Today's big winner: Maryland
Every once in a while, conference tournaments matter in a way that has nothing to do with the NCAA Tournament.
Maryland is not going to the NCAA Tournament -- maybe if they beat UNC today and make an improbable run to the ACC title game, they are part of the "First Four" in Dayton.
Duke is out of the ACC Tournament in the quarterfinals -- and yet this season is so shallow at the top that there is seemingly no way they lose their 1-seed status (another reminder the conference tournaments are largely vestigial).
And yet the mediocre Terps beating high-flying Duke yesterday was the highlight of Maryland's season -- and the two-year-old Mark Turgeon Era. It is the kind of win that fans relish not just for the year, but for years.
You could make the same argument for Syracuse -- the Orange are going to the NCAA Tournament. So is Georgetown. And so the win is entirely about pride, bragging rights... having the last word in one of college hoops' best (if soon-to-be-former) rivalries.
As both games wound down simultaneously -- and fans were hammering the "last channel" button on the remote or picture-in-picture function to flip between them -- it was the no-stakes portion of conference-championship week at its high-stakes best.
More:
*Today: So many win-or-go-home automatic NCAA Tournament invites on the line, teams whose names you will know like the back of your bracket notes by Monday morning -- New Mexico State versus Texas-Arlington, Pacific versus UC-Irvine, Montana versus Weber State, Stephen F. Austin versus Northwestern State, Chicago State versus Houston Baptist, Morgan State versus NC A&T, Prairie View A&M versus Southern, Albany versus Vermont.
*There are some intriguing finals: Akron could still get an at-large if they lose the MAC final to Ohio, but they don't want to chance it. UNLV probably doesn't get in without upsetting New Mexico in the Mountain West final. Similarly, Southern Miss is must-win versus Memphis, which is in regardless. Oregon and UCLA are both in, regardless. Kansas and Kansas State are obviously both in, making this about in-state bragging rights (and Kansas getting a 1-seed if they win). Syracuse and Louisville are both in, too; if the Cardinals win, they stake a claim for a 1-seed. (Speaking of 1-seed contenders, Michigan State needs to knock off Ohio State in the B10 finals if they want to stay in contention for a 1-seed, which is on the table.)
*What about Kentucky? I think they are out. It's not like they kept it close versus Vandy. They got blown out and looked terrible in the process. Last weekend's supposedly season-saving win over Florida? Just not enough. I suspect that the NCAA and Selection Committee will conspire to push the profile of the typically ignored "First Four" by slotting Kentucky in that game against a notable fringe mid-major.
*My most intriguing bracket-previewing game of the day? Butler versus St. Louis in the Atlantic 10 semifinals -- both are tournament locks, but both have the moxie to make deep runs. This is a good litmus test, if not for them, then for your confusion over the bracket.
Enjoy the day!
-- D.S.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Friday, March 15, 2013
3/15 (Selection Mania) Quickie
It's that time again: Join the "Daily Quickie Readers" group of ESPN.com's Tournament Challenge.
(Wow, I was just thinking about 2006, when we had more than 10,000 people in the group and it was something like the 3rd-largest non-team-related group in the world. That was also the year that Mrs. Quickie finished in the Top 10 overall, which was crazy.)
Forget the hyper-nostalgia for the Big East: The craziest ending you will get was in the Atlantic 10 pre-quarterfinal in Brooklyn between Charlotte and Richmond. Richmond was leading by three with just 4.7 seconds to play. Then, a wild series:
A 1-and-1 for Charlotte begat a tech on a Richmond player begat a Charlotte lead begat Richmond "fouling" a Charlotte player heaving a half-court "shot" -- another three shots. Then a bunch of technical fouls called on Richmond.
Voila: A seven-point Charlotte win -- a 10-point swing in 5 seconds, which rivals anything Reggie Miller ever did a few miles away at Madison Square Garden.
You hate to see that happen and you feel for Richmond fans. But if ever there was a "that's what makes March so great" bit of freakiness, that's the one.
What to look forward to today:
*Two days 'til Selection Sunday: The half-hour of the bracket reveal is the best 30 minutes of the sports year. Everything is all possibilities and gut-feelings and second-guessing. And that's just your bracket, let alone all of the analysis of the bracket by all of the hoops pundits.
*Sub-.500 Utah has reached the semis of the Pac-12. The game is at 11:30 ET tonight vs. Oregon. I feel for the teams on the Bubble, but how can you not be rooting for Utah to continue the run?
*Big East semis: Syracuse-Georgetown (because of course) and Louisville-Notre Dame (who played those many many OTs the last time they met). All are in the Tournament; this is for pride.
*Kentucky on the hot seat: They play Vandy in the SEC quarters. A loss here to the sub-.500 'Dores would put UK back on the edge of the Bubble, at the mercy of teams like... Utah (ironically, the team Kentucky beat for the title in '98).
*The Mountain West semis: San Diego State vs. New Mexico, UNLV vs. Colorado State. Four bracket-worthy teams likely playing for three spots (with UNM and Colorado State likely already claiming two).
*All the crazy adidas uniforms: I get it -- people in the media hate them. But they are having their intended reaction: We are talking about them. (Hard not to love Notre Dame's highlight-green uniforms from last night, but then again, I wear highlight-neon shoes in my weekly old man basketball league.)
More:
*Steven Jackson to the Falcons: Great fit for both.
*Ed Reed to the Texans? Would be great influence.
*Greg Jennings to Vikings? Harvin replacement?
*Geno Smith wows at Pro Day: Going No. 2 to Jags?
*Kobe: Hawks insist they weren't trying to hurt him.
(Still should have been a foul, which is Kobe's issue.)
*WBC: Does the DR care more than Team USA?
*Nadal: He's back! (beating Fed will inspire that reax).
Join the Tournament Challenge group. Get ready for Selection Sunday.
-- D.S.
(Wow, I was just thinking about 2006, when we had more than 10,000 people in the group and it was something like the 3rd-largest non-team-related group in the world. That was also the year that Mrs. Quickie finished in the Top 10 overall, which was crazy.)
Forget the hyper-nostalgia for the Big East: The craziest ending you will get was in the Atlantic 10 pre-quarterfinal in Brooklyn between Charlotte and Richmond. Richmond was leading by three with just 4.7 seconds to play. Then, a wild series:
A 1-and-1 for Charlotte begat a tech on a Richmond player begat a Charlotte lead begat Richmond "fouling" a Charlotte player heaving a half-court "shot" -- another three shots. Then a bunch of technical fouls called on Richmond.
Voila: A seven-point Charlotte win -- a 10-point swing in 5 seconds, which rivals anything Reggie Miller ever did a few miles away at Madison Square Garden.
You hate to see that happen and you feel for Richmond fans. But if ever there was a "that's what makes March so great" bit of freakiness, that's the one.
What to look forward to today:
*Two days 'til Selection Sunday: The half-hour of the bracket reveal is the best 30 minutes of the sports year. Everything is all possibilities and gut-feelings and second-guessing. And that's just your bracket, let alone all of the analysis of the bracket by all of the hoops pundits.
*Sub-.500 Utah has reached the semis of the Pac-12. The game is at 11:30 ET tonight vs. Oregon. I feel for the teams on the Bubble, but how can you not be rooting for Utah to continue the run?
*Big East semis: Syracuse-Georgetown (because of course) and Louisville-Notre Dame (who played those many many OTs the last time they met). All are in the Tournament; this is for pride.
*Kentucky on the hot seat: They play Vandy in the SEC quarters. A loss here to the sub-.500 'Dores would put UK back on the edge of the Bubble, at the mercy of teams like... Utah (ironically, the team Kentucky beat for the title in '98).
*The Mountain West semis: San Diego State vs. New Mexico, UNLV vs. Colorado State. Four bracket-worthy teams likely playing for three spots (with UNM and Colorado State likely already claiming two).
*All the crazy adidas uniforms: I get it -- people in the media hate them. But they are having their intended reaction: We are talking about them. (Hard not to love Notre Dame's highlight-green uniforms from last night, but then again, I wear highlight-neon shoes in my weekly old man basketball league.)
More:
*Steven Jackson to the Falcons: Great fit for both.
*Ed Reed to the Texans? Would be great influence.
*Greg Jennings to Vikings? Harvin replacement?
*Geno Smith wows at Pro Day: Going No. 2 to Jags?
*Kobe: Hawks insist they weren't trying to hurt him.
(Still should have been a foul, which is Kobe's issue.)
*WBC: Does the DR care more than Team USA?
*Nadal: He's back! (beating Fed will inspire that reax).
Join the Tournament Challenge group. Get ready for Selection Sunday.
-- D.S.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
3/14 (Ugh, No Internet) Quickie
Internet service got bonked, so tapping this out on my phone, which ain't ideal. Nevertheless...
*Big East quarterfinals: The quintessential Big East moment - bloated with nostalgia, brash, gluttonous, likely overrated.
(And vastly overrated in the grand scheme of "But how many of these 6-8 teams actually make the Final Four, let alone win a national title?" Steel yourself for yelps of "1985!" which is all well and good but nearly 20 years old, and I say that as both a yelper and someone who thinks the '85 Final Four was more important than any in history, including the over-exposed Bird-Magic '79 edition. So, yes, I am both conflicted and self-loathing.)
Regardless, it IS a quadruple-header of college basketball featuring a half-dozen "big-t" Tournament teams. Meanwhile, the Big Ten is asking what the fuss is about....
*Welker to Broncos: Of course. The "Ray Allen from the Celtics to the Heat" of NFL deals.
*Amendola to Pats: Makes the Welker "of course" above look like the surprise move of the year.
*RBs on move: In order of effectiveness for the acquiring team - (1) Bush/Lions, (2) Greene/Titans, (3) Mendenhall/Cards (unless Arizona gets itself a good QB).
Caveat: Steven Jackson signing with the Packers would trump all of those.
*Kobe hurts ankle: Ankle hurts Laker playoff run. (Yes, should've been a foul.)
*Carmelo returns to Denver: Unlike Dwight Howard in Orlando, Melo couldn't actually win, which is the sweetest of all comebacks to bitter fans.
*Heat win 20th straight: Can excellence be boring? We are reduced to "Well, at least the Sixers made it interesting."
*Jeter tries SS: Proof ain't in March.
*Pope x Sports: Apparently a huge fan of Argentina's San Lorenzo club. Presumably, he has a string rooting interest in next year's World Cup.
*Is today the final day of Northwester's Carmody Era.
- DS
*Big East quarterfinals: The quintessential Big East moment - bloated with nostalgia, brash, gluttonous, likely overrated.
(And vastly overrated in the grand scheme of "But how many of these 6-8 teams actually make the Final Four, let alone win a national title?" Steel yourself for yelps of "1985!" which is all well and good but nearly 20 years old, and I say that as both a yelper and someone who thinks the '85 Final Four was more important than any in history, including the over-exposed Bird-Magic '79 edition. So, yes, I am both conflicted and self-loathing.)
Regardless, it IS a quadruple-header of college basketball featuring a half-dozen "big-t" Tournament teams. Meanwhile, the Big Ten is asking what the fuss is about....
*Welker to Broncos: Of course. The "Ray Allen from the Celtics to the Heat" of NFL deals.
*Amendola to Pats: Makes the Welker "of course" above look like the surprise move of the year.
*RBs on move: In order of effectiveness for the acquiring team - (1) Bush/Lions, (2) Greene/Titans, (3) Mendenhall/Cards (unless Arizona gets itself a good QB).
Caveat: Steven Jackson signing with the Packers would trump all of those.
*Kobe hurts ankle: Ankle hurts Laker playoff run. (Yes, should've been a foul.)
*Carmelo returns to Denver: Unlike Dwight Howard in Orlando, Melo couldn't actually win, which is the sweetest of all comebacks to bitter fans.
*Heat win 20th straight: Can excellence be boring? We are reduced to "Well, at least the Sixers made it interesting."
*Jeter tries SS: Proof ain't in March.
*Pope x Sports: Apparently a huge fan of Argentina's San Lorenzo club. Presumably, he has a string rooting interest in next year's World Cup.
*Is today the final day of Northwester's Carmody Era.
- DS
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
3/13 (Wednesday) Quickie
Today's big winner: Dwight Howard.
He went back to Orlando for the first time since he left town. The fans were all over him. The Magic were hacking him.
And Howard put on arguably the best regular-season performance of his career: 39 points (including 39 foul shots!) and 16 rebounds, leading the Lakers to yet another must-win as they surge into playoff position.
This is the Howard that the Lakers wanted (needed!), that Kobe obsesses about and that shuts up all of the folks who had been taking pot-shots at him throughout LA's mediocre season.
And yet! Howard is nothing if not mercurial. It would be something to see if he has indeed turned a corner -- maybe last night's game will psychologically free him from everything and put him in video-game mode for the rest of the season (a prerequisite if the Lakers want to do anything interesting).
It is hard not to think "We'll see...." But then you watch what he did last night, and it's like: Oh wow.
If you think the NBA is better for having a competitive and fiesty Lakers team, last night was one of the biggest and best wins of the season.
That is thanks to Howard taking all that the fans and the opposing players could throw at him and proving himself the bigger (way bigger) person for it.
More of today's winners:
*Long Island-Brooklyn, Valpo, South Dakota State: All won their way into the NCAA Tournament. For LIU, it's their third straight trip... for Valpo, it will always inspire memories of Bryce Drew beating Ole Miss (one of my Top 3 favorite NCAA Tournament moments ever)... with South Dakota State, it's about how far their star Nate Wolters (27 pts last night) can carry them.
*NFL Free Agency Mania:
-Mike Wallace to Miami: It was a must-have for the Fins.
-Paul Kruger to Cleveland: Bold move new management needed.
-Martellus Bennett to Chicago: A Bears TE who won't drop the ball.
*Reggie Bush: Who wants him? The Lions clearly do -- and everyone seems to think he would be a great fit with Stafford and Megatron. He will shop himself around (it's Reggie Bush, after all), but here's betting that he ends up circling back with Detroit, a huge change of pace from Miami.
*Chip Kelly: No player captured the Eagles' sad "dream team" aspirations from two years ago like Nnamdi Asomugha. It's not his fault -- he was just intended to be the centerpiece. It didn't work out, and the team cut him yesterday, the most symbolic move they could make to signal the end of the Reid Era and the fresh start with Kelly. (More than symbolic, it saves them some cash.)
*Ryan Nassib: Could the former Syracuse QB become this year's Ryan Tannehill in the NFL Draft? His old college coach Doug Marrone, who now runs the Bills, just cut Buffalo's incumbent starting QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, leaving the Bills without a QB. Sure, they could be eyeing Geno Smith in the draft, but there is no guarantee Smith drops to the back of the Top 10, when Buffalo is picking. And the trade market (Nick Foles) and free agent market (who knows?) are seemingly thin.
*Notre Dame women's hoops: A week after gutting out a win over UConn to take the Big East regular-season title, they pull it off again in the Big East tournament title game. The East's top dog ain't the Huskies anymore. (Well, at least for now.)
*Miami Heat: 19 straight wins. Let's review the major themes of the streak: They are toying with the league... a repeat NBA championship is an inevitability (the only question is how many losses they take en route to 16 postseason wins)... it's OK that the NBA playoffs have no drama, because this team seems to be THAT good.
*Barcelona: Remember yesterday's previews of the Barca-Milan game, in which all the experts were trying to make sense of how fall Barca had fallen en route to being bounced from the Champions League? That was cute.
Down 0-2 in aggregate to AC Milan in the Champions League round of 16, Barca overwhelmed in the second game 4-0, including 2 goals by the brilliant Lionel Messi. And, once again, we are left wondering what would happen if other sports counted playoff series in terms of aggregate score.
*Today's must-see/must-follow college hoops: Lafayette and Bucknell play for the Patriot League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament... the (sort of last) Big East Tournament heats up, with "Last Four In"-ish Villanova in a must-win versus St. John's... Your sneaky-good game of the day is Boise State versus San Diego State in the Mountain West quarterfinals; both teams have the potential to go on a run and win the conference tournament (or even make it to the tournament finals and put themselves squarely in the "Last Four In" conversation).
-- D.S.
He went back to Orlando for the first time since he left town. The fans were all over him. The Magic were hacking him.
And Howard put on arguably the best regular-season performance of his career: 39 points (including 39 foul shots!) and 16 rebounds, leading the Lakers to yet another must-win as they surge into playoff position.
This is the Howard that the Lakers wanted (needed!), that Kobe obsesses about and that shuts up all of the folks who had been taking pot-shots at him throughout LA's mediocre season.
And yet! Howard is nothing if not mercurial. It would be something to see if he has indeed turned a corner -- maybe last night's game will psychologically free him from everything and put him in video-game mode for the rest of the season (a prerequisite if the Lakers want to do anything interesting).
It is hard not to think "We'll see...." But then you watch what he did last night, and it's like: Oh wow.
If you think the NBA is better for having a competitive and fiesty Lakers team, last night was one of the biggest and best wins of the season.
That is thanks to Howard taking all that the fans and the opposing players could throw at him and proving himself the bigger (way bigger) person for it.
More of today's winners:
*Long Island-Brooklyn, Valpo, South Dakota State: All won their way into the NCAA Tournament. For LIU, it's their third straight trip... for Valpo, it will always inspire memories of Bryce Drew beating Ole Miss (one of my Top 3 favorite NCAA Tournament moments ever)... with South Dakota State, it's about how far their star Nate Wolters (27 pts last night) can carry them.
*NFL Free Agency Mania:
-Mike Wallace to Miami: It was a must-have for the Fins.
-Paul Kruger to Cleveland: Bold move new management needed.
-Martellus Bennett to Chicago: A Bears TE who won't drop the ball.
*Reggie Bush: Who wants him? The Lions clearly do -- and everyone seems to think he would be a great fit with Stafford and Megatron. He will shop himself around (it's Reggie Bush, after all), but here's betting that he ends up circling back with Detroit, a huge change of pace from Miami.
*Chip Kelly: No player captured the Eagles' sad "dream team" aspirations from two years ago like Nnamdi Asomugha. It's not his fault -- he was just intended to be the centerpiece. It didn't work out, and the team cut him yesterday, the most symbolic move they could make to signal the end of the Reid Era and the fresh start with Kelly. (More than symbolic, it saves them some cash.)
*Ryan Nassib: Could the former Syracuse QB become this year's Ryan Tannehill in the NFL Draft? His old college coach Doug Marrone, who now runs the Bills, just cut Buffalo's incumbent starting QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, leaving the Bills without a QB. Sure, they could be eyeing Geno Smith in the draft, but there is no guarantee Smith drops to the back of the Top 10, when Buffalo is picking. And the trade market (Nick Foles) and free agent market (who knows?) are seemingly thin.
*Notre Dame women's hoops: A week after gutting out a win over UConn to take the Big East regular-season title, they pull it off again in the Big East tournament title game. The East's top dog ain't the Huskies anymore. (Well, at least for now.)
*Miami Heat: 19 straight wins. Let's review the major themes of the streak: They are toying with the league... a repeat NBA championship is an inevitability (the only question is how many losses they take en route to 16 postseason wins)... it's OK that the NBA playoffs have no drama, because this team seems to be THAT good.
*Barcelona: Remember yesterday's previews of the Barca-Milan game, in which all the experts were trying to make sense of how fall Barca had fallen en route to being bounced from the Champions League? That was cute.
Down 0-2 in aggregate to AC Milan in the Champions League round of 16, Barca overwhelmed in the second game 4-0, including 2 goals by the brilliant Lionel Messi. And, once again, we are left wondering what would happen if other sports counted playoff series in terms of aggregate score.
*Today's must-see/must-follow college hoops: Lafayette and Bucknell play for the Patriot League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament... the (sort of last) Big East Tournament heats up, with "Last Four In"-ish Villanova in a must-win versus St. John's... Your sneaky-good game of the day is Boise State versus San Diego State in the Mountain West quarterfinals; both teams have the potential to go on a run and win the conference tournament (or even make it to the tournament finals and put themselves squarely in the "Last Four In" conversation).
-- D.S.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
3/12 (Tuesday) Quickie
The best rivalry in sports right now is 49ers-Seahawks.
*They play in the same division.
*They are the top two teams in the NFC.
*Their coaches hate each other, going back to college.
*They are geographically proximate.
*It's the NFL, and the NFL is king.
*Both teams continue to make bold moves.
Yesterday was a collision course -- as close as you'll get to the two teams battling it out with each other on the field:
The Seahawks traded a 1st-round pick for the Vikings' dynamic (and disgruntled) playmaker Percy Harvin (my second-favorite NFL player behind a certain Jets back-up QB). It was a big bet on one of the league's biggest talents, but if -- if -- Harvin is healthy, there isn't a better QB-RB-WR combination in the NFL than Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch and Harvin.
The 49ers used a 6th-round pick to give Baltimore at least something for WR Anquan Boldin, star of the Super Bowl and an incredible complement to the 49ers' existing offense, which centers around Colin Kaepernick, Frank Gore, Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree. It was a deft move by the smartest franchise in the NFL, if not all of sports.
The two teams will play twice in 2013 in the regular season and -- in part thanks to yesterday's moves -- once in the playoffs for the right to go to the Super Bowl. You don't have to like either team (or notice the distinctly West Coast geography or methodology) to appreciate that they represent Best Sports Rivalry 2.0.
Follow-up: So what rivalries round out the "Right Now" Top 5?
(2) Alabama-LSU
(3) Ravens-Patriots
(4) Nationals-Phillies
(5) Indiana vs. the Big Ten
More of today's winners:
*Gonzaga is in the NCAA Tournament, zipping toward a 1-seed that they are good enough to deserve, despite their flimsy schedule strength.
*James Madison is back in the tournament for the first time since the early-90s... Tourney regulars Western Kentucky, Davidson and Iona are back in, too.
*Today's must-see game: Mount St. Mary's vs. LIU-Brooklyn (one of my favorites) for the Northeast title and auto-bid into the Tournament. Two other bids on the line: The Summit (North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State, which at the very least sounds kind of awesome) and the Horizon (Wright State vs. Valpo). For all six teams involved, this is it -- win and in, lose and there is no consolation.
*San Antonio Spurs: Beat the Thunder, handily, and missing Tony Parker wasn't a problem. There has been a presumption that OKC vanquished San Antonio from true "West contender" status and that it was a glide path for the Thunder back to the NBA Finals. But what makes the Spurs so fascinating is that they refuse to be bumped from the discussion, and last night's win is more evidence that OKC will again have a massive challenge if it wants to hurdle the West's old standard-bearer to earn the right to get demolished by the Heat in the Finals.
*Steve Hutchinson is retiring from the NFL, and most experts see him as a borderline Hall of Famer. Remember when his jumping from the Seahawks (where he paved the road for Shaun Alexander) to the Vikings was a huge deal, because the Vikings put a novel "poison pill" in his contract offer that kept Seattle from keeping him? (It's irony that Seattle yoinked a star from Minnesota yesterday.)
*Darrelle Revis: Is he about to be traded? I'm with Peter King -- how can you trade for him (presumably a lot of good draft picks) let alone give him the new deal he wants without seeing how he plays following his injury and recovery?
*David Garrard: He has signed with the Jets and it's just a matter of time before he out-performs Mark Sanchez, which to Garrard must feel like a delightfully low bar that makes competing in Miami last season with Matt Moore and Ryan Tannehill look like competing with Rodgers and Brady. The obvious follow-up question, of course, is BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR TEBOW?
*The Big East: Begins its final tournament as something resembling the Big East you care (cared?) about. The Catholic 7 will keep the spirit of it going next year and beyond, but there is something about the mix of Syracuse and UConn (two fan bases that always pack Madison Square Garden) with the smaller basketball-only schools that will be missed.
*Manny Ramirez: Signs with a team in Taiwan. The ignominious end to his MLB career is up there with the ultimately ignominious end to Barry Bonds' MLB career. I would have liked to see both finish swinging at MLB pitches before retiring.
*Tom Crean: Apologizes for post-game outburst with Michigan. Don't apologize, Coach: Own it!
*Madden: Who is going to win the spot on this year's Madden video-game cover? I think it will be RGIII in a rout, but the introduction of old-school players is a wild card -- who doesn't want to see Barry Sanders on the Madden cover?
*Today's big non-winner: Adrian Peterson, who is more than a little ticked that the Vikings got rid of the player most likely to keep defenses from stacking everyone in the box against him (not to mention making Minnesota a viable playoff contender).
*Plus: Kyrie Irving, out 3-4 weeks with a shoulder sprain. If there is anything that will limit Irving's sky-high potential, it is his penchant for getting injured.
*And: Mike Vick, who canceled his book tour because of threats he was getting. He may be back in the NFL and he may be contrite, but there is a group of people out there who don't/won't/can't forget. Threats are never the way to go -- they would make more of a statement by peacefully (but loudly) demonstrating wherever he shows up.
*Anyone else still thinking about the DeAndre Jordan-Brandon Knight posterization?
-- D.S.
*They play in the same division.
*They are the top two teams in the NFC.
*Their coaches hate each other, going back to college.
*They are geographically proximate.
*It's the NFL, and the NFL is king.
*Both teams continue to make bold moves.
Yesterday was a collision course -- as close as you'll get to the two teams battling it out with each other on the field:
The Seahawks traded a 1st-round pick for the Vikings' dynamic (and disgruntled) playmaker Percy Harvin (my second-favorite NFL player behind a certain Jets back-up QB). It was a big bet on one of the league's biggest talents, but if -- if -- Harvin is healthy, there isn't a better QB-RB-WR combination in the NFL than Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch and Harvin.
The 49ers used a 6th-round pick to give Baltimore at least something for WR Anquan Boldin, star of the Super Bowl and an incredible complement to the 49ers' existing offense, which centers around Colin Kaepernick, Frank Gore, Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree. It was a deft move by the smartest franchise in the NFL, if not all of sports.
The two teams will play twice in 2013 in the regular season and -- in part thanks to yesterday's moves -- once in the playoffs for the right to go to the Super Bowl. You don't have to like either team (or notice the distinctly West Coast geography or methodology) to appreciate that they represent Best Sports Rivalry 2.0.
Follow-up: So what rivalries round out the "Right Now" Top 5?
(2) Alabama-LSU
(3) Ravens-Patriots
(4) Nationals-Phillies
(5) Indiana vs. the Big Ten
More of today's winners:
*Gonzaga is in the NCAA Tournament, zipping toward a 1-seed that they are good enough to deserve, despite their flimsy schedule strength.
*James Madison is back in the tournament for the first time since the early-90s... Tourney regulars Western Kentucky, Davidson and Iona are back in, too.
*Today's must-see game: Mount St. Mary's vs. LIU-Brooklyn (one of my favorites) for the Northeast title and auto-bid into the Tournament. Two other bids on the line: The Summit (North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State, which at the very least sounds kind of awesome) and the Horizon (Wright State vs. Valpo). For all six teams involved, this is it -- win and in, lose and there is no consolation.
*San Antonio Spurs: Beat the Thunder, handily, and missing Tony Parker wasn't a problem. There has been a presumption that OKC vanquished San Antonio from true "West contender" status and that it was a glide path for the Thunder back to the NBA Finals. But what makes the Spurs so fascinating is that they refuse to be bumped from the discussion, and last night's win is more evidence that OKC will again have a massive challenge if it wants to hurdle the West's old standard-bearer to earn the right to get demolished by the Heat in the Finals.
*Steve Hutchinson is retiring from the NFL, and most experts see him as a borderline Hall of Famer. Remember when his jumping from the Seahawks (where he paved the road for Shaun Alexander) to the Vikings was a huge deal, because the Vikings put a novel "poison pill" in his contract offer that kept Seattle from keeping him? (It's irony that Seattle yoinked a star from Minnesota yesterday.)
*Darrelle Revis: Is he about to be traded? I'm with Peter King -- how can you trade for him (presumably a lot of good draft picks) let alone give him the new deal he wants without seeing how he plays following his injury and recovery?
*David Garrard: He has signed with the Jets and it's just a matter of time before he out-performs Mark Sanchez, which to Garrard must feel like a delightfully low bar that makes competing in Miami last season with Matt Moore and Ryan Tannehill look like competing with Rodgers and Brady. The obvious follow-up question, of course, is BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR TEBOW?
*The Big East: Begins its final tournament as something resembling the Big East you care (cared?) about. The Catholic 7 will keep the spirit of it going next year and beyond, but there is something about the mix of Syracuse and UConn (two fan bases that always pack Madison Square Garden) with the smaller basketball-only schools that will be missed.
*Manny Ramirez: Signs with a team in Taiwan. The ignominious end to his MLB career is up there with the ultimately ignominious end to Barry Bonds' MLB career. I would have liked to see both finish swinging at MLB pitches before retiring.
*Tom Crean: Apologizes for post-game outburst with Michigan. Don't apologize, Coach: Own it!
*Madden: Who is going to win the spot on this year's Madden video-game cover? I think it will be RGIII in a rout, but the introduction of old-school players is a wild card -- who doesn't want to see Barry Sanders on the Madden cover?
*Today's big non-winner: Adrian Peterson, who is more than a little ticked that the Vikings got rid of the player most likely to keep defenses from stacking everyone in the box against him (not to mention making Minnesota a viable playoff contender).
*Plus: Kyrie Irving, out 3-4 weeks with a shoulder sprain. If there is anything that will limit Irving's sky-high potential, it is his penchant for getting injured.
*And: Mike Vick, who canceled his book tour because of threats he was getting. He may be back in the NFL and he may be contrite, but there is a group of people out there who don't/won't/can't forget. Threats are never the way to go -- they would make more of a statement by peacefully (but loudly) demonstrating wherever he shows up.
*Anyone else still thinking about the DeAndre Jordan-Brandon Knight posterization?
-- D.S.
Monday, March 11, 2013
3/11 (Monday) Quickie
The play of the weekend -- and the NBA's play of the year -- was the Clippers' DeAndre Jordan posterizing the Pistons' Brandon Knight. First of all, watch it here:
OK, a few things:
*We need to retire the word "posterized" because it won't happen in a more textbook sense than here.
*Brandon Knight may do many productive things in his NBA career, but this is the moment he will be remembered for. (That he stays on the ground juuust a bit too long afterward did him no favors.)
*Why did Knight even try to challenge that lob dunk?
*The camera cut to the kids courtside freaking out is my favorite 3 seconds of video this year.
*The cut to Blake Griffin freaking out isn't bad either.
*The Clippers aren't going to win the NBA title this year. They aren't going to win the West and they probably won't even make it through the conference semifinals. And yet...
This is of a piece with the second most-incredible play of the NBA season -- Jamal Crawford's between-the-legs alley-oop to Blake Griffin, which happened only last week. The gist is this:
If you watch the NBA to see who wins the championship, you're doing it wrong. If you watch the NBA to follow your favorite team, your rooting interest is sincere (I say that as a lifelong Bullets/Wizards fan), but you're doing it wrong.
We watch the NBA for the truly jaw-dropping moments -- like Jordan (who will never again have to worry about sharing a name with that "other" Jordan) over Knight.
UPDATE: Good for Knight that he took to Twitter and displayed a ton of humor about the situation: "It wasn't in the scouting reports that the clippers threw lobs lol" (He might not fully understand the indelibility of the moment, but whether he does or not, good on him for acknowledging it.)
More weekend winners:
*Liberty: As of right now, the best NCAA Tournament story. 15-20 for the season, 6-10 in the conference. But they won four straight in the Big South Conference tournament (including yesterday's title-game win over 1-seed Charleston Southern) and now they are in the NCAA Tournament.
I don't care that they will be stuck in the "First Four" play-in game -- they are in the NCAA Tournament and they validate everything that is awesome about the conference-tournament system (and sort of validate my long-standing theory that we'd be better off getting rid of the conference tournaments and letting every team in an open-to-all mega-tournament.)
*Tiger Woods: ESPN's Scott Van Pelt has had the best reaction to this whole "Is Tiger back?" thing. Here's a representative tweet: "Context: Rory got red hot won 5/19 starts & got to # 1. Tiger now has won 5/19. Luke Donald, # 3 in world, has 5 total...in 237 PGA starts"
I would say that among other things, the win mostly heightens everyone's anticipation for what Tiger can/might/must do at The Masters next month.
*Tom Crean: Walks into Michigan's Crisler Arena and walks out with the first outright Big Ten title for Indiana since '93, barking at a Michigan assistant who was part of the pre-Crean Indiana debacle on his way out. ("You know what you did!" becomes part of Indiana lore.)
A couple of caveats on Indiana's win, which all but secures a No. 1 seed for the Hoosiers, presuming they make it to at least the Big Ten Tournament semifinals:
(1) A team that makes its foul shots beats them.
(2) That was a flagrant foul at the end and Michigan should have gotten both the free throws and the ball, which would have likely changed the game's outcome.
(3) That was Michigan's best defensive performance of the season (and it still wasn't enough).
(4) While appreciating the specific emotional trigger that got him riled up, Tom Crean seems pretty high-strung to navigate his team to six straight wins in the NCAA Tournament.
*Creighton: Fends off Wichita State to become the Mo Valley's automatic rep in the NCAA Tournament. They will be a popular Sweet 16 pick, but the Jays' defense is still a huge question. (Top 10 offense, according to Ken Pom, but by far the worst-rated D -- 77th -- among the Top 16 teams.)
*Miami Heat: That is 18 wins in a row. But the real value of this particular win was the symbolism: Any thought you had that the Pacers might be the team to challenge Miami in the East playoffs should be obliterated like Indiana was by the Heat on Sunday. Again, let's go with my soon-to-be-trademarked phrasing: This season is a "Heat Accompli." (re: here.)
*Dwight Howard: Is he manipulative? Or just flaky? Or just desperate to be loved? I'll say some combination of the last two. The big thing is that the Lakers can't make the playoffs without him stepping up his game (as he did yesterday).
*Matt Kenseth: Three cheers for early-fortysomethings.
*Team USA: Advances to the WBC second round. (Yes, I know you are wildly interested.)
*Cullen Jenkins: Gets $8M and, more importantly, jumps from the Eagles -- who cut him -- to their division rivals in New York, who have a pretty good track record with player personnel decisions.
*Great read: Getting excited for Selection Sunday? Patrick Stevens' daily Bubble Watch is really awesome.
-- D.S.
OK, a few things:
*We need to retire the word "posterized" because it won't happen in a more textbook sense than here.
*Brandon Knight may do many productive things in his NBA career, but this is the moment he will be remembered for. (That he stays on the ground juuust a bit too long afterward did him no favors.)
*Why did Knight even try to challenge that lob dunk?
*The camera cut to the kids courtside freaking out is my favorite 3 seconds of video this year.
*The cut to Blake Griffin freaking out isn't bad either.
*The Clippers aren't going to win the NBA title this year. They aren't going to win the West and they probably won't even make it through the conference semifinals. And yet...
This is of a piece with the second most-incredible play of the NBA season -- Jamal Crawford's between-the-legs alley-oop to Blake Griffin, which happened only last week. The gist is this:
If you watch the NBA to see who wins the championship, you're doing it wrong. If you watch the NBA to follow your favorite team, your rooting interest is sincere (I say that as a lifelong Bullets/Wizards fan), but you're doing it wrong.
We watch the NBA for the truly jaw-dropping moments -- like Jordan (who will never again have to worry about sharing a name with that "other" Jordan) over Knight.
UPDATE: Good for Knight that he took to Twitter and displayed a ton of humor about the situation: "It wasn't in the scouting reports that the clippers threw lobs lol" (He might not fully understand the indelibility of the moment, but whether he does or not, good on him for acknowledging it.)
More weekend winners:
*Liberty: As of right now, the best NCAA Tournament story. 15-20 for the season, 6-10 in the conference. But they won four straight in the Big South Conference tournament (including yesterday's title-game win over 1-seed Charleston Southern) and now they are in the NCAA Tournament.
I don't care that they will be stuck in the "First Four" play-in game -- they are in the NCAA Tournament and they validate everything that is awesome about the conference-tournament system (and sort of validate my long-standing theory that we'd be better off getting rid of the conference tournaments and letting every team in an open-to-all mega-tournament.)
*Tiger Woods: ESPN's Scott Van Pelt has had the best reaction to this whole "Is Tiger back?" thing. Here's a representative tweet: "Context: Rory got red hot won 5/19 starts & got to # 1. Tiger now has won 5/19. Luke Donald, # 3 in world, has 5 total...in 237 PGA starts"
I would say that among other things, the win mostly heightens everyone's anticipation for what Tiger can/might/must do at The Masters next month.
*Tom Crean: Walks into Michigan's Crisler Arena and walks out with the first outright Big Ten title for Indiana since '93, barking at a Michigan assistant who was part of the pre-Crean Indiana debacle on his way out. ("You know what you did!" becomes part of Indiana lore.)
A couple of caveats on Indiana's win, which all but secures a No. 1 seed for the Hoosiers, presuming they make it to at least the Big Ten Tournament semifinals:
(1) A team that makes its foul shots beats them.
(2) That was a flagrant foul at the end and Michigan should have gotten both the free throws and the ball, which would have likely changed the game's outcome.
(3) That was Michigan's best defensive performance of the season (and it still wasn't enough).
(4) While appreciating the specific emotional trigger that got him riled up, Tom Crean seems pretty high-strung to navigate his team to six straight wins in the NCAA Tournament.
*Creighton: Fends off Wichita State to become the Mo Valley's automatic rep in the NCAA Tournament. They will be a popular Sweet 16 pick, but the Jays' defense is still a huge question. (Top 10 offense, according to Ken Pom, but by far the worst-rated D -- 77th -- among the Top 16 teams.)
*Miami Heat: That is 18 wins in a row. But the real value of this particular win was the symbolism: Any thought you had that the Pacers might be the team to challenge Miami in the East playoffs should be obliterated like Indiana was by the Heat on Sunday. Again, let's go with my soon-to-be-trademarked phrasing: This season is a "Heat Accompli." (re: here.)
*Dwight Howard: Is he manipulative? Or just flaky? Or just desperate to be loved? I'll say some combination of the last two. The big thing is that the Lakers can't make the playoffs without him stepping up his game (as he did yesterday).
*Matt Kenseth: Three cheers for early-fortysomethings.
*Team USA: Advances to the WBC second round. (Yes, I know you are wildly interested.)
*Cullen Jenkins: Gets $8M and, more importantly, jumps from the Eagles -- who cut him -- to their division rivals in New York, who have a pretty good track record with player personnel decisions.
*Great read: Getting excited for Selection Sunday? Patrick Stevens' daily Bubble Watch is really awesome.
-- D.S.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
3/10 (Very Sunday) Quickie
Service-y! Don't forget to set your clocks one hour forward.
I should have known that tap-dancing on Kentucky's "First Four Out" status would result in a desperate UK edging my Florida Gators to put themselves back in the proverbial "Last Four In." The final seven minutes of that game (in which Florida didn't score a point) was both maddening as a Florida fan and impressive if you want to see a team playing as hard as it can to avoid an indelibly terrible basketball fate.
Duke throttled UNC: As expected? Duke can lose in the ACC Tournament and still end up with a 1-seed. It would be very (very) interesting if Duke ended up the 1-seed in the South with, say, Florida as a 2-seed, because the Gators present a particularly tough match-up for Duke. (As of now, that ain't gonna happen -- Lunardi has Duke pegged as the 1-seed in the East and Florida bumped off the 2-line.)
Georgetown obliterates Syracuse: In the rivalry's presumptive finale (at least as Big East conference-mates), the Hoyas get the last word, in the process clamping down on the Orange like no team ever has in the Boeheim Era.
I really really want to pick Georgetown to go far in the NCAA Tournament -- and maybe they will, if they can display some of the more-than-Porter offense that they did yesterday to go with that extremely effective D. But I've been bracket-burned by the Hoyas before.
Tournament bids! The Belmont win over Murray State was as exciting as you could hope for. Meanwhile, Florida Gulf Coast may only last the first day, but what a great name. Also: Harvard!
Tiger still up at Doral: He is playing this weekend as well as he has since The Incident. Either he slams the door today and the narrative is something along the lines of "Just wait until Tiger at the Masters!" or he chokes it away and... well, he's not going to choke it away.
NBA: Amare out for 6 weeks. It's the other knee this time. Meanwhile, Dwight Howard is motivated and ready to help Kobe get the Lakers into the playoffs. How can you not be rooting for the Lakers to get in and punch one of the top seeds in the mouth?
NFL Free Agency: Anyone want the game-breaking receiver from the Super Bowl champs? Anquan Boldin cost you and he is probably just a year or two from retirement, but he is available and can clearly make things happen.
Steelers cut James Harrison: In his prime, he was worth the trouble. Unclear where he ends up now. Probably on a desperate loser.
WBC: The US wins...but are you paying attention? (You almost certainly heard about the wild Canada-Mexico brawl.)
Bernard Hopkins: 48 and a boxing champ. Fortysomethings rule!
-- D.S.
I should have known that tap-dancing on Kentucky's "First Four Out" status would result in a desperate UK edging my Florida Gators to put themselves back in the proverbial "Last Four In." The final seven minutes of that game (in which Florida didn't score a point) was both maddening as a Florida fan and impressive if you want to see a team playing as hard as it can to avoid an indelibly terrible basketball fate.
Duke throttled UNC: As expected? Duke can lose in the ACC Tournament and still end up with a 1-seed. It would be very (very) interesting if Duke ended up the 1-seed in the South with, say, Florida as a 2-seed, because the Gators present a particularly tough match-up for Duke. (As of now, that ain't gonna happen -- Lunardi has Duke pegged as the 1-seed in the East and Florida bumped off the 2-line.)
Georgetown obliterates Syracuse: In the rivalry's presumptive finale (at least as Big East conference-mates), the Hoyas get the last word, in the process clamping down on the Orange like no team ever has in the Boeheim Era.
I really really want to pick Georgetown to go far in the NCAA Tournament -- and maybe they will, if they can display some of the more-than-Porter offense that they did yesterday to go with that extremely effective D. But I've been bracket-burned by the Hoyas before.
Tournament bids! The Belmont win over Murray State was as exciting as you could hope for. Meanwhile, Florida Gulf Coast may only last the first day, but what a great name. Also: Harvard!
Tiger still up at Doral: He is playing this weekend as well as he has since The Incident. Either he slams the door today and the narrative is something along the lines of "Just wait until Tiger at the Masters!" or he chokes it away and... well, he's not going to choke it away.
NBA: Amare out for 6 weeks. It's the other knee this time. Meanwhile, Dwight Howard is motivated and ready to help Kobe get the Lakers into the playoffs. How can you not be rooting for the Lakers to get in and punch one of the top seeds in the mouth?
NFL Free Agency: Anyone want the game-breaking receiver from the Super Bowl champs? Anquan Boldin cost you and he is probably just a year or two from retirement, but he is available and can clearly make things happen.
Steelers cut James Harrison: In his prime, he was worth the trouble. Unclear where he ends up now. Probably on a desperate loser.
WBC: The US wins...but are you paying attention? (You almost certainly heard about the wild Canada-Mexico brawl.)
Bernard Hopkins: 48 and a boxing champ. Fortysomethings rule!
-- D.S.
Saturday, March 09, 2013
3/9 (Saturday) Quickie
"You can't win them all." -- Jonathan Toews of the Blackhawks has the right idea. But Chicago's run sure was fun while it lasted (and, after that start, they are still expected to finish with a Cup title).
Now, the new super-streak is the Heat's. Miami won its 17th straight last night. While impressive, all that matters is whether or not Miami wins the title. (Spoiler alert: They will.)
Georgetown-Syracuse: End of an era. I grew up on Georgetown-Syracuse. It is arguably the defining rivalry of the East (Duke-UNC being "South") and the game of the day in college hoops.
I will miss it, but like Texas-Texas A&M, I don't quite understand why the two schools won't schedule a non-conference game against each other. Is everyone THAT petty? (Answer: Yes.)
So let's enjoy this now -- hopefully the game will have all sorts of clips of 80s and early-90s goodness from this fantastic rivalry.
Kentucky's win-or-stay-home moment: As discussed yesterday (see below), Kentucky's loss to Georgia on Thursday night means that they are now outside the NCAA Tournament field of 68, making today's regular-season finale versus Florida (the regular-season SEC champ) a must-win (short of UK storming to an improbable title in the SEC Tournament).
From Florida's perspective, the opportunity to ruin Kentucky's season (and Calipari's blueprint) should be all the motivation they need.
Oh, and UNC-Duke tonight. UNC has this "small ball" mojo going -- that's something that Duke has had some experience with in previous seasons. As well as the Heels are playing right now, Duke is playing better -- but in a season like this, it won't be a surprise if the presumptive 1-seed is upended. (It won't matter -- if Duke loses today and wins the ACC Tournament, it will be a 1-seed.)
Can't decide what was more impressive: Deron Williams' barrage of 3s to start the game versus the Wizards or Kobe's series of dagger 3s to end the game versus the Raptors.
Hey, Tiger is still up top at Doral -- making today a "watch the leaderboard" (if not "watch the tournament") day.
Enjoy your Saturday.
-- D.S.
Now, the new super-streak is the Heat's. Miami won its 17th straight last night. While impressive, all that matters is whether or not Miami wins the title. (Spoiler alert: They will.)
Georgetown-Syracuse: End of an era. I grew up on Georgetown-Syracuse. It is arguably the defining rivalry of the East (Duke-UNC being "South") and the game of the day in college hoops.
I will miss it, but like Texas-Texas A&M, I don't quite understand why the two schools won't schedule a non-conference game against each other. Is everyone THAT petty? (Answer: Yes.)
So let's enjoy this now -- hopefully the game will have all sorts of clips of 80s and early-90s goodness from this fantastic rivalry.
Kentucky's win-or-stay-home moment: As discussed yesterday (see below), Kentucky's loss to Georgia on Thursday night means that they are now outside the NCAA Tournament field of 68, making today's regular-season finale versus Florida (the regular-season SEC champ) a must-win (short of UK storming to an improbable title in the SEC Tournament).
From Florida's perspective, the opportunity to ruin Kentucky's season (and Calipari's blueprint) should be all the motivation they need.
Oh, and UNC-Duke tonight. UNC has this "small ball" mojo going -- that's something that Duke has had some experience with in previous seasons. As well as the Heels are playing right now, Duke is playing better -- but in a season like this, it won't be a surprise if the presumptive 1-seed is upended. (It won't matter -- if Duke loses today and wins the ACC Tournament, it will be a 1-seed.)
Can't decide what was more impressive: Deron Williams' barrage of 3s to start the game versus the Wizards or Kobe's series of dagger 3s to end the game versus the Raptors.
Hey, Tiger is still up top at Doral -- making today a "watch the leaderboard" (if not "watch the tournament") day.
Enjoy your Saturday.
-- D.S.
Friday, March 08, 2013
03/08 (Friday) Quickie
The story of the year in college basketball isn't the turmoil at the top of the rankings. It's not Gonzaga's rise to No. 1. It's not the revival of Indiana or the sublime individual skill of Georgetown's Otto Porter (or the freakishness of IU's Victor Oladipo).
The story of the year in college basketball is Kentucky -- the sport's defending champion -- going from the top of the sport to its dregs in less than a year.
John Calipari was supposed to have cracked the code -- a "Moneyball"-style arbitrage of the NBA's mandatory college year for top prep players, importing a new crop of future Lottery picks on an annually renewable basis, harnessing their talent as a sort of NBA finishing school.
Cal's pitch was brilliant in its simplicity: You've got to spend a year waiting for the NBA Draft -- if you spend it with me, you will play, you will get developed for the NBA and you will compete for a national championship.
But the arbitrage falls apart if Kentucky misses the NCAA Tournament entirely, which they are now on the verge of after choking at mediocre Georgia last night.
With a regular-season finale versus SEC regular-season champ Florida tomorrow at Rupp, UK -- in Calipari's own framing -- is in a win-or-bust situation.
(Needless to say, if there were any concerns about Florida being motivated, the opportunity to effectively end rival Kentucky's season an invalidate the Calipari Model should be enough.)
Granted, Kentucky has been missing Nerlens Noel for weeks -- he was only the No. 1 NBA talent in college hoops -- but they were struggling while he was out there, too.
And, granted, next season Kentucky has the best recruiting class since the Fab Five coming to Lexington. (This season's freshmen were highly touted, too, but not like the '13 prep class.)
The reality is that if Kentucky isn't going to compete for national championships, all Cal offers is playing time (he better hope this season's freshmen don't stick around trying to make good on this season's dud, clogging the pipeline for next season's imports) and a track record of sending players to the NBA. There are plenty of coaches who can deliver that.
The model should work, but like arbitrage on Wall Street, sometimes the model doesn't stand up to the reality of the market.
More:
*Mariano Rivera to retire after '13 season: Only the greatest relief pitcher ever and, arguably, the greatest pitcher ever. Even Yankee-haters respect Rivera. More on this on Monday.
*Thunder hold off the Melo-less Knicks in NYC: Closest thing to a moral victory that the Knicks will get this season. (Meanwhile, is there a more confounding player in the NBA than JR Smith?)
*Tiger shoots co-leading 66 at Doral: All it does is set up "win or fail" expectations for the rest of the weekend. (Beats the alternative, I guess.)
*Blackhawks Watch: At Colorado tonight (loss alert?!), hosting Edmonton on Sunday.
*Jadeveon Clowney takes out $5M insurance policy: Only $95M less than his ultimate market value in the event he blows out his knee next season like teammate Marcus Lattimore.
(Know what the best insurance policy is? Not playing college football and waiting for the 2014 NFL Draft -- like he wouldn't still be the No. 1 overall pick?)
*NFL: Dolphins lock up WR Brian Hartline -- he was Ryan Tannehill's binky, so it makes sense to keep him around. He's no game-breaker, but steady (and very productive last year). But they still need a game-breaker.
*Deals: Rockets lock up GM Daryl Morey through 2018. He is Houston's MVP and the best GM in the NBA.
*The non-Catholic Big East is the new "America 12": Reminds me of "Conference USA," one of the worst names in sports-branding history.
*Civics: Doesn't it feel like Atlanta just built the Georgia Dome?
*Weekend Viewing Guide: Syracuse at Georgetown (noon Saturday), the finale of one of college hoops' best rivalries. Still don't understand why they can't set up an annual non-conference match-up.
(This season, at least, Cuse-G'town is a bigger/better game than Duke at UNC, tomorrow night at 9. Yes, it's a great rivalry, but it lacks real stakes. So UNC loses? Still in the Tournament. So Duke loses? Maybe it makes UNC's season, but Duke still is positioned for a 1-seed if they win the ACC Tournament. It is the fundamental issue with college hoops rivalries in the regular season: There are no real consequences.)
But, occasionally, you get exceptions, like Florida at Kentucky tomorrow at noon -- bringing it back to what we were talking about at the top, the consequences of losing to a rival in the regular season couldn't be bigger for Calipari and the 'Cats.
-- D.S.
The story of the year in college basketball is Kentucky -- the sport's defending champion -- going from the top of the sport to its dregs in less than a year.
John Calipari was supposed to have cracked the code -- a "Moneyball"-style arbitrage of the NBA's mandatory college year for top prep players, importing a new crop of future Lottery picks on an annually renewable basis, harnessing their talent as a sort of NBA finishing school.
Cal's pitch was brilliant in its simplicity: You've got to spend a year waiting for the NBA Draft -- if you spend it with me, you will play, you will get developed for the NBA and you will compete for a national championship.
But the arbitrage falls apart if Kentucky misses the NCAA Tournament entirely, which they are now on the verge of after choking at mediocre Georgia last night.
With a regular-season finale versus SEC regular-season champ Florida tomorrow at Rupp, UK -- in Calipari's own framing -- is in a win-or-bust situation.
(Needless to say, if there were any concerns about Florida being motivated, the opportunity to effectively end rival Kentucky's season an invalidate the Calipari Model should be enough.)
Granted, Kentucky has been missing Nerlens Noel for weeks -- he was only the No. 1 NBA talent in college hoops -- but they were struggling while he was out there, too.
And, granted, next season Kentucky has the best recruiting class since the Fab Five coming to Lexington. (This season's freshmen were highly touted, too, but not like the '13 prep class.)
The reality is that if Kentucky isn't going to compete for national championships, all Cal offers is playing time (he better hope this season's freshmen don't stick around trying to make good on this season's dud, clogging the pipeline for next season's imports) and a track record of sending players to the NBA. There are plenty of coaches who can deliver that.
The model should work, but like arbitrage on Wall Street, sometimes the model doesn't stand up to the reality of the market.
More:
*Mariano Rivera to retire after '13 season: Only the greatest relief pitcher ever and, arguably, the greatest pitcher ever. Even Yankee-haters respect Rivera. More on this on Monday.
*Thunder hold off the Melo-less Knicks in NYC: Closest thing to a moral victory that the Knicks will get this season. (Meanwhile, is there a more confounding player in the NBA than JR Smith?)
*Tiger shoots co-leading 66 at Doral: All it does is set up "win or fail" expectations for the rest of the weekend. (Beats the alternative, I guess.)
*Blackhawks Watch: At Colorado tonight (loss alert?!), hosting Edmonton on Sunday.
*Jadeveon Clowney takes out $5M insurance policy: Only $95M less than his ultimate market value in the event he blows out his knee next season like teammate Marcus Lattimore.
(Know what the best insurance policy is? Not playing college football and waiting for the 2014 NFL Draft -- like he wouldn't still be the No. 1 overall pick?)
*NFL: Dolphins lock up WR Brian Hartline -- he was Ryan Tannehill's binky, so it makes sense to keep him around. He's no game-breaker, but steady (and very productive last year). But they still need a game-breaker.
*Deals: Rockets lock up GM Daryl Morey through 2018. He is Houston's MVP and the best GM in the NBA.
*The non-Catholic Big East is the new "America 12": Reminds me of "Conference USA," one of the worst names in sports-branding history.
*Civics: Doesn't it feel like Atlanta just built the Georgia Dome?
*Weekend Viewing Guide: Syracuse at Georgetown (noon Saturday), the finale of one of college hoops' best rivalries. Still don't understand why they can't set up an annual non-conference match-up.
(This season, at least, Cuse-G'town is a bigger/better game than Duke at UNC, tomorrow night at 9. Yes, it's a great rivalry, but it lacks real stakes. So UNC loses? Still in the Tournament. So Duke loses? Maybe it makes UNC's season, but Duke still is positioned for a 1-seed if they win the ACC Tournament. It is the fundamental issue with college hoops rivalries in the regular season: There are no real consequences.)
But, occasionally, you get exceptions, like Florida at Kentucky tomorrow at noon -- bringing it back to what we were talking about at the top, the consequences of losing to a rival in the regular season couldn't be bigger for Calipari and the 'Cats.
-- D.S.
Thursday, March 07, 2013
3/07 (Thursday) Quickie
Last night's big winner: Jamal Crawford, who pulled off a between-the-legs alley-oop pass to Blake Griffin that was a good reminder that even in a season that feels like a Heat d'accompli as it relates to the playoffs, the sport is built on the night-in-night-out aesthetic brilliance.
Was last night the Heat's best win of the 16 straight? It was arguably the grittiest, the kind of grinder that you typically need en route to 16 wins in the playoffs -- which, at this point, is the only "16" that really matters for Miami.
Speaking of streaks, the Blackhawks -- sports' best ongoing drama right now -- won again, on a last-minute tie-breaking goal in front of an absolutely frenzied home crowd. That's 30 straight games with a point, 11 straight wins and a 2013 season still without a loss. Amazing.
College hoops: It is an early-March truism -- desperate Bubble teams will necessarily play with more urgency (especially at home) than teams that are locked into the Tournament.
That was the story of Villanova over Georgetown, of Iowa State over Oklahoma State, of Xavier over St. Louis and of Georgia Tech over Miami.
Of those four winners, it's probably too-little-too-late for two of them, but for the other two, it is a resume-bolstering moment.
MLB Spring Training: Yankees-Red Sox has lost so much of its luster over the past year or two that it feels like MLB is ripe for a new leading rivalry, and I would nominate the Phillies and Nationals, who really do seem to dislike each other. The Phillies are on the decline, but clearly have enough money invested to want to scratch and claw back into relevancy; the Nationals are on the ascent, and clearly see beating down the former class of the NL East as a stepping stone to their own validity. When Roy Halladay is buzzing Nats in a spring training game, you know you're on to something good and ugly.
Today's viewing guide: Thunder-Knicks and Clippers-Nuggets NBA doubleheader on TNT... in college hoops, it's ostensibly Wisconsin at Michigan State at 9 on ESPN, but why not the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament on ESPN3? All four Mo Valley teams angling to make the quarterfinals have a theoretical chance of playing their way into the NCAA Tournament. All they have to do is win four straight games, and they're in. Easier said than done, but still: Doable!
Today's loser: David Akers, finally released by the 49ers.
-- D.S.
Was last night the Heat's best win of the 16 straight? It was arguably the grittiest, the kind of grinder that you typically need en route to 16 wins in the playoffs -- which, at this point, is the only "16" that really matters for Miami.
Speaking of streaks, the Blackhawks -- sports' best ongoing drama right now -- won again, on a last-minute tie-breaking goal in front of an absolutely frenzied home crowd. That's 30 straight games with a point, 11 straight wins and a 2013 season still without a loss. Amazing.
College hoops: It is an early-March truism -- desperate Bubble teams will necessarily play with more urgency (especially at home) than teams that are locked into the Tournament.
That was the story of Villanova over Georgetown, of Iowa State over Oklahoma State, of Xavier over St. Louis and of Georgia Tech over Miami.
Of those four winners, it's probably too-little-too-late for two of them, but for the other two, it is a resume-bolstering moment.
MLB Spring Training: Yankees-Red Sox has lost so much of its luster over the past year or two that it feels like MLB is ripe for a new leading rivalry, and I would nominate the Phillies and Nationals, who really do seem to dislike each other. The Phillies are on the decline, but clearly have enough money invested to want to scratch and claw back into relevancy; the Nationals are on the ascent, and clearly see beating down the former class of the NL East as a stepping stone to their own validity. When Roy Halladay is buzzing Nats in a spring training game, you know you're on to something good and ugly.
Today's viewing guide: Thunder-Knicks and Clippers-Nuggets NBA doubleheader on TNT... in college hoops, it's ostensibly Wisconsin at Michigan State at 9 on ESPN, but why not the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament on ESPN3? All four Mo Valley teams angling to make the quarterfinals have a theoretical chance of playing their way into the NCAA Tournament. All they have to do is win four straight games, and they're in. Easier said than done, but still: Doable!
Today's loser: David Akers, finally released by the 49ers.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, March 06, 2013
3/06 (Wednesday) Quickie
Today's biggest winners: (1) Ohio State, (2) Blackhawks, (3) Russell Westbrook, (4) Terrell Sinkfield, (5) Von Miller, (6) Regis.
*Ohio State beats Indiana in Bloomington: ESPN.com's Eamonn Brennan nailed this -- a road win over an elite team was the remaining hole on Ohio State's resume. Time to add the Buckeyes to the short list of teams with the potential to win four straight in late March and make the Final Four.
(As for Indiana, they are still on the list, but -- yep -- those are doubts creeping in. Losing at home on Senior Night is what the old, pre-revived Hoosiers would do.)
*Blackhawks extend point streak: That's 20-0-3 on the season, 29 straight games with a point (extending back to last season) and 10 straight wins. The most must-follow team in sports keeps it going -- at this point it is folly to try to predict when this ride will end.
*Thunder thump the Lakers: Russell Westbrook (37 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists) with a reminder of why he is among the Top 5 most must-see players in the NBA and the X-factor in OKC's run for a second straight West title. Even Kobe tweeted out compliments after the game.
*Name to Know: Terrell Sinkfield, the Northern Iowa wide receiver who dropped by the pre-draft "Pro Day" at the University of Minnesota and ran a reportedly blistering 4.19 (and if that seems too good to be true, he also reported ran a 4.27, which is hardly slouching). Speed alone isn't enough to make it in the NFL -- but it sure helps.
*Von Miller says the Broncos are going to win the Super Bowl: Whatever his motivation, isn't that exactly what you want any player on a contender to say? Like he's supposed to say "We'll try our best!" or "Next year: Making the AFC title game or bust!" The fact that he was inspired by his 6-year-old cousin emerging from a coma makes it all the more inspired. If any player is allowed to make that kind of boast, it should be someone in the argument for best defensive player in the AFC.
*Regis Philbin was the headliner of the official promotion for Fox Sports' new ESPN competitor, Fox Sports 1. Regis will host a daily talk show head-to-head with ESPN's flagship daily shows PTI and Around the Horn -- that won't end well for Regis. It is unclear that Regis resonates with a younger audience, but it is easy to understand the interest in bringing in a "brand name."
The key will be the co-host that they pair with Regis -- the sports version of Kelly Ripa. (It's not without precedent: Michelle Beadle was largely unknown before being paired with Colin Cowherd on ESPN's SportsNation show, where she quickly established herself as the real star of the show.)
In the end, sports talk shows are fun, but sports networks make their money (cable fees and advertising) on showing live events. Fox has the existing assets -- and certainly the deep pockets -- to be competitive when it comes to securing live sports rights (like, say, Big East basketball).
More:
*Tweet of the Day: "Kid Blake: Who are you? Future Blake: you from the future... Don't listen to anything else I've told you just start wearing a cup." (from Blake Griffin, in response to Serge Ibaka merely earning a $25K fine for his groin shot on Griffin from Sunday).
*ICYMI: Don Van Natta's #longread on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell -- the newsy bit was that Goodell's biggest fear is a player dying on the field, but that feels like Goodell's shiny object meant to distract you from the actual issue -- the thousands of hits to the head that, over time, trigger CTE and other brain injuries that inevitably overtake players long after they have put themselves at immediate risk on the field.
*Johnny Football Watch: If Johnny Manziel's family wants an insurance policy for the remaining year he plays college football before going pro, he should just drop out now and work with George Whitfield or another NFL-prep QB coach for the year...
*College football hot stove: Michigan's chances of being nationally relevant in 2014 got a big boost with incumbent starting QB Devin Gardner getting an extra year of eligibility. Michigan's offense got better when he took over for Denard Robinson, and two years from now, he should be an elite QB nationally.
*Conference realignment: For selling their league name and giving up their marquee basketball teams, the Football League Soon To Be Formerly Known As The Big East is going to make a cool $100M. And that's on top of the cash from their TV deal. Not bad...
And the farthest thing from a winner: Man U. fans, watching their side bounced from Champions League by Real Madrid after an entirely iffy red card.
-- D.S.
*Ohio State beats Indiana in Bloomington: ESPN.com's Eamonn Brennan nailed this -- a road win over an elite team was the remaining hole on Ohio State's resume. Time to add the Buckeyes to the short list of teams with the potential to win four straight in late March and make the Final Four.
(As for Indiana, they are still on the list, but -- yep -- those are doubts creeping in. Losing at home on Senior Night is what the old, pre-revived Hoosiers would do.)
*Blackhawks extend point streak: That's 20-0-3 on the season, 29 straight games with a point (extending back to last season) and 10 straight wins. The most must-follow team in sports keeps it going -- at this point it is folly to try to predict when this ride will end.
*Thunder thump the Lakers: Russell Westbrook (37 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists) with a reminder of why he is among the Top 5 most must-see players in the NBA and the X-factor in OKC's run for a second straight West title. Even Kobe tweeted out compliments after the game.
*Name to Know: Terrell Sinkfield, the Northern Iowa wide receiver who dropped by the pre-draft "Pro Day" at the University of Minnesota and ran a reportedly blistering 4.19 (and if that seems too good to be true, he also reported ran a 4.27, which is hardly slouching). Speed alone isn't enough to make it in the NFL -- but it sure helps.
*Von Miller says the Broncos are going to win the Super Bowl: Whatever his motivation, isn't that exactly what you want any player on a contender to say? Like he's supposed to say "We'll try our best!" or "Next year: Making the AFC title game or bust!" The fact that he was inspired by his 6-year-old cousin emerging from a coma makes it all the more inspired. If any player is allowed to make that kind of boast, it should be someone in the argument for best defensive player in the AFC.
*Regis Philbin was the headliner of the official promotion for Fox Sports' new ESPN competitor, Fox Sports 1. Regis will host a daily talk show head-to-head with ESPN's flagship daily shows PTI and Around the Horn -- that won't end well for Regis. It is unclear that Regis resonates with a younger audience, but it is easy to understand the interest in bringing in a "brand name."
The key will be the co-host that they pair with Regis -- the sports version of Kelly Ripa. (It's not without precedent: Michelle Beadle was largely unknown before being paired with Colin Cowherd on ESPN's SportsNation show, where she quickly established herself as the real star of the show.)
In the end, sports talk shows are fun, but sports networks make their money (cable fees and advertising) on showing live events. Fox has the existing assets -- and certainly the deep pockets -- to be competitive when it comes to securing live sports rights (like, say, Big East basketball).
More:
*Tweet of the Day: "Kid Blake: Who are you? Future Blake: you from the future... Don't listen to anything else I've told you just start wearing a cup." (from Blake Griffin, in response to Serge Ibaka merely earning a $25K fine for his groin shot on Griffin from Sunday).
*ICYMI: Don Van Natta's #longread on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell -- the newsy bit was that Goodell's biggest fear is a player dying on the field, but that feels like Goodell's shiny object meant to distract you from the actual issue -- the thousands of hits to the head that, over time, trigger CTE and other brain injuries that inevitably overtake players long after they have put themselves at immediate risk on the field.
*Johnny Football Watch: If Johnny Manziel's family wants an insurance policy for the remaining year he plays college football before going pro, he should just drop out now and work with George Whitfield or another NFL-prep QB coach for the year...
*College football hot stove: Michigan's chances of being nationally relevant in 2014 got a big boost with incumbent starting QB Devin Gardner getting an extra year of eligibility. Michigan's offense got better when he took over for Denard Robinson, and two years from now, he should be an elite QB nationally.
*Conference realignment: For selling their league name and giving up their marquee basketball teams, the Football League Soon To Be Formerly Known As The Big East is going to make a cool $100M. And that's on top of the cash from their TV deal. Not bad...
And the farthest thing from a winner: Man U. fans, watching their side bounced from Champions League by Real Madrid after an entirely iffy red card.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
3/05 (Tuesday) Quickie
Today's big winners: Brittney Griner, Notre Dame women's hoops, the Heat (again x 15), Joe Flacco, Kobe, Dwayne Bowe (and Alex Smith), Jack Nicklaus.
First off: In the ongoing discussion about where LeBron James ranks among all-time NBA players (short answer: there is an apples/oranges problem, but he is probably already Top 10 and will finish his career no less than Top 3 but possibly No. 1), we clearly are overlooking one thing:
LeBron isn't even the most dominant basketball player in 2013 -- that would be Baylor's Brittney Griner, who capped Senior Night with 50 points. Greatest women's college hoops player ever? She's in the conversation, that's for sure. Unclear there is an analogue in the NBA for Griner's potential impact on the WNBA -- maybe Patrick Ewing when he came out of Georgetown?
It was a big night for women's college hoops: ND beat UConn for the Big East title in 3 OT, in the women's college hoops game of the year.
Meanwhile, on the LeBron beat: The Heat won their 15th straight. I might as well keep repeating what I said yesterday -- the season is over. Everyone else is playing for second place. And that's OK -- there is nothing wrong with watching basketball played at a near-ideal level by the runaway champs.
Tracking: Carmelo Anthony's knee.
Eating: Joe Flacco, flush with Ravens cash, going to a McDonald's drive-thru.
Talking: Kobe, who says that if Serge Ibaka gave him a groin-shot like Ibaka did to Blake Griffin on Sunday, Kobe "would have smacked" him. Kobe-in-twilight continues to be the best Kobe.
NFL: The Chiefs reached a deal with Dwayne Bowe, who will have as much to say about Alex Smith's impact in KC as anyone except Jamaal Charles.
Golf: Look at Jack Nicklaus with the Tiger-trolling! Jack said Tiger "better get going" if he is going to topple Nicklaus' record for major wins. Five years ago, we all would have said "That's just going to motivate Tiger even more!" Today, of course, it's unclear that the challenge won't unnerve Tiger. There is no "turning it on" for Tiger anymore.
Let's be real: Nicklaus is right.
-- D.S.
First off: In the ongoing discussion about where LeBron James ranks among all-time NBA players (short answer: there is an apples/oranges problem, but he is probably already Top 10 and will finish his career no less than Top 3 but possibly No. 1), we clearly are overlooking one thing:
LeBron isn't even the most dominant basketball player in 2013 -- that would be Baylor's Brittney Griner, who capped Senior Night with 50 points. Greatest women's college hoops player ever? She's in the conversation, that's for sure. Unclear there is an analogue in the NBA for Griner's potential impact on the WNBA -- maybe Patrick Ewing when he came out of Georgetown?
It was a big night for women's college hoops: ND beat UConn for the Big East title in 3 OT, in the women's college hoops game of the year.
Meanwhile, on the LeBron beat: The Heat won their 15th straight. I might as well keep repeating what I said yesterday -- the season is over. Everyone else is playing for second place. And that's OK -- there is nothing wrong with watching basketball played at a near-ideal level by the runaway champs.
Tracking: Carmelo Anthony's knee.
Eating: Joe Flacco, flush with Ravens cash, going to a McDonald's drive-thru.
Talking: Kobe, who says that if Serge Ibaka gave him a groin-shot like Ibaka did to Blake Griffin on Sunday, Kobe "would have smacked" him. Kobe-in-twilight continues to be the best Kobe.
NFL: The Chiefs reached a deal with Dwayne Bowe, who will have as much to say about Alex Smith's impact in KC as anyone except Jamaal Charles.
Golf: Look at Jack Nicklaus with the Tiger-trolling! Jack said Tiger "better get going" if he is going to topple Nicklaus' record for major wins. Five years ago, we all would have said "That's just going to motivate Tiger even more!" Today, of course, it's unclear that the challenge won't unnerve Tiger. There is no "turning it on" for Tiger anymore.
Let's be real: Nicklaus is right.
-- D.S.
Monday, March 04, 2013
3/4 (Monday) Quickie
First of all: Oh my god, that buzzer-beater by the New Rochelle (NY) high school player to win the playoff game. To all the folks saying "Never seen a more incredible shot," I think I agree with you.
I consider the NBA season over. The Heat are going to storm their way to the NBA title, and LeBron is going to carry them there with the greatest individual season since the peak of Michael Jordan. Sunday's win in New York wasn't flashy -- just devastatingly effective. Watching the league's best player at the peak of his effectiveness? There are a lot worse playoff plot lines.
Blackhawks keep winning/not losing: My kids love hockey, so we ended up watching most of the Blackhawks-Red Wings game yesterday, and oh wow, was it entertaining. Much of that had to do with the stakes (Chicago's season-opening point streak), but layer in the rivalry, how hard the Red Wings were playing and how rabid the Detroit fans were about watching the Wings snap Chicago's streak. Then the Hawks ripped their heart out. I have to imagine it is simultaneously thrilling and excruciating for Chicago fans that the incredible start has raised expectations to "Stanley Cup champion or Fail."
Kobe's dunk on Josh Smith (and leading the Lakers back to .500): LeBron may be jaw-dropping in his sheer dominance, but if I had to pick a single player to watch right now, it would be Kobe -- in his career twilight but so maniacally desperate to get the Lakers back into the playoffs that he seems to be playing as hard as he ever has.
CBB: Gonzaga will be No. 1? Covered this yesterday -- I can respect Gonzaga as an excellent team (I have no problem already penciling them into the Final Four, wherever they end up in the bracket) but reject them as having earned the (entirely vestigial) No. 1 spot in the latest regular-season poll. Their strength of schedule is just too spotty.
Michigan holds off Michigan State: Big win for Big Blue, but still don't see Michigan with the defense to win four straight in late March to get to the Final Four.
Meanwhile: No change to yesterday's opinion that Ryan Kelly had the single-best performance by a college basketball player this season on Saturday night in Duke's win over Miami.
MLB: Mike Trout's agent does him no favors griping about his salary. Of course he is wildly underpaid, but it is unclear complaining about it now fixes anything. On the one hand: Yes, some young stars are going to be underpaid relative to market value, often extremely. On the other hand, non-rich teams being able to control their young talent on reasonable contracts is at the heart of what little competitive balance actually exists in baseball. Isn't he satisfied that in 5 or 6 years, Trout is going to command $300 million?
NFL: Peter King has a great detail leading MMQB this week that Bob Kraft didn't want Tom Brady to leave the Pats like Joe Montana left the 49ers. I appreciate that, but if the Patriots had a successor to Brady who was as good as Steve Young was at the tail end of Joe Montana's career, wouldn't a clear-eyed organization like the Patriots do exactly what the 49ers did? Why get sentimental about it now, when sentimentality is precisely what the Pats have NOT stood for during its Belichick/Brady Dynasty?
Dennis Rodman's trip to North Korea: On the "Te'o Scale" of jaw-dropping absurdity, it's at least a 7, possibly an 8.
Get well soon, Bradley Beal.
-- D.S.
I consider the NBA season over. The Heat are going to storm their way to the NBA title, and LeBron is going to carry them there with the greatest individual season since the peak of Michael Jordan. Sunday's win in New York wasn't flashy -- just devastatingly effective. Watching the league's best player at the peak of his effectiveness? There are a lot worse playoff plot lines.
Blackhawks keep winning/not losing: My kids love hockey, so we ended up watching most of the Blackhawks-Red Wings game yesterday, and oh wow, was it entertaining. Much of that had to do with the stakes (Chicago's season-opening point streak), but layer in the rivalry, how hard the Red Wings were playing and how rabid the Detroit fans were about watching the Wings snap Chicago's streak. Then the Hawks ripped their heart out. I have to imagine it is simultaneously thrilling and excruciating for Chicago fans that the incredible start has raised expectations to "Stanley Cup champion or Fail."
Kobe's dunk on Josh Smith (and leading the Lakers back to .500): LeBron may be jaw-dropping in his sheer dominance, but if I had to pick a single player to watch right now, it would be Kobe -- in his career twilight but so maniacally desperate to get the Lakers back into the playoffs that he seems to be playing as hard as he ever has.
CBB: Gonzaga will be No. 1? Covered this yesterday -- I can respect Gonzaga as an excellent team (I have no problem already penciling them into the Final Four, wherever they end up in the bracket) but reject them as having earned the (entirely vestigial) No. 1 spot in the latest regular-season poll. Their strength of schedule is just too spotty.
Michigan holds off Michigan State: Big win for Big Blue, but still don't see Michigan with the defense to win four straight in late March to get to the Final Four.
Meanwhile: No change to yesterday's opinion that Ryan Kelly had the single-best performance by a college basketball player this season on Saturday night in Duke's win over Miami.
MLB: Mike Trout's agent does him no favors griping about his salary. Of course he is wildly underpaid, but it is unclear complaining about it now fixes anything. On the one hand: Yes, some young stars are going to be underpaid relative to market value, often extremely. On the other hand, non-rich teams being able to control their young talent on reasonable contracts is at the heart of what little competitive balance actually exists in baseball. Isn't he satisfied that in 5 or 6 years, Trout is going to command $300 million?
NFL: Peter King has a great detail leading MMQB this week that Bob Kraft didn't want Tom Brady to leave the Pats like Joe Montana left the 49ers. I appreciate that, but if the Patriots had a successor to Brady who was as good as Steve Young was at the tail end of Joe Montana's career, wouldn't a clear-eyed organization like the Patriots do exactly what the 49ers did? Why get sentimental about it now, when sentimentality is precisely what the Pats have NOT stood for during its Belichick/Brady Dynasty?
Dennis Rodman's trip to North Korea: On the "Te'o Scale" of jaw-dropping absurdity, it's at least a 7, possibly an 8.
Get well soon, Bradley Beal.
-- D.S.
Sunday, March 03, 2013
3/3 (Ryan Kelly) Quickie
I'm not a Duke fan (to say the least), but Ryan Kelly wins the weekend.
Coming off a 7-week layoff, his 36-point outburst in front of a frenzied home crowd (and floor-slapping teammates) against a Top 5 team that had previously thrashed the Blue Devils in a win that pole-positions (or "poll-positions") Duke for a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament was THE signature individual performance of the year in college basketball.
The five other college hoops stories I'm paying attention to:
*VCU. Holy moley. What the Rams did to Butler was something I never thought any team would be able to do to Butler. If you weren't at least noodling on the idea of VCU being talented enough to make a Final Four run, this is your moment to start.
*Louisville tops Syracuse at the Dome: The Orange aren't necessarily a team you consider an offensive juggernaut, but they are Top 20 in offensive efficiency. However, Louisville is No. 1 in the country in defensive efficiency, and it showed. The Cardinals have got to be on anyone's short list of bonafide Final Four contenders -- their defense is just too good, and combined with a more than "good enough" offense.
*Shabazz Muhammad didn't exactly dominate college basketball in his one-and-done year (as you might expect a No. 1 national recruit would), but 18 points in a home finale upset of a ranked conference foe isn't a bad finish.
*Otto Porter Watch: 28 and 8 in a G'town win over Rutgers for the should-be/could-be/would-be national player of the year.
*Gonzaga will probably be No. 1, but Saturday's 29-point thrashing of lowly Portland is a good reminder that the Zags play a creampuff schedule. Don't get me wrong: Gonzaga is a very very good team -- I will have no problem penciling them through to the Final Four. But there are a dozen teams that could go 16-0 in the WCC in any given year and many multiples that could put up gaudy win totals playing in that conference.
Watching today: Michigan St-Michigan at 4 on CBS, plus ducking in on the NBA afternoon double-header (Heat-Knicks, Thunder-Clippers) on ABC.
-- D.S.
Coming off a 7-week layoff, his 36-point outburst in front of a frenzied home crowd (and floor-slapping teammates) against a Top 5 team that had previously thrashed the Blue Devils in a win that pole-positions (or "poll-positions") Duke for a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament was THE signature individual performance of the year in college basketball.
The five other college hoops stories I'm paying attention to:
*VCU. Holy moley. What the Rams did to Butler was something I never thought any team would be able to do to Butler. If you weren't at least noodling on the idea of VCU being talented enough to make a Final Four run, this is your moment to start.
*Louisville tops Syracuse at the Dome: The Orange aren't necessarily a team you consider an offensive juggernaut, but they are Top 20 in offensive efficiency. However, Louisville is No. 1 in the country in defensive efficiency, and it showed. The Cardinals have got to be on anyone's short list of bonafide Final Four contenders -- their defense is just too good, and combined with a more than "good enough" offense.
*Shabazz Muhammad didn't exactly dominate college basketball in his one-and-done year (as you might expect a No. 1 national recruit would), but 18 points in a home finale upset of a ranked conference foe isn't a bad finish.
*Otto Porter Watch: 28 and 8 in a G'town win over Rutgers for the should-be/could-be/would-be national player of the year.
*Gonzaga will probably be No. 1, but Saturday's 29-point thrashing of lowly Portland is a good reminder that the Zags play a creampuff schedule. Don't get me wrong: Gonzaga is a very very good team -- I will have no problem penciling them through to the Final Four. But there are a dozen teams that could go 16-0 in the WCC in any given year and many multiples that could put up gaudy win totals playing in that conference.
Watching today: Michigan St-Michigan at 4 on CBS, plus ducking in on the NBA afternoon double-header (Heat-Knicks, Thunder-Clippers) on ABC.
-- D.S.
Saturday, March 02, 2013
03/02 (Very) Quickie
So I guess the real question is which team is going to lose first -- the Heat or the Blackhawks? (The difference is that where the Heat seem to be in a position to steamroll to a championship, it is entirely unclear whether the Blackhawks' season-opening run will carry through to its closing.)
College Hoops Saturday: Is Miami-Duke a play-in game for a 1-seed? Not quite -- ultimately, any meeting in the ACC Tournament would probably be decisive, but today instantly becomes the top line on the resume for the winner.
Other games I'm tracking:
Noon: Alabama at Florida (ESPN), Butler at VCU (ESPN2).
Honestly: Butler-VCU is the day's most must-see game.
2 pm: Wichita State at Creighton (ESPN2)
Another great mid-major battle.
4 pm: Kentucky at Arkansas (CBS)
Back on the wrong side of bubble for UK when they lose.
6 pm: Miami at Duke
Ultimate test for The U. Envision Duke rout here.
9 pm: Arizona at UCLA
Not a big believer in 'Zona. Win here helps.
Joe Flacco's big deal: Is he worthy of being the highest-paid QB in NFL history? That's not really a fair question -- it's just a function of market rates, combined with Flacco pulling off a spectacular playoff run that earned him and his team a championship. So the short answer is: Yes, worthy.
Wow, what happened to Rory McIlroy? At this point, you just hope that he figures out whatever has him psychologically occupied.
Enjoy your Saturday.
-- D.S.
College Hoops Saturday: Is Miami-Duke a play-in game for a 1-seed? Not quite -- ultimately, any meeting in the ACC Tournament would probably be decisive, but today instantly becomes the top line on the resume for the winner.
Other games I'm tracking:
Noon: Alabama at Florida (ESPN), Butler at VCU (ESPN2).
Honestly: Butler-VCU is the day's most must-see game.
2 pm: Wichita State at Creighton (ESPN2)
Another great mid-major battle.
4 pm: Kentucky at Arkansas (CBS)
Back on the wrong side of bubble for UK when they lose.
6 pm: Miami at Duke
Ultimate test for The U. Envision Duke rout here.
9 pm: Arizona at UCLA
Not a big believer in 'Zona. Win here helps.
Joe Flacco's big deal: Is he worthy of being the highest-paid QB in NFL history? That's not really a fair question -- it's just a function of market rates, combined with Flacco pulling off a spectacular playoff run that earned him and his team a championship. So the short answer is: Yes, worthy.
Wow, what happened to Rory McIlroy? At this point, you just hope that he figures out whatever has him psychologically occupied.
Enjoy your Saturday.
-- D.S.
Friday, March 01, 2013
03/01 (March) Quickie
March is here. It is also my daughter's 1st birthday, which is a happy confluence.
*Virginia stuns Duke: As someone who believes that the college hoops regular season's main function is to get everyone ready for the NCAA Tournament, I couldn't care less about the way teams in the Top 5 seem to lose every week as it relates to the utterly useless regular-season "Who's No. 1?" debate (or even the largely useless regular-season "Who are the four 1-seeds?" debate).
The 'Hoos' win over Duke is valuable in one big way: It is an affirmation that it is going to be really hard this year to pick the team that is going to win six straight to win the national title (or even the three other teams that will win four straight and make the Final Four). Every would-be contender has displayed at least a few moments where you can doubt yourself when penciling in their name across a bracket.
Your best bet remains finding those teams with high defensive-efficiency ratings that can also score if they need to (represented by high offensive-efficiency ratings). That puts some of the usual suspects in the mix -- Indiana, Florida, Gonzaga, Louisville, Duke, Kansas, maybe even a wild card like VCU.
But it also should make you skeptical of, say, Georgetown (a team that plays fantastic defense but relies too heavily on one scorer to create any offense) or Michigan (a team that can score but doesn't come close to playing defense at an elite level). Miami and Wisconsin -- and, of course, Final Four stand-by Michigan State -- are intriguing possibilities.
Wrapping it back to last night's "upset," it shouldn't have come as too big of a shock: Virginia's defensive efficiency is in the Top 20 and its offense is underrated (coming in at a respectable No. 31 in KenPom's offensive efficiency ranking). For all of Duke's offensive brilliance, it had trouble stopping UVA's offense -- unsurprisingly, Duke's defense is ranked behind UVA's, along with 20 other teams.
*"Catholic 7" to expand, claim new old name: I sort of loved the "Catholic 7" shorthand for the spin-off basketball-first teams leaving the Big East. But now they are going to buy the name "Big East" from the old league (for whom it barely applied before and certainly doesn't now) for their start-up league, along with adding a few new members: Butler and Xavier, both of whom are big wins for the league -- perennial Top 25 teams (and, perhaps more important, perennial Tournament studs). St. Louis is also going to be added (another Top 25 team) and, reportedly, Creighton is in the mix. That's a bit of a reach, geographically. I would favor VCU.
*Those Adidas uniforms: I typically applaud the apparel companies for trying new things. The "short-sleeve" look doesn't bother me -- if you watched what happened in the NBA with Golden State, this is clearly going to be a bigger thing in basketball -- but the Zubaz-style shorts are awful. I love wearing basketball shorts around (the house, not in public), and I wouldn't wear those if I was given a pair for free, let alone buy them. Maybe I'm not the target market, but this isn't fashion via Oregon football or Maryland basketball -- it is a look that wasn't good back when we first saw it 20 years ago and hasn't gotten any better with age.
*Blackhawks' streak reaches 20: I'm not following their games live, but when I know they are playing the night before, it has become the first score I look for in the morning.
*Kings vs. Sacramento: I used to live in Seattle and have many friends from there who truly lament losing the Sonics and wish daily for an NBA team, but I hope that the Kings stay in Sacramento.
*LeBron wins everything, cont'd: I am not a big fan of the Harlem Shake craze, but the Heat did an incredible version. Consider how well LeBron is playing right now... and how willing he is to have fun with this video. It's really endearing -- the guy has a fantastic sense of humor about himself.
Have a great weekend -- light updates all weekend long, as usual.
-- D.S.
*Virginia stuns Duke: As someone who believes that the college hoops regular season's main function is to get everyone ready for the NCAA Tournament, I couldn't care less about the way teams in the Top 5 seem to lose every week as it relates to the utterly useless regular-season "Who's No. 1?" debate (or even the largely useless regular-season "Who are the four 1-seeds?" debate).
The 'Hoos' win over Duke is valuable in one big way: It is an affirmation that it is going to be really hard this year to pick the team that is going to win six straight to win the national title (or even the three other teams that will win four straight and make the Final Four). Every would-be contender has displayed at least a few moments where you can doubt yourself when penciling in their name across a bracket.
Your best bet remains finding those teams with high defensive-efficiency ratings that can also score if they need to (represented by high offensive-efficiency ratings). That puts some of the usual suspects in the mix -- Indiana, Florida, Gonzaga, Louisville, Duke, Kansas, maybe even a wild card like VCU.
But it also should make you skeptical of, say, Georgetown (a team that plays fantastic defense but relies too heavily on one scorer to create any offense) or Michigan (a team that can score but doesn't come close to playing defense at an elite level). Miami and Wisconsin -- and, of course, Final Four stand-by Michigan State -- are intriguing possibilities.
Wrapping it back to last night's "upset," it shouldn't have come as too big of a shock: Virginia's defensive efficiency is in the Top 20 and its offense is underrated (coming in at a respectable No. 31 in KenPom's offensive efficiency ranking). For all of Duke's offensive brilliance, it had trouble stopping UVA's offense -- unsurprisingly, Duke's defense is ranked behind UVA's, along with 20 other teams.
*"Catholic 7" to expand, claim new old name: I sort of loved the "Catholic 7" shorthand for the spin-off basketball-first teams leaving the Big East. But now they are going to buy the name "Big East" from the old league (for whom it barely applied before and certainly doesn't now) for their start-up league, along with adding a few new members: Butler and Xavier, both of whom are big wins for the league -- perennial Top 25 teams (and, perhaps more important, perennial Tournament studs). St. Louis is also going to be added (another Top 25 team) and, reportedly, Creighton is in the mix. That's a bit of a reach, geographically. I would favor VCU.
*Those Adidas uniforms: I typically applaud the apparel companies for trying new things. The "short-sleeve" look doesn't bother me -- if you watched what happened in the NBA with Golden State, this is clearly going to be a bigger thing in basketball -- but the Zubaz-style shorts are awful. I love wearing basketball shorts around (the house, not in public), and I wouldn't wear those if I was given a pair for free, let alone buy them. Maybe I'm not the target market, but this isn't fashion via Oregon football or Maryland basketball -- it is a look that wasn't good back when we first saw it 20 years ago and hasn't gotten any better with age.
*Blackhawks' streak reaches 20: I'm not following their games live, but when I know they are playing the night before, it has become the first score I look for in the morning.
*Kings vs. Sacramento: I used to live in Seattle and have many friends from there who truly lament losing the Sonics and wish daily for an NBA team, but I hope that the Kings stay in Sacramento.
*LeBron wins everything, cont'd: I am not a big fan of the Harlem Shake craze, but the Heat did an incredible version. Consider how well LeBron is playing right now... and how willing he is to have fun with this video. It's really endearing -- the guy has a fantastic sense of humor about himself.
Have a great weekend -- light updates all weekend long, as usual.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
2/28 (Curry) Quickie
*Well, that Stephen Curry 54-point binge at MSG was just about the most fun thing you'll see in the NBA this season. That Curry's Warriors lost? OK, it happens. The real result is that Curry elevates himself into one of the Top 5 must-see players in the league (behind LeBron, Durant and Kobe but I would argue ahead of Kyrie Irving and Russell Westbrook).
*Michigan's loss to lowly Penn State is the kind of result that sticks with you on Selection Sunday. I don't care how good their offense is -- Michigan's defense isn't nearly good enough to win four straight in late March to get to a Final Four. That this team was on a short list for 1-seeds is kind of a joke.
*Georgetown's Otto Porter: The answer to the question "Who is college basketball's national player of the year?" One of the handful of most intriguing storylines heading into the NCAA Tournament is how far Porter plus a Top 5 defense can carry Georgetown.
(If you're picking four players to join Porter on an all-America team, go with Indiana's Victor Oladipo, Gonzaga's Kelly Olynyk, Creighton's Doug McDermott and Michigan's Trey Burke. Sorry, Cody Zeller. He can anchor the 2nd team, including Duke's Plumlee, Kansas' McLemore, Florida's Murphy and OK St's Smart.)
*Chiefs trade for Alex Smith: Best they could do with a bad hand. Maybe if they weren't picking first overall, they would take Geno Smith. Maybe Andy Reid didn't want to trade for Nick Foles. Maybe they didn't want to risk Matt Barkley not being there at the top of the 2nd round. (Hell, maybe if they saw this coming, they would have traded this year's 1st to the Rams last year for the chance to draft RGIII.) KC's QB situation has been a mess since Joe Montana -- this is as close to stability as they have seen in decades. What could go wrong?
*49ers get 1st pick of 2nd round: So they either get arguably the most valuable player of the 2013 draft or leverage that pick into a trade for, say, Darrelle Revis. Best franchise in football gets better.
-- D.S.
*Michigan's loss to lowly Penn State is the kind of result that sticks with you on Selection Sunday. I don't care how good their offense is -- Michigan's defense isn't nearly good enough to win four straight in late March to get to a Final Four. That this team was on a short list for 1-seeds is kind of a joke.
*Georgetown's Otto Porter: The answer to the question "Who is college basketball's national player of the year?" One of the handful of most intriguing storylines heading into the NCAA Tournament is how far Porter plus a Top 5 defense can carry Georgetown.
(If you're picking four players to join Porter on an all-America team, go with Indiana's Victor Oladipo, Gonzaga's Kelly Olynyk, Creighton's Doug McDermott and Michigan's Trey Burke. Sorry, Cody Zeller. He can anchor the 2nd team, including Duke's Plumlee, Kansas' McLemore, Florida's Murphy and OK St's Smart.)
*Chiefs trade for Alex Smith: Best they could do with a bad hand. Maybe if they weren't picking first overall, they would take Geno Smith. Maybe Andy Reid didn't want to trade for Nick Foles. Maybe they didn't want to risk Matt Barkley not being there at the top of the 2nd round. (Hell, maybe if they saw this coming, they would have traded this year's 1st to the Rams last year for the chance to draft RGIII.) KC's QB situation has been a mess since Joe Montana -- this is as close to stability as they have seen in decades. What could go wrong?
*49ers get 1st pick of 2nd round: So they either get arguably the most valuable player of the 2013 draft or leverage that pick into a trade for, say, Darrelle Revis. Best franchise in football gets better.
-- D.S.
2/27 (Is It March Yet?) Quickie
Hard not to feel good for Minnesota fans after last night's win over No. 1 Indiana -- the signature win of Tubby Smith's era and arguably Minnesota's best win since the '97 team zipped to the Final Four.
It is also a reminder that Indiana -- like every other would-be contender -- is fallible, but it is hardly damning to lose on the road to an ultra-motivated opponent (see Florida losing at Tennessee).
No reason not to maintain IU as a Final Four team -- four straight on a neutral court isn't the same as a one-off in a rocking Minneapolis arena in February.
As for Florida? Still a bonafide Final Four contender -- if you're just casually following the Gators, it seems like an ugly road loss. But Florida was playing with 6 guys -- they were missing X-factor Will Yeguete and frosh super-shooter Michael Frazier, both of whom will be back for the Tournament. At full strength, Florida is as good as anyone -- as long as they aren't shipped out West, I'll take a 2- or 3-seed for this team -- all the more likely folks in my bracket pool won't pick them.
(The opposite? Memphis, who hasn't beaten anyone and whose "win streak" was snapped by Xavier. I can't dump Memphis out of my bracket fast enough; meanwhile, Xavier remains one of Those Teams where you will kick yourself for not anticipating the perennial Sweet 16 run. That is: If the Musketeers can even get into the Tournament; they are on the wrong side of the bubble -- last night was a must-win, but they have more work to do. KenPom has them ranked in the 80s, but they finish the regular season with games against Tourney locks St. Louis and Butler. Both are must-win, but if the X-men pull it off, they will be on the right side of the bubble.)
Gonzaga will be No. 1? Apparently, strength of schedule doesn't matter. Look: Gonzaga is a really good team -- over the weekend, I put them in my "if the season ended now" Final Four -- but they benefit tremendously from playing a soft conference schedule.
LeBron scores 40 in 2OT win over Sacramento: Was that the game of the year in the NBA? Regardless, one more superlative for LeBron's season -- highest scoring output for him this year. It is hard to think of a player who had a better month in the last 25 years than LeBron's February.
(Meanwhile, I really hope that LeBron keeps up with his pregame dunking shows -- who in the world thinks those are a bad thing?)
Pacers-Warriors scuffle: Roy Hibbert can look forward to a week or two off. The big winner? Stephen Curry, who took on Indiana's 7-footer.
NFL Draft: Alabama's Dee Milliner runs a 4.37 -- he was already the best DB in the draft. Feels like a can't-miss prospect in a league that is dominated by passing.
Mike Holmgren to the Raiders? He's a retread, but Oakland needs all the help it can get.
Milestones: Vivian Stringer hits 900 wins. After yesterday's talk of 500 wins for Bill Self, 900 is truly rare air.
-- D.S.
It is also a reminder that Indiana -- like every other would-be contender -- is fallible, but it is hardly damning to lose on the road to an ultra-motivated opponent (see Florida losing at Tennessee).
No reason not to maintain IU as a Final Four team -- four straight on a neutral court isn't the same as a one-off in a rocking Minneapolis arena in February.
As for Florida? Still a bonafide Final Four contender -- if you're just casually following the Gators, it seems like an ugly road loss. But Florida was playing with 6 guys -- they were missing X-factor Will Yeguete and frosh super-shooter Michael Frazier, both of whom will be back for the Tournament. At full strength, Florida is as good as anyone -- as long as they aren't shipped out West, I'll take a 2- or 3-seed for this team -- all the more likely folks in my bracket pool won't pick them.
(The opposite? Memphis, who hasn't beaten anyone and whose "win streak" was snapped by Xavier. I can't dump Memphis out of my bracket fast enough; meanwhile, Xavier remains one of Those Teams where you will kick yourself for not anticipating the perennial Sweet 16 run. That is: If the Musketeers can even get into the Tournament; they are on the wrong side of the bubble -- last night was a must-win, but they have more work to do. KenPom has them ranked in the 80s, but they finish the regular season with games against Tourney locks St. Louis and Butler. Both are must-win, but if the X-men pull it off, they will be on the right side of the bubble.)
Gonzaga will be No. 1? Apparently, strength of schedule doesn't matter. Look: Gonzaga is a really good team -- over the weekend, I put them in my "if the season ended now" Final Four -- but they benefit tremendously from playing a soft conference schedule.
LeBron scores 40 in 2OT win over Sacramento: Was that the game of the year in the NBA? Regardless, one more superlative for LeBron's season -- highest scoring output for him this year. It is hard to think of a player who had a better month in the last 25 years than LeBron's February.
(Meanwhile, I really hope that LeBron keeps up with his pregame dunking shows -- who in the world thinks those are a bad thing?)
Pacers-Warriors scuffle: Roy Hibbert can look forward to a week or two off. The big winner? Stephen Curry, who took on Indiana's 7-footer.
NFL Draft: Alabama's Dee Milliner runs a 4.37 -- he was already the best DB in the draft. Feels like a can't-miss prospect in a league that is dominated by passing.
Mike Holmgren to the Raiders? He's a retread, but Oakland needs all the help it can get.
Milestones: Vivian Stringer hits 900 wins. After yesterday's talk of 500 wins for Bill Self, 900 is truly rare air.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
2/26 (Very) Quickie
*Of course Tom Brady took less than market value, ensuring that the Patriots can continue to make moves around him to keep the team competitive. Cripes, it's hard to begrudge that guy.
*But what does it mean for Joe Flacco? Nothing. Flacco is going to get paid, and the only reaction will be to reductively compare Flacco's money-grubbing to Brady's selflessness. In reply, Flacco can just hold up the Super Bowl trophy.
*Manti Te'o runs slow at the combine: The gif of Jim Harbaugh shaking his head is hilarious. Te'o is also smaller than everyone thought. You want to default to "But the heart!" but the reality is that Te'o ain't Ray Lewis. Some contender will reach for him at the end of the 1st round, and he will play well surrounded by lots of other talent (rather than anchoring a defense himself). But a superstar? Nope.
*Lakers lose to Nuggets: Not quite the way to reach the playoffs.
*Kansas survives at Iowa State: Tough place to play, still not sold on KU as a Final Four team. (Meanwhile, I would not have guessed that Bill Self is a 500-win coach. He is No. 54 all-time and only four typically successful seasons away from the Top 30 and the 600-win threshold. The names that might surprise you on the all-time list? Bob Huggins and Mike Montgomery both in the Top 25, with more than 650 wins each. Up next in the 500 club? Jim Larranaga and Dana Altman should both crack the plateau next season. Billy Donovan is two seasons away; Tom Izzo is three seasons away, as is Larry Eustachy.)
*Marquette beats Syracuse: Feels like Sweet 16 is the ceiling for both. (But I caught some of the game last night, and that Marquette student section is awesome.)
*Blackhawks keep winning: Even if you're not a hockey fan, this streak to open the season should have you checking the schedule to see when Chicago is playing and how they're doing.
*Alabama offers scholly to 8th grader: Attention all college basketball coaches: Gabe Shanoff displayed a sweet shot in the 1st-grade basketball league this month. Please feel free to make scholarship offers. (Reminds me of this funny Varsity Dad parody post I did five years ago.)
*Gareth Bale: Whew. Hell of a goal.
-- D.S.
*But what does it mean for Joe Flacco? Nothing. Flacco is going to get paid, and the only reaction will be to reductively compare Flacco's money-grubbing to Brady's selflessness. In reply, Flacco can just hold up the Super Bowl trophy.
*Manti Te'o runs slow at the combine: The gif of Jim Harbaugh shaking his head is hilarious. Te'o is also smaller than everyone thought. You want to default to "But the heart!" but the reality is that Te'o ain't Ray Lewis. Some contender will reach for him at the end of the 1st round, and he will play well surrounded by lots of other talent (rather than anchoring a defense himself). But a superstar? Nope.
*Lakers lose to Nuggets: Not quite the way to reach the playoffs.
*Kansas survives at Iowa State: Tough place to play, still not sold on KU as a Final Four team. (Meanwhile, I would not have guessed that Bill Self is a 500-win coach. He is No. 54 all-time and only four typically successful seasons away from the Top 30 and the 600-win threshold. The names that might surprise you on the all-time list? Bob Huggins and Mike Montgomery both in the Top 25, with more than 650 wins each. Up next in the 500 club? Jim Larranaga and Dana Altman should both crack the plateau next season. Billy Donovan is two seasons away; Tom Izzo is three seasons away, as is Larry Eustachy.)
*Marquette beats Syracuse: Feels like Sweet 16 is the ceiling for both. (But I caught some of the game last night, and that Marquette student section is awesome.)
*Blackhawks keep winning: Even if you're not a hockey fan, this streak to open the season should have you checking the schedule to see when Chicago is playing and how they're doing.
*Alabama offers scholly to 8th grader: Attention all college basketball coaches: Gabe Shanoff displayed a sweet shot in the 1st-grade basketball league this month. Please feel free to make scholarship offers. (Reminds me of this funny Varsity Dad parody post I did five years ago.)
*Gareth Bale: Whew. Hell of a goal.
-- D.S.
Monday, February 25, 2013
2/25 (Monday) Quickie
I don't think it was reasonable to EXPECT Danica to win the Daytona 500, but a Top 10 finish certainly affirms her pole-position start. (That said, that Danica was nudged from what seemed like a sure-fire Top 5 -- Top 3? -- finish to the back of the Top 10 was disappointing.)
All in all, Daytona got what it wanted/needed -- Danica near the front and a largely dramatic finish featuring Jimmie Johnson offering up the racing equivalent of "You all forgot about me, didn't you?"
NFL Offseason: Alex Smith about to be traded to KC? Well, about to be traded somewhere, with the Chiefs the presumptive destination. Smith is right to want to get out of SF, but I think he will find that Andy Reid is a steep drop-off from Jim Harbaugh as a coach that can get the most out of him. Still: It's a chance to start. (Anyone else just as intrigued as to who Harbaugh might bring in as Colin Kaepernick's new back-up? I'm obviously biased, but if any coach can confidently figure out how to deploy Tim Tebow innovatively, it is Harbaugh. What a fit that could be.)
Kobe is the best: "Amnesty THAT" as a tweet after the Lakers beat the Mavs, whose owner Mark Cuban suggested the Lakers should amnesty Kobe after the season.
Heat win 11th straight, beating the Cavs, but of course all anyone wants to talk about is the years-away speculation that LeBron would eventually return to Cleveland, pair with Kyrie Irving and lead the Cavs to a title. As someone who wrote about LeBron being a lock to leave Cleveland years before The Decision, I'm all for this kind of insane speculation -- as soon as LeBron wins a bunch of rings in Miami (and there is no reason to think it won't be three, including last year, '13 and '14), I could absolutely see him returning to Cleveland to try to win a title there. (Honestly? My biggest question is how he would/could co-exist with Irving, who needs the ball in his hands to be most effective.)
Ohio State d. Michigan State: Just when I thought that I had a handle on the Spartans as a potential Final Four team, they lose in Columbus (no shame in that, btw.) Almost assuredly, I will take Michigan State one round too far, Ohio State one round too short and I have given up on trying to make sense of Michigan at all. If I had to pick four Final Four teams today, I'd go with Indiana, Florida, Gonzaga and -- puts finger in the air -- VCU.
NFL Combine: The two biggest things you need to know from yesterday are that West Virginia WR Tavon Austin is going to be a massive NFL star as quickly as next season and that Utah OT Star Lotulelei's heart condition is going to completely vex GMs in the Top 10.
Spring Training: Curtis Granderson out until May with a broken arm. He was already displaced from centerfield and clearly on the back-side of his career, so it is unclear that the Yankees will drop off THAT much without him. Still: Ominous foreshadowing for New York already.
Fashion: Nope, not the Oscars -- yes, I think the Warriors' sleeves are kind of cool. The team clearly responded to them. It's such a change from the norm, I'm not sure I see the league converting to sleeves full-time for every team, but I could definitely see every team having a sleeved version of their uniforms (although I can't see fans buying them in the same way they would buy a standard tank-top, which already looks ludicrous enough as it is on anyone but a kid).
-- D.S.
All in all, Daytona got what it wanted/needed -- Danica near the front and a largely dramatic finish featuring Jimmie Johnson offering up the racing equivalent of "You all forgot about me, didn't you?"
NFL Offseason: Alex Smith about to be traded to KC? Well, about to be traded somewhere, with the Chiefs the presumptive destination. Smith is right to want to get out of SF, but I think he will find that Andy Reid is a steep drop-off from Jim Harbaugh as a coach that can get the most out of him. Still: It's a chance to start. (Anyone else just as intrigued as to who Harbaugh might bring in as Colin Kaepernick's new back-up? I'm obviously biased, but if any coach can confidently figure out how to deploy Tim Tebow innovatively, it is Harbaugh. What a fit that could be.)
Kobe is the best: "Amnesty THAT" as a tweet after the Lakers beat the Mavs, whose owner Mark Cuban suggested the Lakers should amnesty Kobe after the season.
Heat win 11th straight, beating the Cavs, but of course all anyone wants to talk about is the years-away speculation that LeBron would eventually return to Cleveland, pair with Kyrie Irving and lead the Cavs to a title. As someone who wrote about LeBron being a lock to leave Cleveland years before The Decision, I'm all for this kind of insane speculation -- as soon as LeBron wins a bunch of rings in Miami (and there is no reason to think it won't be three, including last year, '13 and '14), I could absolutely see him returning to Cleveland to try to win a title there. (Honestly? My biggest question is how he would/could co-exist with Irving, who needs the ball in his hands to be most effective.)
Ohio State d. Michigan State: Just when I thought that I had a handle on the Spartans as a potential Final Four team, they lose in Columbus (no shame in that, btw.) Almost assuredly, I will take Michigan State one round too far, Ohio State one round too short and I have given up on trying to make sense of Michigan at all. If I had to pick four Final Four teams today, I'd go with Indiana, Florida, Gonzaga and -- puts finger in the air -- VCU.
NFL Combine: The two biggest things you need to know from yesterday are that West Virginia WR Tavon Austin is going to be a massive NFL star as quickly as next season and that Utah OT Star Lotulelei's heart condition is going to completely vex GMs in the Top 10.
Spring Training: Curtis Granderson out until May with a broken arm. He was already displaced from centerfield and clearly on the back-side of his career, so it is unclear that the Yankees will drop off THAT much without him. Still: Ominous foreshadowing for New York already.
Fashion: Nope, not the Oscars -- yes, I think the Warriors' sleeves are kind of cool. The team clearly responded to them. It's such a change from the norm, I'm not sure I see the league converting to sleeves full-time for every team, but I could definitely see every team having a sleeved version of their uniforms (although I can't see fans buying them in the same way they would buy a standard tank-top, which already looks ludicrous enough as it is on anyone but a kid).
-- D.S.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
2/24 (Very Sunday) Quickie
*Unless you already favor a particular driver, how can you not be rooting for Danica today?
*What a terrible day at the track yesterday. NASCAR as an organization -- command and control -- is not good in moments like that.
*Yesterday was about as good as it gets for DC sports fans: Georgetown wins at Syracuse (including Otto Porter with a national-player-of-the-year performance), the Wizards beat the Rockets (including Bradley Beal showcasing why he is a future All-Star) and the Caps obliterate the Devils (including an Ovechkin hat-trick). Take that for what you will that that is "as good as it gets."
*Kentucky was in a must-win yesterday and got it. UK's resume is lackluster, but I think that the Selection Committee will almost assuredly give the defending champs the benefit of a doubt that other bubble teams won't get. (Granted, if UK craps out its remaining regular-season schedule, there isn't much anyone can do for them.)
*Miami was overrated? You don't say!
*I wanted to see something decisive out of Colorado State -- instead, they lost at home to New Mexico. The Mountain West is going to mess up some brackets next month, that's for sure.
*Is Florida good enough to be a 1-seed? Absolutely. But losing solid freshman SG Michael Frazier to an apparent concussion -- on top of a previous injury to Will Yeguete that has him out for at least a few more weeks -- really tests Florida's depth. They were only going to go 7 deep in the Tournament anyway, but now they're down to 6 for the stretch run, which is enough to wear out any team.
*LeBron: Ho-hum, just a triple-double. This is basketball being played at a level unseen since Michael Jordan's BEST days.
*Good start for women fighters in UFC.
*I think yesterday was the day Manti Te'o and the whole ludicrous story became a non-issue with the NFL Draft. Te'o has a bigger issue: He's just OK and certainly not spectacular.
-- D.S.
*What a terrible day at the track yesterday. NASCAR as an organization -- command and control -- is not good in moments like that.
*Yesterday was about as good as it gets for DC sports fans: Georgetown wins at Syracuse (including Otto Porter with a national-player-of-the-year performance), the Wizards beat the Rockets (including Bradley Beal showcasing why he is a future All-Star) and the Caps obliterate the Devils (including an Ovechkin hat-trick). Take that for what you will that that is "as good as it gets."
*Kentucky was in a must-win yesterday and got it. UK's resume is lackluster, but I think that the Selection Committee will almost assuredly give the defending champs the benefit of a doubt that other bubble teams won't get. (Granted, if UK craps out its remaining regular-season schedule, there isn't much anyone can do for them.)
*Miami was overrated? You don't say!
*I wanted to see something decisive out of Colorado State -- instead, they lost at home to New Mexico. The Mountain West is going to mess up some brackets next month, that's for sure.
*Is Florida good enough to be a 1-seed? Absolutely. But losing solid freshman SG Michael Frazier to an apparent concussion -- on top of a previous injury to Will Yeguete that has him out for at least a few more weeks -- really tests Florida's depth. They were only going to go 7 deep in the Tournament anyway, but now they're down to 6 for the stretch run, which is enough to wear out any team.
*LeBron: Ho-hum, just a triple-double. This is basketball being played at a level unseen since Michael Jordan's BEST days.
*Good start for women fighters in UFC.
*I think yesterday was the day Manti Te'o and the whole ludicrous story became a non-issue with the NFL Draft. Te'o has a bigger issue: He's just OK and certainly not spectacular.
-- D.S.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
2/23 (Weekend) Quickie
Ahh, there's nothing like a Friday night spent watching the Wizards. (Wait, yes there is... but good times in our house!)
Speaking of "there's nothing like...," just in time for the 1st-grade basketball league season finale today, things could be a lot worse than Gabe wanting to model his game off Russell Westbrook.
Great day of college hoops: It'll be Syracuse-Georgetown on in our house at 4 -- it's among the most nostalgic match-ups in college hoops.
But I'll be flipping back and forth with Colorado State-New Mexico at the same time. I'm intrigued by Colorado State and its emphasis on offensive rebounding. That team is going to vex me when the bracket comes out. FWIW, at No. 15, CSU is KenPom's highest-ranked mid-major besides Gonzaga. New Mexico is a solid No. 34, but ranked No. 7 in adjusted defensive efficiency, a fascinating match-up with CSU's Top 10 offense.
(Meanwhile, a couple of great "Bracketbuster" match-ups today, led by Detroit-Wichita State, another good one at 4 pm, and Creighton-St. Mary's at 6.)
My evening is set: Florida hosting Arkansas at 7, ready to get a little payback for the ass-kicking the Gators took in Fayetteville a couple weeks ago.)
Hilarious -- and typical -- that the Lakers would get huffy about Mark Cuban's suggestion that the Lakers should amnesty Kobe during the offseason. (Typical Cuban: It's a savvy idea.)
So the Blackhawks have sort of blown out expectations-setting for the season, haven't they? It's already Stanley Cup title or bust.
Was there ever any doubt that RGIII would be back on schedule?
Enjoy your weekend. Great day of hoops ahead.
-- D.S.
Speaking of "there's nothing like...," just in time for the 1st-grade basketball league season finale today, things could be a lot worse than Gabe wanting to model his game off Russell Westbrook.
Great day of college hoops: It'll be Syracuse-Georgetown on in our house at 4 -- it's among the most nostalgic match-ups in college hoops.
But I'll be flipping back and forth with Colorado State-New Mexico at the same time. I'm intrigued by Colorado State and its emphasis on offensive rebounding. That team is going to vex me when the bracket comes out. FWIW, at No. 15, CSU is KenPom's highest-ranked mid-major besides Gonzaga. New Mexico is a solid No. 34, but ranked No. 7 in adjusted defensive efficiency, a fascinating match-up with CSU's Top 10 offense.
(Meanwhile, a couple of great "Bracketbuster" match-ups today, led by Detroit-Wichita State, another good one at 4 pm, and Creighton-St. Mary's at 6.)
My evening is set: Florida hosting Arkansas at 7, ready to get a little payback for the ass-kicking the Gators took in Fayetteville a couple weeks ago.)
Hilarious -- and typical -- that the Lakers would get huffy about Mark Cuban's suggestion that the Lakers should amnesty Kobe during the offseason. (Typical Cuban: It's a savvy idea.)
So the Blackhawks have sort of blown out expectations-setting for the season, haven't they? It's already Stanley Cup title or bust.
Was there ever any doubt that RGIII would be back on schedule?
Enjoy your weekend. Great day of hoops ahead.
-- D.S.
Friday, February 22, 2013
2/22 (Danica) Quickie
It is hard to write about gender in sports without being patronizing. The story of the weekend is Danica starting in pole position at the Daytona 500, with as good of a chance of winning as anyone -- it is hard to overstate that it would be one of the most exciting results in sports history.
As nothing more than a casual NASCAR observer -- I usually catch one race a year, and it's Daytona (there is something about a sport starting its season with its biggest event that I like) -- I am absolutely rooting for Danica to win... rooting for history. I'd like to think that's not patronizing, but it's hard to say.
Meanwhile, the second biggest sports story of the weekend is Ronda Rousey breaking the gender barrier in UFC -- this is a long time coming, and a huge potential market for the sport and for women athletes. She has the charisma to carry this side of the sport -- Dana White's backing doesn't hurt -- and I hope that her debut on Saturday night is a smashing success.
In the end, Danica and Ronda draw attention as something between a novelty in sports dominated by men (for better or worse, that is where UFC is right now) and very real pivot points in sports history -- for Danica, especially.
Patrick established her bonafides years ago -- this weekend represents her best shot at winning on something close to the most level playing field out there.
You don't have to be committed to gender equality in society or the parent of a daughter or anything else to appreciate the history we have the chance to watch this weekend.
More:
*NBA Trade Deadline: I have spent enough of this past season griping about Jordan Crawford that I was happy to see him shipped off to Boston, even if the Wizards gave him away -- that's how much I didn't like his game and his fit within the team. In fact, my griping about Crawford was something I came to resent even more because I would be openly disdainful of his play in front of my kids, who would ask why I was so annoyed -- it was a teaching lesson for them about not being a no-defense shot-jacker, but I didn't enjoy expressing that kind of frustration about a player in a way my kids might notice. So good riddance, Steez.
*Hawks don't trade Josh Smith: So he leaves this summer for nothing, although then the Hawks will have more than enough cap space to make a run at Dwight Howard or CP3.
*Kobe guarantees playoffs: What else did you expect him to say? Of course he guarantees playoffs.
*Spurs rout Clippers: Wasn't it cute the way everyone thought LA was an actual contender? There are two in the West: OKC and San Antonio. Everyone else is playing to make things interesting.
*Heat win 9th straight: The East is even more of a snoozer. Can we just fast-forward to June?
*NFL Combine: It has gotten bigger, yet seemingly even more antiseptic. We are reduced to reading coded messages from coaches who pop by for impromptu press conferences. The only thing that happened yesterday that I found intriguing was that I remain obsessed with Chip Kelly as an NFL coach, even if I couldn't care less about the Eagles.
-- D.S.
As nothing more than a casual NASCAR observer -- I usually catch one race a year, and it's Daytona (there is something about a sport starting its season with its biggest event that I like) -- I am absolutely rooting for Danica to win... rooting for history. I'd like to think that's not patronizing, but it's hard to say.
Meanwhile, the second biggest sports story of the weekend is Ronda Rousey breaking the gender barrier in UFC -- this is a long time coming, and a huge potential market for the sport and for women athletes. She has the charisma to carry this side of the sport -- Dana White's backing doesn't hurt -- and I hope that her debut on Saturday night is a smashing success.
In the end, Danica and Ronda draw attention as something between a novelty in sports dominated by men (for better or worse, that is where UFC is right now) and very real pivot points in sports history -- for Danica, especially.
Patrick established her bonafides years ago -- this weekend represents her best shot at winning on something close to the most level playing field out there.
You don't have to be committed to gender equality in society or the parent of a daughter or anything else to appreciate the history we have the chance to watch this weekend.
More:
*NBA Trade Deadline: I have spent enough of this past season griping about Jordan Crawford that I was happy to see him shipped off to Boston, even if the Wizards gave him away -- that's how much I didn't like his game and his fit within the team. In fact, my griping about Crawford was something I came to resent even more because I would be openly disdainful of his play in front of my kids, who would ask why I was so annoyed -- it was a teaching lesson for them about not being a no-defense shot-jacker, but I didn't enjoy expressing that kind of frustration about a player in a way my kids might notice. So good riddance, Steez.
*Hawks don't trade Josh Smith: So he leaves this summer for nothing, although then the Hawks will have more than enough cap space to make a run at Dwight Howard or CP3.
*Kobe guarantees playoffs: What else did you expect him to say? Of course he guarantees playoffs.
*Spurs rout Clippers: Wasn't it cute the way everyone thought LA was an actual contender? There are two in the West: OKC and San Antonio. Everyone else is playing to make things interesting.
*Heat win 9th straight: The East is even more of a snoozer. Can we just fast-forward to June?
*NFL Combine: It has gotten bigger, yet seemingly even more antiseptic. We are reduced to reading coded messages from coaches who pop by for impromptu press conferences. The only thing that happened yesterday that I found intriguing was that I remain obsessed with Chip Kelly as an NFL coach, even if I couldn't care less about the Eagles.
-- D.S.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
2/21 (NBA Trade Dudline?) Quickie
I used to love the NBA Trade Deadline, but then it fizzled and became a shell of its former self.
I just can't get worked up over where Josh Smith ends up, although more power to Houston if it can go from bupkis a year ago to Harden-Lin-Asik-Smith -- I am in the tank for Daryl Morey and support him 100% however he wants to go. (Was last night's Rockets win over the Thunder as good as it gets for Houston fans? Possibly/probably.)
More:
*It was nice to be on the front end of the Victor Oladipo bandwagon yesterday.
*NFL Combine: It's basically Manti Te'o and then everything else, right?
*Lakers-Celtics last night felt sad -- maybe the franchises make themselves championship relevant again soon (I'd never put it past the Lakers), but it sure seems like puttering to the end.
*I'm not going to have a problem not picking Kansas to the Final Four.
*Revis vs. Sherman on Twitter is like the February sports swoon at its least interesting.
*Tebow Watch: Cancels speech at the controversial Dallas church -- could have told you this was coming.
*Last night's best thing in sports: Penguins-Flyers. All I caught were the highlights and it was still more thrilling than everything else wrapped together.
- D.S.
I just can't get worked up over where Josh Smith ends up, although more power to Houston if it can go from bupkis a year ago to Harden-Lin-Asik-Smith -- I am in the tank for Daryl Morey and support him 100% however he wants to go. (Was last night's Rockets win over the Thunder as good as it gets for Houston fans? Possibly/probably.)
More:
*It was nice to be on the front end of the Victor Oladipo bandwagon yesterday.
*NFL Combine: It's basically Manti Te'o and then everything else, right?
*Lakers-Celtics last night felt sad -- maybe the franchises make themselves championship relevant again soon (I'd never put it past the Lakers), but it sure seems like puttering to the end.
*I'm not going to have a problem not picking Kansas to the Final Four.
*Revis vs. Sherman on Twitter is like the February sports swoon at its least interesting.
*Tebow Watch: Cancels speech at the controversial Dallas church -- could have told you this was coming.
*Last night's best thing in sports: Penguins-Flyers. All I caught were the highlights and it was still more thrilling than everything else wrapped together.
- D.S.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
2/20 (Is It March Yet?) Quickie
I'm a college basketball realist -- games in mid-February, even seemingly huge ones like last night's Indiana win at Michigan State, are ultimately inconsequential in the larger scheme of the sport's ultimate playoff in late March.
But that's not to say that there aren't thrilling moments worth savoring -- exactly like last night, when a Hoosiers team I had been thinking is slightly on the wrong side of title-ready put on display the make-up of the kind of team that wins six straight in late March.
Mostly, that was a function of IU's marvelous junior guard, Victor Oladipo, all angles -- and all-American-ness -- showcasing the most fascinating skill set I have seen in a college hoops player since... well, I'm having trouble finding a comp.
A few weeks ago, I said that there were probably a half-dozen teams with a legit shot at winning six straight in late March -- Indiana is on the short list.
****
*Florida is on the short list, too, even though the Gators lost at Mizzou last night. There's no shame in losing at Columbia -- Mizzou hasn't lost there this season, and Florida still held the high-flying Tigers to 63 points. In late March, when you suddenly lose the ability to make shots, you have got to be able to get stops, and no team has proven better at that through this entire season than Florida.
*So, about that VCU bandwagon...
*Miami being charged with a lack of institutional control - accurate or not -- seems absurd coming from the NCAA right now...
*Gio Gonzalez not tied to PEDs: Unfortunately for him, there is still a taint, but it's rare to get the "No, no, really: He's been cleared" message. As a Nats fan, I was already Team Gio anyway.
*A day late, but RIP to Lakers owner Jerry Buss. Was he the best owner in sports? I'm inclined to agree with that argument. Hard to argue with the combination of sizzle and steak.
Been under the weather for a little while, but hoping to get back into the routine here...
-- D.S.
But that's not to say that there aren't thrilling moments worth savoring -- exactly like last night, when a Hoosiers team I had been thinking is slightly on the wrong side of title-ready put on display the make-up of the kind of team that wins six straight in late March.
Mostly, that was a function of IU's marvelous junior guard, Victor Oladipo, all angles -- and all-American-ness -- showcasing the most fascinating skill set I have seen in a college hoops player since... well, I'm having trouble finding a comp.
A few weeks ago, I said that there were probably a half-dozen teams with a legit shot at winning six straight in late March -- Indiana is on the short list.
****
*Florida is on the short list, too, even though the Gators lost at Mizzou last night. There's no shame in losing at Columbia -- Mizzou hasn't lost there this season, and Florida still held the high-flying Tigers to 63 points. In late March, when you suddenly lose the ability to make shots, you have got to be able to get stops, and no team has proven better at that through this entire season than Florida.
*So, about that VCU bandwagon...
*Miami being charged with a lack of institutional control - accurate or not -- seems absurd coming from the NCAA right now...
*Gio Gonzalez not tied to PEDs: Unfortunately for him, there is still a taint, but it's rare to get the "No, no, really: He's been cleared" message. As a Nats fan, I was already Team Gio anyway.
*A day late, but RIP to Lakers owner Jerry Buss. Was he the best owner in sports? I'm inclined to agree with that argument. Hard to argue with the combination of sizzle and steak.
Been under the weather for a little while, but hoping to get back into the routine here...
-- D.S.
Friday, February 15, 2013
On Turning 40
I turn 40 tomorrow today, so I’ve been spending a lot of time reflecting on the past decade.
A couple of weeks ago, I went through an exercise where I tried to list out the most life-defining things that happened -- for better and worse. I’m not saying that is the best way to think about it -- it puts too much weight on the singular happenings and not enough on mundane day-to-day enjoyment of life. Still, it makes the past 10 years more tangible.
Obviously, there are big “life” things like getting married, having kids, my siblings having kids, buying/selling a house, major surgeries, etc.
Then there are the professional things: I was already a month into the Quickie when I turned 30, so I didn’t count that. But I did count the run itself and all the fun things that I got access to because of it -- going on TV, spinning off this blog, getting to write elsewhere (remember when I spent that season as Deadspin’s college football columnist?) Joining a high-flying start-up. Starting my own company, obviously, then seeing it through its acquisition.
(Did meeting Tim Tebow make the list? What do you think?)
The one thing I found hardest to qualify was the dramatic shift in who I was friends with from 30 til 40. 2003 was pre-blog (let alone pre-social media) and almost all of my friends came from a pool of college, business school and work colleagues. Ten years later, I interact way more often with a far broader set of people, almost entirely virtually -- that’s not for everyone, but I have found it richly rewarding, especially given that a family puts strains on your time.
The other piece of this list was an exercise related to “What I Wish I Had Gotten Accomplished But Didn’t.” I will guarantee you that things like “Write a book” or “Run NYC marathon” were on my list heading into my 30s and, despite that, remain there today. (Although it was interesting to see what kind of proxies I came up with over my 30s -- for example, I actually wrote three separate formal book proposals over the decade and I jumped into the Chicago Marathon to run alongside my sister for 10 miles.)
The two affirming things about the “Didn’t get done” list are that (1) it's a pretty short list, which I think is a good sign, and (2) it’s not like it ruined my past decade to not get it done. Meanwhile, virtually everything on the list (from the practical to the largely fantastical) is still doable. And if everything in life demands some trade-offs, I’ll take where I am right now over any other options I could have had.
I still remember entering my 30s and how excited I was for it, because it meant that instead of being past my prime for my 20s, I was a fresh thirtysomething, with a whole decade ahead of me to accomplish things that might matter to me. (Clearly, on the day before my 30th birthday, I had zero conception of the joy of having one kid, let alone three.)
Now that I am about to enter my 40s -- and what I honestly think will be my best decade yet -- it is with a way different frame of reference than 10 years ago: Wildly different priorities (family/kids first, obviously) and a greater appreciation for the process over the outcome, but with no less of a zest to be in the middle of things that are interesting to me than any 30-something or 20-something version of me.
The last decade has been wonderful and I have been extraordinarily lucky, on almost every front. It’s not the worst thing in the world to hope the next 10 years bring just as much happiness with my life as the last 10 years just did.
-- D.S.
A couple of weeks ago, I went through an exercise where I tried to list out the most life-defining things that happened -- for better and worse. I’m not saying that is the best way to think about it -- it puts too much weight on the singular happenings and not enough on mundane day-to-day enjoyment of life. Still, it makes the past 10 years more tangible.
Obviously, there are big “life” things like getting married, having kids, my siblings having kids, buying/selling a house, major surgeries, etc.
Then there are the professional things: I was already a month into the Quickie when I turned 30, so I didn’t count that. But I did count the run itself and all the fun things that I got access to because of it -- going on TV, spinning off this blog, getting to write elsewhere (remember when I spent that season as Deadspin’s college football columnist?) Joining a high-flying start-up. Starting my own company, obviously, then seeing it through its acquisition.
(Did meeting Tim Tebow make the list? What do you think?)
The one thing I found hardest to qualify was the dramatic shift in who I was friends with from 30 til 40. 2003 was pre-blog (let alone pre-social media) and almost all of my friends came from a pool of college, business school and work colleagues. Ten years later, I interact way more often with a far broader set of people, almost entirely virtually -- that’s not for everyone, but I have found it richly rewarding, especially given that a family puts strains on your time.
The other piece of this list was an exercise related to “What I Wish I Had Gotten Accomplished But Didn’t.” I will guarantee you that things like “Write a book” or “Run NYC marathon” were on my list heading into my 30s and, despite that, remain there today. (Although it was interesting to see what kind of proxies I came up with over my 30s -- for example, I actually wrote three separate formal book proposals over the decade and I jumped into the Chicago Marathon to run alongside my sister for 10 miles.)
The two affirming things about the “Didn’t get done” list are that (1) it's a pretty short list, which I think is a good sign, and (2) it’s not like it ruined my past decade to not get it done. Meanwhile, virtually everything on the list (from the practical to the largely fantastical) is still doable. And if everything in life demands some trade-offs, I’ll take where I am right now over any other options I could have had.
I still remember entering my 30s and how excited I was for it, because it meant that instead of being past my prime for my 20s, I was a fresh thirtysomething, with a whole decade ahead of me to accomplish things that might matter to me. (Clearly, on the day before my 30th birthday, I had zero conception of the joy of having one kid, let alone three.)
Now that I am about to enter my 40s -- and what I honestly think will be my best decade yet -- it is with a way different frame of reference than 10 years ago: Wildly different priorities (family/kids first, obviously) and a greater appreciation for the process over the outcome, but with no less of a zest to be in the middle of things that are interesting to me than any 30-something or 20-something version of me.
The last decade has been wonderful and I have been extraordinarily lucky, on almost every front. It’s not the worst thing in the world to hope the next 10 years bring just as much happiness with my life as the last 10 years just did.
-- D.S.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
2/14 (Pistorius WTF?!) Quickie
If the Manti Te'o story -- fake girlfriend, fake death, Te'o as victim -- hasn't reached its end-point yet (and I'd argue it did at least two weeks ago), it's over now.
Because this Oscar Pistorius story -- real girlfriend, real death, Pistorius himself the shooter -- should have everyone snapped back to attention.
That Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend doesn't seem to be in any dispute. The only question is whether it was an accident or murder (as South African police seem to want to argue).
There is no good outcome here -- it's not like proving it was an accident makes it any less of a tragedy. Even then, there will always be people who think he did it intentionally.
And so Valentine's Day -- typically a day we celebrate around here with tributes to our current favorite athletes we "love" -- becomes, this year at least, a sad, utterly shocking day in sports.
More, with the typical awkward segue from "serious" story to the less-so:
*Nerlens Noel tears ACL: As discussed earlier this week, he instantly becomes the poster player for why the NBA's age-limit is atrocious.
*Duke beats UNC: Duke is as good a choice as any to be No. 1, although it's not like beating UNC is a big deal this season (blah blah "rivalry" blah blah.) The trend to watch here is Duke going small, which is all well and good, but you wonder how that works against longer teams like Florida or Michigan or Miami.
*Every time Butler loses, I cringe, because I'm inclined to take them to go pretty far on my bracket, but losses like that erode my confidence (I should have more faith in Brad Stevens to turn losses into highly valuable "teachable moments.")
*Happy Valentine's Day, to those of you who "celebrate" it. For the rest of us? Eh.
-- D.S.
Because this Oscar Pistorius story -- real girlfriend, real death, Pistorius himself the shooter -- should have everyone snapped back to attention.
That Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend doesn't seem to be in any dispute. The only question is whether it was an accident or murder (as South African police seem to want to argue).
There is no good outcome here -- it's not like proving it was an accident makes it any less of a tragedy. Even then, there will always be people who think he did it intentionally.
And so Valentine's Day -- typically a day we celebrate around here with tributes to our current favorite athletes we "love" -- becomes, this year at least, a sad, utterly shocking day in sports.
More, with the typical awkward segue from "serious" story to the less-so:
*Nerlens Noel tears ACL: As discussed earlier this week, he instantly becomes the poster player for why the NBA's age-limit is atrocious.
*Duke beats UNC: Duke is as good a choice as any to be No. 1, although it's not like beating UNC is a big deal this season (blah blah "rivalry" blah blah.) The trend to watch here is Duke going small, which is all well and good, but you wonder how that works against longer teams like Florida or Michigan or Miami.
*Every time Butler loses, I cringe, because I'm inclined to take them to go pretty far on my bracket, but losses like that erode my confidence (I should have more faith in Brad Stevens to turn losses into highly valuable "teachable moments.")
*Happy Valentine's Day, to those of you who "celebrate" it. For the rest of us? Eh.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
02/13 (Where Were We?) Quickie
The injury to Kentucky freshman center Nerlens Noel -- at worst, a Top 3 pick in next year's NBA draft (at least before last night) -- affirms a tenet around here:
It was cruelly unnecessary and didn't have to happen. Noel would have been a Top 5 pick in last year's draft, but the NBA age limit forced him to college for a year.
The NBA's age limit is, among other things: Arbitrary, anti-competitive, irrational, not in the best interests of the game and certainly not in the best interests of the kid.
As it looks like the NBA has no interest in changing the rule, if I was a one-and-done college player with huge NBA potential, I would skip college anyway and spend the year before the draft working out with the NBA trainers that these kids end up hiring the day after the college season ends anyway.
The real opportunity here is to create a non-profit company, bundle the Top 10 NBA prospects from each high school graduating class, and give them each $500K and a year-long training program featuring the best NBA development coaching staff in the world. I guarantee you that these kids would be more NBA-prepped than any college player -- the college hoops system still revolves around coaches with an overriding incentive to win games, not maximize the professional preparation of each player on their roster.
The only obligation to my non-profit is that over the five-year life of their first NBA deal, they have to "pay forward" $250K -- $50K a year, which is very little, relatively -- into the program to help the next class moving up, plus 1% of the value of their first NBA free-agent deal, also going directly into the program for funding. Between that and corporate sponsorship, the program is self-sustaining.
Now, we see the worst example yet of how awful this rule is: The presumptive No. 1 pick of the draft -- and a clear-cut Top 5 pick a year ago, had he been "eligible" -- hurt in every possible way by a system that forces him to play college basketball for a year before he can enter the NBA.
If I was a one-and-done college player -- or a high school player looking ahead -- I would be very very troubled by what happened to Noel last night. Here is to his full recovery and a long, productive NBA career.
-- D.S.
It was cruelly unnecessary and didn't have to happen. Noel would have been a Top 5 pick in last year's draft, but the NBA age limit forced him to college for a year.
The NBA's age limit is, among other things: Arbitrary, anti-competitive, irrational, not in the best interests of the game and certainly not in the best interests of the kid.
As it looks like the NBA has no interest in changing the rule, if I was a one-and-done college player with huge NBA potential, I would skip college anyway and spend the year before the draft working out with the NBA trainers that these kids end up hiring the day after the college season ends anyway.
The real opportunity here is to create a non-profit company, bundle the Top 10 NBA prospects from each high school graduating class, and give them each $500K and a year-long training program featuring the best NBA development coaching staff in the world. I guarantee you that these kids would be more NBA-prepped than any college player -- the college hoops system still revolves around coaches with an overriding incentive to win games, not maximize the professional preparation of each player on their roster.
The only obligation to my non-profit is that over the five-year life of their first NBA deal, they have to "pay forward" $250K -- $50K a year, which is very little, relatively -- into the program to help the next class moving up, plus 1% of the value of their first NBA free-agent deal, also going directly into the program for funding. Between that and corporate sponsorship, the program is self-sustaining.
Now, we see the worst example yet of how awful this rule is: The presumptive No. 1 pick of the draft -- and a clear-cut Top 5 pick a year ago, had he been "eligible" -- hurt in every possible way by a system that forces him to play college basketball for a year before he can enter the NBA.
If I was a one-and-done college player -- or a high school player looking ahead -- I would be very very troubled by what happened to Noel last night. Here is to his full recovery and a long, productive NBA career.
-- D.S.
Thursday, February 07, 2013
02/07 (Signing Day Hangover) Quickie
College football's "National Signing Day" always reminds me of the last day of Rush Week during my freshman year of college, when I was torn between joining two fraternities.
The rush process was awesome; the decision was gut-wrenching for a while. In the end, I felt totally secure about going one way over the other, although telling the "other" guys was hard.
But, with yesterday's NSD in mind, at least my mom didn't swoop in and hijack my commitment at the last second. (Although that would have been funny if she did.)
The recruitment battle for Alex Collins -- him versus his mother, over his interest in Arkansas versus hers in Miami -- was, by far, the wildest story of NSD.
The biggest, of course, was the way that Ole Miss put together a recruiting class unprecedented in the school's history. I had been hoping a reporter was behind the scenes for a tick-tock, and Andy Staples has it for SI.com.
Count me among those who thinks that the conversion of college football recruiting into its own sport is a fine development.
It is easy to get caught up in the rankings and the commitments. Ultimately, you judge a recruiting class on its wins, and that especially goes for Ole Miss.
But National Signing Day itself is about hope. Hope your team got better. Hope the kid made a good choice for himself. There is something entirely energizing about a day based on sheer potential.
-- D.S.
The rush process was awesome; the decision was gut-wrenching for a while. In the end, I felt totally secure about going one way over the other, although telling the "other" guys was hard.
But, with yesterday's NSD in mind, at least my mom didn't swoop in and hijack my commitment at the last second. (Although that would have been funny if she did.)
The recruitment battle for Alex Collins -- him versus his mother, over his interest in Arkansas versus hers in Miami -- was, by far, the wildest story of NSD.
The biggest, of course, was the way that Ole Miss put together a recruiting class unprecedented in the school's history. I had been hoping a reporter was behind the scenes for a tick-tock, and Andy Staples has it for SI.com.
Count me among those who thinks that the conversion of college football recruiting into its own sport is a fine development.
It is easy to get caught up in the rankings and the commitments. Ultimately, you judge a recruiting class on its wins, and that especially goes for Ole Miss.
But National Signing Day itself is about hope. Hope your team got better. Hope the kid made a good choice for himself. There is something entirely energizing about a day based on sheer potential.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, February 05, 2013
2/05 (Very) Quickie
I turn 40 in a few weeks, so I'm sort of obsessed with Grant Hill, who turned 40 in October but is still chugging along in the NBA. He had a DC homecoming last night when the Clippers were in town to play the Wizards, and I lament not heading down to the arena to watch him in person.
For my money (and clearly for wildly personal reasons), the rarity of watching a 40-year-old pro athlete is way more interesting than watching the young phenom -- or even the superstar in his prime. There is no level at which I can relate to LeBron -- that is part of his appeal: That he feels superhuman to me.
But Grant Hill? Hell, we might as well have been in the same high school class. However, while he is still contributing meaningfully at an NBA level, I'm struggling to keep pace with a slowing metabolism -- the best I can do is hope to make a few shots in my weekly "Old Man Hoops" run.
Grant, you're welcome anytime, but I am more than happy to keep watching you, Kurt Thomas (ironically, born just one day before Hill), Jason Kidd (40 in March) or Steve Nash (turning 39 on Thursday) in the NBA. It keeps me feeling younger, because there is an underrated "life stage" point -- "when there are no longer any NBA/MLB/NFL/NHL players as old as you."
More:
*Did people know in advance that the Superdome might suffer a blackout? You sorta knew that kind of day-after-day-after leak was coming.
*Do you buy the Knicks as contenders? Because I don't. Oh, sure, they're good. But good enough to beat the Heat? Come on.
*Indiana is college hoops' latest new No. 1, and as a Florida fan, I would love to get a shot at them in the Final Four, because IU doesn't seem so dominant.
*CFB: This is an absurd lament, but I wish they had Signing Day for high school seniors who are specialists in engineering or journalism or pre-med. (Oh, yes, my Northwestern journalism "recruiting class" would have been top-ranked, for sure.) Still surprised an enterprising marketing department at a university wouldn't try to create an admissions campaign around that.
*ICYMI: The entire "scorecard" of how every Super Bowl ad rated on USA TODAY's Ad Meter.
-- D.S.
For my money (and clearly for wildly personal reasons), the rarity of watching a 40-year-old pro athlete is way more interesting than watching the young phenom -- or even the superstar in his prime. There is no level at which I can relate to LeBron -- that is part of his appeal: That he feels superhuman to me.
But Grant Hill? Hell, we might as well have been in the same high school class. However, while he is still contributing meaningfully at an NBA level, I'm struggling to keep pace with a slowing metabolism -- the best I can do is hope to make a few shots in my weekly "Old Man Hoops" run.
Grant, you're welcome anytime, but I am more than happy to keep watching you, Kurt Thomas (ironically, born just one day before Hill), Jason Kidd (40 in March) or Steve Nash (turning 39 on Thursday) in the NBA. It keeps me feeling younger, because there is an underrated "life stage" point -- "when there are no longer any NBA/MLB/NFL/NHL players as old as you."
More:
*Did people know in advance that the Superdome might suffer a blackout? You sorta knew that kind of day-after-day-after leak was coming.
*Do you buy the Knicks as contenders? Because I don't. Oh, sure, they're good. But good enough to beat the Heat? Come on.
*Indiana is college hoops' latest new No. 1, and as a Florida fan, I would love to get a shot at them in the Final Four, because IU doesn't seem so dominant.
*CFB: This is an absurd lament, but I wish they had Signing Day for high school seniors who are specialists in engineering or journalism or pre-med. (Oh, yes, my Northwestern journalism "recruiting class" would have been top-ranked, for sure.) Still surprised an enterprising marketing department at a university wouldn't try to create an admissions campaign around that.
*ICYMI: The entire "scorecard" of how every Super Bowl ad rated on USA TODAY's Ad Meter.
-- D.S.
Monday, February 04, 2013
02/04 (And We're Back) Quickie
As I've been immersed in the Super Bowl ad game for the past two months, let's start there:
Anheuser-Busch's "Brotherhood" spot -- friendship between man and horse -- won USA TODAY's Ad Meter (which had more than 7,000 panelists participate). From the minute it was pre-released, it was a clear favorite to win. A few notes:
*In an intriguing twist, a 4th-quarter ad -- Tide and the "Miracle Stain" -- surged to a runner-up finish. In the history of Ad Meter, 4th-quarter ads rarely finish that high.
*In the past three years, Doritos' "fan-generated" ads have done remarkably well. This year, both Doritos entrants finished in the Top 10, but the higher-ranked one ("Fashionista Dad") finished out of the Top 3.
*Massive success for Chrysler, whose RAM ad (featuring the stirring oration by the legendary Paul Harvey, combined with fabulously evocative photos) finished 3rd and whose JEEP ad finished 5th.
*Coming in at the very bottom? Go Daddy's spot from early in the 1st quarter, in which supermodel Bar Rafaeli makes out with the nerdy looking guy. Here's the thing: It was the ad everyone was talking about during the game and this morning. In that respect, Go Daddy is a huge winner.
Now, on to the game:
*Joe Flacco: He wants to be considered "elite?" OK: He can be considered "elite."
*Ray Lewis retires a champion: Doesn't happen often, and it is so cool to experience as a fan, even if you don't like Lewis or don't like the Ravens.
*Jacoby Jones: Breakthrough superstar.
*Was it a hold at the end during the 49ers' final shot in the end zone that should have been called? Yes, but I can understand why the refs were nervous and erred on the side of the no-call -- it would have decided the championship and bookended with the Seahawks-Packers replacement-ref debacle from the start of the season as the defining moment of an otherwise kind-of-awesome NFL season.
*Will Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers be back? Yes -- I'll say as soon as next season.
*The Super Bowl's biggest winners: Jack and Jim Harbaugh's parents -- they are adorable.
*In the most randomly fun thing from my weekend, Vernon Davis followed me on Twitter on Saturday. Now, nevermind that it's the day before the Super Bowl and Davis was just sitting around looking for folks to follow on Twitter. Clearly, he earned my rooting interest (I was already picking and partial to the 49ers, despite a loyalty to my home state of Maryland and a fondness for fans in/around Baltimore), but I feel bad that he didn't understand the power of the Quickie jinx. However, I will remain a huge Vernon Davis fan.
OK:
It's the NFL offseason...
College football signing day is this week...
The NBA is snoozing into midseason...
Time to lock in on college hoops...
My children can't get enough of the NHL...
It was a hell of a Super Bowl.
Back to it.
-- D.S.
Anheuser-Busch's "Brotherhood" spot -- friendship between man and horse -- won USA TODAY's Ad Meter (which had more than 7,000 panelists participate). From the minute it was pre-released, it was a clear favorite to win. A few notes:
*In an intriguing twist, a 4th-quarter ad -- Tide and the "Miracle Stain" -- surged to a runner-up finish. In the history of Ad Meter, 4th-quarter ads rarely finish that high.
*In the past three years, Doritos' "fan-generated" ads have done remarkably well. This year, both Doritos entrants finished in the Top 10, but the higher-ranked one ("Fashionista Dad") finished out of the Top 3.
*Massive success for Chrysler, whose RAM ad (featuring the stirring oration by the legendary Paul Harvey, combined with fabulously evocative photos) finished 3rd and whose JEEP ad finished 5th.
*Coming in at the very bottom? Go Daddy's spot from early in the 1st quarter, in which supermodel Bar Rafaeli makes out with the nerdy looking guy. Here's the thing: It was the ad everyone was talking about during the game and this morning. In that respect, Go Daddy is a huge winner.
Now, on to the game:
*Joe Flacco: He wants to be considered "elite?" OK: He can be considered "elite."
*Ray Lewis retires a champion: Doesn't happen often, and it is so cool to experience as a fan, even if you don't like Lewis or don't like the Ravens.
*Jacoby Jones: Breakthrough superstar.
*Was it a hold at the end during the 49ers' final shot in the end zone that should have been called? Yes, but I can understand why the refs were nervous and erred on the side of the no-call -- it would have decided the championship and bookended with the Seahawks-Packers replacement-ref debacle from the start of the season as the defining moment of an otherwise kind-of-awesome NFL season.
*Will Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers be back? Yes -- I'll say as soon as next season.
*The Super Bowl's biggest winners: Jack and Jim Harbaugh's parents -- they are adorable.
*In the most randomly fun thing from my weekend, Vernon Davis followed me on Twitter on Saturday. Now, nevermind that it's the day before the Super Bowl and Davis was just sitting around looking for folks to follow on Twitter. Clearly, he earned my rooting interest (I was already picking and partial to the 49ers, despite a loyalty to my home state of Maryland and a fondness for fans in/around Baltimore), but I feel bad that he didn't understand the power of the Quickie jinx. However, I will remain a huge Vernon Davis fan.
OK:
It's the NFL offseason...
College football signing day is this week...
The NBA is snoozing into midseason...
Time to lock in on college hoops...
My children can't get enough of the NHL...
It was a hell of a Super Bowl.
Back to it.
-- D.S.
Sunday, February 03, 2013
02/03 (Very Super Bowl) Quickie
Prediction for game: 49ers win. (MVP: Vernon Davis.)
Prediction for Ad Meter-winning ad: Doritos. (Surprise of Top 5: Audi.)
Back to it here on Monday morning, after too many days of neglect.
-- D.S.
Prediction for Ad Meter-winning ad: Doritos. (Surprise of Top 5: Audi.)
Back to it here on Monday morning, after too many days of neglect.
-- D.S.
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