Jamie Dixon or...)
Here's the amazing thing about college basketball: Presuming you get into the Tournament -- and Stevens will, perennially -- all you have to do is win 4 straight to be a "Final Four coach."
And, as Stevens has proven, he can win 4 straight against the best of them, against all styles, against all talents.
That's it: Four straight for a Final Four. Five straight to make the title game. Six straight to win a national title -- which I still think he'll win tonight.
The only thing Butler can't offer Stevens is money, which is why I advocated my alma mater Northwestern offering Stevens $4 million a year for 10 years -- guaranteed -- to come to Evanston and be the Midwest's Coach K.
Don't think he's worth it? The lifetime value of Stevens -- already one of the top 3 coaches in college basketball (No. 1 if you factor in age) -- vastly exceeds any other coach out there. He should be paid like Coach K, Tom Izzo, Billy Donovan, Roy Williams, John Calipari.
I agree with those who say Stevens can pick his next job, and it can be at the highest level: Duke, UNC, Kentucky, Indiana (not a great job anymore, but Stevens' home state).
Duke and UNC won't be offered to him -- no matter how much their alums might ask -- and for some reason, Indiana feels like they have a few years before they inevitably fire Tom Crean and make a play for Stevens. Maybe they know IU is Stevens' dream job and he is more than willing to wait patiently at Butler for it, even if it takes 5 years.
The one wildcard is Kentucky. I don't know if John Calipari wants to coach in the NBA again, but if UK came open and they came calling, that's a hard job for Stevens to turn down.
And yet I think he would. (How awesome would that be?) I think he is entirely happy with Butler. He has shown he can win at the highest level there.
What more does a coach need?
-- D.S.
Why should he? He got to two straight national-title games there. Why would he have a better shot at that if he was at a "big" program? (Let's ask Bill Self or Jamie Dixon or...)
Here's the amazing thing about college basketball: Presuming you get into the Tournament -- and Stevens will, perennially -- all you have to do is win 4 straight to be a "Final Four coach."
And, as Stevens has proven, he can win 4 straight against the best of them, against all styles, against all talents.
That's it: Four straight for a Final Four. Five straight to make the title game. Six straight to win a national title -- which I still think he'll win tonight.
The only thing Butler can't offer Stevens is money, which is why I advocated my alma mater Northwestern offering Stevens $4 million a year for 10 years -- guaranteed -- to come to Evanston and be the Midwest's Coach K.
Don't think he's worth it? The lifetime value of Stevens -- already one of the top 3 coaches in college basketball (No. 1 if you factor in age) -- vastly exceeds any other coach out there. He should be paid like Coach K, Tom Izzo, Billy Donovan, Roy Williams, John Calipari.
I agree with those who say Stevens can pick his next job, and it can be at the highest level: Duke, UNC, Kentucky, Indiana (not a great job anymore, but Stevens' home state).
Duke and UNC won't be offered to him -- no matter how much their alums might ask -- and for some reason, Indiana feels like they have a few years before they inevitably fire Tom Crean and make a play for Stevens. Maybe they know IU is Stevens' dream job and he is more than willing to wait patiently at Butler for it, even if it takes 5 years.
The one wildcard is Kentucky. I don't know if John Calipari wants to coach in the NBA again, but if UK came open and they came calling, that's a hard job for Stevens to turn down.
And yet I think he would. (How awesome would that be?) I think he is entirely happy with Butler. He has shown he can win at the highest level there.
What more does a coach need?
-- D.S.
04/04 (One Shining Butler) Quickie
Butler. That Butler has already accomplished the largely unthinkable -- making two straight national-title games -- is impressive enough.
But tonight Butler is going to win a national championship. It will be unprecedented in the modern history of college basketball. And it will become one of the most amazing championships in the history of sports -- it is heresy, but the odds of this are far longer than the US hockey team beating the USSR in 1980 in a one-game, anything-can-happen miracle.
I appreciate that some folks think that UConn will continue its own unlikely run -- as I said yesterday, there is a probabilistic argument that UConn's 10 straight in '11 is even less likely than Butler's 5 straight one year, 5 straight the next.
But after watching Butler the past three weeks -- defensively dismantling everyone from Old Dominion to Pitt to Florida to VCU and showing a rebounding prowess that belies the "mid-major" status -- I would be shocked if they didn't win.
Mostly -- and predictably -- I'm ready for the instant history of the most unlikely (and most compelling) champion in the history of college basketball, if not all of college sports. If not all of sports. It is so syrupy-sweet that you almost kind of want to feel a backlash, to hate them. But they are entirely likeable.
Not because they are "scrappy" -- ugh -- but because they are stone-cold assassins. They are better coached than everyone else. They are better prepared than everyone else.They execute on the things that matter -- defense and rebounding -- better than everyone else.
They expect a championship -- anything less than a title is a failure. That is a champion's mindset. And that's what makes them closers in the final minutes of every game they play.
It's not that things like this don't happen -- it's that they aren't supposed to happen. The system is rigged to preclude an outcome like Butler winning the national title.
This would be a victory for the underdog, yes. But it's also a victory for people who love worthy champions.
***
I was totally stunned by the double-dip of upsets at the Women's Final Four last night.
There is a good chance that the expected UConn-Stanford title game -- the rematch after Stanford snapped UConn's endless winning streak earlier this season -- would have been one of the most highly anticipated women's college hoops games of all time.
Will casual fans appreciate the upset storylines from Texas A&M and Notre Dame to settle in on the couch and watch? Or, alternatively, is this the worst thing that could happen to the women's tournament this (or any) year?
This is the dilemma: Upsets -- particularly staggering upsets like we saw last night -- are the lifeblood of college basketball's postseason. Just look at the love for Butler and VCU (or even UConn and Kentucky, who almost certainly weren't supposed to be in the Final Four).
And yet women's hoops relies heavily on those big brands -- UConn, Stanford, Tennessee. Notre Dame is great (and Texas A&M has proven themselves more than worthy), but I'm not sure either resonate with casual fans yet.
But there is this: Why does women's college hoops have to grow its fan base? Why can't it simply exist for its passionate fans -- no different than NASCAR or the NHL or, dare I say, men's college basketball, where "niche" status (at least from November to February) is only a matter of degree, not kind.
For passionate fans of women's college hoops, this is a stunning, exhilarating, refreshing turn of events last night -- something to be celebrated. Even if most of the rest of the country tunes out because the biggest names were bounced out.
-- D.S.
But tonight Butler is going to win a national championship. It will be unprecedented in the modern history of college basketball. And it will become one of the most amazing championships in the history of sports -- it is heresy, but the odds of this are far longer than the US hockey team beating the USSR in 1980 in a one-game, anything-can-happen miracle.
I appreciate that some folks think that UConn will continue its own unlikely run -- as I said yesterday, there is a probabilistic argument that UConn's 10 straight in '11 is even less likely than Butler's 5 straight one year, 5 straight the next.
But after watching Butler the past three weeks -- defensively dismantling everyone from Old Dominion to Pitt to Florida to VCU and showing a rebounding prowess that belies the "mid-major" status -- I would be shocked if they didn't win.
Mostly -- and predictably -- I'm ready for the instant history of the most unlikely (and most compelling) champion in the history of college basketball, if not all of college sports. If not all of sports. It is so syrupy-sweet that you almost kind of want to feel a backlash, to hate them. But they are entirely likeable.
Not because they are "scrappy" -- ugh -- but because they are stone-cold assassins. They are better coached than everyone else. They are better prepared than everyone else.They execute on the things that matter -- defense and rebounding -- better than everyone else.
They expect a championship -- anything less than a title is a failure. That is a champion's mindset. And that's what makes them closers in the final minutes of every game they play.
It's not that things like this don't happen -- it's that they aren't supposed to happen. The system is rigged to preclude an outcome like Butler winning the national title.
This would be a victory for the underdog, yes. But it's also a victory for people who love worthy champions.
***
I was totally stunned by the double-dip of upsets at the Women's Final Four last night.
There is a good chance that the expected UConn-Stanford title game -- the rematch after Stanford snapped UConn's endless winning streak earlier this season -- would have been one of the most highly anticipated women's college hoops games of all time.
Will casual fans appreciate the upset storylines from Texas A&M and Notre Dame to settle in on the couch and watch? Or, alternatively, is this the worst thing that could happen to the women's tournament this (or any) year?
This is the dilemma: Upsets -- particularly staggering upsets like we saw last night -- are the lifeblood of college basketball's postseason. Just look at the love for Butler and VCU (or even UConn and Kentucky, who almost certainly weren't supposed to be in the Final Four).
And yet women's hoops relies heavily on those big brands -- UConn, Stanford, Tennessee. Notre Dame is great (and Texas A&M has proven themselves more than worthy), but I'm not sure either resonate with casual fans yet.
But there is this: Why does women's college hoops have to grow its fan base? Why can't it simply exist for its passionate fans -- no different than NASCAR or the NHL or, dare I say, men's college basketball, where "niche" status (at least from November to February) is only a matter of degree, not kind.
For passionate fans of women's college hoops, this is a stunning, exhilarating, refreshing turn of events last night -- something to be celebrated. Even if most of the rest of the country tunes out because the biggest names were bounced out.
-- D.S.
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Sunday 04/03 (Butler) Quickie
It's a shame we had to pick sides between Butler vs. VCU. But in the end, it was a can't-lose proposition: Cinderella is playing for the national title -- yes, even a "Cinderella" making its second straight appearance in the national title game.
It is impossible to not root for Butler... unless you like UConn. And as well as UConn has been playing -- more on that in a second -- Butler is playing even better. And if any team can stop UConn (hold them off is more appropriate), it's the Bulldogs.
Now, an entirely legitimate question:
What is more difficult: Winning 10 straight in a single postseason, encompassing the toughest conference tournament plus the NCAA Tournament? Or winning 5 straight in two straight NCAA Tournaments, considering your team is pretty damn good?
It's easy to say: Butler going to two straight national-title games is the most impressive thing ever! I'm inclined to say that, and that's in large part because of the team's environmental profile -- the small school, the small conference. But that last year's finalist with most of its team back made it back to the finals is hardly inconceivable. It's a longshot, but in hindsight, not really.
Probabilistically, it is harder to win 10 straight over 4 straight weeks under the conditions that UConn has than to win 5 + 5 in the NCAA Tournament separated by a year.
That doesn't make what Butler has done any less amazing. When they win -- and I cannot believe the level of doubt that continues to exist about this team when facing a "superior" opponent -- it is going to be the single-greatest championship story (and thus ANY story) in the history of college basketball, eclipsing what I consider the two greatest stories in the history of the Tournament: Texas Western beating Kentucky and Villanova beating Georgetown.
I'm already eying that shirt you see below. I feel like I'm going to want it for posterity -- for all the talk about mid-major parity, there is at least the chance that it will be years (if not decades) before we see a mid-major win the national title again. (I'm actually partial to replica college basketball shorts -- don't ask -- and eyeing a pair of Butler shorts if they win. And then there's this amazing T-shirt that will go on top of the order.)
You all know I'm partial to Florida's 06-07 team -- I think that Noah-Horford-Brewer-Humphrey-Green is the greatest starting five of the modern era of college basketball, precisely because they won two straight titles (declining the NBA in between), which gives them an edge over the Fab Five, the second greatest starting five in modern college hoops history.
Now, this Butler team doesn't have the same starting five as a year ago -- as has been noted plenty of times, this team managed to return to the title game without its best player from 2010, Gordon Hayward -- but that a mid-major went to two straight national-title games is more impressive than Florida's back-to-back titles, more impressive than Kentucky's three straight Final Fours from '96-98 (which included two titles), more impressive than Duke in 91-92.
It's Butler. (And it's OK to keep saying that: It's Butler.)
I can't remember a moment when I was rooting harder for a team I didn't have a personal allegiance to. This is a huge moment in college hoops history -- and sports history, frankly.
Even if Butler doesn't win, it is impossible to diminish what they have accomplished, no less than we could diminish what the Fab Five did as frosh and sophs.
But if Butler can win. Oh, if they can win... unreal. But so real.
-- D.S.
It is impossible to not root for Butler... unless you like UConn. And as well as UConn has been playing -- more on that in a second -- Butler is playing even better. And if any team can stop UConn (hold them off is more appropriate), it's the Bulldogs.
Now, an entirely legitimate question:
What is more difficult: Winning 10 straight in a single postseason, encompassing the toughest conference tournament plus the NCAA Tournament? Or winning 5 straight in two straight NCAA Tournaments, considering your team is pretty damn good?
It's easy to say: Butler going to two straight national-title games is the most impressive thing ever! I'm inclined to say that, and that's in large part because of the team's environmental profile -- the small school, the small conference. But that last year's finalist with most of its team back made it back to the finals is hardly inconceivable. It's a longshot, but in hindsight, not really.
Probabilistically, it is harder to win 10 straight over 4 straight weeks under the conditions that UConn has than to win 5 + 5 in the NCAA Tournament separated by a year.
That doesn't make what Butler has done any less amazing. When they win -- and I cannot believe the level of doubt that continues to exist about this team when facing a "superior" opponent -- it is going to be the single-greatest championship story (and thus ANY story) in the history of college basketball, eclipsing what I consider the two greatest stories in the history of the Tournament: Texas Western beating Kentucky and Villanova beating Georgetown.
I'm already eying that shirt you see below. I feel like I'm going to want it for posterity -- for all the talk about mid-major parity, there is at least the chance that it will be years (if not decades) before we see a mid-major win the national title again. (I'm actually partial to replica college basketball shorts -- don't ask -- and eyeing a pair of Butler shorts if they win. And then there's this amazing T-shirt that will go on top of the order.)
You all know I'm partial to Florida's 06-07 team -- I think that Noah-Horford-Brewer-Humphrey-Green is the greatest starting five of the modern era of college basketball, precisely because they won two straight titles (declining the NBA in between), which gives them an edge over the Fab Five, the second greatest starting five in modern college hoops history.
Now, this Butler team doesn't have the same starting five as a year ago -- as has been noted plenty of times, this team managed to return to the title game without its best player from 2010, Gordon Hayward -- but that a mid-major went to two straight national-title games is more impressive than Florida's back-to-back titles, more impressive than Kentucky's three straight Final Fours from '96-98 (which included two titles), more impressive than Duke in 91-92.
It's Butler. (And it's OK to keep saying that: It's Butler.)
I can't remember a moment when I was rooting harder for a team I didn't have a personal allegiance to. This is a huge moment in college hoops history -- and sports history, frankly.
Even if Butler doesn't win, it is impossible to diminish what they have accomplished, no less than we could diminish what the Fab Five did as frosh and sophs.
But if Butler can win. Oh, if they can win... unreal. But so real.
-- D.S.
Saturday, April 02, 2011
ESPN.com Turns 16
ESPN.com -- well, "ESPNET.SportsZone.com" (I've got the swag to prove it) -- launched 16 years ago today: April 2, 1995.
I joined as college basketball editor in the fall of 1996. (I still have the epic cover letter I sent to the original publisher, Geoff Reiss.) That was my first stint. It was unforgettable, hustling with amazing people -- some of whom are still there, many of whom have moved on to other things -- and working on an amazing, media-defining product.
I left for a few years, but I was lucky enough to start writing for Page 2 shortly after it launched in 2000 -- one of my close colleagues from the mid-90s, Kevin Jackson, was Page 2's founding editor -- and a regular spot in the Page 2 rotation turned into a daily, top-of-the-morning column for nearly four years.
I remain a proud and loyal alum and participating both in those formative years -- they were my formative years, too -- and in the post-2000 years of acceleration and experimentation on Page 2 is a professional and personal experience I cherish.
Here's to ESPN.com on its birthday -- and to a great next year ahead.
-- D.S.
I joined as college basketball editor in the fall of 1996. (I still have the epic cover letter I sent to the original publisher, Geoff Reiss.) That was my first stint. It was unforgettable, hustling with amazing people -- some of whom are still there, many of whom have moved on to other things -- and working on an amazing, media-defining product.
I left for a few years, but I was lucky enough to start writing for Page 2 shortly after it launched in 2000 -- one of my close colleagues from the mid-90s, Kevin Jackson, was Page 2's founding editor -- and a regular spot in the Page 2 rotation turned into a daily, top-of-the-morning column for nearly four years.
I remain a proud and loyal alum and participating both in those formative years -- they were my formative years, too -- and in the post-2000 years of acceleration and experimentation on Page 2 is a professional and personal experience I cherish.
Here's to ESPN.com on its birthday -- and to a great next year ahead.
-- D.S.
04/02 (Final Four) Quickie
Fans are in a tough position tonight: In any other typical Final Four scenario, we'd be rooting for Butler against whoever -- some major-conference team, undoubtedly.
In this Final Four, you'd have to be soulless to root for Butler, if it means that the Bulldogs knock out VCU, currently on a run as the greatest Cinderella in the history of the NCAA Tournament.
For most fans -- and I do think that fans will tune in for the novelty of Cindy-vs-Cindy -- it's a can't-lose proposition: No matter who wins, a fiesty underdog will have a shot at the national title on Monday night against a "power" team, either UConn or Kentucky.
I can't remember a match-up that has left me less uncertain than Butler-VCU. On the one hand, Butler's D should stifle VCU's 3-point shooting; on the other, VCU's press should rankle Butler's poise.
I'm picking Butler. I'm rooting for VCU. I think a lot of fans are with me on that one.
***
In the second semifinal, I'm taking Kentucky over UConn. Feeling certain about it should be the kiss of death. UConn was projected to run out of gas 7 or 8 games ago. I love the idea of VCU and UConn meeting in the title game -- it's the "hot-team" theory like never before.
But the way Kentucky played in the regionals knocking off Ohio State and UNC -- it's a different team than the one that got torched by UConn at the beginning of the year.
The uncertainty of both Final Four games is a large part of what makes them so amazing. As with everything in this Tournament, anyone who says they know what is going to happen is a fool.
***
The most interesting thing that happened on baseball's second Opening Day was... the Rangers out-slugging the Red Sox (with the runner-up being Roy Halladay taking the no-decision before the Phillies ultimately pulled off the last-gasp comeback on the hapless Astros).
***
But, really, it's all about the Final Four today. Let's settle in. And pop by Quickish all evening for real-time analysis from the best sources.
-- D.S.
In this Final Four, you'd have to be soulless to root for Butler, if it means that the Bulldogs knock out VCU, currently on a run as the greatest Cinderella in the history of the NCAA Tournament.
For most fans -- and I do think that fans will tune in for the novelty of Cindy-vs-Cindy -- it's a can't-lose proposition: No matter who wins, a fiesty underdog will have a shot at the national title on Monday night against a "power" team, either UConn or Kentucky.
I can't remember a match-up that has left me less uncertain than Butler-VCU. On the one hand, Butler's D should stifle VCU's 3-point shooting; on the other, VCU's press should rankle Butler's poise.
I'm picking Butler. I'm rooting for VCU. I think a lot of fans are with me on that one.
***
In the second semifinal, I'm taking Kentucky over UConn. Feeling certain about it should be the kiss of death. UConn was projected to run out of gas 7 or 8 games ago. I love the idea of VCU and UConn meeting in the title game -- it's the "hot-team" theory like never before.
But the way Kentucky played in the regionals knocking off Ohio State and UNC -- it's a different team than the one that got torched by UConn at the beginning of the year.
The uncertainty of both Final Four games is a large part of what makes them so amazing. As with everything in this Tournament, anyone who says they know what is going to happen is a fool.
***
The most interesting thing that happened on baseball's second Opening Day was... the Rangers out-slugging the Red Sox (with the runner-up being Roy Halladay taking the no-decision before the Phillies ultimately pulled off the last-gasp comeback on the hapless Astros).
***
But, really, it's all about the Final Four today. Let's settle in. And pop by Quickish all evening for real-time analysis from the best sources.
-- D.S.
Friday, April 01, 2011
04/01 (No Foolin') Quickie
I'm not a big fan of April Fool's Day. A guy just sent me a message telling me he loved Quickish and my first thought is: "This could very well be the cruelest April Fool's joke ever."
But, no, he was serious -- and I couldn't appreciate it more. No fooling: Quickish had its best month yet in March (following a best-month-yet in February).
MLB Opening Day: Great for Quickish. The NCAA Tournament: REALLY great for Quickish.
Now we're into April: Amazingly, Quickish doesn't finish its third month until the 9th (because we launched on January 10th). That it's been less than 3 months live is mind-boggling to me.
I wouldn't say that you shift gears in a start-up after some set number of weeks or months. It's not like on March 31, we're doing one thing then on April 1, we're doing another. It's more gradual than that.
But there's no question, I want to take the momentum from the past month -- the past three months, really -- and push the accelerator down. You'll see how that manifests itself in the next few weeks and months as we introduce new programming, new products and new partnerships.
Mainly, I wanted to say thanks to all of you for your support. The insane thing is that things hav been going so fast, I haven't even been able to really lean on you for support -- telling friends, offering tips to the site, etc. Oh, I've sort of leaned on you, but I think it's time to be a bit more shameless about it, don't you?
I'm kidding -- kind of -- but it's been too easy to simply focus on delivering a killer product and not do more to get that product out to as many people as possible.
So the continuation of many requests: Please check out Quickish. But, if you're already inclined to visit, please tell friends. Tell them through Facebook. Tell them through Twitter. Tell them in person over beers or over the cubicle wall. We've got to get the word out -- yes: we, including you.
I was reading this typically great post by Joe Posnanski today -- it's up on Quickish at 3 p.m. ET -- about "Day 2" in baseball. How Opening Day gets all the love, but all the meaning of baseball is really in that second day, that second game -- and every day after that.
That's a bit where I feel like Quickish is: Opening Day was the first few months. And now things are going to really get going.
This is Posnanski talking about the legendary Buck O'Neil, who had this "Day 2" philosophy:
"To him, baseball wasn’t about the pomp and circumstance of Opening Day. It was not about irrational hopes that this player might have a career year or that player might suddenly reach his potential or any of that. For Buck, the baseball season was about Day 2 and beyond, and no excuses, and his heartfelt belief that if you put nine good men on the field you could beat anybody."
That about sums it up.
It applies to the Reds winning in the bottom of the 9th yesterday. It applies to Albert Pujols' worst-day-ever, which he will obviously bounce back from immediately. It applies to VCU playing in the Final Four tomorrow (or Butler or Kentucky's freshmen or Kemba Walker).
This has been the hardest three months of my career -- maybe my life. But "hard" in such a good way. I cannot wait to see what the next three months bring, but my feeling about it is pretty simple: Working hard and enthusiastically and -- when you can remember -- having fun, that's all I can ask for. That's all any of us can control.
So let's go get it.
Day 2, folks.
-- D.S.
But, no, he was serious -- and I couldn't appreciate it more. No fooling: Quickish had its best month yet in March (following a best-month-yet in February).
MLB Opening Day: Great for Quickish. The NCAA Tournament: REALLY great for Quickish.
Now we're into April: Amazingly, Quickish doesn't finish its third month until the 9th (because we launched on January 10th). That it's been less than 3 months live is mind-boggling to me.
I wouldn't say that you shift gears in a start-up after some set number of weeks or months. It's not like on March 31, we're doing one thing then on April 1, we're doing another. It's more gradual than that.
But there's no question, I want to take the momentum from the past month -- the past three months, really -- and push the accelerator down. You'll see how that manifests itself in the next few weeks and months as we introduce new programming, new products and new partnerships.
Mainly, I wanted to say thanks to all of you for your support. The insane thing is that things hav been going so fast, I haven't even been able to really lean on you for support -- telling friends, offering tips to the site, etc. Oh, I've sort of leaned on you, but I think it's time to be a bit more shameless about it, don't you?
I'm kidding -- kind of -- but it's been too easy to simply focus on delivering a killer product and not do more to get that product out to as many people as possible.
So the continuation of many requests: Please check out Quickish. But, if you're already inclined to visit, please tell friends. Tell them through Facebook. Tell them through Twitter. Tell them in person over beers or over the cubicle wall. We've got to get the word out -- yes: we, including you.
I was reading this typically great post by Joe Posnanski today -- it's up on Quickish at 3 p.m. ET -- about "Day 2" in baseball. How Opening Day gets all the love, but all the meaning of baseball is really in that second day, that second game -- and every day after that.
That's a bit where I feel like Quickish is: Opening Day was the first few months. And now things are going to really get going.
This is Posnanski talking about the legendary Buck O'Neil, who had this "Day 2" philosophy:
"To him, baseball wasn’t about the pomp and circumstance of Opening Day. It was not about irrational hopes that this player might have a career year or that player might suddenly reach his potential or any of that. For Buck, the baseball season was about Day 2 and beyond, and no excuses, and his heartfelt belief that if you put nine good men on the field you could beat anybody."
That about sums it up.
It applies to the Reds winning in the bottom of the 9th yesterday. It applies to Albert Pujols' worst-day-ever, which he will obviously bounce back from immediately. It applies to VCU playing in the Final Four tomorrow (or Butler or Kentucky's freshmen or Kemba Walker).
This has been the hardest three months of my career -- maybe my life. But "hard" in such a good way. I cannot wait to see what the next three months bring, but my feeling about it is pretty simple: Working hard and enthusiastically and -- when you can remember -- having fun, that's all I can ask for. That's all any of us can control.
So let's go get it.
Day 2, folks.
-- D.S.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
03/31 (Opening Day) Quickie
Follow MLB Opening Day coverage on Quickish all day.
I spent yesterday looking at more predictions than I ever thought I'd want to. Of course, the beauty is that short of the Red Sox beating the Phillies in the World Series -- prompting a nails-on-chalkboard chorus of "Toldya!" -- most of these people will be wrong, just as they were wrong when the Giants beat the Rangers in last year's World Series -- an outcome no "expert" predicted.
That said, preseason predictions are a rite of passage -- a way to officially commit to the season ahead. It's a stake in the ground, even if your picks implode (see your NCAA Tournament bracket).
So it's time to add mine to the litany. Add yours in the comments. I'll update throughout the day.
AL: Boston (AL Champ), Chicago, A's (bandwagon!), Yankees (WC)
NL: Phillies (NL Champ), Reds, Dodgers, Braves (WC)
World Series: Red Sox over Phillies. Yawn.
MVP: Adrian Gonzalez (AL); Albert Pujols (NL)
Cy: Jon Lester (AL); Cliff Lee (NL)
Rookie: Jeremy Hellickson (AL); Aroldis Chapman (NL)
My picks are so conventional. Ugh. The good news is that assures that you'll see results entirely different from these. So there's that!
-- D.S.
I spent yesterday looking at more predictions than I ever thought I'd want to. Of course, the beauty is that short of the Red Sox beating the Phillies in the World Series -- prompting a nails-on-chalkboard chorus of "Toldya!" -- most of these people will be wrong, just as they were wrong when the Giants beat the Rangers in last year's World Series -- an outcome no "expert" predicted.
That said, preseason predictions are a rite of passage -- a way to officially commit to the season ahead. It's a stake in the ground, even if your picks implode (see your NCAA Tournament bracket).
So it's time to add mine to the litany. Add yours in the comments. I'll update throughout the day.
AL: Boston (AL Champ), Chicago, A's (bandwagon!), Yankees (WC)
NL: Phillies (NL Champ), Reds, Dodgers, Braves (WC)
World Series: Red Sox over Phillies. Yawn.
MVP: Adrian Gonzalez (AL); Albert Pujols (NL)
Cy: Jon Lester (AL); Cliff Lee (NL)
Rookie: Jeremy Hellickson (AL); Aroldis Chapman (NL)
My picks are so conventional. Ugh. The good news is that assures that you'll see results entirely different from these. So there's that!
-- D.S.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
03/30 (Cleveland) Quickie
(1) Cavs earn moral victory (and a real one, too): Given that the top contenders -- the Celtics, Bulls, Heat, Lakers -- will eclipse any regular-season games they played against each other (however exciting they might have been) by meeting up decisively in the playoffs, it's a pretty good argument that the Cavs' win over the Heat in Cleveland last night was the most meaningful win -- by any team -- of the 2010-2011 NBA regular-season.
This was a season-maker for the Cavs: They weren't close to sniffing the playoffs. They were humiliated by LeBron, who throttled them in his first return to Cleveland back in December. All the Cavs had left was to salvage their pride with an unlikely win last night. There will be no more meaningful win for any fans in the NBA than Cavs fans got last night. It should offset everything else. It's rare when a single win can do that, but this has always been an exceptional situation.
***
(2) Fiesta Bowl scandal: I have absolutely no problem with the BCS stripping the Fiesta Bowl of its BCS status. In fact, I think it is the appropriate punishment -- this is the epitome of "lack of institutional control," far more egregious (and arrogant) than anything I've seen from a school that has been cited for violations.
And I'm positive that Jerry Jones will be thrilled to suggest to the BCS cabal that Cowboys Stadium is a perfect insta-replacement to host a BCS-level bowl representing the "Southwest." The BCS might even be able to get Jones to pay an entry fee to get his stadium into the mix, and it's exactly the kind of super-profile event that Jones wants to use his arena for.
***
(3) The "Frontline"/PBS special on money and March Madness: I'm conflicted about paying college athletes. On the one hand, I think there is a substantial level of compensation already given to the athlete; on the other hand, I think the NCAA has gone well past the boundary between giving athletes an opportunity and exploiting them, particularly as it relates to things like TV rights, merchandise sales and the perpetual license it demands athletes give them for things like video games.
I have yet to see a reasonable plan for paying athletes, and to suggest that every athlete get a few extra bucks every month as a stipend ignores that the best players are getting tens of thousands of dollars (or more) from boosters, runners and agents, anyway. It also ignores that no one will find "one-size-fits-all" payments satisfactory. It also ignores the implications for the non-revenue sports, including women's sports. And, in the end, we're not really talking about paying college athletes -- we're talking about paying the biggest stars in college football and basketball, which is where it gets a bit more complicated.
The ideal solution is that any athlete with professional aspirations skip college and go into a formal pro development pipeline, directly. (The problem is that college football and basketball have become the informal pro development pipelines -- cheap for the pro leagues, revenue-generating for colleges -- and there are no incentives to do what's actually best for the players, which is to direct the ones with pro potential to a system that helps them maximize that potential, which the college system most certainly does not.)
But it's worth noting that any high school senior basketball player who wants to get paid for their one-and-done year -- as well as get actual pro coaching expressly mandated to get you ready for the NBA -- should go straight to the D-League. They will earn approximately $30,000 a year (plus any money they can earn from shoe deals or endorsements) -- is the expectation that paying them for playing in college would yield more?
***
(4) Should Purdue's Matt Painter jump to Mizzou? It's more money, but it's not a better job -- particularly if he has emotional ties to Purdue. Then again, he was willing to talk to Mizzou, so how devoted to Purdue could he be? If he doesn't leave now, he'll leave eventually. Purdue fans need to consider that.
***
(5) Cricket World Cup: India vs. Pakistan. To put it in perspective, right now 10 times the number of people around the world are watching this cricket match than watched the Super Bowl last month. 10 TIMES.
***
MLB Opening Day is tomorrow. Tons of great preview stuff is being released today, and you can find the best of it at Quickish, either in the front-page stream or on the "MLB Preview" stream. More here tomorrow morning.
-- D.S.
This was a season-maker for the Cavs: They weren't close to sniffing the playoffs. They were humiliated by LeBron, who throttled them in his first return to Cleveland back in December. All the Cavs had left was to salvage their pride with an unlikely win last night. There will be no more meaningful win for any fans in the NBA than Cavs fans got last night. It should offset everything else. It's rare when a single win can do that, but this has always been an exceptional situation.
***
(2) Fiesta Bowl scandal: I have absolutely no problem with the BCS stripping the Fiesta Bowl of its BCS status. In fact, I think it is the appropriate punishment -- this is the epitome of "lack of institutional control," far more egregious (and arrogant) than anything I've seen from a school that has been cited for violations.
And I'm positive that Jerry Jones will be thrilled to suggest to the BCS cabal that Cowboys Stadium is a perfect insta-replacement to host a BCS-level bowl representing the "Southwest." The BCS might even be able to get Jones to pay an entry fee to get his stadium into the mix, and it's exactly the kind of super-profile event that Jones wants to use his arena for.
***
(3) The "Frontline"/PBS special on money and March Madness: I'm conflicted about paying college athletes. On the one hand, I think there is a substantial level of compensation already given to the athlete; on the other hand, I think the NCAA has gone well past the boundary between giving athletes an opportunity and exploiting them, particularly as it relates to things like TV rights, merchandise sales and the perpetual license it demands athletes give them for things like video games.
I have yet to see a reasonable plan for paying athletes, and to suggest that every athlete get a few extra bucks every month as a stipend ignores that the best players are getting tens of thousands of dollars (or more) from boosters, runners and agents, anyway. It also ignores that no one will find "one-size-fits-all" payments satisfactory. It also ignores the implications for the non-revenue sports, including women's sports. And, in the end, we're not really talking about paying college athletes -- we're talking about paying the biggest stars in college football and basketball, which is where it gets a bit more complicated.
The ideal solution is that any athlete with professional aspirations skip college and go into a formal pro development pipeline, directly. (The problem is that college football and basketball have become the informal pro development pipelines -- cheap for the pro leagues, revenue-generating for colleges -- and there are no incentives to do what's actually best for the players, which is to direct the ones with pro potential to a system that helps them maximize that potential, which the college system most certainly does not.)
But it's worth noting that any high school senior basketball player who wants to get paid for their one-and-done year -- as well as get actual pro coaching expressly mandated to get you ready for the NBA -- should go straight to the D-League. They will earn approximately $30,000 a year (plus any money they can earn from shoe deals or endorsements) -- is the expectation that paying them for playing in college would yield more?
***
(4) Should Purdue's Matt Painter jump to Mizzou? It's more money, but it's not a better job -- particularly if he has emotional ties to Purdue. Then again, he was willing to talk to Mizzou, so how devoted to Purdue could he be? If he doesn't leave now, he'll leave eventually. Purdue fans need to consider that.
***
(5) Cricket World Cup: India vs. Pakistan. To put it in perspective, right now 10 times the number of people around the world are watching this cricket match than watched the Super Bowl last month. 10 TIMES.
***
MLB Opening Day is tomorrow. Tons of great preview stuff is being released today, and you can find the best of it at Quickish, either in the front-page stream or on the "MLB Preview" stream. More here tomorrow morning.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
03/29 (Interregnum) Quickie
I'm still contemplating the idea that VCU is the greatest Cinderella story -- through the week of the Final Four, at least -- in the history of the NCAA Tournament.
George Mason got there first, but VCU's path was harder -- geometrically harder.
And I can't help but look ahead, even though I know the chances are VCU's run stops Saturday night against Butler:
If VCU wins the national title, it would be the greatest championship in U.S. sports history, displacing even the 1980 "Miracle On Ice."
Jingoism aside, the sheer improbability of VCU's run is what sets it apart from... well, anything we've ever seen.
Yesterday was VCU-heavy (and Final Four-heavy) at Quickish. Give it a look for recommendations to really good analysis and commentary.
****
CBB All-America team: It is a great reminder that picking this team before the Tournament -- given that the sport is defined by the Tournament -- that Derrick Williams was not a first-team All-American but JaJuan Johnson (a fine player, but no Williams) was. Can't argue with Jimmer, Nolan Smith, Kemba or Sullinger.
CBB Jobs: Matt Painter to Mizzou? That he is even taking a meeting with the Tigers alone should, in theory, spoil his relationship with Purdue fans. He's supposed to be a loyal son of PU, not a head-swiveling mercenary. Mizzou will pay whatever, so really it's up to Painter to decide he wants to stay in West Lafayette. But he already seems to have decided -- by interviewing somewhere else -- that's not good enough.
NFL Draft: Cam Newton is the big story. Pro Football Weekly -- is that even still around? -- released a blistering review of Cam Newton. Forget for a second that PFW, like every NFL media publication or self-styled draftnik, should have no influence over a team's decision. But Cam Newton has always been an acquired taste. So what if a certain critic doesn't like his potential? All that matters is that the team likes his potential. (I'm in the camp that he's going to be a good pro, as long as the coach puts him in a system where he can take advantage of his unique talents.)
NBA: Knicks edge Magic -- I really find the day-to-day EKG for the Knicks to be wearying. The team has no chance of doing anything in the playoffs, now or probably ever. (By "anything," I mean contending for a title. This isn't 1999.) The good news is that the playoffs start in less than three weeks, and we can put the largely inconsequential regular season behind us.
Bonds trial: Kimberly Bell apparently did better than expected -- but what does that even mean?
Ochosoccer: Can't we just appreciate that the guy is even trying?
MLB Opening Day is Thursday: Shallowest Preview Ever coming Thursday morning.
Tons of awesome
George Mason got there first, but VCU's path was harder -- geometrically harder.
And I can't help but look ahead, even though I know the chances are VCU's run stops Saturday night against Butler:
If VCU wins the national title, it would be the greatest championship in U.S. sports history, displacing even the 1980 "Miracle On Ice."
Jingoism aside, the sheer improbability of VCU's run is what sets it apart from... well, anything we've ever seen.
Yesterday was VCU-heavy (and Final Four-heavy) at Quickish. Give it a look for recommendations to really good analysis and commentary.
****
CBB All-America team: It is a great reminder that picking this team before the Tournament -- given that the sport is defined by the Tournament -- that Derrick Williams was not a first-team All-American but JaJuan Johnson (a fine player, but no Williams) was. Can't argue with Jimmer, Nolan Smith, Kemba or Sullinger.
CBB Jobs: Matt Painter to Mizzou? That he is even taking a meeting with the Tigers alone should, in theory, spoil his relationship with Purdue fans. He's supposed to be a loyal son of PU, not a head-swiveling mercenary. Mizzou will pay whatever, so really it's up to Painter to decide he wants to stay in West Lafayette. But he already seems to have decided -- by interviewing somewhere else -- that's not good enough.
NFL Draft: Cam Newton is the big story. Pro Football Weekly -- is that even still around? -- released a blistering review of Cam Newton. Forget for a second that PFW, like every NFL media publication or self-styled draftnik, should have no influence over a team's decision. But Cam Newton has always been an acquired taste. So what if a certain critic doesn't like his potential? All that matters is that the team likes his potential. (I'm in the camp that he's going to be a good pro, as long as the coach puts him in a system where he can take advantage of his unique talents.)
NBA: Knicks edge Magic -- I really find the day-to-day EKG for the Knicks to be wearying. The team has no chance of doing anything in the playoffs, now or probably ever. (By "anything," I mean contending for a title. This isn't 1999.) The good news is that the playoffs start in less than three weeks, and we can put the largely inconsequential regular season behind us.
Bonds trial: Kimberly Bell apparently did better than expected -- but what does that even mean?
Ochosoccer: Can't we just appreciate that the guy is even trying?
MLB Opening Day is Thursday: Shallowest Preview Ever coming Thursday morning.
Tons of awesome
Sunday, March 27, 2011
03/28 (VCU!) Quickie
Want a classic Quickie superlative? How about this:
VCU has pulled off the single-greatest run to the Final Four in the history of the NCAA Tournament.
(More than Butler in this very same Tournament? More than George Mason in 2006? More than LSU in 1986?
Yes, yes and yes. And here's why:
Because it was in the "First Four," VCU had to win FIVE games to make this Final Four, rather than the typical four.
It's hard to express what that 5th game means, except to say that every additional game you have to win adds geometric complexity, difficulty and chance for failure to the route.
Then layer in that they had to cap the run by beating 1-seed Kansas -- not just the best team left in the Tournament but one of two teams that the majority of fans gave any chance of winning a title.
George Mason's run was incredible -- the standard-setter. Butler's run to the title game last year was inspiring (but let's remember they were a 5-seed -- hardly an afterthought).
But the unprecedented quality of VCU's run qualifies it as earning the greatest run to the Final Four in the history of college basketball.
And, if they play like they have the past two weeks, the run isn't over yet.
-- D.S.
VCU has pulled off the single-greatest run to the Final Four in the history of the NCAA Tournament.
(More than Butler in this very same Tournament? More than George Mason in 2006? More than LSU in 1986?
Yes, yes and yes. And here's why:
Because it was in the "First Four," VCU had to win FIVE games to make this Final Four, rather than the typical four.
It's hard to express what that 5th game means, except to say that every additional game you have to win adds geometric complexity, difficulty and chance for failure to the route.
Then layer in that they had to cap the run by beating 1-seed Kansas -- not just the best team left in the Tournament but one of two teams that the majority of fans gave any chance of winning a title.
George Mason's run was incredible -- the standard-setter. Butler's run to the title game last year was inspiring (but let's remember they were a 5-seed -- hardly an afterthought).
But the unprecedented quality of VCU's run qualifies it as earning the greatest run to the Final Four in the history of college basketball.
And, if they play like they have the past two weeks, the run isn't over yet.
-- D.S.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
03/27 (Butler!) Quickie
Congratulations, Butler. Huge, sincere congratulations.
Butler's that team that you root for... short of them playing your team. Especially with a Final Four ticket on the line.
I was talking about expectations this morning. Here's the thing: I'm much more disappointed that Florida lost a game it could have (should have?) won than if they had gotten rolled by Butler like Wisconsin did.
That said: In a way, it's easier for me to take because they pushed this incredibly talented and successful Butler team to its very limit before folding (somewhat predictably).
We can get into what Florida could have done differently -- say, not jack up terrible long 3s when going inside to Macklin or Tyus had been working all game for them. The game did turn on just a handful of bad decisions by Florida's players (and typically good decisions by Butler, whose fans had to be concerned for much of the game about Butler's uncharacteristically problematic play -- that the rest of us knew would eventually be corrected).
But the fact is that Butler earned it. Florida maxed out their potential -- Billy Donovan said that on CBS during the Arizona-UConn halftime, and it made me feel a bit better, because it's true. I had this team going out in the first weekend. The win over BYU was incredible. Taking Butler to the very end (and then some) was almost incredible.
I was trying to explain to my disappointed 4-year-old -- experiencing his first Tournament as a fan -- that, particularly in college basketball, there's always a winner and a loser. Someone has to be the loser, but it's OK, if your team did the best they could. (I didn't get into how that applies to epic underachievement by, say, Ohio State.)
I think Florida did the best they could. And, like the rest of the country (with the possible exception of Kansas), I resume rooting for this exceptionally likeable team and its exceptionally likeable coach, Brad Stevens.
Someone made the argument that this is the best two-year Tournament run in NCAA Tournament history. As a Florida fan, I am inclined to disagree, but the more I thought about it, the more I recognize the superlative in this Butler run over the past two years. (I'll settle for Florida having the best starting five in college basketball over the last 35 years.)
It's amazing. Again: Congratulations, Butler. Through what residual disappointment I have, it's impossible not to feel good for Butler, feel good for college basketball fans everywhere now celebrating this team together and feel good for the sport itself.
-- D.S.
Butler's that team that you root for... short of them playing your team. Especially with a Final Four ticket on the line.
I was talking about expectations this morning. Here's the thing: I'm much more disappointed that Florida lost a game it could have (should have?) won than if they had gotten rolled by Butler like Wisconsin did.
That said: In a way, it's easier for me to take because they pushed this incredibly talented and successful Butler team to its very limit before folding (somewhat predictably).
We can get into what Florida could have done differently -- say, not jack up terrible long 3s when going inside to Macklin or Tyus had been working all game for them. The game did turn on just a handful of bad decisions by Florida's players (and typically good decisions by Butler, whose fans had to be concerned for much of the game about Butler's uncharacteristically problematic play -- that the rest of us knew would eventually be corrected).
But the fact is that Butler earned it. Florida maxed out their potential -- Billy Donovan said that on CBS during the Arizona-UConn halftime, and it made me feel a bit better, because it's true. I had this team going out in the first weekend. The win over BYU was incredible. Taking Butler to the very end (and then some) was almost incredible.
I was trying to explain to my disappointed 4-year-old -- experiencing his first Tournament as a fan -- that, particularly in college basketball, there's always a winner and a loser. Someone has to be the loser, but it's OK, if your team did the best they could. (I didn't get into how that applies to epic underachievement by, say, Ohio State.)
I think Florida did the best they could. And, like the rest of the country (with the possible exception of Kansas), I resume rooting for this exceptionally likeable team and its exceptionally likeable coach, Brad Stevens.
Someone made the argument that this is the best two-year Tournament run in NCAA Tournament history. As a Florida fan, I am inclined to disagree, but the more I thought about it, the more I recognize the superlative in this Butler run over the past two years. (I'll settle for Florida having the best starting five in college basketball over the last 35 years.)
It's amazing. Again: Congratulations, Butler. Through what residual disappointment I have, it's impossible not to feel good for Butler, feel good for college basketball fans everywhere now celebrating this team together and feel good for the sport itself.
-- D.S.
Saturday 3/26 (Upset) Quickie
If you are a 1-seed -- let alone the No. 1 overall team of the Tournament -- and you don't even make it to the Elite Eight (let alone to the Final Four), your season is a failure. Period. Full stop.
That is Ohio State's burden today: Their season is a failure. Maybe that's why Jared Sullinger insists he is coming back next season.
As a Florida fan, I believe him: Remember when Lottery locks Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Corey Brewer all decided to come back after the first title? And that was after a title, not a Sweet 16 flame-out. Sullinger is right to feel motivated. Then again: If OSU couldn't crack the Final Four this year, it's hard to believe they will have a better shot next year.
What a win for Kentucky and John Calipari -- it was Cal's best win at Kentucky (and, arguably, the finest win of his career). He combined a bunch of talented freshmen and a couple of upperclass role players into a defensively focused, long, athletic ass-kicking machine. Given the way they took out Ohio State, I see them giving UNC all sorts of trouble.
Meanwhile: Congratulations to VCU for making it to the Elite Eight. A nation -- well everyone except Jayhawk Nation -- will be rooting for you on Sunday. I'm having trouble deciding whether this will be a replay of George Mason vs. 1-seed UConn in the East regional final in 2006 (a thrilling win)... or George Mason vs. Florida in the Final Four (a blowout loss). This VCU team is better than that George Mason team; I'm not sure this Kansas team is better than that UConn team. (It's meaner, which is a good thing for KU fans.)
To the vanquished: Marquette, Richmond, Florida State -- feel good that you got this far. They are the opposite of Ohio State: Teams where the Sweet 16 itself is an accomplishment worth savoring. For Ohio State, it is epic disappointment.
Looking ahead to today's regional finals, with a Final Four spot on the line:
4:30 CBS: (2) Florida vs. (8) Butler. Florida played its best game in four years on Thursday night and nearly didn't pull it off. Butler is better than BYU. A lot better. Strategically brilliant. Murderously lock-down on defense. Pick-your-poison options on offense. Matt Howard, who will toy with Florida's Vernon Macklin and Patrick Young inside (and outside). If I was a Butler fan and wanted to feel nervous, I would look at Florida's depth of size and keep a wary eye on my own Andrew Smith's gimpy knee. Still: Butler has been here before, a year ago. This team knows exactly what to do to win in the Tournament. I think Florida is still learning; unfortunately, this is the last lesson. As a Florida fan, there's no shame in an Elite Eight run and being KO'ed by a phenomenal tournament team like Butler. Pick: Butler.
7:05 CBS: (3) UConn vs. (5) Arizona. Apologies to Jimmer, but this pits the two most sensational players in the Tournament this year -- Kemba Walker and Derrick Williams. I'm intrigued by this storyline that one of Arizona's assistants was Walker's longtime AAU coach (and Arizona's PG was Walker's backcourt mate in H.S.). That's not the same as stopping him, but at least they understand him. I've doubted Arizona since the first day of the Tournament. Not anymore. Pick: Arizona.
Enjoy the games today. Pop by Quickish for real-time analysis from all sorts of smart sources.
-- D.S.
That is Ohio State's burden today: Their season is a failure. Maybe that's why Jared Sullinger insists he is coming back next season.
As a Florida fan, I believe him: Remember when Lottery locks Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Corey Brewer all decided to come back after the first title? And that was after a title, not a Sweet 16 flame-out. Sullinger is right to feel motivated. Then again: If OSU couldn't crack the Final Four this year, it's hard to believe they will have a better shot next year.
What a win for Kentucky and John Calipari -- it was Cal's best win at Kentucky (and, arguably, the finest win of his career). He combined a bunch of talented freshmen and a couple of upperclass role players into a defensively focused, long, athletic ass-kicking machine. Given the way they took out Ohio State, I see them giving UNC all sorts of trouble.
Meanwhile: Congratulations to VCU for making it to the Elite Eight. A nation -- well everyone except Jayhawk Nation -- will be rooting for you on Sunday. I'm having trouble deciding whether this will be a replay of George Mason vs. 1-seed UConn in the East regional final in 2006 (a thrilling win)... or George Mason vs. Florida in the Final Four (a blowout loss). This VCU team is better than that George Mason team; I'm not sure this Kansas team is better than that UConn team. (It's meaner, which is a good thing for KU fans.)
To the vanquished: Marquette, Richmond, Florida State -- feel good that you got this far. They are the opposite of Ohio State: Teams where the Sweet 16 itself is an accomplishment worth savoring. For Ohio State, it is epic disappointment.
Looking ahead to today's regional finals, with a Final Four spot on the line:
4:30 CBS: (2) Florida vs. (8) Butler. Florida played its best game in four years on Thursday night and nearly didn't pull it off. Butler is better than BYU. A lot better. Strategically brilliant. Murderously lock-down on defense. Pick-your-poison options on offense. Matt Howard, who will toy with Florida's Vernon Macklin and Patrick Young inside (and outside). If I was a Butler fan and wanted to feel nervous, I would look at Florida's depth of size and keep a wary eye on my own Andrew Smith's gimpy knee. Still: Butler has been here before, a year ago. This team knows exactly what to do to win in the Tournament. I think Florida is still learning; unfortunately, this is the last lesson. As a Florida fan, there's no shame in an Elite Eight run and being KO'ed by a phenomenal tournament team like Butler. Pick: Butler.
7:05 CBS: (3) UConn vs. (5) Arizona. Apologies to Jimmer, but this pits the two most sensational players in the Tournament this year -- Kemba Walker and Derrick Williams. I'm intrigued by this storyline that one of Arizona's assistants was Walker's longtime AAU coach (and Arizona's PG was Walker's backcourt mate in H.S.). That's not the same as stopping him, but at least they understand him. I've doubted Arizona since the first day of the Tournament. Not anymore. Pick: Arizona.
Enjoy the games today. Pop by Quickish for real-time analysis from all sorts of smart sources.
-- D.S.
Friday, March 25, 2011
03/25 (So So Sweet) Quickie
I'm not sure nights of fandom get much better for me than they got last night.
First, Florida beat BYU. You have to understand that I picked Florida to lose to Michigan State in the opening weekend. After they advanced and they were bracketed to play BYU, I was almost positive -- no Quickie reverse-jinx intended -- that BYU was going to win decisively. BYU is precisely the kind of team that gives Florida fits.
Let's pause there.
So much of fandom is simply expectations. One of the reasons I fell in love with being a Florida football fan is that every year, the expectation is to win the SEC (and, consequently, a national title). Anything less is a failure.
Back in 2007, when Florida basketball was the defending champs, there was no margin for error. It nearly made the Tournament run depressing, because the championship was EXPECTED. When they finally won it, it was: Of COURSE they did.
But this Florida team is different. The seniors came in after the back-to-back titles. Their first two years were horrendous. Last season was another dud; they backed their way into the NCAA Tournament and lost in the first round (to BYU).
This year was an improvement -- damn well better have been! -- but I had low expectations (see above). When they beat UCLA to make the Sweet 16, I was pretty happy (mostly figuring they would get throttled by BYU).
That's what made last night's win one of the most enjoyable of my Florida fandom: With no expectations, the fact that they won -- and the way they won -- made me as proud as I've been of the team since the 2006 national title.
Yes, BYU had Jimmer. But Florida had 5 good -- not great -- players, all playing well. That was the best game of Alex Tyus' four inconsistent years. The shooting -- by almost any of them -- makes me cringe. Every shot is "NO NO NO...YES!" (Until it misses badly; then I'm yelling and pounding pillows.)
Here's the crazy part: When the game was tied with 14 seconds to go and Florida was holding for the final shot, Gus Johnson got crushed for suggesting on-air that BYU should foul Florida. And yet... he was absolutely right. This isn't hindsight: BYU should have fouled Vernon Macklin -- an atrocious FT shooter -- away from the ball.
If he makes none, one or even both, at least BYU has a shot to win the game with the best shooter in basketball (even if he was struggling). You saw what happened in OT: BYU ran out of gas. They needed to play for the win at the moment. It would have been totally unorthodox, but it was their best chance to win. Anyway....
At this point, I can't imagine any Florida fan that isn't thrilled with making the Elite Eight. Would making the Final Four be even better? Yes, both in an absolute sense and because making it would mean that Florida would have beaten Butler, as tough an out in the tournament field as there is. But I'm going to stick with my expectations: Butler is more likely to throttle Florida than BYU. I'm wincing at the thought of the match-up.
But I'm totally comfortable. Florida has overachieved -- even if, technically, it has reached the potential of its seeding (they were overseeded) -- and they have their breathtaking signature win that almost entirely eclipses the past four years of frustrations. It was that big.
****
Meanwhile, I'm basking in Florida's win -- then Duke gets throttled. Duke losing in the Tournament is my favorite college basketball game of the year. It might be my favorite sports event of the year, period. When they get dismantled, it's even better than when they lose close. And last night was a dismantling. Amazing.
****
On to tonight's games:
7:15 CBS: (2) UNC-(11) Marquette. The way UNC barely survived Washington and the way Marquette handled Syracuse, I'm tempted to pick Marquette. It won't be an easy one for UNC. Pick: UNC, barely.
7:27 TBS: (1) Kansas-(12) Richmond. It's been fun, Richmond. Kansas is too big and too fast. Pick: KU.
9:45 CBS: (1) Ohio State-(4) Kentucky. I'm nearly ready to believe in this OSU team. Perfect timing, as Jim Tressel is going to lose his job, so I can offset my head-shaking buy-in with typical schadenfreude. I don't know why I ever doubted this team. Pick: Ohio State.
9:57 TBS: (10) Florida State-(11) VCU. FSU plays great defense, but they can't score. VCU is on a hot streak. How can anyone NOT be rooting for VCU at this point? Pick: VCU.
More later. Visit Quickish -- great day-after analysis, preview commentary and real-time reactions tonight!
-- D.S.
First, Florida beat BYU. You have to understand that I picked Florida to lose to Michigan State in the opening weekend. After they advanced and they were bracketed to play BYU, I was almost positive -- no Quickie reverse-jinx intended -- that BYU was going to win decisively. BYU is precisely the kind of team that gives Florida fits.
Let's pause there.
So much of fandom is simply expectations. One of the reasons I fell in love with being a Florida football fan is that every year, the expectation is to win the SEC (and, consequently, a national title). Anything less is a failure.
Back in 2007, when Florida basketball was the defending champs, there was no margin for error. It nearly made the Tournament run depressing, because the championship was EXPECTED. When they finally won it, it was: Of COURSE they did.
But this Florida team is different. The seniors came in after the back-to-back titles. Their first two years were horrendous. Last season was another dud; they backed their way into the NCAA Tournament and lost in the first round (to BYU).
This year was an improvement -- damn well better have been! -- but I had low expectations (see above). When they beat UCLA to make the Sweet 16, I was pretty happy (mostly figuring they would get throttled by BYU).
That's what made last night's win one of the most enjoyable of my Florida fandom: With no expectations, the fact that they won -- and the way they won -- made me as proud as I've been of the team since the 2006 national title.
Yes, BYU had Jimmer. But Florida had 5 good -- not great -- players, all playing well. That was the best game of Alex Tyus' four inconsistent years. The shooting -- by almost any of them -- makes me cringe. Every shot is "NO NO NO...YES!" (Until it misses badly; then I'm yelling and pounding pillows.)
Here's the crazy part: When the game was tied with 14 seconds to go and Florida was holding for the final shot, Gus Johnson got crushed for suggesting on-air that BYU should foul Florida. And yet... he was absolutely right. This isn't hindsight: BYU should have fouled Vernon Macklin -- an atrocious FT shooter -- away from the ball.
If he makes none, one or even both, at least BYU has a shot to win the game with the best shooter in basketball (even if he was struggling). You saw what happened in OT: BYU ran out of gas. They needed to play for the win at the moment. It would have been totally unorthodox, but it was their best chance to win. Anyway....
At this point, I can't imagine any Florida fan that isn't thrilled with making the Elite Eight. Would making the Final Four be even better? Yes, both in an absolute sense and because making it would mean that Florida would have beaten Butler, as tough an out in the tournament field as there is. But I'm going to stick with my expectations: Butler is more likely to throttle Florida than BYU. I'm wincing at the thought of the match-up.
But I'm totally comfortable. Florida has overachieved -- even if, technically, it has reached the potential of its seeding (they were overseeded) -- and they have their breathtaking signature win that almost entirely eclipses the past four years of frustrations. It was that big.
****
Meanwhile, I'm basking in Florida's win -- then Duke gets throttled. Duke losing in the Tournament is my favorite college basketball game of the year. It might be my favorite sports event of the year, period. When they get dismantled, it's even better than when they lose close. And last night was a dismantling. Amazing.
****
On to tonight's games:
7:15 CBS: (2) UNC-(11) Marquette. The way UNC barely survived Washington and the way Marquette handled Syracuse, I'm tempted to pick Marquette. It won't be an easy one for UNC. Pick: UNC, barely.
7:27 TBS: (1) Kansas-(12) Richmond. It's been fun, Richmond. Kansas is too big and too fast. Pick: KU.
9:45 CBS: (1) Ohio State-(4) Kentucky. I'm nearly ready to believe in this OSU team. Perfect timing, as Jim Tressel is going to lose his job, so I can offset my head-shaking buy-in with typical schadenfreude. I don't know why I ever doubted this team. Pick: Ohio State.
9:57 TBS: (10) Florida State-(11) VCU. FSU plays great defense, but they can't score. VCU is on a hot streak. How can anyone NOT be rooting for VCU at this point? Pick: VCU.
More later. Visit Quickish -- great day-after analysis, preview commentary and real-time reactions tonight!
-- D.S.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
03/24 (Sweet 16) Quickie
I've kind of given up on being able to correctly predict the outcomes of NCAA Tournament games. Like many, I'm now just looking for great performances, exciting finishes and Cinderella storylines. Let's get to it:
7:15 CBS: (2) San Diego St vs. (3) UConn. It is irrational to pick Kemba Walker and UConn. San Diego State is as athletic as any team UConn has played this season -- and is playing in their backyard (not sure how much that matters, but presume it has to matter a bit). Then again, SDSU played like crap against Temple. At least one Big East team has to get through to the elite Eight, right? Pick: UConn.
7:27 TBS: (2) Florida vs. (3) BYU. I cannot properly talk about this game, because I am rooting so much for Florida. BYU won this game last year in the NCAA first round, but both teams are much different (and much better). I don't trust Florida's defense; Jimmer may score 30 -- the goal will be to make him take 25 shots to get there. Then again, Florida has two NBA-quality post players (Macklin, a fringe NBA player, and Young, a Lottery pick in 2012), plus senior Alex Tyus. That doesn't even count SEC player of the year Chandler Parsons, NCAA first-weekend hero Erving Walker or hobbled scorer Kenny Boynton. I'm picking BYU because I actually think they will win and because if I pick Florida, I can almost assure myself the Gators will lose.
9:45 CBS: (1) Duke vs. (5) Arizona. Derrick Williams is the best player Duke has seen all season. Then again, Nolan Smith (and, arguably, Kyrie Irving) is the best player Arizona has seen all season. Despite Duke's lackadaisical win over Michigan and Arizona's penchant for keeping themselves in games, I see a Duke rout, led by the Smith-Irving combo. You can have Ohio State and Kansas; I still feel very good about my pre-tourney pick of Duke to win it all. (Quickie Jinx Alert.)
9:57 TBS: (4) Wisconsin vs. (8) Butler. Oh, will this be a grinder. I don't know why I doubted Wisconsin in my original picks (damn you, Belmont). They are perhaps the toughest matchup for Butler in the entire field, because the way Wisconsin plays will never let the game get out of hand. This game will make last year's Duke-Butler final look like jackrabbits. I know better than to pick against Wisconsin at this point, but there's something about the way this Butler team is executing that makes me think my original pick to take them to the Elite Eight was right. Pick: Butler.
However it goes, it looks like four awesome match-ups tonight -- with a night that starts at 7-ish and goes all the way past midnight. Buckle up.
More:
*Be sure to catch this great clip from the NFL capturing the entire 2010 season in 6 minutes. (Right up until you remember the league is ready to shut down the 2011 season, if necessary.)
*Knicks go under .500: I'll stick with what I said yesterday -- acquiring Carmelo was never about winning titles; it was about being relevant, which is the next best thing. Anyone who thought the Knicks would seriously contend for a title -- either now or any time in the next five-year window with Melo and Amare -- is delusional. On the plus side, the Knicks matter (which is really kind of all that matters).
*NIT: I guess it was too much to ask that Northwestern make the NIT Final Four.
Enjoy the games tonight. Quickish will be going straight through the day (with terrific preview recommendations) and into real-time updates throughout the night. Give it a try!
-- D.S.
7:15 CBS: (2) San Diego St vs. (3) UConn. It is irrational to pick Kemba Walker and UConn. San Diego State is as athletic as any team UConn has played this season -- and is playing in their backyard (not sure how much that matters, but presume it has to matter a bit). Then again, SDSU played like crap against Temple. At least one Big East team has to get through to the elite Eight, right? Pick: UConn.
7:27 TBS: (2) Florida vs. (3) BYU. I cannot properly talk about this game, because I am rooting so much for Florida. BYU won this game last year in the NCAA first round, but both teams are much different (and much better). I don't trust Florida's defense; Jimmer may score 30 -- the goal will be to make him take 25 shots to get there. Then again, Florida has two NBA-quality post players (Macklin, a fringe NBA player, and Young, a Lottery pick in 2012), plus senior Alex Tyus. That doesn't even count SEC player of the year Chandler Parsons, NCAA first-weekend hero Erving Walker or hobbled scorer Kenny Boynton. I'm picking BYU because I actually think they will win and because if I pick Florida, I can almost assure myself the Gators will lose.
9:45 CBS: (1) Duke vs. (5) Arizona. Derrick Williams is the best player Duke has seen all season. Then again, Nolan Smith (and, arguably, Kyrie Irving) is the best player Arizona has seen all season. Despite Duke's lackadaisical win over Michigan and Arizona's penchant for keeping themselves in games, I see a Duke rout, led by the Smith-Irving combo. You can have Ohio State and Kansas; I still feel very good about my pre-tourney pick of Duke to win it all. (Quickie Jinx Alert.)
9:57 TBS: (4) Wisconsin vs. (8) Butler. Oh, will this be a grinder. I don't know why I doubted Wisconsin in my original picks (damn you, Belmont). They are perhaps the toughest matchup for Butler in the entire field, because the way Wisconsin plays will never let the game get out of hand. This game will make last year's Duke-Butler final look like jackrabbits. I know better than to pick against Wisconsin at this point, but there's something about the way this Butler team is executing that makes me think my original pick to take them to the Elite Eight was right. Pick: Butler.
However it goes, it looks like four awesome match-ups tonight -- with a night that starts at 7-ish and goes all the way past midnight. Buckle up.
More:
*Be sure to catch this great clip from the NFL capturing the entire 2010 season in 6 minutes. (Right up until you remember the league is ready to shut down the 2011 season, if necessary.)
*Knicks go under .500: I'll stick with what I said yesterday -- acquiring Carmelo was never about winning titles; it was about being relevant, which is the next best thing. Anyone who thought the Knicks would seriously contend for a title -- either now or any time in the next five-year window with Melo and Amare -- is delusional. On the plus side, the Knicks matter (which is really kind of all that matters).
*NIT: I guess it was too much to ask that Northwestern make the NIT Final Four.
Enjoy the games tonight. Quickish will be going straight through the day (with terrific preview recommendations) and into real-time updates throughout the night. Give it a try!
-- D.S.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
03/23 (Nearly Sweet) Quickie
My fantasy baseball draft is tomorrow afternoon and I couldn't be less prepared. "Median Draft Position" spreadsheet to the rescue. Any other advice you have for good broad-swath resources, let me know.
My 4-year-old's first-time enthusiasm for the NCAA Tournament and his bracket is one of the most enjoyable moments I've had as a parent. I'm dreading the inevitable interest in the Yankees.
After two days without college hoops (3 counting today), I'm ready for the Sweet 16. So ready. Thursday night -- with 4 legit toss-ups (perhaps not Duke-Zona, although Derrick Williams feels like the Wildcats' equalizer) -- will be terrific. Be sure to check in on Quickish throughout the night.
Carmelo: I think people are missing the larger point. Carmelo in New York was always about relevance and was never about championships. It doesn't matter if they are winning or losing because they were NEVER going to compete for a championship with Carmelo. The best they could hope for -- the desired outcome, actually -- was mattering. Wins were never part of it.
Damn, the Bulls are good. I'm not sure they beat the Lakers in the Finals, but they absolutely could beat the Celtics to win the East. Already.
College hoops jobs: If Mike Anderson would rather be at Arkansas enough to negotiate with them, he should just go there. He'll be happier -- the money's all basically equal anyway.
Video: If you haven't seen the Trebek/CFB mash-up yet, it's a must-see.
-- D.S.
My 4-year-old's first-time enthusiasm for the NCAA Tournament and his bracket is one of the most enjoyable moments I've had as a parent. I'm dreading the inevitable interest in the Yankees.
After two days without college hoops (3 counting today), I'm ready for the Sweet 16. So ready. Thursday night -- with 4 legit toss-ups (perhaps not Duke-Zona, although Derrick Williams feels like the Wildcats' equalizer) -- will be terrific. Be sure to check in on Quickish throughout the night.
Carmelo: I think people are missing the larger point. Carmelo in New York was always about relevance and was never about championships. It doesn't matter if they are winning or losing because they were NEVER going to compete for a championship with Carmelo. The best they could hope for -- the desired outcome, actually -- was mattering. Wins were never part of it.
Damn, the Bulls are good. I'm not sure they beat the Lakers in the Finals, but they absolutely could beat the Celtics to win the East. Already.
College hoops jobs: If Mike Anderson would rather be at Arkansas enough to negotiate with them, he should just go there. He'll be happier -- the money's all basically equal anyway.
Video: If you haven't seen the Trebek/CFB mash-up yet, it's a must-see.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
03/22 (Is It Still Tuesday?) Quickie
Apologies for the light posting since the weekend. Will be back to it tomorrow. Meanwhile, if you haven't yet today, pop over to Quickish to catch up on what's been going on all day.
(Slow day, frankly, which means we're recommending some really good reads that might not be entirely off the news. I actually love digging those up, and I'm always looking for more. If you see something awesome, always feel free to send it along.)
-- D.S.
(Slow day, frankly, which means we're recommending some really good reads that might not be entirely off the news. I actually love digging those up, and I'm always looking for more. If you see something awesome, always feel free to send it along.)
-- D.S.
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