THE SPORTZ ASSASSIN

Report: Navy To Join Big East

2012-01-23T22:13:00.004-05:00

Navy, one of the three service academies, is reportedly moving their football program to the Big East conference in 2015. Due to scheduling, bowl and television contracts, the move is delayed for several years.

As it stands right now, the Big East will have 11 football schools and would look like this:

Boise State
Central Florida
Cincinnati
Houston
Louisville
Navy
Rutgers
San Diego State
SMU
South Florida
UConn

Remember that Pittsburgh and Syracuse will leave to join the ACC in 2013 while West Virginia will leave for the Big 12. TCU, who was to join the Big East in 2012, will instead move to the Big 12 as well. The Big East added Boise State and SD State for football only and SMU, Houston and UCF for all sports.

Of course, the Big East isn't done and will be looking to add a 12th football member so they can hold a conference championship game. That is, however, if no other members are poached. UConn and Rutgers have shown interest in the ACC; Louisville could be a target of the Big 12.

If a 12th member comes, the Big East could look like this:
EAST: Central Florida, Navy, Rutgers, South Florida, UConn, 12th team
WEST: Boise State, Cincinnati, Houston, Louisville, San Diego St, SMU

Super Bowl XLVI Is NOT a Revenge Game

2012-01-23T19:50:00.003-05:00

One thing that keeps getting pointed out is that Super Bowl XLVI is a revenge game for Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Four years ago, the Giants beat the Patriots in a thrilling Super Bowl which ended the Pats shot at an 19-0 season.

They meet again with a championship on the line. However, this is far from an actual revenge game.

People throw "revenge" around too lightly in sports. If the Miami Heat play the Dallas Mavericks in the regular season, they call it "revenge". Um, no. It isn't revenge. It isn't revenge when the first team that won got the higher stakes.

Same thing goes here. Super Bowl XLVI isn't a revenge game. Sure, the Pats would all love to beat the Giants -- I mean a championship is at stake, ya know. Sure, New England would love to beat New York for it all (though beating the San Francisco 49ers would've felt just as good). But exacting revenge? No.

First of all, the Giants win four years ago is much bigger than anything that happens on February 5th. This year, there is no undefeated season. There is no history involved in this game like the last one. I mean, if the Patriots won the last Super Bowl, they would have been only the second undefeated team in NFL history and the first to win 19 games. This time, a win would mean they beat a 9-7 team who needed a win in the final game of the regular season to get into the postseason for the title. Not really the same.

Also, a loss for the Giants wouldn't really destroy them the way the Patriots loss in 2008 did to them. New York wasn't supposed to be there. Eli Manning has won his title and is pretty much a made man in Gotham. A win for the Giants would just cement their legacies with the franchise (Tom Coughlin, a two-time Super Bowl winner?) and Eli would have something on big brother Peyton.

Only 15 players remain for the Giants from Super Bowl XLII. Only 7 Patriots are left. Revenge?

This isn't to belittle the game at all. A title is a title is a title. But "revenge" isn't a term warranted here. Heck, most of the guys on both teams didn't play in Super Bowl XLII. No 1972 Dolphins will be popping champagne after this one.

46 Stops To Super Bowl XLVI

2012-01-21T20:44:00.015-05:00

#46-AFC LOVES FEBRUARY: The Super Bowl will be held on February 5th. Since the first February Super Bowl in 2002, the AFC is 6-3 in those games held in the calendar's shortest month ... though the NFC has won the last two:

Super Bowl XXXVI: Patriots beat Rams on February 3, 2002
Super Bowl XXXVIII: Patriots beat Panthers on February 1, 2004
Super Bowl XXXIX: Patriots beat Eagles on February 6, 2005
Super Bowl XL: Steelers beat Seahawks on February 5, 2006
Super Bowl XLI: Colts beat Bears on February 4, 2007
Super Bowl XLII: Giants beat Patriots on February 3, 2008
Super Bowl XLIII: Steelers beat Cardinals on February 1, 2009
Super Bowl XLIV: Saints beat Colts on February 7, 2010
Super Bowl XLV: Packers beat Steelers on February 6, 2011

#45-SCORE EARLY AND OFTEN: The team who scores first in a Super Bowl is 29-16. However, the team who has scored first has lost six of the last ten Super Bowls.

*Teams who score at least 30 points are 23-1.
*Teams that score the first TD are 32-13.
*Teams leading at the half are 34-9 (there have been two ties)

#44-NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN, TOM: Tom Brady will be making his 5th start in a Super Bowl, tying him with John Elway for most all time. Brady is 3-1 in his previous trips (beat the Rams, Panthers and Eagles, lost to the Giants). Elway was 2-3 in his appearances.

After those two, four men are tied with four starts. Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw won all of their starts. Jim Kelly lost all four of his. Roger Stauback split his four.

If Brady wins Super Bowl XLVI, he will join Montana and Bradshaw for most Super Bowl wins by a starting QB.

#43-SUPER BOWL REMATCH: The Giants and Patriots will meet again in the Super Bowl. Who could forget their matchup in Super Bowl XLII?

This isn't the first Super Bowl rematch.
The Steelers and Cowboys have met for three Super Bowls. Redskins-Dolphins, Cowboys-Bills, and 49ers-Bengals all have met twice.

#42-LET'S GO TO INDY: Super Bowl XLVI will be played in Indianapolis, Indiana for the first time. This will be the 4th Super Bowl played in a cold-weather city. Pontiac, Michigan, Minneapolis, Minnesota and Detroit, Michigan have all hosted exactly one Super Bowl. Those four Super Bowls are the only ones that have been held in the midwest.

#41-SUPER BOWL ON NBC: This will be the 17th time NBC will televise the Super Bowl, tying CBS for most by a network. Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth will make the call. Collinsworth, who played in Super Bowls XVI and XXIII, will be making his first call. Michaels will be making his 8th call ... his 2nd with NBC (the others were with ABC).

The Giants will join the Broncos as the only teams to play in Super Bowls televised by all four major networks.

#40-COLTS KNOW BOTH SIDES OF THE COIN: The Indianapolis Colts, the host team of the Super Bowl, is the only franchise to play in a Super Bowl as an AFC and NFC team. Well, they never were an "NFC" team, but the Colts played in Super Bowl III as the NFL representative against the AFL Champ Jets. Two years later, the Colts won Super Bowl V as a member of the AFC.

When the NFL merged with the AFL in 1970, the NFL's Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns moved to the American side of things. The Steelers have won six Super Bowls (and been to another one) but all were as the AFC champ. Cleveland is still waiting for their first appearance.

#39-TOP SEEDS NOT MEETING AGAIN: Believe it or not, but Super Bowl XLIV was the first time that the No. 1 seed in the NFC and AFC met in the Super Bowl since 1993. In each year since the Bills and Cowboys met in '93, one of the top seeds fell before getting to the big game. This year, only hte AFC's top seed, the Patriots, made it to the Big Game. The NFC's top team, the Packers, lost in the divisional round. For a look at what the top seeds did during the drought, check out The Tygrrrr Express.

#38-DIVISION ALL IN: The only divisions that don't have all of their members with appearances in a Super Bowl are the AFC North (Browns), AFC South (Titans, Jaguars) and NFC North (Lions).

No division has all their members with Super Bowl championships. The NFC East (Eagles didn't win), AFC West (Chargers) and AFC East (Bills) have seen three of their four members win a title. The NFC East is the only division to have each of their members in multiple Super Bowls. The Cowboys have been to eight, the Redskins have been to five, the Giants have been to four and the Eagles have been to two.

The odd thing is that each team in the NFC South has been exactly once to the Super Bowl. The Panthers and Falcons lost their only time there, while the Bucs and Saints won in their only appearances.

#37-NFC EAST TOPS THEM ALL: The NFC East easily has the most Super Bowl champions than any other division. The 11 titles won bests the AFC North for the top honors.

The NFC East dominated from 1986-1995. In that span, the Giants ('86, '90), Redskins ('87, '91) and Cowboys ('92, '93, '95) went to and won 7 of 10 Super Bowls during that decade. The only other Super Bowl champ was San Francisco ('88, '89, '94).

This year the two representatives in the Super Bowl represent the two divisions who get the Super Bowl the most.

Here's a rundown of the divisions:
11-NFC EAST (Cowboys-5, Redskins-3, Giants-3)
7-AFC NORTH (Steelers-6, Ravens-1)
6-NFC WEST (Niners-5, Rams-1)
6-AFC EAST (Patriots-3, Dolphins-2, Jets-1)
6-AFC WEST (Raiders-3, Broncos-2, Chiefs-1)
5-NFC NORTH (Packers-4, Bears-1)
2-AFC SOUTH (Colts-2)
2-NFC SOUTH (Buccaneers-1, Saints-1)

As for Super Bowl appearances, the NFC East wins this title again:
20-NFC EAST (Cowboys-8, Redskins-5, Giants-5, Eagles-2)
17-AFC EAST (Patriots-7, Dolphins-5, Bills-4, Jets-1)
14-AFC WEST (Broncos-6, Raiders-5, Chiefs-2, Chargers-1)
11-NFC NORTH (Packers-5, Vikings-4, Bears-2)
11-AFC NORTH (Steelers-8, Bengals-2, Ravens-1)
10-NFC WEST (Niners-5, Rams-3, Seahawks-1, Cardinals-1)
5-AFC SOUTH (Colts-4, Titans-1)
4-NFC SOUTH (Panthers-1, Bucs-1, Falcons-1, Saints-1)

#36-THERE IS AN EXTRA VINCE LOMBARDI TROPHY OUT THERE: Excuse this one taken from my FanHouse post but it is rather interesting:

There have been 43 Super Bowls to date ... yet there are 44 Vince Lombardi Trophies (given to the Super Bowl winning team) out and about. How is that?

Well, that little ditty comes to light after the recent passing of Rams owner Georgia Frontiere. Frontiere's husband, former-Colts and Rams owner Carroll Rosenbloom, is the reason behind the story:

However, when Colts owner Carroll Rosenbloom, Frontiere's late husband, traded the Colts for the Rams in a franchise swap in 1972, he decided he wanted to keep the Lombardi Trophy the Colts won in Super Bowl V. When Super Bowl VII took place in Los Angeles, Rosenbloom told the Colts he was going to put on a display of Super Bowl trophies and asked them to bring it to the West Coast. They did. There was no display, and Rosenbloom never returned the trophy. After the Colts complained to the league office, former NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle had a duplicate made for the Colts, which remains in Baltimore (it was originally shipped to Indianapolis when the team moved but a deal was struck and it was returned to Maryland). The original Super Bowl V trophy? It presumably was in Frontiere's possession and now belongs to her heirs.

So, there are two Vince Lombardi trophies awarded for Super Bowl V ... yet neither are with the franchise that won it. The original was in St. Louis with Frontiere with the other in Baltimore, the Colts old digs. Meanwhile, Indianapolis can only show off the trophy they won two years ago.

#35-NOT A GIANT WINNER: The Giants join the 1979 Los Angeles Rams and 2008 Arizona Cardinals as the only teams to reach the Super Bowl with less than 10 regular season wins. The Giants finished 9-7 for the season and needed a win over the Cowboys in the finale to even qualify for the postseason. Both the Rams and Cardinals lost to the Steelers in the Super Bowl.

#34-FOUR DECADES OF SUPER BOWLS: If the Patriots lose this Super Bowl, they will be the first team to lose Super Bowls in four different decades. The Pats lost in 1980s to the Bears, 1990s to the Packers and 2000s to the Giants. Only the Bills, Vikings and Broncos have lost 4 Super Bowls.

That would mean the Giants would be the first team to win Super Bowls in four decades. They beat the Broncos in the 1980s, Bills in the 1990s and Patriots in the 2000s.

#33-NOT A FAIR SCORE: The Giants are the first team in history to get to the Super Bowl despite being outscored during the regular season. The G-men were outscored 400-396 during the season.

#32-ROAD WARRIORS: The Giants are also on a nice winning streak. They currently have won six straight games away from home. That streak began in 2007 at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium and includes their victory over the Pats in Super Bowl XLII. This postseason, the Giants won at Green Bay and at San Francisco to get to SB46.

The Giants are also only the 2nd team to beat three teams with better records than them in the postseason to reach the Super Bowl.

#31-GIANTS STOP NFC'S NEWBIE STREAK: The Giants just ended a streak of 10 consecutive different NFC Champions. Yes, the last 10 seasons have seen 10 different NFC Champions. Last year, the Packers joined the Saints, Cardinals, Giants, Bears, Seahawks, Eagles, Panthers, Buccaneers and Rams as NFC champs in the last decade. In that time, only the Vikings, Lions, Redskins, Falcons, Niners and Cowboys haven't been to the big show. That's a bit odd since in the span from 1987-1995, the Cowboys, Redskins and Niners went to and won 8 of the 9 Super Bowls

#30-TOM BRADY IS BAAAAACK: 18 quarterbacks have started multiple Super Bowls. This will be Tom Brady's fifth Super Bowl appearance. John Elway leads the pack with 5 Super Bowls, while Terry Bradshaw, Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Jim Kelly and Roger Staubach have all started four. Only Craig Morton and Kurt Warner have started Super Bowls for two different teams.

#29-FUTURE SUPER BOWL SITES ARE PRETTY INTERESTING: No team has ever played a Super Bowl in their home stadium -- we know this after last year's chirping from Dallas about that in the offseason and Peyton Manning's injury keeping his Colts away from this game in Indy. It really is remarkable that this has never happened. Well, it could happen soon.

New Orleans (XLVII), New York (XLVIII) and Phoenix (XLIX) will be hosting games soon. The Saints won a Super Bowl a couple years back and was one of the hottest teams entering this postseason. New York's Giants are in this year's Super Bowl while the Jets were in the last two AFC title games. Arizona could be formindable by the time their Super Bowl comes back around.

#28-SUPER BOWL "VOICE": In a rather odd bit of programming, NBC will air the singing competition "The Voice" after the Super Bowl. Last year, FOX broadcasted Glee after the Super Bowl.

The trend recently is for the network broadcasting the Super Bowl loves breaking in new shows or extended shows following the game. CBS debuted "Undercover Boss" after Super Bowl XLIV. It joined Extreme (ABC-1995), Homicide (NBC-'93), Davis Rules (ABC-'91), Grand Slam (CBS-'90), The Wonders Years (ABC-'88), Hard Copy (CBS-'87), The Last Precinct (NBC-'86), MacGruder and Loud (ABC-'85), Airwolf (CBS-'84), The A-Team (NBC-'83) and Brothers and Sisters (NBC-'79) as shows who debuted after the Super Bowl.

Some other big-time heavyweights have also appeared right after the game. Lassie, All in the Family, 60 Minutes, CHiPs, Archie Bunker's Place, Friends, The X-Files, The Simpsons, Survivor, Grey's Anatomy, House and The Office all have been post-Super Bowl shows.

#27-BEEN THERE, DONE THAT: This will be the second consecutive Super Bowl between teams with at least 3 Super Bowl titles. Before last year, it hadn't happened since Super Bowl XXX. Last year, the Packers (3 titles entering the game) faced off with the Steelers (six). In Super Bowl XXX, the Steelers (then a 4-time champion) battled the Cowboys (also a 4-time champ at the time).

It's also just the fifth Super Bowl between teams with multiple Super Bowl victories. The only other time it has happened was last year's Packers-Steelers (XLV), the Giants-Patriots (XLII) Super Bowl a couple of years ago and the Steelers-Cowboys (XXX and XIII).

#26-SUPER BOWL CONSUMPION: Some nice stats for you:

8 million: Total pounds of popcorn consumed on Super Bowl Sunday.

28 million: Pounds of potato chips consumed.

53.5 million: Pounds of avocados consumed.

222,792: Number of football fields worth of farmland to grow all that corn, potatoes, and avocados.

11.8: Depth, in feet, of guacamole consumed if it were spread across the football field.

293,000: Number of miles of potato chips, laid end to end, consumed during the game.

1 billion: Number of chicken wings consumed on Super Bowl Sunday.

325.5 million: Gallons of beer drank by Americans that day.

493: Number of Olympic-sized swimming pools that could be filled with all that beer.

20%: Increase in anti-acid sales the Monday after the game.

7 million: Number of employees who will not show up to work Monday.

#25-BUT DON'T DISMISS THE FAVORITES: Yeah, there are upsets, but don't count on them. The favorite has won nine of the last 13 Super Bowls. In fact the favorite is 31-14 in the Super Bowl. Teams favored by at least 7 points are 19-6.

24-STILL, NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE UNDERDOG: This year, the Steelers are a slight underdog and this may be one of the most even matchups we've seen in a Super Bowl in quite some time. But we have seen some big dog upsets.

Here is a short list of some notable upsets:

Super Bowl III: The Baltimore Colts came in as 18-point favorites. They left watching the Jets' Joe Namath fulfilling his prediction of an upset.

Super Bowl IV: The Kansas City Chiefs spanked the Minnesota Vikings, despite being a 12-point underdog.

Super Bowl VII: Oddly, the undefeated Miami Dolphins entered the game as 1.5-point underdogs to the Washington Redskins.Super Bowl XXV: The Buffalo Bills would begin their four game Super Bowl losing streak by succumbing to the Giants, who were 7-point dogs.

Super Bowl XXXII: The Denver Broncos, an 11.5-point underdog, ended the AFC's thirteen game losing streak by beating Green Bay.

Super Bowl XXXVI: These New England Patriots began their dynasty by beating the St. Louis Rams, who were 14-point favorites.

Super Bowl XLII: The 12-point dog Giants ended the Patriots perfect season with a magical game.See, it can happen. Just because we all think one way doesn't mean we cannot be shocked. After all, those 2001 Rams were juggernauts who were former champions and were heavy favorites. They left without the trophy.

#23-THE NFC OWNS THE COIN TOSS: The NFC has ... somehow ... won the last 14 coin tossses in the Super Bowl. The last time the AFC won a coin toss was 1997 when the Patriots won it against the Packers.

The team that wins the opening coin toss is just 22-23 in the game. That averages out to ... well ... the flip of a coin. However, the coin toss winner has been the Super Bowl loser in 10 of the last 14 games.

SB 45: Packers won the toss ... and the game
SB 44: Saints won the toss ... and the game
SB 43: Cardinals won the toss, lost the game*
SB 42: Giants won the toss ... and the game
SB 41: Bears won the toss, lost the game
SB 40: Seahawks won the toss, lost the game
SB 39: Eagles won the toss, lost the game
SB 38: Panthers won the toss, lost the game
SB 37: Buccaneers won the toss ... and the game
SB 36: Rams won the toss, lost the game
SB 35: Giants won the toss, lost the game
SB 34: Rams won the toss ... and the game
SB 33: Falcons won the toss, lost the game
SB 32: Packers won the toss, lost the game
SB 31: Patriots won the toss, lost the game

*A little aside to this is that the Arizona Cardinals won the toss and deferred to the second half. The Steelers chose to receive which means the Cards were the first team in Super Bowl history to win the coin toss and kickoff.

#22-SOME MORE STATITUDES: Here is another piece of trivia for you. There has been at least one successful field goal in 43 of 45 Super Bowls.

Teams that have been shut out for one half (either the first or second) are a combined 1-18. The lone winner was those 1972 Dolphins who went scoreless in the second half of Super Bowl VII.

Only one Super Bowl featured teams from the same state. Super Bowl XXIX between the Chargers and 49ers. The Giants and Bills both are "New York" teams, but the Giants play their home games in New Jersey.

Also, teams that intercept a pass for a TD are 11-0 in the Super Bowl. No losing team has returned a pick-six. Last year, the winning Packers returned an interception for a TD.

#21-BELICHICK KNOWS BOWLS: Bill Belichick will be the head coach of his 5th Super Bowl, tying him with Tom Landry for 2nd most all time. Only Don Shula's six appearances beat it. The combo of Belichick and Tom Brady will set a record for most appearances for a head coach/quarterback duo. Their fifth game passes Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw for most all time.

#20-THINGS NON FOOTBALL FANS CAN SAY TO BLEND IN: Look, I know that there are people in America that will be attending Super Bowl parties because ... well, they love to party. Some won't know who's playing in the game until they get there. I've also come to find that there are actually guys out there that get dragged to Super Bowl parties because of their women (that's sad). Don't worry. So the diehards around the party who actually care about the game won't think you're a wuss, I'm here to help.

Here are a few vague quotes that you can use so you fit in among the football fans. You don't have to engage in a conversation with these, just drop these in from time to time the rest of us don't make fun of you once you leave. Just print this out, study it and you will at look somewhat less wimpish around the real men at the Super Bowl party.

"The Giants just need to limit turnovers and control the clock if they want to pull the upset."

"That Eli Manning has been on fire over the last six weeks or so!"

"This is a classic Super Bowl matchup. Tough defense against a stellar offense."

"You just gotta convert those third downs!"

"Don't sleep on Manningham!"

"Despite it being the year of the offense, defense wins championships and that's why the Giants are here!"

"Third and long? I'd blitz."

"I wonder what Peyton Manning is thinking right now."

"I got a few bucks on this game."

"Damnit! I left my squares sheet at home!"

"Wli wins this and he's a made man in New York!"

When there is a penalty called for holding, just say, "yeah, he was tackling him!"

"Wonder if those Fire Tom Coughlin people are changing their tune now?"

If you are around an anti-Patriot crowd "I'm tired of those Boston teams winning."

"I wonder if this could be as classic as their last Super Bowl."

Use only in a close game: "This could come down to who has the ball last."

#19-WEARING WHITE IS THE KEY: Since the New England Patriots are designated the home team, they will be wearing their home blue jerseys for the Super Bowl. That means the Giants will go with their white jerseys ... just like they did in Super Bowl XLII). In fact, the team that has worn white uniforms had won the last six Super Bowls (Saints, Steelers, Giants, Colts, Steelers, Patriots) before the Packers won last year. The Giants last Super Bowl victory was while wearing white; the Pats won two of their three titles wearing blue.

#18-ALTERNATE VIEWING: Wife doesn't watch the Super Bowl? Well, here are some alternatives for her.

ABC: America's Funniest Home Videos marathon
ESPN: World's Strongest Man Competition marathon
FOOD: Cupcake Wars
E!: Sex and the City marathon
USA: Law & Order: SVU marathon
HISTORY: Pawn Stars marathon
TLC: Strange Sex marathon
ID: Dateline on ID marathon
DISNEY: High School Musical marathon
WGN: How I Met Your Mother marathon
ABC FAMILY: Mamma Mia!
CMT: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making The Team
RFDTV: Hee Haw
HBO: Titanic
SPEED: Hooters Dreamgirl

#17-RELOCATING TO TITLES: The Colts (Baltimore/Indianapolis) are one of two teams to win a Super Bowl in two different cities. The other team is the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders. The St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams have been to Super Bowls from two different cities and join the Colts as the only franchises to lose Super Bowls in two different cities.

#16-LIST OF SUPER BOWL NO-NAMES: Below are guys that made their names in the Super Bowl. Some of these guys were pretty good NFLers before their breakout games ... some we haven't heard of before or since ... but performing well on the biggest of stages makes them legends.

Doug Williams (Redskins): It wasn't that Williams was a no-name as much as things really didn't pan out for him. Dude really came off the scrap heap. Williams did nothing much of note in his first years at Tampa Bay or in his USFL stint. Redskins coach Joe Gibbs (who coached Doug in Tampa) gave him a shot in 1986 to back up Jay Schroeder. In '87, Schroeder had some shoulder issues late in the season and Williams did a good job taking over. So much so that there was a QB controversy. Williams got the nod and the rest is history.What Williams did in the 2nd quarter of Super Bowl XXII is nothing short of remarkable. He was 9-of-11 for 228 yards and 4 TDs. Again, that was just in the 2nd quarter! Williams would win the game's MVP and become the first (and only, so far) black quarterback to win a Super Bowl.

Timmy Smith (Redskins): If Doug Williams didn't win the MVP, Smith would have. Smith rushed for 204 yards (still a Super Bowl record) and two TDs. Coming into the game, Smith had rushed for just 129 yards that season. His career lasted just 15 games after the Super Bowl.

Max McGee (Packers): McGee is famous for his pre-Super Bowl I partying. With Boyd Dowler injured early in the game, a hung-over McGee would step in and catch the first TD pass in Super Bowl history. He would go on to catch seven passes for 138 yards and two TDs ... three more receptions than he had all season long.

Jeff Hostetler (Giants): People forget that Phil Simms didn't start the G-men's second Super Bowl title. Simms hurt his ankle late in the season and Hoss took it the rest of the way. He had the least amount of playing time of any QB to start a Super Bowl. He held up well, throwing for 222 yds and a TD.

Dan Bunz (49ers): The linebacker was instrumental in the greatest goal line stand in Super Bowl history, stuffing the Bengals four times with goal to go. The defining play was Bunz' tackle on a swing pass to Charles Alexander on third down (he was also in on the stop on fourth down).

Larry Brown (Cowboys): The running joke after Super Bowl XXX was that Brown was the Steelers' Neil O'Donnell's favorite target. Too bad he played for the other team. Brown picked off two O'Donnell throws ... his final game with Dallas. He used the MVP award to get a nice fat contract with the Raiders and did nothing much of note after the fact.

Dwight Smith (Buccaneers): If Brown won an MVP award for picking off two passes ... why didn't Smith win won for taking two picks back for TDs? He was a nickelback used a lot in a game where (a) Oakland's offensive attack warranted it and (b) the Raiders were so far behind that they had to take chances. Why ....

Dexter Jackson (Buccaneers): ... because Smith's second TD came in the closing seconds after the ballots had already been counted. Jackson had picked off two passes himself (none that went for TDs) that were momentum changers. And Jackson wouldn't have won the award either if not for fan voting taking place in the game (Simeon Rice was the press' pick).

Percy Howard (Cowboys): Never heard of him? Well, Howard came into Super Bowl X and caught a 34-yd touchdown pass from Roger Staubach. That was the only reception he had in his entire career.

Don Beebe (Bills): Beebe has been on six Super Bowl teams ... but will be remembered most for running down Leon Lett and stripping the ball right before crossing the endzone in Super Bowl XXVII.

David Tyree (Giants): Tyree will always be a legend for his amazing catch in Super Bowl XLII. A guy pretty much no one had heard of before and hasn't done anything since will be immortalized with possibly the greatest play in Super Bowl history.

Jordy Nelson (Packers): Nelson caught 9 passes for 140 yards (both career highs) and a TD in Super Bowl XLV.

#15-SUPER BOWL MVP'S IN CANTON: Winners of 22 Super Bowl MVP awards have gone on to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. You have Bart Starr (twice), Joe Namath, Len Dawson, Roger Staubach, Larry Csonka, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, Fred Biletnikoff, Randy White, Terry Bradshaw (twice), Joe Montana (three times), John Riggins, Marcus Allen, Troy Aikman, Steve Young, Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith and John Elway. Other winners, like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Ray Lewis can look forward to seeing their busts in Canton one day (that hikes the number up to 26). Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees also have a shot at the Hall.

Granted, not all winners of the Super Bowl MVP award go on to anything much. Guys like Larry Brown, Harvey Martin, Dexter Jackson, Desmond Howard, Mark Rypien, Deion Branch and Jake Scott have also won the award and the Hall is no where in their future.

#14-THE FIVE WORST SUPER BOWLS: 1-Super Bowl V: This one was nicknamed the "Blunder Bowl" for good reason. There were 11 turnovers in the game with the Colts ... who won ... committing seven of them. The Dallas Cowboys were called for 10 penalties. This game sucked so bad that the MVP award was given to Chuck Howley ... of the losing Cowboys (the only time the Super Bowl MVP played for the losing team). Sure, Jim O'Brien kicked the game winning field goal at the end of the game ... but even that was set up by a turnover.

2-Super Bowl XII: Dallas was in yet another sloppy game. Good thing that the Broncos were sloppier (Denver turned the ball over eight times ... and completed just eight passes). Denver QB Craig Morton was horrible -- he completed just four of 15 passes for 39 yards and four interceptions. Yikes! There was also lingering questions about the IRS checking into his tax returns. Both teams combined for 20 penalties.

3-Super Bowl XL: It was a ho-hum game that's only excitement came on an Antwaan Randle-El touchdown pass to Hines Ward. That's pretty much all the Steelers had: three big plays that ended up with TDs (the above play, a Willie Parker 75-yd TD run and an awkward pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Ward). Seattle shot themselves in the foot with bad penalties, bad red zone efficiency and turnovers. The game is one of the most controversial as many people felt that the Seahawks had a lot of bad calls go against them. Big Ben's QB rating is the lowest by any Super Bowl winning quarterback.

4-Super Bowl XX: The Bears dominated and we all loved seeing the Fridge plop into the endzone. Still, this looked like an exhibition game against a local high school team than a Super Bowl. Chicago dominated this game with their defense and made Pats QB Tony Eason look foolish (he is the only starting QB to not complete a pass). There have been several blowouts in Super Bowl history, but this is the only one where the losing team looked like it had no business being there. The saddest thing is that Walter Payton didn't get a shot at running in a TD. Jim McMahon snuck in a TD twice and the Fridge got a shot ... but not Walter. A shame.

5-Super Bowl VII: The one where the Dolphins completed the perfect season? A dud. Miami is the only team to be shut out for an entire half and still win the game. The Phins got out to a 14-0 lead before halftime and hung on for the win. If not for that botched field goal attempt (where Miami kicker Garo Yepremian's "pass" was picked off by Mike Bass and returned for a TD), the Redskins would've been the only team shut out in Super Bowl history. That score, with 2:07 left in the game, is the longest it has taken for a Super Bowl team to score.

#13-REMATCH! No, not just a rematch of the Super Bowl. The Pats-Giants tussle will be the 13th time the Super Bowl featured a rematch from a regular season game. This year, the Giants beat the Patriots in Foxboro, 24-20.

The loser of the regular season game has gone on to win the Super Bowl rematch 5 of the last 6 times ... and are 7-5 in Super Bowl history. That includes Super Bowl XLII where the Patriots beat the Giants in the regular season finale, but the Giants got revenge in the Super Bowl.

#12-AHHHHHHHH KELLY CLARKSON! Kelly Clarkson will sing the National Anthem ... which means that 4 of the last 5 Super Anthems were sung by former American Idol contestants.

#11-DON'T TRAIL BY DOUBLE DIGITS: Teams that are facing a double-digit deficit are 2-40. A couple things are interesting about that stat. First, the only teams to come back from a 10-point deficit and win is the 1987 Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XXII and the New Orleans Saints last year. The Skins trailed 10-0 before scoring the next 42 points. The Saints scored 31 of the next 38 points after trailing 10-0. That also makes those Super Bowls the only ones where both teams faced a double digit deficit. Also, it is quite amazing that 40 of 45 Super Bowls have seen one team go up by at least 10 at some point in the game.

#10-SUPER BOWL DATES: Here are just a few dumb notes about Super Bowl dates. Super Bowl XXIX was and will always be the only Super Bowl that was played on the same day (29) as the Roman numeral of the game. January 26th is the most popular date for a Super Bowl as a record four games have been played on that date. And, if you go in order from the earliest date (January 9th) to the latest (February 7th), the only days to not have held the Super Bowl are January 10, 19, 23 and February 2.

This will be the second Super Bowl held on February 5th.

Jan 9-XI
Jan 11-IV
Jan 12-III, IX
Jan 13-VIII
Jan 14-II, VII
Jan 15-I, XII
Jan 16-VI
Jan 17-V
Jan 18-X
Jan 20-XIV, XIX
Jan 21-XIII
Jan 22-XVIII, XXIII
Jan 24-XVI
Jan 25-XV, XXI, XXXII
Jan 26-XX, XXVI, XXXI, XXXVII
Jan 27-XXV
Jan 28-XXIV, XXX, XXXV
Jan 29-XXIX
Jan 30-XVII, XXVIII, XXXIV
Jan 31-XXII, XXVII, XXXIII
Feb 1-XXXVIII, XLIII
Feb 3-XXXVI, XLII
Feb 4-XLI
Feb 5-XL, XLVI
Feb 6-XXXIX, XLV
Feb 7-XLIV

#9-STILL HAVEN'T WON ONE: There are now four franchises that have never appeared in a Super Bowl (Lions, Browns, Jaguars and Texans). But there are ten others that have never won the Super Bowl in any of their appearances. They are the Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Tennessee Titans, San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals. The Bills and Vikings have lost four games apiece; the Bengals and Eagles have each lost two. The rest lost on their only trip.

And while the Jaguars (1995) and Texans (2002) haven't been to the big game, they don't have quite the drought as some other franchises. The Jets haven't been to the Super Bowl since the 1968 season. The Chiefs went to two of the first four Super Bowls but their last appearance was after the 1969 season.

It's been a while since the Vikings (1976), Dolphins (1984), Bengals (1988) and Redskins (1991) have been there as well.

#8-SUPER BOWL MVPS: This will be first time in Super Bowl history that two QBs will face off with Super Bowl MVP awards already in their pocket. Brady has won two awards while Manning has one. There have been plenty of Super Bowls where both QBs ended up with MVP awards but this is the first one where both already have.

This also is the 3rd rematch between quarterbacks in the Super Bowl (Bradshaw-Staubach and Aikman-Kelly are the others). In both previous instances, the same QB (Bradshaw, Aikman) won both times.

#7-CAPITAL GAINS: Indianapolis will only be the 2nd state capital to host a Super Bowl. The other is Atlanta.

#6-SIX BEST SUPER BOWLS: Here are what I believe are the five best Super Bowls, ever. You can debate this all you want (which is fine), but these five were all great games with exciting finishes and are memorable in one way or another.

1-Super Bowl XXV: This was a great matchup in every way. With a backdrop of war, this game had all kinds of emotion as the game began (thanks, Whitney). That vaunted Bills offense against the stuffy Giants defense. The lead changed times on four occassions. In the end, an old guy like Ottis Anderson ate up the clock and Scott Norwood missed the only time the winner of the Super Bowl came down to the final play (even if Vinatieri missed those Pats FGs, the games would've went into overtime). Giants defensive coordinator Bill Belichick's defensive gameplan for this game in enshrined at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

2-Super Bowl XLII: Yes, the Giants take the top two spots. Their amazing run just to get to the Super Bowl and matching the undefeated Patriots blow-for-blow. Eli Manning's escape and David Tyree's catch has become one of the top plays in Super Bowl history. Second biggest upset ever.

3-Super Bowl XXXIV: Not only was this a surreal matchup (remember that St. Louis and Tennessee weren't NFL cities six years earlier), but some cat named Kurt Warner was shredding up this game. The Titans staged one heck of a comeback (they were down 16-0) to have it ripped away from them on a bomb to Issac Bruce. Also, it had one of the greatest endings any football game could ever have.

4-Super Bowl XXIII: There were so many game changing moments in this one. Remember that the only times the 49ers led this game was at 3-0 ... and after Joe Montana's pass to John Taylor at the end of the game. Cincinnati had this one, but Super Joe took it away.

5-Super Bowl XXXVIII: The problem with this Super Bowl is that the 1st and 3rd quarters sucked. However, the 2nd and 4th were just outstanding! In the fourth quarter alone, there were 37 points scored ... which is a Super Bowl record for points scored in a quarter. It was just the second to have five TDs scored (the Redskins did that by themselves 16 years earlier). And it ended with an Adam Vinatieri field goal with :04 left. Oh, and we got a little nipple action at halftime.

6-Super Bowl XLIII: What a game this was. You had the ultimate game changer with the interception and 99-yard return for a TD at the end of the first half. You had Arizona's miraculous comeback to take a lead late in the game. Then you had Pittsburgh's Big Ben Roethlisberger finding Santonio Holmes for a wonderful game winning score.

#5-ALL TIME SERIES: The Giants and Patriots have met 10 times with each team winning five of those games. In the last 8 meetings, the winner had won by double digits just once ... and that was by 11 points. Six of the last seven of those meetings were won by less than 4 points.

#4-THE NBA IS M.I.A.: The NBA usually puts a premiere matchup for us to enjoy on Super Bowl Sunday. Not this year. No nationally televised game at all (well, unless you consider NBATV as "national"). There are two games scheduled, however. The Grizzlies and, oddly, the Celtics face off at noon in Beantown. The Raptors and Heat play at 1pm.

There is some college hoops to watch. CBS will air the Michigan-Michigan State game. Duke will host Miami at 3pm on ESPNU. Villanova and Pitt will play on ESPN. The Big Ten Network will also have a doubleheader.

There are four NHL games, highlighted by the Bruins (Boston again) at the Capitals on NBC Sports Network. Oh, the Rangers and Devils also play on Super Bowl Sunday.

#3-WHO CARES ABOUT THE DRAFT?: The New England Patriots have 18 players on their roster that went undrafted. EIGHTEEN! That's amazing. And eight of them are starters. Bill Belichick loves teams who work to get on and stay on his roster.

Remember that All-Everything Tom Brady was a 6th round draft pick. He is one of 11 other players who were drafted in the 5th round or later.

#2-NEW YORK VS BOSTON: Ah yes. Another New York vs Boston matchup. Red Sox-Yankees anyone? Two epic ALCSs. Heck, the Red Sox and Mets met in a pretty neat-o World Series once. The Celtics and Knicks still get a rise out of people especially once Carmelo Anthony arrived in the Big Apple. The Rangers and Bruins is a nice rivalry as well.

#1-ALL THIS ADDS UP TO A GREAT GAME: Look, we've established that the Super Bowl isn't always a good game, but they've gotten a lot better over the past 15 years. We all we be beaten down about what happened in Super Bowl XLII and the hope is that this game can duplicate it (it can't no matter what). Both these teams are extremely flawed, making either one an interesting champion. The Giants went 9-7 during the season (and lost to my Redskins ... twice ... handily) and the Patriots have the worst defense to ever play in the Super Bowl.

Still, take all of that away and keep the game what it is: the 2012 Giants against the 2012 Patriots. Yes, will remember the past but the game itself will be all that matters. The storylines are everywhere. I mean, Eli Manning winning a Super Bowl on Peyton's home field? What about if Tom Brady, Peyton's eternal rival, does it instead?

It should be a nice one.

2012 - The NBA Season Time Will Forget

2012-01-21T11:08:00.002-05:00

Anyone who loves to dig at the Spurs usually points out that their 1999 NBA Championship should come with an asterisk. After all, a labor dispute shaved the season down to 50 games, it was the season after Michael Jordan's last game with the Bulls and the Spurs met 8th-seeded New York in the Finals.

The championship does count, but the season is usually forgotten among the lore of other seasons. No one mentions anything about San Antonio's 2003, 2005 or 2007 titles being tainted in any way.

The 66-game season that we are currently going through is a big jump from the 50 games on '99 so there may not be as much of a chatter about this season not having the worth of other ones. Sure, there is still 16 games missing on each team's sked and the season hasn't found any rhythm yet but there should be a better sample set once we get to the postseason.

But what will we see when we get there? These teams are cramming a ton of games in a very short amount of time. Guys who are carrying their teams right now (read: Kobe Bryant) could completely run out of gas by the time April arrives. Sure, everyone gets that three-games-in-a-row stretch which is hell, but it is all of those 4-games-in-5-nights that are really putting wear on teams and players.

I am a Laker fan, so let's use them as an example.

They opened the season ... OPENED THE SEASON ... with three games in three nights. With minimal training camp and conditioning, they had to open up the season with three straight games (which included them in LA, then Sacramento, then LA again). One day off and then another game.

From December 25th to January 14th ... a span of 21 days ... the Lakers played 14 games. The Lakers will play 17 games in January alone (add that last week of December, and the Lakers will have played 22 games in 5 1/2 weeks). They will play 17 again in March. Believe me, I'm not saying the Lakers are the only ones with it tough. I'm just using them because they are my team.

NOTE: My favorite stretch of the Lakers season is in April. The Lakers will play the Spurs THREE TIMES in a 10 day stretch.

The Nets had to start the season with 6 games in 8 days and FOUR of them on the road. The Thunder's 14 games featured 12 against teams who were playoff teams last year (look at their record and you can be even more impressed). The Bucks opened the season with 12 of 18 on the road. The Bobcats are in the middle of playing 11 games in 15 days. The Sacramento Kings will enter the All Star Break playing 21 games on the road and just 11 at home. How about the Hawks who had to play the Bulls and Heat TWICE EACH in a five day stretch??? (HT: SB Nation for the info).

It goes on and on and everyone faces stiff challenges. So it is fair in that sense. But is it really fair when pretty much 16 teams will enter the playoffs as shells of themselves? I mean, the NBA season has always been a grind and a survival of the fittest but this season takes it up quite a notch.

Whomever ends up winning the title will certainly deserve it even if not everyone gives them their due.

Even if it is the Miami Heat.

A Possible Two-Division Baseball Format

2012-01-21T11:00:00.002-05:00

Brainstorming here. If baseball went back to the 2-division format ... and if the Astros HAVE to be in the American League ... this is how I'd have it shake out.

NL EAST
Atlanta Braves
Cincinnati Reds
Miami Marlins
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
Washington Nationals

NL WEST
Arizona Diamondbacks
Chicago Cubs
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
Milwaukee Brewers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants
St Louis Cardinals

AL EAST
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
New York Yankees
Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays

AL WEST
Chicago White Sox
Houston Astros
Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Angels
Minnesota Twins
Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers

Recapping the NFL Season ... Division Style

2012-01-03T09:24:00.002-05:00

The 2011 NFL season is over and we are now in postseason mode. So let's look back at the past year through the eyes of each division. Half of the divisions were won by one game or less. And, since we all know the BCS is the greatest system of determining a champion that has ever been created, let's use it to see who should be each division's champion.

1-AFC NORTH: Great season for the AFC North, who saw three of its four teams qualify for the postseason. The Ravens and Steelers each finished 12-4 and are, along with the Patriots, among the favorites to win the AFC. Cincinnati surprised many by going 9-7 and making the playoffs as well and showing that the future is really bright in Cincy. No, it wasn't a great year in Cleveland but the Browns, at one point, were 4-6.

Going forward, this division looks like they are stacked. Sure, Baltimore and Pittsburgh's defenses are aging but these are two solid organizations who do well at acquiring talent.

BCS CHAMPION: Ravens. Yeah, B-more and Pitt tied atop the division. But Ravens, along with the Packers, were the only NFL teams who went 6-0 in their division and 8-0 at home.

2-NFC SOUTH: Two teams, the Saints and Falcons, made the playoffs and both are riding pretty high. N'Awlins set all kinds of passing records and may be the most fun team to watch. The Carolina Panthers showed that their future is bright with an amazing season by rookie Cam Newton. Steve Smith was Steve Smith again. Tampa was a disaster but this was a 10-win team a year ago.

Let's see, a division with Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, Cam Newton and Josh Freeman moving forward? Not too bad.

BCS CHAMPION: Saints. New Orleans won the division by three games and outscored opponents by a NFL-best 208 points. They also finished strong, winning their final 8 games.

3-NFC NORTH: The Packers finished 15-1 (loss to the Chiefs?) and are stacking for the next several years. Aaron Rodgers has emerged as one of the best QBs in the league. Matt Stafford is nearly getting to the level in Detroit and the Lions made the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. No fluke here as the Lions were many people's sleeper team at the start of the year. The Chicago Bears were in the running for a playoff bid before injuries, especially to Jay Cutler, did them in. The Vikings season was bad, but they have some pieces in place.

Hopefully the Packers and Lions will become the offensive version of the Ravens and Steelers for years to come.

BCS CHAMPION: Packers. 15-1 season, undefeated in division and highest point differential. Easy.

4-AFC EAST: Weird season. New England sits atop the AFC with a crazy efficient offense but this defense is among the worst in the league. The rest of the division was very average at best. The Bills started 4-1 before losing 9 of their last 11 games. The Dolphins started 0-7 before winning 6 of their last 9 games. The Jets, easily, had an extremely disappointing and streaky season. They had two separate 3-game winning streaks and two separate 3-game losing streaks.

Who knows what this division will become? The Pats, despite their defense, still is in elite territory. The Jets are better than what they showed this season. The Bills and Dolphins are very talented but it just doesn't seem all there.

BCS CHAMPION: Patriots. Won the division by 5 games, won their last 8 games and, despite a poor defense, dominanted opponents.

5-NFC WEST: This was a joke of a division last season, but they stepped up a bit this year. The 49ers just cruised through and won the division handily, making many to believe the division to be poor. But the Cardinals (8-8) and Seahawks (7-9) found their way in the playoff race down the stretch. Neither team is really set for long term success but it is something to build upon. St. Louis stunk it up and have cleaned house.

San Francisco looks like they are back and are a very strong candidate to get to the Super Bowl. The others have a lot of work to do to compete on that level.

BCS CHAMPION: 49ers. They won the division by 5 games.

6-AFC SOUTH: Just a completely puzzling division. With Peyton Manning out for the season, the Houston Texans were heavy favorites to win the AFC South. They did, but saw their team decimated by injuries. They used four QBs and barely got anything from Andre Johnson this year. Still, they won and showed that they are deeply talented. The Colts were the worst team in the league, will get the No. 1 pick Andrew Luck, but have sort of cleaned house. Who knows if Manning will be back in Indy?

The Titans nearly snuck into the playoffs; the Jaguars did alright behind MJD. Both have young QBs to head down the road.

7-NFC EAST: This division isn't filled with bad teams, but this is a very disappointing season. The Giants started 6-2 and finished 3-5. Dallas was all over the place but did start 7-4 before losing 4 of their last 5. The Dream Team Eagles might actually be the biggest disappointment in the NFL this season, but did win their last 4 games to break even at 8-8 (and finished a game back of the division title). The Redskins finished in last place again, but did start 3-1 (uh, and finished 2-10).

The Cowboys and Eagles are better than this. Heck, the Giants are too. This division should be better next year. The Redskins offense is a mess but, sadly, that was by design. They rebuilt a horrible defense last offseason and plan to do the same to the offense this one. We'll see.

BCS CHAMPION: Eagles. They finished stronger than anyone, were 5-1 against the division (no one else finished over .500) and easily had the highest point differential.

8-AFC WEST: I'm not a Tim Tebow hater at all, but remember that this division was won by a team whose QB can't pass very well. Seriously look at the division this season. Everyone finished 8-8 except for the 7-9 Chiefs. Everyone was 3-3 within the division. Kyle Orton started the season as the Broncos starter and ended it as the Chiefs starter. The Raiders planted Carson Palmer as the starter and, in 10 games, tossed 16 interceptions.

Of the four teams, only the Chargers scored more points than their opponent (+29). Division champion Denver were outscored by 81 points this season.

Going forward, this division is in disarray. The Tebow experiment will continue into next year but he has to expand his passing if it is to be successful. Oakland gave up a ton for Palmer so he's in, but with the passing of Al Davis, who knows how the franchise will continue to run. Kansas City doesn't know who their QB is (Orton or Matt Cassell) and they've already fired their coach. San Diego could fire both their coach and/or GM.

BCS CHAMPION: Chargers. San Diego was the only team to outscore their opponents this year. They finished 4-1 and crushed Baltimore. No one else deserves it.

What A Weird NFL Playoffs We Will Have

2012-01-01T19:28:00.002-05:00

The 2011 NFL season may not be over yet (as I type this, the Cowboys-Giants are in pregame warmups), but the season has already produced one of the oddest postseasons I can remember. The matchups alone just make you gasp.

NFC

No. 1 Packers, No. 2 Niners: We all could've picked Green Bay getting a 1st round bye. But San Francisco? This is the team with Alex Smith starting at QB, right? And we are going to see Candlestick Park in the postseason again? Unreal.

No. 6 Lions at No. 3 Saints: Other than the fact that the Lions are in the playoffs for the first time in over a decade, there isn't anything really odd about this matchup. Well, except this could be one of the great playoff shootouts we've seen in a long time. Drew Brees and Matthew Stafford have been lighting it up and there are just so many great receiving threats out there. Probably THE premiere game next weekend.

No. 5 Falcons at No. 4 Cowboys/Giants: No matter what, this will be all about the NFC East champion. The one who didn't screw up and actually won the division tonight. No matter what, no one will remember Atlanta is in this. Too bad because the Dirty Birds will probably win.

Since both wildcard games are toss-ups, who knows what we'll get in the divisional round. I'd love to see Saints-Niners. I'd love to see a third Lions-Packers game if it was anything like today's tilt. Again, the Cowboys/Giants/Falcons winner against either Green Bay or San Francisco would be stunning.

AFC

No. 1 Patriots, No. 2 Ravens: This is absolutely no surprise. These two, along with the Steelers, have been thought of all year long as the best teams in the AFC. Nothing to see here.

No. 6 Bengals at No. 3 Texans: Unbelieveable. Houston is making its first playoff appearance ever and we have no idea who the QB will be. Matt Schaub? Nope. Matt Leinart? Nuh-uh. T.J. Yates? Maybe. Jake Delhomme? Texans fans hope not. Oh, and the Bengals are there as well. The same Cincinnati team that blew up its core from the last six years (Carson Palmer, Chad Johnsocinco) are making it with rookies Andy Dalton and A.J. Green. These guys were babies when the Bengals last won a road playoff game ... back when the NFL team in Houston were the Oilers.

No. 5 Steelers at No. 4 Broncos: Yes, Tim Tebow is in the playoffs. Yes, the Steelers will be double-digit favorites for this one. Yet the defending AFC Champion franchise that has won more Super Bowls than anyone will take second fiddle to the Broncos. This should get ugly real quick.

If the Bengals beat the Texans (like they did a few weeks back), that means we get another Steelers-Ravens game. What a war!!!! I want it. That would mean the young Bengals going against the Patriots, which would be fun. If Houston won, a Texans-Ravens matchup would be a bit boring but a Steelers-Patriots game would be nice. But what if Denver wins and we get Tebowmania at Baltimore?

THE QUARTERBACKS

Look at this list: Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger have 7 Super Bowl titles among them (if the Giants make it, then Eli Manning adds an 8th ring). Matt Stafford, Tim Tebow, T.J. Yates, Andy Dalton and Alex Smith have zero playoff appearances among them. Then you have Joe Flacco, Matt Ryan and maybe Tony Romo. Guys who've been there and not gotten it done.

"The Brawl" Has Led Cincy-Xavier In Two Different Directions

2011-12-24T12:37:00.002-05:00

A couple weeks ago, "The Brawl" happened in Cincinnati. Crosstown rivals Xavier and Cincinnati met, as they do every year, with the Musketeers blowing out the Bearcats. At the end of the very testy game, a brawl broke out that left both teams with suspended players and bad tastes in their mouth.

Cincinnati suspended Yancy Gates, Cheikh Mbodj and Octavius Ellis six games each and Ge'Lawn Guyn for one game. Xavier suspended Dez Wells and Landen Amos for four games, Mark Lyons for two and star guard Tu Holloway for one game.

Since then, both schools have gone in different directions.

Xavier has now lost three straight games. After "The Brawl", the Muskies were a Top Ten team with an 8-0 record. Since then, they've lost to unranked Oral Roberts, Long Beach State and Hawaii. ORU gave Xavier their worst loss in the Cintas Center (22 points) and Long Beach won by ten. They have one more game (against Southern Illinois) before they are done with all of their suspensions. The first game with their full team will be against Gonzaga.

As for Cincinnati, they have won the four games played after the fight. Granted, none were against anyone spectacular (Wright State, Radford, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Chicago State), they have won all of them in great fashion ... winning those games by an average of 33.5 points. We will find out just how good they are after their final non-conference game with Oklahoma and entering Big East play (how is Pitt, Notre Dame, St John's, Georgetown, Villanova and UConn for starters?). While I'm sure this winning streak will end during that run, at least the Bearcats seem to be getting on the same page.

Odd, isn't it? I'm sure when the season ends, Xavier will have the better record, higher ranking and more pub than the Bearcats. Sure, the Cats winning streak happened all at home and Xavier has been in Hawaii over the past week. But it is interesting to see how both teams have handled this self-inflicted adversity.

Even right after the game, you could kind of see this coming. Cincy head coach Mick Cronin chastised his players and the schools part in this mess. He honestly seemed embarrassed and very vocal that this wouldn't happen again on his watch. Xavier head coach Chris Mack wasn't as vocal and allowed his players ... including star Holloway ... to act a fool in post game interviews. I live in the Cincinnati area and that "gangstas" rant was and still is the biggest talking point after the fight.

So as we go into 2012, it will be interesting to see the focus of both these schools which will say a lot about the futures of these two progams .... and not just for the rest of the season.

Sports In 2011 Was The Year In Hell

2011-12-18T11:44:00.002-05:00

When we look back at the sports landscape in 2011 ... it won't be a happy thought to most of us. This was a very, very, very bad year for sports as a whole.

Don't get me wrong. There were some great moments (Game 6 of the World Series could be the best game ever played in the Fall Classic) and great performances. Congrats to all the champs and all the greatness that happened over the past calendar year.

Still, 2011 clearly threw down the shroud that surrounds the dark side of sports.

CHILD SEX SCANDALS: This is the most gut-wrenching story to come out of 2011. Yeah, sex scandals have happened before and even the horror of child sexual abuse has been in the news in years past. But the cover-ups and the actions of the "adults in charge" was really shocking. It wasn't age or on-field performance that ended Joe Paterno's career ... it was sitting idle while a member of your staff was raping young boys on campus and under the umbrella of Penn State University. It was the administrators that sat on all this information for years and years without anything happening. It ruined the school and those legacies and ... worst of all ... the lives of all those boys who suffered this abuse while no one cared to help them.

We are supposed to trust these people to have the best interests of our kids when we send them to play athletics and attend these schools yet they don't have the moral compass to stop raping boys when they know it exists? It is really scary.

Even more scary when you realize that people like Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim will publically come out and chastise you for bravely stepping forward and facing your accuser. Boeheim staunchly defended his coach and friend without once thinking about what these young men who also worked for the school. He retracted it all but the damage is done. No matter how Hall-Of-Famey you may be, we can't trust you to do the right thing.

With the court cases and more details waiting to emerge, this story will be promptly in the headlines for the next few years.

DAN WHELDON: We were reminded, yet again, the dangers of motor sports haven't disappeared with all the advancements in safety. Early in the Indy Car season ending race in Las Vegas, Indianapolis 500 champion Dan Wheldon died in a fiery 15-car crash. I know we forget just how much our athletes put on the line but something like this haunts you in just how close that line may be from life and death. All for our amusement, endoresments and money.

LABOR WARS: 2011 will also be known as the year of Labor Strife. The NFL started it with their lockout which swiftly gripped the nation ... even though we missed no regular season games. With the season almost ending, can you even remember what they were fighting about? What has really changed? Still, it was a summer filled with people is suits jockeying in front of microphones instead of watching workouts, free agency and training camp.

In the NBA, it was a lot worse. Not only did it get nasty, but it got downright sickening. From David Stern's doomsday reports all the while he is trying to threaten the players to players signing all over the world as quick cash grabs. When we finally got to a deal (which cost the fans 240 games), no more than an hour later do we see a blockbuster deal (Chris Paul to the Lakers) that was swiftly vetoed by Stern because it looked bad on him. Stern then sent Paul ... who was on the league-owned Hornets ... to the Clippers, one of the historic laughingstocks of the NBA. Paul, by the way, was one of the high profile players very active in labor talks.

BCS GOES BS AGAIN: The BCS has gotten completely out of hand. Not only do we have a regular season rematch for the BCS title game, but it features a team that didn't win their conference OR THEIR FREAKIN' DIVISION! Unfair if you are LSU that Alabama could beat you on a neutral field and to be a champions when you beat them on their turf, won their conference and won their division.

Whatever, but what about the rest of the BCS? How does the ACC get two teams in the BCS when they don't even have a team ranked in the Top 10? Boise State sits at No. 7 and can't get a berth. Seriously, the No. 6 (Arkansas), No. 7 (Boise State) and No. 8 (Kansas State) can't get a BCS berth but No. 11 (Virginia Tech) and No. 13 (Michigan) can? Why even have this stupid poll when it really doesn't do anything?

LOSING JOE FRAZIER: Look, athletes die like the rest of us and that will always be the case. But Frazier's passing reminded us (a) just how far the sport of boxing has fallen in the decades since and (b) the damage done to guys like him and Muhammad Ali. Warriors in the ring that had the rest of their lives zapped away.

LOSING DAVE DUERSON: The former Bear died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He also offered him brain up for research into the effects of football related head injuries on players. Hopefully this research will help try to further safety measures in all sports.

LOSING DEREK BOOGAARD: He may not be known that well in the non-hockey world, but the 28-yr old enforcers death needs to shine a huge light on what this role in hockey is doing to the minds of these guys. Boogaard was the the youngest of three recent deaths by enforcers under the age of 40 years old.

LOSING AL DAVIS: Love him or hate him, there will never be another owner like him in any sport. Ever. And that's a bad thing.

The Sportz Assassin College Football Playoff Bracket

2011-12-04T20:40:00.002-05:00

I do this every year. Instead of all this BCS bowl crap, we just have a simple 12-team playoff that involves no bowls (other than the title game can be called a BCS championship at a neutral site).

Here are the teams that get in:
-Every champion of the six BCS conference
-Highest ranked non-BCS conference champion
-5 at-large bids regardless of conference
-Seeding and at large bids are determined by the final BCS standings
-Every effort will be attempted to keep conference teams from facing each other in the first round.

So here we go

DECEMBER 17
9pm: #12 West Virginia (Big East Champ) at #5 Oregon (Pac12 Champ)
12pm: #11 TCU (MWC Champ) at #6 Arkansas
6pm: #10 Clemson (ACC Champ) at #7 Boise State
3pm: #9 Wisconsin (Big Ten Champ) at #8 Kansas State

DECEMBER 24
12pm: Kansas State/Wisconsin at #1 LSU (SEC Champ)
9pm: Boise State/Clemson at #2 Alabama
3pm: Arkansas/at #3 Oklahoma State (Big 12 Champ)
6pm: Oregon/West Virginia at #4 Stanford

JANUARY 2
3:30pm: One national semifinal
8pm: Second national semifinal

JANUARY 9
8pm: BCS Championship

Funniest Bowl Names

2011-12-04T15:29:00.003-05:00

Today and tomorrow will be filled by announcements of who is going to which bowl. While most of us will be fixated on who is going to the BCS title game or those usual big time bowls, we get treated to all of those great lesser bowls with their funny names and odd sponsorships.

Below are my TOP FIVE:

5-BEEF O BRADY'S BOWL: Bar food gets love. I'm not a huge fan of BOB's, but it's fun to say "Beef O' Brady's Bowl" a bunch of times in a row.

4-LITTLE CAESARS PIZZA BOWL: Formerly the Motor City Bowl, the Pizza Pizza Bowl is played in lovely Detroit. Look, we've already had a Papa John's Bowl and they are a much better pizza. I haven't had Little Ceez since I was a single guy sharing an apartment. Crazy bread is quite tasty, though. And when I used to go there, "pizza pizza" actually meant something! You always got TWO PIZZAS no matter what! Now it is a lie!

3-MILITARY BOWL PRESENTED BY NORTHROP GRUMMAN: That's a lot to fit on a trophy. Any bowl with "presented by" should make this list (including The Rose Bowl Presented by Vizio). Since Navy is not bowl-eligible, there will be no armed force academy in this game. As for Northrop Grumman ... why are they sponsoring this? They are a global aerospace and defense tech company. Where would sponsoring a bowl game help them?

2-BBVA COMPASS BOWL: I didn't even know people bought compasses anymore. Huh? It's a bank? BBVA is a Spanish bank that stands for Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentina and they bought out Compass ... you know, who cares? I know no one watching the game (if anyone does) will.

1-FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL: Formerly the Humanitarian Bowl, it is best known as that bowl played on Boise's ugly blue turf and for the fact that we see games played in freezing weather. The new name is just plain awesome. The logo above is even better.

NBA Owner's Logic Doesn't Work

2011-12-04T11:10:00.002-05:00

I get what the NBA owners are saying. They need a league where every team has a chance to do well and get to the playoffs and get a ring and all that jazz. It sounds great. Sounds fantastic. I mean, it works in the NFL where you can have New Orleans and Indianapolis play for a championship and no one bats an eye. A league where Green Bay can be the latest dynasty.

Too bad it's not a great idea for the NBA, though. And history proves it.

First off, the NFL is a different beast. They pull in twice the cheese that the NBA does and have more lucrative and centralized TV contracts. While the NBA has national contracts with ESPN/ABC and Turner Sports, each team has to sell their local rights. Obviously, the Knicks and Lakers are worth more than the Kings and Hornets. NFL teams don't have to worry about that.

Plus football is followed much more passionately than the NBA.

Second off, NBA's own history proves this doesn't make all the sense in the world. I mean, what is the golden era in the NBA? The 1960s? The 1980s? The 1990s? Depending on who you talk to, all of those eras qualify. And what were those eras defined by?

Dynasties.

In the 1960s, the Boston Celtics won 9 of the 10 championships. Those Celtics beat the Lakers six times in those Finals. The other four Finals losers were the Warriors and Hawks (the Sixers won the only other title).

In the 1980s, the Lakers (5) and Celtics (3) combined for eight titles. The Sixers won one title and the Pistons won the other (the first of back-to-back championships). In those 10 Finals, the Lakers went to 8 of them. Boston went to five.

The 1990s were dominated by the Bulls. Chicago won six titles, Houston won two. The Pistons and Spurs dynasties bookended the decade.

The last era of anyone-can-do-it was the 1970s. Though there are fond memories of that decade, it doesn't bring on the love like the decades surrounding it. The Celtics and Knicks were the only franchises to win multiple titles in the 1970s. The Bullets, Bucks, Lakers, Warriors, Blazers and Sonics each won it once. No dynasties, no love.

Now will the New NBA yield this same parity? Probably not. Hopefully not. While fans in Sacramento, Memphis, Utah, Charlotte and Orlando want to see their franchises do well, it doesn't really help the NBA all that much.

One of the issues is the NBA itself. Back in the 1980s, there were only 21 teams (there are 30 now). That made the talent level not as spread out as it is ... or has to be ... today. Sure, we didn't have any Miami Heat back then, but we didn't have Toronto, Memphis/Vancouver, Minnesota or New Orleans/Charlotte either.

I'm not into contraction, but you have to point out that 9 extra teams means at least 108 extra players in the league and some of your stars stuck in wastelands. I mean, everyone is going gaga over the "Big Threes" of the Celtics, Heatles or the Knicks hopes of landing Chris Paul to go with Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire. Well, the 1980s Lakers had Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy (all Hall Of Famers; all No. 1 overall picks). The 1980s Celtics had Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parrish and Dennis Johnson (all HOFers). The 1960s Celtics were loaded with HOFers. The second half of the Chicago Bulls dynasty had HOFers Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. Rodman was also one of three HOFers on the Pistons back-to-back title teams (Joe Dumars and Isiah Thomas were the others).

Since then, it hasn't been the same. Those early 2000s Lakers had Shaq and Kobe ... two of the greatest players to ever play basketball. The Spurs only superduperstar is Tim Duncan.

Only one champion in the 2000s has three HOF players.
2000-2002 Lakers: Shaq, Kobe
2003, 2005, 2007 Spurs: Tim Duncan
2004 Pistons: No one
2006 Heat: Dwyane Wade, Shaq
2008 Celtics: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen
2009-2010 Lakers: Kobe
2011 Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki

Even the Finals runners-up weren't stacked ... other than the last two and a bust of a team in 2004.

2000 Pacers: Reggie Miller
2001 Sixers: Allen Iverson
2002-2003 Nets: Jason Kidd
2004 Lakers: Shaq, Kobe, Karl Malone, Gary Payton

2005 Pistons: No one

2006 Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki
2007 Cavaliers: LeBron James
2008 Lakers: Kobe
2009 Magic: Dwight Howard
2010 Celtics: KG, Allen and Pierce
2011 Heat: LeBron, Wade

Point is, there is no reason to get up in arms that star players are teaming up. The only difference is the stars are making this happen and not owners or GMs. So step back on whining about these megateams.

Could Carolina-Kentucky End?

2011-12-03T11:41:00.002-05:00

One of the topics of discussion during all this college conference realignment is the loss of football rivalries. We may not have Texas-Texas A&M anymore. The Pittsburgh-West Virginia Backyard Brawl may not extend. We may not have Missouri-Kansas. Even conference basketball rivalries like Syracuse-Georgetown could be gone.

But basketball non-conference rivalries could suffer. Not just rivalries, but big time matchups.

One of them is North Carolina-Kentucky.

These are two of the biggest blue bloods in college basketball. They have won 12 titles between them and their program's histories are all over the history books. Dean Smith and Adolph Rupp. Rick Pitino and Frank McGuire. Roy Williams and John Calipari. Today is the 12th straight year these two programs have met.

But it could end with expansion. Not like a Syracuse-Georgetown rivalry where one team is leaving the conference. No, it is because conference memberships are expanding which could limit the power of non-conference schedules.

Next year, the SEC will add Missouri and Texas A&M which will expand the league to 14 teams. That will most likely mean the SEC schedule will expand from 16 to 18 games. The ACC should see the same thing when Syracuse and Pittsburgh join up to the conference in 2013. With NCAA rules stating that you may only have 27 regular season games (along with a early tournament), the non-conference slate will really have to be contained. Right now, most teams have 11 games to play with. That could fall to 9 or even 7 in the near future.

So what's the impact? Well, you are going to have to pick and choose what games are most important. John Calipari tweeted to Kentucky fans if there was no other option, what non-conference rivalry would they most like to see end: North Carolina, Louisville or Indiana. The answer would most likely be UNC, since Louisville and Indiana are natural geographical rivalries that have gone on longer that the one with Carolina. The UNC-UK matchups have been big since both programs have been among the elite for most of the series, but neither fanbase would die off without it.

With possibly only 9 non conference games to schedule, you have to really be careful. While you cannot just feast on cupcakes, you do have to schedule them. Some are because you want your kids to go back to near the homes so their family can see them play. Almost all of them are only played at home to pump up the coffers. You also have that dead period in December when school is on break and there are few games played. So, as you can see, there is only a limited number of games to schedule those huge non-league battles where you face off in home-and-home series.

If you are Kentucky, you have to deal with Indiana and Louisville so that may cost you Carolina. For Carolina, you now have Syracuse and Pitt to deal with as mandatory games, so a game against Kentucky may not be warranted. With roster turnover the way it is, coaches may not want to over-schedule their teams and burn them out.

Enjoy These Rivalries While They Last

2011-11-23T22:06:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving weekend is usually rivalry weekend in college football. All those ancient battles we've watched over the years renew and the hatred gets reignited.

With all the conference shuffling going on, we could see some of these rivalries come to and end this year (or maybe next). Some of these are over a century old but the lure of money combined with hard feelings are forcing these games to possibly stop.

TEXAS-TEXAS A&M: These teams first met in 1894 and is one of the more intense rivalries on Thanksgiving weekend. With Texas A&M's move to the SEC, this rivalry will be dead for a while. While the Aggies want to continue the series, the Longhorns say their schedule is booked through 2018.

This is a odd ending. While Oklahoma is a bigger rival to Texas than A&M is, this was still a bitter battle. But one of the big reasons A&M left for the SEC is that they wanted to get away from big brother's shadow. Now they'll have to go it completely alone.

KANSAS-MISSOURI: The Border War is named as such because of some Civil War bad blood between the two states. Since Halloween 1891, these schools have been battling on the gridiron. With Mizzou's move to the SEC, this heated rivalry could die out. As in the Texas-Texas A&M rivalry, Kansas is shying away from continuing the Border War due to Missouri's defection to the SEC.

PITTSBURGH-WEST VIRGINIA: The Backyard Brawl could be ending this weekend as well. The two schools have met 103 times and it is one of the more unique rivalries in college football. Pittsburgh will be moving to the ACC soon, while West Virginia is moving to the Big XII. With the Big East's insistence to keep all Big East defectors in their conference for two years, this game could have a couple of battles left.

Despite both teams changing leagues, I see this game continuing. The ACC has long been able to honor those final interconference rivalry games. We see Clemson face South Carolina, Florida State face Florida and Georgia Tech take on Georgia in the final game of the season (before Virginia Tech joined the ACC, Virginia did play them on the final week as well). The ACC wouldn't mind keeping this game on Thanksgiving weekend which could help keep this game alive. Plus, since both teams are leaving the Big East, there isn't the hard feelings that other rivalries have seen.

BCS System "Flawed"? Really??? Here's Why ...

2011-11-22T23:41:00.003-05:00

Stanford coach David Shaw says that the BCS system is broken. Well, of course it is. And of course it is for Shaw, whose Stanford team lost to Oregon and is now all but out of the BCS championship game.

Yes, Coach Shaw, the BCS is flawed. And this year could prove it more than ever.

LSU GETS SCREWED: First off, we could see LSU be the lone undefeated (well, other than Houston). This LSU team will have had to have win the SEC West division ... which right now owns the top three ranked teams in the BCS standings. Back in the day, if LSU won the Sugar Bowl ... no matter who it was against ... they'd be national champions. Now they'd have to play a one-loss team with the winner being named champion. How is the BCS better, again?

ALABAMA GETS REMATCH: The big winner of the LSU-Arkansas tilt Saturday could be Alabama. No matter who wins, Alabama is sitting pretty. If LSU wins, that means Alabama (provided they beat Auburn) would finish 2nd in the SEC West and NOT have to play in the SEC Championship game ... which could have been a loss ... and still get to play in the BCS Championship game.

We could get an Alabama-LSU rematch for the championship. If Alabama won that game, they'd be National Champions despite splitting with LSU (both teams only loss would have been to each other), not winning their conference championship and not even winning their division. Yep, our NATIONAL Champion was neither a conference nor division champion.

***Note, I do see the irony in the statements I make about "winning conference" and all of that. I do understand that our defending Super Bowl Champion (Packers), NBA Champion (Mavericks) and World Series Champion (Cardinals) all finished in 2nd place in their divisions during the regular season. But those sports have playoffs and those sports don't harp that "every game counts". The entire point BCS backers and college football fans say is that every game counts and your season makes your champion. ***

LSU LOSES TO ARKANSAS: If Arkansas beats LSU ... there is a huge mess. If Alabama beat Auburn and won the SEC West, they'd be in the SEC title game and (with a win) the BCS title game. This is despite Arkansas beating the team that beat Alabama ... who did beat Arkansas earlier this season. And where does that leave all those one-loss teams like Stanford? Where does that leave undefeated Houston?

Not wrap your head around this: Say Arkansas barely beats LSU and Alabama beats Auburn. Most likely the BCS rankings would be Alabama #1, Arkansas #2 and LSU #3. Alabama goes to the SEC title game and somehow loses it. That would move Arkansas and LSU into the title game despite NEITHER team winning their conference or division championship. Amazing.

And what about Georgia? In this scenario, they would have beaten Alabama in the SEC title game and would have actually been the champions of the conference that house both of the BCS championship participants. Wrap your head around that.

WHERE DOES HOUSTON FIT? Every game counts? Tell Houston that when one-loss teams are playing for a title. And you wonder why all this realignment crap is going on. The BCS has caused this entire mess.

FORGET THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME FOR A SECOND: Remember that the BCS runs five bowls ... not just the title game. While some good teams will not get a BCS bid, Louisville could. Louisville could become Big East champions with a 7-5 record.

Alabama Does Not Deserve A Rematch With LSU

2011-11-07T21:23:00.003-05:00

One of the questions I have been asked after LSU's overtime win at Alabama is if the Crimson Tide win out, Stanford and Oklahoma State (and possibly Boise State lose) should they get another shot at LSU in the BCS title game?

Nope.

No way. No how.

Look, Alabama may indeed be the second-best team in the country. They may be worthy of a shot at the national championship. But they shouldn't get one. Not after what happened last Saturday. It can't happen.

First off, Alabama likely will not win the SEC championship. To me, if you cannot win your conference, you cannot play for a national championship. The reason Bama won't win the SEC title is that they won't even win the SEC West division title. For the Tide to do so, they'd need to win out LSU to lose twice (not likely to happen).

Again, I don't see how a team can be national champions (*cough* Nebraska *cough*) if they cannot even be their conference or even division champion.

Part II? Right now Alabama ranks No. 3 in the BCS rankings ... just behind LSU and Oklahoma State. If the Okie State Cowboys lose to ... say ... Oklahoma, then Alabama would likely move to the second spot and would be in line to face LSU in a BCS title game. How in the hell is that fair to Boise State or Stanford? Or even Oklahoma or Oregon (who could be a one-loss team)? Seriously, how could Alabama pass up undefeated Stanford or Boise State?

Think about it: Alabama got their shot at LSU. Stanford and Boise didn't. Alabama got the opportunity to play LSU ... at their place ... and couldn't get it done. No matter how "classic" the game was, it isn't fair that Alabama gets two cracks at LSU when Stanford or Boise can't.

And best of all, what if Bama plays LSU in a title game and wins? Sooooooo Alabama would be National Champions because they beat LSU on a neutral field while LSU beat Alabama at their place? They'd be tied head-to-head ... with LSU winning on the road ... yet Bama could be title holder?

So let's recap. Alabama could be national champion despite not winning its conference, its division and tying the head-to-head meeting with the No. 1 team who the lost to at home ... meanwhile losing one more game than the Pac-12 champion or a hot Boise State team.

Missouri to SEC: Now The Big East Needs To Worry

2011-10-17T22:10:00.002-04:00

One of the huge dominos in the conference expansion may be close to falling. Missouri is planning on applying to the SEC and the conference reportedly has the votes to admit them in. This is huge news that will impact the entire country.

What does this mean?

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE. The SEC has 14 teams now, the same as the ACC. It looks as if the conference will stop at that number. All there is to do now is move one of the West teams to the East and figure out the scheduling. The team most likely to move would be Auburn, which would be quite interesting. Splitting Bama and Auburn could mean the two teams meet in the SEC title game.

SEC EAST: Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
SEC WEST: Alabama, Arkansas, LSU, Ole Miss, Miss State, Missouri, Texas A&M

BIG XII CONFERENCE. Now the Big XII is down to 9 teams again. They will lose A&M and Missouri and gain TCU. The league and the members want to get back to 12 teams ... meaning they must find three schools to join in. Since BYU isn't interested anymore (though the Big XII should revisit), the plan is to head east. Louisville, West Virginia and, possibly, Cincinnati should be on the list. Boise State and Air Force could be, but the MWC-CUSA merger may stop all that (more on that later).

BIG XII NORTH: Cincinnati, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Louisville, West Virginia
BIG XII SOUTH: Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech.

BIG EAST. In short, done. With Missouri leaving the Big XII, the Big XII will look to loot the Big East for three teams. Right now, only six schools play football in that conference. If the Big XII rips half of that, only three remain: Rutgers, UConn and South Florida. UConn would then beg the ACC to let them in. Either way, the Big East football conference could be done. The Mountain West-Conference USA merger has kept those schools thinking twice about moving to the Big East. A raid by the Big XII would completely scare those schools off. Seriously, they'd have a better chance gaining a BCS berth with the MWC-CUSA merger than a rebuilt Big East.

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE. While the ACC isn't in the mood to expand, if the opportunity to snag Notre Dame happens they will jump all over it. Then they will add UConn to be the 16th member. If Notre Dame gets scared into joining a conference, the ACC would be the most likely landing spot.

ACC NORTH: Boston College, Connecticut, Maryland, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech
ACC SOUTH: Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Wake Forest

MOUNTAIN WEST AND CONFERENCE USA. In reality, neither conference is now all that concerned with being looted. For those who don't know, the MWC and C-USA have agreed to have a football alignment where the champs from both conferences will play to create a sort-of champion. They think this could entice the BCS to consider the winner to be BCS bowl worthy. It could be. It probably won't be. But it would be closer than anything the Big East could offer.

Sure, East Carolina and a few other schools could bolt for the Big East but it won't bother these conferences too much ... as long as Boise State sits still.

BIG TEN AND PAC-12. It seems as if both leagues are cool with the memberships they have. Sure, Rutgers is out there and attractive to the Big Ten but unless they can find someone to join them (and under this plan, they don't) I don't see them making any move.

NFL May Need NBA-Style Lottery System

2011-10-07T12:56:00.002-04:00

The Kansas City Chiefs will travel to Indianapolis to face the Colts. This game could help shape these franchises for the next decade. The loser could be in the driver's seat to the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft and be able to select one Andrew Luck.

Sure, it is only October but this is a huge game in the race for Luck.

Luck is everyone's choice to be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft. Even if the Colts, who just re-signed Peyton Manning to a zillion dollar deal, would take Luck first overall and develop him behind the legend ... a-la Aaron Rodgers.

With the wealth of really bad teams this year, we could see quite an interesting dynamic as the season winds down. Could teams really tank their last few games in order to gain that top pick and, therefore, Luck? Do you think that would really happen? It just may.

Remember, this is the new NFL where the top pick can't demand a huge contract he hasn't earned. The top pick scared everyone off before since you could be tied into a bust for a long time (see: Jamarcus Russell). So drafting Luck for a relatively small contract makes him even more attractive. Plus in a league that is so pass heavy right now, getting a franchise quarterback is quite a big deal.

Could we see the Colts, Chiefs, Dolphins, Vikings, Rams, Jaguars, Broncos or Seahawks tank games down the stretch to get a shot at Luck? Maybe. We could even see a team like the Carolina Panthers tank games in order to get the No. 1 pick and make a huge deal to someone who falls in love with Luck.

If we see this, the NFL may need to look at an NBA-style lottery. In the NBA, teams were tanking games in order to get the No. 1 pick. It works since the No. 1 pick in the NBA usually changes the entire dynamic of a franchise (Kareem, Magic, Shaq, LeBron, etc).

While that isn't always the case in the NFL, getting a perceived franchise quarterback is what teams are looking for. In the last 10 drafts, 8 of the top overall picks were QBs (and 10 of the last 13). While not all those guys became stars (Russell, Alex Smith, David Carr, Tim Couch) there have been some big picks (Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Michael Vick, Carson Palmer, Matthew Stafford, Sam Bradford).

Since the NBA has used the lottery, the team with the worst record in the league has won the top selection just 3 out of 27 times. Quite amazing. While tanking does give you a better chance at getting the top pick, it doesn't guarantee squat. Imagine if that happened in the NFL.

There may have to be some changes to what the NBA does. In the NBA, all non-playoff teams are eligible for the lottery. That's only 14 out of 30 teams. The NFL has 20 out of 32 teams miss the postseason. That's too many teams to put in the lottery. Maybe all teams with losing records? Maybe just the bottom 10 teams? Who knows, but the NFL may need to implement something to keep from watching teams rob their fans by tanking games.

TCU to Big XII: Big XII's Shoots First Against Big East

2011-10-06T14:55:00.002-04:00

The Big XII has invited TCU to join their conference and the school is reportedly ready to accept. That means that TCU, who is currently in the Mountain West Conference and were set to join the Big East conference in 2012, will be moving yet again.

It is huge for both TCU and the Big XII. For TCU, they still get to be in a BCS conference and one that looks like it should live on after all this craziness ends. They get to rejoin old Southwest Conference rivalries with Texas Tech, Texas and Baylor. Also, it would keep TCU from having to join a Big East conference that geographically could cripple other sports (especially basketball).

For the Big XII, they got their 10th member to replace Texas A&M ... who is leaving for the SEC next year. The league would still be stuck at nine if Missouri joins the SEC as well, but it would make the conference healthy enough to go after three more schools.

For the Big East ... well ... they are in deep trouble.

This is the second conference that has come calling for a Big East school. The ACC lured Pittsburgh and Syracuse from the Big East a month ago. UConn has all but fawned over joining the ACC as well and Rutgers could join them. West Virginia is on the short list for the SEC, not to mention the Big XII could come calling for them as well.

It could get worse. If Missouri indeed does leave for the SEC, the Big XII would want to add three more schools to their conference. BYU is one, but Louisville and West Virginia could be others (Cincinnati falls in there as well). That would all but kill the Big East as a football conference.

This is quite a move considering what has happened in the last several weeks.

In the Great Expansion Race, both the Big East and Big XII seemed to be on the last legs. Once the Pac-10-12-16 decided to stay put at 12 members, that kept the Big XII intact (for now). When both conferences were facing extinction, the two league got together and were talking about a "merger". By "merger", the stronger conference would gobble up the lesser one. Up until the Pac-12's decision, it was thought that Iowa State, Baylor, Kansas and Kansas State would join the Big East ... which TCU was set to be a member of. Now the Big XII is a bit stronger and they could come after two or three Big East schools to get to the XII in Big XII.

The fact that the Big XII went ahead and did this is both cold and a smart decision. This puts the ball back in the Big XII's court and makes it more likely the conference will survive this mess. It pretty much writes the obituary for the Big East as well.

The Big East, right now, is left with UConn, Rutgers, West Virginia, Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida. Pittsburgh, Syracuse and TCU have left. UConn and Rutgers would love to leave to join the ACC (UConn is more likely to be invited). West Virginia would leave in a heartbeat for the SEC or Big XII. Louisville will also most likely be asked to leave for the Big XII.

While the Big East could conceivably rebuild around Cincinnati, South Florida, Villanova (who is thinking about stepping up to FBS status) and any other schools that stick around, their status as a BCS conference would probably be over. They'd have to raid Conference USA, MAC and/or the Sun Belt to even form a league. And adding East Carolina, Memphis and Marshall just doesn't bring sexy back to the conference. The reality could be that ECU, Memphis and Marshall wouldn't be that interested in moving to a broken Big East even for the basketball prestige. You may just see Cincinnati and South Florida join the MAC or C-USA in football and stay in the Big East for basketball.

The fact that TCU bailed on the Big East without ever playing a game as a member of that conference says it all.

The Big East Needs To Shut Its Mouth And Remember The Past

2011-09-21T16:00:00.002-04:00

Boo-hoo to the Big East. Boo-hoo.

Hypocrites.

With the news that Syracuse and Pittsburgh are leaving the Big East conference ... I'm sorry , BIG EAST Conference ... for the ACC, all the Big East honks are upset. "They're raiding us again!" "The ACC has no respect for our league!" "Cuse and Pitt are greedy!" Blah blah blah.

We heard it all before, nearly a decade ago, when Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College all left the Big East for the ACC. The move was met with lawsuits (which included both Va Tech and BC ... who later withdrew when they found out it was them, not Syracuse, that were getting to go to the ACC). The Big East cried and cried and cried and cried.

They said it was the end of the Big East as we know it. They said that it couldn't survive. Cried and cried and cried.

When they wiped their tears, they decided to, ya know, do the EXACT SAME THING to Conference USA. They took Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida ... as well as basketball schools DePaul and Marquette. Those, along with Memphis, were the premiere programs in the C-USA. The C-USA had to then raid the WAC to replace those schools.

I know, I know, the Big East had to do that to survive as a conference. I did that. But, wait, why would the Big East worry about Miami or Virginia Tech leaving their conference?

Remember that the Big East added Miami in the early 1990s so they could form a football conference. Remember that the Big East was a basketball-only league whose football teams played Division I-AA ball. Heck, Miami didn't even have a hoops team for quite some time until 1985.

Virginia Tech? They were also added to the league in 1991 (for football only. In 2000, they were invited for all sports). They also added Rutgers and West Virginia to create this football league. Those schools came from the Atlantic 10 or elsewhere.

Why would the Big East do this? Hmmmm. Why would they form a football conference when only Syracuse, Boston College and Pitt were the only schools with a Division I football program? Hmmmm.

Oh, and Pitt joined the Big East in 1982. Ya know, expansion. Pitt was playing in the Eastern Eight conference. That's now known as the Atlantic 10.

Yeah, the BIG EAST loves picking on the Atlantic 10.

Know your roll.

UConn Wants Into ACC

2011-09-18T17:24:00.000-04:00

Syracuse and Pittsburgh on their way to the ACC, another Big East school wants to move with them. UConn is aggressively trying to get into the ACC.

It makes sense for everyone involved. For UConn, they'd jump from the sinking Big East ship and get their name out there before the ACC attempts to go after, say, Texas and move away from the coast. They'd stay in a BCS conference in a football league that they can still compete in.

For the ACC, it adds a huge market -- New York City -- to the mix. With Syracuse already on board and Rutgers on the radar, the ACC would be the conference most associated to the Tri-State area. It would add another elite basketball program that would unquestionably make the ACC the best hoops conference again. UNC, Duke, Syracuse, UConn and Pitt??? Not too shabby. That would make UNC, Duke, NC State, Maryland, Syracuse and UConn have a combined 16 NCAA tournament championships between them.

The ACC would also further bridge the geographical gap that currently exists between Maryland and Boston College ... the conference's two northern-most schools. Adding UConn to Syracuse and Pitt would certainly do that.

This would also make the ACC the elite conference on the eastern seaboard. They would own the markets of Boston, New York, Washington, Charlotte, Atlanta, Miami and Tampa. It would be THE conference of New England, New York, Virginia/Maryland, the Carolinas and split with Georgia and Florida (of the three powers in Florida, the ACC would house two of the schools).

UConn Wants Into The ACC

2011-09-18T15:38:00.002-04:00

What Would Be Best For Big East and Big XII Schools?

2011-09-17T11:55:00.003-04:00

Okay, with word that Syracuse and Pittsburgh have applied to become a member of the ACC, it all but signals the end of either the Big East or Big XII. The first punch has been thrown and the Big East is stumbling. The Big XII is waiting on what Oklahoma is going to do ... and with the ACC making their move it is all but certain that the Big XII is in trouble.

So what should the members of each conference do? Let's start with the Big East:

CONNECTICUT: UConn is in an enviable position. With their proximity to New York City, their recent BCS bowl appearance and their top level basketball program, the Huskies will be highly sought after and could pick where they want to go instead of settling. The Big Ten could come calling (they are going to have to find 4 teams somewhere to form their super-conference). The ACC most certainly will. Money-wise, it makes sense to go to the Big Ten, but for the program, the ACC fits better.

WEST VIRGINIA: If the SEC is adding a 14th member, West Virginia should top their list. This recent move by Pitt and Syracuse should move this along.

RUTGERS: Despite not really being a elite program in either football or basketball, Rutgers will be sought after by both the Big Ten and ACC. They fit both conference's academic priorities and bring the NYC crowd with them. I think the Big Ten wins out if they do decide to expand. If not, they will be an ACC school.

LOUISVILLE: L'ville is in a real interesting situation. I could see the ACC trying to lure them in, along with UConn, to join their league. L'ville has the hoops pedigree that would really mesh with the ACC and a, at times, decent football program. I doubt the Big Ten would be interested, but there's a chance. If the ACC doesn't come calling, Louisville could be forced to stay in the Big East and be in the same boat as South Florida (see below).

SOUTH FLORIDA: USF is in a tough spot. No one really needs them at all. The ACC and SEC already have members in Florida and I doubt the Big Ten is interested (though they could be). The Bulls may have to hope the Big East rebuilds using scraps from other conferences (some Big XII leftovers, MAC and C-USA).

CINCINNATI: The Bearcats are in the same boat. The Big Ten won't want them for several reasons and between them, Rutgers and Louisville, they are the ACC's last choice. If no ACC invite happens, Cincy may have to be part of a rebuilt Big East.

TCU: Awwww man! TCU finally made it to the big time by agreeing to join the Big East in 2012. However, if the Big East gets slammed during realignment then they should lose their BCS standing. Now TCU is in complete limbo. They can't crawl back to the Mountain West, can they? Anyone else could come calling. The SEC could try to lure them in to get a partner for Texas A&M, though that would hurt the Aggies program by having a second Texas school. The Pac-12 could be interested if Texas and Texas Tech aren't coming. I think the Big Ten would be the most interesting option. They fit the conference's academic profile and would get the Big Ten into Texas.

NOTRE DAME: Now, this isn't that much of a big deal to the Irish. If Notre Dame does decide to become a member of a conference football-wise, the Big Ten makes all the sense in the world. But Notre Dame likes their independent status and it feels stronger than ever about that. So it could stay in the Big East as a non-football member and still enjoy what will be a decent hoops conference (Georgetown, St. John's, Providence, DePaul, Marquette, Villanova and Seton Hall with possibly Louisville and/or Cincinnati staying). Notre Dame stays.

Now, let's look at what the Big XII schools may end up doing.

OKLAHOMA: Barring something unforseen, the Sooners are heading to the Pac-12/14/16. With the Big XII so shaky, Oklahoma is in the driver's seat to create their own destiny.

OKLAHOMA STATE: They will go with Oklahoma.

TEXAS: The Horns would rather not go west, but they may end up having to if they want to stay in a conference. Though they were talking with the ACC, it seems that the ACC is going in a different direction. The SEC would probably not happen with the bad blood with Texas A&M. I think Texas' best move would be stay independent in football and join the Big East in basketball, ala Notre Dame. If they don't think they could pull that off, they will be joining the Oklahoma schools in the Pac-16.

TEXAS TECH: Tech sure hopes so, and they would benefit by joining them. If Texas doesn't do that, Tech could be in some trouble. The Pac-16 could still be interested, but it could be unlikely. The SEC could be interested if they want to get another Texas team. Tech is truly up in the air.

MISSOURI: The Tigers are actually in a good spot. They fit in both the SEC and Big Ten and both should inquire about them. They'd make more sense in the Big Ten, though the prestige of the SEC would be too much to pass up.

KANSAS: Imagine the Jayhawks basketball program having nowhere to go. The Big Ten may add them, though it wouldn't want K State tagging along. If the Big Ten is scrambling to add a 16th team, they may have to. The SEC probably ain't happening. Kansas could just join that revamped Big East. If not, the Mountain West may be the way to go.

KANSAS STATE: K State is hoping they get to go where Kansas goes. That would most likely mean the new Big East, though that isn't a given. None of the super conferences are all that interested in the Wildcats. They could see if the Mountain West or WAC could use them.

BAYLOR: Baylor, along with Iowa State, has already asked the Big East to take a look at them if they are trying to rebuild their football league. That could happen, despite the want for Iowa State, just so they can field a football conference and not watch Louisville, Cincinnati and TCU leave. If not, the Mountain West would be the best bet.

IOWA STATE: Sorry to say this, but no one wants Iowa State. The Big East could lob them a call just so they can have a football conference. The Mountain West could be interested if they want to get to a 12-16 team league.

This all should mean the Big XII is done. Unless Oklahoma and Texas decide to stick it out (which doesn't seem likely), this conference is gone. The extras will most likely merge with the Big East and form a loose football conference yet keep their lofty basketball league. A football conference could look like this: Baylor, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Louisville and South Florida with the league looking to add someone else. Temple? Marshall? East Carolina? Someone will jump at it. The basketball league would be interesting as well:

EAST: Georgetown, Notre Dame, Providence, Seton Hall, South Florida, St. John's, Villanova, Temple/Marshall, ECU
WEST: Baylor, Cincinnati, DePaul, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Louisville, Marquette

Syracuse, Pitt May Join ACC

2011-09-17T00:06:00.003-04:00

There is a report that Syracuse and Pittsburgh are in talks to join the Atlantic Coast Conference.
This is very interesting on two counts. One, the ACC have been surprisingly quiet during all the recent conference expansion talk. That was until earlier this week when rumors of the ACC's courtship of Texas got some good run. While landing Texas would be huge for the conference, it is also a longshot ... at least in comparison to raiding the Big East again.

Adding Syracuse and Pittsburgh is a no-brainer. Both are outstanding schools who fit into the ACC's reputation of academics. Both bring solid football programs to the mix. Of course, both bring outstanding basketball programs into an already legendary hoops conference. Imagine a conference with North Carolina, Duke, Pitt and Syracuse ... with past champions NC State and Maryland. Unreal.

For Syracuse and Pitt, they are getting into the ACC at the right time. By striking early, they will be able to (a) get into the ACC before the conference explores grabbing Texas, which would also force them to add a few more Texas-area schools, (b) get out of the Big East before it crumbles from the inevitable raids from other conferences and (c) shows the current ACC members that the conference is a power player still and there is no reasons to leave. I don't think any will, but you know the SEC may look at a few of the ACC's programs.

For the ACC, this certainly won't be the end. They seriously courted Syracuse in the early part of the 2000s but political pressure forced Virginia Tech into the ACC. This is the first time I've heard Pitt mentioned as a serious candidate, but a smart on. From here, the ACC could look to add UConn (another smart move) and possibly a school like Rutgers. West Virginia will most likely be gobbled up by the SEC with Louisville and Cincinnati hoping to land somewhere. If the Big Ten comes calling for Rutgers (which could happen), either L'ville or Cincy could fill the void. TCU is a wildcard here, though I don't see the ACC running after them.

This would be huge for the ACC. While none of those schools they could gain in these scenarios are huge football powerhouses, the ACC may not need them to be. If we do, indeed, enter the era of mega-conferences, than the ACC will be lined up with the Big Ten, Pac-16 and SEC and won't have to worry about their place at the table. They know they'd be the weakest of that bunch, but who cares? They'll be better off than they are right now as the 5th best BCS conference.

But basketball-wise, this is a coup. Again, this would be a hoops conference with UNC, Duke, UConn, Syracuse and Pitt with solid programs like Florida State, NC State, Maryland, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. The conference would house Hall Of Fame coaches Roy Williams, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim and Jim Calhoun. The ACC would take its place as the top basketball conference.

Then figure the ACC would then have programs in Boston (BC), Metro New York (UConn, Rutgers), Washington DC (Maryland), Pittsburgh, Atlanta (G Tech) and Miami. Not to mention cities like Charlotte and Tampa in the area.

The conference could split into a North and South divisional setup.

NORTH: Boston College, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, UConn, Virginia, Virginia Tech
SOUTH: Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Wake Forest

West Virginia Should Be Next On SEC's Radar

2011-09-09T21:34:00.002-04:00

With the SEC maybe/kinda/sorta adding Texas A&M to their conference, the next step is finding a 14th team (then maybe a 15th or 16th team). It really shouldn't be all that difficult.

Forget raiding the ACC. The SEC has no reason to do so and really would have a hard time doing it. Clemson? Florida State? Miami? Georgia Tech? That wouldn't expand the SEC's footprint at all. The conference already has South Carolina, Florida and Georgia and would probably anger those schools if the add to their territories. The North Carolina schools? No way would any of them leave each other. Maryland, Virginia and Boston College make little sense to add. Virginia Tech would be a nice find, but the Hokies have a perfect thing going with the ACC. They have been the dominant team since the ACC expanded -- why would they give that up?

Also ... and I know this gets thrown to the curb ... but the ACC schools do value the educational value of the conference. To be lumped in with Duke, Wake Forest, Virginia, North Carolina, Boston College, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech is a big deal. That's not the slight the other schools, but those are some premiere institutes of higher learning.

So the SEC must look elsewhere.

They could keep looking west at other Big XII schools but do any of them make sense? Texas wouldn't join the SEC now. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State seem resigned to join the Pac-12/16 if things get bad. You can't add Baylor or Texas Tech because, again, you would just duplicate that area (plus Tech will pair up with the Longhorns wherever they go). Missouri just isn't sexy enough to add but could be a fit if they can't find anyone else. I'm not sure any other Big XII school works for them (though Kansas would make SEC hoops much more interesting).

I honestly believe the Big XII will survive. If anything, we are seeing the Big XII act in unison over this whole A&M deal. There is buzz that BYU would love to join the conference and that would be quite a get for the league. If that happens, expect the Big XII to stay alive for a while.

The league that looks like it could get pillaged is the Big East. To me, the SEC would be smart to add West Virginia.

West Virginia is a perfect fit for the SEC. They are a big state school who are nuts about their football team. While the state of West Virginia really isn't that big of a get as far as audience wise, you still get some love in western Pennsylvania and the northern Virginia/DC area.

West Virginia brings a very solid football program. They have been the Big East's best team since the big expansion of a few years ago. Don't you think some of those fertile western PA guys might take a look at going a bit south if they know they'll be in the SEC? Of course. They will not disappoint the football side of things.

Basketball-wise, this is a program that went to a Final Four two years ago. They have Jerry West, for crying out loud. Just imagine how a West Virginia-Kentucky hoops rivalry could materialize.

It just makes perfect sense.

College Athletics CAN NOT Be Fixed

2011-08-19T15:40:00.002-04:00

It is pretty simple, really. College sports is broken beyond repair. I mean, it still works in the main aspect, but in reality it is all a sham.

Just look over the past week. The University of Miami is in the middle of a storm that some say could force the NCAA to bring back the "death penalty" (which shuts a program down completely for a few years). A booster/jock sniffer told a reporter in jail that he has basically been funding both the program and the players in it. There's too much to get into on this, but to be brief, Miami is in a bunch of trouble.

This comes a few days after Texas A&M decides they were leaving the Big XII for the SEC. That was news to the SEC who had to release a statement saying they are cool with the current 12-school membership.

For now.

Oh ... and remember that our defending national football champion has a stink of scandal all over them after word that Cam Newton's dad wanted some cash for his son. The team they beat in the BCS title game, Oregon, is now embroiled in a recruiting scandal.

College basketball? UConn won the NCAA Tournament last year despite their coach's impending smackdown. We can travel to USC, North Carolina, Ohio State, Memphis, Georgia Tech ... so forth and so on.

None of this will change. It won't. The NCAA can think they are on the ball with this but it is obvious they aren't. If they were, no one would be trying to do these things. They know they can and, honestly, the risk of penalty isn't all that bad on the bottom line. Sure, loss of scholarships, TV appearances, bowl money and all of that sucks ... but if you succeeded on the field during that time, it pretty much paid for itself. I mean, the Reggie Bush era will be a black mark for the USC football program forever. But the team did win and the program re-emerged into elite status which is well worth it.

It is that fact ... and the fact that the world isn't what it once was to you baby boomers (more on that) ... why college sports will not change "back" into what it was once viewed as.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a new thing. Rewind back 20 years ago and we had UNLV's hoops team in a hot tub with a known fixer, Miami was under heat, Tulane suffered the death penalty in basketball, SMU was coming off of it in football, Free Shoes University, NC State (among other teams) had point shaving scandals and teams all over the country starting switching conferences.

Go back 50 years and we had the CCNY scandal, Kentucky basketball scandals and the same kind of corruption of young, broke kids by wealthy adults.

The difference today is the money is SO big, the opportunities are SO vast and the information is SO quick. We know a lot more information and lot quicker than we have ever been able to do. More people want to shine and are willing to (a) buy their way into the spotlight and (b) roll over on everyone when the get the chance. Kids are more famous quicker (seriously, did we have any kind of recruiting knowledge 20 years ago? Now John Wall is a legend before he graduates high school) and the hangers-on are more prevalent.

And in a time where money is tight everywhere, those who have money to burn are gods.

See, that won't go away without some drastic change. By that, I mean the "death penalty" may need to make a comeback. That is the kind of deterrent that makes ADs and chancellors make sure who they have running the program and who is around it.

Right now it is a joke. John Calipari ... who has never been fingered in anything but seems to have smoke following around him everywhere he goes ... is beloved in Kentucky because he wins. He has brought the swagger back to the Wildcats. Sure, if a guy gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar, it really won't cost the program much. Again, the risk pales in comparison to the reward. A death penalty would really damage a program's ability to survive as well as damaging their reputation.

But it won't happen. Not anymore. Throwing the death penalty on, say, Miami would sting the ACC and open up all kinds of cans of worms. I mean, the ACC wouldn't be able to hold a conference championship game with just 11 teams competing (it is a rule). Miami is one of their most well-known football programs and the entire conference would take a huge hit. Could networks then cry foul since they paid for league rights with the thought of the Canes in it? And if the ACC sees it happen one of their teams then you better believe it would be willing to smack down someone else. Since the commissioners of these conferences are essentially calling the shots, the death penalty stays in the closet.

So when the next incident gets a light shined on it ... don't act surprised.

And, honestly, don't get mad. What, if you were an 18 year college athlete you wouldn't accept gifts, parties, girls and money? Especially when you are reading about all these schools who are jumping ship and breaking traditions so they can bunk up with some of that fat television money. Who cares if you are TCU and you will have to drag your kids from the Dallas area to New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, New York and West Virginia every year. Who cares about lost classes then, eh? That's okay because it is worth it when they bank a ton of money from being in a BCS conference.

And that is your lesson, kiddies. It is only cheating when you get caught ... and in college, you usually don't get caught until you are long out of school.

ACC's Football Expansion Has Been a Failure

2011-08-13T20:51:00.003-04:00

With the college football season coming up, we'll get to see a lot of old faces in some new places. Nebraska is in the Big Ten. Utah and Colorado is in the new Pac-12. Boise State moves to the Mountain West and BYU is an independent.

Now there are rumors that Texas A&M is set to bolt the Big XII for the SEC. Though the SEC has said they aren't looking to expand right now, it still may off another chain reaction that could force conferences and schools to look for bigger better deals.

Remember that this started less than a decade ago when the ACC saw the future as being football and decided to raid the Big East. Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College all eventually joined the ACC making the historically hoops conference into a hopeful football power. Miami and Virginia Tech join Florida State as top tier football programs. Boston College joins Clemson and Georgia Tech as schools who have a nice football history.

The ACC had dreams of Florida State and Miami meeting for the ACC title. They felt they were ahead of the curve by making this bold move. And they were.

The problem is that the ACC was trying to become a big dog in the world of college football. Once conferences that already had that clout starting waving it around last summer, a whole new landscape was formed. One that will both pass the ACC by and actually force the conference to become weaker.

Two of the schools being mentioned in a possible move to the SEC (joining Texas A&M) is Florida State and Clemson. Neither improves the SEC's footing in either area (Florida and South Carolina may have some beef with this move) but both have rabid fan bases and bring two solid programs who've won national championships to the SEC.

What that would do to the ACC could be catastrophic. Obviously the ACC would have to look outside to find a couple of replacements. Staying a 10-team conference would be stupid since the whole point of all this mess was the ACC's attempt to gain a 12-team league and football clout.

But where would the ACC go for two new teams? There is no way any SEC, Big Ten or, obviously, Pac-12 team would join. Of course no Mountain West or WAC team would join. That leaves the Big East, which the ACC has a rocky relationship with already with that whole raid thing several years ago.

West Virginia? Syracuse? Rutgers? South Florida? UConn? Who would they go after and more importantly would any of them even want to come.

See, the Big East offers the same thing as the ACC, if not better. A historically awesome hoops conference who has a seat at the BCS table. But the Big East deal is better since on the basketball side of things, the conference is so powerful and deep that they get tons of teams into the NCAA Tournament. On the football side, there is no championship game to get through for a shot at BCS glory. I mean, Cincinnati, Pitt and UConn all made BCS appearances in recent years. In the ACC, you still have to get through Miami (for now) and Virginia Tech (for now) to get a league title.

The ACC pre-expansion was a great basketball conference that was very tight knit and a decent football conference. Now, they are a weakened hoops conference with a decent football side.

To me, a lifelong ACC fan, this has been a disaster. Expansion watered down the basketball side of things (though UNC and Duke have won a total of three titles since the expansion started).

I'm not saying that all this wouldn't be happening to the ACC had they not started raiding the Big East a decade ago, but it would be less embarrassing and we'd still have basketball.

Could Mack Brown Return to North Carolina?

2011-07-30T22:09:00.001-04:00

The University of North Carolina football program is in shambles. Heck, their athletic department has taken quite a hit. With hefty sanctions most likely coming down the pike, the firing of head football coach Butch Davis and the resignation/retirement of AD Dick Braddour the Tar Heels pigskin program has gone rogue.

One rumor that has been floated around is bringing back a coaching legend to either coach the football team or run the entire athletic department. That man: Mack Brown.

I know. I know. Why would Mack Brown ever leave Texas to go back to Carolina?

Could/would/should Brown return to North Carolina? It’s a great question. Some have figured Brown eventually would become the Texas athletic director, but DeLoss Dodds just keeps going and going. No reason to think the Longhorn AD job will be open any time soon.

Now suddenly the AD job is open at Carolina, where Brown coached the Tar Heels for 10 seasons, 1988-97, including 10-win seasons his final two years. And the AD job is not only open, it’s open with the opportunity for the new AD to hire a new football coach. Baddour said he will stay on the job until a new AD is hired but that he wants the new AD to name the new coach.

It is quite interesting to think about. Like the article said, Brown could receive a cushy AD job at one of the premiere universities in the country (not to mention helming one of the best athletic programs over many sports: men's and women's basketball, baseball, men's and women's soccer, lacrosse, etc). He'd get to pick his own coach, get the run the program how he wants and not have to do all that recruiting, coaching and all the other stuff that engulfs a football coach's life.

It would be tough to give up Texas. Sure, the Longhorns had a rough 2010 and 2011 isn't much more promising. But Brown brought a championship to the big dog school in a state that bleeds football. A school that all but owns the Big XII and will be launching their new television network. That's tough to pass up.

Still, any interest between Mack Brown and UNC should be mutual.

Butch Davis Fired ... Finally

2011-07-27T22:43:00.002-04:00

Butch Davis was finally fired as the head football coach for the University of North Carolina. What he leaves behind is a burning mess that will take a long time to rebuild from.

First off, Davis needed to be fired. You can't have all these kinds of violations in your program and not have to pay for it. A couple of wayward events are one thing, but all this crap that happened on his watch means he just had to go. I'm just disappointed that it wasn't done sooner ... but I guess they had to get their ducks all in a row.

In his rear view mirror is a program that will take years to recover. They will most assuredly be on some sort of penalty (postseason ban, scholarships, TV) that will keep a big name coach away and, in turn, some big name recruits. A proud university now has dirt on those baby blue helmets.

As a Tar Heels fan, I don't like any of this crap and feel that wiping out the Butch Davis era ... even if it results in a down period for the football team. I don't like being embarrassed to be a fan of any team ... especially one that let this stuff go on.

Amazing Catch From 9-Year Old

2011-07-26T00:21:00.001-04:00

What a catch by this kid!!! It is 9-year old Jayden making an amazing diving catch in a youth baseball game.

Wonder if he's ever heard of Willie Mays? Kenny Lofton? Ken Griffey Jr? Jim Edmonds? Maybe we'll hear from young Jayden in a few decades chasing down fly balls in the majors.

Amazing Catch By 9-Year Old

2011-07-25T23:43:00.004-04:00

Best Pre-Race Invocation Ever!!!!

2011-07-23T20:52:00.001-04:00

This has to be the best pre-race invocation ever.

Pastor Joe Nelms of the Family Baptist Church delivered the invocation before the Federated Auto Parts 300 Nationwide Series race in Nashville, Tennessee. This is something straight out of Ricky Bobby's mouth.

The best part? When he thanks the Lord for his "smokin' hot wife". Beautiful!!!

How Should Big East Re-align?

2011-07-16T09:22:00.002-04:00

Rick Pitino mentioned that the Big East may need to look at splitting into two divisions when TCU arrives next summer. His point being that in basketball, there are tons of scheduling quirks that are really not fair (note: Louisville has quite a slate this coming season).

Let me be clear: I think that no basketball league should be in divisions. The Big East will just schedule an 18-game season where you play the other 16 teams once and two of them twice. If they expand again, I can see playing everyone once and one "rival" twice.

But there is some buzz about trying to split into two divisions. The obvious way to split is the way Pitino mentioned -- football schools in one division and non-football schools in the other.

I: Cincinnati, Louisville, Pitt, Rutgers, South Florida, Syracuse, TCU, UConn, West Virginia
II: DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John's, Villanova

There are flaws in this, however. For one, the I division has nine teams while II has eight teams. If they hold a true round-robin, then one division plays 16 games while the other plays 14. Also, some rivalries would be broken (but, hey, that's what all this football movement has done to basketball all over the place anyways).

Not to mention that Division I would lose their trips to St. John's and Seton Hall ... meaning Rutgers would be their lone link to the NYC area. They'd also miss out on Georgetown, DePaul and Villanova which means they'd be without a footing in D.C., Chicago and Philadelphia. Division II would miss out on the addition of TCU (Texas area). It just doesn't make sense.

But how else could you realign? Geography? Possibly but you'd still come up with those same issues.

WEST: Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pitt, South Florida, TCU, West Virginia
EAST: Georgetown, Providence, Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. John's, Syracuse, UConn, Villanova

Again, the West would miss out on the NYC, D.C. and Philly areas and the unbalanced schedule remains. It would also split up Pitt from the rest of the old school members. Hmmm.

How about this realignment?

I: Georgetown, Pitt, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John's, Syracuse, UConn, Villanova
II: Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Rutgers, South Florida, TCU, West Virginia

If you didn't notice, the Division I would corral up the old school members (the bulk of the first half of the Big East's life) while the Division II would house all the "expansion" schools. Again, there are quirks to this just like all of the scenarios.

Last one. To kind of rid the whole "region" thing ... let's split everyone up:

I: Cincinnati, DePaul, Georgetown, Pitt, Providence, South Florida, St. John's, Syracuse
II: Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Seton Hall, TCU, UConn, Villanova, West Virginia

There's no rhyme or reason why I put whom where. I did try to split up those "areas" so everyone gets some sort of shot. DePaul-Marquette? Split so that each team has a shot at that area.

See, it's hard to get this worked out in a fair way. Just add an 18th school, have a round robin of playing everyone once but your rival twice. It's the most fair deal.

Ranking the No. 1 Overall NBA Draft Picks During The Lottery Era

2011-07-08T16:20:00.004-04:00

Yao Ming is retiring, which makes me want to revisit my list of top No. 1 draft picks during the lottery era (1985-present). So here we go.

26-Michael Olowokandi, Clippers (1998): To me, he's the worst top pick in the history of the draft. No one heard of him until just before the draft and no one has heard from him since.

25-Pervis Ellison, Kings (1989): He was Olowokandi a decade earlier. Though the '89 draft wasn't very special, there were a lot of players with much better careers than "Never Nervous".

24-Kwame Brown, Wizards (2001): The main reason why there is an age limit now. Michael Jordan and the Wizards way overreached with Brown. Especially when Tyson Chandler and Pau Gasol ... the big men on the last three NBA champions ... were taken directly behind him.

23-Andrea Bargnani, Raptors (2006): He's been in the league long enough to reach some potential. Seriously, most people forget he is in the League and most forget he was a No. 1 draft pick.

22-Greg Oden, Blazers (2007): Injuries have damaged his career and everyone's opinion of him. He's done okay when he can play (about 25% of the time). It doesn't help when Kevin Durant was selected right behind you and watching him lead the Thunder to the Western Conference Finals.

21-Andrew Bogut, Bucks (2005): Has potential but no one sees him play. A few years ago, it looked as if he was set to launch but he's still stuck in neutral. Great rebounder but lacking as a scorer. Again, when guys like Deron Williams and Chris Paul are selected No. 3 and No. 4 then it hurts you.

20-Joe Smith, Warriors (1995): He never was a star, but stuck around the league as a role player. The four guys picked behind him? McDyess, Stackhouse, Sheed and KG. I have a soft spot for him since we were born on the exact same day.

19-John Wall (2010): He has all the talent, but he's only got one year in the L.

18-Danny Manning, Clippers (1988): Injuries derailed his career, but man could he ball when he was right.

17-Kenyon Martin, Nets (2000): K-Mart was a force before his knees gave out on him. Is this sort of sounding familiar?

16-Elton Brand, Bulls (1999): The Bulls' other top pick has had his moments but hasn't been able to be a winner yet. He's having a very non-descript career.

15-Larry Johnson, Hornets (1991): His career only lasted a decade but he was a big part of the Hornets surge and a Knicks Finals team. Extra points for Grandmama.

14-Blake Griffin (2009): Again, just one year into the league but he has put his stamp on it. A fierce dunker and an instant YouTube favorite, The Blake Show has given us quite a taste on what's to come.

13-Glen Robinson, Bucks (1994): People forget that he averaged 20 ppg for his career.

12-Derrick Coleman, Nets (1990): That's Coleman for ya. He'd be up a bit farther if he actually cared to be. Still, he may be the O.G. of the perimeter power forwards.

11-Brad Daugherty, Cavaliers (1986): Another short career due to back problems. Still, he led the Cavs during their pre-LeBron hey-day.

10-Chris Webber, Warriors (1993): We are reaching the borderline Hall of Fame players now. C-Webb was a monster but I cooled on him with his lack-of-clutchness.

9-Derrick Rose (2008): Just a few years in and already the NBA's MVP. He has become the prototype of what NBA teams are looking for in a point guard.

8-Dwight Howard, Magic (2004): He has a lot to learn offensively, but he is extremely young and seems to be on the right path. A defensive enforcer, maybe a change of scenery will benefit him?

7-Yao Ming, Rockets (2002): Injuries killed his career but his importance has been on the globalization of the game. Yao's short career was well worth it as it got that lucrative Chinese market for the NBA. Seriously, that's one of the biggest factors why he's up here.

6-Patrick Ewing, Knicks (1985): The first definite Hall of Famer. The O.G. of lottery picks.

5-David Robinson, Spurs (1987): He dominated the league like few players have. A great role model and an outstanding career.

4-Allen Iverson, Sixers (1996): He may be pound for pound the best scorer in league history. Sure, the end of the road seems a bit slimey, but there has been no player like him in NBA history. Rose may turn into him in some ways.

3-LeBron James, Cavaliers (2003): His ceiling places him above some of the others. Yeah, we all hate what he did to the Cavs last summer, but LBJ is still one of the greatest players the NBA has ever seen.

2-Tim Duncan, Spurs (1997): Four rings, two MVPs. Respect from everyone in the league.

1-Shaquille O'Neal, Magic (1992): He may be the best player selected in the lottery era regardless of which pick. To me, he's an easy No 1 of the top picks. One of the true giants in the game in every sense.

Forget "The Decision", Remember the 1996 Lakers

2011-07-08T11:12:00.003-04:00

Today is the one year anniversary of LeBron James' "Decision". That was the day that LeBron stomped on Cleveland's heart and took his talents to South Beach to play with the Miami Heat.

People in the sports world are reminiscing over The Decision and the impact it had over the past year (not to mention the impact it will have on the future of the NBA). That's cool, but the only problem I'm having is calling LeBron's decision "the biggest free agent move in sports history" and how Pat Riley reeled off the greatest offseason a GM/President has ever had.

Sorry, but I disagree.

Let's look back to 1996. That year, the Los Angeles Lakers were coming off a pretty good season. They were 53-29, placing them 4th in the Western Conference standings and lost to the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. Remember that this was also the season that Magic Johnson came out of retirement to finish off the season.

The stars of this team? Cedric Ceballos, Nick Van Exel, Vlade Divac, Elden Campbell, George Lynch and Eddie Jones.

In that 1996 offseason, Lakers GM Jerry West went to work. He sent away some of his players for nothing (like Lynch and Anthony Peeler) just to clear up money to sign Shaq. It worked . O'Neal signed for $121M to change coasts and turning the NBA on its ear. This may change, but Shaq is a much bigger figure in the history of the NBA than LeBron is on pace to be.

One of the other salary dumping moves was dealing Vlade Divac (who wouldn't be needed if they did get Shaq) to the Charlotte Hornets for the draft rights to Kobe Bryant. How did that work out?

Let's see: Anthony Peeler, George Lynch, Vlade Divac for Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant? Quite impressive indeed. That turned into three championships combined for Shaq and Kobe and two more Kobe won without Shaq.

Oh ... I forgot to mention that Jerry West used the No. 24 pick in the 1996 NBA Draft to select Derek Fisher out of Arkansas-Little Rock.

Not a shabby offseason.

Nine Stadiums/Arenas That Need To Be Blown Up

2011-07-02T22:31:00.004-04:00

Let's get to ol' ball and chain out. No, no, we're not taking our wives anywhere, but we're checking out all those pro sports stadiums that just need to go away. A wrecking ball can take care of it.

Now, some of these places are beloved and some are just ridiculed. This isn't a run on what teams need a new stadium/arena (such as the Florida Marlins) but the stadiums themselves.

NO 9-FENWAY PARK: Here we go. Yeah, sure, I'm another non-Bostonian who doesn't understand how great and important Fenway Park is to the people. Well, I'm sure that those same people don't understand how there have been many stadiums and arenas that were beloved ... yet replaced. I'm a Reds fan and the Reds won the 1975 World Series in Fenway Park. Riverfront Stadium hosted one of the greatest teams in baseball history, three World Series Champions and two Bengals teams that reached the Super Bowl. But the stadium became outdated and replaced by a much better stadium.

Even the Yankees got this. For all the memories Fenway Park may have produced, Yankee Stadium produced much more. It was replaced. So was Shea Stadium, who saw the Miracle Mets and that amazing 1986 Series. The Lakers left the Forum. The Celtics left Boston Garden, Tigers left Tiger Stadium. The Redskins left RFK Stadium. It isn't like it hasn't happened pretty much everywhere.

Fenway Park is uncomfortable and ancient. The "team of the 2000s" needs a stadium worthy of it. Keep the look the same you want, just make it better for the fans, players and employees there. Maybe Sox fans won't love a new stadium as much as the old one (that happens too) but it will be in the best interest of everyone.

NO 8-TARGET CENTER: The Wolves home is about two decades old, but it hasn't held up well. Please let them move to the Xcel Center in St Paul.

NO 7-ALAMODOME: Why is it even here? The Spurs have moved on to the dark, dank AT&T Center and the Alamodome has no real tenants. And never will.

NO 6-BRADLEY CENTER: When the college team down the street has a sweet arena and yours looks like a funeral home ...

NO 5-O.CO COLISUEM: Oh, that's the newest name to that monstrosity in Oakland. One of the very few stadiums to host both NFL and MLB, I've heard nothing but horrible things about it. I'm sure it doesn't matter during football season, but it is a tomb when the A's play.

NO 4-CANDLESTICK PARK: Let's stay in the Bay Area. The Stick wasn't the greatest of baseball stadiums and it certainly isn't one of the better football stadiums. One of those old school outdoor convertable stadiums, the site lines due to the baseball configuration are horrendous. How can a franchise like the 49ers not have a palace to play in instead of some old fixer-upper?

NO 3-TROPICANA FIELD: Okay, it is a conversation piece when looking at it from the outside. On the inside? Well, let's just say that it isn't designed for baseball. It has no atmosphere and when you have the catwalks impact play ... that's garbage.

NO 2-METRODOME: This is obviously a horrible stadium. It's so bad that the Twins rather play in freezing temps than keep dealing with the Hefty bag outfield wall. Now that the Vikings are the lone tenant, it has gotten worse. I mean, how does a roof in Minnesota cave in from snow? Shouldn't that have been part of the planning?

NO 1 - NASSAU COLISEUM: This "arena" has needed to be put out of its misery for quite a while now. Various owners have been trying to find a way to either replace or renovate the arena for over a decade with no success. To put it bluntly, it looks like one of those old malls that no one goes to anymore. To think a New York team has to play in this crap-hole is mind boggling.

NBA Lockout WILL Get Outta Hand

2011-07-01T19:46:00.003-04:00

Understand this: the NFL and NBA lockouts have nothing in common. What they're fighting about really isn't the same thing. And how it plays out and what both sides can do are totally different.

The NBA lockout is truly Armageddon. There is no way the NBA season starts on time in November. There is no way the NBA will play another game in 2011. For those of you out there who think we'll just have a 50 game season as we did in 1998-1999 ... that's very, very wishful thinking.

The truth of the matter is that both sides are completely dug in. The owners don't just want money back -- they want a lot of money back. They want to limit guaranteed contracts ... both in money and in length. They want to limit free agency in a way. They say they are losing money (whether you really believe that or not) and the league isn't viable with the current system nor a few quick fixes to the system.

Commish David Stern pretty much drew the line in the sand when he said that he isn't shocked about the lockout and was already "resigned" to the fact that they could lose all of the 2011-2012 season.

Here is where this lockout will differ from the NFL lockout ... or pretty much any lockout you could think of.

It will be hard to bully the players.

The players are paid, on average, more money than any other pro sport and average more money per player than any union in the nation. From the things I've heard, the Players Association has done a fantastic job over the last two years relaying the message that this lockout would happen and it will be quite a lengthy one. Players have been saving their money and are in better position now more than ever to deal with no paychecks.

By the way, the first paycheck players would lose wouldn't be until November 15th ... so that's a long time before the players will feel ANY affect of this lockout.

The ones who've made their money ... just like in any sport ... can afford the missed checks. It is usually the lower end players that feel the pinch and struggle to stay on board with the issues. That's what the NFL is working towards and how the NHL crushed their players union in the mid 2000s. There are plenty of players who are barely treading water.

However, these players have options. See, basketball is a global game and there is money all over the place. If you are a player feeling the pinch of the lockout, you can just go to Europe, China or any of the various leagues out there that would love to add a player like that. Again, they're not getting LeBron, Kobe or Dwight but they'd be getting an NBA calibar player who certainly can help the organization.

So bleeding the players dry would be a lot harder than the owners think it will be. Word is that the NBA wants an NHL-type lockout where the NHL cancelled an entire season and, in turn, pressured the players into a total overhaul of the economic system. Six current NBA owners were NHL owners during that mess and they've seen how it worked out better for them. The NBA, however, will have a bigger problem with that.

Yeah, NHL players could've played overseas too, but they didn't already average around $5M per player nor does NHL players have any of the marketability that the NBA players enjoy. See, Nike will still run ads for Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, etc. Those ads will still be out there and those endorsement dollars aren't going anywhere.

That's not to say that players won't feel the pain of losing money. That isn't to say that David Stern and the 30 teams will break down and take whatever the players offer. What I'm saying is that it will take quite a bit more bullying to make the players flinch.

And when they do, it could be 2012 already.

It's Moving Day For NCAA!

2011-07-01T13:31:00.003-04:00

Happy July 1st! That means we are officially entering the second half of the year. It also begins a lot of government fiscal years. Oh, and it means all those crazy moves college teams and conferences are official.

So welcome Nebraska to the Big Ten!

Welcome Colorado and Utah to the Pac-12. Uh, welcome Pac-12!

Welcome Boise State to the Mountain West ... which will look a lot like the WAC in another year.

Welcome to the freedom of being an independent, BYU!

We also say hello to the Pac-12 championship game and goodbye to the Big XII title game.

Go to those conference websites and they all welcome their newest members. Now teams like Nebraska, Colorado, Utah and Boise State are changing out many memories of their old conferences. They enter their new leagues ready to make their mark and counting all the dollars made by doing so.

Lay Off Chad Ochocinco, Will Ya?

2011-06-30T22:47:00.005-04:00

Let's be clear: I'm certainly not a Chad Johnson (err Ochocinco) fan nor am I a fan of the Cincinnati Bengals. I think Chad has been overrated as a receiver and a lot of his whining has been lame to say the least.

Now people are all over him for running around doing whatever this summer. He has ridden a bull. He tried out for an MLS team. Currently he's working on Jeff Burton's pit crew. So what?

Look, if we all had the opportunity to fulfill our bucket lists ... who can fault us for doing so? If I dreamed of those things, I wouldn't like it if people felt I shouldn't do them.

Yeah, I get the bull riding thing probably made the Bengals a bit nervous. But the owners locked the players out so they have no say in what these guys do during their time off. For an NFL player, this is like a vacation. Things they couldn't or weren't allowed to do are now happening. Want to act in a movie or TV show? Go for it. Want to ride in a race car? Do it. Want to sky dive? It's yours.

I can't fault Chad for taking advantage of his time off. People tend to say "yeah, but he has an offseason every year to do these things". Not true. Remember that an NFL offseason isn't as long as you think for the players. Also, a lot of these things they are contractually forbidden to do in order to keep their guys healthy. But with the players locked out and not getting paid, those forbidden fruits are ripe to be plucked.

I mean, isn't that the whole point to being rich and famous? To be able to do all the cool stuff you've always wanted to do? So why get on him about it?

Save your boos for the regular season when he lets you down in uniform.

Alright, I've Realigned EVERYTHING

2011-06-28T22:12:00.003-04:00

I'm all excited about the NHL's willingness to overhaul their divisions. So if I was the CZAR OF SPORTS then I would turn the four major sports leagues into this:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

EASTERN CONFERENCE: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indiana, Miami, Milwaukee, New Jersey, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Toronto, Washington

WESTERN CONFERENCE: Dallas, Denver, Golden State, Houston, LA Clippers, LA Lakers, Memphis, Minnesota, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, Utah

This is pretty much how the NBA standings are really run ... so why not just skip all the bull and make it official.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE

AFC EAST: Buffalo, Miami, New England, NY Jets

AFC SOUTH: Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Tennessee

AFC NORTH: Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh

AFC WEST: Denver, Kansas City, Oakland, San Diego

NFC EAST: Dallas, NY Giants, Philadelphia, Washington

NFC SOUTH: Atlanta, Carolina, New Orleans, Tampa Bay

NFC NORTH: Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, Minnesota

NFC WEST: Arizona, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis

I like the NFL exactly the way it is.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

NL EAST: Atlanta, Cincinnati, Florida, Milwaukee, NY Mets, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington

NL WEST: Arizona, Chi Cubs, Colorado, Houston, LA Dodgers, San Francisco, San Diego, St Louis

AL EAST: Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, NY Yankees, Tampa Bay, Toronto

AL WEST: Chi White Sox, Kansas City, LA Angels, Minnesota, Oakland, Seattle, Texas

I think it works better with less divisions. I'm keeping the American and National Leagues in place and dividing them up. The AL was pretty easy. The NL did have some issues. After all, the Braves and Reds used to be in the old NL West while the Cubs and Cardinals were in the old NL East. For geographic purposes (aside from the Milwaukee-Chicago one), I kept it like this. I wanted Chicago and St Louis in the same division so they both went west.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

ADAMS: Boston, Buffalo, Montreal, New Jersey, NY Isles, NY Rangers, Ottawa, Toronto

PATRICK: Carolina, Detroit, Florida, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Washington

NORRIS: Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St Louis, Winnipeg

SMYTHE: Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Jose, Vancouver

Who Has The Best Draft?

2011-06-27T12:27:00.004-04:00

Draft season is nearly over. We had the NFL Draft a couple of months ago and the NBA and NHL Drafts last week. Coming soon is the MLB Draft.

So which pro sports league has the best draft? The answer may surprise you.

NO. 1 NHL DRAFT: Yeah, the NHL Draft tops my list. I couldn't tell you any of the players that will be drafted beforehand and, like baseball, there's a good shot we don't see many of these kids in the big league next season. But the draft itself is magical.

I love the fact that members of each organization stroll up to the podium with jersey in hand, chat for a second and then make their selection. When the drafted player makes it up there, it's a nice scene that he is officially welcomed into the league by the people that wanted him ... not just a photo op with the commish.

Also, the NHL Draft seems to have more of a sense of community to it. Many more prospects attend the draft (some not being drafted until the very late rounds). Plus, the NHL Draft still travels while the NBA and NFL Draft stay in the New York area.

NO. 2 NFL DRAFT: I'll have more on this at the end, but the NFL has been at the forefront at pimping its draft. Now it takes about a week (okay, weekend) to hold the draft. Round 1 takes place on Thursday night ... 2nd and 3rd on Friday night and the rest on Saturday. It is much harder to predict as there are so many positions and the depth of talent at those positions greatly impact each draft.

The NFL also has another huge advantage -- their "draft season" is so much longer. The college season ends after the beginning of the new year and the NFL season ends at the beginning of February. That gives everyone 2 to 3 months to break down everyone. The NBA and NHL drafts are held about a week after their champions are crowned.

NO. 3 NBA DRAFT: Personally, the NBA is my favorite draft. I'm more of a basketball junkie than anything so I'm more in tune of teams' needs as well as the pool of draft picks.

However, there are two major items weighing the NBA Draft down. One, there are no stars in the draft anymore. The one-and-done rule has watered down the draft because picks are made more on potential than anything. That's why there are people who were lottery picks that have barely played any high level of basketball.

Sure, John Wall, Blake Griffin and Greg Oden are name guys ... but their names weren't as big as the games of guys like Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, Shaq, etc.

The other problem is the way they do trades. The NBA has a gag order on deals the day of the draft. That means that picks get dealt but ... techincally they don't. So it looks like the Kings draft a guy and he wonders around wearing a Kings hat but really he'll be a Bobcat. Look at last week's draft and you'll see a bunch of guys getting "traded" right then and there.

NO. 4 MLB DRAFT: Nothing against this draft but it just doesn't strike a chord. First off, it is in the middle of the baseball season so it isn't like the diehards are fiending for some action (unlike the NFL). Plus, there is, like 200 rounds it seems and many of these guys will never sniff the major leagues. Add in the fact that some of the best players that will enter the major leagues to make an impact are foreign and they don't have to enter a draft to do so.

NHL Realignment: Just Cut Out Conferences

2011-06-25T19:28:00.006-04:00

The buzz around the NHL is that they are looking at major realignment. The NHL has a lot of problems with their current alignment -- Dallas is in the Pacific, Winnipeg is in the Southeast, Columbus is in the Eastern Time Zone yet in the Western Conference, Detroit is in the opposite conference as Toronto.

The rumored route is that the NHL is going to shave down from six divisions to four. Two divisions will have 8 teams and two will have 7. The problem is that it is still so difficult to figure out where to make these divisional breaks in a four division system (it can be done, but it could look a bit ugly).

So here is my proposal: just kill off the conferences and just have FIVE divisions? We don't need conferences at all. We really don't. We can just have the top three teams in each of the five divisions in the playoffs as well as the fourth place team with the best record.

NORTH
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Detroit Red Wings
Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa Senators
Toronto Maple Leafs

ATLANTIC
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Washington Capitals

CENTRAL
Carolina Hurricanes
Chicago Blackhawks
Columbus Blue Jackets
Florida Panthers
Nashville Predators
Tampa Bay Lightning

MIDWEST
Colorado Avalanche
Dallas Stars
Minnesota Wild
Phoenix Coyotes
St. Louis Blues
Winnipeg Jets

PACIFIC
Anaheim Ducks
Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks
Vancouver Canucks

I know that's completely hard for most people to comprehend. No conferences? But how do the playoffs work. Easily, just rank each team from No. 1 thru No. 16 and go at it. Sure, you may have a San Jose-Tampa Bay first round series ... but who cares? If need be, make those kind of cross-country series a 2-3-2 format or something.

If it is two wild for you, here ya go with what the NHL will probably do:

NORTH: Boston, Buffalo, Montreal, New Jersey, NY Isles, NY Rangers, Ottawa, Toronto
SOUTH: Carolina, Detroit, Florida, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Washington
MIDWEST: Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St Louis, Winnipeg
PACIFIC: Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Jose, Vancouver

Maybe the NHL will have one conference have 16 teams and the other have 14 (if so, expect Columbus to move to the South Division and Colorado moves to the Midwest). To me, I'd just eliminate the geographic names and go back to the Adams, Patrick, Norris and Smythe names of yesteryear.

Heat Join Other Losers Who Are Remembered More Than The Champions

2011-06-13T23:39:00.013-04:00

The 2011 NBA Finals will be remembered more for the fact that the Miami Heat lost and not so much that the Mavericks won. Seriously, listen to talk radio today and it was all about what Miami didn't do instead of what Dallas did.

It happens like that sometimes. Sometimes we remember the loser more than the champion. Here are a few examples:

8-1993 WOLVERINES: This seems to be Carolina's lost championship as most people instead remember the Fab Five and Chris Webber's timeout to seal the deal for the Heels. Jalen Rose said it best: you can remember the starting lineup for Michigan with little effort but unless you were a diehard UNC fan, you couldn't name three of their starters.

7-2004 LAKERS: Shaq and Kobe were joined by Karl Malone and Gary Payton to make a team of four future Hall of Famers. But the team spectacularly fell apart in the Finals to Detroit ... a team with no future HOFers ... and lost in five games.

6-1986 RED SOX: This is a close one. People certainly remember the '86 Mets, but that Series is known for Boston's implosion in Game 6. A mere out away for their first title since 1918, Bill Buckner became the icon of how a team can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Again, those Mets had their own character but that Series will always be about how the Red Sox choked away a title.

5-1993 KINGS: Wayne Gretzky's LA Kings made it to the Stanley Cup Finals and truly made it a Hollywood affair. Yet, it was just another championship for the mighty Canadiens, who won the last of their 24 Cups. And I bet most puckheads know that Barry Melrose was the coach of that team.

4-2011 HEAT: LeBron James and Chris Bosh came to Miami to join Dwyane Wade and turn the Heat into an instant contender. People loved that this controversial team choked away a title. Years from now, this will still be remembered as the one LeBron/Wade/Bosh lost.

3-ROCKY BALBOA: Okay, okay it is a fictional character. But other than Muhammad Ali, is there a more famous boxer? People still forget that Rocky lost his bout with Apollo Creed in the first film.

2-2007 PATRIOTS: Hard to believe a New York championship team could be overshadowed, but Super Bowl XLII will be remembered for the fact that the undefeated Patriots lost their only game in THE game. It really is amazing.

1-1919 WHITE SOX: Quick ... who won the 1919 World Series? I know, but that's because I'm a Cincinnati Reds fan. Yeah, the Reds won this Series but no one remembers that. All they remember is Chicago throwing the series for gamblers. The "Black Sox" are probably the most notorious team in baseball history and their tanking the World Series has far overshadowed who won it.

How Should MLB Re-align?

2011-06-11T21:53:00.002-04:00

Today it was revealed that the powers that be in MLB are thinking about realigning the entire league. Two scenarios were given: moving one National League team to the American league to make both 15-team leagues. The other goes a bit further by getting rid of the divisions altogether.

God please let this happen.

Over my nearly decade-long blogging life, I have been dead set against divisions in MLB, NBA and NHL (the NFL's division format actually works). Either cut down on the amount of divisions or just dump them all.

Baseball really doesn't need six divisions and it certainly doesn't need a National League with two more teams than the American League.

One thing I don't want is the Houston Astros moved to the AL. I don't think having both Texas teams in the same league is the smartest idea. I'd move the Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona doesn't have the history that the Astros have and the American League doesn't have a team in the Mountain Time Zone (the NL would still have the Colorado Rockies).

So here would be what MLB would look like:

AMERICAN LEAGUE: Baltimore, Boston, Chi White Sox, Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City, LA Angels, Minnesota, NY Yankees, Oakland, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Texas, Toronto

NATIONAL LEAGUE: Atlanta, Chi Cubs, Cincinnati, Colorado, Florida, Houston, LA Dodgers, Milwaukee, NY Mets, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Louis, Washington

What the league wants to do next is put the top five teams in the playoffs. The 4th and 5th place teams play a one or three game playoff to join the top three place teams in the postseason we all are currently familiar with. You can check here to see what the standings would look like if we had no divisions.

The advantage is for teams like the 3rd place AL East team who gets shut out of postseason play even if they have a better record than the AL Central and AL West champions. Right now, where you are geographically placed is just as important as how good a team you really are. It will may those playoff races a bit more racy as more teams should be in it longer than usual.

The disadvantage if there are two 15 team leagues is that there will be teams down the stretch in a pennant race that will be playing interleague games. See, if we get two 15 team leagues, that means we get interleague play pretty much every day. While I'm not against that, I can see why that would rub teams the wrong way.

But remember the 1980s. Then, the AL had two 7-team divisions. Six teams in the AL East played each other down the stretch while the other team was the "swing team" and played the AL West teams. So it isn't like this would be a completely odd scenario.

But if that is the sticking point, just leave the NL with 16 teams and the AL with 14. There, no worries about interleague games mucking up the pennant races. Whatever, just lop off these divisions!!!

Don't Feel Sorry For USC, BCS Or The Players

2011-06-07T16:39:00.003-04:00

In the record books, one of two things will be seen in the college football section under "champions". Either it will have USC's name next to the 2004 championship with an asterisk chillin' next to it ... or it will say "vacated".

The BCS officially took away USC's 2004 BCS championship (the Associated Press earlier had said they have no intention of taking away their AP titles). Since the BCS also stated that it will not award Oklahoma, who were creamed by USC in the title game, the de facto championship, it means there was no champion for that season.

That is fitting. In reality, college football has no champion. It used to be some writers and media types crowned a champion. Now a computer joins the voters in determining who plays in a "championship game". Either way, the champion isn't solely determined by competition but by fairy tales and magic carpets.

In a situation such as this, you can't feel sorry for anyone involved. None of them.

Reggie Bush? Yeah, his name has been muddied but he'll try to wipe his tears with the millions he has gotten and will continue to get in the NFL.

The USC players that now have worthless (in theory) title rings? To a man, they all believe they still are champions ... and they are right. They got to have all the trimmings of winning a title back in 2004 and no matter what any record book may say, they got all that championship swagger. I know rules were broken, but no one cheated. Cheated the system? Maybe. But that football team won the title.

How about Oklahoma? The lost to USC in the BCS title game yet still don't get to be called champions. They shouldn't be. Even if you take USC out of the picture, that means Auburn would've played Oklahoma for the title and who knows what happens? And if you start handing out make believe titles like it is a Miss America crown, it opens up a huge bucket of worms. I mean, since John Calipari's Final Four with Memphis was vacated does that mean Texas (who Memphis beat in the Elite Eight) can hang a Final Four banner in their rafters? Does that mean Mississippi State, who Memphis beat in the second round, consider themselves reaching the Sweet 16 that year? No. So why award Oklahoma a title?

This is a scummy business these people are participating in. They all bend the rules as much as they can and many break them. It's hard to feel sorry for anyone in the system. So don't bother.

SEC Scraps Division Format

2011-06-05T22:06:00.003-04:00

The SEC actually did something to benefit their basketball side of things. Last week, the conference decided to scrap the divisional format for basketball. Smart move.

I've said that on this blog for quite some time. Divisional formats hurt college basketball conferences. The ACC didn't bother with it when they became a 12-team league. The Big XII dumped the divisions after a while (though they did use it for scheduling). It doesn't work.

Too Bad Shaq Left Too Much On The Floor

2011-06-01T17:30:00.003-04:00

Shaquille O'Neal announced that he's retiring from the NBA after a storied NBA career. He is indeed one of the greats of this league and will be a sure fire Hall Of Famer in five years. Over 28,000 points, four championships, three Finals MVPs and one NBA MVP award headline an outstanding resume.

Which makes it a shame that it coulda ... shoulda ... been much more.

Shaq had the potential to be the most physically dominant player this league has ever seen. He came into the league breaking backboards (and everything else), running the floor like a gazelle and introducing a brand new kind of swagger into a league that Michael Jordan ruled. To be that big, that fast and that quick was just unfair.

I don't think he maxed all of that talent. Sure, there was stretches of the brilliance that should have defined his career. From the moment he stepped into the NBA until his Laker career was coming to an end, Shaq was at or near the top of the league lead in scoring and shooting percentage. Yeah, a couple of guys named Jordan and Iverson had a lock on those scoring championships, but Shaq was always right there.

If there was anyone that could've challenged Jordan for one of those scoring titles, it would have been Shaq. Again, just look at the talent ... and the size.

However, Shaq didn't care as much about being dominant as he could have been -- he felt he was dominant enough. He famously said since he got hurt on company time, he will have surgery on company time. His conditioning left much to be desired. He would take it easy during the season to spend his energy for the playoffs. If he has spent a bit more time staying in shape, just think of the numbers he could have put up.

Instead he still sits behind a trio of centers that, I feel, had better careers. Wilt Chamberlain is still the greatest player to ever play in the NBA. People tend to forget how great Kareem Abdul Jabbar really was. Bill Russell? The greatest champion the NBA has ever seen.

I hope that Shaq will still hang around the NBA in some capacity. David Stern would be wise to make him some sort of ambassador to spread his infectious personality and sell the game. One of the truly greats of this game ... who could've been greater.

Is It Time For NBA To Dump The 2-3-2 Format

2011-05-31T20:17:00.003-04:00

The NBA Finals are here, which means we get to again hear the debate about the Finals' 2-3-2 format. For the people out there who don't know, the teams with the best regular season record gets the first two games at home; the next three are at the other team's arena; and the final two games are back in the other gym. So this year, Games 1, 2, 6 and 7 will be in Miami and Games 3, 4 and 5 are in Dallas.

A lot of people have a problem with this setup ... though it's been around for nearly 30 years. They say it is extremely weighed to the home court advantaged team's benefit. Only twice has a home team won those middle three games since using the format: the 2004 Pistons and 2006 Heat.

Maybe they're right. Since the 1986 Finals, only five teams who didn't have the home court advantage in the Finals won the title. That was the 1993 Chicago Bulls, 1995 Houston Rockets, 1998 Chicago Bulls, 2004 Detroit Pistons and 2006 Miami Heat. Naturally, the team holding the home court advantage will usually be the better team ... but 5 of 25?

To be honest, I'm on the fence about this topic. I understand the 2-3-2 format but I understand people wanting to go back to the 2-2-1-1-1 of yesteryear. I think we should just cut the difference: if a Finals series is between two teams that are geographically close, then make it a 2-2-1-1-1 series. If more than one time zone separates the teams, then use the 2-3-2 format.

This year, Dallas is in the Central TZ and Miami is in the Eastern. So let's use the 2-2-1-1-1 format. The travel isn't a big deal between Miami and Dallas. The last few years (Lakers-Celtics twice, Lakers-Magic) should be on the 2-3-2 format. The travel from Orlando or Boston to Los Angeles is a bit of a journey for both teams if they have to do so four separate times. But Spurs-Pistons, Spurs-Cavaliers are no brainers. Just have the series set up like all the other ones.

Let's do this!

Jim Boeheim Is Right: All 17 Big East Teams Need To Be Invited

2011-05-28T23:03:00.003-04:00

The Big East is having a beast of a time figuring out how to continue their conference basketball tournament. In 2012-2013, the Big East will add TCU into the mix which would make the mega-conference a 17 team league. Now the conference must find a way to either make an already long tournament longer or have to let some teams stay home.

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has publically stated that all 17 teams need to be at the Big East tournament in New York and they got to find a way to make it happen. I'm with him. If you are going to have 17 teams in your conference, then you let all of them into your postseason tournament.

I'm against expanding the actual NCAA tournament. But making sure EVERY Division I conference invites all its members to their postseason tournaments kind of let's EVERY team to play its way in. Even if TCU goes 0-18 in their first Big East season, they still deserve an opportunity to go to New York and try to play their way in. Yeah, that would mean the mother of all runs to get into the Big Dance, but that's the way it should be.

It also should be about the student athletes and taking them out of the conference tournament is just wrong. These kids all deserve a shot to play in New York even if their team sucks.

Conference tournament kind of feel like a wedding. You visit the baker for the cake, the tux guy for your tuxedos, your DJ for the music, the caterer for the food, the florist for the flowers, the church for the ceremony, the room for the reception and you have those meet-and-greet of all the family members in the months of planning leading up to the wedding. When that day arrives, all these people and things come together as one. A hoops conference is the same way. Everyone spends two months traveling all over the conference playing games ... which makes it cool when all those teams get together for a four or five day stretch.

To me, it's only fair. The Big East wants TCU in their conference so they can get a top flight football program and a pipeline to Texas. The least they can do is allow the Horned Frogs to compete in the Big East hoops tournament in the spring.

STOP With The "Break Up The ... " Analysis

2011-05-08T10:20:00.003-04:00

One of the most irritating things that occur in sports nowadays is the "break up the ... " analysis. After a team falls short of reaching their ultimate goals, people seem to always want to break up those teams.

It happened last week when the San Antonio Spurs were upset by the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the NBA playoffs. "They're too old!" "Their dynasty is over!" "Break up the Spurs!" is all we heard. Even a co-worker asked me how the Spurs should disassemble their team.

I told them, you don't. You just don't.

You can reconfigure the team. The 2011 Tim Duncan isn't the 2003 one. Manu Ginobili will have that Allen Iverson decline very soon. There are old guys on that roster. But if you look at this Spurs "dynastic" period, they have done a great job at reconfiguring their team.

You had those Duncan, David Robinson, Sean Elliot, Avery Johnson team in 1999. They emerged into the Duncan, Tony Parker, Stephen Jackson championship team in 2003. That team saw David Robinson, an instant Hall Of Fame player, take a reduced role. The 2005 and 2007 teams were built around the Duncan-Parker-Ginobili formula ... the one that's reaching their closing window right now.

That formula won the Spurs 61 games this season ... so why is there such an urgency to break San Antonio up? Yeah, they lost to the 8th-seeded Grizzlies, but that Memphis team is not your typical fodder fed up to the top seed. Who's to say that with a little tinkering and changing of players' roles that these Spurs couldn't be right in the mix again?

The same thing is happening in Los Angeles. With the Lakers on the verge of elimination and ending their string of three consecutive Finals and two championships, people ... including Magic Johnson ... are clammoring that these Lakers need to break up. Why?

Kobe Bryant is still better than 90% of the rest of the league. Pau Gasol, despite his meek showing in this postseason, is one of the top big men in the league. Andrew Bynum is consistently on the verge of becoming a star. Lamar Odom just won the Sixth Man award.

Sure, the Lakers look a bit old against the Mavericks. Their ages aren't typically ancient, but these guys have a ton of wear on those tires. Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant have played a ton of postseason games. Bynum came into the league as the youngest player to ever be drafted. Gasol and Odom were still wet behind the ears when they started their NBA careers.

Reconfigure is more like it. With so much labor turmoil, who knows where the next CBA will be. Plus, LA is a very desirable destination and a couple of big names (Dwight Howard, Chris Paul) could head that way.

Plus one of the things you need to consider is what the 2011-2012 season will look like. It could be a short season that wouldn't take as much out of an older squad (then again, a rushed schedule similar to 1999 could wear a team out). Needless to say, it isn't necessary to just blow up a team because it didn't finish off a brilliant season. Strap it on and try again.

Just look at the history of it. It took the Bulls over a decade to go from the Jordan-Pippen-Phil Jackson era before they were title contenders again. It took the Celtics over 20 years after the Bird-McHale-Parrish teams until they won it again. And that was because they got a great discount in trades for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Yeah, the Lakers post Magic-Kareem-Worthy down times weren't as long as that, but that's due to shrewdly "drafting" Kobe Bryant and trading everyone to lure Shaquille O'Neal via free agency.

Ask the 1990s Sonics, the 1990s Suns (or the current ones) or the current Pistons how easy it is to break apart a title caliber team and build a new one.

Gus Johnson to Fox? He Belongs to Everyone!

2011-05-08T03:20:00.002-04:00

There is a rumor out there that play-by-play extraordinaire Gus Johnson could be leaving CBS and joining Fox.

While, in some aspects, it wouldn't be a huge deal -- after all, Gus would still call NFL games and get to call Pac-12 games -- it would sting to not have ol' Gus calling NCAA tournament games. CBS and Turner owns the tournament for the next decade or so, so Gus Johnson moving to Fox would rid us of those classic Big Dance lines.

I say this: Gus Johnson belongs to everyone. He doesn't work for just CBS or Fox. He works for both CBS and Fox. And ABC/ESPN. And NBC. And any channel that holds any sort of sport.

I'd love to hear Gus call the Kentucky Derby.

Or the NBA Finals.

Or every Super Bowl.

Or any hockey game.

Or the Olympics.

Or the World Cup.

Well, maybe not a golf tournament ... though we'd have to experience it at least once just to be able to process how cool it could be.

Gus Johnson could make any event exciting. A big play made in a normal game gets the red carpet treatment from Gus. We need that. We need much more of that.

So let's get the word out that Gus Johnson doesn't belong to CBS ... he belongs to the sports people of this great land.

How Is Pat Riley GM Of The Year???

2011-05-04T22:32:00.002-04:00

Pat Riley was named the NBA's top GM this year for his "great" work with constructing the Miami Heat.

Um, why?

Riley is being rewarded for adding Chris Bosh and LeBron James and resigning Dwyane Wade. Three outstanding additions, I assure you, but it really wasn't much from Riley's design. If anyone should get the honor in Miami, it should be Wade from *cough* colluding *cough* with James and Bosh to create this team.

Oh, but Riley did convince guys like Z Ilgauskas, Mike Bibby and Mike Miller to take smaller contracts to come aboard. Again, getting some used-to-bes to take less money for a great look at a championship isn't really that skillful. Just ask Mitch Kupchak about that in 2004 when he added Gary Payton and Karl Malone to a team that already had three championships and two Hall of Famers on the roster.

To me, a top GM is one who pulls off a blockbuster deal or a series of deals to improve his team. I mean, I'm more impressed with what John Paxson was able to do in Chicago to contruct that team and hiring the man that was just named Coach of the Year.

I'm not saying that Riley didn't do a masterful job setting up this team or that it was easy to pull this off ... but I think it had more to do with the fact that Wade, James and Bosh all agreed to hook up together long before they were free agents than anything Riley was selling.

NFL Draft Not My Cup Of Tea

2011-04-27T20:47:00.002-04:00

Yes, I'm the Sportz Assassin. Yes, I've been a diehard Redskins fan for nearly three decades. Yes, I'm very interested in who Washington picks with the No. 4 pick in the draft.

Other than that, I just don't care about the NFL Draft. It isn't for me.

I'm not one of those people who sets aside that weekend to watch the entire draft. I'm not one of those people who participate in mock drafts. I'm not one of those people who watch the combines or cares about draftees stock. I don't care about Mel Kiper Jr or Todd McShay. I don't.

I don't care to sit and watch an overblown production about the selection of players ... many of which I wouldn't know their names heading in. I follow and watch college football, but I'm not as big a diehard as I am the NFL. I don't care to sit and watch three days of drafting where ... on Day 1 ... when Kiper and McShay keep talking about certain player dropping or how some team is stupid for reaching for a guy. They, like everyone, cannot predict either the draft or the careers of those drafted.

Then I can't stand for the rounds past the first two. Because, you may as well not even televise it since ESPN won't even acknowledge those players. Oh, they will for guys they've earmarked as great stories or notable college players, but the last 150+ guys will get not love despite the chance that one or more of them will explode into impact players (I bet that Marques Coltson's name was just a blip on the crawl when he was drafted). And I HATE the length of time between picks.

Now, that's not to say I won't keep an eye on it. I'll check my phone periodically to see where certain guys may go. Yeah, I want to see who my Redskins add with their usually low allotment of selections.

Give me the NBA Draft. It moves at a great pace, the draft lasts one night, I'm much more familiar with the players and those guys could have more of an impact on their teams off the bat. The NFL Draft is okay, but it's not my cup of tea.

Selig, Goodell Seem to Have Switched Bodies

2011-04-27T19:55:00.003-04:00

Remember those 1980s movies where two people switch bodies and hilarity ensues? Well, the 2011 edition of that role reversal just may be Bud Selig and Roger Goodell.

If you look at the Roger Goodell era of the NFL, you know that his legacy is discipling players for their off field transgressions. He has made everyone take concussions seriously. He has kept the NFL on that path of success that the league has ridden for the last 20 years.

Bud Selig? He's best known for cancelling the 1994 World Series due to labor strife. He also has that lovely Steroid Era he presided over (and apparently kept his head in the sand about) which all but made a mockery of those vaunted MLB record books that the league has and will always trumpet. He couldn't even figure out how to solve a tie game in a freakin' All Star Game.

But it is 2011 and it seems as if those two men have switched bodies.

The shine that has been on Roger Goodell has really tarnished over the past six months. He looks more like a hypocrite with each passing week of the current NFL labor mess. His seemingly innocent proposal of extending the regular season to 18 games has been met with overwhelming opposition from players and fans ... and sounds a bit fishy when the league has put so much emphasis on safety that they're willing to look the other way on what another two games would do to their players.

He has taken a very hands-on approach to this labor war ... a war that the owners are losing. This is a man whose "side" said that the last labor agreement was so bad that the NFL couldn't continue like that (the players wanted to keep everything exactly the same). Then, once the players decertified and made this a courtroom drama, Goodell wants to point out all the merits that the last labor agreement gave to both the players and the league. Uh ... way to play both sides of this coin.

Goodell goes on ESPN to tell us how grim the future of the NFL may be. Sorry, but that doesn't work anymore. We, as Americans, are kind of tired of being running multi-billion dollar businesses telling us how bad things are for them. I know we should feel bad for those owners who have to charge us normal folk $8 a beer, $30 to park, $100 for a nosebleed seat in a stadium that our tax dollars paid for. You're barking up the wrong tree here.

This could end bad for Goodell in a lot of fashions. His obvious siding with the owners has really created a divide with a players union that had given up a lot of concessions in his first years in office. Fans have lost faith in him. And if the players win this labor war (which they are right now), the owners will have a big problem with him.

Now let's look at Selig. The man known as "Bumbling Bud" has a league that has had labor peace since that 1994 season. Attendance numbers and TV numbers are up. There is no salary cap in baseball, only the Boston Red Sox (two) has won multiple World Series since 2001. You could argue that the fact that the '94 Series was cancelled led to all this labor peace, but that's a hard sell.

Same thing for the Steroid Era. It really cheated baseball and its fans. But from the ashes of it came extensive drug testing in the majors and minors and it has really worked. It ran several players out of baseball and turned the league into some statistical normalcy.

Controversial innovations like the wildcard, interleague play and the All Star Game determining home field advantage in the World Series are loved now. I mean, how did we go this long living without it?

What could be Selig's biggest coup is how this Dodgers situation unfolds. Remember that Selig bought up the Montreal Expos for next to nothing (in franchise value terms), moved them to Washington DC and then sold the team to local ownership for quite a profit. Just imagine what Selig could get for the Los Angeles Dodgers?

While Goodell and the NBA's David Stern are navigating through tough waters and having their names and their leagues stained, Selig will see Major League Baseball chug along and may not have to share any space on the sports page with football. With both the NFL and NBA facing possible cancellations of games, sports fans in cities that have MLB and NFL and/or NBA teams may decide to spend some of that disposable income on some pennant race tickets.

I know I will.

Kentucky Needs To Pay Attention To NBA's Labor War

2011-04-25T19:59:00.002-04:00

A very interesting development will happen when the NBA goes into their labor war this summer and autumn: the decisions the league and the players meet on will have a huge impact on college basketball.

In short, it could really impact Kentucky.

No coach has gotten more from the one-and-done era that John Calipari. Coach Cal does a great selling job to these guys that they just do their thing for a season and he'll put them in the NBA as a high draft pick. The fact that Derrick Rose (Cal's one-and-doner in Memphis) is tearing up the NBA and John Wall, like Rose, was a No. 1 overall draft pick means that these elite talents will take a strong look at Lexington.

Think about the type of success Calipari has had in the last six or so years that the one-and-done rule has been in effect.

The NBA and the players association could really put a damper on all of that. Maybe. Many people feel the NBA (the NCAA has no choice in these matters) will make a significant change in the one-and-done rule. The thinking is that the NBA will allow a player to jump to the NBA from high school or go to at least two years of college.

Think of the impact on the college game if this came to pass. All of those big-time recruits that Calipari has been ushering in to Kentucky and, before that, Memphis would not have been there. There would have been no John Wall, no DeMarcus Cousins, no Brandon Knight, no Michael Gilchrist and no Anthony Davis. They'd all have lept to the NBA and filled up the upcoming draft.

On the flip side, Kentucky fans would've most likely had two years of Eric Bledsoe, Daniel Orton and maybe Terrence Jones. Ya know, some sort of carry over from one year to the next.

One of the things that Kentucky fans whine about is that the players they fall in love with for a season are gone when the campaign is done. They hate it. But for any rule to be in place that would make players stay in college for two or three years will most certainly allow guys to jump straight from high school. So those elite guys Kentucky had been getting wouldn't be there.

This isn't to pick on Kentucky; many teams would have felt the pain of losing those one-and-dones. Heck Ohio State has had a steady diet of those kind of guys over the last five seasons.

So Kentucky fans ... even the ones that hate the NBA ... need to keep an eye on what goes down in the Association.

MNF Slate Is Horrible!

2011-04-20T22:58:00.002-04:00

The NFL released the 2011 schedule on Tuesday and the Sunday Night games are absolutely stacked! Great games with some outstanding storylines.

The Monday Night Football slate ... eh, not so much.

There are some diamonds in the rough. The Colts-Buccaneers game could really be good (it certainly was the last time Indy visited Tampa). Giants-Saints will be quite a good one. The Bears-Eagles game may be the best matchup of them all. Chiefs-Patriots features a lot of former Patriot coaches and players heading back to New England. The Falcons-Saints game to close out the MNF season is pure gold.

But there is a lot of crap along the way. Only the Falcons-Saints and Bears-Eagles games feature two teams that were in last year's postseason. Here are the top five mistakes on the Monday Night schedule.

5-THE LIONS? REALLY? The Detroit Lions make their first MNF appearance in over a decade. They'll host Da Bears in an NFC North showdown. Um, what have the Lions done to deserve a MNF appearance? I know they have some great young talent in Stafford, Johnson and Suh but they don't deserve a game on Monday yet.

4-VIKINGS VS PACKERS DOESN'T MATTER ANYMORE: Granted, the Vikings are still very talented and by the time the season rolls around, they could bring in a Donovan McNabb or Kevin Kolb to replace Brett Favre ... but this isn't the must-see game it has been over the last two seasons. Favre retired. Really. Seriously. He's done. I don't know if ESPN figured that Favre just may change his mind but this game is a huge letdown.

3-JUST ONE PACKERS AND STEELERS GAME: The Super Bowl participants make just one appearance each on Monday night. Green Bay, of course, hosts Minnesota. Pittsburgh travels to San Francisco. San Francisco?? Why are they on Monday night???

2-RAMS VS SEAHAWKS: This ended up being the final game of the 2010 season because the winner would make the playoffs. Seattle won and represented the NFC West with a 7-9 record. And why do we need this game again late in the season? It was horrible last year and will be horrible again this year. Speaking of that, why do the Rams ... one of the worst team over the past five years ... get two MNF games?

1-END OF SEASON: Okay, this takes out the Week 16 Falcons-Saints game. Before that, December's MNF is horrible. We get treated to Chargers-Jags, Rams-Seahawks and Steelers-49ers. Instead let's have Packers-Giants, Colts-Ravens and Jets-Eagles instead!

UNC Fans See a Familiar Trend

2011-04-20T20:08:00.003-04:00

In case you didn't know, Harrison Barnes is coming back for his sophomore year.

That has placed the North Carolina Tar Heels as many people's top team for the 2011-2012 season. Carolina fans are understandably thrilled about their (should I say, our) team next year.

The reasoning isn't just what this team is bringing back ... which is a big deal. Returning are pretty much everyone from last year's team. The entire starting lineup (Barnes, Tyler Zeller, John Henson, Kendall Marshall and Dexter Strickland) is coming back as well as key reserves Leslie McDonald, Reggie Bullock and Justin Watts. The only player in their top nine rotation that is gone is senior Justin Knox.

He will be replaced with super frosh James McAdoo. McAdoo has been tearing up the High School All Star game circuit and will fit right in to that Heels' front line. He'd start for 99% of college teams next season ... but will suit up for the 1% that he won't. They also get long range bomber P.J. Hairston, giving the Heels SEVEN McDonald's All Americans on their roster. They'll also gain role players Desmond Hubert, Jackson Simmons and Stilman White.

Not a bad roster at all. It could house five first round draft picks in the 2012 draft (Barnes, McAdoo, Zeller, Henson, Marshall) and rival both of Roy Williams title teams (2005, 2009) in terms of talent.

Ah, those 2005 and 2009 teams! The 2012 team wants to join them in the rafter of the Dean Dome. There are some similarities to this upcoming team and some of those title teams in the past which makes Heels fans drool.

Obviously the amount of talent on the team. The 1982 team housed Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins and James Worthy. Two Hall of Famers and three very good NBA careers. The 2005 team was made up of Sean May, Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants and Marvin Williams. All four would be selected in the 2005 NBA Draft lottery. The 2009 team had Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Danny Green and Ed Davis. The 1993 team had talent (led by Eric Montross and George Lynch) but it really wasn't overly stocked with NBA talent like the others were.

How about some other weird facts?

Like having a center from Indiana? The 2012 team will be "centered" by Tyler Zeller from Washington, Ind. The 1993 team was "centered" by Eric Montross ... a high school legend in Indiana. The 2005 team was "centered" by May ... an Indiana lad who's dad was an All American for the Hoosiers. The 2009 team, well, Tyler Hansbrough was from Missouri ... but Zeller was a freshman reserve on that team.

How about impactful freshmen? Many feel James McAdoo will do for Carolina what Michael Jordan, Marvin Williams and Ed Davis did for their title teams as freshmen.

None of that in reality means anything. The 1984 Tar Heel team had Jordan, Perkins, Kenny Smith and Brad Daugherty and they couldn't get past the Sweet 16. The 1994 team brought everybody not named Lynch back from a title team, added Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace and Jeff McInnis, and couldn't get out of the 2nd round of the NCAAs.

Should NBA Teams Have Second Home Courts?

2011-04-20T09:40:00.000-04:00

I was reading Jason Whitlock's column on FoxSports.com about changing the economic structure of the NBA. It's a great read and has a lot of radical changes to keep the league prosperous. One thing I found interesting (because I've been saying this for quite a while) is the NBA having satellite home cities. Meaning each team would have a second home court.

8. I’d contract two to four teams. I’d make the remaining teams play four games per season in a satellite home city. The Lakers would partner with Las Vegas. The Clippers would partner with San Diego. The Pacers could play in Cincinnati, the Cavaliers in Columbus.

I've loved this idea and it isn't like this hasn't happened before. Remember that the Boston Celtics played a few games each season in Hartford, CT and the Washington Bullets would go to Baltimore for a few games. On a more extreme note, we had the Kings playing in both Omaha and Kansas City.

I like it as it does a couple of things. One, it helps with the ticket burden on both teams and fans. For teams, it would be easier to sell a home game against, say, the Raptors if you held it in a city that only gets a taste of the NBA each year. They do this for preseason games so I don't see why they couldn't do the same for the regular season.

It would also expand the fan base.

For fans, it would also help with the season ticket plans. If there were 2 to 4 less home games you had to pay for, it would be an easier buy for you.

So what cities would the NBA go to?

LOS ANGELES LAKERS (Las Vegas): The Lakers and Vegas go together.

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (San Diego): The Clippers used to call San Diego home.

SACRAMENTO KINGS (Anaheim): Or vice-versa when it happens.

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (San Jose): Not much of a move, but it would solidify the area.

PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS (Seattle): Well, until the Sonics come back home.

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (Kansas City): This would also serve as a nice tester for the NBA to see how NBA-ready cities and arenas are before a team relocates.

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES (Winnipeg): This could also help the NBA expand its international footing.

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS (Pittsburgh): Nice that they'll be able to share something for the first time since the WWII-era Steagles of the NFL.

BROOKLYN NETS (Newark): May as well keep New Jersey loving the Nets. When they move to Brooklyn in a couple of years, make Newark the team's satellite city.

INDIANA PACERS (Louisville): The Ville wants a team? Here is their tryout.

Here are some other cities that seem possible:

ATLANTA HAWKS (Columbia, SC), BOSTON CELTICS (Providence), CHARLOTTE BOBCATS (Raleigh), CHICAGO BULLS (St. Louis), CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (Cincinnati), DALLAS MAVERICKS (Little Rock), DENVER NUGGETS (Omaha), MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (Nashville), MIAMI HEAT (Jacksonville), NEW YORK KNICKS (Buffalo), ORLANDO MAGIC (Tampa), PHOENIX SUNS (Albuquerque), SAN ANTONIO SPURS (El Paso), TORONTO RAPTORS (Montreal), UTAH JAZZ (Boise) and WASHINGTON WIZARDS (Baltimore):

Now, I don't have a natural satellite for Houston, New Orleans, Milwaukee or Detroit. Cities like Knoxville, Birmingham or somewhere like that could fit. I dunno, just a thought.

That Was the Worst Championship Game I Have Ever Seen

2011-04-05T21:47:00.001-04:00

I don't think I need to say any more than that.

Stop Telling Us About "What the Fans Want"!

2011-03-26T06:40:00.002-04:00

Right now, the NFL has locked out their players. In a few months after what promises to be a great playoff season, the NBA will do the same. They'll talk of economics, revenue sharing, salary caps, free agency and ... to a lesser extent ... safety.

One thing that will get thrown out there by commissioners, owners, players and the media is about "what the fans want". Please. On the list of things that the owners and unions wish list, what the fans want isn't near the top.

First off, the fans don't want to hear any of this. Yes, this is a labor dispute and they happen all the time. When dealing with billions of dollars, it is a delicate issue that isn't resolved as simply splitting the pot down the middle. Fans, for the most part, understand that. Just don't drag us into it. Don't tell us "the fans want to get this done" because that won't factor into any of the negotiations.

See, fandom is a sticky thing. It is almost like an addict and sports are our enablers. If the NFL only played half a season, there will be more than enough fan support to fill up those stadiums and care about their product. And while in some cities it may take time to warm back up to the teams, it'll happen eventually. If it doesn't, they'll just move the franchise to another town that will.

That's sports for you. They know they just don't have you hooked but that your heart and soul is invested in these teams. I am a Redskins fan. That's part of my identity. When the Redskins lose or play well, people talk to me about it. No matter what happens in the labor dispute, I'll still be a Redskins fan. Believe me, if the Daniel Snyder era hasn't driven all the fans away then it just isn't going to happen.

I became a Redskins fan, interestingly, during the strike-shortened 1982 season. I stayed one after the 1987 replacement player games. I've stayed a Cincinnati Reds fan after the Selig & Fehr Show decided to shut down the World Series in 1994. I kept being a Laker fan after the ugly labor dispute of 1998-1999.

These leagues know this, so they can act however they want.

They can demand new stadiums and arenas by threatening to bolt if they don't get it. That's why the Sacramento Kings ... once a raucous fanbase ... will be leaving for Anaheim or Las Vegas or anywhere else with the arena they want to rip from the fans. How else could the Seattle SuperSonics leave town for Oklahoma City? Easy. To gain a new set of fans that will do anything to lure and keep a franchise in their city.

If sports leagues cared about what fans want, no team would be relocated without an obvious fan revolt (i.e. not supporting the team). Most of the time that's the case, but how could the NFL allow the Cleveland Browns to move to Baltimore? That was for the fans, right? Oh, they did put an expansion team back in Cleveland in a couple of years ... but the NFL benefitted from record-setting expansion and franchise fees which allowed the new ownership to gouge the fans with higher ticket prices and funding for a new stadium. Thanks for the help, guys.

If the NFL cared about the fans, why are they pushing an 18 game season when pretty much every poll shows that the fans don't want that?

If the NFL cared about the fans, why don't the intervene in Cincinnati where the fanbase absolutely loathes owner Mike Brown? Why can't they hold their owners accountable for success?

If the unions cared about their fans, then why do they allow franchise players to walk away from their teams and leave a demolished franchise in their wake?

If the leagues cared about fans, then why is there always buzz about ripping All Star voting away from the fans and giving it to media members and/or coaches and players?

If the leagues ... including the NCAA ... cared, then why are the NCAA tournament games starting at 10pm at night? Must be nice for the fans that the Ohio State-Kentucky game ended after midnight, Newark time. Same goes for World Series games that many people (namely kids) will never see the end of.

If the leagues cared about fans, then how could the NFL have completely screwed them by charging outrageous prices to Super Bowl XLV for seats the fans' butts were to be in didn't exist? Or to charge me tons of dough to sit in the rafters of a domed football stadium to watch a Final Four game and suffer through poor sighlines?

Not to say that these leagues don't care about fans at all. The entertainment value at these stadiums is nothing we've ever seen before. With all the different things to do, the more comfortable seats, the better food, the more amenities and overall spector of these games, these leagues do pour a lot into giving fans more than just the game they are watching. You can go to a baseball stadium on game day and not even bother watching the game -- there's so much to do. The Fan Experience has never been better.

But that's not what these leagues are talking about.

Seriously, if the sports leagues cared, they'd cut everything by 15% to help us in this terrible economy. Cut the ticket prices, concessions, parking, merchandise as well as the player's salaries and revenues. Wait, that's a silly idea since it doesn't benefit anyone other than the fans.

Look, I don't expect the fans to be the number one priority of these labor disputes nor do I think that they honestly don't ultimately care about us. Just stop acting like we, the fans, are a bigger part of this than we really are. Stop using "the fans" as a bargaining chip between the two sides ... or worse, don't say it to patronize us.

Tough Day To Be An NCAA Referee

2011-03-20T23:05:00.002-04:00

Sunday, March 20, 2011 will go down as "Bad Ref Day" in the sports world. That's because three suspect calls helped decide three NCAA Tournament games.

WASHINGTON CLOCK: The first happened in the UNC-Washington game. The ball went out of bounds with about 1.1 seconds left ... but the clock stopped with 0.5 seconds left. All of that was legal since the clock is supposed to stop when the whistle is blown and not when the ball hits out of bounds. The official may have blew the whistle too late but there is that human reaction time that does factor in.

However, the official's mistake was to not even bother to check the replay to adjust the time. Probably the officals would have tacked on those extra tenths of a second that would've given the Huskies a much better chance at hitting a tying three at the buzzer.

TEXAS' FIVE SECONDS: As everyone has been pointing out, the referee blew the whistle too early this time. With Texas attempting to inbound the ball, the ref clearly counts to four and then blows the whistle. That allowed Arizona to get the ball back on their own baseline.

At the time, the Longhorns were up by two. On the ensuing inbounds play, Arizona's Derrick Williams scored on a blind shot and was fouled. Williams hit the free throw to take a one point lead. After the game, Williams admitted that he felt no contact.

SYRACUSE BACKCOURT: This one has been up for debate. With the game tied, Syracuse was called for an over-and-back violation. Scoop Jardine was in the front court, lept in the air and caught the ball. When he landed, one foot was touching the midcourt line.

There has been much controversy on the interwebs about this call. I've seen no one on TV argue this call, but the blogosphere and message boards are debating this quite a bit. You ARE allowed to receive the ball in the backcourt on an inbounds play. However, Jardine wasn't established in the backcourt (he left from the frontcourt) so the call doesn't apply here. Still, with all of the uproar among the fans, you'd think someone would give a decent explaination of the rule.

Better Documentary: UNLV or Fab Five?

2011-03-20T15:15:00.002-04:00

Over a week ago, two interesting documentaries were released on television that chronicled some of the most well known college basketball teams from the early 1990s.

The UNLV doc took a look at Jerry Tarkanian's renegade Runnin' Rebels program that he lifted to prominence and eventually a national championship. The Fab Five doc looked at the Michigan freshmen's career at the school as well as their impact on basketball since. They are eerily similar yet done differently. Let's take a look:

INFORMATION: I think the most important item in a documentary is the information it is providing. This was a bit of a mismatch. The UNLV doc was just an hour long and covered nearly a two decade time frame. The Michigan one was two hours long (commercials included) and covered just a couple years of actual basketball but fast forwarded to the impact of both the kids games and the eventual sanctioned levied against the program. Just the amount of time available and the amount of info makes this a landslide. WINNER: FAB FIVE

STYLE: ESPN (who aired the Michigan doc) has done a great job with their "30 for 30" series. They have a wealth of resources and their own library to get everything they need. HBO, though not a sports channel, has done an excellent job over the last three decades in all types of documentaries, including ones involving sports. I liked the style HBO had with better interviews, still photos and old footage. I do wish they got a few more player interviews. WINNER: UNLV

SUBJECT MATTER: To me, the UNLV documentary was a bit more interesting than the Michigan one. That means nothing more than personal preference. The actual happenings at UNLV and how a school no one cared about in a city known for a lot of seedy things drew more interest from me than the fact that five high-ranked recruits decided to go to the same school. I've seen that before and since (John Calipari has done that in two of the last three recruiting classes) ... though the characters of that Michigan team far dominant any of the other "fab freshmen" we've seen. Not to mention that UNLV wasn't as well known even during their dominating reign. They were a Big West school that got late night game times if they were shown at all. WINNER: UNLV

THE TWO MAIN ABSENTEES: One problem both docs had was the fact that the two most well known players of those subjects decided not to participate. Both, by the way, went on to be No. 1 draft picks in the NBA. Larry Johnson and Chris Webber both played just two years at their schools but both were lightning rods as well as highly successful players. The bigger absence was Webber. LJ was a JUCO transfer; Webber was a highly touted high school player. LJ wasn't the reason UNLV fell off the map -- Webber was the reason Michigan did. Despite sanctions against UNLV, none of their records were thrown out. Due to Webber's transgressions (as well as a few others), those two Final Fours and championship game appearances are erased.

It would've been very interesting to see Webber to respond to all of documentary. So his exclusion was missed. WINNER: UNLV

WATER COOLER-ABILITY: This one is another slam dunk for the Fab Five. First, there's been enough controversy from the Michigan documentary that it ellicited a response from the normally quiet Grant Hill as well as forcing Jalen Rose into a scrambling role. There's been tons of discussion on that doc on many sports talk radio and TV shows. The UNLV doc? Well, many of you didn't even know there was one. WINNER: FAB FIVE

WHICH ONE WAS BETTER?: Again, this goes by personal preference ... but despite my elevated interest in the UNLV documentary, the Fab Five one was better. It brought up way more emotion in it than the Runnin' Rebels one just because of all that controversy. People who hated the Fab Five will hate them more after watching it. As for UNLV, the most controversial part of that was Tark the Shark ... and he's a tough guy to completely hate. The Michigan film . WINNER: FAB FIVE

WHICH TEAM WAS BETTER, 1990-1991 UNLV OR 1992-1993 MICHIGAN?: I'm going with UNLV. That 1990 and 1991 UNLV teams were freakin' machines! They had more style and glitz than the Wolverines did. It would be a great game, but I don't think Michigan could keep up with UNLV. Both went to two Final Fours, both won two games total in those Final Fours ... but Michigan didn't win the title that UNLV did. Michigan didn't enter a Final Four with an undefeated record like UNLV did. UNLV beat Duke in 1990 by 30 points in the title game and lost by a bucket to Duke in 1991. Michigan was rolled by Duke in the 1992 title game. WINNER: UNLV

NCAA's "Official" Box Score Of Duke Game Filled With Errors

2011-03-18T22:50:00.003-04:00

Hat tip to ACC NOW:

The NCAA's official box score of the Duke-Hampton game is filled with factual errors. The biggest one ... the freakin' final score!

The final score of the game was Duke 87-Hampton 45. NCAA.com has the "offical" score as 87-47. Um, wrong. More problems as laid out by ACC NOW:

Hampton’s Brandon Tunnell was credited with an extra field goal and Darrion Pellum with an extra missed field goal, as the Pirates were 19-for-55 from the field, not 20-for-57. The Pirates had 29 rebounds, not 22; and four assists, not three.

Duke, meanwhile, was 32-for-60 from the field, not 32-for-59 -- Kyle Singler was 4-for-9 from the field, not 4-for-8. Duke had 38 rebounds, not 35.

To cap it off, the official play-by-play credited Hampton's Tunnell with a bucket with five seconds left. Except that in the real game ... Duke's Kyrie Irving held on to the ball and dribbled out the clock.

Amazing that a body like the NCAA that helms over many of the finest universities in our nation can just completely screw up an official box score of an NCAA Tournament game featuring the defending national champions.

Sportz Assassin's West Region Preview

2011-03-14T21:16:00.002-04:00

TEAM TO BEAT: Duke. Like it or not, the Blue Devils are the top seed again. This team has the knowledge that they just won a title a year ago and the horses to repeat.

TEAM THAT WILL WIN THE REGION: UConn. They made an amazing run to the Big East championship and they have a guy in Kemba Walker who can carry a team deep into the tournament.

TEAM TO WATCH FOR (LESS THAN A NO. 3 SEED): Texas. The Longhorns spent about a six week stretch of what may have been the best basketball played all year long. Sure, Rick Barnes' teams seem to fall short during the tournament, but this team could be different.

YOUR CINDERELLA: Oakland. Of course, Texas may not get out of the first round. That would mean Oakland popped them. The Golden Grizzlies have Keith Benson who is an NBA-talented player and gives them that rare big men that most smaller schools in the tournament lack.

WORST SEEDING ERROR: Michigan. I just don't see how the Wolverines garnered a No. 8 seed. They, to me, weren't a solid bet to get into the tournament until the final week of the season.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: San Diego State. This one very easy. They'll play their first two games over in Tucson then the next two up the road in Anaheim. Despite being a newcomer to the national scene, their fans are boisterous.

MUST WATCH GAME: Texas vs Oakland. You want to see Benson, first of all. And you want to see the buzzing mid-major against a team that stumbles come tournament time.

MUST WATCH (POTENTIAL) SECOND ROUND GAME: UConn vs Cincinnati. The Bearcats played the Huskies tough just a few weeks ago in Storrs. You rarely (read: never) see a conference battle this early in the tournament so it should be a treat.

Sportz Assassin's Southeast Region Preview

2011-03-14T21:02:00.002-04:00

TEAM TO BEAT: Pitt. I'm not that sold on the Panthers, but they did win the Big East regular season crown and they do have some bangers who can take the team deep.

TEAM THAT WILL WIN THE REGION: Florida. I'm not entirely sold on the Gators either, but I think they have a draw they can handle to the Elite 8 and someone else will do their dirty work and knock out Pitt.

TEAM TO WATCH FOR (LESS THAN A NO. 3 SEED): Kansas State. K State was among those most talked about as a preseason pick for the Final Four. But they got off to a rocky start. Over the last month or so, the Wildcats have stepped it up and have the guard play to go deep in the dance.

YOUR CINDERELLA: Michigan State. I know, it's tough to be a Cinderella team when you've been to the last two Final Fours. But they are a No. 10 seed that has really underperformed this year. Tom Izzo is an excellent tournament coach and could get this team back on track. The region is weak enough to feed a run by Sparty.

WORST SEEDING ERROR: Utah State. How does a ranked team that has barely lost all year long get saddled with a No. 12 seed?

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Florida. A couple games in nearby Tampa before heading off to New Orleans.

MUST WATCH GAME: Butler vs Old Dominion. I love ODU so much that I see them beating Pitt. But they must get by a Butler team that is coming on strong and were the National runners-up a year ago. Even though both are "mid majors", both have tons of tournament experience.

MUST WATCH (POTENTIAL) SECOND ROUND GAME: Pitt vs Old Dominion. This is where the first No. 1 seed could go down.

Sportz Assassin's Southwest Region Preview

2011-03-14T20:32:00.002-04:00

TEAM TO BEAT: Kansas. The Jayhawks are on a roll and, according to me, they are the best team in the tournament for the second consecutive year (well, we know how last season went).

TEAM THAT WILL WIN THE REGION: Kansas. I just said that I thought they were the best team in the tournament.

TEAM TO WATCH FOR (LESS THAN A NO. 3 SEED): Louisville. Rick Pitino knows a little something about the NCAA tournament and his Cardinals squad just reached the Big East title game.

YOUR CINDERELLA: Richmond. This is a team that can rain threes ... which is usually one of those ingredients for an upset. The Spiders did beat Purdue and can be a Sweet 16 team.

WORST SEEDING ERROR: Notre Dame. I just feel they deserved a No. 1 seed instead of Pitt ... and there is a good argument that they deserve one more than Duke.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Kansas. Though Texas A&M could play in San Antonio, I'm not leaning on them getting to the Sweet 16 and their first weekend in Chicago isn't really an advantage. Kansas gets to play in Tulsa then San Antonio on their way to Houston.

MUST WATCH GAME: Vanderbilt vs Richmond. Both teams enjoy jacking up threes. That means a lot of fun for us as we could see some wild momentum swings.

MUST WATCH (POTENTIAL) SECOND ROUND GAME: Kansas vs Illinois. Probably not a great matchup, but this is where KU were ousted last year. Plus we get to see Bill Self go up against his former team.

Sportz Assassin's East Region Preview

2011-03-14T20:09:00.003-04:00

TEAM TO BEAT: Ohio State. They've been the best team all season long. They are the top seed overall in the tournament and will be one of the favorites to win the whole she-bang.

TEAM THAT WILL WIN THE REGION: Ohio State. This is a strong region, but Ohio State is the class of the bracket. They have the ability to beat Kentucky, Syracuse or North Carolina.

TEAM TO WATCH FOR (LESS THAN A NO. 3 SEED): Kentucky. The Wildcats have NBA talent ... though they are a bit undisciplined. Still, they have the horses to beat Ohio State, Syracuse or North Carolina in Newark.

YOUR CINDERELLA: Marquette. They are an 11th seed but they can do some major damage. They get Xavier first ... then, most likely, Syracuse. They can beat X and, obviously, won't be afraid of the Orange. From there, they could face an inconsistent UNC team, Washington or Georgia. Again, the Eagles could make some major noise.

WORST SEEDING ERROR: Georgia. How did a team that was on the wrong side of the bubble two weeks ago get a No. 10 seed? Especially one that just lost to fellow bubble team Alabama (the Tide didn't get a bid).

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Syracuse. Spending the first weekend in Cleveland isn't a bad drive for Orange fans. And you know that if the Cuse get to the Sweet 16, the Prudential Center in Newark will be packed with Orange-clad fans.

MUST WATCH GAME: George Mason vs Villanova. Very interesting matchup. You have a Nova team that was a top 10 squad for much of the year before falling apart in the last few weeks. George Mason has been the mid-major darling this season. You have the bulky Big East facing off against the underdog Colonial.

MUST WATCH (POTENTIAL) SECOND ROUND GAME: Kentucky vs West Virginia. Don't you think the Wildcats want a piece of the Mountaineers after they beat them last season with a Final Four berth on the line? Well, the Kentucky players who stuck around.

The Five Biggest Tournament Snubs

2011-03-13T20:24:00.002-04:00

Below are two sections of snubs. One is for the teams that felt like they should be in the tournament but didn't. The other is for the teams that did make it, but things aren't as kosher as they should be.

FIVE BIGGEST BUBBLE SNUBS:

1-Colorado: I'm not as outraged as most about Colorado's exclusion from the dance. But it does stink when you see UAB, Clemson and VCU make it in. The Buffs' problem was their non-conference schedule was horrible. While that did drive down their RPI, this team did fairly well in the highly competitive Big XII. Clemson and UAB have beaten nobody this year. Colorado beat Kansas State three times.

2-Alabama: It's not Bama's fault that the SEC West sucked. They ran away with the division and looked the part of a tournament team. Oh, and the Tide beat Georgia ... an SEC East team ... in both their meetings this year, including on Friday night in the SEC tournament. Yet Georgia is a No. 10 seed in the tournament and Bama gets no love. Alabama also won at Tennessee ... another SEC East team who fit comfortably in the tournament.

3-Virginia Tech: The Hokies live on this snub line every year. This year, they have much less of a gripe. After their signature win ... over Duke ... Tech looked remarkably bad the rest of the way -- save an ACC tournament win over Florida State. By the way, that Duke win is probably a better win than any of the other bubble teams. UAB lost to Duke by 21 when they hooked up.

4-Harvard: You know an Ivy League school wasn't going to get an at-large bid ... but why not? The Crimson beat fellow bubble schools Boston College and Colorado. They hold the highest RPI of anyone to not get into the tournament. And they lost an automatic bid on a buzzer beater in a one-game playoff with Princeton. I think we'd all like to see how Harvard would perform here than, say, UAB. If the RPI was so important to the Selection Committee that UAB got in and Alabama didn't, then why didn't Harvard have a chance?

5-St Mary's: They were a true bubble team, but they did beat Gonzaga and St. John's who are both in the tournament. Sure, the win over the Red Storm came at the beginning of the season when they weren't anything similar to what they are now, but it does count in their body of work. St. Mary's officially gets to be the team to wear the crown of "nobody will play us". It's hard for a west coast school who has been pretty good over the last several years to get anybody of note to come their direction. Instead, they have to go to places like Vanderbilt (which is tough for anyone to win) to try to pick up some love.

FIVE BIGGEST SNUBS FOR TEAMS IN THE TOURNAMENT

1-Notre Dame: The Irish barely finished behind Pitt for the Big East regular season championship. The Irish beat Pitt at Pitt in their lone matchup. Pitt lost their first Big East tournament game while Notre Dame clobbered Cincinnati, a No. 6 seed in this tournament, by 38 points. Yet the Irish are a No. 2 seed and Pitt is a No. 1. It is a big deal. Notre Dame now sits in a bracket with Kansas as the top seed while Pittsburgh sits atop a region with Florida as the No. 2.

2-Purdue: The Boilermakers are one of the better teams in this tournament and, to me, deserved a No. 2 seed ahead of Florida and, maybe, North Carolina. Sure, Purdue hasn't finished strong but neither has Tennessee or Georgetown who both got darn good seeds for their resumes.

3-Cincinnati: Their No. 6 seed is fair, but having to potentially face fellow Big East for UConn in the second round is rather cheesy. I mean, did the Big East get 17 teams in or something? Granted, three of the four No. 6 seeds are Big East teams ... and the other is playing a Big East team ... it's hard to place them. To me, switching the Bearcats with the Temple Owls makes more sense. It's the same bracket (West) and Temple is the No. 7 seed. Cincy would get Penn State before facing San Diego State. Then they could play UConn in the Sweet 16, which is much better.

4-BYU: Getting a No. 3 seed isn't that bad, but when you have been so good all year long and one guy gets kicked off your team late in the season because he had sex with his girlfriend, it's hard to swallow falling to a 3-seed. The Cougars did beat San Diego State twice (albeit with the now-suspended player) and the Aztecs got themselves a No. 2 spot.

5-Ohio State: Okay, you are the No. 1 overall seed and you have hot North Carolina, tough Syracuse, talented Kentucky and physical West Virginia in your bracket. Granted, the Buckeyes won't get to play all these teams but a Sweet 16 matchup with Kentucky is pretty tough. The biggest complaint would be in seeing Pitt's region filled with pretty sketchy teams.

Sportz Assassin's FINAL Bubble Watch - March 13

2011-03-13T00:07:00.000-05:00

Okay. I've been doing my whole Sportz' Bubble Watch for a few years now and I think it is time to start back up. With only a few weeks left in the season before conference tournaments, let's see how the bubble looks.

So, here are my locks ... yes, by conference. The ones in green are spot on, no doubt locks. The ones in blue are pretty much in, too, though they can't afford to go in a tailspin. The ones in orange are smack dab on the bubble but would be in if the selections were being made today. Every team in red are on the wrong side of the bubble right now and would miss the dance.

I figure there are 18 conferences who are one-bid leagues and 13 conferences that could net multiple bids. So who should be going?

ATLANTIC COAST: Duke, North Carolina, Florida State, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Boston College.
Clemson and Virginia Tech got big wins in the ACC Tournament to earn a bid. Boston College's rough showing in the quarterfinals knocks them out.

BIG EAST: UConn, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Pitt, Syracuse, Villanova, Louisville, St. John's, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Marquette.
Big East's 11 teams in the tournament is insane. But they all deserve to be there. But are any of them a championship team?

BIG TEN: Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Michigan, Illinois, Penn State.
I think Penn State gets in (ed. note: the Big Ten championship game is currently in progress) regardless of what happens today. Michigan and Illinois scoot in as well.

BIG XII: Kansas, Texas, Missouri, Texas A&M, Kansas State, Colorado, Baylor, Oklahoma State.
Colorado is one of those last four in and will most likely sweat out Selection Sunday. Everybody else is pretty much set.

PAC-10: Washington, Arizona, UCLA, USC, Washington State.
I don't think USC makes it. I feel that they needed to get to the Pac-10 championship game to at least have a shot at the NCAAs. Washington State just hasn't done enough.

SEC: Kentucky, Florida, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia.
Alabama, to me, is THE ultimate bubble team. I have them in instead of USC, but many have them out. Georgia lost to Bama in the SEC tournament which eliminates them.

MOUNTAIN WEST: San Diego State, BYU, UNLV, New Mexico.
Really no surprises here. SDSU and BYU will be big time seeds while UNLV is securely in.

A-10: Richmond, Temple, Xavier
Richmond didn't mess around and claimed a bid for themselves. That win means one less spot for another bubble team.

COLONIAL: Old Dominion, George Mason, VCU.
C-USA: Memphis, UAB, UTEP.
MVC: Indiana State, Missouri State.
WCC: Gonzaga, St. Mary's
Memphis' Conference USA championship pops their bubble in a good way. Really, in all of these schools, only UAB and Missouri State need to sweat. St. Mary's may be worried as well. I only think St. Mary's gets in out of that group ... though their resume is a bit suspect.

ONE BID LEAGUES (18):
America East (Boston),
Atlantic Sun (Belmont),
Big Sky (No Colorado),
Big South (UNC-Ashville),
Big West (UC-Santa Barbara),
Horizon (Butler),
Ivy (Princeton),
MAAC (St Peter's),
MAC (Akron),
MEAC (Hampton),
Northeast (Long Island),
Ohio Valley (Morehead State),
Patriot (Bucknell),
Southern (Wofford),
Southland (Tx-San Antonio),
SWAC (Alabama State),
Summit (Oakland),
Sun Belt (Ark-Little Rock).
WAC (Utah State)

Let's Keep Our Mouth Guards IN Out Mouths, M'kay?

2011-03-10T21:19:00.003-05:00

Mouth guards have been all the rage in the NBA over the last couple of years. What was once used by only a few of the big bangers underneath has become the must need accessory in the League.

Back in my day (1990s), wristbands were the thing. Except you had them everywhere but your wrists. Usually they were a lot higher up on the arm. We've seen the sleeves come en vogue as well as those pads that protect the ribs. Naturally, mouth guards would be next. I have only one problem with that, though.

KEEP THE MOUTH GUARD IN YOUR MOUTH!!!!!

There is nothing better to watch than NBA players leaving their mouth guards hanging out of their mouths. We have the subtle hang. There is also the end-of-the-guard-in-the-mouth trick. Some actually touch the guard and take it completely out of their mouth.

I get that mouth guards aren't comfortable. If they were, everyone would be wearing them. I understand that during the down time of a game, you want to take it out and a basketball uniform doesn't really lend many places to store it. Football players can hang it in their facemasks or leave it dangling on a strap. Hoops guys have it tougher.

So I'll make a deal with you: Kill the halfway chew-a-thon on your mouthpiece and you may take it out with your hand to hold on to it.

Stop With the "ACC Sucks" Chants

2011-03-07T13:25:00.003-05:00

Is the ACC down? Yeah a bit. Ever since the league expanded from 9 to 12 teams several years ago, the league hasn't been as deep with solid teams as they've had before. Certainly this isn't the ACC of the 1980s or 1990s where there were 3 or 4 really, really good teams each year.

But stop it with the "ACC sucks" chants. The ACC has held its own.

After all, what conference have the last two National Champions come from? That's right, the ACC. And since 2001, what conference has won 5 of the 10 championships in that time frame? Yep, it is the ACC.

The Big East and SEC have two each. The Big XII has one.

How about since 1988? Yep, the ACC has won 8 National Championships (they've also won 10 titles since 1982). The only years since 1988 when there wasn't an ACC team in the Final Four? 1996, 2003, 2006 and 2007. That's it. In the last 23 years, there have only been four Final Fours that didn't contain one ACC team. In fact, in 1990, 1991, 2001 and 2004, two ACC teams made it to the Final Four. So in 23 years, 23 times an ACC team made it to the Final Four.

Over the last 12 years (since 1999), an ACC team has been in the championship game 7 different times. Duke (3), North Carolina (2), Georgia Tech (1) and Maryland (1).

Everyone is on the Big East's bandwagon. But did you know that the last time a Big East team made it to the NCAA Championship game was back in 2004 when UConn beat Georgia Tech for the title? In that same time span, the Horizon League, Conference USA and the Colonial Athletic Association have each sent a team to the title game.

That last Big East title appearance was a season after Syracuse won it with Carmelo Anthony. Add in UConn's 1999 title and the Big East have won just three championships over the last 25 years.

Look, the Big East is ... top to bottom ... a beast of a league. Every week there are a bunch of games between ranked teams. But to say that the ACC is done or isn't in the elite status as before ... well, you haven't been paying much attention to the last weekend of the season.

Let's RPI the NCAA Tournament

2011-03-06T12:37:00.003-05:00

Here is what the NCAA Tournament would look like if we just used the top 68 teams of the RPI (as of Saturday March 5th):

MIDWEST REGIONAL (San Antonio)
1-Kansas vs 16-Virginia Tech/17-Miami (Tulsa)
8-Cincinnati vs 9-Tennessee (Tulsa)
4-Syracuse vs 13-Marshall (Denver)
5-Arizona vs 12-St Mary's (Denver)
2-Notre Dame vs 15-VCU (Chicago)
7-Vanderbilt vs 10-Memphis (Chicago)
3-Purdue vs 14-Clemson (Chicago)
6-George Mason vs 11-Illinois (Chicago)

EAST REGIONAL (Newark)
1-Ohio State vs 16-Gonzaga/17-Oakland (Cleveland)
8-Villanova vs 9-Missouri (Cleveland)
4-West Virginia vs 13-So Miss (Washington)
5-Kansas State vs 12-Florida State (Washington)
2-North Carolina vs 15-UTEP (Charlotte)
7-UNLV vs 10-Boston College (Charlotte)
3-Georgetown vs 14-Belmont (Tampa)
6-UConn vs 11-Butler (Tampa)

WEST REGIONAL (Anaheim)
1-BYU vs 16-Minnesota/17-Marquette (Denver)
8-Texas A&M vs 9-UCLA (Denver)
4-Texas vs 13-Princeton (Tuscon)
5-Utah State vs 12-Michigan State (Tuscon)
2-Pitt vs 15-Penn State (Cleveland)
7-Old Dominion vs 10-Missouri State (Cleveland)
3-Florida vs 14-Richmond (Tampa)
6-St. John's vs 11-Colorado St (Tampa)

SOUTH REGIONAL (New Orleans)
1-San Diego St vs 16-Wichita State/17-Cal (Tuscon)
8-Temple vs 9-Harvard (Tuscon)
4-Wisconsin vs 13-Michigan (Tulsa)
5-Louisville vs 12-Washington (Tulsa)
2-Duke vs 15-Oklahoma St (Charlotte)
7-UAB vs 10-Georgia (Charlotte)
3-Kentucky vs 14-Central Florida (Washington)
6-Xavier vs 11-Cleveland State (Washington)

The Midwest Regional winner faces off against the South Regional winner ... and the East Regional champ and West Regional champ face off.

Now, I'm not a huge fan of the RPI, but the Selection Committee seems to love it. The question is, would we have a better tournament like this instead of having a Selection Committee do it ... and using all those automatic bids?

Observations From Carolina-Duke

2011-03-06T11:28:00.004-05:00

North Carolina beat Duke last night to claim the ACC regular season championship. Quite a game to watch.

THE RIVALRY: Well, below is a nice list of why this is the best college hoops rivalry ... and may be the best collegiate rivalry. The schools are 8 miles apart. One is a private school; the other a public school. One is filled with out-of-staters; one is mainly in-state students. One plays in a small bandbox that is hell on opponents; another plays in the ACC's largest arena that is hell on opponents. One has the Crazies, the other has the Wine and Cheese Crowd (though it sure didn't sound very winey or cheesey last night).

Not to mention the players. There are lots of guys that were recruited heavily by both schools. Harrison Barnes was all but sealed to go to Duke before Carolina swooped in and got him. Danny Ferry was a Tar Heel fan but signed on to Duke. There are many, many others ... including next year's freshman sensation Austin Rivers who both Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski went after (Coach K won).

And remember in high school when you might run into your rivals at McDonald's or the mall or something? Same thing happens here. They are around each other all the time.

WHAT'S AT STAKE: Last night was the sixth time the outright ACC regular season championship game down to the final game between these two teams. Of the 58 seasons of ACC basketball, North Carolina has won at least a share of the regular season title 28 times. Duke has 19 titles. Only twice (2001, 1979) have both schools tied each other for the ACC crown. Still, that means 45 of the 58 ACC championships have been won by UNC, Duke or both. The last school outside of these two to win an outright ACC championship was Wake Forest in 2003 (Virginia and Maryland have each shared an ACC crown in that time).

PRIME TIME: This was the first time CBS showed a regular season game in primtime.

REMEMBER DECEMBER?: What made this matchup all the more unlikely was how these teams were perceived in December. UNC was, at one point, 4-3 and looked very disjointed. Heck, back in January, they were spanked by lowly Georgia Tech by 20. This team was sitting on the bubble and it looked like last season would repeat itself. The Heels have won 20 of 23, the ACC and now have a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament in the bag and could climb to a No. 1 or No. 2 depending on what happens in the ACC Tournament this week.

As for Duke, there were people saying that this team could go undefeated. They were defending champions, brought back everyone but Brian Zoubek and Jon Scheyer and added Kyrie Irving and Seth Curry. Now, who knows what would've happened had Irving not gotten injured ... but injuries happen in sports and are part of life. Still, Duke was 15-0 and looking like they'd roll into ACC play.

They have been 12-4 ever since, which isn't anything to sneeze at. But for a team that many felt couldn't be beaten, they've looked rather suspect down the stretch.

PLUMLEES: Most overrated Duke recruit(s) since Ricky Price. Two of the brothers are already at Duke with another one on the way. Add all of them together and they could equal one Brian Zoubek.

Duke must have the Plumlees do something in the NCAAs. Last year's team was set up in a similar way (mainly a guard oriented team), but Zoubek ate up a ton of space, was active and a solid defender. These Plumlees aren't that. Neither was Zoubek until his senior season, but that doesn't help Duke out right now.

DEXTER STRICKLAND: Now that Larry Drew II is gone, Strickland has taken on the role as the Tar Heels that makes you most nervous. Strickland forces shots, drives into traffic and seems to go against the offense at times. But he makes some of those shots and had the big dunk at the end of the game that put the nail in Duke's coffin.

NOLAN SMITH: He should unanimously be the ACC Player of the Year. To see his basketball maturity over the past four years is stunning.

ROY WILLIAMS: Ol' Roy has to win the ACC Coach of the Year award. Guiding this team to an ACC title is one thing, but to do it after you lost a lottery pick (Ed Davis), two transfers (Travis Wear, David Wear) and having another kicked off the team (Will Graves). He then had to deal with Larry Drew II quitting on the team in the middle of the ACC season and losing Reggie Bullock to a knee injury. They now only have 8 scholarship athletes playing right now and their backup power forward is 6-4 Justin Watts. To pull this off is one of Roy's biggest acheivements.

NEXT WEEK: All this is fine and dandy, but we may get to do it all over again next week ... and a No. 1 seed could be on the line.

68 Team Tournament Already Seems Like a Bad Idea

2011-03-06T11:23:00.004-05:00

We have yet to see what the first 68-team NCAA Tournament will look like, but I'm already hating it.

First off, do you need to have your bracket filled out by Tuesday morning? Or are we throwing out those "play in games"?

Second off, look at these extra teams that are getting in. Needless to say, I'm unimpressed.

In Joe Lunardi's latest Bracketology, he has as his "last four in" as Colorado, Virginia Tech, Boston College and Michigan State. Really, none of those teams have done anything to wow you into believing they could scare anyone in the tournament. And remember that those teams are on pins and needles ... and if they fall out of favor, teams like Alabama, Georgia, USC and Missouri State are next in line. Again, unimpressive.

All of this makes me think THANK GOD THEY DIDN'T EXPAND TO 96 TEAMS!! Imagine if we had to fine 18 more teams to put into this tournament. Then we could look forward to adding teams like East Tennessee State, Duquesne, Hofstra, James Madison, Valparasio, New Mexico, Miami-FL and California. It would be insanely watered down.

I know we live in this crazy time where "everyone needs to be involved" and we hand out ribbons and trophies just for competing. We're not 5 years old anymore and you can tell these kids that they aren't good enough to be in the tournament ... so they aren't. I'm not saying to go back to the good ol' days and making only the champion of the conference as the lone representative in the tournament, but there is an opportunity for those bubble teams to show their worth. Early losses doesn't show me that you necessarily belong in the tournament.

It's stupid.

Bengals Are Right To Call Carson Palmer's Bluff

2011-03-02T20:28:00.002-05:00

Here is something I thought I'd never type: the Cincinnati Bengals front office (all three people) are doing the right thing when it comes to the Carson Palmer situation.

To get you caught up, Carson Palmer wants out of Cincinnati so badly that he is threatening to retire if the team doesn't trade him. The Bengals' public stance is they are not going to deal Palmer and that he's their quarterback.

While that may frustrate Bengals fans, they are doing the right thing.

That doesn't mean they can never trade him. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that the Bengals would be smart to not cave into Palmer's demands right now and looking desperate. If they were aggressively looking to deal him now, not only would it open the floodgates for any other moody Bengal to write his own ticket out of town, but the Bengals lose trade leverage.

Sitting on this situation would be best.

Cincinnati can look for deals behind the scenes. There are plenty of teams in need of a quarterback (Vikings, Cardinals, Redskins, Titans, Niners, Seahawks, Panthers, Dolphins and Bills) and not that many names out there to be had. Several of those teams would be interested. Deal him for something of worth.

Now if a deal can't be done, then fine. Just sit on him. If he quits, he quits. That would mean your highest paid player doesn't want his money ... which looks good to the cheap Bengals. I know that the team gets nothing back in terms of talent, but letting him walk could pay off down the road.

I mean, if the Bengals panic and deal Palmer ... then what do you think Chad Ochocinco will do? If the Bengals don't give in to their franchise quarterback, everyone else knows they have a slim shot to work their way out.

Plus Bengal fans must remind themselves that there is some labor discord out there. If the lockout extends deep into the summer, then (a) you aren't even able to make trades, (b) another team would most likely pass on a deal since they'd have limited time to work Palmer into their playbood and (c) the Bengals would have a tough time getting their new QB ready.

To me, it makes sense for the Bengals to play this game of chicken with Palmer. After all, they have a lot less to lose.

It's Late, But Here Comes Texas' Collapse

2011-03-01T00:15:00.002-05:00

Stop me if you've heard this before: the Texas Longhorns have struggled a bit after being considered one of the best teams in the country.

That's right, it is time for the Texas Collapse.

The Longhorns were once the hottest team in the country ... and that was just two weeks ago. Since then, the Horns have lost 3 of 4 -- all to unranked teams sitting on the bubble. They lost at Nebraska, at Colorado and now at home to Kansas State. Wedged in there was an uninspiring win over last place Iowa State. Their final game is at Baylor who are fighting for their tournament lives.

If you recall, last year's Horns team faced an even more devistating collapse. After starting the season 17-0 and climbing to a No. 1 ranking, Texas went 7-10 the rest of the way including a first round NCAA Tournament loss to Wake Forest. The same Wake Forest team that would fire it's coach not too long after that.

Two years ago, Texas began the season 11-2. They would go 12-10 the rest of the way.

While this year's fall isn't as dramatic for a variety of reasons, it is still troubling. All the analysts went on and on about how strong Texas was ... especially on the defensive end. Aside from their loss at Colorado where they gave up 91 points, they've still done a nice job defensively. It is their offense that stinks.

They shot 36.4% against Nebraska.
They shot 42.6% against Colorado.
They shot 33.8% against Kansas State.

In Texas' three losses in this stretch, Jordan Hamilton has shot a combined 15-for-58 from the field.

Teams struggle from time to time, but what should concern Longhorn fans is that their last two seasons have ended rather abruptly. In 2009, they were ousted by Duke in the 2nd round of the tournament. Last year, it was in the first round to Wake.

This year -- who knows?

Are Tar Heels a Final Four Team?

2011-02-28T16:50:00.002-05:00

I must admit, I hate when people ask if a team is a "Final Four team". In reality, about a third of the NCAA tournament field (about 23 teams) could realistically reach the Final Four. That doesn't even add in those other teams outside that list that tend to make runs.

In that aspect, yes North Carolina is a Final Four caliber team. However, do they have a good chance to do so?

Well, they do have a few things going for them. Roy Williams is a tournament vet who has been to six Final Fours and won two National Championships. The school, itself, has won two of the last six championships and went to half of the Final Fours in that time.

They are the best rebounding team in the country. They are one of the best scoring teams in the nation. While they aren't the most stout defense in the world, they're getting much better and the twin towers of Tyler Zeller and John Henson scare a lot of people. Most importantly, they are jelling at exactly the right time.

This team however, has next to zero NCAA tournament experience. Of their normal rotation of players, only Zeller knows what it is like to be in the NCAA Tournament -- and that is minimal. Zeller played sparingly in the Heels' run to the 2009 NCAA title. He played in only a few games that season after suffering a broken wrist in the second game of the season and missing a bulk of the year. The only other name on the roster with any experience is junior Justin Watts, who actually scored a bucket in garbage time in that title game.

Harrison Barnes? Freshman. Kendall Marshall? Freshman. Dexter Strickland and John Henson? Sophomores. The others in the rotation feature a sophomore (Leslie McDonald), freshman (Reggie Bullock) and a transfer (Justin Knox). None have been to the tournament.

This team also doesn't shoot the ball very well. They are just averging 45% from the field. Three pointers? Just 32%. And if they get into a tight game, their 66% free throw shooting could kill them.

Depth, if you can believe it, is also an issue. There is no backup point guard to Marshall. When Larry Drew II left school, he left the Heels without a capable backup (Strickland, the starting shooting guard, tries his best). They employ just three big men, making foul trouble a big concern. The calls are a bit tighter in tournament play -- especially when you are dealing with unfamiliar officials. Zeller is the Heels best post player on offense. Henson makes their defense what it is. Knox is solid, albeit unspectacular.

While they could end up as ACC regular season champions, the league is down this year and could get anywhere from three to six teams into the tournament. But the ACC is also like the rest of the country: down. Remember that people were wondering if Duke could go undefeated this year. UNC could end up winning the league instead of the near-unanimous favorites. If there was a year where this young Heels team could do some damage in March, this would be it.

Seeing a big run in the tournament seems unlikely. While I hope I'm wrong, there is just a lot of unknowns heading into the Dance. Ask any Carolina fan if that beats what the team went through last year and every one of them would take it.

Were Seth Curry Chants Out Of Bounds?

2011-02-27T11:36:00.002-05:00

Full disclosure: I'm a North Carolina Tar Heels fan. Been one my whole life. So when Duke loses or their players are embarrassed then it is a happy day for me. Both happened Saturday night when the No. 1 Blue Devils lost at Virginia Tech and sophomore guard Seth Curry was taunted for his poor showing.

Remember that Seth Curry is the son of Hokies' legend Dell Curry. Dell is the second leading scorer in Virginia Tech history. Va Tech recruited Seth, who instead went to Liberty where he was the leading scorer among freshmen in the country. After his freshman season there, he transferred to Duke. After sitting out a year, Curry has been a big part of the Devils' rotation.

Needless to say Hokie fans weren't pleased to see Seth walk into their gym. Even with Dell sitting in the crowd, there was no love for the son. He was jeered during pregame introductions. He got two quick fouls and was promptly ridiculed. He missed both shots he took, went scoreless, threw a late pass out of bounds and fouled out of the game. Not a good showing.

When he left the game, the fans at Cassell Coliseum chanted "You're not your daddy" at Seth, who look visibly shook by the atmosphere. Dell, sitting in the crowd, seemed a bit bothered by it. While it was clever and true, it did sound a bit like bullying. But were the Hokie fans out of line?

These are college kids, after all, and college kids have bad days. They make mistakes. For a crowd of fellow college kids as well as adults, is it right to ride on a 20 year old kid for not coming to your school? I know nobody likes Duke, but does that excuse fans for pummelling a kid playing for them?

I'd like to say no, but I can't. And it is because we're talking about Duke.

No, my hate for Duke isn't the reason while I side with the Hokie fans. Schools are hated by other schools all over the country. What makes them different? My reasoning is Duke's fans.

Duke is known for the Cameron Crazies. The Crazies take pride in being THE kings and queens of jeering opposing players. Ask J.R. Reid about Duke fans. Ask Grievis Vasquez. Ask a crowd of ACC players about some of the things Duke fans have yelled at them (or wrote on signs).

My point is if Duke dishes it, they have to take it.

Granted, Duke hate is pretty rough. J.J. Redick was harrassed like no other college athlete I can ever remember. The things he heard in Chapel Hill and College Park can't even be written on the bathroom wall at a seedy bar. Not only was Redick harrassed on the court, but fans gave out his cell phone number and he received tons of hate messages. As much as I hate Redick (I think he is a notch below Christian Laettner as far as Duke enemies), that's harsh.

However, I took the same stance then. If Duke is famous for their fans being jerks, then it should be okay for those Duke players to get the same treatment whenever they decide to leave Durham. Seth Curry faced a perfect storm for this. He spurned Va Tech, he went to Duke and he showed fright on his first appearance in Blacksburg. I think he would've been hounded if he went to any other ACC school. But the fact he's a Dookie means he's going to get it good.

I hope someone gave him Redick's phone number.

Sportz Assassin's 2011 Oscar Picks

2011-02-25T21:05:00.003-05:00

Okay, this is a sports blog and I try very hard to keep it that way. So when I go off topic, I try to find the "sports" involved. It's easy this time, as The Fighter is up for Best Picture as well as several other categories. So there.

Now time for my picks:

BEST PICTURE: THE KING'S SPEECH. I have actually watched a few of these films. The King's Speech wasn't one of them. But the momentum it has seems like it won't stop. I loved Inception, Black Swan and The Social Network. The Kids Are All Right was interesting as well. I'll be rooting for Swan and Network, but I'm pretty sure neither will win.

BEST ACTOR: COLIN FIRTH (THE KING'S SPEECH): I think this is a slam dunk, from what I'm hearing. I loved Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network, but Firth has this one in the bag.

BEST ACTRESS: NATALIE PORTMAN (BLACK SWAN): Saw this movie and absolutely loved Portman's performance in it. She plays this perfectly, even if the movie gets over the top at times. She nails it and I think has this award running away. Annette Bening was really good in The Kids Are All Right, but she didn't have to carry the movie the way Portman did.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: CHRISTIAN BALE (THE FIGHTER): I haven't seen this movie yet (I will when it comes on DVD soon), but I'm a big Bale fan. I loved him in American Psycho, hated him in The Prestige (which is a good thing) and think he's one of the few actors that can take on totally different roles with total ease. I'm hoping he gets this one.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: AMY ADAMS (THE FIGHTER): I've seen none of these movies, so I'm no expert on this category. But I like Adams and I love the buzz she's got for her role in The Fighter. I'm picking her, though my dark horse is Helena Bonham Carter in The King's Speech.

BEST DIRECTOR: DAVID FINCHER (THE SOCIAL NETWORK): Tom Hooper could win this for The King's Speech, but I think Fincher will get the nod as a nod for Network. Fincher's ability to replicate a facinating subject that jumps time all through the film was spot on. It could have been weak, but Fincher got this done.

BEST ANIMATED PICTURE: TOY STORY 3. I've bought this movie on DVD but haven't watched it yet. My nephew has and loved it. I've heard the same from many other people. TS3 takes it.

It's Been 50 Years ... Put Roger Maris In the Hall Of Fame

2011-02-25T15:50:00.004-05:00

Roger Maris is probably the third most famous historic baseball player that isn't in Baseball's Hall Of Fame. The others are Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson ... both of who are banned from enshrinement. Maris is, however, but he isn't in.

The year is 2011 ... so it's been 50 years since Maris' magical 1961 season where Maris broke Babe Ruth's single season home run record. 50 years later, it still is the record for most home runs hit in a single season in American League history. Only three players have hit more home runs than Maris' 61. Those guys are Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. All three have been linked to the Steroid Era and their numbers are tainted.

To many people, Maris' 61 still tops everyone. I'm one of those guys.

Think about this: Ruth's mark led for 34 years. Maris' lasted for 37 ... and, like I said, it is 50 years to people who don't count the Steroid players.

Sometimes a player's impact on the game means more than their actual numbers. While Pistol Pete Maravich is beloved by basketball fans from the 1970s, his numbers don't wow you. Neither does Joe Namath's. But those guys were bigger than the game. While you can argue that Maris wasn't a big name when he played, he's become quite an impactful figure since his retirement in 1968.

Maris' numbers aren't outstanding. He hit just 275 home runs and drove in 850 RBIs. His .260 career average is ... average. In his 12 seasons, he went to 7 World Series, winning three. He was a 7-time All Star. He also won two AL MVP awards.

Look, I get anyone's argument why he shouldn't be in. His numbers don't touch those typical levels that HOFers reach. I get that if it wasn't for those 1960 and 1961 seasons, his career is unremarkable. I totally understand.

But it is the Hall Of "Fame" and Maris' name has been linked to baseball's biggest single season achievement for 50 years now. The long ball sells and no one did that better in a season that wasn't on steroids than Maris. The man deserves recognition. With all the drama around the Hall with these cats from the Steroid Era every year, wouldn't having a stoic, sweet man who did it without chemical enhancement be a neat idea.

Maybe your kid will go to Cooperstown and find Maris' name among some of the slime that is or will be in the Hall. You'll get a chance to teach that child who he was.

Again, a neat idea.

Charlotte Shows Us That Playoffs Are Overrated

2011-02-24T19:48:00.003-05:00

Today was trade deadline day and the Charlotte Bobcats were pretty active. Not because they were just 1.5 games back of the Pacers for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and wanted to get some talent for the push. No, they shed salary and stockpiled draft picks to set up their future.

They dealt away Gerald Wallace and Nazr Mohammed and got back Joel Przybilla (who probably never wear a Bobcats uniform), Sean Marks, Dante Cunningham, Morris Peterson and D.J. White. They also pick up a couple of first round picks.

Michael Jordan and the rest of the Bobcats brass decided they were better off not making the playoffs and looking to the future. When deciding between fighting for a playoff berth or ensuring a lottery pick as well as gaining some other picks, the team chose the latter.

That's a sad commentary for the NBA.

The NBA's trade deadline always gives you that sick feeling. Only a few trades are actually made with winning in mind and you rarely see a trade that made both teams immediately better. It doesn't happen. It is Team A adding a guy that was too expensive for Team B.

That is the NBA, where the only way small market teams can acquire anyone is by drafting them and hoping they'll stay. You know, sort of like baseball teams developing talent in the minors and then having to sell them away when it's time to pay up.

Charlotte wasn't the only team doing this. The Houston Rockets had a chance to make a move into a playoff berth. Especially with Denver and Utah dealing off their main players, there will be a couple of teams that could move up into those positions. Houston could have been one of them. But they dealt off Shane Battier and Aaron Brooks for Hasheem Thabeet, Goran Dragic and a couple of first rounders.

The question has been asked before. Is it worth being a No. 8 seed and getting crushed by the Spurs, Celtics or Heat instead of possibly winning the lottery and getting a top three pick? The answer is apparently "no".

Grading the NBA Trade Deadline

2011-02-24T14:55:00.005-05:00

HAWKS GET: Kirk Hinrich, Hilton Armstrong
WIZARDS GET: Mike Bibby, Mo Evans, Jordan Crawford, 2011 first round pick

Nice deal for the Hawks. Hinrich brings leadership, defense and stability to the point guard spot. He and Armstrong will come in and help. This trade should make people happy since it is one of the few trades that was made purely for need (Hawks B+). For the Wizards, this was mainly a money and draft pick thing. They'll most likely buyout Bibby and probably Evans which makes the trade essentially for a late first round pick (Wizards C).

CELTICS GET: Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic
THUNDER GET: Kendrick Perkins, Nate Robinson

Wild deal, here. The Celtics get younger but less physical. I can only see this as a down-the-road trade. Green is a nice young piece for the future but really has no place in Boston right now. And the Celtics dealt Perkins, who is one of the best defensive paint guys in the league for a pretty soft Krstic (Celtics C-). The Thunder will have a pair of lightning bugs in the backcourt with Robinson coming in. Perkins gives OKC a huge inside presence which they haven't had who has a ton of playoff experience (Thunder A-).

KINGS GET: Marquis Daniels, cash
CELTICS GET: 2017 second round pick

They don't need the injured Daniels now that they have Jeff Green. I'm sure you won't remember this trade when the Celtics cash in their 2nd round pick in 2017 (Celtics C). The Kings had to take on somebody to reach the minimum salary cap for the year, even if Daniels is out for the season with a neck injury (Kings C).

CELTICS GET: 2013 second round pick
CAVALIERS GET: Luke Harangody, Semih Erden

Another talent dump for the Celtics. They are planning on using the roster openings to sign some of the players that will receive buyouts in the next few days (Celtics C). Cleveland gets warm bodies ... which is nice (Cavaliers C).

GRIZZLIES GET: Shane Battier, Ish Smith
ROCKETS GET: Hasheem Thabeet, first round pick

Solid trade. Memphis is making a playoff push and will be without Rudy Gay for a month. This deal for Battier fits that void. They really weren't playing Thabeet anyway so they didn't lose anything (Grizzlies A-). Houston is pretty much conceeding two things. One, they aren't a playoff team. Two, Yao Ming may not be walking back through that door. Thabeet is very raw but he brings the size this team just doesn't have. If he pans out, bully! If not, they at least have an extra mid-round pick (Rockets C).

SUNS GET: Aaron Brooks
ROCKETS GET: Goran Dragic, first round pick

This goes with the above deal. Houston is closing up shop on this year. Brooks was unhappy and wanted out. Dragic is spunky and the Rockets again picks up another first rounder. This team is all about the future (Rockets C+). It will be interesting to see how this impacts Steve Nash. Is this a deal made to move on from the Nash era? Maybe we'll see Steve Nash gone near the draft (Suns C+).

BLAZERS GET: Gerald Wallace
BOBCATS GET: Joel Pryzbilla, Dante Cunningham, Sean Marks, two first round draft picks

Good get for Portland. Wallace can do everything on the floor. He gets after it on defense and pounds the boards. They do give up their size which they already were low on, but the deal works (Blazers A). Bobcats wanted to get Wallace's contract off the books and he has struggled a bit when they acquired Stephen Jackson last year. Pryzbilla could be bought out (he threatened to retire if he was dealt), so this deal was mainly about obtaining draft picks (Bobcats C+).

THUNDER GET: Nazr Mohammed
BOBCATS GET: D.J. White, Mo Peterson

For Charlotte, this is obviously a salary dump. Talent wise it makes no sense (Bobcats C). Oklahoma City just added Mohammed to go along with Kendrick Perkins. They may be the big winners on Deadline Day (Thunder A-).

PACERS GET: O.J. Mayo
GRIZZLIES GET: Josh McRoberts, 2011 first round draft pick

Memphis obviously is done with Mayo. They get a tough guy in McRoberts and a draft pick for their troubles. Stings even more that the traded the draft rights of Kevin Love to Minnesota for Mayo a couple of years ago (D+). This is a great deal for Indiana, in my opinion. Mike Dunleavy is hurt and Mayo can step right in there. Also, Tyler Hansbrough's emergence has allowed Indiana to deal away McRoberts, who is the same sort of player. If Mayo pans out, this will be a steal (Pacers A).

NOTE: THE DEAL HAS BEEN CANCELLED BY THE NBA SINCE IT WASN'T PROPERLY RECEIVED BEFORE THE DEADLINE.

CLIPPERS GET: Mo Williams, Jamario Moon
CAVALIERS GET: Baron Davis, 2011 first round draft pick

I think this is a win-win for both teams. The Clips got Mo Williams to replace an expensive guy they couldn't trust to suit up on a daily basis. Williams brings experience. The hard part is giving up a first rounder that will be in the lottery (Clippers C+). The Cavs did this deal for the draft pick as they know that they need to rebuild this team back up. Not only will they have a lot of ping pong balls for their own crappy record, they'll get a lot for the Clippers crappy record as well (Cavaliers B+).

WARRIORS GET: Troy Murphy, 2012 second round pick
NETS GET: Dan Gadzuric, Brandan Wright

Golden State gets some salary flexibility and not much else (Warriors D+). New Jersey deals a guy they really didn't need for Wright (expect Gadzuric to be bought out. Wright is still raw and young and could pan out with some proper coaching. Not much risk (Nets C).

HORNETS GET: Carl Landry
KINGS GET: Marcus Thornton, cash

The Kings did okay in this deal. Landry is on an expiring contract and wasn't coming back. They got a young guy who could be groomed as a backcourt mate for Tyreke Evans (Kings B). The Hornets will rent Landry for a playoff push. He brings some beef in the paint to go against the Lakers, Thunder, Mavs and Spurs (Hornets A-). By the way, this deal turned heads around the league, most notably Mark Cuban, who see the NBA-owned Hornets actually taking on salary.

NETS GET: Deron Williams
JAZZ GET: Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, two first round picks, cash

This is a tough trade to grade. New Jersey gets that "star" they've been trying to acquire for months. But unlike the Melo deal, there is no extension in place. D-Will still could bolt after 2012 and Jersey gets nothing. Tough price to pay for two first rounders, former All Star Harris and Favors, the No. 3 pick in the most recent draft (Nets A or F). Utah moved ahead of the curve and dealt D-Will before the "Melo-drama". If you believe that they wouldn't be able to extend Williams, then they did well to get Favors and Harris who should thrive in Utah. The two first round picks could really pan out as well. Utah may have stumbled a bit, but the future looks good (Jazz A-).

RAPTORS GET: James Johnson
BULLS GET: 2011 first round draft pick

A wash, really. The Bulls didn't need Johnson and get what will be Miami's first round pick (acquired in the Bosh deal). Salary dump (Bulls C). Toronto did okay, getting Johnson for a late round pick (Raptors C+).

KNICKS GET: Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Sheldon Williams, Anthony Carter, Renaldo Balkman, Corey Brewer
NUGGETS GET: Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, Kosta Koufas, 2014 first round pick, 2012 second round pick, 2013 second round pick, cash
TIMBERWOLVES GET: Eddy Curry, Anthony Randolph, 2015 second round pick

Knicks get the superstar scorer they desired. They did give up a lot considering they were essentially bidding against themselves (Knicks A-). The Nuggets did pretty well considering the market was essentially just the Knicks and Nets. They got some keeper pieces as well as some tradeable ones (Nuggets B-). Minnesota gets Randolph for their trouble (Wolves C).

Let's Contract the NBA to 24 Teams

2011-02-24T10:33:00.003-05:00

I'm not that guy who wants the NBA to contract any teams ... but maybe it's time for them to realize that (a) basketball talent in the NBA is watered down and (b) the sudden merging of superstars on teams are going to leave smaller markets in the dust. Maybe the NBA needs to cut out six teams to form a 24-team league.

It is easy to pick off a couple of teams for contraction. Easily, the New Orleans Hornets head the list. This is a franchise that no one wants so the NBA bought them. They are easily gone.

The Hornets old stomping grounds, Charlotte, may need to see their Bobcats go bye-bye. I'm from Charlotte and would hate for the NBA to leave the city, but they are newbies and the city hasn't fully embraced the team.

Toronto seems to be another team. I know the NBA likes that international flavor, but the players aren't fans of being there. All their "star players" have bolted when they've had the chance. Raptors are done.

Three down, three to go.

This is where it gets tough. It's hard to figure out who should go out. Well, to get there, let's look at who deserves to stay.

Lakers: Duh.
Celtics: Duh.
Knicks: Duh.
Bulls: Duh.
Sixers: Duh.
Spurs: Duh.
Heat: Just look at all the guys that want to go to South Beach.
Magic: Great city, warm weather and no state tax.
Pistons: Old time team with a rabid fan base.

Rockets: You can't contract a Texas team.
Mavericks: See above, plus they have Marc Cuban.
Wizards: Hoops belong in D.C.

Nets: This team will have Brooklyn on their side.
Clippers: They usually suck, but LA is a great destination.
Kings: IF the Kings move to Anaheim, then they join that desirable mix.
Pacers: Basketball country that supports their team.
Hawks: Very good franchise and Atlanta can be a great destination.
Warriors: Long time franchise with the most underrated fan base.
Suns: Arizona is a place people like to live.
Nuggets: The NBA doesn't want to lose their lone MTZ team.

That leaves the Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks, Portland Trail Blazers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies. Three of these teams must go.

It is hard to clip the Bucks and Blazers. Both have had their glory days and both are pretty good NBA cities. So they can stay. Cleveland was wobbling a bit after LeBron James left for Miami, but those fans haven't left. That place is still hopping and that team should find their way back. They stay.

So four teams remain on the chopping block and only one survives. Out of the Thunder, T-Wolves, Jazz and Grizzlies ... who deserves to stay?

Seems pretty easy: Utah. I know that Utah is Utah and no one really wants to go there. But this franchise has been a very, very good franchise for 25 years and they can't be contracted ahead of a newish Oklahoma City, been good once Minnesota, and never won a playoff game Memphis. Utah stays, the rest go.

So we contracted the Charlotte Bobcats, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Hornets, Oklahoma City Thunder and Toronto Raptors.

We take it back to the old school and go back to a four division format. Resurrect the Midwest Division and have six teams in each one.

ATLANTIC
Boston
Brooklyn
Miami
New York
Philadelphia
Washington

CENTRAL
Atlanta
Chicago
Cleveland
Detroit
Indiana
Orlando

MIDWEST
Dallas
Denver
Houston
Milwaukee
San Antonio
Utah

PACIFIC
Anaheim
Golden State
LA Clippers
LA Lakers
Phoenix
Portland

Not much different than the four division era before aside from Orlando going to the Central Division (someone had to and they fit best) and Milwaukee going to the Midwest Division.

Now, imagine that those six teams are done. That leaves these guys without teams: Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, David West, Tyson Chandler, Marc Gasol, Stephen Jackson, Zach Randolph, Gerald Wallace, O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, Jeff Green, Serge Ibaka, Andy Bargnani, DeMar DeRozan, Ricky Rubio and Mike Conley ... among many, many other solid players.

Have a three round contraction draft using the inverse order of the current standings. Cleveland could get back their next superstar by taking Kevin Durant. Anaheim could get Chris Paul to run with Tyreke Evans. The Wizards could take Kevin Love. The Nets get David West. Pistons take Russell Westbrook. And so on, and so on where 72 of the up-to-90 players get picked. If a team wanted to pass on picking someone in the third round, they could just say "forfeit".

That means the worst 60-70 guys would filter out of the league and each team would be stronger and the money and talent isn't stretched so thin.

NBA Is Top Heavy Now? Um, It Always Has Been!

2011-02-24T10:12:00.002-05:00

One of the dumbest pieces of whining coming in the aftermath of "The Decision" and the Carmelo Anthony trade to the Knicks is that the NBA is now top heavy. The little guys don't get a chance. That the glory days of the NBA are over and we are in the same boat as Major League Baseball where the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies and Angels own all the great players.

Man you are wrong.

First off, the NBA has always been top heavy. The Celtics or Lakers have won 33 of the 64 championships the NBA has handed out.

From 1949-1954, the Lakers won 5 of 6 titles. From 1957-1969, the Celtics won 11 of 13 championships. From 1980-1988, the Lakers won 5 times; the Celtics won 3. From 1989-1998, the Bulls won 6 times, with the Rockets and Pistons winning twice apiece. From 1999-2010, the Lakers won 5 times and Spurs won 4 times.

Since 1984, only the Lakers (8), Bulls (6), Spurs (4), Celtics (3), Pistons (3), Rockets (2) and Heat have won an NBA Championship. That's 7 different teams in 27 seasons. Meanwhile, big bad baseball has had 9 different World Series Champions in the last 10 years (only the Red Sox winning multiple times).

So how is now any different?

Did Knicks Trade For Wrong Guy?

2011-02-23T18:39:00.003-05:00

Tuesday: Knicks trade for Carmelo Anthony.
Wednesday: Nets trade for Deron Williams.

It should've been the other way around.

New York has two mismatched stars. Carmelo Anthony is a guy who holds the ball and runs a lot of isolations to get his points. Amare Stoudemire is at his best when he runs pick and rolls with a willing point guard.

New Jersey has Deron Williams who is a scorer that makes his teammates better. But he isn't really that superstar player that can make New Yorkers care. And his teammates aren't very good.

What if they switched places?

Do you think Deron Williams could run a pick and roll with Amare in Mike D'Antoni's system? Um, have you seen the Utah Jazz over the last two decades? Utah perfected that play and a Williams-to-Amare dynamic would be great. While he's an All Star player, his persona isn't going to eclipse Amare's. He'd fit perfectly in New York.

Carmelo Anthony is the perfect kind of player to become the face of the new Brooklyn Nets when they move across the river in a couple of years. Him being buddies with Jay Z and Mikhail Prokhorov just seems right. Moreso than Deron Williams.

I know that the "Chris Paul to New York" buzz would wipe out the need for Williams. I get that. I just don't think it will be possible for the Knicks to add Paul at any point. With a new CBA and, most likely, a smaller cap the Knicks may run out of space and assets to bring him in.

NBA Has That 80s Feel

2011-02-23T15:46:00.003-05:00

Remember the 1980s? Well, if you are in your 30s or older than you sure do. Key-tars, Reagan, mullets, power ballads, coked-up businessmen and MTV actually showing music videos. Those were the days.

The NBA seems to be heading back to those days. And as a Laker fan ... I sure don't mind.

In the span of two days, two Western Conference teams traded their superstar player to an Eastern team. Yesterday, it was Carmelo Anthony heading from the Nuggets to the Knicks. Today it is Deron Williams leaving Utah for New Jersey. That came after an offseason where Amare Stoudemire left Phoenix for New York and Carlos Boozer left Utah for Chicago.

In the 1980s, the NBA's Eastern Conference was loaded with stars and star-studded teams. Boston had Hall Of Famers galore on their team. Philadelphia had some decent guys named Erving, Malone, Cheeks and Barkley. Detroit was rising up with a wicked defensive squad. Chicago had this Michael Jordan guy coming in.

The best teams in the Western Conference was the Los Angeles Lakers and ... well a couple of teams would pop up. Either the Rockets, Spurs or the emerging Mavericks caused a fuss. There were other teams that would sneak in but it was mainly the Lakers time to shine.

Welcome to the Teens where what's new is old!

When the All Star Game happened, the Nuggets and Jazz were firmly planted in the playoff picture. Now? They could fall completely out of the race or end up with a No. 8 seed at best. That opens up the race for the Memphis Grizzlies (who are without their star Rudy Gay for a month), Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets (who are looking to make some deals soon). Needless to say, the Western Conference is much weaker.

The East now houses those Mega Teams. The Miami Heat have three All Stars. Boston has four. Atlanta had two. Chicago has a pretty tough team with MVP front runner Derrick Rose. Orlando went to the Finals two years ago and still have Dwight Howard. Now New York has Melo, Amare and Chauncey Billups. New Jersey just has Deron Williams right now, but when with one star in place it will be easier to bring some more talent into the fold.

Remember that guys like LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Rose, Howard, D-Will, Amare and Carmelo are all relatively young and may not have even hit their prime yet. Boston is getting older, yes, but the East is bright with stars.

The West? You have the aging Lakers with a starting lineup filled with guys in their 30s. Kobe is a very old 32-year old whose elite status is on the downturn. San Antonio? Tim Duncan is on his last legs, Manu Ginobili may end up with a Iverson-esque fall once his body feels all the crashes he gets into. Dallas is a bit younger, but are led by Dirk Nowitzki who is 32 himself and 37-year old Jason Kidd runs the point.

Oklahoma City is the hot young team on the rise. That is, until what happened in Utah and Denver happens to them. New Orleans is now on the clock with the Melo-drama as Chris Paul is the guy perceived as next in line to join the Knicks when he becomes a free agent after next season. Portland? Memphis? Can you really trust them? Blake Griffin makes the Clippers sexy again but does anyone really believe he'll stay there long term?

The East is where it is right now. And that doesn't look to change.

What If You Made Up NBA Teams With THEIR Draft Picks

2011-02-22T20:14:00.003-05:00

What if each NBA team drafted somebody and had to keep them for their entire career? What would the NBA look like?

Well, Kobe Bryant would play for the Hornets, Pau Gasol is a Hawk, Joe Johnson a Celtic and LeBron James would be in Cleveland again.

Below is what each team would look like if they kept the top 10 drafted players that are still active in the NBA.

Some teams (most notably the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets) can't fill a full team. In Denver's case, they barely have a starting roster. It happens when you trade away all your draft picks and strike out on the ones you actually do use.

ATLANTA HAWKS
G-Jason Terry
G-Josh Childress
F-Josh Smith

F-Al Horford
C-Pau Gasol
Marvin Williams

Boris Diaw

Acie Law
Jeff Teague
Sheldon Williams

BOSTON CELTICS

G-Chauncey Billups

G-Joe Johnson

F-Paul Pierce

F-Jeff Green

C-Al Jefferson

Randy Foye

Delonte West

Tony Allen

Ryan Gomes

Dahntay Jones

CHARLOTTE BOBCATS
G-Raymond Felton
G-Gerald Henderson
F-Jared Dudley
F-Brandan Wright
C-Emeka Okafor
Ryan Hollins
Derrick Brown
D.J. Augustin

Sean May
Alexis Ajinca

CHICAGO BULLS
G-Derrick Rose
G-Ben Gordon
F-Ron Artest
F-LaMarcus Aldridge
C-Joakim Noah
Elton Brand
Taj Gibson
James Johnson
Kirk Hinrich
Eddy Curry

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
G-Andre Miller
G-Jamal Crawford
F-LeBron James
F-Carlos Boozer
C-J.J. Hickson
Brendan Haywood
Shannon Brown
Daniel Gibson
Jason Kapono
Zydrunas Ilgauskas

DALLAS MAVERICKS
G-Jason Kidd
G-Josh Howard
F-B.J. Mullens
F-Etan Thomas
C-Nick Fazekas
Solomon Alabi

DENVER NUGGETS
G-Jameer Nelson
G-Jarrett Jack
F-Carmelo Anthony
F-James Posey

C-Leon Powe

DETROIT PISTONS
G-Arron Affalo
G-Chase Budinger
F-Tayshaun Prince
F-Greg Monroe
C-Mehmet Okur
Austin Daye
Jason Maxiell
Amir Johnson
Darko Milicic
Theo Ratliff

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
G-Monta Ellis
G-Vince Carter
F-Jason Richardson
F-Troy Murphy
C-Andris Biendrins
Stephen Curry
Anthony Randolph
Mickael Pietrus
Gilbert Arenas
Mike Dunleavy

HOUSTON ROCKETS
G-Aaron Brooks
G-Richard Jefferson
F-Nicolas Batum
F-Rudy Gay
C-Yao Ming
Luther Head
Patrick Patterson
Joel Przybilla
Eduardo Najera
Jason Collins

INDIANA PACERS
G-Jerryd Bayless
G-James Jones
F-Danny Granger
F-Al Harrington
C-Erick Dampier
A.J. Price
Paul George
Tyler Hansbrough
Shawne Williams

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
G-Shaun Livingston
G-Eric Gordon
F-Lamar Odom

F-Blake Griffin
C-Tyson Chandler
Al Thornton
Chris Kaman
DeAndre Jordan
Antonio McDyess
Al Farouq Aminu

LOS ANGELES LAKERS
G-Derek Fisher
G-Sasha Vujacic
F-Luke Walton
F-Marc Gasol
C-Andrew Bynum

Ronny Turiaf
Jordan Farmar
Toney Douglas
Von Wafer

Devin Ebanks

MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
G-Mike Conley
G-Kyle Lowry
F-Hakeem Warrick

F-Kevin Love
C-Kendrick Perkins
Shane Battier
Drew Gooden
Xavier Henry
Hasheem Thabeet

Sam Young

MIAMI HEAT
G-Eddie House
G-Dwyane Wade
F-Caron Butler
F-Michael Beasley
C-Kurt Thomas
Dorell Wright
Eric Bledsoe
Marcus Thornton
Jason Smith
Rasual Butler

MILWAUKEE BUCKS
G-Brandon Jennings
G-Ramon Sessions
F-Dirk Nowitzki
F-Yi Jianlian
C-Andrew Bogut
Ersan Ilyasova

T.J. Ford
Luc Mbah a Moute
Jodie Meeks
Larry Sanders

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
G-Ty Lawson
G-Ray Allen
F-Brandon Roy
F-Kevin Garnett
O.J. Mayo
Wesley Johnson

Jonny Flynn
Mario Chalmers
Corey Brewer
Wayne Ellington

NEW JERSEY NETS
G-Anthony Parker

G-Kyle Korver
F-Derrick Favors
F-Kenyon Martin
C-Brook Lopez
Nenad Krstic
Jordan Crawford

Ryan Anderson

Terrence Williams
Chris Douglas-Roberts

NEW ORLEANS HORNETS
G-Chris Paul
G-J.R. Smith
F-Kobe Bryant
F-David West
C-Cole Aldrich
Brandon Bass

Baron Davis

Darren Collison
Darrell Arthur

Hilton Armstrong

NEW YORK KNICKS
G-Landry Fields
G-Wilson Chandler

F-Trevor Ariza

F-David Lee
C-Nene
Channing Frye
Jordan Hill

Danilo Gallinari
Renaldo Balkman
Andy Rautins

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
G-Russell Westbrook
G-Luke Ridnour
F-Kevin Durant
F-Rashard Lewis
C-Carl Landry

Glen Davis
Corey Maggette
Serge Ibaka
James Harden
Rodrique Beaubois

ORLANDO MAGIC
G-Keyon Dooling
G-Courtney Lee
F-Mike Miller
F-Anderson Varejao
C-Dwight Howard
Shaquille O'Neal
J.J. Redick
Zaza Pachulia
Daniel Orton

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
G-Jrue Holiday
G-Louis Williams
F-Andre Iguodala
F-Thaddeus Young
C-Samuel Dalembert
Evan Turner

Marreese Speights

Thabo Sefolosha
Daequan Cook
Kyrylo Fesenko

PHOENIX SUNS
G-Rajon Rondo
G-Steve Nash

F-Shawn Marion
F-Amare Stoudemire
C-Robin Lopez
Luol Deng

Nate Robinson

Rudy Fernandez
Earl Clark
Marcin Gortat

PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS
G-Sebastian Telfair
G-Martell Webster
F-Travis Outlaw

F-Zach Randolph

C-Greg Oden

Tyrus Thomas
Jermaine O'Neal

Josh McRoberts
Linas Kleiza
Dante Cunningham

SACRAMENTO KINGS
G-Tyreke Evans
G-Kevin Martin
F-Gerald Wallace
F-Hedo Turkoglu
C-DeMarcus Cousins
Peja Stojakovic
Omri Casspi
Jason Thompson
Spencer Hawes
Francisco Garcia

SAN ANTONIO SPURS
G-Tony Parker
G-George Hill
F-Manu Ginobili
F-Luis Scola
C-Tim Duncan
DeJuan Blair
Leonardo Barbosa

John Salmons
Goran Dragic
Tiago Splitter

TORONTO RAPTORS
G-Tracy McGrady
G-DeMar DeRozan

F-Antawn Jamison
F-Chris Bosh

C-Marcus Camby
Andrea Bargnani

Ed Davis

Roy Hibbert

Joey Graham

UTAH JAZZ
G-Deron Williams
G-C.J. Miles

F-Andrei Kirilenko
F-Paul Millsap
C-Nazr Mohammed
Gordon Hayward
Kosta Koufos
Kris Humphries
Mo Williams
Ronnie Brewer

WASHINGTON WIZARDS
G-John Wall
G-Nick Young
F-Rip Hamilton
F-Andray Blatche
C-JaVale McGee
Devin Harris
Steve Blake
Bill Walker
Juwan Howard
Kwame Brown

Could Kobe Bryant Retire At the End of the Season?

2011-02-21T14:42:00.002-05:00

This is based on nothing but a theory. Seriously, could Kobe Bryant hang it up after this season? It isn't as crazy as it sounds.

Kobe Bryant embraced the 2011 All Star Game experience in Los Angeles. He said several times about this being his last All Star Game in front of those LA fans. While that is probably true since the game won't be back in Los Angeles during the rest of Kobe's career (assuming that he actually did play five to seven more years), it looked a lot like he was seizing the few All Star opportunities he could.

The reason reasoning behind a possible Kobe retirement is the Lakers, themselves. By all accounts, this is coach Phil Jackson's final season with the Lakers. While I may not have 100% believed that at the beginning of the year, I can pretty much bank on it now. This team is dragging towards a hopeful three-peat. If it didn't have Phil and his unique abilities, this team would have imploded already.

Imagine a Phil-less Lakers. You have Kobe, the moody Pau Gasol, the moody Andrew Bynum, the moody Lamar Odom, the nuts-o Ron Artest and the aging Derek Fisher (more on his later). This team has a NBA all-time superstar, a notorious "warrior" who dabbles in rap, a guy married to a reality star that could get into one himself and the top player in the NBAPA.

If Phil left that, what will happen to this team? Phil is the glue. Kobe knows this. He knows it so well that he begged for Phil to come back to LA even after Phil blasted him in a book. He also knows that horrible feeling that he experienced in that poor 2004-2005 season -- the only Lakers season that Phil hasn't coached since 1999-2000.

A guy like Kobe knows about windows. He'll know that no Phil could mean that the Lakers become just another team. Where Kobe's at in his career, that doesn't sit well. Kobe, who has five NBA championships and hopes to add another in purple and gold, doesn't want to be on a declining team that is staring up at the Spurs, Mavs, Thunder, Blazers, etc. He's also spent all of All Star Weekend hearing about a different guy that calls Staples Center home: Blake Griffin.

He could do the Michael Jordan or John Elway move and retire while on top. While the Lakers may not win the ring this year, retiring after this season would mean he goes out near the top of his game.

There is also that little labor dispute stuff that could screw with the 2011-2012 season. This could get ugly and may actually result in something similar to the 1998-1999 season where they played just a 50-game season with many teams having to deal with back-to-back-to-back nights where they only played conference games. Remember that Jordan retired after the 1998 season just before that abbreviated 1999 season.

Kobe could see that in a variety of ways. He could say that a schedule packed full of games would really wear on his aging basketball body. He could think that if the owners get what they want, the Lakers talent level could suffer. If the season was cancelled, he just lost a season in his final stretch of his career.

If Kobe retired after the season, he'd have at least 5 NBA Championships, 2 Finals MVP awards, one regular season MVP award, the all-time leading scorer in Lakers history, in the top 8 all-time scorers in NBA history, the 81 point game against the Raptors and 4 All-Star MVPs. Not a bad haul, eh?

He'd also retire with two chronically bum knees and a finger that is pointing the wrong way. He'll just be 32 years old but would have tons of miles on him.

Now, I wouldn't bet on any of this. Kobe is a competitor and can easily find reasons to keep chugging along. But he's also a perfectionist and if he sees his own skills declining, he may decide to hang 'em up before he turns into a broken-down-has-been.

If this weekend showed us anything, it is that we have a ton of new stars waiting to break out. Guys like Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin were the talk of the town while guys like Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James get more pub. Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams, Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo are the future of the league.

So maybe Kobe will pass the torch and ride off into the sunset. Just sayin'.

NBA Second Half Storylines

2011-02-21T02:42:00.002-05:00

Now that the All Star Game is over, it's time to look at what the "second half" of the season has in store. I use "second half" loosely because most teams have just 30 games or so left in their seasons.

THE MELO-DRAMA: The "Where Will Carmelo Go" drama started long before the season started. But a lot of the questions could be answered by the trade deadline. He could be a Knick, a Net or still a Nugget. Or he could go somewhere else. This has been the major story surrounding the League but (hopefully) it will have some resolution by Thursday.

CAN THE LAKERS RECOVER?: Another story is the struggle of the Lakers. Have they gotten too old to threepeat or are they just bored? Maybe it is a bit of both. The Lakers really haven't taken the season seriously, as losses to the Cavs, Kings and Bucks would attest. They better pray that "the switch" is real.

MIAMI OR BOSTON?: It is obvious that the Heat and Celtics are the beasts of the East (with apologies to Chicago). We will all be upset if we don't see these two dance in the Eastern Conference Finals. But who will claim home field? Even more important, who will be the better postseason team? Miami is built for the regular season and could have problems going up against teams with size in the pain and a great point guard ... which Boston has. Boston is one of the oldest teams in the league and could burn out before they get to the ECF.

MVP RACE: Right now, Derrick Rose gets the nod. However, he doesn't have it by a large margin. LeBron James' name is up there, as is Kevin Durant and Dirk Nowitzki. It's so open that there is a chance somebody not on this list sneaks up into the race.

RACE FOR FINAL WESTERN PLAYOFF SPOTS: Right now, 1.5 games separate 5th-place Portland from 9th-place Memphis. Phoenix, Golden State and Houston aren't too far behind, either. You also need to factor in the Utah Jazz (currently 8th) and their sudden free-fall after the resignation of Jerry Sloan ... and the fact that 7th-place Denver could be dealing away Carmelo Anthony.

KINGS MOVE: Another story that could get some run is the future of the Sacramento Kings. The team could move as early as next season and one of the sites they are seriously considering is Anaheim. That could open up a bunch of cans of worms as I'm sure the Lakers and Clippers wouldn't be too happy for the Kings to move into their neighborhood.

OH YEAH, THAT LABOR THING: While the NFL's labor war is grabbing all the headlines, the NBA is heading down the exact same path. In fact, theirs could be a lot worse. The union could decertify and cause the entire process to spiral out of control. This has all the makings of dragging on as the NBA notoriously has a short offseason. My gut feeling is that nothing will be resolved at least until September. Probably before Halloween.

CONTRACTION: I don't see this happening, but know that David Stern has this little bug in his back pocket.

POWER STRUGGLE IN NEW YORK: Knicks GM Donnie Walsh has done the near impossible and took a team with horrible contracts and got them under the cap that they could go after the biggest free agents. The only problem is that Walsh struck out with LeBron and Joe Johnson. They got Amare Stoudemire, which is nice, but a swing-and-a-miss on any Melo deal could force ownerships' hands and run Walsh out. It's a shame, as the Knicks are having their finest season in quite a while.

Sportz Assassin's Bubble Watch - Feb 20

2011-02-20T11:16:00.001-05:00

Head over to the Bubble Watch to see the impact of Bracket Busters weekend, Nebraska's upset win over Texas, St. John's yet another impressive win and check in on all the other bubble teams.

Sportz Assassin Bubble Watch - Feb 19th

2011-02-19T10:50:00.002-05:00

Today is Saturday and there are some big Bubble Games today. So come on over and check out where the bubbles are lying right now and see where gains and losses could occur over the weekend.

Check out my Sportz Assassin's Bubble Watch.

NBA Needs to Create Its Own Hall Of Fame

2011-02-18T12:48:00.002-05:00

The Basketball Hall Of Fame is a joke. Or at least the voters are. Today it was revealed that Reggie Miller, a guy who owns nearly all of the Indiana Pacers career records and led the franchise to six Eastern Conference Finals and one NBA Finals, did not make it to the final vote for the hoops hall.

So they're saying that not only is he not good enough to get into the Hall, he's not good enough to be considered for it. That, my friends, is a joke.

I like Halls Of Fame but I'm not in love with them. There is just so much stupidity involved with election to the Halls that leave me in a bad way. Burt Blyleven wasn't good enough to be in the Hall for a decade ... but this year he is. Cris Carter is near the top of many NFL receiving categories and he's still waiting to get in. In baseball, Shoeless Joe Jackson and Pete Rose aren't in the Hall due to gambling, but there are racists, alcoholics and drug users in ... or soon to be in ... the Hall.

The Basketball Hall Of Fame is different than the others, though. It celebrates basketball in all levels. NBA, NCAA, high schools and international participants are in the Hall. Both men and women. That's cool in a lot of aspects because it shows the community of basketball better than, say, football or baseball.

But I do think it's time for the NBA to build their own Hall Of Fame. Put in Boston, or New York, or even Indianapolis. Make it about the NBA and their players and who were the best of the best in the greatest hoops league in the world.

Then do something else that I think EVERY Hall of Fame should do: make the Halls into a pyramid-like structure where there are different levels of HOFers. Michael Jordan and Joe Dumars are both HOFers but they aren't on the same level. Just like Blyleven and Walter Johnson aren't on the same level.

Guys like Walter Johnson and Michael Jordan belong at the top of those pyramids. Their impact was far greater than Dumars or Blyleven. Not to say those two aren't deserving HOFers, but it's not the same thing.

Which is my point. Most younger hoops fans don't know much about Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Jerry West. If a youngster goes to the Basketball Hall Of Fame, Wilt, Kareem and The Logo would just be mixed it with everyone else. Put them in a special level of the Hall Of Fame that only the best of the best get in. Not only would it make the Hall Of Fames stronger, but it would (a) put more pride on where your level is as much as (b) it allows voters to let those fence guys in because you do have a ground floor.

It could also work, in some aspects, as a punishment. Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds deserve to be in the Baseball Hall Of Fame even though both (allegedly) juiced up. Both were great players before the Steroid Era and both deserve to get in. Mark McGwire and Raffy Palmeiro don't deserve it because the Roids made them into HOF players.

So you could, in good conscience, vote Clemens and Bonds in but knock them down a few pegs. They aren't in the top level with Ruth, DiMaggio, Mantle, Young, Mays and Aaron ... or maybe not even the next level down. But knocking them down a bit helps ease the pain of having their names alongside the greats of the greats.

Which brings be back to Reggie Miller. Miller was a very good scorer, a great shooter and someone who revolutionized the use of the three-point shot. He also did all this in small market Indiana (if Miller was, say a Knick or a Laker, he'd be in without an argument). He deserves to be in no matter what.

Hard to Believe It's Been 10 Years Since Earnhardt's Death

2011-02-18T10:39:00.002-05:00

I'm not a NASCAR fan. I grew up in Charlotte, NC where NASCAR is king and you hear about auto racing so much that you kinda know what's going on.

Still, it's hard for me to believe that it has been 10 years since Dale Earnhardt crashed on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 and died.

I remember when I heard about it. My wife and I were driving home from Charlotte (I know live in the Cincinnati area) when she called her brother on her cell phone and he told her that Earnhardt passed. It was one of those things you didn't think you'd hear.

Again, I'm not a NASCAR fan, but Earnhardt was so popular that everyone knew who he was. Especially in the Charlotte area (Dale was from nearby Kannapolis), the black 3 car was iconic. I've always said that if there was a sports Mount Rushmore for the state of North Carolina, Earnhardt would be one of the four faces to adorn the shrine (the others being Michael Jordan, Dean Smith and Richard Petty).

Earnhardt was a rarity. He raced hard and didn't care if people didn't like him. Yet people loved him because of his "Intimidator" persona. Every interview I saw him in he seemed very personable and generally a happy man. I always think of his "Race ya for a Sun Drop" commercials that were constantly on. Still today, his image is on numerous items in the state of North Carolina.

The interesting thing is the legacy Earnhardt left behind. Not only was he one of the most successful drivers in NASCAR history and one of the most popular drivers ever, his on-track death was the catalyst for many changes in the sport.

The innovations in safety have gone above and beyond what anyone could have dreamed over the last decade. The HANS device (which Earnhardt declined to wear) is now made mandatory for every driver. If Dale had worn the device, he most likely would have survived the crash. Tracks and the walls were made safer and there is more emphasis on cautious driving and penalties for being out of control.

Remember that since Earnhardt's death, the Winston Cup is now the Sprint Cup and losing the tobacco giant as series endorser allowed NASCAR to become extremely popular. We now have "The Chase".

For a non-gear head living in Charlotte, he still was an icon.

SEC Needs to Kill the Divisional Format

2011-02-17T01:14:00.003-05:00

Divisional formats in college sports belong in football only. They work there. It allows you to easily determine who plays for your conference's championship. It works.

It doesn't work in college basketball.

The ACC knew this and never put the Atlantic and Coastal Divisions in the hoops side of things. The Big Ten and Pac-12 know they aren't using their football divisions for basketball when both leagues expand to 12 teams this fall. Conference USA and the Big XII also kill the divisional format for basketball.

So why does the SEC still use it?

It is hurting their conference. Right now, the SEC East has 5 of its 6 teams realistically looking at an NCAA Tournament berth. The SEC West has just one, if that. Yet when the SEC Tournament starts, three of those SEC East schools looking at a ticket to the Big Dance will get screwed out of a bye in the conference tournament while two less deserving SEC West teams will get a pass to the quarterfinals.

It really isn't fair and it really doesn't help the conference.

Right now, only one SEC West team has a winning conference record (Alabama). Yet 5-6 Mississippi State is in line for a first round bye because they are in 2nd place in the West. Meanwhile Kentucky would, as of now, win 4 games in 4 days to win the SEC title.

It's stupid. Fix it Mr. Slive.

It's quite easy. They could use either the Big XII or ACC model.

In the Big XII, they "use" the football divisions in hoops for scheduling only (the teams that comprise the South play each other twice and then play the North teams once every year). Sure, the schedule would the exact same as it has been for the last 20 years, but it would help with seeding and so forth.

Or do the ACC model. The ACC has 12 teams. Each team has two rivals that they play twice every year. Then they go on a three year rotation. They'll switch off playing 3 teams at home only, 3 teams on the road only and 3 teams home and road. So North Carolina plays Duke and NC State twice each year and then plays everyone else 4 times in 3 years.

I like that in the SEC. It would make it even more even since the teams currently in the SEC West don't benefit from beating up on the weaker division. It would also allow for some extra exposure. Right now, Kentucky plays Ole Miss once each year -- home the first year, road the next year. Following the ACC model, Ole Miss will get to see Kentucky 4 times in 3 years.

You could have their yearly rivals like this:

FLORIDA: Georgia, Kentucky
GEORGIA: Florida, South Carolina
KENTUCKY: Tennessee, Florida
SOUTH CAROLINA: Vanderbilt, Georgia
TENNESSEE: Kentucky, Vanderbilt
VANDERBILT: South Carolina, Tennessee

ALABAMA: Auburn, Ole Miss
ARKANSAS: LSU, Miss State
AUBURN: Alabama, LSU
LSU: Arkansas, Auburn

MISS STATE: Ole Miss, Arkansas
OLE MISS: Miss State, Alabama

I like it.