Sunday, December 11, 2005

Saturday, December 10th 2005

Wow.  What a day.  On a personal note...I went to my wife's maternal side's Christmas party and came away unscathed and a mean case of the winds.  However, the day of sports didn't pass me by.  A quick look back....

                           

RIP RICHARD PRYOR.  Now, I was a pup when Richard Pryor was out there doing his thing and turning into the edgiest comic of his era.  I get to see his stand up in classic DVD and video sets.  To me, Richard Prior was the guy in Brewster's Millions, Stir Crazy, Harlem Nights, Critical Condition and The Toy.  Later on...I loved him in "The Mack".  The shame is that Pryor has suffered from MS for most of my adult life...so I never have gotten to totally bask in his greatness.  Rest in peace, Mr. Pryor.

REGGIE BUSH WINS HEISMAN.  Not really a surprise...but it is quite amazing that a USC Trojan has won this award in 3 of the past 4 years.  And I really feel that Bush will not follow in the "bust" mold that several recent winners have crafted in their pro careers.  So, will he be in Houston, Green Bay, New York or San Francisco next year??

TEXAS HOLD IT!!!.  In a classic #1 vs #2 matchup....uh, never mind.  JJ Redick pours 41 points in for Duke in a 97-66 smack down of Texas.  This was the largest margin of victory in a #1 v #2 game in 37 years.  This knocks Texas down a peg and gives Duke back a swagger in lost in that razor thin win against Virginia Tech earlier in the week.  Redick [41] and Sheldon Williams [23] nearly outscored the Longhorns [66] combined. 

INDIANA ROLLS OVER KENTUCKY.  In yet another big game that went bad....Indiana completely blew out Kentucky.  The Hoosiers Marco Killingsworth just abused the Wildcats' front line in the first half...helping Indiana to a 16 pt halftime lead.  A horrible 9 minutes opened the second half....and a run by Kentucky got the game to within 12 at one point...but the Hoosiers ended up with an amazing 26-pt win.  Kentucky's frontcourt is beyond horrible.  They have absolutely no post presence and their trio of 7-footers seem nothing more than streetlights out there.  This also continues a horrible week stretch where Kentucky lost at home to North Carolina....learned that Randolph Morris [a guy who could quickly add strength in the paint] is ineligible this year...and now this bad loss on national TV to an Indiana team that just lost to Indiana State. 

GONZAGA PULLS ONE OUT.  Now, I like what Gonzaga has done [my wife absolutely loves the "Gozangas"]...but I don't think they are a Final Four team.  However, what a great shot to win a pretty darn good game today.  Down by a point....Adam Morrison banks a three-pointer to give the Zags the lead with 2.5 seconds left.  In a day filled with hyped up games fizzing out...this was quite a nice capper. 

OH, THAT RON ARTEST!!  Ron Artest stunned everyone when he told the Indianapolis Star that the Pacers are "better off" without him and that he wants to be traded to the Knicks.  Apparantly, Artest doesn't like Pacers' coach Rick Carlisle too much...and would prefer to be elsewhere.  Artest said: "Don't get it twisted. He's a very good coach. He knows what he's doing. I personally don't like playing for him. I would not want to see him get fired for me after all the immaturity I've been through with this organization."   It is nice to see that Artest knows that he has cost the Pacers quite a bit last season by his actions....and that they still stuck be him.  I'm sure there will be more to this story. 

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

" INDIANA ROLLS OVER KENTUCKY "

-- That's saying it lightly

"They have absolutely no post presence and their trio of 7-footers seem nothing more than streetlights out there"

-- Yup. That pretty much sums it up. Look at the stats. Rondo can not and will not save this team. They have no frontcourt at all. Rekalin Sims so far is a dissapointment, and no one else {Perry, Thomas, Obrzut, Alleyne} has stepped up in authority. Kentucky will probably see a #20 ranking next week, or even worse the bottom of the top 25, but I don't think they'll drop out of the national rankings, but they are borderlining that. Until they find some kind of an inside game, Kentucky will fighting and clawing their way just to get an invite to March Madness. At this point, they need to seriously find some post play and get ready to win a majority of their conference play or else they might find themselves in the NIT come post season. It's not like that hasn't happened before, Kentucky will be fine.

Anonymous said...

"Kentucky will probably see a #20 ranking next week"

--I think that sounds about right.

"or even worse the bottom of the top 25"

--HEY!!!  We are #23 in one poll and #24 in the other...lol

"but I don't think they'll drop out of the national rankings"

--No.  Their three losses have been to ranked teams [well, UNC is now ranked].  The issue is that none of those losses were on the road....two were neutral....and the fact they their biggest game yet, Louisville, will be in Lexington as well.  Lose that one badly...and then this looks like a team that is just average.

"Until they find some kind of an inside game, Kentucky will fighting and clawing their way just to get an invite to March Madness."

--They are a definite NCAA tournament team.  Fact is that the SEC East isn't that good and they should benefit from that.  And really, other than Bama...there is no one in that entire conference that can hang with Kentucky.  The issue with Kentucky is this is NOT a Tubby Smith team.  He has no inside game and this is a horrible defensive team.  Tubby's teams tend to be physical on both ends of the court.  Another issue is that Tubby is a great, great, great coach...but he really isn't a great recruiter.  This is a poor class and I haven't seen anything too promising for next year.  

-Sportz

Anonymous said...

"HEY!!!  We are #23 in one poll and #24 in the other...lol"

LoL Sportz! Seriously, I didn't say that to disrespect your Tar Heels, I think I said it in pure frustration and dissapointment. The reality is Kentucky is really hurting right now, and Tubby has messed with like 5 different starting lineups now this season. I think Kentucky will have more problems in the SEC than you think. You are very right, this year's Cats aren't the usual we are accustomed to, and yes, they're defense is awful, who would have thought that Rajon Rondo would be their main rebounder and scorer and that stealing the ball wouldn't be Rondo's signature move? LoL. I dont know why I didn't see this coming without Morris inside, Kentucky really doesn't a have proven inside body at all, then take away Buike and Hayes and it doesn't look good at all. And about recruiting, hmm, who landed a few kids that Kentucky was eyeing and hoping for? Hmm, could it be UNC?? LoL.