No Mo-Town

Well, we are finally here. One of the greatest weekends in sports of the year. The NBA and NHL have hit the home stretch and teams are fighting for playoff berths. Ballpark hot dogs and peanuts are consumed as Opening Day (or in this case, Opening Night) hits stadiums and televisions across the country. Golf previews everywhere are gearing us up for the roars to come at Augusta National.

And finally... the Final Four. Please fasten your seat belts, and return your tray tables and seat backs to their upright and locked positions. This year we travel to lovely Detroit, Michigan; home to a 33% drop in population over the past few decades. Yes, literally one-third of the city is empty/abandoned/a ghost town. Have you heard: the auto industry is dying up there.

What a beautiful destination for one of sport's greatest showcases!

This really grinds my gears. The Superbowl is played in nice locations such as San Diego, Miami, Phoenix, etc. The biggest college football bowl games are played in similar places where the weather is nice and there are plenty of flashy activities. Then the other big sports: NBA, MLB, NHL, all have home and home series for their playoffs.

So, why does college basketball continue the trend of putting their fantastic finish (and maybe sport's greatest "playoff") in landlocked mundane locations. Indianapolis, St. Louis, Atlanta, Minneapolis, etc. Are you telling me that you would leave your HD TV behind and drop a few hundy on a trip to Minneapolis?

Nothing against these cities, but I'm just not intrigued enough to get up off the couch and attend one of my favorite sport's championship.

Now I'm not saying the NCAA has completely dropped the ball. Things are a little better when April Absurdity ends in San Antonio (home state bias alert). At least the weather is warm and you have the Riverwalk. In 2003, the association hit a homerun when the tournament led to New Orleans, but these occurrences don't happen often enough. They need to be routine.

Now, I understand that some of this has to do with it being a college sport. We don't want the little collegiate children getting themselves into any trouble, but college football has been fine (for the most part) and they play their games in Los Angeles and Miami.

Maybe, this is just a manifestation of me hoping that I have press credentials one day and get a free trip to the beach. Maybe this is just me nitpicking what I think is sport's greatest postseason. Or, maybe this is a change we need. As college basketball fans, we deserve a fantastic getaway when our team survives the tournament (unlike a random computer deciding that we deserve a good vacation).

One thing is for sure... we don't deserve a vacay to 8-Mile Road.

-B-Dubs

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.

The parity (or parody) of college hockey

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March Madness ain't just a reference to the NCAA men's tournament. Not after Saturday's craziness, which wasn't just limited to Nova's thrilling win over Pitt in Boston.

That was a pretty sick ending to the Iowa State-Michigan State Sweet 16 game, when the ninth-seeded Spartans, fresh off beating top seed Duke, almost ended up in the Elite Eight before the Cyclones advanced on a controversial non-call at the buzzer, leaving the Spartans coach in utter disbelief on the sidelines. Findlay completed an undefeated season in D-2 with a game-ending three by Tyler Evans to win the title 56-53 over Cal Poly-Pomona (hitting a three at the buzzer to win a championship...sweeeeeeet). And a lacrosse game between Virginia and Maryland went seven overtimes - one longer than Syracuse and Connecticut basketball at the Big East tournament - before the Cavs won 10-9.

And then, there's the annually overshadowed NCAA championship: the men's hockey tournament, leading up to the Frozen Four.

Don't like the chalk of the men's basketball tournament? Then hockey's your game this spring.

At least No. 1-ranked Boston University showed up, winning its first round 8-3. However, the 2-through-6 teams in the USCHO.com Poll - Notre Dame, Michigan, Denver, Yale, and Northeastern) went 0-5 in the first round, losing valiently by a combined score of 18-6. 18-6!

The five teams who beat them? Bemidji State (receiving votes in the poll), Air Force (ranked 18th), Miami (ranked 13th), Vermont (11th) and Cornell (9th), respectively. If you don't already know, only 16 teams make the tournament. So these dragon-slayers hardly belonged in the tournament to begin with.

And what's up with the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's members forgetting how to play hockey? The WCHA, home to teams like Denver, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota (four of the five schools with at least five national titles) and five of the last seven champs, only qualified three teams for the 2009 tournament, down from six in '08. And those three schools didn't stick around very long, as Denver and UND were one-and-done, while Minnesota-Duluth won a round in overtime before falling to Miami (Ohio). After winning five straight championships from 2002-06, the WCHA will now suffer a Yankees-like, three-year title drought. Yuck.

That's the nature of hockey, though: a bounce of the puck here, a tipped shot there, and you've got teams like Bemidji State and Cornell crashing the Elite Eight or even Frozen Four. No, seriously. Those two teams are playing each other for a spot in the national semifinals. Not exactly household names like UNC or UConn, huh?

The six teams still competing are Boston U, New Hampshire, Vermont, Miami (Ohio), Cornell and Bemidji State. HUGE props to anybody who, without consulting Google, can name all six teams' nicknames off the top of their heads.

-AJ

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

Final thoughts on the UW basketball season

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Thanks to my superiors at the Capital Times, I got to handle the Badgerbeat.com game blogs all season long for the Wisconsin men's basketball games. Even though their record was pretty despicable in games I blogged - at my count, the Badgers won just six of those 16 games, including the entire six-game losing streak - it was an unbelievable experience to cover the team in a completely different way; giving play-by-play updates and constant in-game commentary that was mostly knee-jerk based on what was going on in that moment. One of the coolest parts was seeing the comments from readers grow week by week, and they were not only very respectable but also had great insight on the team that I learned from. Throw in my responsibilities of conducting the post-game interviews with Cap Times columnist Mike Lucas - an old-school student of the game and an absolute stathead, always cool in my book - as well as my first IM basketball action (419ers, represent) and I felt like I learned so much about the game of basketball this winter.

Here's my basic take on the team this season: they missed Brian Butch and Mike Flowers more than people realize. I think it could be one hell of a debate in a newspaper or on "Sidelines" with Lucas and Tom Oates and Jeff Potrykus and those guys: which athlete caught more unnecessary flak during his playing days and was never appreciated for his truly astronomical value until after he graduated, John Stocco (UW quarterback, 2003-2006) or Butch (UW basketball center, 2003-2007)? Without Butch aka The Polar Bear, the team was way too small, and lacked a clutch-time scorer as well as an emotional spark-plug. And without his mentor Flowers, Trevon Hughes was a lone gun out there; a role player masquerading as "the" guy for the entire season. No offense to Pop, but he's not consistent enough to be the first, second and third option on the offensive end.

The scoring droughts absolutely killed this team's season, and the fact that the Badgers led late in 10 of their 13 losses speaks both to their offensive inefficiency and their obvious dropoff from the 2007-08 club that ranked tops in national defense. I think fans should be happy with the nice upset victory against Florida State that not only validated UW's place in the NCAA tournament, but also got the Badgers to 20 wins and made this a B-minus season and not something in C-ville.

Quick look-ahead to next year: look for that three-guard lineup to be a regular thing. Jordan Taylor will likely become the starting point guard, with Hughes and Jason Bohannon as the shooters. Jon Leuer and Keaton Nankivil will be the forwards, with Tim Jarmusz, Rob Wilson, and any mix of freshmen Ryan Evans and Jared Berggren and incomer Diamond Taylor rounding out the rotation.

Ben Voelkel of SportsBubbler.com thinks that the team I just outlined will be a top-15 squad in 2009-10. I say nay; still not enough offensive firepower, and the Big Ten is only gonna get better top to bottom. Love to hear what you guys think on this.

-AJ