Midnight Madness in Chapel Hill

       
                                                 

Late Night Recap:  The Tar Heels unofficially kicked off their NCAA title defense on Friday night.

Late Night Recap :: The Tar Heels unofficially kicked off their NCAA title defense on Friday night.

Oct. 14, 2005
By Adam Lucas

It's already time.

Although it seems like the Tar Heels just arrived back in Chapel Hill from St. Louis, the 2005-06 basketball season begins today. Doors for Late Night with Roy open at 5:30 tonight, with much basketball merriment to follow.

We'll be refreshing this story throughout the day with various tidbits and stories from the Smith Center. Here's the thing: reader input makes this story work. So send in your emails and we'll try to get to as many as we can. We'll also use numerous emails tonight during the All-Access broadcast of Late Night, so make sure to include your full name and hometown so we can give you proper credit.

And we're off...

8:02 a.m.: Roy Williams gets his first standing ovation of the day as he walks onto the Smith Center floor for the Fast Break Against Cancer breakfast. Approximately 300 people attend the event, which raises roughly $50,000 for the American Cancer Society and the UNC Lineberger Cancer Center.

8:35 a.m.: Williams issues a warning about his young team to those in attendance: "When you come to games this year, you might want to keep your hands up when you're in the stands, because we might throw you the ball."

8:56 a.m.: Reece Holbrook, as usual, steals the show by hopping from the dais down to the floor with a delighted, "Weeee!" Williams watches his young friend and says simply, "That's what it's all about."

9:14 a.m.: The breakfast attendees don't seem to care about lowered expectations for this year's team. Two people bid $4,100 each for four tickets to a closed practice session in November. The very last team-signed basketball from the national championship season goes for $5,000. 
 
9:28 a.m.: The new video boards debut with a showing of the Carolina-centric version of "One Shining Moment" put together by Jones Angell. When Marvin Williams makes the go-ahead shot against Duke (it was so noisy in the Smith Center after that shot that the crowd noise actually had to be turned down during the video's production), it still brings chills--and cheers from the crowd.

10:00 a.m.: The breakfast is over and now a very long day of hard work for the Smith Center operations and maintenance crew begins. They had to set up for the breakfast last night. Now they'll tear down that setup and prepare the floor for Georgia Tech's 4 p.m. volleyball practice and the thousands of expected guests who will pack the building. Then they'll have to convert from volleyball to basketball, and after Late Night is over they'll have to take the arena from game readiness to practice readiness for Saturday's 2 p.m. basketball practice session. Kudos to Angie Bitting, ClaytonWomble, Clara Andrews, Bryant Medlin, Chad Wade, Ron Pendleton, Mitchell Kivett, Eric Quigley, Curtis Cotton, Chris Sparrow, Randy Young, Danny Maddox, and the rest of the building's staff.

10:05 a.m.: Jackie Manuel pulls up in the Smith Center parking lot, limping just slightly from his midsummer foot injury. Jackie's posse is now Jackie and Rhonda's posse, as they were married this summer and are living in Chapel Hill.

1:15 p.m.: Last year the line outside the Smith Center began forming at 1:30 p.m. But if you're heading out right now, you're not going to be first. Massie Minor, a sophomore from Charlotte, has made the wise decision to skip his Friday classes and has been standing in front of Entry A since 10 a.m. "I can't wait to see the new guys," he says. "I'm so excited about this year. Last year we knew how good we were going to be, but this year it's going to be fun finding out."

Meanwhile, at Entry D, Jessica Woltz arrived at 12 noon, coming straight from Italian class. Jessica, who clearly possesses great wisdom due to the fact that she graduated from Apex High (also the alma mater of a certain TarHeelBlue.com writer), is a UNC junior. "I've been a huge Carolina basketball fan ever since I can remember," she says. "I had to be here." Not only will she be here, she'll have really good seats.

Of course, being early pays off in other ways as well. We gave both Jessica and Massie their own personal copies of Led By Their Dreams plus a free Carolina basketball t-shirt.

1:45 p.m.: Let's hit a quick reader question from Elaine Whitley. The All-Access broadcast will begin at 9:30 p.m. No men's basketball activities will take place before that time, so All-Access viewers will see every second of the men's basketball festivities.

We've got to take a quick two-hour hiatus from updating because the TarHeelBlue.com technology wizards will be transferring all our content to a completely redesigned site. Once that site goes live around 4 p.m., we'll be back to updating.

4:35 p.m.: We're back and all of a sudden we're feeling much more horizontal. Hope you like the new look.

The Smith Center floor is fully converted to the volleyball setup and Georgia Tech is going through a quick practice. That means Wes Miller and Byron Sanders, who were shooting around, had to leave the floor.

The crowd outside has grown considerably, as it's now less than an hour until the doors open. That means it's also less than an hour until the annual "Run For The Front Row," which is annually one of the most entertaining parts of Late Night.

Across campus, Jones Angell and Ken Cleary have put the final touches on the videos for tonight. Don't worry, All-Access viewers, you'll get to see the videos as well, as we'll be running them on the broadcast.

5:29 p.m.: All you can hear in the Smith Center is the sound of volleyballs thumping off hands and the occasional shout from a player. Then you hear Angie Bitting say, "Here come the doors!"

5:32 p.m.: All you can hear in the Smith Center is the crashing of feet careening down the metal stairs. The doors were opened one minute ago and the first fans (including Massie and Jessica, naturally) are claiming their seats.

5:45 p.m.: A seating tip: why do people consistently underrate the Smith Center ring as a place to watch the game? Some fans immediately dashed for the baseline when the doors were opened. You actually get a much better view from the ring (the first three rows of the upper deck) at midcourt than you do from the baseline.

It's getting down to crunch time with the emails, folks. Once the broadcast begins, it's a challenge to keep up with the inbox. So submitting your question/comment/random suggestion now gives it a much better chance of making it into the story or the broadcast. We've already gotten an email from as far away as Cairo, Egypt--thanks to Thomas Moore, a UNC senior studying abroad who obviously realizes it's much more educational to follow hoops live on the internet than to do something less valuable such as, say, visiting the pyramids. Anybody else out there listening near one of the seven wonders of the world? Already today we've spanned the globe from Apex to Cairo. It doesn't get much more highbrow than that.

5:55 p.m.: T-minus 40 minutes until volleyball against Georgia Tech. Intrepid volleyball SID Bobby Hundley provides the volleyball game notes, which include the following nugget about the last pre-Late Night volleyball game in 2003: "16,126 fans--the most to ever watch an NCAA volleyball match--saw the Tar Heels defeat the Duke Blue Devils in five games. Carolina volleyball is now in the NCAA record book for attendance at a match held in conjunction with a special promotion of another athletics event." No one's ever going to accuse the NCAA record book of an overemphasis on brevity.

Volleyball pregame music update: we just had Ozzy Osbourne and Trick Daddy's version of "Crazy Train" followed immediately by Color Me Badd's rocking single "All For Love." That CMB (as we in the know call them) song includes the lyrics, "See everyday in my life without you/Is like a hundred years/The distance between us/An ocean of tears." Those of us in the writing community marvel at such prose.

6:10 p.m.: Ken Cleary just walked by with a set of very long cables in his hand. This is a good sign for All-Access viewers, because it means everything should be hooked up by broadcast time. Ken's the guy who makes much of the video magic at the Smith Center and Kenan Stadium happen (and also one of the driving forces behind the very good Team Carolina DVD).

6:20 p.m.: Last year's readers/viewers will remember that one ongoing theme was the quest for a good place to eat lunch in Salt Lake City, as the next day involved a trip to Utah for the football game. This year it's a football bye week so we're going with a more basketball-themed question: where were you the last time the Tar Heels took the court on April 5? We'll include the most unique national championship memories later in the column.

Oh, and we got a good reader question: where's the basketball team while all this is going on? They're over at the Carolina Club having the pregame meal. So if you're in town and pass 11 tall guys wearing suits--Quentin Thomas was promising to wear a bowtie, but we're not sure yet if he pulled it off--it's probably the Tar Heels.

6:40 p.m.: Volleyball has started and I just realized something very important: I'm in prime get-spiked-in-the-nose territory. There will be a delay in the updates while I put on a Matt Baker-style flak jacket. By the way, Carolina leads the first game 4-1.

6:50 p.m.: An interesting little state-of-the-ACC note you might not realize: there's no ACC Tournament in volleyball. Instead, with the expanded ACC, the league uses that extra weekend to play a complete double round-robin schedule. You might remember that particular scheduling format, as it used to be the norm in men's basketball in the ancient days of 2003.

Carolina leads 15-9 (games are played to 30).

7:10 p.m.: Carolina takes game 1 30-23.

The basketball team is in the building and busy making the folks sitting near the home tunnel very happy by signing quite a few autographs.

8:30 p.m.: No, your fearless correspondent didn't get brained by an errant spike. The Tar Heels won the volleyball match in three straight games. Kenny Smith is officially in the building and the volleyball court is being converted back to a basketball court. We're about 20 minutes away from The Jet's (is there a cooler nickname in Carolina basketball history?) introduction.

8:50 p.m.: Former player check: Al Wood, whose daughter is on the women's team this year, has arrived. King Rice and Hubert Davis have also been spotted.

We've got an update on the teams for the scrimmage. It's going to be the freshmen plus a former player or two against everybody else. Too bad Eric Montross isn't here, as he was last year, to recount the story of what happened when his heralded freshman class challenged the upperclassmen in the first scrimmage of the year. Hint: the rookies didn't win.

9:05 p.m.: Kenny Smith has taken the floor. Good speech from Kenny: "I'm not just representing Kenny Smith. I'm representing all the former players. I'm representing Sam Perkins. I'm representing James Worthy."

Now Kenny's taking on some contest winners in a game of one-on-one. He missesa jumper against the first one and then throws out some kind of behind-the-head move against the second guy. Fortunately, neither of these contestants are as good as Justin Timberlake.

9:20 p.m.: Ivory Latta and La'Tangela Atkinson lead the women's team out for a quick skit. It's very hard to do this skit justice in words. Let's just say that it's set to "My Humps" by the Black Eyed Peas. Let's also say that one day if Carolina needs a host for this event, it'd be hard to do better than Ivory Latta.

A quick observation: Rashanda McCants, who is wearing number-32, looks a lot like Rashad.

9:28 p.m.: We're about two minutes from going live on All-Access. That means it'll begin a couple hours of struggling to talk and type, kind of like rubbing your stomach and patting your head at the same time. A word of warning: I was never very good at that. This would be a good time to send in a few quick questions. We've heard from about 10 states so far.

9:50 p.m.: Thought we weren't coming on air, didn't you? A few easily solved computer problems later, all the folks at home are getting to check out the new Tunnel Walk video on All-Access. The coaches have made a brief appearance, we've had the national anthem, and we're just about one minute from the team introduction and the first skits of the night. No surprise here--David Noel's variety of dunks on the video draw the biggest applause from the crowd.

We're getting some reports of choppy audio and they're working on it.

David Noel just took the prize for best introduction by coming out of the tunnel wearing a gaudy, Rasheed Wallace-style, championship belt.

10:00 p.m.: There are some potential dancing stars in this group of freshmen. That being said, as a dancer, Tyler Hansbrough (who has a good sense of humor and therefore can take this) makes a really good rebounder.

10:10 p.m.: OK, audio update. It was an internet connectivity problem. They've shut it down and are rebooting. We'll be back on All-Access in about five minutes.

In the meantime, David Noel is playing Stuart Scott as he hosts a special Carolina edition of the ESPN show "Teammates." Hansbrough, who is quickly becoming the foil for this team, is taking a few more hits. All three pairs of teammates just selected him as the roommate they'd least like to have on a roadtrip.

10:15 p.m.: Thanks to Ken Cleary and Jason Dimberg, the audio is fixed on All-Access. Thanks for bearing with us.

10:20 p.m.: Byron Sanders and Reyshawn Terry win the Teammates competition. Meanwhile, Marcus Ginyard and Danny Green got just two answers correct. As Noel just said, "Hey, they're freshmen. They've got four years to learn."

10:30 p.m.: You know, Bobby Frasor might actually be able to pass for a member of the Jackson Five.

10:40 p.m.: Now it's time for "Dancing with the ACC Stars." This features perhaps the biggest group of celebrity guests yet. Bobby Frasor is playing a certain other Tobacco Road coach, Tyler Hansbrough is a well-loved former Wake player and current TV personality, and King Rice is, well, himself. They're the judges. They'll be judging an illustrious group that includes the return of Divine Noel and the return of Wes Miller imitating Roy Williams.

10:50 p.m.: Wes Miller does an unbelievable Roy Williams impression. And the man enjoying it the most was the head coach himself. Wes actually didn't want to do that particular impression this year for fear of making the first day of practice especially tough, but he was persuaded that it's an essential part of Late Night.

10:55 p.m.: They've just unveiled the national championship banner, and the arena is--as you would guess--going crazy. The dropping of the banner was preceded by a highlight video from the Illinois game. It wasn't just the fans enjoying the memories, as the eyes of every player were locked on the boards.

11:05 p.m.: On the script, it's called "Men's Circle Dance." That means everyone forms a circle and each player gets a turn in the middle to freestyle a few dance moves. There are some high quality dancers on this team. And then there are a few who, well, the scrimmage is coming up soon. The coaches, as always, turned in a few sharp moves of their own, concluding with Jerod Haase doing some type of heel-clicking maneuver.

11:20 p.m.: We're about five minutes away from the scrimmage. We've got Frasor, Green, Ginyard, Hansbrough, Copeland, and Hubert Davis taking on Noel, Thomas, Sanders, Miller, Terry, and King Rice.

11:50 p.m.: Marcus Ginyard actually gets some playing time, Danny Green gets a barrel of rebounds, but the freshmen lose 27-19 to the returning players in a 10-minute scrimmage. The rookie downfall probably came because they never ran a play for "Huuuuu..."

Again....More Buzzing Around Sports

*MURDER PLOT ON JAGS CHEERLEADER.  Check this one out.  Three men were attempting to break into a Jags' cheerleader's apartment....kidnap her....kill her....then steal her Mercedes.  One of the men used to live above her in an apartment complex, knew she was a cheerleader, and seen her nice Mercedes.  When trying to break in, they made a ton of noise which got the cheerleader screaming.  They were scared off.  About 6 hours later, police were called about a disturbance, which one of those men were involved in.  Dude had a gun, pointed it at police, and was shot and killed.  Coming soon to the Lifetime Movie Network. 

*BOXING IS ATTEMTED MURDER.  Jesuit magazine "Civilta Cattolica" has dubbed boxing as "a legalized form of attempted murder".  They shun the sport [and the sport around the sport] as ruthless and barbaric.  This come about a month after a fighter in Las Vegas died after passing out in his dressing room after a fight. 

* ....AND WATER IS WET.  Bill Romanowski admitted to "60 Minutes" that he had uses steroids in the later parts of his career.  NOOOOO!!!  Say it ain't so, Romo!!!  This news really shocks me!!  Just as when I learned the Earth is really flat....now this!!  How can he possibly used steroids??  I mean, I'm sure he wasn't on them when he ripped a teammate's helmet off in practice, then caved in dude's eye socket with his fist.  I am flabberghasted!!!

*MIDNIGHT COMES A BIT EARLY TODAY.  Midnight Madness is upon us.  Yep, Midnight Madness, the event in which college hoops programs are allowed to officially practice begins tonight.  At 7:00.  Yeah.  "Midnight" Madness is at 7:00pm in each time zone.  Yeah.  The reasoning for this move is to promote better sleep habits, or something.  Oh, I know!!  It is to get these things on television!!  Either way, it is a shame....since Midnight Madness is a great college event.  In 1994, I was attending UNCC [that's just the Charlotte 49ers for everyone else] and went to the Midnight Madness.  It usually just aguise for introducing the fab freshman and seeing what the players coming back improved on.  Check ESPN-U for some Madness tonight. 

*UMP HAS REGRETS.  The home plate umpire who blew the call Wednesday night says he regrets not making a clear cut call at all.  First off...that's man of him to say.  Second off...I think the Angels are regretting that too.  It is one thing to get the call wrong....that happens....but at least get the call wrong with some conviction.  If he's out...punch him out.  If the ball hit the dirt....make that call.  If EITHER of those things would have been done....no one would bat an eye to any of this. 

                                               

*OAKLAND REHIRES THE MANAGER THEY, UH, LET GO?  The Oakland Athletics were set to talk to Orel Hershisher [the pitcher that made them into mince meat 17 years ago] for their managerial position.  Oh, scratch that.  They rehired the guy they let walk last week.   Ken Macha wasn't fired...his contract ran out.  And when they couldn't agree to terms...Macha was out.  Now, a change of heart by someone brings these two together.  Good thing too.  Despite missing the playoffs....they were a huge surprise just getting into the hunt.  Congrats!

*INSTANT REPLAY IN BASEBALL.  I am a big Instant Replay guy.  I love it in football.  I think it's been a plus in basketball [remember Kentucky-Michigan State?].  And it's a great tool for the NHL.  However, I am not in favor for it in baseball.  Well, let me take that back.  In ONE instance.  Home runs.  In the entire field of play...the home run is the one play that is ALWAYS the furthest play away from an umpire.  Sure, every missed call effects the outcome of a game in one form or another.....but home runs are instantly effected.  There should be no instant replay of foul balls [except in home runs], catches, tags, force outs, or even what happened in Chicago on Wednesday.  And for people that complain and moan that this will add time to the game....um, no.  In those types of calls...routinely you see all the umpires gathered up together in discussion trying to figure out what the correct call is.  What's the difference if there was a monitor in the TV camera pit that they could take another look at it??  Sure...this may only occur a handful of times in a season...but such a thing happened in Houston this past Saturday.  If the wrong call was made there, then we'd pretty much have people hating umpires right now!

 

Name Droppin' Pt V

Every once in a while...I just feel compelled to share with everyone the bits and takes from the other blogs I read just so everyone can get in on the knowledge.

Mrs. Sportz Assassin:  Her Survior Blog chronicles what happened this past Thursday night.  "My favorite quote of the show: "Blake talks about himself ALL THE TIME!"  Brandon.   Get right out of town, can you not tell by looking at him that's how he would be?!!  Lydia's pancake dance?!!  WTf was that about?! LoL"

Always read Two Minute Warning....a blog that I write for.  There is a take about Nomar rescuing a couple of chicks....plus my take on the NFL in Mexico.

Diecast Dude's Blog:  A nice take on the usage of the word "curious".  But you gotta read the entry Coming Soon... where he hits on "The film debut by the Gang Of Four, "A Hard Blog's Night," is already gathering rave reviews before its national debut this Saturday evening.  Starring those lovable moptops already known the world over for their zany antics, the movie follows the madcap action of our four heroes individually and collectively saving NASCAR from itself".

DC Sports Guy:  He chronicles the current trend of bloggers becoming the news to the real reporters.  Pretty funny.  Usually, we bloggers are loathed by the "real media types" since we smuggly hold up our websites since we really answer to no one.  All the while, they went to school, fight for jobs, etc to do the same thing.  But...here is where bloggers rule to a fault.  We are fans.  Those sports writers are not.  Take Mr. Skip Bayless, for example.  He's been the writer in Dallas, the Bay Area, Mars where he has to"cover" the local teams.  We don't.  We speak out of love, to a fault, about the teams and sports we love.  And we don't have to kiss anyone's butt for future interview purposes.  [::stepping off my soapbox::]

                                   

Coztanza's Commentary takes us back to the beginning of the current Yankee dynasty.  "This past week marked the tenth anniversary of a classic baseball postseason series. In 1995 the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners met in the first ever Division Series, one which would go the distance. It featured tremendous games, an amazing comeback, and a finish that rivals any in the history of baseball. It saved baseball in one city, and spurred the moves that launched a dynasty for the other. Game 5 of the 1995 ALDS was one of the greatest and most significant contests in the history of baseball."  Indeed.  Remember, this was the season after the cancelled World Series and the first postseason with a wildcard team.  Excellent take by G-Coz....as he details that 1995 season and puts it in my head like it just happened last year.

Monponsett takes us on a ride with Michelle Wie...and how she non-chalantly goes pro while the NBA is busy trying to keep teens out of their league.  "The NBA will point to a rule they drew up, and tell the kid it's nothing personal. David Stern won't tell the kid that American public mentality feels that you can't give a black kid $60 million, or that the same black kid is- genetically and demographically- less qualified to operate in the world than a tennis player, a curveball artist, or a golfer."  While I am in favor of the NBA and NFL age limit [these are team sports, while Wie, like the Williams sisters, are playing for themselves]....I do understand where this comes from.  Please, take a read ofher take on this.

                                         

Premature Jock-ularity is smacking on the issue of the day...the playoffs.  I love his take here..."There's been enough cursing of Fox for putting both games on simultaneously (and farming one out to FX), as well as ESPN's first-pitch competition with the 11 o'clock news. I'll try to be as brief as possible: I'm old enough to remember coming home from school and watching postseason baseball, even after the conversion to night games began in 1971. I couldn't always stay up to watch all of the night game, but I usually got to see the Oakland-Baltimore late-afternoon clashes (and even saw the famous '73 Pete Rose-Bud Harrelson dukeout in a classroom during some long-forgotten after-school activity). Thankfully, today's kids got to enjoy some weekday afternoon games on ESPN last week, but Fox had to go and turn grinch in the second round. Oh well, remember The Baseball Network in '95, when you only got to see one of the four Division Series games each night?"  As a 30-yr old....I spent most World Series asleep because I had school in the morning.  I missed Kirby Puckett's catch.  I missed a lot of World Series finals.  I used to turn on the TODAY SHOW the next morning just to get their quick blurb on who won the previous night.  In addition to what Pre-Jock has been saying...I don't see why Major League Baseball doesn't take a page out of the NFL's book and offer up a American League package and a National League package.  Two broadcast networks would have baseball with the World Series rotated.  Hey, works for the NFL.  Sure, the AL would command more money with the Yankees and Red Sox...but the NL has two more teams and Barry Bonds.   In the NFL, the NFC commands more money due to the larger markets they serve.

Quick Slants is a lucky somma-gun that getsto go to USC-Notre Dame.  He brags about it on his blog.  "It dawned on me today at the office, while I was sitting in a quiet, windowless room waiting for a phone to ring (don't ask), that I'll be at the biggest college football game of the entire season this Saturday."  You suck!!!!

Yannis' Sports Journal recaps "Juiced" by Jose Canseco...goes over his fantasy preview....and is doing a bang-up job as the host of Roundball Bloggers

Saved By The Blog.  JESUS CHRIST.  Just read it.   I've probably learned more about blogging from reading Chris' blog.  To this day, I remember him saying on "The Show with Jess Atkinson" [is that even on anymore???]  that people like to see pictures.  From there, I've always made an effort to keep my blogs full of color and stuff to look at.  As Butthead once said..."reading sucks!"

 

LAKERS IN TRANSITION takes us into Lakers camp.  My favorite team.  Raisin [author] says that "Kobe and Phil say there WILL NOT be a problem.  Kobe looks ready to play and has put some of that muscle he lost a a couple of years ago back on his frame. "  Sounds good to me!!!

Alex's Sports Blog gives a take about "Are you not as interested this ALCS that the Red Sox and/or Yankees aren't playing, or are you happy that new faces are dominating the postseason?".  I have to remember that Alex is, what, 12?  So, to him....the Yankees and Red Sox are always competing right now.  Also...only the White Sox are really new.  The Angels won a title 3 years ago...and they'vebeen right there ever since.  Here is my take.  To me, it is just as exciting that those two teams are not in it right now.  I understand where Alex is coming from...as last year's NBA playoffs blew for me since the Lakers were M.I.A.  But ask fans in Chicago, Denver, Miami, San Antonio, Phoenix, Seattle, Washington and the rest if the NBA playoffs were boring.  Same thing here.  Chicago and Los Angeles are buzzing...and they are the #2 and #3 media markets.  While the Eastern seaboard may be sulking...the rest of the country loves both teams BECAUSE they took out Boston and New York.  Most of us are tired of being force fed those two teams as it is...that another ALCS with them would almost make me take a gun to my head. 

The Scottsman gives a take on Charlotte and Humpy Wheeler.  Being from Charlotte...I was very excited to read his take.  By the way...my preseason pick of Tony Stewart is turning out to be a good one!!!

The Ohio LeBlog is on hiatus until the Cavaliers season starts.  With the Indians puttering at the end and Ohio State essentially out of any BCS bowl....I understand he's a bit bent.  But I wanna read his take on LeBron's injury. 

Ramblings from the NBA Asylum [one of my personal favorites, whether it is blogging, e-mails or message boards] has his takes on all the offseason moves. 

The Sportz Guru Report.  Thank God you are back!!!

The WildCat Blog.  Tree's doing more in his Packers blog right now....but I can see that he is gearing up for the upcoming Kentucky season [I'm not].  I will always say that Tree is the best Kentucky fan because I really, really, really think he is the ONLY non-myopic UK fan in the entire state of Kentucky.  I really mean it. 

Sports Bar & Buffet always has a "buffet" of topics to discuss.  
Yankees "But the New York Yankees have 208 million pieces of green paper that proved to be not worth as much as Steinbrenner originally calculated."
Longhorns  "Odds are [Mack Brown] could put up Texas' first undefeated season in 36 years. And instead of a national champion, he could be this year's Auburn.  Question: How could we end up in the wrong place two years in a row? "
Lew, you know that I think that Texas is a better team than USC right now.  No one dares knock down the Trojans until they knock themselves off.  Well, except me.  I would almost......almost....put V-Tech ahead of USC too. 
And, of course, he's reveling in the Boys smackdown of the Eagles.

 Calling the shots actually has hockey on his blog.  I thought I [and DieCastDude] was the only one!!!  And I barely know squat!!

Remembering Oldie's Moldies gives his fantasy nuggets for Week 6.  "If Peyton Manning does not do it against the Rams it is time for his owners in ff to give up the ghost. Tony Dungy obviously thinks more about winning then building up stats for Peyton."

And, finally, the mighty mjd sports blog.  Here ya go:  "I get an e-mail yesterday from the CafePress.com people stating that they had to take down one of my items because someone else is claiming that it infringed on their intellectual property rights. I'm not going to name the company, but they apparently have something to do with college athletics and their licensing... things of that nature.  Theitem in question was a t-shirt that said, in a plain font, "i went to a colorado football game and all i got was forcefully sodomized." There were no logos, no mascots mentioned, nothing of the sort. I posted it soon after the Katie Hnida/Every-Other-Female-in-Colorado rape incidents, I wasn't happy with the responses of Gary Barnett and the people at Colorado and I thought the shirt was sort of a funny way to take a little jab at them.  Now, I don't care about having to remove it. I took down the t-shirt, the image, all of that. And I have no desire to put them back up. But I'm justwondering, and maybe someone who's involved with law can tell me... is that really an infringement? Can the words "colorado football game" not appear at all on an unlicensed t-shirt?"

Week 6 Preview

             

REDSKINS AT CHIEFS.  Ahhh...the game that gets the protesters.  Alright, let's talk keys.  When KC has the ball...they will try their best to pound away with Priest and LJ.  They won't be very successful most of the time...but they will bust a few big ones.   Tatum Bell did it last week......Shaun Alexander did it the week before.  But can they throw the ball successfully??  The Redskins have done very well in pass defense of late, slowing down hot QBs Matt Hasselbeck and Jake Plummer.  On the other side, the Redskins have dones surprisingly well on offense, with 2 TD passes in each of the last 3 games.  The Chiefs aren't exactly a great defense.  I think Portis will rack up another 100 yard game.  So...how will it play out??  I think the game will be pretty even, with the exception of a few big plays the Skins give up.  That field position will cost them with FGs...and a Holmes TD.  Chiefs 20-17

                                           

FALCONS AT SAINTS.  In the lone game in San Antonio, the Saints looked like a legit team.  And despite all their bad play, they are still 2-3.  A win here would go a long way to keeping them in the NFC South race.  However, the loss of McAllister is huge.  This puts the offensive burden on the passing game, which has it's own issues.  Atlanta comes in after a heartbreaking loss to the Pats with Matt Schaub as the QB.  Whether it is Shaub or Vick....the Falcons will squeak this one out.  Falcons 23-20

                                      

PANTHERS AT LIONS.  Carolina has won two straight...but have had defensive lapses in both games....especially in their secondary.  But that was against Brett Favre and a suddenly lethal Cardinals offense.  They won't face that in Detroit.  Even in their blowout of B-more, Joey Harrington had a poor game.  Panthers 24-16

                                     

BENGALS AT TITANS.  A trap game.  The Titans have quitely been a pretty good team.  They've won twice....and were only totally beaten against the Steelers.  The Bengals are coming off a tough loss in their biggest test of the season....on the biggest stage of their season.  It all points to letdown.  Or not.  Cincy's defense will allow McNair to be sucessful...but that Titans defense hasn't shown an ability to stop an offensively superior team.  Bengals 34-28

                                      

BROWNS AT RAVENS.  Let's face it...the Ravens played very badly last week. Really, all year.  They've been bad at nearly every facet of the game.  I think last week's antics could/should be a wake-up call.  This is a must game for both of these teams...since Pitt and Cincy are way above their level.  Ravens 17-7

                                       

JAGUARS AT STEELERS.  Another trap game.  Both teams won in primetime last weekend.  Both teams held on the close victories against tough offensive opponents.  Both feature big, tough QBs from the Mid American Conference.  Both have tough defenses.  Both have former linebackers as their head coaches.  Both can't win.  The Steelers stable of running backs does enough to pull this one out.  Steelers 20-13

                                    

DOLPHINS AT BUCCANEERS.   The focus here will be running backs.  It will match up former Auburn backs Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown.  Plus some dude named Ricky Williams is making his comeback.  But it will be how these QBs can fair against these two tough defenses.  I like the Buccs WRs in this game.  Buccaneers 17-6

                                    

BEARS AT VIKINGS.  Both teams suck.  And that whole orgy cruise doesn't help matters at all [unless you were the pimp].  But, the Vikings looked really good in their last home game...and the Bears are really struggling to score points....offensively.  I think Daunte will have a big game.  Vikings 27-9

                            

GIANTS AT COWBOYS.  Wow.  Every NFC East team will have played Dallas...but no one else.  The Giants offense has had a week off to try to stay on track.  However, I don't like their defense in this game.  I think Drew, Key and Glenn will get their shots in this game.  Cowboys 24-21

                             

PATRIOTS AT BRONCOS.  What a game this one will be.  How about New England??  They've had to play in Carolina, in Pittsburgh, San Diego, in Atlanta and in Denver in 5 straight weeks.  Amazing.  But the Broncos are playing at such a high level right now....and I think those defensive injuries will hurt them here.  Broncos 31-27

                                   

JETS AT BILLS.  Both teams brought in new QBs last week....and both teams won.  This will be a "frog-strangler" as a buddy of mine says.  It seems that with Holcomb at the helm for the Bills, their receivers [read: Moulds] has come to life.  Bills 9-6

                        

CHARGERS AT RAIDERS.  The thing people need to remember is that despite all the woofing about how great San Diego is....they are just 2-3.   However, they could be 5-0...as all three losses they had the lead late in the 4th quarter.  The Raiders have sat out a week....but does that mean anything??  Not to me.  Chargers 30-23

                         

TEXANS AT SEAHAWKS.  God...watching this Houston offense is horrible.  The team can't get any big plays and they suck in the redzone.  And when the offense can't score....the defense starts not to care.  Seahawks 34-10

                                    

RAMS AT COLTS.  The Rams offense can get some things done...but they aren't running the ball very well right now.  The Colts can shut that down and force the Rams to throw the ball.  In doing that, the Colts will blitz and blitz Bulger, and knock him around [like he gets done to him every week].  On the other side, that Rams defense is no match for the Indy offense.  Colts 42-21

The Umpire Is Full Of Crap

                        

Another interesting aside to all of this.   

The umpire said in the post game news conference [something that is almost NEVER done] that if you go back and watch him all night...that's how he calls the game.  He said if you watch his "mechanic" [his word], you will see that's how he makes that call.

WRONG!!!   In the 6th inning, Benji Molina struck out swinging on a ball in the dirt.  The ump held his arm out perpendicular to the ground.  When Pierizinski (sp) tagged him, the ump then clenched his fist and pumped his arm, "out". 

In that 9th inning....Pierizinski (sp) struck out swinging...the ump held his arm out, perpendicular to the ground and then pumped his fist, "out"....even though there was no tag.  Precedence in THAT GAME ALONE states that he calls an "out" when he clenches his fist.

The ump if full of crap.  So, to me, he's scrambling to cover up his mistake.  He is wrong. 

About 20 Years Ago....It Happened To Me

                       

About 20 years ago, I played Little League Baseball in Aurora, Indiana for the Cubs [no, that isn't me above].  I was picked to be on the Aurora All Star Team which goes and plays in tournaments.  I was a horrible hitter [I was scared to strikeout, so I never swung the bat] but I was smart and played solid defense.  We were playing in that Little League Tournament when a play, similar to what happened in Chicago last night, bit us in the backside.

If I remember correctly, the score was tied in the bottom of the 6th inning [the final inning in Little League].  Our hitter received a walk....which walked in the championship winning run.  We all lept, jumped and celebrated.  The other team walked off the field dejected, as at that point we were playing for some real marbles. 

All of the sudden, their catcher picks up the ball...runs in our dugout [where the celebration had moved to] and started tagging everybody.  The ump threw up his first in an "out" sign....and the game went to the 7th. 

WHAT!?!?!?

Well, the dude who was at the plate for the walk....never went to first.  The guy from 3rd went home...but the hitter never went to first.  Under rule, the hitter could have walked all over the field partying....then touched first...as long as he didn't leave the field of play.  Since he went into the dugout to celebrate with the rest of us....he was "out". 

Now we were the dejected ones...as our championship was just stolen away.  The most memorable thing about it was that I was the only one not crying during the extra innings because [and I distinctly remember this] that I told them that we can still win this thing. 

We went into extra innings and eventually lost. 

It is funny that the game ended this way.  When I grew up, I loved baseball.  My family pretty much grew up on it.  My uncle [my Dad's brother-in-law] was a Major League catcher in the 50s and 60s for the Red Sox, White Sox, Indians and Twins....and would later manage the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves.  My Dad knew the baseball rule book front to back....and was the manager of my Little League team.  So I KNEW the rules.  Well, not all of them. 

No.  I wasn't the hitter in this story.  Nor the guy who scored the winning run.  To be honest, I don't really remember where I was at that moment....but for some reason, I can see everything happening in my mind like I was on 2nd base.  But I played center field, so everything in baseball comes to me like I am seeing it from that angle. 

That was the last Little League game I played in.  That was the last organized baseball game I played in for the rest of my life.  

After that...I moved on the hoops and football...which has taken over for baseball as my sporting loves.   

This was my first experience into those "rules that never get called".  It still is a sore spot to me and my Dad [who was the manager of the older Little League team playing in the same site and a different tournament].  For years, I had the trophy marking us runners-up.  Only last year, did I toss it away when my wife and I moved into our new house. 

So, whenever I see something odd like this happen [which baseball is the king of all such lunacy], I remember back to this.

A Lot Of Crap Going On Right Now....

                          

*THAT CALL WAS A LOAD OF CRAP!!!!.  The home plate umpire blew that call in the ChiSox-Angels game.  Period.  I don't know how more clearly I can say it.  To have a call like that decide Game 2 of the ALCS is absurd!!!  And yeah, the catcher shouldn't have rolled it back out to the mound.  And yeah, if this or that went different, LAAofA would've won anyway.  Who cares.  The ump blew the call, then had to have a news conference to explain it.  A load of crap.

*NCAA TOP 12 RANKINGS.
1-Texas.  Yeah...I am the only idiot who has them #1.  Well, they are playing like a #1 team right now.
2-USC.  Their drop is due to their defense's recent poor showings.
3-Virginia Tech.  The Hokies are the best team this side of the Mississippi
4-Georgia.  The Dawgs blasted Tennessee in Knoxville.  If they win the cocktail party, the SEC is theirs.
5-Florida State.  May not lose until ACC title game.
6-Penn State.  I think they are overrated...but they did take out Ohio State, just like Texas did.
7-Notre Dame.  The defense is still sketchy...but this team is legit.
8-Alabama.  Not sold on them completely.  Yet.
9-LSU.  Team that will knock down Bama.  If not for collapse vs Vols...they'd be #4.
10-Miami.  This team doesn't look too good at all.  Yet, a win in VT puts them in ACC title tilt.
11-UCLA.  Impressive win over Cal.
12-Ohio State.  Yeah, they've lost to my #1 and #6 team.  They still are dangerous.

                      

*VIKINGS SEX CRUISE.  Congrats to the Vikings for holding a big floating orgy during theirbye week.  God forbid they actually do something to improve their 1-3 record.  And the ring leader was former Redskin and current Viking burner Fred Smoot.  Glad he's gone.  Oh, and if Mike Tice somehow keeps his job after the season....it will be a miracle.  The team is in disarray; he got pinched for scalping his Super Bowl tix; they dealt Randy Moss 'cause he couldn't reel him in; and now this. 

*NFL TOP 10
1-Colts.  The only undefeated team is winning with defense while their offense rests
2-Steelers.  A big win in a tough environment.
3-Broncos.  The sad thing is that they laid such an egg in Miami.
4-Bengals.  A late turnover cost them a shot against the Jags.
5-Patriots.  Just when you think they are out, they just pull you back in.
6-Falcons.  Win with Vick.
7-Eagles.  You have to at least attempt to run the football, guys.
8-Buccaneers.  Just go ahead and give Caddy the Rookie trophy
9-Giants.  The defense is allowing too many points...but that offense is clicking.
10-Redskins.  Yeah!  So!?!  They get more respect in one loss than in any of their 3 wins. 

*THERE IS NO "K" IN "U.S.A."  Coach K will be the new coach for the US Olympic hoops team.  I just hope his bench full of yes men don't accompany him to China.  I don't need to see whiny Chris Collins or stubby Wojo on that sideline.  I know that Coach K may need to surgically remove them from his butt....but so be it.  If anything, I hope this focus distracts him from his Dookie program which, I'll admit, will be the class of the ACC this year.  But, take it for just a year....as it takes Carolina losing it's top 7 scorers for you to get back there.  Carolina will be strong again next season. 

*THE BOSS STRIKES BACK.  The Yankees are done...thank God...but they keep sticking in the news.  Mel Stottlemyer, the pitching coach, resigned after he was tired of The Boss' crap.  A couple of things here.  One, the Yankees need to get off my ESPN just like the Padres, Braves and even the Red Sox have.  Two, to Mel, this crap is what made you a name anyway.  If you weren't the Yankees pitching coach...no one would give a dump about you.  Do you think if the pitching coach in Pittsburgh quit, it would even make the "bottom line" on ESPN??    Mel, Randy Johnson looked like an average pitcher under your tuteledge.  So did everyone else not named Rivera.  The fact that the Yankees must buy these kinds of pitchers just shows your lack of ability to develop the guys you got.  I know, I know...I am being a bit to hard.  Mel isn't a bad coach at all.  I'm just saying that his staff, with injuries, underperformed this year.  But don't try to make me think you are a God by winning rings with Cy Young winners and Cuban defectors.

                                                

 *THE SUNS ARE SETTING.  The Phoenix Suns are flaming already.  The team that was arrogant enough to deal Quentin Richardson and Joe Johnson from the team that had the 2004-2005 best record....now loses Amare Stoudemire for at least 4 months.  Hopefully one of those big free agent replacements......uh, Raja Bell.....can pick up the slack. 

*MY LAKERS MAY SURPRISE.  I'm not myopic at all here.  Heck, read my preview and you will see that I have the Lakers 4th in the Pacific Division.  But now the Suns are falling back to the pack....the Kings have no defense [plus, they are the Kings]....the Warriors are another Baron Davis injury away from staying the Warriors....and the Clippers are still the Clippers.  Hey, the Lakers could surprise...that's all I am saying!

*I LOVE TWO LINE PASSES!!!  The best rule thus far [aside from the overtime shootout] in the New NHL is the two line passes.  Why?  Fast breaks.  The biggest cliche on the ice is that the penalty shot is "the most exciting moment in hockey".  Well, these new fast breaks bring a few more of those exciting shots to your eyes.  It is cool to watch a steal then a long pass to a streaking forward who has nothing by ice and the goalie in front of him.  Great action!!  You guys are getting it right!!!  Too bad the games are stuck on OLN. 

*STICK WITH VICK.  I read Mr. Irrelevant's take on Michael Vick staying the starter.  I fully agree.  Sure, you can pick apart his numbers - I have.  But dude just wins games.  Schaub hasn't.

*BIG SATURDAY OF PIGSKIN.  Some big matchups.  I think USC will expose Notre Dame's defense.  Texas will roll over Colorado in a preview of the Big XII title game.  Michigan will upset Penn State in the Big House.  LSU's defensive speed will shut down Florida.  Louisville will shut down West Virginia in the unofficial Big East championship game.  Ohio State's defense will be enough to beat Michigan State. 

*REST IN PEACE.  Kyle Ambrogi, a tailback for the Penn Quakers, committed suicide this week...just days after scoring two TDs against Bucknell.  He had been battling depression. 

Screw NC State - Wolfpack player faces deportation

                           

I hate NC State.  Hate 'em.  The reason you don't hear about how much we Carolina fans hate the Pack is because we have a bigger fish to fry a little closer down the road in Durham. 

However, NC State gets my blood boiling almost as much as Dook does.  Why?  Cuz they are State.  In the Research Triangle...they are the "other guy".  Neither UNC or Dook likes them....but they got their Jimmy V highlight moment in 1983. 

About 10-11 years ago...I went to a UNC-NC State football game in Raleigh.  At the time, State had a 5 year winning streak on the Heels.  I go to the game wearing my Carolina garb, sit in a sea of red, hear "go to hell, Carolina" in their fight song, and watch my Heels finally beat the Wolfpack.  I also got to "tailgate" in a cow pasture....errrrr......the Carter Finley Stadium parking lot.  If it wasn't for Clemson, State would be the ACC's "Redneck U."

In honor of Brian Feggins...a State forward in the early 1990s who seemed to have 7 years of eligibility since he got shot several times....here is a classic moment in NC State sports lore.  Enjoy.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Federal immigration officials have determined that North Carolina State sophomore forward Gavin Grant is in the country illegally, an immigration spokeswoman in Atlanta said Tuesday.

Grant, 20, could face deportation after a hearing in federal immigration court in Atlanta, Sue Brown, a spokesoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told The News & Observer of Raleigh.

She said she had neither specifics on the hearing date for Grant nor details on the amount of bond on which he was released.

"We do know after the interview that it was determined that he was in this country without inspection, which means he did not come with a visitor's visa or anything like that," Brown said.

Several messages left by The Associated Press with immigration officials in Cary were not returned Tuesday night.

Tom O'Connell, ICE resident agent in charge in Cary, told the newspaper that Grant was interviewed in Raleigh early last week. He said he understood that Grant entered the United States from Jamaica after his mother did. Gavin Grant has lived in the United States since at least 1994, O'Connell said.

Deportation isn't the only possible outcome for Grant, a key reserve on last year's Wolfpack team that reached the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament.

Another option is voluntary departure, where Grant would leave the country on his own and then apply to return, O'Connell said.

N.C. State athletic director Lee Fowler did not return a phone call from ESPN.com on Tuesday night seeking comment; N.C. State coach Herb Sendek didn't return multiple calls from ESPN.com, either. Annabelle Vaughan, an assistant athletics director for media relations, declined comment to The Associated Press.

She did say that Grant attended a basketball skills workout Tuesday. The 6-foot-7 Grant averaged 4.2 points and 2.4 rebounds as a freshman.

Grant played at St. Raymond's in New York, the same high school that produced former Wolfpack star Julius Hodge.

Sportz NBA Eastern Conference Preview

Go to SPORTZ' HOOPS LAND for my full review of each team.  I have lineups, coaching takes, best player, biggest additions, biggest subtractions and all the garbage an NBA fan needs for the upcoming season.

SOUTHEAST DIVISION:  1-MIAMI HEAT

OVERVIEW: The Heat lost Game 7 of the Eastern Finals at home. Since that moment, they’ve added Williams, Walker, Payton, Posey and Simien. That makes this team so much more talented....but not as disciplined. Williams and Walker have wore out their welcomes everywhere they’ve gone. Payton isn’t exactly as great as he once was. But, despite all of that...it will be Shaq and Wade. Shaq needs to stay healthy...something it looked as if he was finally doing until the final parts of the season when he wore down. They can’t lose Wade for any stretch...or the team just cannot function correctly.

OUTLOOK: In reality, the Heat lost two games in the Eastern Finals with Shaq and Wade sidelined with injuries. So, the feeling is that health equals wealth. Not quite. This is a totally different team and it still isn’t certain how well they can grind out the playoff game. However, I see them as the best team in the East and, most likely, the East’s representative in the Finals. EASTERN RANK: 1

2-WASHINGTON WIZARDS

OVERVIEW: The team lost Larry Hughes, who had a breakout season. They also lost Kwame Brown, the #1 overall pick in the 2001 draft. This team lost a lot of their role players from last year as well. They key will be how the new ones come in. Arenas and Jamison will still get theirs...as they figured out how to play alongside each other. The frontcourt is primarily made up of shot blockers...so keeping the paint clean is a necessity for the Wiz as well. Doing that also feeds their ability to run.

OUTLOOK: The loss of Hughes hurts them...as it will force Arenas to expend more energy. But, Arenas has improved greatly thus far that he may just add that to his listand be fine. With the turnover, I see the Wiz getting into the playoffs then bowing out to a championship caliber team.

EASTERN RANK: 7

3-ORLANDO MAGIC

OVERVIEW: This team goes as Francis goes. When they win, he plays well. When he doesn’t play well...they lose. I know that sounds simple...but it says a lot to what this team needs to do. Nelson will try to man the point, which will free up Francis and enable him to both conserve energy and not be tempted to take such awful shots at times. Where would this team have been last year if Grant Hill didn’t have such a comeback season? While Orlando cannot rely on it....they do hope to get much of that magic back. Then there is Howard, the #1 overall pick last year. He got better as the season went along...and could start to show signs of dominance.

OUTLOOK: The defense will be bad. They had one of the worst defenses last year and the team is turnover prone, which leads to points on the other end. The key is to lock that up...but it will be hard to if they cannot figure out a half court game. The key will be Howard’s improvement...and he had a pretty good rookie season. I see them improving some...but still not a playoff team.

EASTERN RANK: 11

4-ATLANTA HAWKS

OVERVIEW: The word on this team is young...for a team that won only 13 games last year.  Their two best prospects, Williams and Smith, aren’t starters yet...play the same position...and are the same age [20]. Getting Johnson was a great, if not an overpaying, move. Johnson gives the Hawks someone who commands attention and will allow the others to mix in...instead of all these guys trying to become "the man". They lack size and defense...but they have speed and athleticism. The key will be to corral that into solid NBA players.

OUTLOOK: Youth brings hope and mistakes. What the Hawks need to look at is improvement in their young guys. This isn’t a playoff team by any stretch, but they can start acting like one and building for one. They saw the Bulls model of building with draft picks....getting them experience...then watching them blossom together. I feel the Hawks, with a little patience, can copy this in a few years.

EASTERN RANK: 13

5-CHARLOTTE BOBCATS

OVERVIEW: Charlotte has done nicely in expansion. The first year you try to polish off those diamonds in the rough [Brezec, Wallace], lean on a veteran to steady your ship [Knight], develop your draft pick [Okafor] and search for those guys who just want to play [Carroll, Rush]. Now they have a workable nucleus...and they’ll try to further that team along, while adding new parts Felton and May.   Getting May and Felton NBA experience will be one key...as well as fine tuning Okafor's inside game and Wallace's outside game. 

OUTLOOK: The Bobcats are an expansion team, still, so improvement is the key. Their future is Felton, Wallace, Okafor and May...so those guys will get more minutes than everyone else. A reasonable goal would be to finish ahead of the Hawks....something they did last year.

EASTERN RANK: 15

CENTRAL DIVISION:  1-INDIANA PACERS

OVERVIEW: The Pacers played their desired starting lineup ZERO times last year. Injuries and suspensions killed a team that had so much promise heading into last year. With all that which happened last season, they still were in the playoffs and were a dangerous team. If anything, this team is closer together since they went thru so much together. Their bench guys were forced into starting roles, which will help them this year. 

OUTLOOK: Carlisle has always been a good regular season coach, winning 3 division titles. But he’s yetto smell the Finals. If the focus is there, the Pacers could climb above the rival Pistons and make it to that mountain.

EASTERN RANK: 2

2-DETROIT PISTONS

OVERVIEW: This team was so close to repeating as NBA champions....arguably just a Robert Horry shot away from doing so. Now Larry Brown is gone...but the team is essentially intact. Brown had a way of keeping this team focused...something Saunders will have to keep alive. He will also have to keep alive their defensive intensity, which is a large reason why they won two consecutive Eastern titles.

OUTLOOK: Again, this is pretty much the same team as last year...so they can get to the Finals. However, this year..the Pacers will be united again and the Heat made huge upgrades. Plus, the overall talent of the East has gotten better. I think the Pistons will fall short of their Finals dreams.

EASTERN RANK: 3

3-CLEVELAND CAVALIERS

OVERVIEW: The NBA is there for LeBron’s taking...but he can’t have it until he at least gets to the next stage. The Playoffs. He has a lot more talent around him now...and it will help him considerably. Hughes brings a second scorer to the mix. Jones brings ballhandling and an ability to hit the jumper. Marshall brings length inside. And if Z-Iggy stays healthy [not a given] then the Cavs could matter again.

OUTLOOK: Remember, this team tanked last year. They were a legit team until the second half where fatigue set in. Now the team has more talent and a deeper bench to help alleviate LeBron. This team was the fourth best team for the first half of last year...I feel they will be for the entirety of this season.

EASTERN RANK: 4

4-CHICAGO BULLS

OVERVIEW: The Baby Bulls went from one of the worst teams in the NBA to home court advantage in the firstround of the playoffs. How? Potential finally started to show. Hinrich, Chandler and Gordon lead this rather balanced offensive team. Duhon gives the Bulls a smart pointman who will make sound decisions. Everyone else will come at you hard, give it their best, then rotate for a breather.

OUTLOOK: This team won’t repeat last year’s success, only because of Curry’s absence and the fact that the Pacers, Cavs, Bucks and Nets are that much more improved. However, the Bulls may be a better team for it in the long run. They still are a playoff team.

EASTERN RANK: 6

5-MILWAUKEE BUCKS

OVERVIEW: When a team gets the #1 overall pick in the draft, it is automatically assumed that the team stunk really bad. Not in this case. The Bucks were a playoff team in 2004 and a 30-win team in 2005. So while there is room for improvement, it isn’t like they are completely rebuilding. They brought in Bogut with the top pick...added Simmons in free agency....and get Ford back from injury. All three will greatly help Redd and Mason offensively. Also, Mo Williams was such a pleasant surprise that he can come in and spell Ford for longer stretches. With Bogut in the middle, the Bucks offense will have a lot of ball movement, slashing and athleticism.

OUTLOOK: This could be a playoff team...but I think there are too many questions. Can Ford make a comeback? Will Bogut be effective? Will Redd be satisfied? Was Simmons a one-hit wonder? The season will provide those answers...but it will end sooner than they hope. But the Bucks are a franchise on a rise.

EASTERN RANK: 10

Short Attention Span Theatre

I have such a headache, so I cannot sleep.  So here are those little items that are going *bump* in my head right now.

*Philly....run the freaking football!  In 5 games, the Eagles have passed the ball 214 times [43 per game] and have run it 88 times [17.6 per game].  McNabb has run it 10 of those times....and 30 of those 88 rushes were in that blowout win over San Francisco.  So in their other 4 games, they've run it about 14.5 times per game.  Horrible!!  My feeling is that if you have an injured QB, you might wanna turn around and run the football. 

*Let's see.  Angels-Yankees in New York on Sunday.  Angels-Yankees is Anaheim on Monday.  Angels-White Sox in Chicago on Wednesday.  Sorry, but baseball needs to come up with something a tad bit better than that. 

*P.S.  You are "Major" League Baseball.  Stop with the best-of-5 first round.  For a league with a 162 game season....it is ridiculous to shed off half your playoff participants in a 5 game series.

*The NFL has completely dropped the ball on the entire Saints issue and it was due to money.  I usually will defend most of what the NFL does...but they've completely gotten all of this wrong.  First, it was moronic to hold the Saints' first game in New York against the Giants.  It did nothing but keep the game close and [in a good heart] got some press coverage for their telethon.  Then, they've split up the remaining home sked by sending the Saints to San Antonio half the time...and Baton Rouge the other half.  In doing so, the Saints essentially are on the move 10 straight weeks or something.  That's bullcrap!!!  Now the NFL is being rewarded by having brisk sales at the Baton Rouge games....one of which features Nick Saban, former LSU head coach, coming back to the Bayou with his Miami Dolphins.  NFL head dudes....just leave the Saints in San Antonio.  Probably forever. 

*I wonder if Sports Illustrated is going to write up this big pimping article about how Mike Price squeezed them for $20M after his defemation lawsuit was settled? 

*While I like the "Chase For The Cup" format....I do find it very flawed.  The reasoning behind the change was Matt Kenseth winning the 2003 NASCAR title despite not having a dominant season....essentially cruising the final 15 races, avoiding wrecks, pounding for points.  Now, the Chase turns into who doesn't have any bad weeks....and can hold on for the duration.  So the big flaw is that one bad race, not of your doing [read: crash], could take you out quickly.   It has happened.  Mark Martin wrecks one week...and it cost him a ton of points that he couldn't have gained because someone nails him.  Then, he wins a race, but gains just 25 points on the scoring leader, Tony Stewart.   Of the Chase contenders...only Stewart hasn't had a god-awful race to deal with.  Everyone else has at least one.  And that is why Stewart...who can now cruise, avoid wrecks, and pound for points...can win.  The one lucky part of all this [BCS style] is that Stewart deserves to win the title.  His pre-Chase resume was the best...and if there was no Chase, he'd be the champion anyways.  Unlike last season, where Jeff Gordon would have been the champ under the old system....but Kurt Busch won the Chase.  I feel [and many gear-heads feel this way too] that NASCAR needs to put more emphasis on WINNING races.  Add more points to the winner of races...so that makes it more of a premium.  I mean, I know the money and prestige of winning a race are meaningful....but you aren't gonna do anything stupid for a mere 5-10 points when you could turn around and lose those points by dropping to third.  Bump up the points.

*Congrats, Amare Stoudemire, on that new contract extention.  Now good luck on your knee surgery. 

NCAA Second Half Preview

                              

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC:  Florida State is the beat here.  They've already knocked off Boston College and face Maryland at home.  So, essentially, the Noles must be knocked off twice to lose their spot in the inaugural ACC title game.   
COASTAL:  It looks as if the Miami-V Tech game on Nov 5 will be for the Coastal title.  The only team with a shot would be North Carolina, but they get both teams on the road. 
SPORTZ PICK:  Virginia Tech gets Miami at home...beats them...then takes out FSU in the ACC championship.

BIG EAST CONFERENCE
Louisville must still be the favorite here...but they've yet to win their first Big East game yet.  That's what makes this weekend's game in West Virginia so huge.  The Mountaineers have a great shot at beating the Cards and possibly upsetting the league with a conference title.  A wild card could be South Florida.  They've already beaten Louisville [which gives them the tiebreaker] and get West Virginia at home.  A win in that game could throw the Bulls into the BCS. 
SPORTZ PICK:  Louisville.  That loss to South Florida was their wake up call to murder everyone else.

BIG XII CONFERENCE
NORTH:  Colorado looks to be the creme of the crop.  Iowa State is limping [they lost at home to Baylor!].  However, don't underestimate Nebraska.  They aren't as great as they once were...but they are getting better.  The problem is that they play both Colorado and Missouri, another team in the bunch, on the road. 
SOUTH:  Texas beat Oklahoma...so it is assumed that the Horns have this locked up.  Not quite.  Watch out for Texas Tech, who play in Austin next weekend.  Also, Texas A&M can play the spoiler role on Thanksgiving weekend at College Station.
SPORTZ PICK:  Texas should run the table during the season...and beat Colorado for the Big XII crown.

BIG TEN CONFERENCE
What a conference!  Only Illinois is truly out of the picture.  Penn State [who I've underestimated all year] is now 3-0 in the Big Ten and have taken out Ohio State.  They have a huge game in Michigan this weekend and still have Purdue, Wisconsin and at Michigan State to close this out.  Quite a tall order.  Ohio State still must visit Minnesota at Michigan.  Michigan has to go to Iowa and Northwestern...as well as hosting Ohio and Penn States.  And...etc, etc, etc.
SPORTZ PICK:  This one is totally out of the blue...but I'm going with Iowa right now.  Why?  Scheduling.  Iowa is just 2-1, with the lone loss coming to Ohio State.  While everyone has landmines on their sked, Iowa's are most manageable.  And if Michigan topples Ohio State...with Penn State tripping up twice [Michigan and MSU maybe?]...the title is Iowa's.

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
EAST:  Georgia has won in Tennessee...and still has Florida in Jacksonville.  They also have a tough Auburn team at home.  Tennessee has lost to both Florida and Georgia and has to go to Alabama next.  Florida has that Georgia game plus go to LSU and to South Carolina to play some ol' ball coach.  What a division!
WEST:  Alabama and Auburn lead the standings...with LSU lurking behind.  All those teams still have to face each other...each getting one game at home.  LSU still has the Gators left...Auburn must go to Georgia...and Bama gets the Vols. 
SPORTZ PICK:  The winner of the World's Largert Outdoor Cocktail Party [read: Georgia-Florida] looks to have the leg up for the title.  I like Georgia

PACIFIC TEN CONFERENCE
How great would it be if USC-UCLA meant the conference title??  It could happen...as both schools are undefeated and UCLA has already taken care of Cal.  Remember, last year USC barely beat the Bruins in the Rose Bowl 29-24.   But before we get there, USC still has to go to Cal on Nov 12...the site of the last time the Trojans lost a game.  UCLA's sked leading to the USC game is much more manageable...but does has a bout with Arizona State on Nov 12.  After that game, they have nearly a month to prepare for USC. 
SPORTZ PICK:  You have to stick with USC until they lose a game.

CONFERENCE USA
EAST:  Right now, Central Florida is atop the standings...with two home wins against Rice and SMU.  However, UAB gets them in Alabama...and that lead should evaporate.
WEST:  UTEP stumbled a bit...but has the best team to take the west.  Neither Houston nor Tulsa seem to be talented enough to deal with the Miners...and they've already beaten Houston.
SPORTZ PICK:  UTEP will beat UAB in the first C-USA title.

MID AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Bowling Green and Toledo are on a crash course for the title. 
SPORTZ PICK:  BGSU wins it.

MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE
TCU struggled in it's final C-USA season...but is now tearing up the Mountain West.  Curious.  The other undefeated team is Colorado State, whom the Frogs host in early November.  Wyoming has already fell victim to TCU...and is fighting an uphill climb. 
SPORTZ PICK:  TCU seems to have stepped into the conference and wants to show they belong.  A title sure looks good on them.

MORE TO COME...