I read somewhere that the chance of success goes up significantly (read: I can't remember the number and don't feel like making one up but remember I was impressed by the percentage stated). In an effort to increase my chances of succeeding at basketball (or becoming an old man) I will chronicle the events that took place on a basketball court every Monday night. Some people do Lent journals or track their progress in the weight room, running, or whatever habbit they have adopted. I will show the unexpected stories and life lessons learned from the perspective of a former scholarship athlete who is now woefully out of shape
After the physical diaster of last week, I was feeling some butterflies in my stomach when driving to the gym this week. I did have an advantage as compared to week one: I was not on a 104 week lay off.
I got there and shot around while the first game was playing. It went into "overtime" which means the teams were so full of fat men that neither could get the necessary point advantage to win the game. Eventually the organizer claimed the next point would win. The good news was I had plenty of time to shoot on the side baskets. The bad news was I did not get any better at shooting with the extra time. After a series of back rim misses and a handful of close range swishes I took a three ball. It was the similar result to last week's three point attempt. #airball I stopped shooting and waited for my turn.
The first game went well. By well, I mean I did not feel the desire to throw up. I paced myself up and down the court. Rather than taking long full strides that eat up energy like YouTube eats up mobile phone bandwith, I took short choppy steps and miandered down the court like I was an old man who had bad knees. I even threw in a fake limp here and there so I could fit in better.
The first possession of the game I went to the left block. During my shoot around I practiced some low post footwork. I am typically pretty good in the post. I can drop step and square up. I have trouble with the quickest moves that go across the lane or that quick jump step that is really a travel. Either way, I caught the ball expecting to use a little shimmy left then turn back to the right. The left step was fine, but the step back right was a diaster. I planted and my heel slipped. I lost my balance and leaned heavily on the defender who signaled for a travel and I threw the ball to the guard on the wing.
The floor was really dusty. I have no idea how these guys didn't hurt themselves. People were slipping the first two games before they mopped the playing service. I was expecting a myriad of pulled groins and hernias. Can a guy get a hernia from slipping on a basketball floor? I know old guys get hernias all the time, this has to be a way they do it.
We lost the game. I went on a three shot score streak towards the end of the game. I found my mid range jump shot, started posting at the elbow. The guards would run screens off the top or back cut. I'd turn and shoot or get my guy to commit one way and take him to the hole for a lay up on the other. Plus, these guys love to run around and cut. Whenever I played pick up ball, mostly the guy who dribbled it down shot it or made one pass and that guy shot it. Now that I think about it, no wonder I was exhausted the first week. These old men never stop moving!
The second game I felt more confident so I popped out onto the wing. There was a pregnant polevaulter's success chance that I would shoot the ball. I passed after feigning a drive and repositioned my self on the low block. Several trips down the court I caught the ball in the post, not fumbling it, I might add. That was a big improvement from week one. I'd pass out or turn and shoot. I was knocking down baseline jumpers and went strong with the left hand on a drop step.
The second game was closer and we led for most of it. However towards the end of the game the other team went on a barrage of three bombs and took the lead. They ended up winning by 4. Yet, my offensive game was complete when popped out to the wing, looked the defended dead in the eye and pulled the trigger. #swish There was no serious thought that it would go in, but I had missed so badly on the previous three point attempts that I figured the law of averages had to be on my side.
The defensive game couldn't be better. Well, I could be able to rise up higher on rebounds, but I have blocked someone every game. Twice I have thrown it off the back wall. I'm beginning to think these old men have not played with a shot block recently. They body the defender all the way to the lane and throw up a guarded lay up. I don't let them get a body. Usually I let them past me or come from the help side then jump up and smack the ball. Next week I'll just catch it.
But my absolute favorite this week was a guy who went up for a fast break lay up, and I tracked him down. He released the ball low and in front of him, so I had to wait until it got hire up on the glass. Unfortunately it hit the backboard low and on the way up. Nonetheless, I picked it off the side of the square and threw it backwards. They called goaltending, but sometimes in a pick up game it's good for the opponents to know what they can and cannot do.
Lessons learned this week: The high post offense works, my defense is sound, and I still haven't hit the rim on a three point attempt.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
Old Man Basketball Journal, Week One
I read somewhere that the chance of success goes up significantly (read: I can't remember the number and don't feel like making one up but remember I was impressed by the percentage stated). In an effort to increase my chances of succeeding at basketball (or becoming an old man) I will chronicle the events that took place on a basketball court every Monday night. Some people do Lent journals or track their progress in the weight room, running, or whatever habbit they have adopted. I will show the unexpected stories and life lessons learned from the perspective of a former scholarship athlete who is now woefully out of shape.
Last Monday night I engaged in basketball with some men between the ages of 25-50. Mixed in were a handful of varstity basketball players. I hadn't played in over two years. That is an approximation because I cannot remember the last time I played. I think it was two years ago because for the last two years I have been teaching school, and I know there is no way I have played during that time. The only times in the past two years I would have had a chance to play would have been when I traveled home for Christmas where a bunch of old teammates and players past from my school gather and play between 8-12 at night. I purposely did not take athletic shoes home so I wouldn't be able to play.
So I look back to anytime before then and a smattering of outdoor pick up games and church league ball. I remember being in great shape, working out, and being able to run as fast and jump as high as I had when I was in college. Plus I put on ten pounds so I was tougher through the lane. I dominated the old men and baptists who played in the league. I tipped the ball, one game, at the top of the key and took it the other way by myself. I threw it down, and the uptight referree/commissioner of the league blew the whistle before I landed. He T'd me up for dunking. I smirked and ran down the to the other side of the court where the whole time he was warning me not to get another technical because I would be thrown out of his elite league... the league was not elite and nor did he say so. But his confidence that I wanted to play in his league at all costs certainly insinuated that.
A game later I was playing on defense and got called for an over the back. I dropped an f-bomb because I did not have self control and thought my ability afforded me the right to cuss in a league that gave people technicals for dunking. It wasn't very loud and I am pretty sure only three people on the court heard it: me, my the guy I jumped over, and the Wizard of T's. The whistle blew, everyone looked around to see what was going on, "who said it?!" He repeated his question to which two players, one from each team repsonded "who said what?"
He was in a precariouss position because being the legalist he was, no way could he tell us what that mysterious person said. So now there was a mysterious person uttering a mysterious word. He explained it was a cuss word that started with the letter 'f', but he was reluctant to tell us what it started with. I raised my hand and owned it. He then once again warned me to not get another technical. Our team's captain protested that no one else heard it and he didn't know who said it, so how could he call it. The other team kind of agreed.
Later that game, I was face guarding the opponent's best player. They were older men between 40-50, clearly knew how to play, but they were losing a step. He was all elbows and knees trying to chip me wherever he could. Finally, I cut a pass off at the top of the key, elbows and knees was in tow. I went up for the lay up, and would have dunked it if I were allowed. But I went up high because I didn't want elbows and knees to get any ideas. He did, and that bastard undercut me, rolled up on my ankle, and knocked me into the wall. "G-D!" But I didn't say G-D. I took the Lord's name in vain in from of the Wizard of technicals right after he told me not to cuss.
Not only was I legitimately hurt, I was pissed that elbows and knees undercut me like the past his prime bitch he was. I hit the concrete floor with my hand because it seemed like breaking my hand might make my ankle better. I tried to get up but I fell down and then got up on one leg and hopped to the bench. The Wizard decided not to give me a T, and I decided not to punch elbows and knee. I think that was the last time I played pick up basketball.
This week I played two games. I had the opportunity to play them back to back, but I passed because I thought I was going to vomit. Not only could I not move quick enough with the ball to be any sort of effective, I couldn't move without the ball. By the end of the game and several trips walking up and down the court I got that really hot overheated feeling, my neck started to sweat and my stomach dropped. I let my older brother play in my stead. He is as a good athlete as I am, but he has been out of shape longer then I have. Except now he is in sneaky good shape.
He drained threes from the corner, step back jumpers, went to the wrack, and played defense. Afterwards he told me he could have run one more but would've felt it the next day. He played a total of three games, I played two. His team was 2-1. Mine was 0-2. He scored 40% of his teams points. I think I had 15%. Oh, and I airballed my only three. I was lucky I could lift my hands above my head to shoot it, at that point, though.
The worst part was I invited him. That SoB (does that mean I am talking bad about my mother) came, saw, and conquered. Not only could I not play, I was being shown up by my older brother who I invited. Not to mention this was the first time I played with this new group of guys and kind of invite myself the way a new kid invites himself somewhere hoping people will like him.
Lessons for this week: little brothers will always be little brothers; don't take two years off between pick up basketball; being old sucks
Last Monday night I engaged in basketball with some men between the ages of 25-50. Mixed in were a handful of varstity basketball players. I hadn't played in over two years. That is an approximation because I cannot remember the last time I played. I think it was two years ago because for the last two years I have been teaching school, and I know there is no way I have played during that time. The only times in the past two years I would have had a chance to play would have been when I traveled home for Christmas where a bunch of old teammates and players past from my school gather and play between 8-12 at night. I purposely did not take athletic shoes home so I wouldn't be able to play.
So I look back to anytime before then and a smattering of outdoor pick up games and church league ball. I remember being in great shape, working out, and being able to run as fast and jump as high as I had when I was in college. Plus I put on ten pounds so I was tougher through the lane. I dominated the old men and baptists who played in the league. I tipped the ball, one game, at the top of the key and took it the other way by myself. I threw it down, and the uptight referree/commissioner of the league blew the whistle before I landed. He T'd me up for dunking. I smirked and ran down the to the other side of the court where the whole time he was warning me not to get another technical because I would be thrown out of his elite league... the league was not elite and nor did he say so. But his confidence that I wanted to play in his league at all costs certainly insinuated that.
A game later I was playing on defense and got called for an over the back. I dropped an f-bomb because I did not have self control and thought my ability afforded me the right to cuss in a league that gave people technicals for dunking. It wasn't very loud and I am pretty sure only three people on the court heard it: me, my the guy I jumped over, and the Wizard of T's. The whistle blew, everyone looked around to see what was going on, "who said it?!" He repeated his question to which two players, one from each team repsonded "who said what?"
He was in a precariouss position because being the legalist he was, no way could he tell us what that mysterious person said. So now there was a mysterious person uttering a mysterious word. He explained it was a cuss word that started with the letter 'f', but he was reluctant to tell us what it started with. I raised my hand and owned it. He then once again warned me to not get another technical. Our team's captain protested that no one else heard it and he didn't know who said it, so how could he call it. The other team kind of agreed.
Later that game, I was face guarding the opponent's best player. They were older men between 40-50, clearly knew how to play, but they were losing a step. He was all elbows and knees trying to chip me wherever he could. Finally, I cut a pass off at the top of the key, elbows and knees was in tow. I went up for the lay up, and would have dunked it if I were allowed. But I went up high because I didn't want elbows and knees to get any ideas. He did, and that bastard undercut me, rolled up on my ankle, and knocked me into the wall. "G-D!" But I didn't say G-D. I took the Lord's name in vain in from of the Wizard of technicals right after he told me not to cuss.
Not only was I legitimately hurt, I was pissed that elbows and knees undercut me like the past his prime bitch he was. I hit the concrete floor with my hand because it seemed like breaking my hand might make my ankle better. I tried to get up but I fell down and then got up on one leg and hopped to the bench. The Wizard decided not to give me a T, and I decided not to punch elbows and knee. I think that was the last time I played pick up basketball.
This week I played two games. I had the opportunity to play them back to back, but I passed because I thought I was going to vomit. Not only could I not move quick enough with the ball to be any sort of effective, I couldn't move without the ball. By the end of the game and several trips walking up and down the court I got that really hot overheated feeling, my neck started to sweat and my stomach dropped. I let my older brother play in my stead. He is as a good athlete as I am, but he has been out of shape longer then I have. Except now he is in sneaky good shape.
He drained threes from the corner, step back jumpers, went to the wrack, and played defense. Afterwards he told me he could have run one more but would've felt it the next day. He played a total of three games, I played two. His team was 2-1. Mine was 0-2. He scored 40% of his teams points. I think I had 15%. Oh, and I airballed my only three. I was lucky I could lift my hands above my head to shoot it, at that point, though.
The worst part was I invited him. That SoB (does that mean I am talking bad about my mother) came, saw, and conquered. Not only could I not play, I was being shown up by my older brother who I invited. Not to mention this was the first time I played with this new group of guys and kind of invite myself the way a new kid invites himself somewhere hoping people will like him.
Lessons for this week: little brothers will always be little brothers; don't take two years off between pick up basketball; being old sucks
The Best and Worse from the First Weekend of the NCAA Tourny
The first weekend of the NCAA basketball tournament is an absolute blast. You have 32 games over a 36 hour span and then over the next 36 hours you have 16 games. That's 48 games in 72 hours! (That match could be wrong.) It grabs the whole country and gives a lot of well people a lot of two day flu's. This weekend has come and gone but not without its great moments and its not so great moments. We here at the Sports Party decided to share with our highlights and lowlights from the weekend.
Highlights
Mitch- My highlight for the weekend was watching a miler on my track team PR and rank in the top three in the nation in the mile. But in regards to the NCAAT my biggest highlight was wathcing Shaka Smart lose. There are three kinds of winners: Those who love to win, those who hate to lose, and those who take joy in watching others lose. While not entirely sure where I fall on this spectrum in general, I loved watching Smart lose. I don't like his schtick. I don't like his height. I don't like his clothes or how tight everything fits. Maybe he had a great run last year and this year his team made it through the first round, but something about him screams "phony!" I get the same feeling about him that I do about Jim Tressel, Urban Meyer, Gene Chizick, and that guy who made the KONY 2012 video. It's the exact opposite feeling I get about Nick Saban. It's weird, each seems like a giant a-hole, but only one seems like a giant a-hole who wins without gimmicks.
Pat- The battle between the ‘Noles and Bearcats was a great one. And here’s my proclamation: It was EXACTLY WHAT WAS EXPECTED. Did you watch Cincinnati play on Friday? This team might be the least talented team left, other than Ohio and Xavier, but they have a much better chance in beating Ohio State this weekend than Louisville does Michigan State, for comparison’s sake. And here’s why…they have heart. A lot of it.
Chris- My favorite game of the weekend wasn't either of the 15 seeds beating 2 seeds, though those were fun to watch. No it was the game between 6th seeded Murray State and 3rd seed Marquette. These were two evenly matched teams that both came to play ball Saturday night. They played a similar style and neither team dominated up until the last few minutes where Marquette played nearly perfect basketball down the stretch to beat a very good Murray State team. I'm not sure if many people tuned in for this game or if it will talked about as one of the best games of the tournament but it was my favorite game of the tournament so far.
Lowlights(?)
Mitch- My biggest disappointment this tournament was FSU's loss. I know Coach Ham said he wasn't, but I am. I loved that we won our conference, but I wanted a run in the tourney. I wanted to see this team reach its potential; a potential that I thought included an Elite 8 bid. Certainly our guys did not play their best game and allowed a smaller team get the best of them. Michael Snaer hit big threes but took a while to slash to the lane, something he was devastatingly good at during the ACCT. Ian Miller was not #coldblooded enough to my chagrin. I am sad we lost and will be pissed whenever I watch a Sweet 16 or Elite 8 game.
Chris- Will I slam refs for their bad calls at bad times? Nope. Will I slam all of us for always blaming the refs for their bad calls? Probably on a latter date. What I will complain about is the late games on Thursday and Sunday night. The last game on Thursday night started at 10:32 pm Eastern time. Friday night it doesn't really matter what time the late game ends you can sleep in the next morning. Same for Saturday night. But on Sunday the last game of the day 9:54 pm Eastern time. Think if on Sunday night you are a 12 year old who loves to watch the Seminoles play and the game starts too late for you to watch. Or the reporter who has to a tight deadline (boo hoo, right?) Or anyone who loves good, college basketball but also has to work in the morning. They missed an amazing game that didn't have to start so late. Schedule makers you can tighten up these games on Thursday and Sunday nights and give people with lives the next morning a chance to watch fun, Tournament basketball.
If you have your own highlight or lowlight from this weekend throw it down in the comments section.
Highlights
Mitch- My highlight for the weekend was watching a miler on my track team PR and rank in the top three in the nation in the mile. But in regards to the NCAAT my biggest highlight was wathcing Shaka Smart lose. There are three kinds of winners: Those who love to win, those who hate to lose, and those who take joy in watching others lose. While not entirely sure where I fall on this spectrum in general, I loved watching Smart lose. I don't like his schtick. I don't like his height. I don't like his clothes or how tight everything fits. Maybe he had a great run last year and this year his team made it through the first round, but something about him screams "phony!" I get the same feeling about him that I do about Jim Tressel, Urban Meyer, Gene Chizick, and that guy who made the KONY 2012 video. It's the exact opposite feeling I get about Nick Saban. It's weird, each seems like a giant a-hole, but only one seems like a giant a-hole who wins without gimmicks.
Pat- The battle between the ‘Noles and Bearcats was a great one. And here’s my proclamation: It was EXACTLY WHAT WAS EXPECTED. Did you watch Cincinnati play on Friday? This team might be the least talented team left, other than Ohio and Xavier, but they have a much better chance in beating Ohio State this weekend than Louisville does Michigan State, for comparison’s sake. And here’s why…they have heart. A lot of it.
Yancy Gates will disappear after this year. He may have a 4-year NBA career that ends poorly, but he’s probably the most valuable player left in the tournament not on an AP All-American team. The difference between Cincinatti and Florida State in the game Sunday wasn’t talent, because FSU gets the nod on a team and individual level with Michael Snear. Defense AND offense goes to FSU. Defense is obvious if you’ve ever heard the name Leonard Hamilton (which is why I check his name over Mick Cronin for Cincinnati in the head-coaching category) and the Seminole offense is good too, though the second fiddle on the team. Well, for all the FSU fans out there, sorry but heart is a pretty big factor in March and the reason why I’m worried about my expressionless-Heels, right now.
After the infamous battle against cross-town rival Xavier, the Bearcats went (10-1) before dropping three straight and then going (9-2) beating the 1-loss Cuse in the Big East Tournament. Looks to me like this team plays really tough when they care a little more. Maybe that’s really optimistic in search of this team’s success, but compare that to Xavier going (1-5) and dropping nearly every other game all the way to the tournament. Also, Xavier who plays in the Atlantic-10 won by 23 against the Bearcats, who play in the Big East, that day, December 10th. Again, it’s worth noting Xavier made it through the week too, but they had some help from Lehigh. The bottom line that exists in the match-up between FSU and Cinci is, whoever wants it more in March, takes it usually. What a great, physical, grinding game
Chris- My favorite game of the weekend wasn't either of the 15 seeds beating 2 seeds, though those were fun to watch. No it was the game between 6th seeded Murray State and 3rd seed Marquette. These were two evenly matched teams that both came to play ball Saturday night. They played a similar style and neither team dominated up until the last few minutes where Marquette played nearly perfect basketball down the stretch to beat a very good Murray State team. I'm not sure if many people tuned in for this game or if it will talked about as one of the best games of the tournament but it was my favorite game of the tournament so far.
Lowlights(?)
Mitch- My biggest disappointment this tournament was FSU's loss. I know Coach Ham said he wasn't, but I am. I loved that we won our conference, but I wanted a run in the tourney. I wanted to see this team reach its potential; a potential that I thought included an Elite 8 bid. Certainly our guys did not play their best game and allowed a smaller team get the best of them. Michael Snaer hit big threes but took a while to slash to the lane, something he was devastatingly good at during the ACCT. Ian Miller was not #coldblooded enough to my chagrin. I am sad we lost and will be pissed whenever I watch a Sweet 16 or Elite 8 game.
Chris- Will I slam refs for their bad calls at bad times? Nope. Will I slam all of us for always blaming the refs for their bad calls? Probably on a latter date. What I will complain about is the late games on Thursday and Sunday night. The last game on Thursday night started at 10:32 pm Eastern time. Friday night it doesn't really matter what time the late game ends you can sleep in the next morning. Same for Saturday night. But on Sunday the last game of the day 9:54 pm Eastern time. Think if on Sunday night you are a 12 year old who loves to watch the Seminoles play and the game starts too late for you to watch. Or the reporter who has to a tight deadline (boo hoo, right?) Or anyone who loves good, college basketball but also has to work in the morning. They missed an amazing game that didn't have to start so late. Schedule makers you can tighten up these games on Thursday and Sunday nights and give people with lives the next morning a chance to watch fun, Tournament basketball.
If you have your own highlight or lowlight from this weekend throw it down in the comments section.
TSOP - Tales on the Tournament
Here at TheSportsParty, we want you guys to be as informed as possible on the past, present, and future of the state of play. We’re sure you all caught 32 basketball games at 40 minutes a piece over the last 4 days, but did you notice the few storylines that emerged?
Over the weekend, Norfolk State abused the Tigers of Missouri…uh, hooray? Duke’s bright NCAA lights burned out against Lehigh…great? But, all four teams are playing golf now. So, let’s discussed the stuff that ACTUALLY matters, other than a couple of lucky 15-seeds. There are 16-teams left. So, lets say a thing or two about the few teams that still have legitimate dreams of cutting down the nets in New Orleans.
I’m going to do this list in order of each team’s chances at advancing to the Championship game…So, sorry to all the Xavier/Ohio fans that stumbled upon this page.
1. Kentucky – After a tough battle against the Cyclones of Ames, Iowa, instead of the Final Four rematch with UConn that was almost inevitable according to the sporting world, the Wildcats are playing well enough to survive at this point. Teams get better as the tournament progresses and there isn’t much left lurking around for Kentucky until the Final 4, except Indiana---1 of the 2 teams to defeat the ‘Cats this year---but they’ll need to get their act together if they don’t want to be compared to the 2008 Memphis Tiger team after the Championship game. By the way, they’re in that game unless Izzo has something to say about it. At their worst, Kentucky is still a tough team for any opponent.
3. Kansas – The reason Kansas is a favorite over MSU to make it to the finals is because they’ll have to get by a hurt UNC vs. MSU who’ll have to get by a healthy UK. There are only 4 teams capable of winning it all right now, if the best teams are in it at the end. Kentucky, UNC, Kansas, and MSU are the ones that you should be betting on. And here’s why KU fans shouldn’t be concerned with chalk, unless it’s Rock Chalk, of course. You see, chalk would suggest UNC is traveling to St. Louis with the best chance, and ultimately, they are. But, it’s St. Louis. Two home-games for the Jayhawks. If Kendall Marshall is 90% after the Ohio game (which will be tough because he probable won’t be active), the Tarheels are still a 6-point favorite based on match-ups. But, that isn’t necessarily the case. It depends on Marshall. Kansas slipping past Purdue last night was terrible news in the Midwest Region for the other 3 teams. With Marshall hurt for the Heels and the next two games taking place in St. Louis, the Jayhawks might have just become the favorite for a Final Four run out of that Region.
Over the weekend, Norfolk State abused the Tigers of Missouri…uh, hooray? Duke’s bright NCAA lights burned out against Lehigh…great? But, all four teams are playing golf now. So, let’s discussed the stuff that ACTUALLY matters, other than a couple of lucky 15-seeds. There are 16-teams left. So, lets say a thing or two about the few teams that still have legitimate dreams of cutting down the nets in New Orleans.
I’m going to do this list in order of each team’s chances at advancing to the Championship game…So, sorry to all the Xavier/Ohio fans that stumbled upon this page.
1. Kentucky – After a tough battle against the Cyclones of Ames, Iowa, instead of the Final Four rematch with UConn that was almost inevitable according to the sporting world, the Wildcats are playing well enough to survive at this point. Teams get better as the tournament progresses and there isn’t much left lurking around for Kentucky until the Final 4, except Indiana---1 of the 2 teams to defeat the ‘Cats this year---but they’ll need to get their act together if they don’t want to be compared to the 2008 Memphis Tiger team after the Championship game. By the way, they’re in that game unless Izzo has something to say about it. At their worst, Kentucky is still a tough team for any opponent.
2. North Carolina –UNC may have the most interesting story of the tournament, thus far. Only a Duke fan would deny this team as capable of being in the Championship game at full strength. Even at partial strength, with 2 of their top-3 guards riding the bench with injuries, the Tarheels could’ve put up their 7th National Championship banner. But, Kendall Marshall took an injury to his non-shooting wrist in the Creighton game, which looked more like a Judo match in some television screens… So, what? It’s his non-shooting hand. Exactly…(While writing this my Dad just texted me saying, “All we can do is hope for the best, but expect the worst.” Good timin’ pops!) But, seriously…The truth will come out on the severity of the injury tonight on Williams' live radio show at 7 p.m., most likely. But here’s something for Tarheels fans to think about. (1) Roy Williams likes to build drama in March---Lawson, Hansborough, and May were hurt going into the tournament, most recently. (2) He played several minutes until he realized how bad it was hurt. He will have surgery and/or a cast from here on out. But, the heels will probable not need him until Sunday and he played well with it hurt. There’s a lot of time for him to make a lot of improvement. Stillman White is no reason to count them out of the Final Four, but he can’t take them the whole way. So, with hoping for the best, Tarheel fans, you have to realize that this has happened to UNC before while holding one of the best teams in a year (‘77/Walter Davis, ’87/Kenny Smith). Thus, expect the worst.
3. Kansas – The reason Kansas is a favorite over MSU to make it to the finals is because they’ll have to get by a hurt UNC vs. MSU who’ll have to get by a healthy UK. There are only 4 teams capable of winning it all right now, if the best teams are in it at the end. Kentucky, UNC, Kansas, and MSU are the ones that you should be betting on. And here’s why KU fans shouldn’t be concerned with chalk, unless it’s Rock Chalk, of course. You see, chalk would suggest UNC is traveling to St. Louis with the best chance, and ultimately, they are. But, it’s St. Louis. Two home-games for the Jayhawks. If Kendall Marshall is 90% after the Ohio game (which will be tough because he probable won’t be active), the Tarheels are still a 6-point favorite based on match-ups. But, that isn’t necessarily the case. It depends on Marshall. Kansas slipping past Purdue last night was terrible news in the Midwest Region for the other 3 teams. With Marshall hurt for the Heels and the next two games taking place in St. Louis, the Jayhawks might have just become the favorite for a Final Four run out of that Region.
4. Michigan State – Even though they slipped by St. Louis with just a 4-point win, Sparty is fine. One thing a few players on a team can’t change during tournament basketball is, experienced coaching will get you a couple free-bees. And, in this instance, I’m not talking about Izzo; though he is the example anyone would jump to. For anyone who has just begun watching basketball recently enough to think Florida is a (quote-unquote) “good-basketball school?” (uh, wha?), you probably don’t recognize the name, Rick Majerus, the St. Louis Skipper. Well, he’s made his ‘rounds’ through all the ‘rounds’ before. So, the win by 4 against St. Louis wasn’t a bad win, in the least. Sparty does have to look out below though. They have a (3), (4), and (7) seed in their way and probably the roughest road to the Championship of anyone left other than OSU.
5. OSU/Syracuse/Wisconsin – What a great Sweet 16 and Elite 8 this will be? We ruled Syracuse out last week, so if they make it out of next weekend, I vow to write a 3-page article on why they are ‘the favorite’... Right after I finish cleaning up the throw-up off my shirt. Looking at this region, Cinci wasn’t an underdog in the game against FSU. They’ve been playing with a lot of heart recently against a similar, yet streaky team in FSU. But, Ohio State is a good team. Dominant/Athletic… Unless there’s an upset, Wisconsin and Ohio State are the favorite teams to meet in the Elite -8. (Wisconin could lose to Syracuse, but in actuality, they should beat the Orange by 5, with-or-without Fab Melo.) The game between Wisconsin and Ohio State will be the best head-to-head matchup over the weekend. Ultimately, either of these teams will fall to a healthy UNC in the Final Four (at that point, they will have beaten Kansas, thus Marshall will be healthy enough to play). On the other hand, if KU can make it out of the Midwest, whoever wins here will have a decent chance. But, if you’re looking for great Big-10 basketball (i.e. great physical basketball that’ll come down to the last possession), check out the game between Bo Ryan’s club and Jerod Sullinger.
To the Xaviers and N.C. Staters, the Pitinos and Donovans… Congratulations on your victories over the weekend. The tournament can be fun. But it’s a hard tournament to win wearing Cinderella’s slippers. Good luck to all those playing in sneakers! And enjoy the tournament Sports-Partiers!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
TSOP – The Contenders: Who’s winning the Tournament?!?!?! Part II
(Writer’s Note: Yes, this is the Contenders. Part II to last weeks ‘The Fakers’. However, we’ve thrown in Syracuse to illustrate their fate as well as the 5 we here at TheSportsParty consider this year’s true contending teams. In all, our Contenders plus Syracuse represent the ‘Select Six’ which will produce our next champion…Don’t doubt it!)
How goes it fellow bracket busters? As of yesterday, I’m sure you’re all in full-swing testing theory after theory about how to get this year’s bracket perfectly prophesized. We, here at TheSportsParty know your pain. But, if you need a little help in trying to figure out who will still be around to see the bright lights of New Orleans at the end of the month, here’s some food for thought…
However you fill out your brackets, it’s never a good idea to take too many chances with the select few that are to be expected to arrive at the Final Four. Therefore, it would probably be helpful to know which of those teams will have the hardest game-by-game challenge on their way throughout the first two weekends. In other words, between the teams considered favorites to win it all, who will face the hardest teams to get there? (With us those favorite teams are Syracuse, Kentucky, North Carolina, Michigan State, Kansas, and Ohio State…Take the field if you want against those 6, but I like my chances with these heavyweights.)
For those of you a little on the ‘outs’ of the sporting world, there are these incredibly specific, insanely accurate, and scientifically calibrated statistics organized into a ranking system known as the Pomeroy College Basketball Rankings. You can find these stats at Kenpom.com if you’re more interested, but we’re using them here because they are useful in measuring a team’s actual success and to project how good they will be in the future. I will let you figure out the system yourself at the Kenpom website, but for the purposes of this, just trust that it’s a little more detailed than the lousy RPI/SOS system most ESPN-ers live or die by.
To measure the possibility of success for our ‘Select Six’ through the NCAA tournament, we will take a simple Strength of Schedule for the most probable contenders each will face in their respective region…. Still following? You’ll figure it out as we go along. But sincerely, check out that website…. It’ll be help in itself to maneuver your bracket.
Lastly, I’m pretty confident in my bracket, as I’m sure we all are. Therefore, for the purposes of this, I’m sticking to the match-ups I have for each of these teams. No worries though, I’m pretty good at ranking strengths/weaknesses in teams, albeit random upsets that no one saw coming (VCU v. Butler, why???) are inevitable. Haha, told you…confident. But seriously, no worries. I rarely strayed from chalk in this one because of the precision of the committee this season. Other than Belmont over N.C. State to reach the Sweet 16, I didn’t see too many limbs to walk out on.
So, without further ado…
Select Six
Kentucky – Potential 3rd Round through Elite 8 match-ups: (35) UConn, (10) Wichita St., (17) Duke. = 62
…If you haven’t figured it out yet, 62 represents the opponents’ rankings combined. The team with the lowest ‘score’ should, by theory, have the toughest route, and the team with the highest…well, you know…
Michigan State – (15) St. Louis, (13) New Mexico, (8) Missouri = 36
Syracuse – (22) Kansas State, (6) Wisconsin, (2) Ohio State = 30
Ohio State – (42) West Virginia, (21) Florida State, (6) Wisconsin = 69
North Carolina – (34) Creighton, (25)Michigan, (4) Kansas = 63
Kansas – (43) St. Mary, (23) Belmont, (5) UNC = 71
*The Kenpom Rankings are indicated in parenthesis.
**Also, because each ‘Select Six’ is a 1 or 2 seed and emphatically expected to win their first NCAA tourney game, those games have been excluded. This is due to the skewing of our projections through low ranking teams like potential UK opponent (258) MVSU.
We’ll get to the analysis part in just a bit, but here’s our Final Four breakdown, as well. (With the next point in mind, these rankings are mere projections. Obviously, there is no possible way to predict how the tournament will endure when a random bounce of the ball can affect the entire tournament. C’mon people…Some of you still think Connecticut was the best team last year? Well, they were in the 30s last year around this time, if I remember correctly.) The Final Four we are going to use is the most likely in my superior opinion. My opinion is superior KU fans because (A) it is 1:00 in the morning, (B) I’m a realistic Carolina fan who watched you struggle against Duke but respect the success you’ve had since, (even have a little money on them to win it all if my Heels can’t…and…fell in love with Robinson back in December), and (C)…o everyone… it’s my forum… Do the work for your team on your own, if you think they’ve got a shot at the title….Sorry lent-observers, Notre Dame ain’t making it out of the week. But, I’ll run through each scenario with each team facing the opponents I see to be in there way, granting the make the Final Four…
…keeping up? Here we go…
Final Four
(1) Kentucky – (3) Michigan State, (5) North Carolina = 8 + 62 = 70
(3) Michigan State – (1) Kentucky, (5) North Carolina = 6 + 36 = 42
(7) Syracuse – (5) North Carolina (1) Kentucky = 6 +30 = 36
(2) Ohio State – (5) North Carolina, (1) Kentucky = 6 + 69 = 75
(5) North Carolina- (2) Ohio State, (1) Kentucky = 3 + 63 = 76
(4) Kansas – (2) Ohio State, (1) Kentucky = 3 + 71 = 74
Again, let me emphasize the discrepancies among the top contenders. Some may say, how does OSU beat out a 1-loss Syracuse, so enthusiastically? Remember, a couple of influential variables in the Kenpom system are things like, conference strength, or margin of victory. So, a conference like the Big 12 gets a lot of credit because of the strength of its teams…I’m a big believer in the undervalue of the ACC, but I digress to my point to why there is little difference, if any between #10 and #11 or #34 and #35, etc. So, what can we take away from this?
Team-By-Team:
Syracuse/Ohio State – Syracuse is out. Not a chance for the Orange. Boeheim’s problems got worse yesterday when he found out he had to battle the scrappy badgers in the Sweet 16 just to meet up with their Achilles heel…Sulliger’s ability to dominate the 15 athletes Boeheim’s zone can throw at him. Don’t bet on the Orange. I’ve got them falling to Wisconsin. This is the toughest road to the Final Four, by far. Ohio State will walk to the Elite 8. Florida State is a great team. But Florida State is a great team because of how well they match up with 2 other great teams, Duke and UNC. Ultimately, the Heels and Devils are a both more valid contenders to go deep. But yeah, FSU has both’s number this year. FSU is streaky and they won’t be able to guard Sullinger and Craft after a week to prepare for both squads. Funny thing about preparing for that week. The scouting report OSU does on FSU and Wisconsin will have a lot of similarities. FSU is defense. Wisconsin is hustle. Defense is hustle. But hustle can't outscore Sullinger and Craft. Don't sleep on OSU. They struggled once or twice in the regular season, but they never fell far from the top ranks for a reason. They'll coral themselves and make yet another Final 4.
Michigan State – All in all, Don’t go against Sparty. Maybe it’s a pick based on intangibles, but when it comes to March, Izzo is completely tangible. And he’s the best reason the Spartans will ultimately make the Final Four to represent the West. Yes, they are facing the second toughest test, scoring a 36. St. Louis will stir the pot off the bat, but fall short. New Mexico will disturb the apple cart, but the guys in green will endure. And finally, Missouri will try to outplay them, but just like OSU and Syracuse, the Spartans ability to move the ball inside to Green, outside to Green, off the backboard to Green, will lead them to victory against Frank Haith, who's still a little wet behind the ears. Missouri will have their hands full as a high percentage field goal team going up against one of the most efficient defenses and rebounding teams in the country. Then, once they arrive in New Orleans, the Spartans will fall to Kentucky, I feel. But, I battled myself with whether or not they would fall to the Heels, instead. ’09 repeat just doesn’t seem like a future headliner to me?
Kentucky – With respect to the NCAA committee and Wichita St., Kentucky has got to feel the best about its chances making their way to The Big Easy. Connecticut is about as talented as they were last year, minus a Kemba Walker figure. Wichita St. is the only team that will present a threat to the Wildcats. They’re good people. I’m serious! But, with the ability to dominate with Anthony Davis, I think the game against Duke and Wichita St. will be fairly similar games with a closer score coming in the Sweet Sixteen. I know you’ve heard the Shallow-end-of-the-pool analysis by ESPN, but this region isn’t so tough. But, when the Wildcats meet a tough opponent in Michigan State, trouble could arise for the Wildcats. I think they’ve made more improvements than UNC since the last time these two teams met, but UNC is playing pretty strong since the loss to Duke. With FSU out of the way, I think the Tar Heels find themselves facing the Wildcats in the only game in April. Roy Williams is the best in the business at getting his crew ready to play ball in March when the talent is in place, and I think the team Kentucky might see in April will be pretty fluid compared to the ACC finals Tarheels. What a great game on the horizon!!
North Carolina/Kansas – You may be asking yourself, “Didn’t he just discuss the Tarheels’ chances?" Well, yeah…but through the eyes of Kentucky. Looking at the run both UNC and Kansas must make before finding each other, there seem to be no major problems. Carolina will need to compete to get by Creighton and Michigan, but they shouldn’t have to put too much effort into a win. (Based on their capabilities, of course!) With Kansas, things are looking the same. St. Mary shouldn’t be a problem. And the Georgetown/Belmont game should be a coin flip with Belmont giving Georgetown match-up problems. Then again, this is the mid-major I’m riding a bit in this tournament…Regardless, NC State will run out of gas against the winner of the Belmont/Georgetown game, and that team will subsequently run out of gas against Kansas. The most interesting game of the region will take place against Roy Williams’ former Jayhawks and current Tarheels, which will be duly publicized. This one will be in St. Louis, which is just a smidge closer to Lawrence than Chapel Hill…But, I’m telling you. As someone who's seen it happen twice, close up. After a loss in the ACC tournament, no one in the country practices harder and then plays better than a Williams-coached UNC team. Don't think so? Georgia Tech beat UNC in '05 and those stingy 'Noles did it in '09. Ask Michigan State how fun that championship game was. To be completely honest, with the potential freight liner fueling up in Chapel Hill today, the ‘Hawks may end up being a 10 point dog by the time that match-up comes about. Carolina moves on past the toughest challenge they’ll have to face in the Midwest region. From here, it only gets tougher for the Heels or Hawks, whomever makes it. Like I said, there is little difference among the best 5 teams, according to Kenpom rankings, die to minute differences within, perhaps the conference they competed in, or a margin of victory issue. The Tarheels, being my favorite in the game against KU will take the hardest road to cutting down the nets in New Orleans. They'll face (2)Ohio State only to meet the odds on favorite Wildcats of (1)Kentucky. Against OSU, talent level will present an problem for the Buckeyes if Thad Matta isn’t already the issue compromising OSU’s fate to a superior final four artist in Roy Williams.
Then, the Battle of the Blues in the land of Jazz and Blues will end the year on a high-note for the NCAA. Trust me, from a basketball history perspective, you can't argue they didn't try to set up this match-up. Not only that, I have 4 historic NCAA rivalry games scheduled on my bracket: Duke-Kentucky, 1992 Elite 8; UNC-Michigan, 1993 National Championship; UNC-Kansas, 1957 National Championship, UNC-MSU/UK, 2009 National Championship/Dean Smith's 879-Final Four...There is also potential for Michigan State-Florida, UNC-Georgetown, and Duke-UNLV to reignite their national championship rematches, this year. Don’t be surprised if the sky tears open on April 2nd, if the highly anticipated Heels and Wildcats meet up. The committee truly did a great job on setting up this blockbuster matchup. I'm taking the Heels in mine, but I wouldn't blame you for backing Calipari this year. Enjoy the bracket busting, Sports Fans!
Monday, March 12, 2012
ACC Champs!
We just took down (in the regular season and in the tournament) two of the most storied programs in college basketball. It is not as if these teams are define by their "programs" even if they arewe bad. These are teams that are both top ten teams. They have great talent and great coaches. They are top seeds in the NCAA tournament.
The long march to the top of the conference was defined by my brother when he said, "You know it's a good thing and the program is legitimately where they are when you win the conference tournament and realize we should have won the tournament."
A tweet after the championship game read, "UNC still has more top 25 recruits on its roster than FSU has had in its history." I was slighted at first, but then I realized, SCOREBOARD. Then I realized in most people's eyes we should not have won the tournament despite the great play in the conference regular season, the big shots, the experience, the coacing adjustments.
Year after year we complained that Hamilton would not adjust. That he couldn't recruit a point guard, that his players did not develop. This all changed. His teams, maybe at a slow pimp's pace, morphed into a physically tough, savy, and skilled team. It is the perfect combination of three point shooting and inside play.
If a team pressures the guards, we beat them to the lane. If they clog the lane, we shoot the three. If we need a spark we play pressure defense. If a player beats a guard off the dribble, we have shot blockers or play help side defense. All the credit for this program goes to Hamilton. I am not sure he had this time frame in mind, he probably would've liked to start the NCAA tourney run a few years before he did, but we have arrived.
FSU is a legitimate contender year in and year out for the ACC title. We are no longer the bottom tier, middle of the pack, or our most recent claim to fame "the third best program." No we are number one and Hamilton has every intention of staying.
He has out coached Williams and K this season. He has game planned and prepared teams to play in EVERY big game. If there is a fault with his teams it is that they start the season very slow and have a debilitating defeat somewhere in early January. But that has proved to be the heat that melts the team and forges it together.
We will go into this tournament with confidence, hopefully not satisfied. I think we do not have a target on our back despite winning. Kentucky, Syracuse, Mizzou are all buzzed about. Duke and UNC have lost some luster, but pedigree of the programs and talent on the floor is too much for many analysts to look past (we know, just ask the media and fans about FSU football in the 00's).
But do not look past FSU's team play. Every player contributes and picks the other up when they fail. The way Snaer goes, so does our team, but everyone else is a fluid piece in an ever changing puzzle. This FSU team is more a team than any other in the conference. Each player has confidence in self and other teammates. A strange combination of selfishness and selflessness emerges when teammates trust each other to do their job. That has happed with FSU this year.
I love this team. I love Coach Hamilton for the perseverance and for taking care of his players. I love this conference for trying to screw anyone who isn't from Tobacco Road and still bowing to the best athletic department in the conference. They must be all sorts of butt hurt.
I think we make an Elite Eight run in the Tourney. We have the experience, confidence, and the skill. Most of all we have the coach who loves his players and they will follow him anywhere. Six years ago, I never thought I'd say it, but Hamilton is a hell of a basketball coach. I think he has learned some on the way, too. But I'm glad he's our basketball coach.
The long march to the top of the conference was defined by my brother when he said, "You know it's a good thing and the program is legitimately where they are when you win the conference tournament and realize we should have won the tournament."
A tweet after the championship game read, "UNC still has more top 25 recruits on its roster than FSU has had in its history." I was slighted at first, but then I realized, SCOREBOARD. Then I realized in most people's eyes we should not have won the tournament despite the great play in the conference regular season, the big shots, the experience, the coacing adjustments.
Year after year we complained that Hamilton would not adjust. That he couldn't recruit a point guard, that his players did not develop. This all changed. His teams, maybe at a slow pimp's pace, morphed into a physically tough, savy, and skilled team. It is the perfect combination of three point shooting and inside play.
If a team pressures the guards, we beat them to the lane. If they clog the lane, we shoot the three. If we need a spark we play pressure defense. If a player beats a guard off the dribble, we have shot blockers or play help side defense. All the credit for this program goes to Hamilton. I am not sure he had this time frame in mind, he probably would've liked to start the NCAA tourney run a few years before he did, but we have arrived.
FSU is a legitimate contender year in and year out for the ACC title. We are no longer the bottom tier, middle of the pack, or our most recent claim to fame "the third best program." No we are number one and Hamilton has every intention of staying.
He has out coached Williams and K this season. He has game planned and prepared teams to play in EVERY big game. If there is a fault with his teams it is that they start the season very slow and have a debilitating defeat somewhere in early January. But that has proved to be the heat that melts the team and forges it together.
We will go into this tournament with confidence, hopefully not satisfied. I think we do not have a target on our back despite winning. Kentucky, Syracuse, Mizzou are all buzzed about. Duke and UNC have lost some luster, but pedigree of the programs and talent on the floor is too much for many analysts to look past (we know, just ask the media and fans about FSU football in the 00's).
But do not look past FSU's team play. Every player contributes and picks the other up when they fail. The way Snaer goes, so does our team, but everyone else is a fluid piece in an ever changing puzzle. This FSU team is more a team than any other in the conference. Each player has confidence in self and other teammates. A strange combination of selfishness and selflessness emerges when teammates trust each other to do their job. That has happed with FSU this year.
I love this team. I love Coach Hamilton for the perseverance and for taking care of his players. I love this conference for trying to screw anyone who isn't from Tobacco Road and still bowing to the best athletic department in the conference. They must be all sorts of butt hurt.
I think we make an Elite Eight run in the Tourney. We have the experience, confidence, and the skill. Most of all we have the coach who loves his players and they will follow him anywhere. Six years ago, I never thought I'd say it, but Hamilton is a hell of a basketball coach. I think he has learned some on the way, too. But I'm glad he's our basketball coach.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
TSOP: The Fakers (A humble fan’s perspective) Part 1
It’s what we all wait for either from April to April, the Superbowl to April, or, for the thousands that annually fill out those funny little brackets to win their office pool despite following an ‘eeiny-meeny-miny-moe’ logic,… March to April.
Let me justify my position. Just a humble fan. And that’s ultimately it. I’m a Carolina guy. But, I have the ability to look at things from a neutral perspective. I am sure…No, completely certain… that Phil Ford is the greatest player to ever hoop in a Carolina uniform. But, I also respect the reality that the two greatest players to play in the ACC were Ralph Sampson and David Thompson, arguably of course. I worship Dean Smith as one of the painfully few great coaches to ever lead student-athletes to success in every sense of the word. But, I can just as easily see why John Wooden, Lew Alcindor, and Bill Walton are also names usually preceded by ‘the great….”
With a few more weeks in the season for championship grumblings to percolate, the SP is here to break down who we think are the top teams that will be left around to fight it out in New Orleans, and the top teams who will have weaknesses of an inevitable early round upset. (I say top teams because…well, you didn’t expect VCU to play Butler in the Final Four, either) So, here are our fakers…
Fakers
Like I said, we’ll start here with the top ranked teams with too many flaws for a 6-game late-season run and then, check out our breakdown of the championship contenders in the second part to this edition of The State of Play in the coming days.
To start breaking down which top-ranked teams will lose out early, let’s look at who’s on top right now. Here’s the latest NCAA men’s basketball top-ten according to ESPN.com,
1. Kentucky
2. Syracuse
3. Kansas
4. Duke
5. Michigan State
6. North Carolina
7. Missouri
8. Marquette
9. Baylor
10. Ohio State
Now, I’m a sincere believer in luck. No, no, no, I’m not talking about Cinderella stories. And not the type of luck Bill Self ran into when John Calipari threw out free throws as a necessity in the ’08 run or Duke’s ability to find a mid-major to compete against in the national championship game in ‘10. Well, actually that is sort of the luck I’m talking… In a nutshell, I find it hard not to believe the national champion comes from a completely random selection of one of the top 5-8 teams depending on the spread of talent around the league and/or the distance between the top 1, 2, or 3 and everyone else. Like, say, UNC and Illinois versus the rest of the field in 2005? Generally, it takes luck on the part of one of the top teams to find themselves in the right position to win the tournament. Luck: something that dictates seeding, region, match-up, ball bounces, anything. Now, I’m not saying those are the only teams that could win. Take the N.C. States and Georgetowns of the world. Look at 2005, even. I’ve always thought my Heels got help from Chris Paul hitting Julius Hodge in his jewels in the ACC tournament…(Wake was the only team better than UNC that year, argue if you will) But, more than likely, this is the case.
I’ll keep this short. So, at first glance, the best ‘fakers’ to me are #2 Syracuse, #5 Michigan State, and #7 Missouri. Okay, okay, okay…I’ll give it to you, MSU and Mizzou might not be a surprise with their recent struggles, but less than a week ago all of these 3 teams were locks for 2-seeds at worst. Well, except for Syracuse and maybe that does catch a few off-guard.
Syracuse is lean, quick, athletic, and last, but certainly not least, well coached. On the downside, they’re pretty small and, let’s be honest, they really don’t have too many impressive wins. They only average 35.5 rebounds a game, leaving them in 117th place in the NCAA. Coupled with this, their inability to put up top field-goal percentages will ruin them on offensive put-backs when matched up against a big team that can keep pace with the Orangemen guards, like Ohio State. A question for thought and my own personal speculation (because I have this website as a mouthpiece), Are they over-ranked at 2? Probably….Now, now, I applaud anyone who can go undefeated throughout the early part of the season and maintain few losses moving into the latter part, but Murray State is kinda like that too and I’m not putting much money on them this year, personally. Face it, the Big East is bad and only getting worse. Syracuse is talented, I’ll grant you. But the defending national champions out of the Big East, with all due respect, was more of a Cinderella story than a powerhouse last year, and has since fallen off, comparatively. Yes, ‘Cuse has quality wins. With a 29-1 record, Syracuse has beaten a then #9 Florida by 4, #11 Georgetown by 3 in OT, and #20 Marquette by 7. But, those aren’t very large margins and all those were home games. Their road record leaves much to be desired too with a loss at #9 NotreDame and an eeked out win by 1 at an overrated #18 Louisville. I’m not saying they won’t win the national championship, because they are a good team and have been successful (but, mainly because stranger things have happened during March Madness…like people taking a win against Butler in the finals seriously). But, if I were an Orange fan, I’d be concerned about the cracks in the armor.
Missouri and Michigan State are more similar to each other than Syracuse; they both came on strong late in the season and, with the passing week, they’ve both dropped a game or two. My fear is that it will only get worse for one of these teams. Missouri’s chances at a final four are imaginable, not likely, but imaginable. Their chances at a championship…one in a million, to me. The reason they won’t win a championship is Frank Haith, plain and simple. He isn’t a terrible coach or anything, though. He’s had mediocre success. But, he’s a little too new to the tournament to be a top contender…While at Miami, Haith only had one appearance in the tournament, grabbing a single win to help advance the Canes to the second round in 2008. Success is objective during the regular season because every game is theoretically as important as the last. Coaching in the league just a single season can give a new coach the mentality he needs to wage another regular season. But, the tournament is different. Hall of Famers take decades to get their first taste. So, don’t expect an average amateur to stumble into a national championship. It just doesn't happen...
Finally, the man/team that never misses March, Tom Izzo/MSU. And rightfully so…If Izzo were to follow in Bruce Pearl’s footsteps in wearing his school’s colors, Sparty’s captain would look like a lot like a sneaky old leprechaun. Am I right?
Well, I can’t stress enough that of the ‘fakers’ I see inside the top seven, Izzo’s team looks to be the most serious about ring hunting. Izzo has a way of doing exactly what it takes to get every drop of potential out of his boys during the tournament. But, let’s be fair…this team’s expectations weren’t high at the start of the season. The off-season took a toll on the Spartans. Three years ago, playing in the national championship against UNC, 3 young stars stood out: Kalin Lucas, Delvon Roe, and Korie Lucious. These guys pulled a large part of the weight on this developing team until they all went separate ways this summer via graduation, retirement, or transfer. Personally, I’m not counting them out of a Final Four run just yet because of the big man in the middle who should be considered for POY, Draymond Green. Then again, the post-season blues usually find the teams that have battled hard all season until the gas tank runs dry in an unexpected round. This team plays hard and outmatches anyone in heart, but I’d say their chance may have come and gone with the departure of the three big stars during the off-season.
Well, that's my take on it. Find us again in the coming days for Part 2 of TSOP: The Contenders.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
A Way to Early Prediction for FSU's 2012 Season
The 2012 Florida State Football schedule was released yesterday, and the overall reaction was mild cheer.
This was for a few reasons.
So from a tepid response to a tepid season, I give you a game by game prediction:
Murray State: W
Savannah State: W
Wake Forest: W*
Clemson: W*
@ USF: L
@ North Carolina State: W
Boston College: W
@ Miami: W
Duke: W
@ Virginia Tech: L**
@ Maryland: W*
Florida: L
*Revenge Game
** Annual Thursday night against an opponent that can upset FSU because the ACC hates its most nationally prominent program.
You may be asking why the Maryland game is a revenge game. Good question. Randy Edsall onside kicked after we ran it with our backup fullback on fourth down and he scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Therefore, I think Jimbo will be in F-you mode.
As for the Wake game, it's our conference opener and DI opener. We will be prepared and our defense will eat someone. Clemson will be similar to wake except Sammy Watkins will make a crazy long TD catch... or three. Honestly, though, I worry those two games will cause the team to look past an in state opponent because it is close to home. I think USF will be ready to play. We will, too, but those types of games do not match up well for the establishment. Sure we will have the home loss from a few years ago in our mind, but that is an entirely different team and coaching staff. So it will not carry the same revenge factor if it were a loss from last year. If we win that one, look for us to lay an egg in Raleigh simply because we lose a game every year after some sort of let down. At USF and at NCST have those qualities.
As for VT and UF. They are good programs despite poor ends to last year. VT is dangerous at night and at home. I can't imagine a more difficult atmosphere to play in except if we were at the Swamp at night. Speaking of UF, I think they come in with upset on the mind. I think we are missing two important players to injury because that is what happens by the end of football seasons. I think they break the streak... and if they don't (and if they do), SCREW YOU FLORIDA.
The other games are run of the mill games. Gotta show up to play. I'm not sorry UM doesn't rank as important enough for a potential upset or big game. They had an exodus of upper classmen to the NFL and they have looming sanctions. They did it to themselves... well not the young players, but the President and Boosters. Just because the media has died of the story doesn't mean it is going away. It affects their strength as a program and will in the future.
This was for a few reasons.
- First, we are so conditioned by poorly timed and poorly called penalities and/or fouls by ACC officials during games involving the state of North Carolina darlings that we think the ACC hates FSU. This may or may not be true, but it is the perception by many fans. So when the schedule was released and it did not have any crazy back to back opponents we did not know how to act.
- Second, we are missing West Viriginia. We are not sad about this from a win/loss angle, but it does take some luster off the schedule. Oh well, Savannah State is in its place, and plenty of Boy Scout troops and Boys and Girls clubs will be getting group tickets.
- Third, we don't know what our team will be like. We know our defense will be sick starting with the line. Our linebackers will be fierce, and our secondary will be experienced. Our offense will return a healthy, very good QB, a stable of running backs, and a deep recieving core. We will be explosive at best. At worst, we will be stale and impotent because our line will be young. Last year we lost seniors to injury and had 18 year olds starting. That is not a recipe to get a run push on the goal line or time for our QB. In other news, our "overrated" QB played portions of the year with a separated shoulder and a broken fibula. #onions
So from a tepid response to a tepid season, I give you a game by game prediction:
Murray State: W
Savannah State: W
Wake Forest: W*
Clemson: W*
@ USF: L
@ North Carolina State: W
Boston College: W
@ Miami: W
Duke: W
@ Virginia Tech: L**
@ Maryland: W*
Florida: L
*Revenge Game
** Annual Thursday night against an opponent that can upset FSU because the ACC hates its most nationally prominent program.
You may be asking why the Maryland game is a revenge game. Good question. Randy Edsall onside kicked after we ran it with our backup fullback on fourth down and he scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Therefore, I think Jimbo will be in F-you mode.
As for the Wake game, it's our conference opener and DI opener. We will be prepared and our defense will eat someone. Clemson will be similar to wake except Sammy Watkins will make a crazy long TD catch... or three. Honestly, though, I worry those two games will cause the team to look past an in state opponent because it is close to home. I think USF will be ready to play. We will, too, but those types of games do not match up well for the establishment. Sure we will have the home loss from a few years ago in our mind, but that is an entirely different team and coaching staff. So it will not carry the same revenge factor if it were a loss from last year. If we win that one, look for us to lay an egg in Raleigh simply because we lose a game every year after some sort of let down. At USF and at NCST have those qualities.
As for VT and UF. They are good programs despite poor ends to last year. VT is dangerous at night and at home. I can't imagine a more difficult atmosphere to play in except if we were at the Swamp at night. Speaking of UF, I think they come in with upset on the mind. I think we are missing two important players to injury because that is what happens by the end of football seasons. I think they break the streak... and if they don't (and if they do), SCREW YOU FLORIDA.
The other games are run of the mill games. Gotta show up to play. I'm not sorry UM doesn't rank as important enough for a potential upset or big game. They had an exodus of upper classmen to the NFL and they have looming sanctions. They did it to themselves... well not the young players, but the President and Boosters. Just because the media has died of the story doesn't mean it is going away. It affects their strength as a program and will in the future.
Monday, February 27, 2012
The Greatest Moments from the Greatest Weekend
I love the NBA All-Star weekend. That's not exaggeration I love it. I "cancel plans with cute girls" love All-Star weekend (Sorry). It is probably the child in me but I get so excited about seeing most of the world's best basketball players on the same court competing against each other on Sunday night. I still want a "Vince Carter dunking in 2000" moment in the Slam Dunk contest. I want to see some celebrity do something goofy during the celebrity game or seeing a rookie or sophomore begin to make a name for himself on Friday night.
The game and the dunk contest were covered from this weekend but there were a lot of other great moments. I wanted to take a look back at those other great moments that made up a pretty good All-Star weekend.
All-Star Celebrity Game
The Kevin Hart bit playing with Dwight Howard and the child dressed up as Superman were great moments. But I would grow tired of Hart by the end of the weekend from that game and commercials from his movie that I can promise I will not see until it is randomly on Comedy Central when I wake up from a nap.
But my favorite moment from that game came from the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, and his over the shoulder pass to J. Cole, who then botched the layup.
If this is the type of basketball that goes down in President Obama's pickup games then we need to get some cameras in there. I would much rather see Obama, Duncan and friends play ball over some the college basketball I've seen this season.
Rising Stars Challenge
I like the change from the Rookie/Sophomore game to the draft by the GM's, Shaq and Charles Barkley, mixing up the players from both classes. The draft was fun a few weeks ago on a Thursday night broadcast on TNT and buzz around this game had built up expectations higher than they had been the past few seasons. The NHL has held a live draft by two of the top players in their sport to pick the players to fill out the remaining All-Star rosters for the past few seasons and people have been clamoring to see the NBA put this in place as well for their All-Star game. I think trying it this year with the rookies and sophomores showed that it was a success. Did you see how well John Wall played after being picked 11th in the draft? He was gunning for MVP the second he stepped on the court, playing good defense and playing extremely well on the offensive side. I would love to see this happening with the "real" All-Star game. How great would NBA stars play after being picked way too late? Would LeBron try to pick the most fun team ever? Would they let Kobe and LeBron be captains to let us know who would be the best GM ever, while also deciding player ever? Players picking other players to their All-Star teams would be the greatest thing the All-Star game has ever done. I would love to see more angry, committed players in the game.
OK back to my favorite moment from the Rising Stars game, it came late in the game after the game was already decided. In these moments it normally turns into an unofficial slam dunk contest. To further prove that he shouldn't have been picked 11th, John Wall was throwing down. Well he was throwing down until he tried to bounce the ball to himself while Greg Monroe stood a little too close to the lane. Greg Monroe decided he wanted the ball so he grabbed the ball and threw it down to his own teammates for their own dunks. No one saw this coming and it was hilarious. It doesn't sound like Wall appreciated it too much but Greg Monroe don't worry you had the best moment on the Rising Stars game.
Slam Dunk Contest
Saturday night has four events not just the Slam Dunk contest but that's what we all tune in for. I think overall the night was fun with the Haier Shooting Challenge, the Taco Bell Skills Challenge and even the 3-point shootout. But how we view the weekend is how good the Slam Dunk contest ends up being. This year might not have been the best, but I think there were two great dunks and several fun ones. I'll just show my favorite dunk from Saturday night. Not much lead-in but it was Jeremy Evan's second dunk of the evening where he dunked two balls at once, while jumping over Gordon Hayward sitting on a stool. Impressive stuff from the eventual Slam Dunk contest champion.
All-Star Game
Overall, the All-Star game was a lot of fun. There's still very little defensive and a lot of great passes and dunks. I'll take it. But my favorite moment of the night came when the East All-Star starters were introduced coming out of the smoky steps in the floor. Four of the players come up the stairs, head bobbing, laughing and seemingly having a good time. The fifth player stands off to side stoned face and just looking on the scene with what might have been contempt on his face. The four having fun were LeBron, Dwight Howard, Dwayne Wade and Carmelo Anthony and the fifth one was Derrick Rose. I'm not saying I think one group is better or worse for their response to being in the All-Star game, but I can say it was fun too see the juxtaposition. Derrick Rose please keep being aloof while everyone else around seems to be having a real good time. That won't ever stop being funny.
All-Star weekend has come and gone and I have to wait another year for one of my favorite weekends. Rest In Peace All-Star weekend 2012, I wish you had been around longer and thanks for the memories.
The game and the dunk contest were covered from this weekend but there were a lot of other great moments. I wanted to take a look back at those other great moments that made up a pretty good All-Star weekend.
All-Star Celebrity Game
The Kevin Hart bit playing with Dwight Howard and the child dressed up as Superman were great moments. But I would grow tired of Hart by the end of the weekend from that game and commercials from his movie that I can promise I will not see until it is randomly on Comedy Central when I wake up from a nap.
But my favorite moment from that game came from the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, and his over the shoulder pass to J. Cole, who then botched the layup.
If this is the type of basketball that goes down in President Obama's pickup games then we need to get some cameras in there. I would much rather see Obama, Duncan and friends play ball over some the college basketball I've seen this season.
Rising Stars Challenge
I like the change from the Rookie/Sophomore game to the draft by the GM's, Shaq and Charles Barkley, mixing up the players from both classes. The draft was fun a few weeks ago on a Thursday night broadcast on TNT and buzz around this game had built up expectations higher than they had been the past few seasons. The NHL has held a live draft by two of the top players in their sport to pick the players to fill out the remaining All-Star rosters for the past few seasons and people have been clamoring to see the NBA put this in place as well for their All-Star game. I think trying it this year with the rookies and sophomores showed that it was a success. Did you see how well John Wall played after being picked 11th in the draft? He was gunning for MVP the second he stepped on the court, playing good defense and playing extremely well on the offensive side. I would love to see this happening with the "real" All-Star game. How great would NBA stars play after being picked way too late? Would LeBron try to pick the most fun team ever? Would they let Kobe and LeBron be captains to let us know who would be the best GM ever, while also deciding player ever? Players picking other players to their All-Star teams would be the greatest thing the All-Star game has ever done. I would love to see more angry, committed players in the game.
OK back to my favorite moment from the Rising Stars game, it came late in the game after the game was already decided. In these moments it normally turns into an unofficial slam dunk contest. To further prove that he shouldn't have been picked 11th, John Wall was throwing down. Well he was throwing down until he tried to bounce the ball to himself while Greg Monroe stood a little too close to the lane. Greg Monroe decided he wanted the ball so he grabbed the ball and threw it down to his own teammates for their own dunks. No one saw this coming and it was hilarious. It doesn't sound like Wall appreciated it too much but Greg Monroe don't worry you had the best moment on the Rising Stars game.
Slam Dunk Contest
Saturday night has four events not just the Slam Dunk contest but that's what we all tune in for. I think overall the night was fun with the Haier Shooting Challenge, the Taco Bell Skills Challenge and even the 3-point shootout. But how we view the weekend is how good the Slam Dunk contest ends up being. This year might not have been the best, but I think there were two great dunks and several fun ones. I'll just show my favorite dunk from Saturday night. Not much lead-in but it was Jeremy Evan's second dunk of the evening where he dunked two balls at once, while jumping over Gordon Hayward sitting on a stool. Impressive stuff from the eventual Slam Dunk contest champion.
All-Star Game
Overall, the All-Star game was a lot of fun. There's still very little defensive and a lot of great passes and dunks. I'll take it. But my favorite moment of the night came when the East All-Star starters were introduced coming out of the smoky steps in the floor. Four of the players come up the stairs, head bobbing, laughing and seemingly having a good time. The fifth player stands off to side stoned face and just looking on the scene with what might have been contempt on his face. The four having fun were LeBron, Dwight Howard, Dwayne Wade and Carmelo Anthony and the fifth one was Derrick Rose. I'm not saying I think one group is better or worse for their response to being in the All-Star game, but I can say it was fun too see the juxtaposition. Derrick Rose please keep being aloof while everyone else around seems to be having a real good time. That won't ever stop being funny.
All-Star weekend has come and gone and I have to wait another year for one of my favorite weekends. Rest In Peace All-Star weekend 2012, I wish you had been around longer and thanks for the memories.
Welcome Us Back!! or (The One Where I Get Way too Personal)
The Sports Party has been on a hiatus. Those of you who follow me on Twitter (@chrislaprade1) and on Facebook might have been happy not to see my announcements everyday. Others of you, at least I hope so, missed being able to read and listen to our thoughts on an almost daily basis. Well for that group WE ARE BACK!
Starting today we will begin posting articles on the site again. Mitch and Pat are both coming back in some capacity to be a part of the blog. At the same time I am looking for other people that want to be a part of the site. If you have any interest in this, email me at thesportsparty@gmail.com. I am looking for people that can write, be guest on the podcast or if you want to be apart of the site in anyway just get in touch with me.
Next thing I want to talk about is the podcast. I'll be changing up the style of the podcast, moving it to once a week, and just trying out some different things until we (you and I) can find something we really enjoy. The podcast won't get started for a few weeks but it will be back, but most likely not on iTunes (Sorry).
OK, now I want to get to why the Sports Party hasn't posted anything in over two months. Over the end of last semester I started having panic attacks at school. This was not something I had encountered before and honestly didn't know how to handle it. I didn't tell anyone, I didn't see a doctor, I didn't even tell my family. In turn these panic attacks caused me to become depressed. (I actually hate using the word depressed and most of the time say bummed or down) Over the last three or four months I have finally let my family know what is going on and began to seek the medical advice that I need to get through this period in my life. Everyday isn't easy and everyday isn't some depressing, gloomy day where I sit in a dark room on my computer, actually most are somewhere inbetween. The panic attacks are less frequent and I am at a point where I manage them much better. Doctors are working to find the right set of medicines to help me feel better. And with help from my family and friends I continue to move in a direction where I feel more like myself.
Before this started I loved writing on the site, loved setting up podcast and chatting with great friends about my greatest passion, sports. As the panic attacks started and the depression became an issue, I could not find the passion to keep this blog going. I tried but it became hard and felt more like work than it should. After awhile I just left the site alone. But now as things are beginning to turn around my passion for sports and expressing my opinion on sports has returned quickly.
For those of you who were coming to the site daily I apologize for the break. We had what I felt was a good following, that was also growing. I hope that we can bring you back in without thinking that the content will just stop again in a few weeks.
I didn't write that for sympathy or anything like that. I wrote it because that's the best way I can express myself and expressing myself is something I needed to do. I also wrote this for the fans of this site to explain what happened and I hope that it came through well.
So we are back, I have post that will go up this afternoon about All Star weekend (one of my favorite weekends of the year). Pat and Mitch both have articles that are going up later this week. So stay tuned and welcome back to the Sports Party.
Starting today we will begin posting articles on the site again. Mitch and Pat are both coming back in some capacity to be a part of the blog. At the same time I am looking for other people that want to be a part of the site. If you have any interest in this, email me at thesportsparty@gmail.com. I am looking for people that can write, be guest on the podcast or if you want to be apart of the site in anyway just get in touch with me.
Next thing I want to talk about is the podcast. I'll be changing up the style of the podcast, moving it to once a week, and just trying out some different things until we (you and I) can find something we really enjoy. The podcast won't get started for a few weeks but it will be back, but most likely not on iTunes (Sorry).
OK, now I want to get to why the Sports Party hasn't posted anything in over two months. Over the end of last semester I started having panic attacks at school. This was not something I had encountered before and honestly didn't know how to handle it. I didn't tell anyone, I didn't see a doctor, I didn't even tell my family. In turn these panic attacks caused me to become depressed. (I actually hate using the word depressed and most of the time say bummed or down) Over the last three or four months I have finally let my family know what is going on and began to seek the medical advice that I need to get through this period in my life. Everyday isn't easy and everyday isn't some depressing, gloomy day where I sit in a dark room on my computer, actually most are somewhere inbetween. The panic attacks are less frequent and I am at a point where I manage them much better. Doctors are working to find the right set of medicines to help me feel better. And with help from my family and friends I continue to move in a direction where I feel more like myself.
Before this started I loved writing on the site, loved setting up podcast and chatting with great friends about my greatest passion, sports. As the panic attacks started and the depression became an issue, I could not find the passion to keep this blog going. I tried but it became hard and felt more like work than it should. After awhile I just left the site alone. But now as things are beginning to turn around my passion for sports and expressing my opinion on sports has returned quickly.
For those of you who were coming to the site daily I apologize for the break. We had what I felt was a good following, that was also growing. I hope that we can bring you back in without thinking that the content will just stop again in a few weeks.
I didn't write that for sympathy or anything like that. I wrote it because that's the best way I can express myself and expressing myself is something I needed to do. I also wrote this for the fans of this site to explain what happened and I hope that it came through well.
So we are back, I have post that will go up this afternoon about All Star weekend (one of my favorite weekends of the year). Pat and Mitch both have articles that are going up later this week. So stay tuned and welcome back to the Sports Party.
Monday, January 9, 2012
The Tebow Effect
For some reason, Tim Tebow has caused all kinds of media attention in his career as a football player. It started as a high schooler and his recruitment. Then it was his play at the University of Florida. Now it is his role as the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos.
The scope of the attention he has garnered has grown as his role has grown. As a high schooler it was recruiting sites and message boards. As a college player, it was college media. Yes, the coverage was everywhere; CBS basically made him a god. Remember the rain game at FSU when he had mud on his face? The jump pass? The speech? ESPN, owning much of CFB TV rights also played him up across their platforms. But even then, he was known to mostly college football fans... and many grew tired of hearing about him.
Now, he is in the NFL, and a whole new set of the country will pay attention. The northeast, the midwest/Chicago market, and LA have all been exposed to Tim Tebow on a level they had not before. I mention those areas because they are the top media markets in the country. Whereas before, the college football media coverage was primarily through the southeast and midwest... it touched the southwest and the pacific northwest. But considering Tebow's career took him to teams primarily in the southeast and he beat only a few Big Ten schools, the sustained media impact on the major markets did not arise until he made the leap into the NFL.
With that established, I think Tebow has received the attention he has for three reasons, primarily. First, he plays a very passionate, unorthodox style of football which many find unique and attractive. Second, he is a very good, nice guy. People who meet him like him. He is a good teammate and gives credit to other teammates. Third, and this is the main focus of my post, he has brought religion to the public sphere and it has challenged many people's belief systems in one way or another.
The United States was founded with the idea that people could believe whatever they wanted. The state could not interfere with the on goings of a religion and one religion could not be endorsed by the government (in order to prevent the type of tyranny that had swept across Europe with the combination of monarchies and state run religions). So it is in our nature to not want to publicly discuss religion because it is personal to many and because the public arena is dominated by either government endorsed institutions or private institutions with a share of the market not wanting to alienate any customer.
So Tebow's desire to bring his religious beliefs into the public sphere challenges many people who either do not like religion or who do not want religion discussed for the reasons above. This is completely acceptable and the right of each person to think this. Tebow has the right to discuss religion publicly and people have a right to not want to listen. This may cause most of the discontent with his assertion to have religion in his conversations, but I doubt that is all of it. I think it is more like a tool or avenue for something deeper to surface.
Chuck Kloesterman brought this up in a great piece on Tebow in a Grantland article. He said that people were becoming outraged or attracted to Tebow because they thought he was potentially being rewarded with wins for being a good Christian. I think this was at the heart of many people's response to Tebow; some people liked it, some people didn't, but almost everyone was paying attention.
Here is the retort most often people had, "Does God not have something better to do than to decides who wins a football game?" Certainly this is an interesting insight into the belief system of those who say this. I think this is probably an insight into people who probably don't think a lot about God, because most people who think about God either think he is an omnipotent being or he does not exist.
Allow me to elaborate. To think a god exists who does not control something is to think the god who you believe in is not sufficiently powerful to exist. So it very possible that god is not really much of a god at all. And considering the tradition that Tebow comes from, the god he believes in is most likely omnipotent. Therefore the response to his assertion is to downplay his God's influence. But his God, according to Christian Tradition, created the world. So in essence, the argument becomes his God can create the world but not control a football game in it.
I guess that is possible, if that god is the god of Deists. Jefferson was a Deist. Being a man of scientific understanding and a son of the enlightenment, he recognized the need of a Creator. He also saw that the world was vast and abided by certain natural laws. He surmised that a creator existed, put laws into place, and allowed the world to work; kind of like a watchmaker. However, the God Tebow believes in also is a personal God who took a human form to sacrifice himself for people who stopped wanting the relationship he first established when he created the world. So to argue that Tebow's God has no interest in a football game is to call Tebow's God non existent because he cannot be both an omnipotent god and one who does not have control, therefore Tebow's God exists in control or does not exist at all.
I'm not disparaging anyone for not believing in the God of Christianity or someone's belief in an impersonal god who exists with no control over anything or a belief in a god who is personal but lacks control over something even though he should be involved in other things of more importance than football games. That is their prerogative and I respect their beliefs. However, I do not respect inconsistency in belief because what is the purpose of having that belief? Nonetheless, I am trying to get to the bottom of the response to Tim Tebow, not examine what I think about other people's beliefs. An examination of what people believe is necessary though, because it is the conflicting or concurring beliefs to Tebow's stated belief's that cause the attention.
What do people think God has a role for? What is he supposed to be involved with. As good, open minded people, we cannot logically say that God is not in control of natural disasters, famines, or wars. Why would God do that? How could he take sides? So the idea that he has better things to do than a football game would imply he has to be involved in the major things, right? Maybe not. Maybe he doesn't involve himself in the major or the minor things. Maybe he just exists and steps in with some divine intervention or miracle when we need it most. But then, that begs the question, if he can do that, why doesn't he help all the time? Why doesn't he fix everything? And if could fix things, why does he not have the control to fix a football game or a natural disaster? Dammit!! Who is this god and why or why not isn't he doing anything? Where does his power end or begin? Does he even care what is going on?
I think Tebow's attention came from the fact that he was winning games in dramatic fashion against the odds that he shouldn't. He has a bad throwing motion, running backs fumbled all opportune times, kickers made 55+ yard kicks. I mean, it was basically a sports movie in real life. And as humans we have the desire to belong to a narrative, a human or personal story. We saw this playing out and thought a larger, possibly divine, hand had to be helping. Then the nation as a whole was challenged in their belief systems.
It is nothing for members of orthodox religions to hold the belief that their god is omnipotent. In fact, many people take comfort in a god who controls things. They believe in that god and that god recognizes their efforts or a relationship and seeks to be apart of their lives how he chooses.
For Americans, we have an individualistic streak in us. We want to be in control of our lives, so the possibility that divine intervention could choose one person over another really bothers us. Further, it brings metaphysical, spiritual, or eternal questions into our mind's eye. We don't like thinking about things beyond the physical or eternal. Hell, many do not thinking about the near future... like work on Monday or how to save for retirement. It is big and overwhelming. I suppose that is why many orthodox believers take solace in a god who has it figured out.
I think that bothered many Americans about Tebow. He had a strong confidence in his God and they saw possibly divine work at play. It challenged belief systems they held and ones they did not know they held. It even caused some to be angry with the system they did hold. For example, many did not like that he could be rewarded with wins for his beliefs, but many people think that they will get to heaven or have good karma on Earth for their good works. Their belief is to do good things and be rewarded. Is that much different than Tebow's? Not really, except that Tebow believes his God is omnipotent and controls things where others think they can control their own outcome. And if God did really reward Tebow, then they think that God is exclusive and intolerant.
It is impossible to prove beliefs, that is why they are called "beliefs" and not "proofs". But we all have them. We may not know what we believe, but our actions bear out the values or traditions we hold true, which are based on our beliefs on how the world works. I think Tebow on a large scale challenged many of those beliefs through his exposure to the largest media markets in our country and it caused the media attention to be incredibly high (side note: those markets also lean more left politically. Typically those who belong to the political left in the US does not like religion in public, religion at all, or exclusive religions).
It also caused a lot of thoughtless outrage or praise. I will say, though, it was handled well in many places. People for the most part agreed he was a nice guy, he had a terrible throwing motion and great defense, he was entitled to his beliefs and we are entitled to ours. But the flippant comment that "God has better things to do than determine the outcome of football games" is one that is not thought out (and if it is, it is by someone who does not believe in God but does not want to take the time to explain their rationale, which is understandable considering many negative responses they could receive). I think that reactionary response is the manifestation of the deeper issue regarding that many found when reporting on or responding to Tim Tebow, his play, and his outspoken beliefs.
The scope of the attention he has garnered has grown as his role has grown. As a high schooler it was recruiting sites and message boards. As a college player, it was college media. Yes, the coverage was everywhere; CBS basically made him a god. Remember the rain game at FSU when he had mud on his face? The jump pass? The speech? ESPN, owning much of CFB TV rights also played him up across their platforms. But even then, he was known to mostly college football fans... and many grew tired of hearing about him.
Now, he is in the NFL, and a whole new set of the country will pay attention. The northeast, the midwest/Chicago market, and LA have all been exposed to Tim Tebow on a level they had not before. I mention those areas because they are the top media markets in the country. Whereas before, the college football media coverage was primarily through the southeast and midwest... it touched the southwest and the pacific northwest. But considering Tebow's career took him to teams primarily in the southeast and he beat only a few Big Ten schools, the sustained media impact on the major markets did not arise until he made the leap into the NFL.
With that established, I think Tebow has received the attention he has for three reasons, primarily. First, he plays a very passionate, unorthodox style of football which many find unique and attractive. Second, he is a very good, nice guy. People who meet him like him. He is a good teammate and gives credit to other teammates. Third, and this is the main focus of my post, he has brought religion to the public sphere and it has challenged many people's belief systems in one way or another.
The United States was founded with the idea that people could believe whatever they wanted. The state could not interfere with the on goings of a religion and one religion could not be endorsed by the government (in order to prevent the type of tyranny that had swept across Europe with the combination of monarchies and state run religions). So it is in our nature to not want to publicly discuss religion because it is personal to many and because the public arena is dominated by either government endorsed institutions or private institutions with a share of the market not wanting to alienate any customer.
So Tebow's desire to bring his religious beliefs into the public sphere challenges many people who either do not like religion or who do not want religion discussed for the reasons above. This is completely acceptable and the right of each person to think this. Tebow has the right to discuss religion publicly and people have a right to not want to listen. This may cause most of the discontent with his assertion to have religion in his conversations, but I doubt that is all of it. I think it is more like a tool or avenue for something deeper to surface.
Chuck Kloesterman brought this up in a great piece on Tebow in a Grantland article. He said that people were becoming outraged or attracted to Tebow because they thought he was potentially being rewarded with wins for being a good Christian. I think this was at the heart of many people's response to Tebow; some people liked it, some people didn't, but almost everyone was paying attention.
Here is the retort most often people had, "Does God not have something better to do than to decides who wins a football game?" Certainly this is an interesting insight into the belief system of those who say this. I think this is probably an insight into people who probably don't think a lot about God, because most people who think about God either think he is an omnipotent being or he does not exist.
Allow me to elaborate. To think a god exists who does not control something is to think the god who you believe in is not sufficiently powerful to exist. So it very possible that god is not really much of a god at all. And considering the tradition that Tebow comes from, the god he believes in is most likely omnipotent. Therefore the response to his assertion is to downplay his God's influence. But his God, according to Christian Tradition, created the world. So in essence, the argument becomes his God can create the world but not control a football game in it.
I guess that is possible, if that god is the god of Deists. Jefferson was a Deist. Being a man of scientific understanding and a son of the enlightenment, he recognized the need of a Creator. He also saw that the world was vast and abided by certain natural laws. He surmised that a creator existed, put laws into place, and allowed the world to work; kind of like a watchmaker. However, the God Tebow believes in also is a personal God who took a human form to sacrifice himself for people who stopped wanting the relationship he first established when he created the world. So to argue that Tebow's God has no interest in a football game is to call Tebow's God non existent because he cannot be both an omnipotent god and one who does not have control, therefore Tebow's God exists in control or does not exist at all.
I'm not disparaging anyone for not believing in the God of Christianity or someone's belief in an impersonal god who exists with no control over anything or a belief in a god who is personal but lacks control over something even though he should be involved in other things of more importance than football games. That is their prerogative and I respect their beliefs. However, I do not respect inconsistency in belief because what is the purpose of having that belief? Nonetheless, I am trying to get to the bottom of the response to Tim Tebow, not examine what I think about other people's beliefs. An examination of what people believe is necessary though, because it is the conflicting or concurring beliefs to Tebow's stated belief's that cause the attention.
What do people think God has a role for? What is he supposed to be involved with. As good, open minded people, we cannot logically say that God is not in control of natural disasters, famines, or wars. Why would God do that? How could he take sides? So the idea that he has better things to do than a football game would imply he has to be involved in the major things, right? Maybe not. Maybe he doesn't involve himself in the major or the minor things. Maybe he just exists and steps in with some divine intervention or miracle when we need it most. But then, that begs the question, if he can do that, why doesn't he help all the time? Why doesn't he fix everything? And if could fix things, why does he not have the control to fix a football game or a natural disaster? Dammit!! Who is this god and why or why not isn't he doing anything? Where does his power end or begin? Does he even care what is going on?
I think Tebow's attention came from the fact that he was winning games in dramatic fashion against the odds that he shouldn't. He has a bad throwing motion, running backs fumbled all opportune times, kickers made 55+ yard kicks. I mean, it was basically a sports movie in real life. And as humans we have the desire to belong to a narrative, a human or personal story. We saw this playing out and thought a larger, possibly divine, hand had to be helping. Then the nation as a whole was challenged in their belief systems.
It is nothing for members of orthodox religions to hold the belief that their god is omnipotent. In fact, many people take comfort in a god who controls things. They believe in that god and that god recognizes their efforts or a relationship and seeks to be apart of their lives how he chooses.
For Americans, we have an individualistic streak in us. We want to be in control of our lives, so the possibility that divine intervention could choose one person over another really bothers us. Further, it brings metaphysical, spiritual, or eternal questions into our mind's eye. We don't like thinking about things beyond the physical or eternal. Hell, many do not thinking about the near future... like work on Monday or how to save for retirement. It is big and overwhelming. I suppose that is why many orthodox believers take solace in a god who has it figured out.
I think that bothered many Americans about Tebow. He had a strong confidence in his God and they saw possibly divine work at play. It challenged belief systems they held and ones they did not know they held. It even caused some to be angry with the system they did hold. For example, many did not like that he could be rewarded with wins for his beliefs, but many people think that they will get to heaven or have good karma on Earth for their good works. Their belief is to do good things and be rewarded. Is that much different than Tebow's? Not really, except that Tebow believes his God is omnipotent and controls things where others think they can control their own outcome. And if God did really reward Tebow, then they think that God is exclusive and intolerant.
It is impossible to prove beliefs, that is why they are called "beliefs" and not "proofs". But we all have them. We may not know what we believe, but our actions bear out the values or traditions we hold true, which are based on our beliefs on how the world works. I think Tebow on a large scale challenged many of those beliefs through his exposure to the largest media markets in our country and it caused the media attention to be incredibly high (side note: those markets also lean more left politically. Typically those who belong to the political left in the US does not like religion in public, religion at all, or exclusive religions).
It also caused a lot of thoughtless outrage or praise. I will say, though, it was handled well in many places. People for the most part agreed he was a nice guy, he had a terrible throwing motion and great defense, he was entitled to his beliefs and we are entitled to ours. But the flippant comment that "God has better things to do than determine the outcome of football games" is one that is not thought out (and if it is, it is by someone who does not believe in God but does not want to take the time to explain their rationale, which is understandable considering many negative responses they could receive). I think that reactionary response is the manifestation of the deeper issue regarding that many found when reporting on or responding to Tim Tebow, his play, and his outspoken beliefs.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Saban's Fatal Flaw
Punishing defense, powerful running backs, strong offensive lines. These are all staples of a Nick Saban team. Teams covet the types of players Saban brings to his program and how he prepares them for the NFL. Often times his preparation of their talents is what brings the best to his campus... I mean, the only legal thing the University of Alabama is willing to talk about. It is the SEC after all.
On the other hand, a lot can be known about a team or program based on what it is not known for. Never has a nick Saban team been known for a great quarterback or even great quarterback play. Nick Saban's fatal flaw is his lack of a quarterback who can make plays to win him the game.
That last statement should not be controversial at all. No one would say or think that Alabama, over the last 3 years (can't count year one) has used his quarterback to win him games. Saban would rather control the game clock and flow of the game by using his running backs and his defense. It shortens the game and allows for less errors. It is not a bad style of coaching. In fact, Saban's process of mastery and execution based performance is so successful that it is mimicked across the country.
Anyone who has breathed the same air on a coaching staff with Saban will be hired before someone who hasn't. Ok, that's hyperbole, but there are a number of people across the NCAA landscape who have reached HC status because of their time on a Saban staff, whether it is earned through their own success or success by association.
However, Saban's style of coaching has a fatal flaw. Saban teams will struggle when they must throw the ball to gain an advantage. Granted he stacks the deck in his favor by recruiting and developing a massive offensive line and incredibly big and fast running backs. Nonetheless, the most important person on the field will never be the quarterback. His quarterbacks will be nothing more than game managers with high completion percentages from safe passes and safe play actions on 1st down after the run has been established. That is a fatal flaw and one that has and will cost Saban a few SEC/National titles.
In my LSU/Bama preview quad-podcast I predicted UA to take care of business because I said those two teams are nearly equal except AJ McCarron will make plays when he has to. Certainly, McCarron was overwhelmed by the insanely good LSU defense, but Jared Jefferson wasn't overwhelmed by the Bama defense. Jefferson was the type of X factor behind center that Saban doesn't have.
No one would say Jefferson was a great QB in the classic sense of the word. He is not a pocket passer nor does he direct an offense like Landry Jones does, but he can make plays with his legs, something the college QB must do for their team to be a title contender.
I think the big question is if Saban can recruit so well, how come he hasn't recruited a nasty QB who can sling it or at the very least be a bruising runner like he demands from his other offensive backs? I think it is because Saban likes a "game manager". Plus, and this is the most important aspect, no self respecting high quality high school quarterback will go to a Saban led team because that QB will never be a premiere player. When offenses like OU, OKST, Stanford, and Clemson are rewarding quarterbacks for being mobile, pro style, or balanced between the two why would anyone go to a program where they will not develop let alone become a household name?
In 2010, Greg McElroy ranked 67th in Pass Attempts with 313 attempts. John Brandtley had more attempts than McElroy. 34 of those QB's ranked were on AQ teams. This year AJ McCarron, a quarterback who I like and thought could be their playmaker attemped 294 passes in one less game than McElroy did in 2010. I thought this year McCarron might bring another angle to the Bama offense, but in the cookie cutter offense Saban uses year after year, it is run first and pass second; manage the game with defense and clock.
There is nothing wrong with that, but a good HS quarterback will not be attracted to it, and eventually (cough, 2010 season, cough this season) not having a stand out QB will hurt your ability to win champtionships or beat rivals. That's just how it is in the NCAA, unless you want to put it all on an incredible pro laden defense a la LSU 2011.
A look at some key stats highlights the fact that Saban will not feature or be able to develop a game changing quarterback, even to his detriment. This year Bama ran the ball 473 times compared to 294 passes by McCarron. I subtracted the number of times Bama ran it 170 times when up by more than two TD's considering garbage time and clock killing and end up with 303. A few other stats to bolster the trend is when the Tide faced 3rd down and 9 or less they ran it 50 times vs 63 pass attempts. Naturally the numbers showing running on third and short are inverse to third and long and vice versa.
But the killing stat to me that shows Saban's reluctance to put the game in a quarterback's hands is the Red Zone numbers. Bama passed the ball 44 times in the Red Zone this year but ran it 111 times. Certainly a team needs to get a push when near the goal line, and with a back like Richardson it would be stupid to not hand him the ball, this points to the bigger issue that Richardson is their only option. It is no secret the Tide feature a killer running game, but through the course of a program, when an entire position is neglected attrition will be caused from the recruiting aspect.
I love the process. I think the process is how a coach gets players to be great and great players make great teams. But Saban can recruit all he wants, until he features an offense that uses a QB more than he does Alabama will fail to be successful in the dog eat dog SEC where the best player on the field needs to be under center. No wonder Jameis Winston does not want to go to the University in his back yard.
On the other hand, a lot can be known about a team or program based on what it is not known for. Never has a nick Saban team been known for a great quarterback or even great quarterback play. Nick Saban's fatal flaw is his lack of a quarterback who can make plays to win him the game.
That last statement should not be controversial at all. No one would say or think that Alabama, over the last 3 years (can't count year one) has used his quarterback to win him games. Saban would rather control the game clock and flow of the game by using his running backs and his defense. It shortens the game and allows for less errors. It is not a bad style of coaching. In fact, Saban's process of mastery and execution based performance is so successful that it is mimicked across the country.
Anyone who has breathed the same air on a coaching staff with Saban will be hired before someone who hasn't. Ok, that's hyperbole, but there are a number of people across the NCAA landscape who have reached HC status because of their time on a Saban staff, whether it is earned through their own success or success by association.
However, Saban's style of coaching has a fatal flaw. Saban teams will struggle when they must throw the ball to gain an advantage. Granted he stacks the deck in his favor by recruiting and developing a massive offensive line and incredibly big and fast running backs. Nonetheless, the most important person on the field will never be the quarterback. His quarterbacks will be nothing more than game managers with high completion percentages from safe passes and safe play actions on 1st down after the run has been established. That is a fatal flaw and one that has and will cost Saban a few SEC/National titles.
In my LSU/Bama preview quad-podcast I predicted UA to take care of business because I said those two teams are nearly equal except AJ McCarron will make plays when he has to. Certainly, McCarron was overwhelmed by the insanely good LSU defense, but Jared Jefferson wasn't overwhelmed by the Bama defense. Jefferson was the type of X factor behind center that Saban doesn't have.
No one would say Jefferson was a great QB in the classic sense of the word. He is not a pocket passer nor does he direct an offense like Landry Jones does, but he can make plays with his legs, something the college QB must do for their team to be a title contender.
I think the big question is if Saban can recruit so well, how come he hasn't recruited a nasty QB who can sling it or at the very least be a bruising runner like he demands from his other offensive backs? I think it is because Saban likes a "game manager". Plus, and this is the most important aspect, no self respecting high quality high school quarterback will go to a Saban led team because that QB will never be a premiere player. When offenses like OU, OKST, Stanford, and Clemson are rewarding quarterbacks for being mobile, pro style, or balanced between the two why would anyone go to a program where they will not develop let alone become a household name?
In 2010, Greg McElroy ranked 67th in Pass Attempts with 313 attempts. John Brandtley had more attempts than McElroy. 34 of those QB's ranked were on AQ teams. This year AJ McCarron, a quarterback who I like and thought could be their playmaker attemped 294 passes in one less game than McElroy did in 2010. I thought this year McCarron might bring another angle to the Bama offense, but in the cookie cutter offense Saban uses year after year, it is run first and pass second; manage the game with defense and clock.
There is nothing wrong with that, but a good HS quarterback will not be attracted to it, and eventually (cough, 2010 season, cough this season) not having a stand out QB will hurt your ability to win champtionships or beat rivals. That's just how it is in the NCAA, unless you want to put it all on an incredible pro laden defense a la LSU 2011.
A look at some key stats highlights the fact that Saban will not feature or be able to develop a game changing quarterback, even to his detriment. This year Bama ran the ball 473 times compared to 294 passes by McCarron. I subtracted the number of times Bama ran it 170 times when up by more than two TD's considering garbage time and clock killing and end up with 303. A few other stats to bolster the trend is when the Tide faced 3rd down and 9 or less they ran it 50 times vs 63 pass attempts. Naturally the numbers showing running on third and short are inverse to third and long and vice versa.
But the killing stat to me that shows Saban's reluctance to put the game in a quarterback's hands is the Red Zone numbers. Bama passed the ball 44 times in the Red Zone this year but ran it 111 times. Certainly a team needs to get a push when near the goal line, and with a back like Richardson it would be stupid to not hand him the ball, this points to the bigger issue that Richardson is their only option. It is no secret the Tide feature a killer running game, but through the course of a program, when an entire position is neglected attrition will be caused from the recruiting aspect.
I love the process. I think the process is how a coach gets players to be great and great players make great teams. But Saban can recruit all he wants, until he features an offense that uses a QB more than he does Alabama will fail to be successful in the dog eat dog SEC where the best player on the field needs to be under center. No wonder Jameis Winston does not want to go to the University in his back yard.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Top Ten Takeaways from the FSU 2011 Season
Here are top ten things (some serious, some not) FSU fans should conclude the 2011 season with.
10. The offensive line cannot be worse.
9. We beat UF and UM again. They suck and it is awesome. I don't care at all they are terrible... except it hurts our strength of schedule in the national perception.
8. The athletic trainer and Tallahassee Memorial hospital should get a pay raise for dealing with the number of injuries this team incurred.
7. The backup quarterback is not and will not ever be the answer while Fisher is coach. He prepares the starter and picks the best player to play.
6. Karlos Williams is the most entertaining player on the field with the ball in his hands. He might not be in control and that might be bad for the defensive player trying to tackle him.
5. Greg Reid is still Greg Reid. He takes chances while on the field. It benefits the team primarily when he is the kick returner and less when he is the CB. As CB he can't afford to take chances because of his stature.
4. Nigel Bradham turned it on in the last half of the season. He moved laterally better, layed the lumber on running plays and passing plays, and defended the pass better than he ever had.
3. Bjoern Werner should be everyone's favorite player. ... but then again, we have a lot of powerful and electrifying players: Rashad Greene, Devonta Freeman, our entire defensive line.
2. Jimbo matured as a head coach in his demeanor and game plan by the end of the year. This will benefit us next year. I'm not so sure EJ was able to handle the regular dressing down he received after every play the way Ponder did. Fisher may have learned that on the personal scale and the team scale.
1. Don't believe the national hype. The only see skill players and exciting defensive players. Nole fans know what the strengths and weaknesses are. Strengths are defense and offensive skill players. The weakness is offensive line. It starts and ends there. We won't be good unless they are good. I repeat (in "O' Brother Where Art Thou" Pete voice), do not believe the national hype.
10. The offensive line cannot be worse.
9. We beat UF and UM again. They suck and it is awesome. I don't care at all they are terrible... except it hurts our strength of schedule in the national perception.
8. The athletic trainer and Tallahassee Memorial hospital should get a pay raise for dealing with the number of injuries this team incurred.
7. The backup quarterback is not and will not ever be the answer while Fisher is coach. He prepares the starter and picks the best player to play.
6. Karlos Williams is the most entertaining player on the field with the ball in his hands. He might not be in control and that might be bad for the defensive player trying to tackle him.
5. Greg Reid is still Greg Reid. He takes chances while on the field. It benefits the team primarily when he is the kick returner and less when he is the CB. As CB he can't afford to take chances because of his stature.
4. Nigel Bradham turned it on in the last half of the season. He moved laterally better, layed the lumber on running plays and passing plays, and defended the pass better than he ever had.
3. Bjoern Werner should be everyone's favorite player. ... but then again, we have a lot of powerful and electrifying players: Rashad Greene, Devonta Freeman, our entire defensive line.
2. Jimbo matured as a head coach in his demeanor and game plan by the end of the year. This will benefit us next year. I'm not so sure EJ was able to handle the regular dressing down he received after every play the way Ponder did. Fisher may have learned that on the personal scale and the team scale.
1. Don't believe the national hype. The only see skill players and exciting defensive players. Nole fans know what the strengths and weaknesses are. Strengths are defense and offensive skill players. The weakness is offensive line. It starts and ends there. We won't be good unless they are good. I repeat (in "O' Brother Where Art Thou" Pete voice), do not believe the national hype.
Monday, January 2, 2012
The Sports Party Playoffs: Round 1
As fans of college football we are growing tired of this BCS system. We are much more interested in a playoff to decide college football's champion. Here at The Sports Party we have decided to conduct our own playoff using the College Football NCAA12, which is a video game for the unknowing, to play our games and crown our National Champion.
We first had to set up some ground rules for our playoff. It is an eight team playoff with the conference champions rewarded with the top five seeds in our bracket. Wait you are saying there should be six champions? Well, the Big East is so bad we excluded their champion, West Virginia. But we justified it! In our playoff the conference champion has to be ranked in the Top 14 to make the playoffs. Sorry Big East your champion plays in the Belk Bowl this year.
Now we have our champions from the five conferences, LSU, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Wisconsin and Clemson, and we rank those teams one through five based on their BCS ranking. The next three teams are the top three remaining schools in the BCS polls, Alabama, Stanford and Arkansas, and they are ranked according to their BCS ranking. Here are the eight teams in the Sports Party Playoffs and their rankings.
1. LSU
2. Oklahoma State
3. Oregon
4. Wisconsin
5. Clemson
6. Alabama
7. Stanford
8. Arkansas
This system obviously rewards winning your conference, which hurts the second place SEC team, but this system also doesn't account for conference affiliation in deciding which teams get in, which helps the SEC as a conference.
It would have been easy to just let the top four seeds play home games but we still have that 5th conference champion crying foul. Why should they have to go on the road when all the other conference champions get to play at home? Here's the solution: the game between the fourth and fifth place teams will be played at one of the current BCS bowl game stadiums and so will the games of the semifinal round and the National Championship game. So the Rose, Orange, Sugar and Fiesta bowls are still relevant in our system. They just become the fourth and fifth place game, the semifinals and the National Championship on a rotating bases.
Now that we have laid all the ground rules, let's get to the first round of the Sports Party playoffs.
Saturday, December 17th
Noon: LSU vs. Arkansas, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
LSU-35
Arkansas-23
A repeat of the Black Friday match-up between the then first and third ranked team in the polls is the first game of the day when one seed LSU takes on the eighth seeded Arkansas. LSU was too much for Arkansas from the beginning on both sides the ball. The running game, behind running back Michael Ford, and a smothering defense decided this game by halftime when LSU was up 35-10. Arkansas came out and scored 13 unanswered points in the second half and had an opportunity to score again with less than a minute in the game but Razorback quarterback, Tyler Wilson, threw an interception to seal the game for LSU, 35-23.
Player of the Game: LSU Running Back Michael Ford-19 carries, 172 yards and three touchdowns.
3:00 pm: Oregon vs. Alabama, Eugene, Oregon
Oregon-14
Alabama-16
This match-up pits the dominating defense of Alabama against the prolific offense of Oregon and neither team dominated the first half. Alabama did have the lead at halftime but was only up six points, 13-7. Oregon took a one point lead on a 85 yard run by De'Anthony Thomas with 2:35 left to get in the third quarter. Going into the fourth quarter that one point would still stand. With 3:51 left in the game Jeremy Shelley kicked a 38-yard feild goal to give Alabama the 16-14 lead. Oregon would start their final drive of the game with 1:56 left on the clock and the Ducks were putting together a solid drive until Darron Thomas threw an interception to Mark Barron that ended this tight game.
Player of the Game: Alabama Quarterback AJ McCarron- 11-17 passing, 209 yards and one touchdown.
6:00 pm: Oklahoma State vs. Stanford, Stillwater, Oklahoma
Oklahoma State-35
Stanford-31
As the sun began to set, we were hoping for things to continue to heat up as two prolific offenses stepped on the field in Stillwater. We didn't see quite the scoring output we wanted in the first half but the first half was tight and the teams were tied 14-14 at halftime. The second half would give us the scoring we wanted to see. Oklahoma State scored within 29 seconds of the third quarter and the scoring onslaught was on from there. By the end of the third quarter the game was tied 28-28. With 2:53 left in the game, Brandon Wheeden was picked off by Harold Bernard and gave Andrew Luck 1st and goal from the 7-yard line. Oklahoma State held tough and forced Stanford to kick a field goal giving Stanford the 31-28 lead with 2:08 remaining in the game. Less than a minute later Stanford had a chance to run out the clock but Andrew Luck threw an interception to Brodrick Brown and Oklahoma State took over first and goal on the 9-yard line. Three plays later Wheeden threw a touchdown pass to Tracy Moore with 34 seconds left in the game. The game would come down to a Hail Mary pass from Andrew Luck that was knocked down in the end zone.
Player of the Game: Oklahoma State Wide Receiver Justin Blackmon-5 receptions, 138 yards and three touchdowns.
9:00 pm: Wisconsin vs. Clemson, New Orleans, Louisiana
Wisconsin- 21
Clemson- 22
The last game of the day took place in New Orleans and the Clemson offense hoped to continue the party inside the stadium. Wisconsin, behind quarterback Russel Wilson and running Montee Ball, felt their offense could make some noise as well. Both offenses were able to move the ball extremely well in the first half but the Wisconsin defense was able to stop Clemson's offense in the red zone and force them to kick two field goals and only score one touchdown. Wisconsin's offense had no trouble in the red zone and they were able to punch the ball in three times and had a 21-13 lead going into halftime. The second half started with Clemson scoring on a 16-yard pass from Tajh Boyd to Deandre Hopkins but failed the 2-point conversion and heading into the fourth quarter they were down 21-19. With 2:57 Montee Ball fumbled the ball and Clemson recovered with great field position, starting their drive on the Wisconsin 25-yard line. They would only be able to come away with a field goal but it was enough to take a one point lead with 2:26 remaining in the game. The ball would change hands two times after both teams were forced to punt and Wisconsin would start their final drive on their own 29-yard line with 48 seconds on the clock and no timeouts remaining. Wisconsin moved the ball well and were almost in field goal range when Mansa Joseph blitzed from corner position and forced a sack that allowed time to expire.
Player of the Game: Clemson Quarterback Tajh Boyd- 14-23 passing, 258 yards and two touchdowns.
The second round match-ups are LSU-Clemson and Oklahoma State-Alabama. Check in tomorrow for the second round of The Sports Party playoffs.
We first had to set up some ground rules for our playoff. It is an eight team playoff with the conference champions rewarded with the top five seeds in our bracket. Wait you are saying there should be six champions? Well, the Big East is so bad we excluded their champion, West Virginia. But we justified it! In our playoff the conference champion has to be ranked in the Top 14 to make the playoffs. Sorry Big East your champion plays in the Belk Bowl this year.
Now we have our champions from the five conferences, LSU, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Wisconsin and Clemson, and we rank those teams one through five based on their BCS ranking. The next three teams are the top three remaining schools in the BCS polls, Alabama, Stanford and Arkansas, and they are ranked according to their BCS ranking. Here are the eight teams in the Sports Party Playoffs and their rankings.
1. LSU
2. Oklahoma State
3. Oregon
4. Wisconsin
5. Clemson
6. Alabama
7. Stanford
8. Arkansas
This system obviously rewards winning your conference, which hurts the second place SEC team, but this system also doesn't account for conference affiliation in deciding which teams get in, which helps the SEC as a conference.
It would have been easy to just let the top four seeds play home games but we still have that 5th conference champion crying foul. Why should they have to go on the road when all the other conference champions get to play at home? Here's the solution: the game between the fourth and fifth place teams will be played at one of the current BCS bowl game stadiums and so will the games of the semifinal round and the National Championship game. So the Rose, Orange, Sugar and Fiesta bowls are still relevant in our system. They just become the fourth and fifth place game, the semifinals and the National Championship on a rotating bases.
Now that we have laid all the ground rules, let's get to the first round of the Sports Party playoffs.
Saturday, December 17th
Noon: LSU vs. Arkansas, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
LSU-35
Arkansas-23
A repeat of the Black Friday match-up between the then first and third ranked team in the polls is the first game of the day when one seed LSU takes on the eighth seeded Arkansas. LSU was too much for Arkansas from the beginning on both sides the ball. The running game, behind running back Michael Ford, and a smothering defense decided this game by halftime when LSU was up 35-10. Arkansas came out and scored 13 unanswered points in the second half and had an opportunity to score again with less than a minute in the game but Razorback quarterback, Tyler Wilson, threw an interception to seal the game for LSU, 35-23.
Player of the Game: LSU Running Back Michael Ford-19 carries, 172 yards and three touchdowns.
3:00 pm: Oregon vs. Alabama, Eugene, Oregon
Oregon-14
Alabama-16
This match-up pits the dominating defense of Alabama against the prolific offense of Oregon and neither team dominated the first half. Alabama did have the lead at halftime but was only up six points, 13-7. Oregon took a one point lead on a 85 yard run by De'Anthony Thomas with 2:35 left to get in the third quarter. Going into the fourth quarter that one point would still stand. With 3:51 left in the game Jeremy Shelley kicked a 38-yard feild goal to give Alabama the 16-14 lead. Oregon would start their final drive of the game with 1:56 left on the clock and the Ducks were putting together a solid drive until Darron Thomas threw an interception to Mark Barron that ended this tight game.
Player of the Game: Alabama Quarterback AJ McCarron- 11-17 passing, 209 yards and one touchdown.
6:00 pm: Oklahoma State vs. Stanford, Stillwater, Oklahoma
Oklahoma State-35
Stanford-31
As the sun began to set, we were hoping for things to continue to heat up as two prolific offenses stepped on the field in Stillwater. We didn't see quite the scoring output we wanted in the first half but the first half was tight and the teams were tied 14-14 at halftime. The second half would give us the scoring we wanted to see. Oklahoma State scored within 29 seconds of the third quarter and the scoring onslaught was on from there. By the end of the third quarter the game was tied 28-28. With 2:53 left in the game, Brandon Wheeden was picked off by Harold Bernard and gave Andrew Luck 1st and goal from the 7-yard line. Oklahoma State held tough and forced Stanford to kick a field goal giving Stanford the 31-28 lead with 2:08 remaining in the game. Less than a minute later Stanford had a chance to run out the clock but Andrew Luck threw an interception to Brodrick Brown and Oklahoma State took over first and goal on the 9-yard line. Three plays later Wheeden threw a touchdown pass to Tracy Moore with 34 seconds left in the game. The game would come down to a Hail Mary pass from Andrew Luck that was knocked down in the end zone.
Player of the Game: Oklahoma State Wide Receiver Justin Blackmon-5 receptions, 138 yards and three touchdowns.
9:00 pm: Wisconsin vs. Clemson, New Orleans, Louisiana
Wisconsin- 21
Clemson- 22
The last game of the day took place in New Orleans and the Clemson offense hoped to continue the party inside the stadium. Wisconsin, behind quarterback Russel Wilson and running Montee Ball, felt their offense could make some noise as well. Both offenses were able to move the ball extremely well in the first half but the Wisconsin defense was able to stop Clemson's offense in the red zone and force them to kick two field goals and only score one touchdown. Wisconsin's offense had no trouble in the red zone and they were able to punch the ball in three times and had a 21-13 lead going into halftime. The second half started with Clemson scoring on a 16-yard pass from Tajh Boyd to Deandre Hopkins but failed the 2-point conversion and heading into the fourth quarter they were down 21-19. With 2:57 Montee Ball fumbled the ball and Clemson recovered with great field position, starting their drive on the Wisconsin 25-yard line. They would only be able to come away with a field goal but it was enough to take a one point lead with 2:26 remaining in the game. The ball would change hands two times after both teams were forced to punt and Wisconsin would start their final drive on their own 29-yard line with 48 seconds on the clock and no timeouts remaining. Wisconsin moved the ball well and were almost in field goal range when Mansa Joseph blitzed from corner position and forced a sack that allowed time to expire.
Player of the Game: Clemson Quarterback Tajh Boyd- 14-23 passing, 258 yards and two touchdowns.
The second round match-ups are LSU-Clemson and Oklahoma State-Alabama. Check in tomorrow for the second round of The Sports Party playoffs.
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