Blake Griffin Dunk of the Week (January 17th)

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I post this the evening after Blake Superior posted the high score for a single game this season with 47 points. Unfortunately, Blake did not have a dunk in this game.

So we will go with an emotional dunk against the dark side of the NBA... the Miami Heat. Enjoy!

And as always stay classy,

B-Dubs

Someone get Jay Cutler his ba ba; more Case of the Mondays

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More Mile High Musings for a Monday that, fittingly, begins with 30 fresh starts and ends with a championship finish...

• I guess I should weigh in on the Jay Cutler saga, you know, being that I'm a Broncos fan and I write for a blog and all. One problem: I don't quite know how I feel about the whole situation, like whose side I was on (Cutler's or the Broncos') or who was the winner in April 2nd's big deal (Bears or Broncos).


• The one thing I do know about the situation...well, to be honest, I can't say it any better than (of all people) George Karl, coach of the red-hot Denver Nuggets. When the DP asked Karl, who's dealt with a similar situation last summer with the Melo trade rumors, about the Cutler ordeal barely 24 hours before Baby Jay was shipped to Chicago, Karl said this:


• "My thought is - I'd take them up to the mountains, put them in a cabin, and make them spend three days with each other."


• Okay, when the man who took three years to figure out that giving JR Smith more than 15 minutes a game might be a good thing for your basketball team can make logical sense with his 'football GM' hat on, that's not a good sign for the Denver Donkeys, now is it?


• I get that Jay has the maturity of a six-year-old girl with Barbie-doll separation issues. I get that many of the all-time greats (John Elway and Carmelo Anthony, for two) have dealt with trade rumors far, far better than he did. I get that Cutler - a franchise player for two years - could have easily strolled across the locker room and asked his new teammate, safety Brian Dawkins and the Eagles' franchise player of 13 years, how to act like a man when your employer curiously wants nothing to do with you.


• But something doesn't sit right with me, when respected football writers like my personal favorite Peter King paint this picture of Pat Bowlen as not only a fantastic owner (which he is), but also a man you do not disrespect under any circumstances.


• Pat Bowlen's letter to Bronco Nation reeks of a spin job; methinks Mr. Bowlen felt his ego was more important than winning football games.


• Bowlen wrote that "it has never been about one player, and it never will be." Tell me, Patty, how it wasn't about "one player" when you allowed "one player" to set your franchise back five years because he didn't pick up his cell phone. Give. Me. A. Break.


• You allowed it to be about one player by surrendering to his so-called demands instead of fining the crap out of him and forcing him to make nice with Josh McDaniels.


• That's my thoughts on the Ghost of Broncos past; since I want to get to baseball, I'll post something about the Broncos future tomorrow. But quickly, I will say that I believe in Kyle Orton. Yes, this man. He is not "horrible" as I've heard so many good people and Bears fans (the same people, strangely enough) claim. We'll talk more about Orton tomorrow.



• I tell you: nothing says Opening Day quite like ponchos and down jackets, huh?


• Watching that Mets-Reds slip 'n slide...er, baseball game...earlier today, those fans looked like they'd rather be sipping cocoa in the ski lodge then freezing their arses off at a baseball game.


• As it was, two games were postponed on Opening Day (Rays-Red Sox and Royals-White Sox). Good thing; with soaking-wet fields, you wouldn't want the players to catch pneumonia by getting their Sox wet.


• Here's the part I don't get: when all 30 teams are in action, you've got eight NL games and seven AL games each day. Why aren't we dictating that every game being played before, say, April 15, is either in a dome or a warm-weather city?


• Florida, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Houston, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Arizona. And Colorado, St. Louis and Washington as possible backups.


• Tampa Bay, Toronto, Minnesota, Seattle, Oakland, Los Angeles, Texas. And maybe Kansas City and Baltimore as possible backups.


• But no, let's schedule games in Boston, Chicago, and Cincinnati. What's funny is, out of the 13 games on Opening Day, 10 of them are in one of those domed or warm-weather locales.


• However, if MLB doesn't learn anything from this year, they never will. The three cold-weather games? Two postponements and the aforementioned tundra-like affair in Cincinnati.



• All right, Yankees fans, you finally got to see your $23 million a year 'till 2015 investment in action. And what did we get in return from Carsten Charles Sabathia, aka Mr. $700,000-per-start?


• (Consulting the box score...talk amongst yourselves...hmmm, this doesn't look good. Earmuffs, kids.)


• 4 1/3 innings, 96 pitches (only 50 strikes), six earned runs, eight hits, five walks and a whopping zero strikeouts. Lemme repeat that, because I sure as haaaaail did a double-take just typing that: five walks, zero strikeouts. Against the devastatingly powerful Orioles lineup.


• Stathead alert! Today was CC's 255th career start, and only the third time he failed to strike a batter out (both in 2005: May 5 at Minnesota and July 25 at Oakland). He's also never walked that many (five) while failing to ring up a single batter. By the way, on a separate note: CC's career postseason ERA is 7.92.


• 700 grand for that masterpiece today. Don't spend it all in one place, CC (or should I say, BB?)


• And Yankees fans, don't say I didn't warn you: Sabathia's gonna go something like 14-10 with an ERA in the high 3s, maybe low 4s this year. Sounds like $23 million well spent.


• For those of you screaming, "You guys both took him to win the Cy this year!" Well, consider this my official retraction. I'm going with either Ervin Santana or Roy Halladay. No, that's not a knee-jerk, one-game reaction.



• From the That Really Grinds My Gears Department: Tried out MLB.com's TV package today. I've done it the past three years, for some reason, since I've received the worst customer service out of any company to which I write checks. MLBTV's new "Nexdef" technology provides a crystal clear picture...but the damn thing freezes every 15 seconds, and doesn't refresh, so you end up watching the sixth inning when the game is actually in the eighth. Do not purchase this product, not worth the money.



• How 'bout my Marlins, huh? Highest run-scoring team of the day (as of 7 pm CST). Not bad for my World Series pick. Good start. Nice way to kick things off for Benji's favorite team, too; Rangers a 9-1 winner over the Tribe.


• Not so good for the Rox, 9-8 losers to the D-Bags Snakes.


• C'mon, Cookie, you're better than that.


• Quick shout-out to Michael Bleach of the Badger Herald, whose column last Thursday set the all-time Herald Sports record for "most commented story". (And to think, I only helped him once!) Had no idea softball people were that passionate, but it is a very well-written column and the ensuing commentors are insightful.



• BREAKING NEWS! So this news came out while I was putting this together: San Antonio Spurs douche guard Manu Ginobili's is out for the remainder of the season and playoffs because he committed too many flopping violations with an ankle injury.


• BREAKING VIEWS! Manu's season is over. So is the Spurs'. It's a two-horse race in the West now. (I will now go pump my fist Tiger-style for the next three hours.)
  
  


• Tonight's NCAA championship game should be a great one. The villain powerhouse against the Cinderella underdog that everyone's pulling for...for a reason other than basketball.


• Personally, I want to apologize to the Michigan State Spartans for doubting them. Sitting behind their bench during a bad loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, the players seemed dysfunctional; I didn't get the feeling they really loved each other the way great teammates should. Kudos to Tom Izzo's crew for showing another iconic Big Ten coach how it's done in March and April, and it's great that you've lifted the spirits of Michigan.


• That said, speaking of teams that love each other, Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green didn't all come back to school just to lose in the championship game to a team it previously beat by 35...on that same court. Tar Heels win tonight, but it might be closer than you think - maybe the first single-digit win of North Carolina's tournament.


• Blake Griffin, thou art behemoth. Courtney Paris, thou art creatureth larger than behemoth.



• Brad Hawpe = Brandon Webb's daddy. And that's all I have to say about that.

Have a good one.

-AJ

Oklahoma Sooner Men's Basketball: Eulogy for the 2008-2009 Season

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There were some expectations.... some.

The Sooners only lost two seniors from the previous season in which they bowed out of the NCAA tournament in the 2nd round as a 6-seed.

The Big-12 was down. National champion Kansas lost over half-a-dozen players. Texas lost its best player and leader of the team. Kansas State lost Michael Beasley... which was their team. The Big-12 was ready for the taking.

There were questions, however. Was Blake Griffin ready to step up and be the leader and rock that the team needed? Was the guard play good enough to take the team deep into the tournament? Was freshman Willie Warren going to ruin the team chemistry with his selfish play?

The questions were answered. All points pointed to this Oklahoma Sooner team being something special. In Jeff Capel's third year in Norman... Sooner basketball was back and Oklahoma was primed for a title run. They ran through non-conference play with only one hiccup on the road at Arkansas. Then started Big-12 play 11-0. Oklahoma was #2 in the country and primed to take over number one as they headed to Austin to play an overmatched Horns team.

But then the unthinkable happened.

The, now hands down, best player in the country, Blake Griffin, got popped in the head by an sweeping elbow and was knocked out the the game. Concussions are a scary thing, and it was disturbing to see how "Out of it" Blake was during that game and the next on the bench.

Blake "The Behemoth" Griffin (nicknamed by AJ) returned after a week and the Sooners won against Texas Tech. The team chemistry, however, seemed shaky. The Sooners finished the season with 3 wins and 2 losses including a quarterfinal loss to Oklahoma State in the Big-12 tournament. All of the question marks returned. It was evident that the Oklahoma guards were not playing well enough to support Mr. Griffin for a tournament run.

Then, Jeff Capel pulled his team together. After struggling down the stretch, OU came out strong against Morgan State... but it is Morgan State.

An impressive and dominant 2nd half against Michigan sold me on the fact that this team was back on track and in mid-season form. Then came the mighty Orangemen. I thought it would be a dog fight and prayed that the Sooners would prevail. However, it seemed that the Crimson and Cream were the only players in the gym on Friday night. Syracuse couldn't hit a shot and OU couldn't miss one. Tony Crocker had the game of his life, and OU prevailed with ease. The only thing trying to stop OU and especially Blake Griffin, was the side of the backboard trying to attack Blake's forehead.

Then came the Tar Heels. Everyone in the country knew that the Sooners were overmatched at most positions. Even the great Tyler Hansbrough was going to at least contain BG23. Nay. Blake had his way with that wide-eyed school boy. Unfortunately for "The Behemoth," he was the only Sooner that remembered how to play basketball. Defensively OU played UNC quite well. The problem was the Oklahoma guards couldn't throw a marble into the Pacific Ocean. The team started 0-16 from the land of treys. That will not win you ball games. The sad thing is, if OU hit 25% from the land of treys... they are in the basketball game if not sending the game to an extra period.

In the end, before we bury this team, let's reflect on the great moments we had together and the pitfalls.

-Holding off Davidson's late charge and seeing Blake Griffin and Stephen Curry on the same court was a sight to behold.
-Beating Purdue to win the Pre-season NIT.
-Losing to Arkansas... a terrible team.
-Beating arch nemesis Texas by 15 pts in the first Big-12 home game. First win against Texas in about 5 years.
-Going to Stillwater and winning is always fun.
-Blake's 40 and 23 in only 31 minutes against Tech.
-Watching Blake go down in the Texas game.
-Watching the comeback against Kansas without Blake, and being crushed by the loss.
-Getting dismantled by Mizzou on the road.

-Holding off OSU for my last home game. Willie, I will never forget your 25-footer that sealed the game.
-Disappointed after landing in Boston and seeing we lost to OSU in the quarters of the Big-12.
-The first three rounds of the tournament were fantastic and exciting, especially the Syracuse game.
-Knowing we would lose, but hoping against UNC.

A few last words.

I will miss the Griffin brothers. Taylor Griffin was so underrated as a Sooner. He was awesome to watch and showed real heart in his final season. I will miss so much looking forward to Sportscenter's top-10 because it was guaranteed I would see at least two Blake Griffin plays. Blake... you are an animal and you will be missed.

Here is to you not playing for the Clippers next year...

and to the 2008-2009 Sooners.... may you rest in peace.

My Super Sweet Sixteen (Not the awful MTV show)

Well AJ and myself have joined forces to bring the world the greatest blog it has ever seen. This is not actually the greatest blog ever, it didn't look anything like this... this is just a tribute...

Ok, I'm not Jack Black and AJ is not Kyle Gass, and now its time for my sweet sixteen preview. I'll go from the Jason "Get me a wheelchair" Kidd region (weakest) to the Devin "I can make half court shots blindfolded to win games" Harris region (strongest).

Midwest AKA: Jason "Get me a wheelchair" Kidd region

1. Louisville vs. 12. Arizona

Could Arizona have gotten an easier road to this dance? An athletically over-matched Utah team that was the worst mis-seeding in the tournament... and then Cleveland State, the Cinderella with no glass slipper. The Wildcats get devoured by the Cardinals here by 12 points.

2. Michigan State vs. Kansas

AJ probably has a better point of view on MSU, and I haven't seen much of them this year, but I did see them beat Kansas early in the year fairly handily. This is a different Kansas team. They are very young but have played some PRIME TIME GAMES BABY!! I don't see MSU with an answer for Cole Aldrich who posted a triple-double in round two with 10 blocks!! Kansas by 4.

East AKA: Terrell "I moved from America's team to North America's team" Owens region

1. Pittsburgh vs. Xavier

I don't have much to say here, other than I think Pitt wakes up after a slow start to this tournament. They come alive in a big way here and overmatch an athletic Xavier team by around 10 points.

2. Duke vs. Villanova

Maybe the most intriguing sweet 16 match. I think Duke has overachieved all season (and has been overrated). Nova has hit their stride at the right time. I hate Greg Paulus and I hope they lose... and I think they will. I think Nova is too athletic and will be able to get points in the paint all night long like they did against UCLA. If Duke gets hot from three-point land then they could steal this game away. However Nova's guards will play the perimeter tight and I like them to win in a close one. Nova by 3.

West AKA: Gus "Sorentine... from the parking lot!!!" Johnson region

1. UCONN vs. Purdue

Adversity does not affect UCONN. We saw that in round one. We will see it again. Purdue is an inferior team by lightyears. UCONN knocks out Purdue and AJ's beloved Big 10 is out of the tournament. Now, a moment of silence for the Big 10...

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Ok. UCONN by 13.

2. Memphis vs. 3. Mizzouri

Mizzou's pressure defense works against a lot of teams. They can force a lot of turnovers, but the athletes of Memphis are just too strong. I think this will be a good game for a half. Then Memphis pulls away. Memphis by 9.

South AKA: Devin "I can make half court shots blindfolded to win games" Harris region

1. UNC vs. Gonzaga

I think this game will be closer than a lot of people think. Vegas says UNC -7. I think this game will be within 5. However, Ty Lawson is the X factor. If he can stay healthy and effective in this game.... UNC will pull it out. UNC by 4.

2. Oklahoma vs. Syracuse

I will try to be unbiased. I HATE Devendorf. HATE. However, when he is hot... he is better than Jimmy Chitwood. Well, maybe not THAT good, but he is a fantastic guard. The athleticism of Syracuse scares me. Willie Warren is the only OU guard who matches up well against Syracuse. I just don't know who is going to stop the player of the year. Blake Griffin will get his video game-esque numbers... but who else will step up? My answer is the combination of Taylor Griffin and Austin Johnson. Austin will hit at least 3 timely treys and Taylor will have close to a double-double. OU squeezes this one out. OU by 2.

Well thats all I got folks. Hopefully I will keep up with this steroids-free blog and wont pull a post OC Mischa Barton and disappear off the face of the Earth. Damn she was hott... I miss her.

Stay classy,

B-Dubs

Ranking the Sweet Sixteen teams still standing

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B-dubs, B-dubs, please ... leave the nicknaming to the professionals. Although you're right, Kidd does need to get one of those Rascals, and that Mark Cuban continues to insist the Kidd-for-Harris deal did not set his franchise back 10 years (minimum) is one this country's greatest cases of denial today.

But anyway...B-dubs has offered up who he thinks will win each Sweet 16 game and ranked the regions from best (Harris, the Badger) to worst (Kidd, the wife-beater), so I'll take a slightly different approach. Here's a Power 16, ranking the teams based on how they're playing right now. Consider my personal pick for each game based on these rankings (i.e. since Purdue is 4 and UCheat is 5, yes, that means I think the Boilers will beat the UConMen. Er, Huskies.).

Here we go, from Kidd to Harris:

16) Arizona. Totally agree with B-Dubs: they've done nothing of substance in this tournament except send a thank-you note to Wake Forest for rolling over for Cleveland State. The Wildcats are talented individually, but are still the same team that finished 1-5.

15) Xavier. The worst 4-seed entering last weekend, and the Musketeers were shaky in both victories before pulling away.

14) Kansas. Cole Aldrich? You're coming at me with Cole Aldrich? Make no mistake, Brandon Rush ain't walking through that door. Neither is Mario Chalmers, Darrell Arthur, Darnell Jackson or the great Sasha Kaun.

13) Gonzaga. Juuuuust made it past Western Kentucky, and I don't buy any theories about how the Adam Morrisons can get by North Carolina. Should be an easy third-rounder for the Heels.

12) Villanova. Couldn't the Wildcats have humored us and not destroyed American U. after taunting us with a potential upset of gargantuan proportions? Party poopers.

11) Michigan State. I believe you never really know a team until you sit behind its bench for an entire game, which I did at the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis. And weirdly, I found a weird vibe among the Spartan players, like they don't love each other the way they should. I still think they'll get by Rock Chalk, but they stand little chance against Louisville.

10) Missouri. Ladies and gentlemen (and Memphis), meet Forty Minutes of Hell. Tigers-Tigers will be the best game of the Sweet 16...and you gotta love any matchup where the two teams share a nickname.

9) Duke. Not sure what to make of Da Dukies...I mean, how do they constantly win with so little athleticism? But Coach K knows best, I suppose. If Henderson, Singler and Scheyer stay hot, Duke can win it all...but Nova could be dangerous too, and Duke is no stranger to early exits.

8) Pittsburgh. DeJuan Blair, thou art behemoth.

7) Oklahoma. Blake Griffin, you too. And not too shabby with the ladies, either.

6) Syracuse. America's Team, as far as I'm concerned. I get that people don't like Eric Devendorf, but the very cool friendship between Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris cancels out the likeability factor. And you've gotta pull for a team that wins in six OTs, any day.

5) Connecticut. OK, you got me, they're obviously playing better than this. But like I outlined above, I think Purdue will win the game, so I have to put the Huskies below the Boilers. I will say this, though: the Nate Miles thing will not be a distraction. Methinks these old, old allegations have nothing to do with Hasheem Thabeet dunking or blocking a basketball.

4) Purdue. Here's why I think Purdue will win: they haven't been healthy all year. They're peaking at the PERFECT time. It's far and away the deepest team in the Big Ten, and among the deepest in the country. And most of all, per my Michigan State theory, they LO-O-O-O-OVE each other to death. I like the Boilers to crash the Elite Eight.

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3) Memphis. But Purdue will meet its match there. Memphis is playing with a massive chip on its shoulder. Hey Coach Cal, just make sure they hit their free throws when it counts, eh?

2) Louisville. I don't think the Cardinals have played like the second-best team in the field, but they will look like it after yawning past the patsies awaiting them in Indianapolis.

1) North Carolina. Take some Aleve for that toe, Ty. I love the Heels, but they're a different team without their point guard at full strength.

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To save you from tallying it up based on the rankings, I've got Louisville and Michigan State, North Carolina and Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Duke, and Purdue and Memphis advancing to the Elite Eight. Enjoy the games tonight and Friday.

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-AJ