Thoughts on Duke's Win from Wine Country

Apologies for the sporadic posts the remainder of the week. I am out in wine country trying to figure out why we don’t just move out to California, get jobs in a winery and spend our days making wine and our nights relaxing in the moutains drinking wine. Seriously, why haven’t I done this yet? Every time I make a trip to California, I contemplate pulling a Don Draper and just disappearing out here for a couple months at a time.

Quick thoughts on Duke’s vicotry last night in the championship game over Buter:

- Has there ever been a more uninteresting close game? I was so unintrigued by the game that I found myself flipping back and forth between the game and random opening day baseball games on the free preview of the season ticket. I’ve never missed a minute of a championship college basketball game for anything, much less the opening game for a team that wasn’t the Brewers. Neither team was playing very well offensively and the flow of the game seemed dull.

- As I received multiple texts on the topic – Matt Howard wore his Adam Morrison “I have candy in my van with no windows” mustache about as well as……….well, Morrison. Note to Mr. Howard: You can only afford to look like a monster toolbox if you have the game to back it up (see Brandon Jennings and his flat top, Anthony Mason with things shaved in his head, or even Jason Terry’s high socks). And Mr. Howard, you don’t have the game for it.

- Howard’s game deserves its own post – has there ever been a more overrated, talked about non-factor player in a championship game? Howard was the Horizon league player of the year two years ago! (who else was in that conference? My high school team?) Matt Howard is that third scorer that Butler needs to step up to win the game! (why? He sat out with fouls and a concussion against Michigan State and they were better without him) The guy is a spaz who committed some of the dumbest fouls I’ve ever seen to guarantee his time on the bench, and basically was more of a liability than a benefit to the Bulldogs all night. At one point he was 1-6 from the field, 1-4 from the line and had 4 fouls. Thanks for showing up, pal.

- My friend Sal posed this question during the game: Could either of these teams compete with ANY of the past 15 championship teams? Typically you have to side with the most recent teams because of the increase in overall size and athleticism of all of the players. Looking at the Duke & Butler teams……that’s not the case at all. The only team we could come up with that might have struggled with Duke or Butler was the 2002 Maryland championship team. That team had Steve Blake, Juan Dixon, Chris Wilcox and Lonny Baxter – definitely not blowing anyone away with athleticism – although leaping ability was the only reason Wilcox fooled an NBA team to draft him in the top 10. Actually, that Terps team would be a really intriguing matchup for Duke, with Blake against Scheyer, Dixon against Nolan Smith, Wilcox against Singler, and Baxter versus Zoubek in the middle. I think I’d take Duke, but not by much.

Everyone Hates Duke - Are They Really Different This Year?

Obviously the story lines for this year’s Final Four stink. There are not a ton of stories because of the lackluster teams and the lack of star players. Instead we started the week with a bogus story about Tom Izzo being offered the Oregon job (side note – Oregon hired the worst recruiter in the history of the world. They were hired to target coaches and they came up with…..drumroll……….Tom Izzo. Really? That’s what they got paid for? What did they do for research – open the newspaper and watch SportsCenter? Everyone knows Izzo is the best coach in the sport. Why not just throw Coach K, Jim Boeheim and Roy Williams out there as candidates?). In other breaking news……Katy Perry can fill out a bikini. And now we’re on to an even more ridiculous story about why people hate Duke and whether it’s warranted that people dislike them.

People dislike Duke for a multitude of reasons, including jealousy, rivalry, ignorance and stupidity. And at the end of the day, so what? I’m not going to go through the reasons and prove or debunk them because people are locked into their opinions. People are not going to change their minds because some sportswriter pens a diatribe about how this year’s Duke team is different than the past teams and their dislike is “an outdated cliché.” Dude, your article is a waste of time. Let people dislike teams like Duke or Notre Dame or the Yankees with absolutely no sane reason for it. That’s part of being a fan.

More interesting to me was the notion that this Duke team is really different than those previous teams that everyone disliked. Are they? They have a tough-nosed white point guard who can shoot from the outside, an athletic wing man, and a tweener white guy who is more athletic than he looks and can shoot or go inside and they are coached by a guy that looks like an owl. That was Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill, Christian Laettner and Coach K in the early ‘90’s. It was JJ Reddick, DeMarcus Nelson, Josh McRoberts and Coach K in the middle of the 2000’s. And now it is Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler and Coach K. It is the exact same formula Coach K has always employed. And feel free to make your comparisons of Cherokee Parks to the Plumlee brothers or to Greg Zoubek.

So this year’s team is pretty much a clone of previous Blue Devil squads. Feel free to hate on them if you want, as long as you understand that disliking any team is almost always based on nothing rational. My guess is Duke doesn’t really care what you think of them and that your feelings about them will have less than no impact on whether they can get past the Mountaineers on Saturday night.

Degenerate Friday - Sweet 16 Part II

Yesterday I didn’t get a chance to get to the gym and in order to maintain this Adonis physique that I fuel with scotch, beer and wings, I decided to combine a workout with watching the games. I would do 10 push ups for every made three point shot during the games that were on television (meaning if they did a look in and showed a 3 pointer, it’s push up time). It started slowly with Syracuse turning the ball over more than they made shots, but unfortunately for me they turned it up in the second half. Combine that with the ridiculous 3-point bombs Xavier and Kansas State traded late in regulation and both overtimes, and I ended up doing 370 push ups last night. So if my typing becomes as clear as why Kei$ha uses a dollar sign in her name (or why she’s a pseudo-celebrity), it’s because I’ve lost feeling in my arms. At least I was able to get the two late games correct to end up 2-2 last night. And I’m especially happy to see Cornell head home after they finally cooled off from behind the arc and faced an athletic team that could switch on screens (something Wisconsin and Temple could not do because their bigs are not athletic enough to keep up with the Cornell guards). Anyway……on to the Friday games.

Game #1: #2 Ohio State (-4.5) vs. #6 Tennessee

The Volunteers are easy to root for because they have a lovable coach in Bruce Pearl, play an inordinate number of walk-ons, and have gotten better after dismissing one of their more talented players because he was a jag off. Scottie Hopson can fill it up from the outside and Wayne Chism is a tough match up inside if he is plugged in. Unfortunately for the Vols he gets frustrated too easily and disappears for long stretches. Against a well-rounded but thin Ohio State team, they can’t afford to allow the Buckeyes to come up for air. William Bufford will likely have the assignment of controlling Hopson and Dallas Lauderdale will try to slow Chism, though Lauderdale is way too slow to stop him on the perimeter. If Tennessee can stay hot from outside the arc, they have a chance to make a game of it, but if they have even an average game, the Buckeyes will be more than they can handle.

And we haven’t even mentioned Evan Turner, the best player in the game. Turner will face a difficult matchup against JP Prince because Prince is long and quick defensively. In a previous collumn I already compared Turner to Marissa Miller with a supporting cast of the rest of the Victoria Secret models. I’m going to stick with that theme and I guess that makes Bufford, Lighty and Jon Diebler the Miranda Kerr, Candice Swanepoel and Alessandra Ambrossio of the big dance. The Victoria’s Secret models are enough to distract Bruce Pearl and Vols, giving the Buckeyes the edge they need.

Gambler’s Delight: Ohio State (-4.5)

Game #2: #3 Baylor (-5) vs. #10 St. Mary’s

If a game is played Houston and no one pays attention, does it really happen? This is the most overlooked game of the sweet 16 because it pits an underdog from a small western conference against an upstart team from a big conference that doesn’t have the tradition of its big conference colleagues. Yet Omar Samhan has arguably been the most dominant player in the entire tournament during the first weekend for St. Mary’s and Baylor has quietly taken care of business all season. The Bears rank in the top 12 of the nation in field goal percentage, field goal percentage allowed, rebound margin, blocks per game and scoring margin. Pretty impressive stats for a team of mostly unknown players outside of the Big 12.

Baylor has the size inside with Ekpe Udoh and Josh Lomers to do battle with Samhan, something that neither Villanova or Richmond had. Baylor also has strong guards in Tweety Carter and LaceDarius Dunn to compliment the inside game. Will that be enough to overtake the Australian sharpshooters of St. Mary’s? The Bears are like Talulah Riley - successful, well-rounded, yet it might just be the name that is holding them back from being an a-lister.

Gambler’s Delight: Baylor (-5)

Game #3: #5 Michigan State (-1) vs. #9 Northern Iowa

Everyone is jumping on the Northern Iowa bandwagon after they knocked off Kansas and Michigan State lost their best player to injury. Yet something tells me that the experience of Tom Izzo and Michigan State in the tournament gets more valuable as the tournament progresses. (Yes, Kansas had experience as well, but they had Bill Self) Northern Iowa returned home to be treated like rockstars and their coach Ben Jacobsen was given a well-deserved 10-year contract extension. All of that adds up to a little loss of focus and an Izzo team only needs a crack to force their way in the door.

I think Korie Lucious learned a valuable lesson when Kalen Lucas was out earlier in the year and I expect him to play much more in control than he did in his start against Illinois. I also expect the Michigan State guards to harass the Northern Iowa backcourt more than Kansas did and not allow as many open looks from beyond the arc. I really like the story of Northern Iowa, but in the end, the experience, poise and physical play of the Spartans will be too much for the Huskies, setting up an all-Big Ten Regional Final. When it comes down to it, I’d take George Clooney’s injured ex-girlfriend, Sarah Larson, over Miss Iowa.

Gambler’s Delight: Michigan State (-1)

Game #4: #1 Duke (-8.5) vs. #4 Purdue

This game matches up the team that everyone wants to get eliminated (Duke) against the team that everyone thought already would be eliminated (Purdue). Yet both teams continue to win and are just two wins away from the Final Four. Duke has many similarities to Jude Law because you hate him for having blown it with Sienna Miller the first time around, yet you have to admit the guy has talent and his movies draw you to the theatre and are successful over and over again. Duke is playing extremely well and has an experienced backcourt, solid shooting and Brian Zoubek has given them an inside presence they were missing. They have all of the ingredients to continue marching to Indy.

Purdue was among the teams to beat with Robbie Hummel and seems to have figured out how to play without him in wins over Siena and Texas A&M. The Boilermakers are a difficult matchup for Duke because they play physical stingy defense which can throw off the usually soft Duke squad (see their loss at Wisconsin early in the year). The Boilers also have the right personnel to match up, with Chris Kramer attached to Jon Scheyer’s hip pocket, E’Twaan Moore blanketing Kyle Singler and JaJuan Johnson able to match Zoubek. The Purdue defense will keep them in the game and make it close at the end, but expect Duke to pull out the straight up win.

Gambler’s Delight: Purdue (+8.5)
(take Duke to win straight up)

Saturday & Sunday Games:

#1 Kentucky vs. #2 West Virginia

Expect the young Wildcats to complete their march to the Final Four in a game that may not be pretty on the eyes. West Virginia wants to ugly up the game the way Sarah Jessica Parker does to any show, movie or photo she appears in. Like a New Jersey frat guy in a spring break club, the Moutaineers prefer to grind it out ugly-style. Kentucky should be able to break down the Mountaineers offensively and stymy the WVU offense. John Wall is as fast as anyone I’ve ever seen with the basketball in his hand and is an automatic one-man fast break when he gets a rebound. Look for Kentucky to get to the Final Four.

#2 Kansas State vs. #5 Butler

I have been a hater of Butler ever since my first college basketball breakdown column. I still don’t really know what they do well. They didn’t shoot well against Syracuse, had too many turnovers, and allowed a poor playing Orange team to stay in the game too long. Yet they keep winning. Can they keep it up against K-State? No. Look for the Faces of Frank Martin to march on to Indianapolis behind the sharpshooting of Denis Clemente and Mos Def look-alike, Jacob Pullen. The unsung hero for the Wildcats has been the UConn transfer Curtis Kelly who displayed a great array of moves around the basket and the ability to face up and knock down a jumper against Xavier. He could be the difference maker against Butler.

Assuming I’m correct in picking Friday night’s games……..

#2 Ohio State vs. #5 Michigan State

Ohio State is too familiar with the Spartans to not be ready for their physical play and lack of offense without Kalen Lucas. Izzo’s motivation and schemes can only carry a gimped team so far. Buckeyes Victoria Secret fashion show rolls to the Final Four.

#1 Duke vs. #3 Baylor

Baylor has the athletes to keep it close, and will have the home court advantage with the game being played in Houston. Yet their lack of experience will prove too much to overcome and the Blue Devils make their reservations for Indy.

Degenerate Friday - Day 2 of the Tournament

What a day of games yesterday – a double overtime game, a single overtime game, a 3 point win, two 9-seeds over 8-seeds, and 5 other double digit seeds pulling off upsets. That is why the tournament is the best sporting event in the world. The staggered games keep you glued to the television for a continual stream of big finishes. Incredible. A couple quick gambling picks of the day, and then some quick thoughts on a day that wore me out just watching the games.

Duke (-23) over Arkansas-Pine Bluff
UAPB is just happy to be here after beating Winthrop in the play-in game and will be intimidated just by taking the court with the college basketball royalty that is Duke. UAPB started the season 0-11 and is now 18-15, so they have played better lately, but that will not be enough against the Duke pressure defense. Despite Duke struggling in the first round in recent years – in the past 5 years (2 #1 seeds, 2 #2 seeds and a #6 seed) they have only won by more than 20 once and lost a game – they should be able to run the Golden Lions off the court.

Texas A&M (-3) over Utah State
Typically during the tournament one of the first days has all the drama and the upsets and the other first round day is more routine. That especially is the case when Thursday is full of drama and upsets. The reason is the coaches of the favorites playing on Friday has the opportunity to remind his players of what happened yesterday so that they don’t take their opponents lightly. Thursday was the day of drama and upsets. Sloane will be too athletic for Utah State and A&M will win this battle of the Aggies. A&M also defends well enough to slow the Utah State 3-point attack.

Quick Thoughts…………………

A brief break from college basketball to talk about Ron Washington, the manager of the Texas Rangers. The guy tested positive for cocaine last season during a random test, came clean to the Rangers about it, called it a one-time mistake and they decided not to fire him. I had two initial thoughts. First, are we really surprised? He played in the 80’s when guys like Otis Nixon relied on the head-first slide because he didn’t want to break his coke vial in his back pocket. (Otis may have been the inspiration for Dave Chapelle’s skits) My nex thought was that no one starts out with cocaine. No one wakes up and decides to start doing drugs by doing cocaine – it is not a starter drug. Just look at the downfall of Lindsay Lohan, Corey Haim, Brittany Murphy, etc. Wait – Lindsay hasn’t overdosed yet? It’s unfortunately just a matter of time. If Washington tested positive for cocaine there is a really high probability he smokes weed and probably does other drugs. Lo and behold the news now out that he admits to smoking pot and taking anphetamines during his playing days. I just hope he can get his problem under control.

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Not an impressive showing by the Big Least yesterday. They went 1-3, with all three losses to double-digit seeds. And their one win was in overtime over a number 15 seed (with some dubious calls, which I will touch on in a minute). Ouch – awful. At this point, I am not feeling good about picking Louisville in the first round and I’m really nervous about the 3 elite 8 teams I picked from the Big East. The most shocking was the lack of effort and lack of defense from Georgetown in giving up 97 points to Ohio, a team that lost 14 games during the regular season in the MAC conference.

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On to the officiating the Villanova-Robert Morris game. I thought there were some suspect foul calls that very easily could have been jump balls. I won’t go as far as saying that Robert Morris got screwed or that they had the game taken away from them. Why would the officials not want the upset to happen? The upsets are what makes the tournament great – so why would the referees try to prevent that? It doesn’t make any sense. Did they miss the calls? Maybe, but depending upon their angles and seeing the game at live speed, they called what they saw, or thought they saw. If you’re Robert Morris, does it stink? Yup. At the same time, if Robert Morris doesn’t turn the ball over 20 times, it wouldn’t have been that close. Scottie Reynolds had a horrible shooting game, but he did what he needed to do, crashing the rim and getting the calls to get to the free throw line.

Now for the sake of my bracket, I hope Villanova takes that as a their wake up call and is ready to take on St. Mary’s.

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Random nugget for what it’s worth, Doug Gotlieb just named his top 5 coaches for getting the most out of their players and making in-game adjustments. They included Tom Izzo, Bo Ryan, Thad Motta, Bill Self and Bruce Pearl. Interesting that there are 3 Big Ten coaches and a former Big Ten coach (Self), and not a single coach from the Big Least. He talked about guys that are great recruiters but aren’t as good at in-game adjustments, which included Roy Williams, John Calipari and Jim Calhoun. Just a random thought worth noting.

Weekend Hangover - Sports Addict 2010 Bracket Challenge

It’s the Degenerate Holiday Season!!! Go get your bible for the season – today’s USA Today special section which has team-by-team capsules, stats, rankings, etc. I remember in elementary school spending all morning folding up the paper so I could sneak it inside my books and notebooks to read all of the team capsules on the Monday after the brackets came out. This week I’m going to postpone the typical “Love/Hate” Monday column but it will be back next week. First some information and details of The Sports Addict Bracket Competition, then some initial thoughts on the bracket. We’ll highlight who got the benefit of the doubt and which team the selection committee treated like a baby treats a diaper. Tip your waitresses because I’ll be here all week.

The Sports Addict Bracket Competition

Here is a link to submit your bracket to compete with the rest of The Sports Addict fans – it’s free to enter and you have a chance to win swag from your favorite college team and some Sports Addict gear.

Website: http://sportsaddict.mayhem.cbssports.com/e
Password: Addict32

The rules of the competition are pretty simple:

1 – In order to enter, you must be either a Facebook fan of The Sports Addict or a follower of the site (through Google, Blogger, etc.) in order to qualify. Sign up via the links on the right side panel of the blog.

2 – Only one entry will be allowed per person.

3 – Title your entry with your first initial and last name or the name of the account that you follow the site with, so it is easier to contact the eventual winners

4 – Scoring will be counted by CBS’s bracket manager – points per round: 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 24 and the tie breaker will be total points in the championship game.

5 – Brackets must be completed prior to tip off of the first game Thursday morning and any brackets for people that are not Facebook fans or followers on the site will be deleted.

So sign up, fill out your bracket and try and get some bragging rights. What do you have to lose? It’s free. It’s as easy as finding topless pictures of the girl that stars in She’s Out Of My League – Alice Eve. And it is also an opportunity for bragging rights and to watch me humiliate myself with an awful sheet of picks.

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I will be going through and breaking down the brackets in more detail the next few days, but my initial thoughts…………..

- I am not going to spend any time on arguing who got screwed by not making the tournament. It isn’t that hard to figure out the formula: win more games, preferably against better competition than you did, and you would be in the tournament. More importantly, you’re arguing that you should be given the opportunity to lose in the first round – you’re not winning the championship anyway, so no one cares. Seth Greenberg is like Katie Holmes – you feel for them because of their unfortunate situation, but they made their own bed and they have to sleep in it.

- I never ever want to hear them talk about the “S-Curve” that they rank the teams on. It doesn’t exist. They use travel and cost savings, not an s-curve to bracket the teams. If they used an s-curve, the top #2 seed would be in the same bracket as the bottom #1 seed, or the #5 overall ranked team would be in the same bracket as the #4 overall seed, the #6 with the #3, #7 with #2 and #8 with #1. How else can you explain Ohio State being in the same bracket as the #1 overall seed, Kansas? If there were an s-curve used, that would mean Ohio State, the regular season co-champ and tourney champ in the Big Ten, would be the #8 overall seed, or the weakest of the #2 seeds. Really? You think Kansas State and Villanova, neither of whom won their regular season or tournament championships, were ranked higher? But they kept Ohio State closer to their home by having them play in Milwaukee. Don’t you think Thad Motta would gladly travel a little further to get out of the bracket with the best #1 and #3 seed (Georgetown) in their bracket? T hat is a huge mistake that completely throws off the balance of the overall tournament.

Bracket of Death: Midwest

It’s not even close. What was the reward that Kansas got for the #1 overall seed? Seeds #2-5 are all teams that won their conference regular season or tournament titles (Ohio State, Maryland, Michigan St), and a Georgetown team that made the Big East tournament final. The top 5 seeds have combined for 22 sweet sixteen and 13 final four appearances in the past 10 years. I mentioned the influence of having All-Americans last week, and this bracket alone has Sherron Collins, Greivis Vasquez, James Anderson and Evan Turner – likely all first or second-team All-Americans. Finally, this bracket also has the only team that has beaten both of the top teams in the country this season: Tennessee. The Vols beat both Kansas and Kentucky during the regular season and they were rewarded with the same seed as Notre Dame and Marquette, and behind Texas A&M.

Easiest Bracket: South

The team that got a gift as the third #1 seed ahead of Syracuse, also got the gift of the weakest bracket. The only teams in the South bracket with conference titles (regular season and/or tournament) are Duke and Purdue, and we know Purdue is not the same team that won that regular season co-championship. Villanova has to be the weakest of the #2 seeds, stumbling to the finish line of the regular season then bowing out in their first Big East tournament game. It is hard to find a team in this bracket that I like to go deep in the tournament, but someone has to win it.

Team that got treated like a baby treats a diaper: Temple

Aside from my railings above about how Ohio State got the shaft, who else got dumped on? Temple got treated like the hottest women in Hollywood get treated by John Mayer – they got screwed. Although I didn’t make many friends in Part II of my top 25 review last week with my thoughts on Temple (and I probably made a few less at the bottom of this column), the fact is that they won the regular season and tournament titles in the Atlantic-10, which should have rewarded them with a better situation than they are in. They are the #5 seed in the east bracket with a very difficult matchup in the first round against a Cornell team that Jay Bilas claimed could have been as high as a 5 seed. If they get by that matchup, they get a tough, disciplined Badger team that will not be bothered by the physical, tough defense that the Owls like to play.

Team that should be happier than a fat kid in a candy store: Baylor

Aside from Duke, who was protected like Dick Vitale was the head of the selection committee, it has to be Baylor. I mentioned last week (also in Part II) how Baylor could be a sleeper and the brackets broke really well for them. They have enough fire power to get to the sweet 16 without breaking much of a sweat (sorry Notre Dame fans), which is good for a team that has no tournament experience. Baylor reminds me of Missouri last year, another Big 12 team that earned a #3 seed, yet was not known to the national public and therefore the general population wanted to see them lose early. Look for a great guard matchup if the Bears can make their way to the sweet 16 against Villanova and their experienced backcourt.

Other random thoughts:

- Michigan coach, Jon Beilein, please report to the Athletic Director’s office immediately, and bring your office key – you won’t be needing that any more. Do you not recall the 1992 regional final game between Duke and Kentucky with the infamous Christian Laettner turnaround? Didn’t we learn that you MUST have someone guard the inbounder? Or at least put some pressure on Ohio State before midcourt? Or maybe, just maybe, consider trying to keep the ball out of Big Ten Player of the Year Evan Turner’s hands? Then why would you act surprised that Turner hit a 35 foot shot to win the game? Beilein managed the game worse than Carrie Prejean managed her time as Miss USA.

- All the fans of New Mexico were whining that they weren’t getting any respect last week, including comments like “watch them play” among their complaints. So I tuned into the MWC conference tournament final to check them out……..only they didn’t show up. They lost in the semifinals of their below-average conference tournament. It’s kind of like Kate Gosselin arguing she’s not a fame-whore when she’s neglecting her kids while she gets another make-over and trains for her Dancing With The Stars appearance (note to Kate: no matter what you do with your hair, your face and attitude are still the same, and that’s the problem). Look at the bright side Lobo fans, at least now it’s a little less embarrassing when you lose in the opening round as a #3 seed.

- Speaking of the Mountain West, maybe Jon Beilein should get ready to coach in the MWC. Why? Well in the conference tournament final, it was a coaching matchup of former Big Ten flameouts Lon Kruger (current UNLV coach, former Illinois coach) and Steve Fisher (current San Diego St coach and former Michigan coach). And who is the coach of New Mexico, the team that lost in the semis? Former Iowa failure Steve Alford. Does Steve Yoder coach at TCU? Or Clem Haskins at Wyoming?

- Temple has a chance to go fairly deep in the tournament, and a big part of that is their guard Juan Fernandez. He reminds me of Manu Ginobili in that he has that awkward, herky-jerky game filled with off-balance shots that look horrendous, yet manage to go in more often than not. He is one of those guys in the rec center where you don’t pick him for your team because he’s not big, fast or strong, then he’s on the other team and he lights you up with an array of shots that leave you shaking your head in disgust and disappointment. Also – what was up with the United Nations convention that broke out after Temple won the game? Players were wearing flags from all over the world on the court to celebrate. As my brother sent me in a text: “That’s because no one from this country wanted to go there.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Check back all week as we break down all the games, and find all the information you need to dominate your pool. And you could win The Sports Addict bracket and collect some free gear.

Wednesday Rankings - 1990 College Hoops

Before getting to the rankings this week, if the NBA ever has another labor issue, I’m pretty sure the owners can just play this video to make their case that the players are overpaid. Marquis Daniels……..pause for the collective “Who?” from the audience………of the Boston Celtics had this piece of bling made: a diamond-studded replica of his own head. Just watch it being made:

Diamond Head Made by Jason of Beverly Hills from vKofJBH on Vimeo.

If you read yesterday’s post, I teased today’s rankings with a mention that currently #1 ranked Syracuse hasn’t held that top spot since 1990. Well, these rankings will rank today’s top 8 teams, and compare them to a team and a song from 1990. I’ve already covered my thoughts on Syracuse and their fans after watching them dismantle UNC at the Garden early on this season, so let’s get right to comparing teams of 2010 with 1990…………

1. Syracuse
1990 Hoops Doppleganger: UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (#1 seed, national champs)
1990 Hit Song: “The Humpty Dance” by The Digital Underground

The currently #1 ranked Syracuse team has one big thing in common with the 1990 champs, and it is not pictures in a hot tub with a known gambling kingpin. It is the presence of a transfer named Johnson elevating the team to new heights – Wes at Syracuse this year and Larry at UNLV in 1990. Wes Johnson took an extremely round about path to Syracuse but he has now solidified the Orange attack. (The NY Times had a great article on that path – better than I could recap here) The biggest difference between the two teams is that UNLV was the consensus #1 to start the 1990 season, and this year’s Syracuse squad was unranked (and lost to a D-II school in an exhibition game).

Why the Humpty Dance? Because the Digital Underground was a compilation of unknowns which together produced the #63 song in 1990, but the song that is still a party-starter at any bar at any time. Syracuse is a combination of unknowns – not a single “top 50 recruit” among the entire roster. Is Wes Johnson the Tupac Shakur? Tupac was a young unknown with a checkered past when he joined the group and went on to be the greatest lyricist the hip-hop/rap world has ever seen. Johnson could be playing himself to a lottery selection and his own version of “America’s Most Wanted.”

2. Kansas
1990 Hoops Doppleganger: Duke Blue Devils (#2 seed, national runner-up)
1990 Hit Song: “Just A Friend” by Biz Markie

The 1990 Duke team was in the middle of their 4 straight trips to the Final Four, and was led by sophomore Christian Laettner and freshmen Bobby Hurley. Yet their leading scorer was actually senior Phil Henderson and they also had one of the best names in the history of college basketball in Alaa Abdelnaby manning the center position. This year’s Kansas squad has strong point guard play in Sherron Collins, and also has a big man similar to Laettner that can dominate games in college, but his lack of athleticism will challenge his pro prospects. The Jayhawks also have the athletic Morris brothers, which makes them stand out from the 1990 Blue Devil team that would eventually get run off the court by UNLV.

For the song, why Biz Markie? Why not. Before the song got reintroduced to the world through the Heineken cab driver commercial, it was one of the catchy songs that will be stuck in your head for the rest of the day. Kind of like that Duke team, and like this year’s Kansas team – they may disappear for a while, but when you look up and see them, they’re pretty damn good.

3. Kentucky
1990 Hoops Team: Illinois Fightin’ Illini (#5 seed, 1st round upset) or LSU Tigers (#5 seed, lost 2nd Rd)
1990 Hit Song: “I Wanna Be Rich” by Calloway

This year’s Kentucky team had to be split between two teams from 1990, one of which is more aligned with their coach, and the other with their players. The 1990 Illinois squad was remembered as the “Flyin Illini” because of the guard play of All-American Kendall Gill combined with Nick Anderson and Marcus Liberty. That’s not the key similarity with Kentucky – the common ground is that Illinois went on probation the following year after recruiting violations regarding offering money to Deon Thomas. (side note – that was the situation where now Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl blew the whistle on UI-Chicago’s current coach Jimmy Collins, an Illinois assistant at the time. The end result was that Pearl was blackballed from coaching for years before getting a restart at UW-Milwaukee.) And since John Calipari is coaching Kentucky, well, judging by his track record, it’s just a matter of time until Kentucky ends up on probation, just like UMass and Memphis previously.

The similarity with LSU? LSU was led by a dynamic point guard in Chris Jackson (later known as Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf) and a freshman center that you might have heard of – Shaquille O’Neal. Kentucky is led by a dynamic point guard in John Wall and a freshman big guy in DeMarcus Cousins. Perhaps if Illinois & LSU had combined and paired up Nick Anderson with Shaquille O’Neal they would have had as much success as the two had in leading the Orlando Magic to the NBA Finals half a decade later.

As for the song, since John Calipari is involved, there are going to be one-and-done players who are more focused on getting rich. And who knows, they may already be getting rich just playing for Calipari. (I have no proof and am not accusing Calipari of anything…….directly. The guy is a weasel and I wouldn’t put anything past him.)

4. Duke
1990 Hoops Team: UConn Huskies (#1 seed, Lost Regional Final)
1990 Hit Song: “Step By Step” by New Kids on the Block

Duke is one of only 2 teams to be among the top ranked current teams that is also one of the dopplegangers from 1990. Kind of like Cindy Crawford, the top model in 1990 and still capable of bringing the heat in 2010. This year’s Duke squad is a donut team with a huge hole in the middle. They are dominated by perimeter players like John Scheyer and have no internal toughness (Kyle Singler is softer than Kirstie Alley), which is very much like the 1990 UConn squad, which relied on Chris Smith, Tate George and Scott Burrell.

Why the song? Well, I could try to make the case that the Duke team has slowly crawled their way into position for a #1 seed in a “step-by-step” process. Or I could make the case that Duke and New Kids are both a group of unathletic white guys trying to show they have some rhythm. Or I guess I could just say that it’s New Kids on the Block and they seem the most fitting music group to describe Duke. I think we’re good, here. Also, doesn't Joey McIntyre kind of look like Bobby Hurley? Just a little? Maybe it's just the hair. And the guy in the back left kind of looks like Mike The Situation from Jersey Shore...

5. Kansas State
1990 Hoops Team: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (#4 seed, Lost in Final Four)
1990 Hit Song: “Poison” by Bel Biv Devoe

The 1990 George Tech team with “Lethal Weapon 3” was among my favorite teams. They had Kenny Anderson, Dennis Scott and Brian Oliver launching threes and flying up and down the court with reckless abandon. Defense was a foreign word to them, but when they were hot, they were as good as anyone, evidenced by their run to the Final Four. This year’s Kansas State squad has some similarities based on the frenetic pace that Denis Clemente runs the Wildcat offense and distributes to Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly. Kansas State has the potential to make a deep run in the tourney, but they also look like het classic team that gets a high seeding and bows out early.

Another strong three-name squad from 1990? Bel. Biv. Devoe. Poison was the greatest song from Bel Biv Devoe, and it just seems appropriate for Kansas State. I want to see Frank Martin stomping up and down the sideline belting it out: “It’s drivin’ me outta my mind…..that’s why it’s hard for me to find…..can’t get it outta my head…..”

6. Ohio State
1990 Hoops Doppleganger: Syracuse Orangemen (#2 seed, Lost in Regional Semi)
1990 Hit Song: “I Remember You” by Skid Row

This is the doppleganger that the rankings were made for, the 1990 Syracuse team led by the best player in the country, Derrick Coleman and supported by Billy Owens and LeRon Ellis. This year’s Ohio State squad is led by the best player in the country in Evan Turner, with a strong supporting cast of David Lighty, Jon Diebler and William Bufford. The 1990 Syracuse team was a few years removed from their loss to Indiana in the National Championship, and the current Ohio State team is a few years removed from their loss to Florida in the final game.

People kind of forgot about Ohio State when Evan Turner missed some time with broken vertabrate after falling on a dunk. Yet, slow and steady they have worked their way back into the national picture, and people are going “I Remember You” when they see them on television and realize they are almost in the top 5. And if those people are living in North Dakota? Then they probably even look like Skid Row. (side note – got into an argument about the popularity of Skid Row last night. My wife claimed I only know them because I’m old, and my brother-in-law said he was break dancing in 1990, when he was 3, so he only knew rap. But everyone knows “18 & Life” right? Right? Anyone? Skid Row is hair band classic – and I would argue they are as known as Claudia Schiffer. My friend Mack said she didn’t recognize the name, but I feel pretty confident that she would know the words if she heard it. Mack is the same girl who can rap every word to Tupac, Dr. Dre, Vanilla Ice and Rob Base.)

7. Villanova
1990 Hoops Doppleganger: Arkansas Razorbacks (#4 seed, Lost in Final Four)
1990 Hit Song: “Pump Up The Jam” by Technotronic

The 1990 Arkansas team was part of the Nolan Richardson “94 feet of hell” teams that would press the entire game regardless of the score and got up and down the court as fast as any team not named Loyola Marymount. The 1990 squad was the MayDay connection of point guard Lee Mayberry and shooting guard Todd Day (who both went on to very average careers playing for the Milwaukee Bucks. Neither could quite live up to the previous Razorback the Bucks had success with: Sidney Moncrief). This year’s Villanova team has the guard combo of Scottie Reynolds and Corey Stokes and the team will only go as far as their guards can carry them. The big difference is that Villanova doesn’t play defense at all – they are 14th in the Big East in points per game.

Why Technotronic? Because the pace of a game between this year’s ‘Nova team and the 1990 Arkansas would be as frenetic and hypnotic as the “Pump Up The Jam” anthem. From the opening tip to the final buzzer, you’d be stomping your feet and bobbing your head just like you do as soon as the song comes on. You can’t help it. There are certain songs that automatically make you bob your head – “Lose Yourself” by Eminem, “Nuthin’ But A G Thang” by Dr. Dre, “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, etc. Pump Up The Jam……Pump it up…..

8. Purdue
1990 Hoops Doppleganger: Loyola Marymount (#11 seed, Lost in Regional Final)
1990 Hit Song: “How Am I Supposed To Live Without You” by Michael Bolton

Alright, absolutely no disrespect to Hank Gathers at all. Obviously losing a guy to a knee injury does not even come close to comparing to having one of your stars dying on the court. But Purdue is trying to figure out a way to replace their emotional leader and a regular double-double machine. The run by Loyola Marymount under Paul Westphal was an emotionally driven and great story that probably could have went even further had they not run into a juggernaut in UNLV that played the same style of basketball, only better. Hard to believe that they scored 100 points against UNLV…and still lost by 30. This year’s Purdue team is much more highly regarded than the LMU team was in 1990 and will definitely have a better seeding, giving them more time to adjust to the loss of Robbie Hummel.

The sappy song from Michael Bolton – not the guy from the Office Space movie – is fitting and is so anti-Matt Painter. That’s why I’m giving it to Purdue. They are a hard-nosed, tough team, so what better song than a cheesey love ballad from a guy who stole Dee Snider’s (Twisted Sister) wig for a few years before he passed it on to the lead singer from Nickelback.

Weekend Hangover - Love/Hate

LOVE

- Hockey was the big winner yesterday. Canada comes away with the gold, and US goalie Ryan Miller wins the MVP award, and people actually cared about hockey for two weeks. It will be interesting to see if there is any lasting boost for hockey, or if it will disappear from the casual sports fan’s conscious. The announcers put some nice plugs in for the NHL during the gold medal game, reminding fans how many of the players were NHL guys and when the NHL games on NBC would be telecast.

As for the game, it doesn’t get much more dramatic than that. The US scores a goal with less than 30 seconds left in the game to send it to OT, but Sidney Crosby scored about 9 minutes into the extra period to win the gold. About 30 seconds before the game winning goal, I was thinking how quiet Crosby had been. I don’t follow hockey, but he is among the 10 players in the league I could name and I know he is one of the NHL’s biggest stars. Yet he hadn’t scored a point – goal or assist – during the tournament. I don’t even think I completed the thought before he snuck one through Ryan Miller’s five-hole and the Canadian party was on. I guess it’s time for everyone to put on your Canadian tuxedo (see picture) and drink some Molson.

- The Canadian men’s curling team was dominant in winning the gold. I was strangely attracted to curling throughout the Olympics, in much the same way people are attracted to Kristen Stewart. I don’t really understand it, but it’s definitely there. Their bald, veteran skipper, Kevin Martin got most of the headlines, and he was spectacular, but the real difference maker was the younger John Morris. I still don’t know all the strategy involved in curling, but I do know that Morris consistently was able to knock two and three of his opponent’s stones out of scoring range consistently.

- Last Thursday night, the Canadian women’s hockey team won the goal medal and then took some heat for their celebration tactics. They came back out of the locker room with beer, champagne and cigars to celebrate out on the ice, which was seen as classless by many in the media. I don’t see the issue. They worked four years for this accomplishment, so when they get it, you expect them to clap their hands and smile? Let’s be a little realistic. You earned it girls, so drink from the bottle of champagne, shotgun those LaBatte Blues and light up the victory cigars!

- The movie Shutter Island was incredible. Saw it this weekend and I don’t want to give anything away, but one sign of a great movie is when you’re walking out and you think you know what happened, but someone else could very easily argue that something else happened and there are clues for both sides. Martin Scorsese put out another gem combining with Leonardo DiCaprio in the psychological thriller that has been tops at the box office the past two weeks. Scorsese has been cranking out great movies for decades – The Departed, Gangs of New York, Casino, Cape Fear, Goodfellas, The Color of Money, Raging Bull, Taxi Driver and others I’m sure I’m missing – and has an uncanny ability to use music and silence to create an intense and dramatic scene. And as much as everyone wants to hate DeCaprio, the guy is pretty much the king of the Hollywood world right now. Who knew that the kid that started as the extra adopted kid in Growing Pains would become among the top movie stars in the world and be dating Bar Rafaeli. Yes, he wins. (and if you really thought I was going to put a picture of DiCaprio up because of the movie......then you haven't been reading this blog for very long)

HATE

- Marquette won another close game this weekend, and has now won 6 games by less than 5 points. Yet, watching the end of the game, it’s obvious that while Buzz Williams has some recruiting ability, his game management is suspect at best. In their victories over UConn, St. John’s and now Seton Hall, the Golden Eagles have had the ball with a chance for a game-winning shot. Williams did not draw up a play in any of the situations, and yet, his players have bailed him out by making some big shots to win the games. Watching the way both Marquette and Seton Hall played the end of the game, neither team deserves a spot in the NCAA tournament.

- Duke has quietly positioned itself to get a #1 seed when the tournament brackets come out in two weeks. They have cruised through the abnormally weak ACC conference this year, and were sitting at #5 in the country before the top 3 teams lost this weekend. With Purdue going to battle without Robbie Hummel, they are not the same team that was ranked #3 going into the weekend. That leaves the Blue Devils with the ability to roll through the ACC tourney and into one of the coveted top seeds. They are the girl that’s been at the bar all night that you didn’t even notice because of all the other flash around the bar, yet as the place starts to clear out and the music quiets down, she’s all that’s left, so you have to play the cards you’re dealt. That’s probably also how girls from Duke feel if they ever venture over to a UNC bar – they don’t have a chance until after 2:15 am.

- The NFL Combine is such an overhyped and overrated part of the draft process. ESPN just led the news out of the combine with the headline that Tim Tebow set the record for QB vertical leap. Can anyone give me any way that a vertical leap even slightly relates to playing quarterback in the NFL? Who cares how high he can jump if he still has that loopy, slow delivery that Urban Meyer was too arrogant and selfish to fix? He’s not going to be jumping, he’s going to be flat on his back in the NFL. It’s the equivalent of signing a pitcher that can't pitch to a long-term contract because he had one successful post season stretch and four years later having your highest paid player fighting for a chance to be the fifth starter. Ladies & Gentlemen........Jeff Suppan!!!

- The Closing ceremonies were exceptionally strange. I wasn’t fully focused on them…..but here’s a quick recap of the things I saw……a Canadian version of a mosh pit with everyone wearing white and holding snow boards jumping up and down……..naughty women mounties………a Canadian Macy’s Parade complete with inflatable mounties, moose and beavers………and William Schatner. I’m really not sure what to say about it.

Weekend Hangover - Love/Hate

LOVE

- College basketball put on quite a show this weekend. Without any football (and my wife away for the weekend), there was no reason to do anything except watch college basketball. And I took full advantage of it, watching 8 of the top 11 teams in the country on Saturday. And it was a heck of a performance by college basketball itself, with multiple buzzer beaters, overtimes and great players.

- Kansas will make it to the Final Four. Why? What do Sherman Douglas, Khalid El-Amin and Mateen Cleaves have in common? They have all won in the Final Four, and they are all short, fat point guards. Kansas is led by Sharon Collins, a short, fat point guard. And if you don’t believe that, then how about their overrated, slow, white center, Cole Aldrich? He’s a perfect match for Eric Montross, Greg Ostertag or Tyler Hansborough – all overrated, slow white centers with Final Four appearances.

- Jimmy Dykes is the best college basketball color analyst in the country, and it’s not even close. Dykes typically covers the SEC for ESPN games along with Brad Nessler, and he has the ability to break the game down, pointing out the real nuances of the game (rebounding, defense, the extra pass and free throw shooting) that make the difference between winning and losing. Dykes also is not afraid to criticize a player or coach for a bad decision, which I think shows confidence in his knowledge of the game. Dykes played under Eddie Sutton at Arkansas before spending years as an assistant college coach and a pro scout, so his knowledge of the game is solid. Yet, he’s also highly entertaining, with the ability to let a big moment speak for itself with an understated excitement in his voice. He is the exact opposite of ESPN’s flagship blowhard, Dick Vitale. While I appreciate the enthusiasm Vitale brings, he clearly has lost the motivation to prepare for games, instead focusing on promoting his friends who donate to charity and yelling for the purpose of yelling. It’s a shame ESPN continues to promote Dicky V, and Dykes goes underappreciated by most. Vitale is more washed up than Jennifer Lopez – who by the way, looked like she couldn’t breathe in her dress last night at the Grammys.

- Ohio State’s Evan Turner is the best player in the country. He missed some games earlier in the season with a back injury from falling after a dunk, but he is back, healthy and as dangerous as anyone in the country. He can shoot from the outside, get to the hoop off the bounce, play defense (4 steals in the first half against Minnesota on Sunday), and rebound. Of all the players I watched this weekend, he has the most talent and the most complete game. He fills up the stat sheet the way Carrie Underwood fills up a dress for an awards show – no one talent outweighing the full package.

- As long as we’re talking about Carrie Underwood, for those of you that watched the Grammy Awards, it was a really amazing Michael Jackson tribute. As impressive as it was, I had a couple of questions that need to be answered. What was up with the weird 3-D thing they tried to do? It was lame – I didn’t have 3-D glasses – so it was all blurry and I felt like I was drinking backstage with Kings of Leon. And they had an extremely impressive group singing with Celine Dion, Smokey Robinson, Usher, Carrie Underwood, and Jennifer Hudson. Yes, Jennifer Hudson. How did she make the cut? I have no idea. I mean, she can sing I guess, it just seemed like a bigger star would have been more appropriate.

HATE

- Kansas State will be an early flame out in the NCAA tournament……again. Why am I so sure? Everyone loves the emotions and weird faces of their coach, Frank Martin, yet that is the reason his team will not advance deep into the March tourney. The Wildcats have taken on the personality of their fiery coach, yet their emotions run too hot and it costs them on the court. In their overtime loss to Kansas this weekend, mental errors cost the team over and over again, from two lane violations during free throws to out of control shots and turnovers at crucial times. Their starting point guard – who happens to be the second cousin of Roberto Clemente – plays at a frenetic pace that is even too fast for himself, leading to terrible shot selection – like Saturday when he went 4-15 from the field.

- Remember when Billy Donovan was relevant? After taking one exceptional recruiting class to a couple of titles, Billy has sat back on his laurels and is now just an egotistical pudgy look-alike for Eddie Munster. His current Gator team is good enough to scare some teams if they get into the dance, but they won’t last long. And I’m not really sure Billy cares. He was content to trade interest from Kentucky into more money from Florida a few years ago, and appears to have lost some of his fire.

- I think Rick Barnes of Texas went to the Lane Kiffin school of coaching. Or maybe it is the other way around? Either way, both guys have a knack for recruiting an insane amount of talent to their programs, yet they are not good coaches. Texas has as much, if not more, athletic and talent than any basketball team in the country. Yet they have no idea how to play together, they lack focus (as evidenced by their 19-31 free throw performance in their OT loss to Baylor on Saturday), and they don’t play any defense. Damion James has all the tools (he put up 20 points and 19 boards against Baylor) but his teammates have no idea how to get him the ball with a chance to score, and the Longhorn offense wastes Dexter Pittman inside. It seems like Rick Barnes might be more useless once the ball gets tipped than the white(ish) guy in the Black Eyed Peas. I had to look up that his name is Taboo.

- So much for that Coach K and his teams that play such fierce and intelligent defense. The Dukies got shredded by Georgetown in D.C. with the president in attendance, and the Hoyas shot a blistering 72% from the field. I have no idea how Duke wins as many games as they do. I think they intimidate teams that aren’t mentally tough and teams that are surprised to be on the court with them, because they have the least athletic team in the country that doesn’t play in the Ivy League. They always flame out in the tourney once they get up against teams that know they are better than Duke, just like they got run off the floor by the disciplined Hoya team. Just like they lost earlier in the year to Bo Ryan’s disciplined Badger team.

- Bryant McKinnie getting kicked off the Pro Bowl team. What an assclown. I mean, at least have the dignity to fake an injury like the rest of your peers instead of going down to Miami and just partying and skipping practices.

For those of you new to the site, every Monday I recap the events of the weekend broken down into whether those events or thoughts are a “love” meaning I enjoyed them or it was good or whether they are a “hate” meaning it is poor behavior or annoying play. Thanks for stopping by, come back often, spread the word and become a follower on this site or a fan on Facebook.

The Greatest Speech of All-Time & Thursday Thoughts

A couple rambling thoughts……none are really related to anything…..before getting to video of the greatest speech ever given. Better than JFK, Lou Gehrig, or anything from “Cash for (fill in the blank)” Obama.
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For the first time in its 11 year history, the Big Ten wins the Big Ten – ACC Challenge in college basketball. It was capped off by Wisconsin’s thrilling win over Duke, with the students rushing the court after knocking off the #5 Blue Devils. Trevon Hughes was a monster offensively for the Badgers, hitting a ton of clutch and difficult shots, and Bo Ryan was able to slow Kyle Singler in the second half (he still ended up with 28 points) guarding him with a freshman, Ryan Evans. I also love that Bo Ryan kind of resembles Bucky Badger when he’s angry. It’s a huge win for the Badgers, now 5-1 with victories over Duke and Maryland of the vaunted ACC.

Also key to the Big Ten victory was the 23-point second half comeback on the road by Illinois to beat #19 Clemson. It was an epic comeback by the Illini and an epic collapse by the Tigers. With Ohio State handling Florida State, Purdue beating Wake Forest, Penn State tipping Virginia and Northwestern toppling North Carolina State, the Big Ten took 6 of the 11 games. (UNC beat Michigan State, Maryland beat Indiana, VaTech took down Iowa, BC beat Michigan, and Miami beat Minnesota)
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Have you seen those commercials for Tax Masters and those other services that will work with you to lower your tax debts to the IRS? I have a couple questions about them. And now I know why they have to keep raising our taxes. A couple owes $120,000 in back taxes and somehow this bearded tool box is allowed to settle their debt for $4,600. What? Really? First, how the hell do you rack up a debt to the IRS of $120,000 from a trailer park? Have you not paid taxes for the past 5-6 years? And who are these guys and what kind of power do they have over the IRS? Are they taking advantage of loopholes? Close them!! Why the hell are you and I paying our taxes on time when we’d be better off not bothering for 5-6 years, then getting this guy to settle it for a 96% discount?
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Ron Artest says he used to drink Hennessey at halftime of games when he was playing in Chicago. Are we surprised by anything Ron-Ron does any more? I mean, this is a guy that had enough time to get “Jimmy Kimmel Live” shaved in his head, but didn’t have time to put his pants on before coming on the show. He’s doing anything he can to get a reaction from the media and make the long NBA season more interesting.
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Thursday Night NFL Pick:

Jets (-3) over BILLS (in Toronto)
The Bills are playing better under their interim coach, and just finished beating another average AFC East foe in the Dolphins. However Darrell Revis will be able to slow down the rediscovery of Terrell Owens, and the Jets linebackers will be better able to contain Fred Jackson. The game is taking place in Toronto as a test run to see if Ralph Wilson should move half of the Bills games there in the future. Even by Canadian standards, these are not very interesting teams. And I don’t think there’s any truth to the rumor that since Rex’s “Red Light-Green Light” game plan worked so well, Sanchez has asked to play “Head’s Up-Seven Up” during film sessions.
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Also going on tonight is the annual Civil War college football game between Oregon and Oregon State. And this year might be the biggest game they’ve ever played, with the winner going to the Rose Bowl against Ohio State. Oregon hasn’t been to the Rose Bowl since 1995 and Oregon State hasn’t gone since 1965. While ESPN, Sports Illustrated and CBS focus on the USC-UCLA-Stanford trio, Oregon and Oregon State have quietly put themselves at the top of the Pac-10 Conference this year. It should be an entertaining game, as both teams have offensive firepower led by short, dynamic running backs: sophomore Jacquizz Rodgers of Oregon State and freshman LaMichael James of Oregon. Without knowing too much about either team, I think you have to like Oregon State catching 10 points, even on the road.
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The seeded teams were announced for the 2010 soccer World Cup in South Africa, and the results left many fearful that the US may face an extremely difficult draw in pool play. They were not among the 8 seeded teams, meaning they could get in the same group as Spain, France and Cameroon. The final pairings will come out on Friday, and while I doubt you’re here to get soccer updates, I’ll admit that this story was really just a result of stumbling past the Italian Job on television last night and wanting an excuse to post a picture of one of the most talented imports from South Africa, Charlize Theron.

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It is Jimmy V week on ESPN for their college basketball. It’s a great cause for the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research, and it’s in memory of Jimmy Valvano, the former NC State basketball coach who died after a battle with cancer. This speech was at the ESPY awards show in 1993, and if you haven’t seen it, take the time and watch it. It’s long, but time very well spent. It’s a great message about life and provides multiple great lessons, and not just the tagline “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.” I’ve seen this speech too many times to count, and it’s incredible and moving every time.