With a post title like that, you probably think I'm going to go back on my "just another regular season game" thing from the preview of the Lakers/Celts tilt, now that Boston won 109-96. I just thought it would be fun to do a quick run down of what the local sports media is saying (as they overhyped the game in the first place) on the day after the big C's victory.
The game had a bit of everything. A well running Celtics offense, some solid defense, KG getting somehow bloody even though I couldn't see how Pau Gasol hurt him despite watching it a billion times on the DVR, and a Kobe-being-Kobe kind of performance for the Purple & Gold. The second half, though, was really something special. After trailing 50-54 at the break, the Celtics went nuts. A 27-18 third was followed by an even better 32-24 fourth that sealed the deal. The Staples Center crowd was deflated, and you could literally see people changing their allegiance to the Clippers (literally, like they went and bought Clip jerseys, and were changing in their seats).
In the end, the stats tell a story of total domination.
60.3% shooting for the C's.
44.4% shooting for the L's.
53% shooting from three for the C's.
44.4% shooting from three for the L's.
43 rebounds for the C's.
30 rebounds for the L's.
34 assists for the C's.
10 assists for the L's.
Rajon Rondo (10 points and 16 assists) and Kevin Garnett (18 points and 13 rebounds) cooked up some double-doubles animal style, Pierce led the way with 32, Ray Ray got 21, and Big Baby and the bench added 28. It was awesome.
But, like I said, it's just one regular season game. We shouldn't get that crazy about it. The local media in LA, however, is going very crazy.
Reaction 1- Phil has given up:
After the game, Phil Jackson made some comments that don't sit well with the media, or the fans. "Is it the playoffs yet? No. We're still playing regular season games. We'll get there in time." I would hate this reaction from my coach. One thing people hate about basketball (all kinds) is that the regular season has almost become irrelevant, as we all wait for the playoffs. While I kind of agree with Phil, you just can't say that as a coach. The whole "it's just one game," thing could fly, but not this.
Reaction 2- Kobe sucks:
I can't remember a figure in the LA sports scene that gets turned on as fast as Kobe (Manny Ramirez would be the complete antithesis of this). When they're winning, fans kiss Kobe's butt all day long. It doesn't matter if he shoots 10% from the field, so long as they win. But when they lose, and Kobe puts up a line like 41 points and 0 assists, he becomes a villain in this town. What is he supposed to do? Should he give the shots to Fisher (5 points), Walton (1 point), or Blake (4 points)? You can't have both worlds, Laker fans. Either you take Kobe, and accept the fact that he's a ball hog who gets it done more often than not, or you take a team of unselfish distributors, finish 6th and never make it out of the second round.
Reaction 3- Jerry West was right:
For some reason, Jerry West made big news when he said that the Lakers were too old and can't play defense, last week. This Celtics victory sure made everyone reflect even more on his words. Everyone from ESPN to the local fools at KLAC said, "I guess Jerry West is right, this team is awful." This loss seems to have put the Lakers into a spiral. They can't beat good teams! They've given up on defense and the regular season as a whole! They're horrible! All these Laker fans need to calm down. You guys are 33-15 and 2nd in the West (although 7 games back of the Spurs). Sure, you're no Celtics, but you're alright.
So there you have it. Proof that the media has to make a story, the fans have to complain. In Bean Town, we're taking this win pretty well. It's nice to get a small (very small) little bit of revenge for Game 7 last year, but a regular season win doesn't hang another banner in the rafters.
At 36-11, and with a 3 game lead on the Bulls and the "Heat-gles" (I love these band references, and I don't think I'll ever stop), the Green Army have already moved on, and we're looking toward tomorrow night's game in Sacramento. The Lakers better move on as well, or else Houston could surprise them (no they can't).
26 days until Celtics/Clippers.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Sure, my Gauchos ended up losing at home in a crazy finish to Northridge, 69-70. But between the student section, the passion, and the unparalleled excitement, this game once again proved to me why college basketball is better than the NBA (and I'm not here to bash the NBA, in fact, we'll have a Celts/Lake post later today). Similar to my "college football is better than pro" argument, college basketball just has that special something that keeps you coming back. And it's not all about March Madness. It can't be. My Gauchos don't really do well when we get to March, so that can't be it.
College basketball must be awesome, if this post is coming on the heels of the UCSB/CSUN game over the weekend. The battle between me (and my wife) and my father (and cousin) went down at the Thunderdome, and it didn't finish pretty for the Gauchos. Jordan Weiner hit a sweet 3 that brought the Gauchos close, 66-68. On the inbound pass for the 'Dors, the UCSB defense was so intense that the CSUN player receiving the pass stepped out of bounds. Just like that, UCSB had a stellar chance. James Nunnally steped up and bricked a long two, but the ball bounced off of a CSUN player, and out of bounds. God was obviously giving us all the chances we needed in this one. Another chance, with 5.5 on the clock. The inbound pass was picked off by the Matadors, however, and their player was fouled. He drained his shots to ice the game, despite another 3 from the Gauchos. How do you get so many chances, and not make good? Rough loss.
Now 11-8 (4-4 in the Big West), UCSB are now tied for third in the Big West with Pacific (12-9, 4-4) and SLO (9-11, 4-4). We've got LBSU (13-10, 8-2) and the aforementioned CSUN (8-13, 5-3) ahead of us, as we continue through the campaign. Next up is a huge bash with UoP (memories of Tom Cockle yet again) on my birthday! I can't wait.
Now back to the point of this post. College basketball is better than the pros. Sure, you had Matt Damon, Jimmy Kimmel, and Carrot Top at the Lakers/Celtics game on Sunday, but does that compare to the student section at the Thunderdome? Would you rather hang with celebrities, or screaming Gaucho-holics who sing beautiful chants with bellies full of Natty Ice and Freebirds? The two main chants from the SB/CSUN game made me laugh out loud, and long for the days when I would pound shots of St. Brendan's Irish Cream before getting on public transportation to cheer my Gauchos on at the T-Dome.
I'll allow the "Daily Sundial" newspaper to supply the story,
"Throughout the game, the wild UCSB student section chanted, 'Cal State Poor!' and 'You live with your parents and we live by the beach.'"
God, I miss college.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Or at least that's what ESPN and ABC are trying to tell me. The C's pulled off an 88-78 win in Oregon last night, and all I hear about is the "renewal of the great rivalry" between my boys and the Lakers (when did it stop? Did it get postponed and I didn't hear about it?). It's so sad. Especially because we all know the greatest rivalry for the Celts is against the "Blakers." The win against the Blazers was the seventh in the last eight games for the Green Army. Ray Ray scored 18, Paulie finished with 17, Rajon 11, KG and Perk-Daddy got 10 a piece. Portland made just two of their first twelve shots to start the fourth quarter, and it kind of fell apart at that point, as the C's cruised to victory.
So, there's that. There's tonight's game against the Phoenix Suns. And then, and only after all that, the Celtics arrive at Staples Center to tip off against Kobe, Pau, and the Lakers. And yet, all we're hearing about is storylines for the Sunday matinee matchup. I know I may not make me sound like much of a fan, but I'll be missing the game because of how bad I want to watch the NHL All Star game. Priorities, baby.
Sure, I know that it's just media-speak for the players and coaches, but I really feel that this is just another game. Unless we are meeting these jokers in the NBA Finals, it's just one of eighty two. Why should I feel any other way? Am I going to be upset if the Lakers upset us? No, it's a road game, so a loss wouldn't be that big of a deal. In addition, we're facing the Sacramento Kings in the next game, so it's not like a loss to the Lakers would send us into a tail spin-ish losing streak. If we win, all the better, but I'm not going to throw it in the face of Laker fans (well, I probably will) Because when we're facing off in a rematch of Game 7 of the NBA Finals, who the heck is going to care who won the game back on January 30? No one.
I'm willing to accept the fact that the overhype job of ESPN (showing old highlights of previous battles between these two teams every night on Sports Center for the past week) may be killing my passion for this game. And, because that is probably the case, I'm starting to get worried about when the Celtics match up with the Clippers later in the season. I mean, the Celtic/Clipper rivalry game is the basketball game I get the most pumped up for every season. It usually gets no mention in the media as the game nears. However, this year, as has been documented on this very blog, the Clippers are a very trendy and popular story. I'm worried that a Celtic win over the Lakers this Sunday may send ESPN into a, "Is Blake Griffin and the improved Clippers more of a rivalry for the Celtics than the aging and fading Lakers" story line. I can't think of anything worse.
Go ahead, ESPN. Hype this Celtics/Lakers game up until the true fan just doesn't feel like caring anymore because it's become such a "big deal." But please, don't touch my Celtics/Clippers.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Ask any UCSB student, current or former, what school they hate the most, and you'll mostly get the answer: Cal Poly SLO. The rivalry between these schools, about 90 minutes apart and only separated by the tunnel in the mountain used in a scene from Wayne's World 2, is most apparent on the hardwood. Last night's 71-70 UCSB victory is only going to make the hatred that much more intense.
SLO drilled 13 of 26 three pointers in the game, keeping themselves right in the thick of things with the Gauchos, who shot 50% from the floor. And it was a huge three with 5.6 seconds on the clock that gave the 'Stangs the 70-69 lead, and feelings of an impending victory at home. But, they didn't count on James Nunnally's answer. Nunnally took the ball coast to coast in the remaining time and hit a running bank shot as the buzzer went off, just inside tha arc, to win the game. The fans that made the trip from IV to the Cow Palace went nuts, as chants of "Start the tractor" filled the Cal Poly arena. Orlando Johnson led the 'Chos with 24 points, Nunn had 13, and Justin Joyner (who seems like he's a 6th year player at this point) added 12. It was another big game in a big rivalry, and it helped us to look pretty darn good.
The win helped UCSB (11-7, 4-3) jump into the #2 spot in the Big West, trailing only the red hot Dirt Bags from LBSU (12-10, 7-2). Next up for the Gauchos is a battle with the team hot on our heels, my father's alma matter and cousin's current school, Cal State Northridge. The Matadores/Gauchos rivalry is always an exciting family affair, but it surely doesn't compare to the bitterness of the 'Cho/SLO rivalry.
Known as "The Blue-Green Rivalry," or "The Clash of the Coast," the hatred between UCSB and CP-SLO goes all the way back to 1937, with the teams meeting 96 times in basketball, and the Gauchos now leading the series 64-31. Total domination. However, in all that time, last night's tilt was the first time that the battle had been locally televised. Good thing we put our stamp on things with the impressive late winm inspiring all the local high school kids to become hardcore Gaucho-holics.
The rivalry has recently turned into a battle across all sports, with the overall winner taking home the title. Last season, the first time they did this, the Gauchos won 12-10. So far, this season, this is how it's going:
Women's Volleyball: UCSB wins 3-2.
Men's Soccer: UCSB wins 2-1.
Men's Soccer: SLO wins 2-1 (OT).
Women's Soccer: SLO wins 1-0.
Men's CC: UCSB wins 90-70.
Women's CC: UCSB wins 37-35.
Women's Volleyball: SLO wins 3-2.
Men's Basketball: UCSB wins 71-70.
Women's BBall: SLO wins 54-51.
That leaves UCSB leading this year's Blue-Green Rivalry 5-4, but there are still 11 competitions remaining. More basketball, swimming, baseball, softball, tennis, and track and field are all still on the table. Hopefully my boys are up to the challenge.
Phear the Phantom. Olé.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Every team has ups and downs, but lately, the highs and lows for Canuck fans have been a little drastic. After beating the Preds 2-1 last night, with all the goals being scored in the third period, the brief highs continued, after not seeming to be able to buy a win after our amazing streak ended 4 games or so ago. After Nashville's Shea Weber scored in a mad scramble where Keith Ballard was, for some reason, playing goalie, the Canucks turned it on. My boy Alex Burrows backhanded a rebound home after The Hammer sent in a slapper to tie things up. Then, with about 7:30 to go, Daniel Sedin stole a puck at the blue line, selflessly passed to a streaking Lee Sweatt, and the 25 year old Colorado College alumni scored the game winning goal in his NHL debut. How Sweatt it was.
Thanks to the Sweatt goal, Roberto Luongo's impressive performance went largely unnoticed. He stopped 26 shots, including easily the save of the NHL night, an God-man-like toe stop on a Joel Ward shot with 26 seconds left in the game. Bobby Lu hasn't lost in regulation since December 5. He's 11-0-5 over that time. Meanwhile, though, Sweatt is the hero in Vancouver for at least one day. Of course, with every high comes another low.
Lee Sweatt only got to play because Alex Edler was suffering back spasms. No biggie. Except, today we've come to find out that Edler is now set to have back surgery, and is out indefinitely (for the season, obviously). Another defensive player out for the count. Are you kidding me? How did we find ourselves in this situation yet again? I thought this was why we focused on the blue line in the offseason. Well, at least Sami Salo is on the verge of coming back, right? Wrong. GM Mike Gillis said today that Sami's rehab has hit a plateu and that he is fighting hard to make even incremental gains. It doesn't seem that he's any closer than March as it looks now.
And how about injured blue liners Aaron Rome and Andrew Alberts? They are our "B" option to begin with, and they're still set to be out for about a week after the All Star break. Sure Chris Tanev and now Lee Sweatt have played well as callups from Manitoba, but this is exactly the situation we were supposed to avoid this year. Trying to play at a Championship level with an AHL cast on defense is an all too familiar story.
Speaking of our defenders, I was disappointed in Keith Ballard last night. I've been talking him up lately, and then he went and speared a Preds player with a stick to the face after he fell down in the Vannie crease. There was no excuse for that. That's not something that a good guy does. Pure garbage. And, by the way, Christian Ehrhoff was also sent off for an injury last night. He came back out on the ice, but as thin as we are, this is getting scary. We are one small injury to a blue liner away from a complete collapse.
So just remember: just because it looks like Vancouver is having the best season in franchise history doesn't mean that we aren't nervous as all get out. We are on the verge of being in a lot of trouble with arguably our top defender being sent off for the season thanks to a bad back, and we now have the serious question of how long we can survive with a patchwork Moose defense (I'm guessing probably until the second round of the playoffs, in Chicago).
Thank God for the All Star break!
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Headline #1: Newcastle gives up another stoppage time point killer.
How does this happen? For the second straight week, the Magpies allowed a game tying goal to the bad guys beyond the 90 minute mark. How does such a horrible mistake happen again? Coach Alan Pardew said post-match that he was screaming to get the guys to stop going for more goals by throwing players forward because it left us open for the return attack. Okay, but why weren't you heard? And even more importantly, why don't the players already know this? Sure, the likes of Leon Best and company make for a young team, but even an Orange County AYSO squad knows they need to fall back to hold a small lead late in the game. That's four points in the last two weeks that we should have had.
The positive side of the game was the second half goal from Fabricio Coloccini. In a game that has been characterized as a "basketball match," as if they even know what that means, because of the end to end action, Newcastle's Italian Stud cashed in first with a huge goal to celebrate his 29th birthday. Colo took a pass from Danny Guthrie off of his chest and blasted it into the net. Very good stuff. Newcastle had multiple chances, with Ameobi, Best, Løvenkrands, and Barton all just missing the chance to make good. And in the end, well beyond the end actually, Stevie Harper couldn't stop a low blast into the corner. One point would have to do.
At 8-9-6, the Magpies are somehow still hanging at #9 in the EPL. 30 points in 23 games and a goal differential of just +3 doesn't look too hot, but I guess it's working...for now. Next weekend, we're away to #15 Fulham (5-8-11), and hopefully we won't give up a game tying goal in extra time to a bottom feeding BS squad.
Headline #2: Celtic stomp Heart mid-week to crush their dreams.
After topping Aberdeen over the weekend, Celtic smashed Heart 4-0 yesterday as they continue to have to just dream about being elite. All of the pre game talk was focused on how Heart was slowly making waves in the SPL and possibly ready to strike at the Old Firm and break up the Celtic/Rangers "bi-opoly." Not so fast, however, as a James Forrest goal in the 7th for the Hoops started off a solid thrashing for Heart that made all their fans shut their mouths.
Anthony Stokes added a double in the second half, and Paddy McCourt joined the Irish attack with his subbie goal that sealed the deal for the Bhoys. Heart was unbeaten in their last 11 SPL clashes, but it all came to a hault when they faced the class of the league. The SPL will always be a Celtic and (to a lesser extent) Rangers dominated league. That is, of course, until they move the SPL giants to the EPL some day.
At 14-2-4, Celtic lead the SPL over Rangers by 5 points, but the Protties have 2 games in hand. Heart are a distant 3rd, -10 on Celtic. Next up is back to back away games with Aberdeen over the weekend and on Tuesday. Following those two wins, Celtic goes toe to toe with hated Rangers on February 6. That's a big, big game.
Headline #3: Chivas making changes in SLO.
Just briefly, the Goats continue to make big changes in their training camp up in San Luis, and hopefully it'll pay off. Less a rebuilding, and more a complete restart, Coach Robin Fraser is out to change the dynamic for the Red & White.
Dario Delgado, Rodolfo Espinoza, and my boy Maykel Galindo have all been released. The goalkeeping savior, Sergio Arias, may come over from Guada. Panchito Mendoza, Joaquín Beltran, Jimmy Conrad, Tristan Bowen, Zarek Valentin, Victor Estupinan, and Alejandro Moreno are just some of the other new names coming aboard.
Fraser is trying to make one thing clear: the best players on the team will be playing the games no matter who they are. It's an open tryout, basically, for the current players and the pre-season invites. Fraser is ready to mix things up at Chivas, and we're all excited to see that mindset pays off.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
It was the first time Perk stepped into live game action since Game 6 of the NBA Finals. He received a standing ovation from the home crowd, and then got down to business. In limited time (16 minutes), Kendrick put out seven points and six rebounds, as the Celtics knocked off the Cavs 112-95. Going from the best record in the NBA to the worst, in just one year, must be tough. Pierce stepped up with 24 in the game, Ray Ray got 18, while Rondo, Nate Dawg, and Big Baby had 11 each. Rajon's 10 assists made him the lone double-doubler on the night. All that, and the return of our underrated 26 year old Center? What a night!
But, in all reality, what does the return of Kendrick Perkins do for the Celtics? I mean, we were 33-10 without him. Does his recovery from injury mean we're going to be significantly better? In Kendrick's absence, we've been rolling with Shaq and Turkey Trot, and this is how they did:
O'Neal- 10 P/G, 5 R/G, 2.7 WS
Erden- 10.3 P/G, 7.5 R/G, 1.2 WS
Combining them as a single fictitious replacement player for Perkins, we get this:
Shaq O'Erden- 10.15 P/G, 6.25 R/G, and 1.95 WS
Now, we'll look at Kendrick's stats from the 2009/2010 season:
Perkins- 10.1 P/G, 7.6 R/G, 5.2 WS
So, while Perkins' points and rebounds per game are nearly on par with Semih Erden and our fictitious combination of Shaq and the Turk, the win shares are completely different. Until you get to the win shares, you might not think the return of Perkins does that much to help the team. But then you realize K-Perk adds about 3.25 wins over the patchwork combo at center we've been running with. How does he contribute so much more, if his stats are so similar?
Defense. That lovable and difficult to quantify part of the game. Of his 5.2 WS contributed in the '09/'10 campaign, 3.8 of them are from defensive win shares. His presence as a defender helps the Celtics win ball games. The C's, during this recent era of "The Big Three," have always been patted on the back for their defensive skills more than their offensive. Even though he's not one of the Big Three, Perkins is the perfect embodiment of that quality.
Glad to have you back, Perk. Now let's go beat the Blazers and increase that three game Conference lead (and, more importantly, our 17 game lead on the Clippers for the LSF Cup).
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
I'll provide the first Sup*r Bowl Preview, in the hopes that the other LSF authors will throw their preview hats into the ring as well.
Well, it's finally time. As soon as we get the Pro Bowl out of the way, it's time for Sup*r Bowl XLV. For some reason, though, I just don't feel very hyped up about it. All I keep hearing is how amazing this game is going to be. The two most storied franchises in NFL history going head to head at the NFL's newest gem of a stadium. It couldn't get any better! The only problems are a) I hate the Steelers, and b) I couldn't really care less about the Packers. There is absolutely nothing that interests me in this one. When the Steelers played the Cards, at least I could pull for the NFC West underdogs. When the Pats make it, at least I can pull for whoever is playing them. But I don't hate the Steelers like I hate the Pats (I think I hate Steeler fans more than the actual team) and Green Bay just isn't very interesting to me. It's a Sup*r Bowl that everyone can't wait to watch, and I'm just looking forward to the snacks and (yes, I'll make the cliché comment here) the commercials.
Despite that, as a respected (by my legion of fan, singular on purpose) long suffering blogger, I feel compelled to at least take a guess at what will happen.
First, we'll examine the Packers. At 10-6, the main steam media seems to be gushing over Rodgers and company. Did you know he has the best QB rating in a dome, on Sundays, since 2008, not counting odd numbered years? Thanks ESPN! But, can we just look at these losses (and some of the wins) to see just how "good" Green Bay was/is? A 20-17 loss to the Bears early on seems fine, but how about the 16-13 OT loss to the Redskins? Aaron Rodgers got the ball to start the extra session and got picked. Washington finished 6-10. The very next week, they lost 23-20 to Miami in OT. They only got to OT against the Dolphins by getting a lucky QB sneak for a TD with 13 seconds left on fourth and goal. The Dolphins finished 7-9. They lost to Atlanta by 3 and New England by 4, both of which are fine, but how about their 7-3 loss to Detroit? In that game, the Lions knocked Rodgers out early, giving him his second concussion of the season, and the Packers were worthless without him. Detroit finished 6-10. But how about the wins? Those were quality, right? Well, sure! They beat the Eagles by 7, crushed the Bills, destroyed Dallas, embarrassed Minnesota, San Francisco, and the Giants. When they played a quality team like the Jets, however, they won 9-0 (no TDs). In their win against the Lions, they prevailed by 2 mesely points. Both times they beat Chicago, regular season and playoffs, they won by 7, and their most recent win surely wasn't super impressive.
So, is all the "amazing and talented offense" talk warranted? Maybe, but they don't seem like the NFL's best team throughout the season. They more look like a middle of the road, average squad, who barely squeezed past Philly in the opening round, caught lightning in a bottle in a surprising win over Atlanta, and then barely won in a poor effort against Chicago in the NFC Championship Game. Now that they've made it to the Sup*r Bowl, it's pretty predictable that the main stream media are annointing Aaron Rodgers as the NFL's best QB, and the Packers as the class of the League. I may be wrong, but it just doesn't seem true. That will become especially apparent if Rodgers gets knocked out of the "big game."
Meanwhile, I'm left wondering how the 12-4 Steelers are the underdog in this one. Has Vegas really got this thing backwards? Or, am I just an idiot? Show me a bad Steelers loss. There isn't one. Their four slip ups were against Baltimore by 3, New Orleans by 10, New England by 13, and the Jets by 5. Pittsburgh took care of all the games they were "supposed to win," unlike Green Bay, and even avenged the regular season losses to the Ravens and Jets by beating them in the playoffs en route to the Sup*r Bowl. They beat Atlanta in the first week of the season, and walked out of the season with two straight blowout wins over the horribles from Carolina and Cleveland. I mean, look, I hate these guys. I hate their fans (most of whom have no actual connection to Pittsburgh and just started liking them in 2005), I hate their QB (a moronic hick who thinks it's okay to assault women...but always finds a way to win!), and I hate their town (only fans from cold weather cities are real fans...shut up). But, with all that being said, I like their chances in Sup*r Bowl XLV.
The line: Packers -1.5
My call: Take the Steelers, even if the line shifts back the other way, because they'll win by at least 10.
Now, if I can just convince my wife to make that sweet artichoke heart dip...
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
So, the weekend brought us the shocking Wells for JR and Napoli deal, and now we can be shocked once again. Andrew's Toronto Blue Jays (who are acting like they have a chance to finish better than third in the AL East, which they don't) have now shipped Mike Napoli off to Texas in exchange for reliever Frank Francisco. All of the analysis of the initial trade (including my very own post yesterday) doesn't matter anymore, and I'd guess that the Jays just did it to keep the guys at ESPN who photoshop the new hats on the player pictures on their toes.
Mike Napoli seems to be ready to assume a bench role with the Rangers, but he has now joined the brotherhood of former Angels still playing in the AL West. The deal has me wondering: if I could have any of the former Angels still playing in the AL West back on the team, who would it be (hint: it's not Napoli).
Former Angels on the Mariners:
Chone Figgins
Casey Kotchman (currently FA)
Former Angels on the A's:
Brian Fuentes
Hideki Matsui
Former Angels on the Rangers:
Mike Napoli
Darren Oliver
Darren O'Day
Vlad Guerrero (currently FA)
You could almost field a team with the ex-Angels still hanging out within the division. It's easy to find some washed up guys: Matsui, Kotchman, Vlad, Fuentes, and (arguably) Figgins. It's easy to find some guys I don't like (which I can do, now that he's no longer an Angel): Napoli. That leaves me with two relief pitchers that I might want back. One is the aging lefty that seemed to find new life when he came to Anaheim. The other is a 28 year old Florida graduate who never really got much of a chance at the Big A. And, as I usually seem to do, I'm going with the youth.
If I could have one former Halo, still playing in the AL West, back on the team, it would be Darren O'Day. Just look at what he did last season for Texas:
6-2, 2.03 ERA, 72 games, 0.887 WHIP, 3.75 K/BB, and a 2.1 WAR, all while earning less than $427,000.
I know we've plugged some holes in our bullpen with Downs and Takahashi coming on board, but the more solid relievers we could have in the pen, the more games we'll win. With our offensive talents being questioned, and our starting rotation limited at the back end, the bullpen is going to make all the difference. With his numbers, O'Day (previously nicknamed DOD, to go along with another former Angel, SOS) has shown that he was a keeper, and we let him get away.
Enjoy Texas, Napoli. I wonder if Juan is glad you're back in the States.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Last night at the Roger, we were set for a huge battle between two of the top teams in the West. The 29-14-5 Stars were set to clash with the 29-10-9 Canucks, and both teams were talking about using the game as a measuring stick. It's not how you do against bottom feeding mouth breathers that matters. A team's greatness is determined by their ability to perform against the best. That's what we were set for. What we got, although quite satisfying for us Vannie fans, was a complete blowout. The Canucks completely embarrassed the Stars, 7-1, and showed that they may simply be a class above both Dallas and Detroit.
The game featured first period goals from Kesler and Ehrhoff that were just 81 seconds apart, Henrik Sedin tallying his NHL leading 50th assist, Samuelsson and Ray Ray ending well documented scoring droughts, and all but three Canuck players showing up on the score sheet. Complete domination. Isn't it always nice to shut former coach Marc Crawford down with such an impressive effort? That Cloutier loving loser! His boy Lehtonen looked like Cloutier out there, allowing the Canucks first 3 goals when only facing 7 shots, and seemed doomed right away after Alex Burrows buried his blue line blaster on the first shot of the game. Luongo finished with 25 saves on the night.
With 69 points in 49 games, the Canucks are tied with the Flyers atop the NHL, and lead the #2 Red Wings by 5 points and the #3 Stars by 6 points. Can you believe that lead in the West? Even I can barely believe it. When the Canucks were getting ready to face Dallas last night, I was excited (and nervous) to see how they'd do against another top team. When they blasted the Stars 7-1, I started to wonder if this Vancouver team is just flat out head and shoulders above the rest. As stated, the way we can determine this is by looking at how the Canucks do against the top teams. The way the Orca perform against the Wings, Stars, Preds, Ducks, Flyers, Lightning, Bruins, and Penguins of the world is the way that we can see just how good this team is. So, how do we do against those teams?
Against PHI: 1-0-0
Against TB: 0-0-1
Against BOS: 0-0-0
Against PIT: 0-1-0
Against DET: 1-0-2
Against DAL: 2-0-0
Against NSH: 0-0-0
Against ANA: 1-1-1
So, against the top 8 teams in the NHL, the Canucks are rocking a 5-2-4 record, earning 14 points in 11 games. Of the top 8 teams, only the Penguins and the Ducks have beaten the Canucks in regulation this season, and even though I'd rather have the two losses come at the hands of any of the other teams on the list, I'm still impressed that we have done so well against the NHL's "elite."
Tomorrow night, we welcome Shane O'Brien back to Vancouver as we have a chance to improve our record against the NHL's "elite" when we face off against the Preds. Nashville is coming off of a loss to Calgary, 1-3, and hopefully the Canucks can continue their road trip pain. It will be the sixth straight game on the road for the Preds, and, if all goes well, the second straight loss.
Go Canucks Go.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
It may not be the most exciting style of basketball, but Notre Dame's methodical, slow, set play style of balling gets the job done. The 56-51 win for the #14 team in the Nation came at the expense of the possibly overrated #2 Pitt Panthers, and it's a pretty darn quality road win for the Irish. The slow pace of the game, and patience shown by the Irish offense, proved to do the trick pretty nicely.
And yes, it was slow. The 48 combined possessions were the lowest in any major conference game for this entire season. The Irish held the ball for the length of the shot clock on nearly each possession, and when Pitt got lazy and expected them to do it again, the Irish would throw in a quick strike just to surprise them. It threw Pitt off the game entirely. However, the slowness was the key, as the Irish made 37 of their 56 points with less than 11 seconds on the shot clock.
Ben Hansbrough was the hero for the Irish, as he was able to keep taking the ball to the hole over and over again. Three straight plays in the second half featured Hansbrough standing at the top of the key, and then simply running around his defender for an uncontested lay up. Three straight plays. The Panthers just looked stupid. Hansbrough went 6 for 7 for 13 points in the final 9:30 of the game. Pitt's entire team went 6 for 11 for 12 points.
Of course, the inability of Pitt to put back second chances after big offensive rebounds helped out a lot too. That, and their difficulty hitting free throws. But, none of what the Irish did would have been possible without quality ball handling (I considered a "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" reference here), barely any turnovers, and spot on shooting when it mattered. Coach Brey and the Irish deserve all the credit for the huge win. And, I'll give ESPN Mobile TV all the credit for allowing me to watch the game while I was at work on my cell phone.
Now at 17-4 (6-3 in the Big East), what happens to Notre Dame in terms of their ranking? Well, if Seton Hall can somehow upset Syracuse tonight (which they won't), ND would move to the #3 spot in the Big East, trailing just Pitt and 'Nova. Overall, though, I'd guess that this win could vault the Irish up to #10 in the Nation. We have Kentucky (15-4), A&M (17-2), Purdue (17-3), and Mizzou (17-3) between us and that 10 spot, and with Purdue and #1 Ohio State playing tonight, some more shifting is coming to be sure. Pitt, meanwhile, could drop out of the top 5, especially with an undefeated San Diego State knocking on the door of the elite squads (#4). It'll be interesting to see where everyone sits when the new rankings pop off.
February is going to start off as an easier month for the Irish, as we get DePaul (6-13), Rutgers (12-7), Louisville (15-4), South Florida (7-14), West Virginia (13-5), and Providence (12-8) in that order. But then we go against 'Nova as things move toward March, giving us our biggedt challenge left on the schedule. It's definitely going to be a hard finish to the tournament, but this Irish team looks like they have the potential to finish top 3 in the Big East, and in such a talented conference, that's pretty great.
Don't forget, we also have the Gauchos going toe to toe with the hated Mustangs of Cal Poly this week in the Big West. At 10-7 (3-3), and coming off of a tough loss to Fullerton, it's kind of a must win.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
No one can question Kevin Bieksa's toughness.
Saturday night, the Canucks battled to a 3-3 draw against the Flamers, only to have a reviewed shootout no goal get overruled and turned into a game winning goal for Calgary. Why is the war room in Toronto? They hate the Canucks! I, for one, am getting sick and tired of these OT/SO losses. Sure, we're getting a point, but come on! Alex "Heartthrob" Edler scored twice in the game, with Ryan Kesler getting the shorthanded GTG midway through the third. Brendan Morrison scored for the Flames, in his return to British Columbia, and did well to talk a little crap to the Vancouver media. In the shootout, Tambers scored, but so did Borque and Tanguay (or so they say), so the Flames get the extra point. Bobby Lu finished with 30 saves, while the Vannies put 44 on Kipper.
During the first period, Kevin Bieksa and Tom Kostopoulos (the actor on Mr. Show?) dropped the gloves and brawled it out. Kostopoulos blasted Bieksa with a punch to the face that brought our boy to his knees, and knocked him out of the game. The punch ended up messing Bieksa's eye up pretty bad, and he couldn't even open it by the end of the night. All of Vancouver's fan base gasped collectively, seeing yet another defender go down, as if it was a pre-written script meant to break our hearts. Aaron Rome (knee) and Andrew Alberts (shoulder) have both been out around 2-3 weeks, we have young Chris Tanev from Manitoba backing us up, and seeing Bieksa go down and not be able to open his eye made us all fearful that our newfound blue line weakness would be even worse.
This morning, however, Bieksa addressed the press with his eye barely open (I'd say to a Andrew/Vietnamese level) and said, "I've been hit harder than that before. My daughter has head-butted me harder, and you're naÏve if you think you're going to go through your NHL career without taking a good shot or losing a fight. There's always time for a rematch." How awesome if the X-man? He'll be in the lineup tonight against the very solid Stars.
With Christian Ehrhoff, Alex Edler, Dan Hamhuis, and even Sami Salo's rehab getting the majority of the attention, Bieksa has gone largely unnoticed this year. Fans were calling for Kevin to be sent away to make room for Salo before the season, and now he's put together a campaign to make him a fan favorite yet again. In 47 games so far this season, Kevin has 6 goals, 11 assists, is a +20, has just 53 PMs, 79 hits, 72 blocked shots, and has a 7.4 S%. The shooting percentage, blocked shots, hit, and +/- are all career highs, and we're only 47 games in! His penalty minutes are way below his previous seasons, even with the pace he's on, and overall he's been a defensive force on the ice this year.
However, don't take my word for it. Don't just jump on board with what I say because of the stats. The best way to know how good a player is, is to go to his teammates. Who better than Vannie defender Keith Ballard to show us what to think about Bieksa? Ballard, when acquired by the Canucks in the offseason, was set to be the Canucks #4 defender. However, with the resurgence of Bieksa, coupled with the awful start of Ballard earlier in the year, he fell way back on the depth chart. But, does Ballard harbor ill will? When asked about possibly moving up the chart because of the potential injury to Bieksa's eye, Ballard said, "I'd rather play 15 minutes with Bieksa in the lineup than 20 minutes without him because Bieksa makes us a better team."
I guess the X-Man is as studly as I suggested (and Ballard has shown that he's pretty cool, too).
Tonight, the Orca go toe to toe with the Dallas Stars in a huge battle of Western elites. After the controversial shootout loss to the Flamers, the Canucks are looking to this game against Dallas as a statement game. If we can beat the Stars as we did back on New Year's Eve, it will say a lot about this Canucks team and their overall toughness. Roberto Luongo hasn't lost in regulation in 15 games (10-0-5), but the Stars are 7-1-1 in 2011. It's going to be an exciting battle, and hopefully our boys will prevail.
By the way, Sidney Crosby is clearly not tough at all, as he's sitting out the All Star game because of headaches. At least the All Star game will be more watchable.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Well, that made for quite an exciting weekend, eh, Angels fans? Our boy Tony Reagins, under the unparalleled pressure of fans and OC Register bloggers alike, pulled the trigger on the offseason's biggest surprise. I mean, really, no one saw this coming. In case you a) have been living under a rock, or b) aren't an Angels fan, here's the deal:
Blue Jays get- Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera
Angels get- Vernon Wells
My first thought was, "Doesn't Wells have some disgusting contract?" Then I thought, "Oh shit! Does this mean Mathis is going to start at catcher next year?" Once the dust settled, I finally came back down to reality, gained some perspective, and am ready to talk this out. First off, I like Wells. Contract aside, he's a quality outfielder. Plus, we've kind of made a big deal of overspending for outfielders (GMJ, Finley, etc), so what's so shocking? Here's what we know: He's a lifetime .280 hitter, averaging 26 home runs and 95 RBI per season over his 12 year career. Last year, Wells hit .273/31/88 in 157 games. However, in 2009 he hit .260/15/66 in 158 games. 2003 was hit best year, as he posted .317/33/117 numbers. Looking at his stats overall, it seems like Vernon has alternating seasons. Good, bad, good, bad. Reminds me of what we see from Ervin Santana.
The me from two or three years ago would laugh that I would even think twice about getting rid of Napoli. But, now that the Angels have done it, I'm a little (emphasis on "a little) concerned. Over the last three years, Naps hit 20 jacks, 20 jacks, and 26 jacks, and it was always in a platoon role. He was the only reason we got any production out of the firstbase position after Morales' injury last year. The knock on him, though, is his RBI and average. How does a guy who hit 66 bombs in the last three years only get 173 RBI? And, he hit .238 last year, just slightly off his fairly crappy .251 career average. Sure, he can knock it out, but is he really any better than Paul McAnulty would be if you gave him playing time? He's also a .194 playoff hitter, which doesn't impact him on the Blue Jays, but it makes a difference.
The issue for the Angels with losing Napoli is: what are we going to do with the catcher spot? If you're an Angel fan, you know Jeff Mathis is going to get way more playing time than he deserves. Hopefully Bobby Wilson can come around as the #2, because I'm guessing they just aren't quite ready to give Hank Conger his full go. It's easy to predict that Jeff and Bobby will both hit around the .200 mark with no more than 4 home runs a piece, and this will allow haters of the trade to have a glaring pile of evidence for their argument. I'd start Hank and just go through the growing pains (although he didn't show many growing pains after his callup last year), but I just don't trust the Angels to do it.
Meanwhile, Juan Rivera has always been my boy. Often it seemed as though I was the only Halo fan who saw how good JR actually was. Rivera averages .280/22/83, and gets paid just a little less than Vernon Wells. When the Angels acquired Rivera and Izzy for José Guillen straight up (and still to this day), I considered it one of the greatest trades in Halo history (a close second is Terry Evans for Jeff Weaver and maybe Chone Figgins for Kimera Bartee, in my opinion). Remember 2006? Juan hit .310/23/85. In 6 seasons with the Angels, Rivera hit .271+ four times, hit 15+ jacks four times, and had 50+ RBI four times. The fours are wild! He's underrated, is looking at a big rebound year, and should do well to placate Blue Jay fans, if they have half a brain.
Obviously, the winner of this trade will be determined after a couple of seasons, but I think I can drop a few guarantees on you:
1. Vernon Wells has a middle of the road season for the Angels in 2011. Let's say .260/20/80. Fans will flip out, because Napoli will do the same in Toronto for much less money.
2. He'll bounce back for a monster year in 2012.
3. Napoli will have a usual-for-him season next year, and then will slowly fade as time goes on. 20 jacks, then 15, then 8, and the drop off in production will lead to the end of his starting days (a .230 average can't keep you starting for very long).
4. Blue Jay fans will look back on the trade and realize that they didn't know Juan Rivera was the better part of the deal for them, as he'll continue to be a B+ outfielder for C+ money and still get D- attention.
5. After another season of Jeff Mathis and his amazing two digit batting average, Mike Scioscia will finally give up, and we'll see what Hankie Pankie Conger can do.
Best of luck to Mike, Juan, and especially Vernon. Hopefully Wells does well (I liked that one), because if he sucks, it could spell the end for Tony Reagins.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
When watching the highlights of the Celtics 86-82 win over the Pistons last night, props to Ray Allen for hitting a shot to put us ahead after missing so many, I glared in amazement at what Shaquille O'Neal was able to do. Sure he had just 12 points and 12 rebounds, but the put backs, alley oops, and dunks, almost made me forget that this guy is about to turn 39. It made me wonder about Shaq possibly being in the argument for being the greatest NBA player of all time. And if he isn't in the argument now, could finishing his career with this Celtics team help to push him over the top?
We'll slow down a bit, because these kind of arguments tend to bring up a lot of issues. When you start talking about deciding the greatest player of all time in some particular sport, you get all sorts of reactions. Basketball is no different. In basketball you have multiple issues. How do you judge a big guy versus a fast guy? How do you judge a pure shooter versus an inside presence? It almost feels impossible to boil it down and just pick one guy. I guess that's why people automatically default to saying "Michael Jordan!" as fast as they can. Surely Kareem, MJ, Wilt, Kobe, The Logo, and Moses Malone enter the argument (maybe even Karl Malone?), but does anyone bring up Shaq?
Shaquille O'Neal is ranked 5th all time in points in the NBA, behind Kareem, Malone, MJ, and Wilt. He's almost 3,000 points back of that #4 spot, so it's safe to say he'll finish 5th when he retires. He's ranked 2nd in NBA history in field goal percentage, at 58.2%, only trailing former Bull/Spur/Celtic Artis Gilmore. Now I know that his percentage is high because of where he takes his shots from, but it's tough to argue against the greatness of anyone with that kind of FG%, no matter the shot chart. He's ranked 7th all time in blocks, and makes everyone tremble (even now) when they try to go around him for the layup.
We'll step away from the statistics and look at what he's accomplished. Shaq is a 4 time NBA Champion (5 time after this year) and 3 time NBA Finals MVP. He was the NBA MVP in 2000 and the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1993. He's a 15 time NBA All Star, a 2 time NBA scoring champion, and made the All- NBA first, second, or third team 14 times. He's a 3 time NBA All-Star game MVP, the 1994 FIBA World Championship MVP, and he's won two gold medals ('94 WC and '96 Olympics). He must have a big trophy room.
Let's step away from the court, and add to his greatness by recognizing his music and film career. His rap CDs include "Shaq Diesel," "Shaq Fu: Da Return," "You Can't Stop The Reign," and "Respect." He's appeard in many memorable (although, I'll point out that memorable doesn't mean good) movies like "Blue Chips," "Kazaam," "Good Burger," "Steel," "He Got Game," and more. How can anyone deny the greatness of a guy who released songs with titles like, "Blaq Supaman," "Strait Playin," "Biological Didn't Bother," and "Giggin On 'Em?"
Now, as the oldest active player in the NBA (thanks for retiring, Lindsey Hunter), Shaq continues to make an impact for one of the NBA's top teams. Despite working on turning 39, he's still a huge presence on the court, and has an opportunity to catch up to his rival Kobe in career Championships with the Celtics this season.
So, all I'm asking is that you include Shaquille O'Neal when you are engaged in a conversation about the greatest NBA player in history with your buddies at the local watering hole. He deserves it.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Newcastle may not have lived up to my expectations of earning the derby double, and may have crushed the spirits of 'Castle fans everywhere giving up the tying goal to Sunderland 4 minutes past the 90, but looking back on it, you have to be happy with a point.
Kevin Nolan put a nice strike into the net in the 52nd minute after the Mags and the Cats played to a scoreless draw in the first half. Steven Harper seemed well on his game, back between the pipes for Newcastle. Traveling fans, as well as the players on the pitch, seemed happy with the probable 1-0 win and 3 points. Then, four minutes into stoppage time, Harper gave up a huge rebound on a Bardsely shot, and Asamoah Gyan nudged the ball over the line to secure the draw. It's tough to be happy with a performance when you are so close to a clean sheet, and then the defenders let you down so much, but there you have it. At least we secured not losing to Sunderland this season. That has to be a positive for a squad that wasn't even in the EPL last year. But, Coach Pardew surely hoped for better in his derby debut. If only Andy Carroll was available.
Captain Kevin Nolan now has 10 goals on the campaign, his first double digit EPL mark, as Necastle sits on their 8-9-5 record. Somehow, that's still good enough for 9th in the table. Next up for the Magpies is a battle against The Spurs on Saturday. The Totts are ranked 5th in the league, and a Newcastle win would do a lot to give us fans a boost. Also of note, Hotspur are affiliated with the MLS' San Jose Earthquakes, only furthering my dislike of them.
Also over the weekend, Celtic got back to their winning ways with a nice 3-0 shutout victory over the solid Hibs. Anthony Stokes was the clear hero in this one. He set up a goal for our beloved 88 Gary Hooper just before the halftime whistle, only to add a penalty for himself in the 50th, and a brace in the 64th to secure the easy league win for the Bhoys.
Controversy is continuing to surround the club, despite the win, thanks to continued threats against the Irish Catholics on the team. Coach Neil Lennon was recently sent a package of bullets in the mail, and it has been noted that there is a Facebook group dedicated to encouraging someone to shoot our coach. Facebook has yet to take the group down. Additionally, Naill McGinn and my boy Paddy McCourt have also been mailed threats and packages of bullets. Anthony Stokes, who scored the two goals in the weekend game, has also recently had bricks thrown through the windows of his home while his parents were inside. It's so sad when this Protestant/Catholic issue becomes more than just a soccer game. Violence and threats like this have no place in sports, and it's really disgusting that Celtic players and fans (or anyone, for that matter) should have to deal with this. Come on Glasgow, join Pope Benedict XVI this week in praying for Christian unity.
Celtic continue to lead the EPL by 2 points over Rangers, but the blue shirt boys have two games in hand. Can the Bhoys stay focused enough to take care of Aberdeen this weekend? Let's hope so.
Don't forget, the MLS' "First Kick" is getting closer and closer. Chivas USA and Sporting Kansas City (no longer the Wizards) start the season on March 19.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
My main man Sergei Shirokov may have been crazy stoked to score his first NHL goal last night, but most Canuck fans were left feeling somewhat empty after a 4-3 OT loss in Denver. The Avs came back again and again, despite the 'Nucks going up 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2, Colorado was able to suck it up and pull off their first win against the Canucks in five tries this season. Henrik Sedin was called for interfering with John-Michael Liles in overtime, and the Avalanche answered the call, and ended the game on a rebound goal from David Jones. Losing in OT by a PPG hurts because it seems so undisciplined, but we still escaped with a point, and that's what matters most.
After ripping off mad wins and holding an unbelievable point streak, the Canucks finished their five game roadie 2-2-1. Orca fans have started to panic, but now we're headed home to play eight of our next ten at the Roger. At home this season, we are 15-3-3, and something of an unstoppable force. That would leave us with a 14-7-4 record on the road this season. With the way that people have been freaking out with our most recent 5 game run, I'm starting to think that we fans may have unrealistic road expectations.
Usually it is understood that if you can sneak away with a little over a .500 record on the road, and then take care of business at home, you'll be a good NHL team. So, a 21-20-ish road record wouldn't be awful, as long as you put up a 30-11-ish home record. That would leave you around 51-31, which would be a 100+ point season, and would guarantee you a solid playoff bound year. So, is going 2-2-1 over the last 5 games that bad? No. In fact, instead of a 21-20-ish road record, our Canucks are on pace to finish around 23-11-7. That would be a completely fantastic road record for this squad, especially when you combine it with a possible 29-6-6 home mark.
So before you get all messed up in your mind over this 2-2-1 road trip, remember this:
Henrik Sedin just tallied his NHL leading 47th assist.
Roberto Luongo is 10-0-3 in his last 13 starts with a 2.09 GAA.
The Canucks are still tops in the NHL, tied with the Flyers for the #1 spot with 65 points.
And as we get ready to start our new homestand against the San Jose Sharks, remember this:
We have outscored San Jose 10-4 in two wins this season.
Anti Niemi is 2-4 in his last 6.
The Sharks just claimed former mini-Canuck center Kyle Wellwood off of waivers, and you know going up against Dub Dub will get the Vannie players all jacked up.
So stay rational, stay positive, and let's go slay the Sharks.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
"Take off that yellow bracelet and throw it away!"
The above quote from the award desiring rap group "Woop Deee Whoop" continues to prove to be timeless. SI has mildly shocked the sports world with more allegations of Lance Armstrong being a bad guy. He was busted at an airport with drugs, tested positive three times without it ever being reported, and on and on. I'm not quite sure why, "Lance Armstrong Turns Out To Be A Bad Guy," is a headline that continues to surprise people. This fool just seems like a horrible dude. He dumps Sheryl Crow when she finds out she has cancer, he bribes the head of cycling after it was initially discovered that he was doping with the rest of the US Postal team, and he has been misusing the money earned from his lame yellow bracelets for his own needs rather than cancer research. He's a bum, and to say he's a fraud is an understatement.
On the way into work today, I was listening to AM830, and the question was posed: "Is Lance Armstrong the biggest fraud in the history of sports?" That's a much more difficult question that "The Sports Lodge" can answer, in my opinion, but it inspired me to put together a list of the biggest frauds from each of the LSF squads. This ought to be fun.
Angels: Mike Scioscia- I really thought about going with Brandon Wood, but our head coach has been fooling people for a much longer period of time. Sure he has a World Series title. Sure he has the most wins in Angels history. He is 980-802 as the Halo manager, so he has that. But if you actually have watched the games since 2000, you know that his early success was thanks to the help of Joe Maddon and Buddy Black, and that he often appears to not know how to manage a game. He makes horrible pitching changes, awful sac bunt calls, and seems barely interested most of the time. He's a fraud.
Dodgers: Darryl Strawberry- It was tough to pick, with players like Andruw Jones, Jason Schmidt, Todd Hundley, and Juan Pierre dotting Doyer history, but the Straw takes the cake as the biggest Blue Crew fraud. Few remember that he signed a 5 year $22+ million contract in 1991 with the Dodgers. That happened right befor he decided to let cocaine take over his life. After having an okay first year, he went .237 with 5 jacks and .140 with 5 jacks the next two seasons before being arrested for domestic violence, going to rehab, and having his contract bought out.
Blue Jays: Esteban Loaiza- It's not that Loaiza sucked as a Jay. Well, he kind of did. 3 years went by and he produced a 25-28 record with a near-5 ERA. But, it was the deal made between the Jays and the Rangers in 2000 that makes Esteban a true fraud. The Jays dealt UCSB alumni and super star SS Michalel Young to the Rangers to get Loaiza, and he went 5-7 that first season for the Jays. If you could take one trade back in Blue Jay history, this would be it.
Canucks: Mark Messier- Mats Sundin was also in the running for me, but Messier was such a weird thing for Orca fans. He came over in 1997 and played with us until 1999 (3 seasons). I think it was the fact that he was just handed the "C" that makes him a fraud. All of us fans were so upset by the way he just kind of walked in and demanded to be the clubhouse leader. He scored 22, 13, and 17 in his three years in BC. Hardly a captain's share.
Sabres: Maxim Afinogenov- Talk about a fraud. Maxim is regarded by some as one of the better Sabres in recent memory, but he doesn't really have anything to back that up. The most goals he scored in a single season with the Sabres was 23. Also, in his 9 years in Buffalo, he was only on the positive side of the +/- three times (even if you think that stat is a fraud). And people used to (and still do) talk about him as if he was elite.
Blackhawks: Brian Campbell- I may be a victim of the present time on this one, but Campbell came into my head when thinking about the Sabres, and since the Hawks laid a ridiculous 8 year $300 billion contract on him, I figured he'd be a solid choice. 52 points in a season is a career high for Campbell, and last season he only had 38. For an "offensive defensiveman" he isn't producing as much as the Hawks would like. Hence being bounced around so much after leaving Buffalo.
Maple Leafs: Dion Phaneuf- The main reasons I picked Phaneuf for this one are 1) I have always hated his guts and 2) in a poll of 272 annonymous NHL players, Phaneuf was selected as the most overrated player in the entire NHL. Got to respect their opinion. He has one goal and seven assists this year, after getting a huge paycheck from Brian Burke (another nomine for biggest Leaf fraud?) and company.
Fighting Irish: Jimmy Clausen- I can't think of a bigger fraud to come out of the Golden Dome or possibly anywhere. Upon having a giant press conference at the College Football Hall of Fame, then-high schooler Clausen arrived in a limo and announced that he would lead Notre Dame to four straight national titles. We should have tatooed "fraud" on his forehead when he was passed out from apple-tinis and Natty Ice at some douchey frat party.
Rice: Andrew Sendejo- Granted, I don't know anything about Rice fotball, but I did hear a grip of Owl fans talking about how legit S Drew Sendejo was, and how he'd be the steal of the draft. Well, that may be seen sometime in the future, but with just 1 tackle in his rookie year, I'm guessing Cowboy fans are calling fraud on Andrew so far.
Wake Forest: Ricky Proehl- As a Ram fan, this is kind of crazy, but only twice in his 16 year NFL career did the former Demon Deacon have more than 5 TD catches in a season. I'll admit, I hopped on the "Proehl is the greatest white wide out ever" bandwagon, but looking back makes me realize he's kind of a fraud.
Trojans: OJ Simpson- Kind of a slam dunk on this one.
Bruins: Gary Beban- UCLA's only Heisman Trophy winner was inducted in the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame, and drafted in the second round of the '68 NFL draft. He played two seasons, threw one pass in five games, and retired as a huge Blue and Gold fraud.
UCSB: Mike Vukovich- Easily the biggest fraud during my years at UCSB. The Matre Dei graduate will forever live on in my memory for missing a chance to win a huge game when he was fouled beyond the arc and the three free throws would have won the game (against USC, maybe?). He missed, the student section swarmed the floor in a mini-riot, and his fraud-ness was solidified.
Johns Hopkins: Brandon Davis- Definitely the biggest fraud to ever (not) play goalie for the Jays lacrosse team.
Providence: God Shammgod- A Providence basketball player, he played one season with the Wizards before heading to the Chinese Basketball Association. He currently plays with Stephon Marbury (another giant fraud) on the Shanxi Zhongyu. With a name like God, he's clearly a fraud, especially coming out of a good Catholic school.
Rams: Georgia Frontiere- I wrote a post when she died about how horrible she was for this franchise. Does that sum up how much of a fraud this woman was? She stole my favorite NFL team and moved them to St. Louis, and for that, she will never be forgiven.
49'ers: Alex Smith- I could have gone back in history, but when you have a fraud like Alex Smith, why waste my time? Everyone fell in love with Smith after his time in Utah, and when you combine that with his NFL combine performance, NFL people were gushing. Now look at him. Replaced more often than not, his 5 years as a NFL QB have him throwing 51 TDs and 53 INTs. With an 85 QB rating, how is this guy still on this team?
Ravens: Ray Lewis- I'm sorry, but he's a murderer who gets to do Chunky Soup commercials and everyone likes him. A fraud on every level.
Fountain Valley High School: Ms. Benitez- Does she actually know anything about Spanish? Why can I not speak it very well despite going through AP Spanish 5? Fraud.
Servite: Craig A. Kelly- Probably the worst Ambassador of the US to Chile ever. Sorry, I couldn't hate on any athlete from the high school that produced my boy Mike Witt.
Celtics: Antoine Walker- Even though he was a member of my favorite Celtic team of all time, even I am man enough to admit that Antoine was a fraud. He currently plays for the Idaho Stampede of the D-League, and isn't a very good guy. Bad checks, DUIs, robberies, and a boat load of missed three pointers.
Clippers: Chris Kaman- Just my own personal opinion, but when you are born and raised in the United States, you shouldn't go and play for Germany in the Olympics. Gigantic fraud.
Lakers: Kobe Bryant- I love picking him, because it'll make people mad. This jerk raped some chick in Colorado, and he's still one of the most beloved sports figures in the World. Getting a tatoo and winning another title won't change the fact that the Black Mamba is a huge fraud.
Newcastle: Michael Owen- This guy almost made me completely give up on soccer. Injured more than Christopher Reeves, he was heralded as a savior when we got him, and did absolutely nothing at the SJP.
Man U: Michael Carrick- Acquired in 2006 as a super talented midfielder, Carrick hasn't exactly lived up to the hype the Red Devils tried to drum up. Sure, he's alright, but is 12 goals in 5 years exactly what Man U was expecting?
Chelsea: John Terry- Man, people hate this guy. Sure, he's been voted the top defender time and time again, but he'll forever be remembered for slipping in the Champions League on a penalty shot against the Red Devils, thus securing a trophy-less season for the Blues. For not converting an easy Champions League win, Terry is a fraud.
Everton: Phil Neville- Homeboy won six EPL titles, three FA Cups, and the Euro Cup with Manchester United, and has been total crap since coming to the People's Club in 2005. Everton fans could speak for hours on his fraud-ness.
Celtic FC: Mark Viduka- After being signed by Celtic in 1998, Viduka simply called on the phone to say that he was quitting due to stress. He never kicked a ball. Of course, that stress would later somehow be managed, and he played well for the Hoops. Or so we thought. Viduka would later come out in the media to say that he plays at about 70% of his potential, and he would forever be known around Glasgow as a fraud.
Ranges FC: Nuno Capucho- Picked up by Rangers for the '03-'04 season, Capucho is regarding as one of the worst signings in Rangers history. The winger scored just 5 goals for the Protties that year, and as expected, they took home no silveware in a season wher they downsized to a nothing franchise.
Chivas USA: Martín Zúñiga- "El Pulpo" was one of the big reasons people jumped on the Chivas USA bandwagon when the team started in 2005. He piloted Chivas de Guadalajara to a Mexican Championship in the past, but injured himself befor Chivas' first game. The team's franchise goalie returned for just 4 games before re-injuring his knee and deciding to retire. We may have eventually gotten Guzano and Thorton between the pipes, but Zúñiga, our first goalie, was also Chivas' first fraud.
Let the arguments begin.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
How long will it take for us to see fans around the EJD with signs like that?
Josh McDaniels, the 34 year old Barberton, Ohio native, has been hired by the Rams as their offensive coordinator. As a die hard Rams fan, I have to admit that this hire makes me feel all weird inside. On one hand, I have the "real" media telling me that McDaniels is an amazing offensive mind and that Sam Brad will flourish under him. On the other hand, he worked with the supremely hated New England Patriots, and just put Bronco fans through their worst season in recent memory. He was fired from his first head coaching job after starting the most recent Broncos season 3-9, one year after wrapping up his first season in Denver 8-8 despite starting 6-0. Not impressive. Now, he was damned impressive replacing Charlie Weis over in New England, even leading the Pats offense with Matt Cassel at the QB spot, but how can I appreciate anything done by those cheating tea tossers?
And speaking of cheating, guess who got busted for filming the San Francisco 49'ers practice in London? That's right, McDaniels. I guess he learned more from Bill Belichick than he'd be willing to admit. McDaniels was fined for that incident, but much like the case against the Pats for filming the Rams 2001 Super Bowl practice, it was largely forgotten.
With all of that being said, I haven't even gotten to the real reason I'm a little concerned about the hiring. Problems with players. Shortly after being hired in January 2009, there was an alleged trade offer from the New England Patriots, looking for a Jay Cutler for Matt Cassel deal straight up. Cutler, angry about the situation and the leaking of the story to the media, requested a meeting with McDaniels, himself, and the team owner. After nothing could be resolved in the meeting, Cutler went to the media to say that he didn't trust McDaniels. Less than a month after that, he was traded to the Bears for Kyle Orton and picks (guess which QB is still alive in the playoffs?). McDaniels hadn't won anything, and the organization was already siding with him over their starting QB. At the end of his first season, controversy surrounded McDaniels again, as he benched Pro Bowl WR Brandon Marshall for undisclosed disciplanary reasons. Whatever the reasons, Marsall was promptly traded to the Dolphins once the 8-8 season ended.
One of the main reasons that the Rams found any "success" in 2010 was because of team chemistry. A goofy looking QB, a rag tag group of receievers, and a seriously underrated defense came together as a team and put together a "good" season by STL standards. With McDaniels coming aboard as OC, and rumors that the deal almost didn't get done because of issues concerning control of the team and player personnel, I'm worried that the chemistry might get ready to fade away. I like my Rams, with their workman like, team strong approach, and it would kill me to see the offense turn into a bunch of douche-tard full-of-themselves wallet-chain-wearing metrosexuals thanks to our new OC.
The key is Steve Spagnuolo. Now that our head coach has some wins under his belt, can he keep control of this team and keep issues between players and Josh McDaniels at a minimum? Can he keep our OC from hiring a camera man to engage in cheating? If Spags stays well in charge, and McDaniels is left to coaching the offense and calling their plays, I think we'll see something exciting. If McDaniels is left to his own devices, acting as some kind of wild and unstoppable dictator, it's just not going to work.
So, will we see Ram fans holding signs like the one pictured above at the EJD? Probably some day. But hopefully it'll happen after a couple of Super Bowl titles.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
The answer is: Kryptonite. But why? Why did the Canucks lose 0-4 to the Minnesota Wild over the weekend? Why are they 1-2-0 against the Wild, but 10-0-0 overall against the rest of the Northwest? What is it about the Wild that stops the Canucks in their tracks?
Sunday night's version was a battle of backup goalies. Cory Schneider, known as "The Ginger Jesus" around Orca Nation (thanks to his awe inspiring hair), stepped in between the pipes and gave up a deuce in the second and the third periods. He finished with 21 of 25 kept out. Meanwhile, third stringer Anton Khudobin (a 24 year old Borat wannabe) stopped 32 of 32 Vannie shots, thanks mostly to the help of his defense. A defender pulled a puck off the goal line for him early on, and the classic Minnie trap that collapses around the goal mouth helps to keep the rebounds down. It works against the 'Nucks.
Now, the Wild don't suck. They are 22-18-5 this year. But they aren't really good, either. They have a -14 goal differential and a 23rd ranked SRS per Hockey Reference (out of 30 teams). So, what is it about Havlat, Koivu, and company that helps them keep beating the Canucks when the two teams get together? Shooting percentage.
My theory is that the Wild are somehow able to take a fewer number of shots and score a large number of goals against the Vannies. They seem to be a team that waits for the good opening or angle, rather than just jamming the net and hoping for a rebound. This weekend's 0-4 game saw the Wild take just 25 shots, and only 15 while at even strength. They finished with a 16% shooting percentage. The Canucks, obviously, finished at 0%. Back in October, the Wild beat the Canucks 6-2, so you'd expect a lot of shots, right? 24, with just 18 coming at even strength. That was a 25% shooting percentage. The Canucks finished that game at 7%.
Think I'm crazy? Minnesota is dead last in the NHL in shots taken per game, ranked 30th with 26.0 S/G. Meanwhile, they're ranked 27th in goals per game, sitting on 2.51. While that may not seem like much of a difference, the Wild's shooting percentage of 10% (rounding up) per game is fairy high up the charts (like top 3 or 4 in the league, according to my quick glance calculations). How are they able to make their shots so valuable and well timed? However they do it, it works against the Canucks.
My 29-10-6 Canucks are still the top team in the NHL. Tonight we make a quick stop at the Pepsi Center, an arena that has been very kind to us as of late. We're 8-0-1 against the Avs in our last 9 tries. Watch out for Hank, Daniel, and Raymond in this one. The Sedins have combined for 9 goals and 13 assists against Colorado in 4 games this year (and this is talked about as much as Vlad v Texas stats used to be), while Ma$e has 4 and 7 in the aforementioned 8-0-1 stretch. Also, with our recent rash of injuries (Rome, Alberts, and Bolduc), we may get a chance to see my boy Sergei Shirokov tonight, as he's been called up from Manitoba. This game just gives us so much to look forward to.
Let's get this win.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
The Clippers have officially jumped the shark. And I'm not just a bitter Celtic fan living in the middle of Clipper Nation. ESPN is, all of the sudden, on their knees for the Clippers (but can anyone who works at ESPN name another player on the team besides Blake Griffin?), and you can't escape it. Now that Los Angeles has won 5 out of their last 6, they are the darlings of Southern California (or so we are told), and we keep hearing about how amazing they are. I brought this up with resident LSF Clipper Darrell, Brandon Davis, because I remember when the Angels got popular and "good" and I remember how much I hated it.
Look, I'm not stupid. Blake Griffin has been good. 47 points and 14 rebounds last night in a win against the Pacers, he earned his 27th consecutive double-double. Baron Davis had the quote of the night, saying, "Oh my goodness, he caught a feeling today." But, let's be honest. The headlines that the media is pumping out for the Clippers are a litle ridiculous.
"Griffin has Clippers poised for era of success." (ESPN)
"Team meeting ushers in new era of self-respect for Clips" (NBA.com)
"Carmello now wants to go to the Clippers?" (Bleacher Report)
"Lakers little brother grows up" (ESPN)
That last one actually made me laugh. But, am I the only one getting sick and tired of the local sports talk radio shows (just today I heard it on "Max Kellerman" and "The Loose Cannons") talking about how Los Angeles is now a Clipper town after this weekend. Are you kidding me? I'm no Laker fan. In fact, as you know, I'm a Laker hater. However, I don't see how any rational person could say that Los Angeles is a Clipper town. I'll be honest, and I say this as a second class Los Angeles baseball fan, Los Angeles will never be a Clipper town, just like it'll never be an Angel town (sorry, Arte). The Doyers and the Fakers (nice) will always own Los Angeles. I don't care if the Clippers win a Championship (kind of like the Angels did in 2002), as long as Lamar Odom buys a new pair of sneakers, he will be the lead story over the Clippers winning 20 in a row. The Angels win division title after division title, and the local media here just talks about, "How many more days until Manny can come back from his suspension?" I know Clipper fans will have no problem getting used to that.
But please, you guys are 15-25 and 14.5 games back in the division. Please get off my TV, off my radio, and out of my heart (wait, what?). Just enjoy your small run quietly, and then we can all talk about how funny it was that you took yourselves seriously during a season that finished 30-52.
Who am I kidding? I wish the Celtics sucked that good.
Stirring the pot of the greatest rivalry in all of sports is always fun.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
The C's came up big last night, beating the Orlando Magic 109-106, showing they have what it takes to be the most dominant team in the NBA. If you read every possible summary of the game (probably because they're all usually ripped off of the same, poor AP writer), you'd have to believe that Kevin Garnett was the reason for the pleasin'. KG returned from injury, after taking what seemed to be way too much time off, and rejoined the squad with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists. Rejoice! All us rational Celtic fans have a question, though. How is it that KG is the reason we won, when he didn't lead the team in a points or assists, and he only pulled down 8 boards?
Don't get me wrong, it was great to have him back. A power forward so good, his name has been tossed around in multiple "top center" debates, the Big Ticket (and I'm not talking about Kevin Gregg) has a huge impact in every basketball game he's a part of. But, c'mon. Is a 19-8-2 night really why we beat the Magic...by three? On the three point line, Orlando shot 41%. We shot 30%. Orlando had 34 rebounds, 13 on offense. We had 30 and 6. The Magic committed just 21 personal fouls. 26 for us. So, how (and because of who) did we win this game?
1. Free throws- We may have fouled more than they did, but we made our charity shots count for more. The Green Army shot 85% from the stripe, while the Magic shot just 75%. Despite having 10 more shots, the Magic only made 5 more baskets from the free throw line.
2. Overall shooting- We had a hell of a shooting game. 60% from the field, while holding the magic to 46%. That makes a huge difference. They took 4 more shots, and we scored 16 more points (from the field). That really helps out, when you're getting outplayed in the areas mentioned above.
3. Ray Allen- If you are going to pick one guy who made all the difference, you have to go with the very un-sexy pick of Ray Ray. 26 points, 5 rebound, and 2 assists. 8 for 11 from the field, 3 for 4 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 7 for 7 on the free throw line. That's an 82% overall shooting percentage. Are you kidding me? In his 39 minutes, he also committed just 1 foul, and evened out on his takeaway/giveaway (1 steal, 1 turnover). Talk about efficiency. Talk about domination. Talk about the best player on the team last night.
Ray Allen deserves more respect.
At 31-9, the C's lead Heat-talica by 2 full games in the East, and lead the Clippers by 16 games in the chase for the LSF Cup. Detroit comes to Bean Town on Wednesday, as we seek win 32.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Last night, the Canucks hit a little bump in the road known as their amazing recent run. At least, I hope it's nothing more than a little bump, rather than a fall into a losing pattern. The frustrating thing, is that the loss came at the hands of the hated New York Rangers, 0-1. The always solid Cory Schneider stopped 34 of 35 shots, stoning the Rangers on a crazy 2-on-1 breakaway, and probably needing to take the posts out to dinner for saving him more than once. Lundqvist may have gotten all the love, but he stopped just 31. It was a game where the refs seemed to put their whistles away, and the Vannies just weren't able to benefit from the opportunity to create quick pace because of that damned New York trap!
As you know, I was pumped up about the Canucks/Rangers game, as always, for two reasons. First, my cousin is a die hard Rangers fan, and a good old fashioned family sports battle is always enjoyable. Second, I'm still bitter about the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals. Now, as you also know, 'Nucks Misconduct is one of my favorite Canucka blogs. So, you can probably surmise that I was shocked to read a post on the blog where the writer suggested that we Canucks fans get over it, and let '94 go. To quote directly, "We should probably let 1994 go." As a fan of the Vancouver Canucks, I just can't understand that statement.
I'm the guy who has "Raising The Cup: The 1994 Finals" on "keep" status on my DVR, and watch it frequently. Maybe a quick reminder of my story would help all to understand how the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals will never be forgotten. It was my 12th birthday, February 3, 1994. I was celebrating at my Grandfather's cabin in Big Bear, CA with my family (mother, father, aunt, uncle, and cousins). My cousin, Daniel, had always been a hockey fan, and told me I needed to get into it. I knew nothing about puck at the time, so I was skeptical. He convinced me that if I picked a team, and followed them through the remainder of the season, I would surely become a fan for life. He encouraged me to take his NHL 2003-2004 Season Preview Book (which was this sweet glossy book that reviewed the previous year, and previewed each team's season to come) and simply open it to a random page. I agreed, opened the book, and saw that I had flipped to the Vancouver Canucks.
That was the start of a beautiful relationship. ESPN2 was the main source for hockey fans back then, and I was able to catch Canucks games from time to time, and would even watch Ranger games if they were on, as they were my cousin's team (he dreamed of being Mike Richter). Players like Geoff Courtnall, Trevor Linden, Pavel Bure, Kirk McLean, Gino Odjick, Jyrki Lumme, and Cliff Ronning became my on-ice heroes. I'll admit here that playing NHL '94 for SNES against my cousin every chance we got (always Canucks v Rangers), only furthered my love of the real team.
So, I followed my Canucks to their 7th seed qualifying position in the West, their thrilling 7 game upset over the Flames in the opening round, their 5 game smashing of Dallas in the semifinals, and their impressive 5 game defeat (with 2 shutouts) of Andrew's Maple Leafs in the Western (yes, Western) Conference Finals. And, like a dream, my Canucks (who had before only made the Stanley Cup in 1982, the year of my birth) were set to face my cousin's New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup Finals. They opened the series with a 3-2 OT win at the Garden. I couldn't believe it. Then, fear set in as they lost 3 straight. Even as a young sports fan, I knew it was over. But, as our favorite teams often tend to do, the Canucks gave me hope. A 6-3 victory at the MSG in game 5 was followed by a 4-1 win back home in game 6. On June 14, 1994, the series returned to New York for the decisive game 7. That game would finish 3-2 in favor of my cousin's Blue Shirts. Ranger fans were rioting on Broadway in pure elation. Canucks fans were rioting on Robson in an attempt to relieve the pain.
It has been 17 years since that happened, although I remember it all in such vivid detail, and I still get the chills talking about it. How in God's name, am I supposed to "let it go?" How could I ever forget how I felt that summer of '94? How can I ever see a Canucks/Rangers game on the schedule, and not flash back to the Cup, wanting revenge? I can't. It's not possible. Don't ask me to do it.
My boys have a chance for a quick rebound tonight in our Nation's capital. The game is on NHL Network, and I'll be watching.
I'll leave you with some great jersey fouls via Puck Daddy at Yahoo!: http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Jersey-Fouls-Jesus-is-no-Roberto-Luongo-epic-L;_ylt=At8.uhOrUNOCEEEP3bntya4JfwM6?urn=nhl-307610
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Last night, my (our?) beloved UCSB Gauchos welcomed the Anteaters of UC Irvine to the Thunderdome, and sent the 'Eaters home crying on the AirBus, after a 71-58 victory. James Nunnally (from San Jose) and Orlando Johnson (from Seaside) scored 22 points a piece, and OJ also helped out with 7 boards. Adding to the victory flavor was Senior and Anaheim native Jon Pastorek, who dished out 10 assists.
It was a big win for the 'Chos, as we're now 9-6 overall and 2-2 within the Conference (which is being joined by Hawaii next year, in case you didn't know). That record is good enough to rank us fourth, behind the Dirtbags, those white trash hicks from Cal Poly, and those white trash hicks from UCR. Tomorrow we meet the aforementioned Riverside (their mascott is named "Scotty The Bear," I'm not joking) at the aforementioned Thunderdome, with a chance to improve our standing even more.
2003 (I was a Junior) and 2008 were years that Gaucho fans will always remember as years we got robbed (or "jobbed," if you prefer). In 2003, an 18-4 (14-4 in conference) UCSB team won the Big West regular season title, in a year when we beat USC 69-53 (I remember being at that game). We didn't make the big dance, though, as conference tournament winner Utah State earned the Big West's only automatic bid, despite going 12-6 in conference play that year. In 2008, it happened again, when a 23-9 (12-4 in conference) Gaucho sqaud, that had beaten a solid UNLV team 63-60, watched Cal State Fullerton win the conference tournament and advance to the dance (although, that CSF team was pretty good as well).
Of course, 2002 was a year when we benefited from this system, winning the tournament final over regular season champs Utah State, only to lose to Arizona in a first round game that we're all still trying to forget. Last year, we finally got it right, winning both the regular season title and the conference tournament, and got our shot at Ohio State. But, in the history of the Big West (since they went to a conference tournament system), the regular season champion has secured a bid in the big tournament only 53% of the time. How is it fair that a team who works all season, stays consistently good, and wins the conference, is left sitting at home, when a team that gets hot for three games at the end of the year gets an automatic bid? It's not.
You have to give it to the Ivy League, because they are the only conference in all of college basketball that gets it right. This season, there will be 31 automatic bids handed out to the tournament. 30 of them are awarded to the winner of the conference tournaments, while the final 1 is handed to the regular season winner of the Ivy League. Why? The Ivy League has stopped having a conference tournament because they see how unfair it is. In most major conferences, the regular season winner (even if they fail to win the conference tournament) will still make it to the dance, thanks to an at large bid. However, for conferences like the Ivy League or the Big West, only one team is ever going to get called on Selection Sunday. The Ivy League has forced the NCAA's hand, making them award a bid to the best team from their conference, not simply the team that caught lightning in a bottle in the small sample size known as the conference tournaments.
It is time for the Big West to do the same. 1975 was the last year that the Big West didn't have a conference tournament, and they only started it because from 1970 (the inception of the Big West) to 1975 Long Beach State kept winning the conference title, and the big shots at the Big West introduced the tournament as a way of giving the little guy a shot. Well, it kind of backfired quickly, because in 1976 Cal State Fullerton won the regular season title, only to see San Diego State win the conference tournament to steal their automatic bid. It's time for the Big West to go back to the good old days. The winner of the regular season deserves the automatic bid to the big dance. It's only fair.
The ball is in your court, Big West. Are you going to follow the brains over in the Ivy League, or stay with the same moronic plan that has jipped so many legitimately good basketball teams over the years?
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
