The Madness is Here
And just like that we find ourselves in the midst of another great (nay, most kick ass) time of the sports year. Are you like me? Have you been blindly milling around in a haze of self loathing and confusion wondering what in the hell you're going to do now that football is over with? Anyone? To hell with it, let's get to it....
And then there were 16...
I tried to get a post out pre-tournament, but it didn't work out. Nonetheless, who saw this coming? I haven't seen near as much of this tournament as I would have liked to (in bed most of the weekend with wicked cold/flu), but the basketball Gods smiled on me and it seemed that I came to and tuned in at the right time in numerous occasions. Here are my thoughts and observations from what very well may be one of the best first weekends in tournament history.
What a crazy, weird, frustrating year for the Texas Longhorns. I'm a big Barnes fan, always have been and have always been vocal about it, but the brunt of the blame for this year's historic collapse falls squarely on his shoulders. Coach Barnes needs to take a lot of time this off season and reflect on what he did and didn't do to create such inconsistency. It was clear that this team simply stopped having fun and frankly, I think they wanted this season to end more than winning any games or tournaments.
Personally, I think his biggest mistake was not sticking with a more consistent and regular rotation. I think he just killed those kids' confidence when he started messing with that. Rick's a demanding coach, but perfection is simply unrealistic. Here's a novel idea - go to the guy with the hot hand! He's so damned enthralled with making a point that he lost site of what he needed to win.
Granted, Texas had a couple of tough injuries with Ward and Balbay going down, but as deep as this team was, there's still no excuse for the performance they put in over the last 15 games of the year. We will miss Damion James, no question about that, but I say good riddance to Dexter Pittman. I'm not sure I remember a more underachieving big man wearing he orange and white. Barnes needs to bring in a formidable big man who can stick around for a couple of seasons - that's been a gaping hole the last few years.
Will be interesting to see if these freshman roll the dice in the NBA draft (which wouldn't at all surprise me) as well as what kind of class Barnes brings in. I hope to see some changes in this team next year and I don't mean personnel. Painful year that I'm ready to forget about.
Roethlisberger:
Look, I know it's easy for folks to try and extort money from these big-time athletes and therefore, I always tend to give them the benefit of the doubt when something like this comes to light. BUT...this is the second time someone has accused Big Ben of "misconduct". And frankly, as details start to emerge, it just doesn't sound...what's the word I'm looking for....kosher. And I can't help but to think - in all the instances of misconduct that Tiger has gone through, not once did any of those ladies come out and accuse him of something like this.
If nothing else, Big Ben is guilty of stupid judgment - in other words, putting himself in situations where the accusation *could* be made, real or not. I mean, this is the second time in less than a year that he's been accused of this. He may not be guilty of sexual assault (and Lord we hope he isn't), but I think it's safe to say he's guilty of being an idiot.
Other Random NFL Thoughts:
And then there were 16...
I tried to get a post out pre-tournament, but it didn't work out. Nonetheless, who saw this coming? I haven't seen near as much of this tournament as I would have liked to (in bed most of the weekend with wicked cold/flu), but the basketball Gods smiled on me and it seemed that I came to and tuned in at the right time in numerous occasions. Here are my thoughts and observations from what very well may be one of the best first weekends in tournament history.
- And just like that, the hoopla around the Big East and Big 12 is...well, not so hoopla after all. Between Georgetown, Villanova, Pittsburgh, Kansas, Texas and Texas A&M, I'd say the nation's top 2 conferences (by a mile) were underwhelming in this first weekend. The silver lining you ask...
- Baylor Bears. Seriously folks, it wasn't that long ago that this program was entrenched in arguably the worst scandal in college basketball history. And then Scott "I'm going to look this young even when I'm 75" Drew comes in and now they're in the Sweet 16 for the first time in over 60 years. SIXTY YEARS!! Truly unbelievable turnaround in Waco. For what it's worth, I've got them winning the next game too and facing Duke in the Elite 8.
- Believe it or not...I also have Cornell facing Kentucky in the next round. Seriously.
- I took the "I doubt anyone else is picking Ohio State to win it all so I'm going to" approach and picked the Buckeyes to win the whole thing. Based on my pool, about 50% were knocked out when Kansas went down (I would venture to guess that most of your pools had the same thing). If I can just get W. Virginia to knock off Kentucky in the Final Four, I'll be sitting pretty.
- Syracuse is looking reeeeaaaal tough right now. So is Kentucky.
- The "nutting it up" award goes to Purdue for pulling out two huge wins without their best player. Great game against the Aggies on Sunday. Tough loss for the Aggies who I damn near picked to make the Final Four.
- Best ending to a game thus far (and there have been a ton of candidates)? Has to go to Michigan State/Maryland game. Two lead changes in the final 6 seconds.
- Did you happen to see the second half of the Villanova/Robert Morris game? Inexcusable officiating in that game. If I'm Robert Morris, I'm not getting over this one for quite some time.
- You think the Kentucky team are pinching themselves to see if they're dreaming? Cornell in the Sweet 16. They avoided two very tough teams in Temple and Wisconsin. Cornell could keep the dream alive a la George Mason a few years ago, but Kentucky is playing at a very high level right now. I think Kentucky runs away with it, but I'll be rooting like crazy for The Big Red.
- For the record, I didn't pick Texas to win a game in this tournament and I'm damn glad - I'd rather Wake take that ass whuppin' against the Wildcats. Speaking of the Longhorns...
What a crazy, weird, frustrating year for the Texas Longhorns. I'm a big Barnes fan, always have been and have always been vocal about it, but the brunt of the blame for this year's historic collapse falls squarely on his shoulders. Coach Barnes needs to take a lot of time this off season and reflect on what he did and didn't do to create such inconsistency. It was clear that this team simply stopped having fun and frankly, I think they wanted this season to end more than winning any games or tournaments.
Personally, I think his biggest mistake was not sticking with a more consistent and regular rotation. I think he just killed those kids' confidence when he started messing with that. Rick's a demanding coach, but perfection is simply unrealistic. Here's a novel idea - go to the guy with the hot hand! He's so damned enthralled with making a point that he lost site of what he needed to win.
Granted, Texas had a couple of tough injuries with Ward and Balbay going down, but as deep as this team was, there's still no excuse for the performance they put in over the last 15 games of the year. We will miss Damion James, no question about that, but I say good riddance to Dexter Pittman. I'm not sure I remember a more underachieving big man wearing he orange and white. Barnes needs to bring in a formidable big man who can stick around for a couple of seasons - that's been a gaping hole the last few years.
Will be interesting to see if these freshman roll the dice in the NBA draft (which wouldn't at all surprise me) as well as what kind of class Barnes brings in. I hope to see some changes in this team next year and I don't mean personnel. Painful year that I'm ready to forget about.
Roethlisberger:
Look, I know it's easy for folks to try and extort money from these big-time athletes and therefore, I always tend to give them the benefit of the doubt when something like this comes to light. BUT...this is the second time someone has accused Big Ben of "misconduct". And frankly, as details start to emerge, it just doesn't sound...what's the word I'm looking for....kosher. And I can't help but to think - in all the instances of misconduct that Tiger has gone through, not once did any of those ladies come out and accuse him of something like this.
If nothing else, Big Ben is guilty of stupid judgment - in other words, putting himself in situations where the accusation *could* be made, real or not. I mean, this is the second time in less than a year that he's been accused of this. He may not be guilty of sexual assault (and Lord we hope he isn't), but I think it's safe to say he's guilty of being an idiot.
Other Random NFL Thoughts:
- Looks like Pete Carroll is picking up where he left off when he completely destroyed the work Parcels did in New England back in the '90s. Let's see - he trades for a third-string QB who has never thrown a pass in the NFL and then signs him to a new deal where he's paying him (Charlie Whitehurst by the way) $10 million over 2 years? Wow. This is after trading Seneca Wallace away...a player who isn't your future, but a darn good backup who knows the team and the system. Weird, stupid move in my opinion.
- There's no measure to how much I don't care about Tebow's pro day, development, new throwing motion, etc., etc.
- I like what the Jets have done this off season....a lot. Nice pickup getting Tomlinson in there. They've got a solid starter in there, a good young, a great defense that just got better and now they bring in a veteran like LT? Rex Ryan is having a hell of a first year plus in New York.
- Over/under on number of wins Lions pick up next year - 6. I'm taking the over...seriously.
- If I'm a betting man, I'm betting Bradford goes first over Suh or McCoy.
- I'm amazed to continue to see a Georgia Tech wide receiver (Demaryius Thomas) in the first round of most mock drafts - Georgia Tech is an option team which means they rarely pass the ball. Weird.
- If Sergio Kindle can fall to the Patriots it will be really nice for him. What a great team and organization for Kindle who is perfect for a 3-4 defense.
- Really? Sandra Bullock - best actress award? Huh.
- Speaking of the Oscars - actually watched quite a bit of it this year and what a bore of a show this has become. I thought the whole thing was very lame.
- At this point Democrats, just get something done....anything.
- And while this health care debate rages on, what ever happened to the economy, those pesky wars, energy issues, jobs and that other good stuff? Is that on the radar at all with anyone? I recently saw that Congress' approval rating is down to 17% and I can't help but to wonder - what the hell are those 17% of folks seeing that they would say they approve of the job being done?
- Got sucked into an NCIS marathon in my sick time this weekend - not sure what it is, but that show is addicting as hell.
- I've got a few issues with 24 this year - the Dana character (analyst at new CTU) is a little much. Her whole story just seems....ridiculous to say the least.
- The new South Park about sex addiction is classic - the sex addiction class Kyle and Butters have to go to is awesome. "We've got a turd in the punchbowl. I repeat, a turd in the punchbowl" - that's funny, funny stuff.
posted by The Bearden Wonder at 6:32 PM
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