Weekend Hangover - Love/Hate

LOVE

- Finally, the dumbest “strategy” move by a football coach backfired and cost his team the game. I abhor when coaches call a timeout one second before the snap for a game-winning field goal and make the team kick it twice. It’s a bulls#it move that shouldn’t be allowed. So it was great to see Sean Payton try that move against Atlanta only to negate a blocked field goal that would have prevented the Falcons from winning. After getting a second shot, Matt Bryant nailed the kick and the Falcons stole a game in New Orleans. Calling that timeout is like when you were a little kid and you shook hands on something but then yelled “it doesn’t count because I had my fingers crossed behind my back!!” And how long can Garrett Hartley’s NFC Championship heroics buy him in New Orleans? The Saints won in week 1 despite his missed kicks and he missed another short kick in overtime this week. If I were Hartley, I’d start boxing up the house, just in case.

- Does anyone know that baseball season is still going on? Oh, and NBA training camps are about to start. No one seems to notice or care about either sport when it’s football season. We wasted more time this week hearing about Braylon Edwards than about the pennant races. Lost in all the news this week was an incredible feat by Ichiro in Seattle – his 10^th 200-hit season. When you realize that he played his first 7 professional seasons in Japan, the streak is even more impressive. Had he played those years in the US, he might have a legit shot at Pete Rose’s all-time hit list. His ability at the plate is almost as impressive as George Clooney’s girlfriend in a bikini.

- Is there a better advertising campaign out there than the E*Trade baby? The latest commercial has him in time-out because riding the dog like a horse is frowned up – awesome. Those commercials are as good as the Redskins yellow mustard pants, and definitely better than those nasty neon orange jerseys in Miami.

HATE

- Can we finally put to rest any thoughts that Notre Dame is a legit college football team? It is blatantly obvious that the Irish are not on the level with any of the mid-level teams in the country, so why do teams get a boost in the rankings for beating them? Stanford is the latest team to dismiss the Irish with ease and were rewarded with a jump from #16 to the top 10. How does that math work? You do what you’re supposed to do – beat a vastly inferior team - and jump over other teams that did what they were supposed to do (aka Wisconsin)? It’s like the receivers that dance after a 7 yard catch – that’s your job, so stop celebrating what you’re supposed to do. That has less logic than Lindsay Lohan remaining out of prison.

- After watching Ryan Mallett flush his Heisman hopes, and Arkansas’s conference title hopes down the toilet on Saturday afternoon, two thoughts came to mind: (1) It’s been confirmed – NEVER trust a guy with a chin-strap beard, and (2) Mallett might be the next Ryan Leaf. He is a big, strong-armed guy who can throw it all over the field. Unfortunately, he is not clutch, and not very bright. If he gets angry with the media and develops an addiction to oxycontin, he could actually become Ryan Leaf. Beware Buffalo Bills – Jake Locker might not be the answer, but Mallett doesn’t look to be the solution either.

- Carmelo Anthony as the center piece of the “new” Nets under the Russian billionaire? There is a 4-team trade that may happen that would send Anthony to the Nets, assuming the Nuggets don’t get cold feet and the Nets can sign Anthony to a long-term contract. It would definitely be a shot across the bow of their neighbor Knicks if the Nets can land Anthony as their centerpiece when they move into Brooklyn in two years. If the Nets can come up with a new color scheme, new uniforms and a new name, they could actually have a shot to become the most popular team in the New York metro area. Getting Anthony would also go a long way towards improving upon their 12 wins last season.

Weekend Hangover - Love/Hate

LOVE

- Congrats to Michigan for winning a huge game this weekend which should launch them……INTO the rankings? Seriously, we’re supposed to be impressed by a victory against a team that was barely .500 last year and lost their starting quarterback for much of the game? I don’t buy it. Yes, Denard Robinson has put up monster stats the first two games…against Connecticut and Notre Dame. Call me when he does something against a real team.

- I love the return of football season, but let’s not overreact too much too early in the season. The sky is not falling in Indianapolis, Arian Foster will not rush for 3,000 yards this season and the Seahawks will not go undefeated.

- So much for Boise State’s chances of making the BCS Championship. When you’re only marquee win is against a Virginia Tech team that then loses to James Madison (who knew they even fielded a football team?), you can forget playing for a national championship. That would be like Jessica Alba trying to claim she should get a lifetime achievement for acting award with her highlight being Into The Blue.

- Everyone knows I hate everything Philly. Watching the Packers beat the Eagles brings me an inordinate amount of joy. And while it is a big road win to start the season in Green Bay, there are definitely some major concerns, particularly on defense. Dom Capers defense seems to be completely boom or bust. They blitz and take chances and if they don’t get a sack or an interception, they give up a ton of wide open pass plays and gashing runs. Perhaps Andy Reid’s sugar rush wore out by the end of the game, but he made some really questionable decisions down the stretch. Using his timeouts with more than 5 minutes remaining left the Eagles without a way to stop the clock after the 2 minute warning. And then on the critical 4^th and 1 play, with the Packers struggling to keep up with Michael Vick, Reid chose to take the fastest guy on the field and run him straight ahead like a fullback rather than stretch the field and let him use his speed. At least now we’ll get to watch the Eagles idiot fans whine about a quarterback controversy all season.

HATE

- Can the media – particularly BSPN – finally stop trying to sell us the hype on Miami quarterback JaCorey Harris? Much like the success of Glee, I just don’t understand the fascination with a show about the glee club or the fascination with a quarterback who can’t throw. He is a great athlete but a terrible quarterback. He was exposed against Wisconsin in the bowl game last season, so what made anyone think he would excel against an Ohio State team that was better than the Badgers and returned most of their starters? Harris threw 4 interceptions against the Buckeyes, ensuring an easy win for Ohio State. Looks like a reincarnation of Isiah “Juice” Williams at Illinois. Who? Exactly – another overhyped nobody quarterback.

While BSPN was hyping this as “Monster Saturday” they would have been more accurate to call it “Exposing the State of Florida” weekend – Miami and Florida State got hammered in so-called marquee games and the Florida Gators continued to show they have a long way to go to get past the ghost of Tim Tebow.

- Went to the US Open on Saturday with tickets to the women’s final. It’s a great atmosphere and we got there early and had drinks out in the gallery watching the end of the Roger Federer match on the multiple big screens available. Then we settled into our seats and watched Kim Clijsters absolutely destroy her Russian opponent, 6-2 6-1 in exactly one hour. As if I wasn’t disappointed enough that neither Venus Williams nor Caroline Wozniacki were in the finals, but then the match was a complete blow out. Imagine how annoyed I would have been if I actually had to pay for the tickets.

- The Wisconsin Badgers have enough talent to win the Big Ten this year, but they seem to be plagued with the same thing that has been a staple of too many Bret Bielema teams – they are undisciplined. They are careless with the football and make stupid plays which allow inferior opponents to stay in the game. Opening weekend against UNLV they gave up more points than yards in the first half (14 points and 12 yards), and this week against a pathetic San Jose State team, the continued to turn the ball over with a chance to put the game away before halftime. The Badgers have an awesome trio of tailbacks, a dynamic tight end, and an emerging receiving corps, yet if they play this way against a respectable opponent, they will get blown out.

- Even if the call at the end of the Lions-Bears game was correctly interpreted, it sucks. Calvin Johnson caught the winning touchdown in the final seconds but the ball came loose as he was bouncing up to celebrate. It’s a shame because the Lions played well enough to win even after franchise QB Matt Stafford was injured.

Weekend Hangover - Love/Hate - Defending Isiah?!?

LOVE

- Knicks fans are up in arms about the return of Isiah Thomas to the front office as a special consultant. Knicks fans have been calling into talk shows and bragging about how they are canceling their season tickets with the return of Thomas, and are quoting George Costanza: “It’s like an onion, the more layers you peel, the more it stinks!” While Thomas does have an impressive track record as the “Bizarro World” King Tut – everything he touches turns into a turd instead of gold – the Indiana Pacers, the CBA, the Knicks and now Florida International U. Yet I actually think there is a value to having Thomas return to the Knicks. During the recruitment of this summer’s free agent class, it was obvious who the biggest winners were – those teams where the owners, presidents, or GMs could flash championship bling at the young players. Riley was able to convince Prince James and Chris Bosh to bring their talents to South Beach. Jerry Reinsdorf and his Jordan-fueled rings were able to get Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver. And the Lakers were able to add Kevin Martin and resign Derek Fisher based on the recruiting of Kobe and Phil Jackson.

The Knicks were going into the meetings with these free agents with an aging Donnie Walsh (who never won a championship with the Pacers), James Dolan (who has a reputation as a bumbling fool) and Allan Houston (a solid player that couldn’t get a ring with the Knicks). None of those people could inspire today’s young free agents that they know what it takes to win an NBA championship.

Thomas does that. Thomas has credibility with the players because he was an amazing player and he has the hand jewelry to prove that he knows what it takes to win it all. As long as Walsh and Houston control the personnel decisions, the Knicks can benefit from having Isiah as an ambassador for the team when they recruit Carmelo Anthony next summer.

- Loved having football back on television on Sunday night – even if it was pre-season. But the football highlights of the weekend were the Hall of Fame speeches. I didn’t see all of them, but my personal favorite was Emmitt Smith. Emmitt was a trainwreck when ESPN put him on the air with no training, leading to classic comments like being “blowed up” among many other lowlights. So I was ready for the Hall speech to be off the charts in unintentional comedy. Yet the NFL’s all-time leading rusher was tremendous, sounding smooth, confident and emotional. And his thanking of Darryl Johnston was awesome. Well done, Emmitt.

HATE

- Fans who think that because Lance Armstrong raised money for a good cause, he can’t be a cheater and a bad person. Whether or not he took steroids does not take away from his remarkable drive and determination to beat cancer. What it does change is that he cheated to be successful at his sport – just like Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, Raphael Palmeiro, Mark McGwire, Jose Conseco and many, many more athletes. Combined with the stories about how he was kind of a prick in his break up with Sheryl Crow, you realize that despite his humanitarian efforts to raise money for cancer research, he has some ugly traits – just like all those other cheaters. Keep them separated – praise him for raising money for a good cause and for being driven enough to recover and inspire others, but be realistic and realize that it is becoming overwhelming evidence that he didn’t win all of those Tour de France races on simple sweat effort.

- What is the deal with the Tampa Bay Rays? They have the second-best record in all of baseball but they seem to put it on cruise control for random games. They have been no-hit twice this year, thrown a no-hitter themselves (Matt Garza) and then they were completely dominated by Brandon Morrow yesterday. Morrow was one out from a perfect game and struck out 17 Rays along the way. So why do the Rays forget to show up every couple weeks and will that be a problem in the playoffs? Probably not, but they have the potential to be less reliable than a story from Jen Sterger about Brett Favre’s texting habits.

- It was a tough weekend for Tigger on the golf course, shooting the worst final round he has ever shot, 77 and finishing in 78^th place at 18 over par. Ouch. I’ll leave it to the gold experts to determine how much of his problems are physical and how much are mental, but there is no doubt that he has completely lost his mojo. Maybe he is simply stressed because Mistress #1, Rachel Uchitel had to check herself into rehab again this weekend.

Weekend Hangover - Love/Hate

LOVE

- You can’t stop the Flying Monkey, Calvin Borel if he gets to the rail by the last turn!! Borel rode Super Saver to the victory on a sloppy track at Churchill Downs this weekend, giving trainer Todd Pletcher his first Derby win. The most unfortunate part of the entire event was that the rain put a damper on the hats and ridiculous outfits that could be shown. The best story was the short awkward guy who won a contest that allowed him to make a $100,000 single bet, and he put that money down on Super Saver, which went off at 8-1 odds, bringing the guy a cool $800,000 for winning the contest. That’s awesome. And since there is no reason to post a picture of Calvin Borel or a horse to start the week, I’ll instead opt for a picture of Diane Lane because she is going to be in an upcoming movie about Secretariat and was at the Derby this weekend.

- Coffee is for Kobe Bryant. (to get the reference, check this clip from Glengary Glen Ross – warning: language from Alec Baldwin) Kobe scored 11 points in the final 4 minutes of the Lakers victory in game 1 over Utah, and totaled 30 points on only 19 shots, making 12 of them. He started the game hot, and then coasted through the middle of the game, allowing Pau Gasol to keep LA in the game until Bryant came in to shut the door. Kobe has a banged up finger on his shooting hand and a gimpy knee and is still the most dangerous player in the league at winning time.

- If you missed the opening game of the Cavaliers-Celtics series on Saturday night, you most likely missed the best game of the series. Was it that great of a game? No, but it’s unlikely that the old Celtics will be able to maintain the level of intensity and effort needed to compete with the Cavs. Two years ago the C’s knocked out LeBron on the shoulders of an unbelievable performance from Paul Pierce, and it is unlikely Pierce can replicate that performance this season. Saturday night was the most rest the Celtics will have before a game in this series and they still couldn’t pull out the win. Look for the Cavs to finish them off in 6 games.

HATE

- Shut Up Brett Favre. Obviously he was feeling unloved during the NFL Draft and Chris Berman must have not met his quota of mentioning Brett and genuflecting at least once per 20 minutes when he is discussing the NFL. So Brett decides that he now needs to come out on his website and mention that he needs ankle surgery if he wants to come back next season. Of course he follows it up with comments that it’s not the worst pain and he could play and you shouldn’t think that the injury would be the reason he would retire. Whatever, dude, we’re so sick of your routine and even your most ardent supporters are starting to get sick of this scripted act every spring. Just go away once and for all you drama queen.

- It was unfortunate that the Milwaukee Bucks laid an egg in game 7 against the Hawks on Sunday as the Hawks advanced to play the Orlando Magic. The Hawks are tremendously more talented than the Bucks, but the Bucks were able to stay in the series without Andrew Bogut because they played hard, played intelligent, and played with poise and determination. The Hawks are very athletic, but extremely undisciplined, sloppy, and Mike Woodson was thoroughly outcoached all series by Scott Skiles. But keep your head’s up Bucks fans, I’ll let my college roommate, the biggest Bucks fan I know and a guy we called Bango tell us why it’s going to be okay for the Bucks in the future:

1) Brandon Jennings: It is unreal to think that he is all of 20 years old. With an NBA season under his belt the sky is the absolute limit. Once he can hit a jumper at a 42-44% clip, he will be impossible to stop.
2) John Hammond-took inherited a garbage heap and made it into a 6th seed. Makes you wonder who was the one making things happen in Detroit during their times of prosperity.
3) Andrew Bogut-breakout year this year both offensively and defensively. Unfortunatelty the Bucks luck turned against them in the fateful game he messed up his arm, but he has turned himself into a second team all-NBA center according to many experts. He was also the brain child of the ingenious and incredibly successful “Squad 6.”
4) Scott Skiles – the guy can flat out coach and gets the most out of his players. Continue surrounding him with talent and we can only get better.

- Is it too soon to give up on the Brewers? I hope not, but I do not have v.ery much faith in this pitching staff to turn it around and get them above .500. Add to that the prolonged offensive slumps like this weekend against the Padres (2 runs in 4 games – one of which was a HR from the pitcher?) and you have the makings of a 75 win season at best.

- Well, no matter what Brian Kelley does to improve Notre Dame football, he can’t undo this video. Ouch. I talked to a good friend and golden dome alumni and his response pretty much summed it all up: “I just lit my diploma on fire. I couldn’t be more embarrassed.”

Weekend Hangover - Love/Hate

LOVE

- I love the folly of people “grading” the team’s NFL draft within 24 hours of the draft ending. It is entertaining to see which teams were winners and losers in the mind of journalists, but the reality is that there is no telling who had a good draft for the next 3 years. There is no telling whether any of these guys are going to live up to expectations and where the sleepers will come from. You wouldn’t judge a movie based purely on reading the book it was based on, right? You need to see the movie and then make a decision. So, yes, as of right now it looked like the Raiders had a successful draft (especially if you include the trade for Jason Campbell to play QB), but then again, it looked like they had strong drafts when they took JaMarcus Russell or Darren McFadden right after they were drafted. Speaking of the book-movie reference, I read the book Up In The Air and saw the movie and there is almost no correlation between the two. I understand that there are always some differences when they make the movie, but it seemed that the only thing the movie and book had in common was a guy who was traveling constantly and going for 1 million frequent flyer miles. I actually liked the movie better than the book, and it wasn’t just because of Anna Kendrick or Vera Farmiga.

- How impressive has Jim Schwartz been in remaking the Lions, at least on paper? Their offense is ready to explode with Matthew Stafford maturing and already having one of the best receivers in the game in Calvin Johnson. They signed Nate Burleson to play opposite Megatron and traded for Tony Scheffler to be the tight end safety for their young quarterback. Then they added Jahvid Best for some explosiveness out of the backfield and if their line can give Stafford some time, they should be able to put up points. Then defensively they drafted Suh to go with recently signed veteran Kyle Vanden Bosch (who excelled under Schwartz with the Titans) to anchor the defensive line. They have the potential to be the third best team in the NFC North, behind only the Vikings and Packers, but well ahead of the Bears. Maybe it’s the new logo that’s changing everything?

- Can someone please get an ice pack for Dwyane Wade’s back and shoulders? He is single-handedly carrying the entire Heat franchise to keep them alive in the playoffs. His performance on Sunday was absolutely incredible in staving off elimination for at least another couple of days. At one point during the game they put up a stat that he had scored 1/3 of his teams total points in the series and was shooting almost 60 percent from the floor….as a guard!! I mentioned it before, but if you’re Wade, how in the world can you resign in Miami this summer? His teammates are worthless. I don’t want to see it, but Wade in Chicago would be a nice landing spot next to Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah. If LeBron James is Superman (and he put on his own impressive showing Sunday with a ho-hum triple-double), then Wade must be Batman.

- Even though Colt McCoy slid even further in the draft than Jimmy Clausen, I think McCoy is in a better situation. McCoy has only a veteran turnover machine in front of him in Cleveland, and will get to be tutored by Mike Holmgren who has a tremendous record with quarterbacks. Clausen, on the other hand, goes to a Carolina team that will be starting a young guy in Matt Moore and will be coached by a lame duck coach, John Fox in the final year of his contract. While Clausen may be able to beat out Moore, his situation reminds me of the situation his former Notre Dame buddy Brady Quinn went through in Cleveland. Quinn came in only having to compete with Derek Anderson under a coach in Romeo Crennel that had already used up all the slack in his leash. So Crennel didn’t have the ability to be patient to allow Quinn to mature and when they brought in a new coaching staff, there was no reason to keep someone else’s pick.

HATE

- The Lakers effort against the Thunder this weekend was laughable. Kobe only took 12 shots in game 4, almost like he decided to take the night off knowing they only had to win their home games. Kevin Durant was the real deal, posting 21 points and 19 rebounds in game 3 and then another impressive outing to tie the series 2-2 on Saturday. Can the Thunder win the series? It’s still about as likely as Big Ben getting an endorsement deal from Disney. More importantly it has shown that the Lakers are extremely vulnerable to be beaten by an experienced team in the later rounds.

- Taylor Mays pretty much solidified why Pete Carroll didn’t draft him. I’ve never had a hard time taking shots at Carroll for being a jag off, but in this instance, I think he’s in the clear. Mays was drafted by the 49ers and claimed that Carroll lied to him about wanting to draft him and complaining that he was let down by his former coach. Listen, Taylor, maybe if you put as much effort into improving as you do to whining, you would have been drafted earlier. However every report out there said that Earl Thomas (and others) were better safeties than you because you don’t wrap up, you don’t have great closing speed and your footwork is lazy. Mays’ complaints carry about as much weight as if J-Woww would whine that she only gets attention for her chest. Well, duh.

- It was really hard to watch the ABC halftime reports with Rick Reilly watching the Nuggets game with George Karl as he goes through treatment for throat cancer. Karl looks like he has aged about 15 years since he was last on the sidelines and you can see the pain as he watches the game. Karl is a fighter and continues to do battle against the illness, and I have no doubt that he will persevere, but it was difficult to watch him struggle to take his shots, medication and then have to sit there helplessly watch his team play disjointed and fall to the edge of elimination by the Jazz. Keep fighting and get better George.

Weekend Hangover - Love/Hate: NCAA Championship

LOVE

- Like Audrina Patridge in a bikini, you don’t have to like her to admit she looks good. Duke played their best game of the season on Saturday night and absolutely dominated West Virginia. They were on fire from the perimeter, they dominated the boards and completely manhandled the supposedly tough Mountaineers team. The Blue Devils looked like a team that belonged in the NCAA Championship game and that’s where they will be tonight when they take on Butler. I’m done with predictions since my predictions have been worse than once Audrina opens her mouth.

- Congratulations to Ms. Jessica Mack for winning the first Sports Addict Bracket Challenge! She was the only person to pick Duke to win the title and regardless of the result tonight, she has locked up the title. She will win University of Wisconsin gear and a some Sports Addict swag.

- Play Ball!!!! It’s officially opening day!! People everywhere are playing hooky from work and firing up the grill at the tailgate outside the stadium. The start of the baseball season is always a poetic time – the smell of the grill, the smell of the freshly cut grass, the feel of the peanut shells crunching under your shoes, and the taste of that first or tenth flat Old Style beer……….(okay maybe my memories are more of the old County Stadium bleachers than it is the newer stadiums like Miller Park where you can get all the flavors of Lienie’s or a premium beer)

- The Lakers are struggling lately, causing concern after cruising along as the best team in the Western conference most of the year. Is the Ron Artest crazy train the reason? Is Kobe beginning to tire out? Is Lamar Odom running out of Skittles to keep his sugar high? Or did Lamar finally realize he married the ugly Kardashian sister and now that Kim is single he’s having second thoughts? Either way, the best part is that it opens up the Western Conference playoffs and it wouldn’t be overly surprising to see Dallas, Denver, Phoenix, San Antonio or Utah right up there with the Lakers.

- Coach K is NOT taking the Nets job. Yes, the Russian playboy owner of the Nets is offering a ridiculous amount of money – like $12 to $15 million per year. Yet at the end of the day, there is no upside for him going to the pros. He turned down the Lakers job in 2004 when they already had Kobe Bryant and Shaq on the roster. The Nets have Devin Harris and Robin Lopez. He will be able to coach as long as he wants at Duke and will never be fired. He has been there for 30 years. Why would he mess up his legacy with a failure with the Nets? The number of failed former college coaches includes current college coaching stars….Rick Pitino, John Calipari, Mike Montgomery. Eddie Murphy was a successful comedian and actor, but the worst decision he ever made was an attempted music career. A choice he probably regrets as much as Coach K would regret a move to the Nets.

HATE

- The Donovan McNabb trade is such an indictment of McNabb by the Eagles it is incredible. Not only did the Eagles feel McNabb is not good enough to lead them to the promised land, they also showed they don’t think he’s going to be that hard to beat by trading him within the division!! There are tremendous differences between this and the Packers trading Brett Favre, not the least of which is that Favre was a lock Hall of Famer, and Donovan is possibly in the discussion. The Packers also knew that Favre still had gas in the tank and therefore wanted no part of playing him and traded him out of the division and out of the conference to the Jets (Favre still weaseled his way back into the division a year later by faking retirement ….again) While the media is spinning it that the Eagles showed respect for McNabb by not trading him to the Raiders, I think they showed him extreme disrepect by trading him within the division. Or maybe they just noticed the decline from 54-19 (.740) as a starter from 2000-04 to 36-26-1 (.579) from 2005-2009, and 17 games missed in the most recent 4 years with only a 2-2 playoff record.

And let’s immediately put away the ridiculous thought that the Redskins may be better than the Eagles next year. It’s not even close. The Redskins have a horrid offensive line, have awful wide receivers (Santana Moss? Malcolm Kelly? Compared to DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin?), a talented TE coming off an injury, and a collection of washed up running backs – Clinton Portis, Larry Johnson and Willie Parker. The Eagles still have tremendously more talent than the Redskins, but Washington definitely improved with this trade. Putting Jessica Biel into a terribly written and directed movie with a weak supporting cast does not make it a great movie.

- The first national semi final game on Saturday night between Michigan State and Butler was a hideously ugly game. It was worse than watching former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich trying to turn on a computer or send a text on the Celebrity Apprentice. (side note – has anyone seen this? The guy was a former governor and has absolutely no idea how to operate a computer or a cell phone. Who knew that his lack of tech skills would be more appalling than that awkward haircut? What the …….) As visually appealing as the Duke victory was, the first game was the exact opposite. It was a slugfest between two stout defensive and physical teams, which we knew coming in. What we didn’t know was that Michigan State was going to lose the game more than Butler was going to win the game. Michigan State missed lay ups they don’t normally miss, missed free throws, turned the ball over in uncontested situations, and had some painful looking jumpshots (sorry Draymond Green, those were some hideous bricks you threw up from the top of the key). Butler shot 30% from the field and won the game. Michigan State shot only 42%. Ugh. Michigan State had 16 turnovers, 5 of which were credited to Korie Lucious and I think the score keeper was being generous.

That being said, I don’t like whining about the officiating, but Green was fouled on his last drive to the hoop. As a coach, with 20-odd seconds remaining and down by one, you want a shot going to the basket so you either make the shot or get fouled and get to the line. Green did exactly that and got hit on the arm and didn’t get the call. It didn’t cost them the game – the turnovers and shooting 10-18 from the free throw line did that – but it was a terrible missed call at a very big moment.

- I watched a little bit of the opening night game between the Yankees and Red Sox last night, and nothing was more annoying than the ESPN feed being blacked out, forcing me to watch the game on the YES network. Michael Kay is among the worst announcers I have ever heard in my life and he ruined the opening night experience for me. He barely pays attention to the game and instead spends the entire broadcast name dropping to show off that he’s buddies with the players, and babbling on about random topics that don’t pertain to the game in front of him. It’s like he’s the annoying guy at the bar that keeps rambling on about the time he met a celebrity when you’re just trying to watch the game. We get it Michael, you have an enormous ego and you know a bunch of athletes that you sometimes have dinner with. He’s like the rest of the Jersey Chasers that used to go to the KK in Madison to try and work the football players in the back corner of the bar. Instead of the majestic call from John Miller and Joe Morgan, I was forced to listen to this idiot. I couldn’t stand more than a couple innings before I switched it off and never returned.

- The Milwaukee Bucks were playing the best basketball they had played since 2001. They were hot and have developed a chemistry between coach Scott Skiles and their team combining young talent like Andrew Bogut and Brandon Jennings with veterans Jerry Stackhouse and John Salmons. They were poised to put a major scare into either Boston or Atlanta in the first round of the playoffs. And now that has all gone up in flames when Andrew Bogut shattered his elbow in an injury that brought back memories for me of Larry Krystowiak blowing out his knee in Game 3 of the playoffs against the Pistons in 1989. Krystowiak worked hard to rehab the knee, including not cutting his hair in the back until he got back into a game the following season. So maybe Bogut could grow a mullet for next season?

Weekend Hangover - Love/Hate: Down to Four

LOVE

- Coaching carried teams to the Final Four this year:

o This is probably the most surprising and least talented team Tom Izzo has taken to the big stage, but like all of his teams they were tougher and more disciplined than their opponents. His decision to intentionally miss the final free throw after taking a one point lead with 1.8 seconds left was genius, despite the officials screwing up the clock (you have to have possession to call time out, and the clock is supposed to stop when the official recognizes the time out, not when it is called. According to the refs, that all took 0.2 seconds). However the other positive outcome from Izzo’s decision was that Tennessee couldn’t run the baseline like they could after a made basket. As much as it pains me to say it, Izzo is THE best coach in all of college basketball, hands down, without question. 6 Final Fours in 15 years is beyond impressive.

o Mike Krzyzewski has taken some heat in the past decade that he has taken his focus off of leading Duke to the Final Four and that he is coasting after all of his success in the 90’s and early 2000’s. Well, he’s back in the Final Four with a team that plays as well together as any team in recent memory. This is his 11th trip to the Final Four with the Blue Devils and you can very easily make the case that the winner of the Duke-West Virginia semifinal will be the overwhelming favorite to cut down the nets. He is the Cindy Crawford of coaches in that he continually gets it done even as the years pile up.

o West Virginia confused and confounded Kentucky with their 1-3-1 zone and Bob Huggins outcoached John Calipari. As great of a recruiter as Calipari has proved to be, he had no X’s or O’s to solve a defense where the base at the bottom of the zone was a point guard and Coach Cal couldn’t find a way to get his big men the ball against the undersized Joe Mazzulla. Bob Huggins is back in the Final Four for the first time since 1992. But don’t listen to any interviews with him this week because he sounds as enthusiastic about it as Russell Crowe is about the papparazzi.

- Speaking of West Virginia, the prospect of hearing “Take Me Home, Country Roads” blasting from the Lucas Oil Arena while the Mountaineers cut down the nets is becoming more and more of a reality. Nothing like a little John Denver magic for a theme song.

- It is probably part of the Coach K leadership, but the poise of Duke was among the key contributors to their victory over Baylor. The game was already teetering on slipping away with 1:30 left when Baylor gets a technical foul for absolutely stupidity. It iced a game that was slipping away. Why are you trying to intimidate a guy and get up in his face when you’re down 7 with under 2 minutes left in the game? As athletically talented as Baylor is, I’m pretty sure most of their team could not spell Duke if you gave them the D and the U.

- If you need something to fire you up for work this week (especially if you’re anywhere in the Eastern US where rain is punishing the entire coast), just check out the Gus Johnson soundboard and listen to his classic quotes and yells. Among my favorites is the “Rise and Fire” or the “Slipper” where Gus proclaims “…and the slipper still fits!” with the excitement of a guy who just got out of the movie where Amanda Seyfried get naked.

HATE

- Is this the worst Final Four every? While we have coaching stars in this year’s Final Four, there are not a lot of intriguing player story lines or very exciting players to watch. There is not an All-American candidate in the Final Four, which has only happened once in the past 10 years. In 2006, when no #1 seeds made the tournament (#2 UCLA, #3 Florida, #4 LSU & #11 George Mason) there were no All-American candidates, and that Final Four was not very interesting. Even in 1980, the other time when a #1 seed did not make the Final Four, Joe Barry Carroll of Purdue and Darrell Griffith of Louisville were All-American candidates. However, despite the surprise teams and lack of exciting players, it is tough to say this is the worst Final Four ever (despite my texts asking exactly that to my brother and Sal on Saturday night). At least this year has the coaches and a #1 seed still playing in it.

- Well I mentioned last week that West Virginia wanted to ugly up the basketball like Sarah Jessica Parker to have a chance to win. Well, they definitely did that on Saturday night. The Mountaineers did not hit a single 2 point basket in the entire first half of the game, going 0-16 from inside the arc. And Kentucky didn’t hit a 3 point shot until there were less than 4 minutes left in the entire game, ending up shooting 4-32 from beyond the arc. That was about as painful as your girlfriend forcing you to watch that Remember Me movie with the vampire guy and some random girl.

- Why do teams call timeouts after baskets in the final minute when they are down more than five points? For the past few years, the clock stops after a made basket, so there is no need to call time out. I get the concept of “setting up your defense” but when you are already down more than 5 points, you probably need the scramble to have a better chance at a steal and a turnover. You are going to foul immediately, so why bother with the timeout? Wouldn’t you be better served to save the time out for when you potentially get a rebound or steal in the final seconds and need to set up a play or stop the clock for a full-court heave? Just a random thing I noticed that teams call the time out to stop the clock when it is already stopped.

- Did anyone else notice the crowd in Houston for the Duke-Baylor game? It was heavily in favor of Baylor, which makes sense with the proximity to their Waco campus, but it also appeared very sparse on television. The game was played in the cavernous Reliant Stadium – home of the NFL’s Texans – so maybe it was just some of the angles that the television cameras were catching, but there appeared to be an inordinate number of empty seats for a regional final game. Is that a bad sign for next year’s Final Four which will be played in that exact venue? There will likely be the same neutral court issues in the Final Four next year, so will it be a full stadium?

Weekend Hangover - Love/Hate

Well my bracket is completely busted after the first weekend of the NCAA tournament, so that’s the hate of the week………….the link is on the right to check the standings of the Sports Addict Brackett Challenge and see how awful my picks were.

LOVE

- Who was the biggest hero of the weekend? It definitely wasn’t the politicians who want to celebrate the fact that they actually did something over the weekend. And let’s face it, they really didn’t do anything since there are still more hoops to jump through. The real hero of the weekend was Ali Farokhmanesh, the Northern Iowa kid who hit the 3-pointer that sent home tournament #1 seed Kansas. His shot wasn’t just a clutch shot, it was one of those shots where the coach is yelling “Noooooooooooo! Yes!!!” because you’re up 1 with under a minute to play and typically the coach wants you to run some clock before shooting. Yet the Kansas defended backed off Ali, and to quote the great Gus Johnson, Ali decided to “rise and fire” from beyond the arc. Immediately after he hit the shot I got a text from my brother “that kid has balls the size of….well…….Iowa.” Enough said.

- The other contender for hero of the week? Korie Lucious of Michigan State, hitting the game winning shot to send the Spartans past Maryland into the Sweet 16. In a highly entertaining game that went back and forth in the final minute, Lucious carried a team that lost its best player, Kalen Lucas, and was also dealing with an injury to Chris Allen. It also ended the career of Maryland’s star guard, Greivis Vasquez, and it will be interesting to see where Vasquez’s pro potential ends up. The Spartans will have their hands full dealing with the Northern Iowa team next week, especially if the Lucas injury is a torn achilles heel like it appeared to be.

- So what is the best conference this year? There are 11 conferences represented in the sweet 16 which is a great illustration of the parity and thin line between the major conferences and the mid-majors. There is only one conference with more than 2 teams still alive: The Big Ten (Michigan State, Ohio State & Purdue). The Big 12 (Kansas St & Baylor), Big East (Syracuse & West Virginia) and SEC (Kentucky & Tennessee) have two teams each, and the rest are single teams from conferences including the ACC, Pac-10, Ivy, Atlantic-10, Missouri Valley, West Coast and Horizon. It was a very impressive showing for the much-maligned Big Ten.

- On the other side of the spectrum, it was enjoyable to watch teams that were definitely overrated show how overrated they were. I’m talking directly to New Mexico, a team that cried about a lack of respect for their great record and then they completely wet themselves in the tournament. They were completely dismantled by the 11th seeded Washington team. Other teams that were exposed as frauds during the first weekend: Temple, Vanderbilt, Richmond, Pittsburgh and yes, Wisconsin. It happens every March when teams cry for respect or build up expectations, only to deliver a performance like Jennifer Lopez like Gigli.

- The quote of the weekend. It had nothing to do with basketball, and took place at dinner Saturday night with a group of friends discussing how a girl should pace herself drinking on a date to roughly match the amount that the guy is drinking. We got into a discussion of a girl who was drinking 4 cocktails to 1 for her date because she figured it was free drinks and she knew the date wasn’t going to lead to a second date (or even a second bar). To which my friend just deadpans “Why would you waste a hangover on a bad date?” Well said.

HATE

- The performance of Wisconsin was pitiful. First, Cornell was flat-out better than the Badgers in every aspect of the game. Their big slow white guy was better than Wisconsin’s guy, Nankovil. The Cornell scorer (Wittman) was equal to the Wisconsin scorer (Leuer). The Cornell undersized point guard played under control, didn’t turn the ball over and made shots – all things that Trevon Hughes did not do. The Cornell shooter (Jacques) made his shots, and Wisconsin’s shooter (Bohannon) could barely hit the ocean if he fell out of a boat. Cornell had guys coming off the bench that made contributions, and the Badgers did not. At the end of the day, there are not many teams that can out-fundamental a Bo Ryan team, and Cornell did that.

The most disappointing aspect was the disappearance of the Badger senior backcourt of Hughes and Bohannon. When the Badgers got hot near the end of the regular season after Leuer returned from injury, those two were driving the bus. In the Big Ten tournament and in both NCAA Tournament games, they drove the bus into a ditch and lit it on fire.

- In addition to the Wisconsin veteran backcourt collapsing, the same happened to Kansas and Villanova. Kansas’s Sherron Collins was awful in the Jayhawks debacle and he wasn’t able to step up and carry the team like you would expect from a senior All-American point guard. Similarly, Scottie Reynolds couldn’t get Villanova past St. Mary’s in the second round, proving that the first round struggles were not a fluke and Villanova was not nearly as good as everyone thought. Time to change the thought that an experienced floor leader is what is needed to advance in the tourney. And it also put an end to my “Fat Point Guard Theory.”

- If you were a pseudo-small market team and were about to sign your franchise catcher to the biggest contract in the history of the franchise (and among the top 5 contracts ever in the sport), wouldn’t you want that to be the lead story in sports? Wouldn’t you want your team to get the publicity it deserves for keeping its star player? The Twins signed the best catcher in the game, Joe Mauer, to an 8-year, $184 million contract that will keep the Minnesota-native home and keep the Twins competitive. Yet they announce it on a Sunday when all the national sports outlets are spending their time on the NCAA tournament and the Tiger Woods interview. Wouldn’t they have been better served holding on to the announcement until Tuesday when the college hoops dies down and they can get the attention of the media?

(and I say pseudo-small market because Minneapolis is not Milwaukee, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Baltimore, Tampa or Cincinnati)

Every Monday I give a quick recap of some things during the weekend that were a “love” – enjoyable, good, or entertainment – or things that were a “hate” – things that stunk, bad plays, or other things that were painful to watch.

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.

Weekend Hangover - Love/Hate: Oscars!!

LOVE

- I think I can smell the desperation from the Bears all the way out in New York. The Bears stole all of the headlines at the opening of the free agency period by throwing money around like they were trying to make Avatar. And as we saw how that worked out last night during the Oscars…….the big winner was the low budget Hurt Locker. What did the Bears actually get for all that money? A defensive lineman that has never played hard consistently and does not play hard when he isn’t playing for a new contract? Check – Julius Peppers. A backup running back that has only been a starter for 1 year even though he’s 31 years old to compete with a guy who has rushed for over 2,100 yards in his first two seasons? Check – Chester Taylor. A tight end that hasn’t been relevant since 2003 to compete with one of the better tight ends in the league? Check – Brandon Manumaleuna. (I don’t care if that’s spelled wrong – I’m not looking it up, and I’m not typing it again) Wait – I just looked up his stats and he has NEVER been relevant. His career year was 2003 (great guess by me) when he had 29 catches for 238 yards. And the Bears are excited about this guy?!?!

None of those moves address the Bears problems which include offensive line, wide receiver, defensive backs, linebackers, a QB who might be color-blind, a clueless coaching staff, and the fact that they are the Bears. I think the Bears might be worse than the Lions next season.

- The Wisconsin Badger basketball team continues to roll, and is now well positioned for at worst a #4 seed in the NCAA tournament. They head into the Big Ten tournament next weekend with confidence and after they put the Illinois tournament hopes on life support, they have a chance to pull the plug completely on Friday in the Big Ten tourney. Interesting that according to this site, the Badgers, as the #4 seed in the tournament has better odds to win the conference tournament than Michigan State, the #3 seed. Considering Wisconsin would likely get Ohio State, and Michigan State would likely get Purdue in the semifinals, I can’t say I agree with those odds.

- Loved watching Alec Baldwin & Steve Martin hosting the Oscards. They were the perfect tandem in that the lines are always stiff and awkward during the awards shows, and the two of them excel at sarcasm, and acting awkward. Question about Baldwin – was he actually appreciated before 30 Rock? I mean, he was phenomenal in old movies like Glengarry Glen Ross, The Hunt For Red October and Beetlejuice among others. Yet, it doesn’t seem like he wasn’t nearly as famous until the past few years.

- Another quick note on the Oscars – it was great to see Jeff Bridges win an Oscar. I don’t know much about him, but he just seems to be a fairly down-to-earth kind of guy and a hard-working actor. Maybe I just project his character in The Big Lebowski on him, but either way, I like the guy. I actually think that his best work was in Arlington Road – a great, great movie that is not widely known. Put it on your Netflix – you will not be disappointed. It’s also worth pointing out that his movie credits also include Tron – an 80’s icon movie. Awesome.

HATE

- Does anyone want the 4th #1 seed? Duke lost to Maryland last Sunday, and then Kansas State lost to Iowa State this weekend. Has Purdue stabilized enough to get the spot? Does Duke still get it due to their wins over top RPI teams? Was Kansas State coach Frank Martin more focused on his contract extension (announced Sunday) than on Iowa State? Isn’t it annoying when I keep asking questions? Anyway, I still think Ohio State can get the top seed if they win out the Big Ten tourney. Seems like the other 3 top seeds are more of a lock than Sandra Bullock was to win her Oscar last night.

- While I am already sick of the Clash of the Titans movie promos, for this year’s NCAA tournament, you will notice a lack of “titans” in the brackets. UNC is having one of the worst seasons they have ever had, UConn will be in the NIT tournament, and Arizona has been awful in the worst of the big conferences. It’s kind of like an Oscars ceremony without Meryl Streep being nominated. She has been nominated like 16 times and only has 1 win.

- RIP Arizona Cardinals chances of making the playoffs next season. Once Kurt Warner retired, did the team throw in the towel in free agency? They lost their best linebacker (Carlos Dansbury) to the Dolphins, their best safety (Antrelle Rolle) to the Giants and traded away their second-best receiver (Anquan Boldin) for a warm beer. Was that really the best deal they could get for Boldin? They gave up Boldin & a 5th round pick for a 3rd and 4th round pick. Seems like a bargain price for a guy who has 5 seasons with over 1,000 yards in 7 years. Though he has only played a full 16 game season twice.

- I will mostly reserve judgement on Ben Roethlisberger until the legal process runs its course. Yet, no matter what the legal result is, he’s guilty of poor decision making. Ben is 28 years old, so why was he at a college bar doing whatever he was doing with a 20 year old? And this is now the second accusation in 2 years against him (though no chargers were ever filed in the first case – there is a civil case), which makes you wonder – why is he always in the wrong place at the wrong time? At some point, its no longer a coincidence that bad things happen to you if you keep putting yourself in bad situations. On the flip side, if you put yourself in better situations, you can have more success. Kind of like that Giuliana Rancic that went from being a random E! reporter to suddenly having her own reality show with her husband – who won the first apprentice show.

- If the Nets are able to avoid setting the record for the worst record in the history of the NBA, they may have the Knicks to thank. They have beaten the Knicks for 2 of their 7 wins on the season, and on Saturday night, New York went out and and missed all 18 of their three-point attempts in the loss. It is just another chapter in ineptitude for the Knicks and another reason that LeBron James will not sign there this summer. That was a serious Toilet Bowl at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.