In an interview on Wednesday with USA Today, Big Ten Conference Commissioner Jim Delany told the newspaper that he thought expansion of the NCAA Tournament to 96 teams was "probable." An expanded bracket would mean 31 additional tournament games and lots and lots of money for the NCAA and the broadcast network(s) that secures the rights to broadcast the larger tournament.
Is expansion good? Me, I'm pretty indifferent. I like the tournament the way it is now, but at the same time, I wouldn't mind more action, excitement, and heartache. I do worry, however, that rather than allowing more "Mid-Majors" to battle with the big boys, expansion will just give mediocre teams in power conferences more of an opportunity to blow-up our brackets. (Also, I would kinda miss the NIT... GO MSG!)
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
What if?
For some reason, I've already started thinking about players available next year. I know it's early. But, I think it's high time the media began thinking about the crop of free agents available this summer. They've been slacking.
"What if?" is the main question on nearly every fan's mind at the end of a season. It's the sports season version of "after the day I've had, I need a drink." It's both tonic and palliative. It ain't gonna cure ya, but you'll feel much better.
Here's mine today: Chris Bosh in Denver next year. I know, it's not an original pipe dream. I don't know if the Nuggets could afford Bosh given that they have Billups and Carmelo Anthony and a big payment (with Early Termination Option) to Kenyon Martin. The idea, however, of that offense is truly scary. Ty Lawson would come off the bench again. A less troubled guard than J.R. Smith could be found for cheaper. And, if George Karl battles back, wow. There'd be the question of who brings the nastiness, and without Kenyon Martin, that's valid, but who cares. It's more fun to ask "what if?"
"What if?" is the main question on nearly every fan's mind at the end of a season. It's the sports season version of "after the day I've had, I need a drink." It's both tonic and palliative. It ain't gonna cure ya, but you'll feel much better.
Here's mine today: Chris Bosh in Denver next year. I know, it's not an original pipe dream. I don't know if the Nuggets could afford Bosh given that they have Billups and Carmelo Anthony and a big payment (with Early Termination Option) to Kenyon Martin. The idea, however, of that offense is truly scary. Ty Lawson would come off the bench again. A less troubled guard than J.R. Smith could be found for cheaper. And, if George Karl battles back, wow. There'd be the question of who brings the nastiness, and without Kenyon Martin, that's valid, but who cares. It's more fun to ask "what if?"
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Rock the Redskins
This video is from tonight's Caps game against the Ottawa Senators. Instead of giving a depressing game recap, I will opt to just show this video of Redskins on tricycles instead.
The box score to end all box scores
Last week I blogged in amazement at a minor league hockey box score revealing 158 minutes worth of penalties in a single game. Ladies and gentlemen, the Southern Professional Hockey League has outdone themselves. You have to see it to believe it.
Once again it involves the Knoxville IceBears, but this time their opponent was the Fayetteville FireAntz. (Yes, the team name is actually FireAntz.) As you scroll through the penalties, you will see that the majority of minutes were racked up at the end of the second period. Hit Ctrl+f and search the page for the words "game misconduct" and you will find that phrase 23 times. Twenty-three times!!! One of those game misconducts belongs to Fayetteville's head coach, Tommy Stewart for Inciting an Opponent. Also at the 20:00 mark of the second period, the starting goalies from both teams each received a game misconduct. Are you wondering how they had enough players left to continue the game? Scroll down to the last line of the box score for an answer to that question:
Once again it involves the Knoxville IceBears, but this time their opponent was the Fayetteville FireAntz. (Yes, the team name is actually FireAntz.) As you scroll through the penalties, you will see that the majority of minutes were racked up at the end of the second period. Hit Ctrl+f and search the page for the words "game misconduct" and you will find that phrase 23 times. Twenty-three times!!! One of those game misconducts belongs to Fayetteville's head coach, Tommy Stewart for Inciting an Opponent. Also at the 20:00 mark of the second period, the starting goalies from both teams each received a game misconduct. Are you wondering how they had enough players left to continue the game? Scroll down to the last line of the box score for an answer to that question:
Game was forfeited at 10:45 3rd period due to 2 skaters remaining for FayettevilleThat was an interesting way to end the season for both teams. The first round of the SPHL playoffs begins this week. The Knoxville IceBears play the Fayetteville FireAntz in the first round.
She is a Beast!
Brittney Griner -- Baylor Center
Dunks in games?-- check 6'8"? -- check
Size 17 shoes? -- check
35 blocks in the first 4 rounds of the NCAA Tournament (14 against G-town in one game!)? -- check
Nasty right hook? -- check
BEAST -- Definitely!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Does Domination of A Sport Help or Hurt Popularity?
The L.A. Times profiled the UConn Huskies Women's Basketball team, the overall top seeded team in the women's Final Four and three games away from their 6th national championship in 15 years. They are also 13 games away from tying the all-time winning streak record, established by John Wooden's UCLA Men's Basketball team.
The story poses and interesting question: does too much winning hurt a sport's popularity?
It's hard to think of teams that have been as dominant in recent history, but I'd tend to think that assigning low-popularity to over-dominance is a pretty flawed claim. It's not like people stopped watching the NBA during the Bull's two Jordan-led three-peats from 1990-93 and 1995-98. And the dominance of Tiger Woods clearly single-handedly exploded the popularity of golf-as-spectator-sport.
The story poses and interesting question: does too much winning hurt a sport's popularity?
Are the Huskies good enough to be considered America's most dominant team? "They're making a case for consideration," Burke said.
But their success raises another question: Are all those blowout victories hurting a women's game that must fight for respect and attention?
Even [TV sports analyst Billy] Packer, who admires their style, concedes: "To be quite honest with you, because so many of the teams they play have no opportunity to be competitive, I don't watch many of their games."
[UConn Coach Geno] Auriemma offers a different perspective. He talks about Microsoft's dominance of the computer software market.
"Eventually, other people have to catch up," he says. "You either compete or get out, so everyone will compete."
It's hard to think of teams that have been as dominant in recent history, but I'd tend to think that assigning low-popularity to over-dominance is a pretty flawed claim. It's not like people stopped watching the NBA during the Bull's two Jordan-led three-peats from 1990-93 and 1995-98. And the dominance of Tiger Woods clearly single-handedly exploded the popularity of golf-as-spectator-sport.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Another Wizards Loss
Here's a secret: I have gone to more Wizards game this year than I have gone to in the past 10 years, combined. This isn't because I'm not a Wizards fan. As a lifelong Washingtonian, I am, even in this era of liberated fandom. I just can't afford season tickets nor do I find the product put on the floor to be worthy of the exorbitant prices the Wizards charge. I've been to more games in this, their second worst season, than many others because of the economy. Thanks too to eBay and Craigslist, I've hit a ton of games.
I scored two tickets for $6 total to the game on March 24 against Michael Jordan's Bobcats. Given Andray Blatche's effort, I overpaid. However, the Wizards played hard without Blatche.
Here are some photos from the evening.
Here's Mike Miller taking a contested long 2 with 11 left on the shot clock. This was before Blatche decided to quit on the team.
Nick Young, open at the arc, flexes his lats in disappointment. If a bad shot is to be taken, he'll gladly take it. If an open shot is to be taken, he'll gladly take it.
And, it's hard to tell what's going on here, but Nick Young went for the foul and the pirouette while James Singleton went for the goaltending.
Greivis Vasquez was there.
Oh, Javale McGee. When you go up for this sort of thing, please keep your eyes open. Otherwise, the ever evil Tyson Chandler (of the bum ankle, toes, among other woes) will get the ball to Raymond Felton.
I scored two tickets for $6 total to the game on March 24 against Michael Jordan's Bobcats. Given Andray Blatche's effort, I overpaid. However, the Wizards played hard without Blatche.
Here are some photos from the evening.
Here's Mike Miller taking a contested long 2 with 11 left on the shot clock. This was before Blatche decided to quit on the team.
Nick Young, open at the arc, flexes his lats in disappointment. If a bad shot is to be taken, he'll gladly take it. If an open shot is to be taken, he'll gladly take it.
And, it's hard to tell what's going on here, but Nick Young went for the foul and the pirouette while James Singleton went for the goaltending.
Greivis Vasquez was there.
Oh, Javale McGee. When you go up for this sort of thing, please keep your eyes open. Otherwise, the ever evil Tyson Chandler (of the bum ankle, toes, among other woes) will get the ball to Raymond Felton.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Madness Baby!
Butler and West Virginia are in. Kentucky and K-State are out. Madness baby!
Which two teams will join them in the Final Four? I don't know, but I can't wait to see!
Which two teams will join them in the Final Four? I don't know, but I can't wait to see!
Friday, March 26, 2010
When you see "team makes history" in the headline, your bracket is screwed
Only one game into the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championships and a #1 seed is already out. University of Denver was the top ranked team in their conference and ranked #2 overall. They have won seven hockey championships (only one school has won more championships than Denver but I'm not going to tell you who it is; as a Hawkeye I am obligated to hate them.) Denver's hockey program has a long history of excellence. A number of Denver alumni have gone on to play in the NHL, including Paul Stastny, who plays for the Colorado Avalanche and helped Team USA win a silver medal at the Olympic Games this year. Matt Carle, another Denver alum, won the Hobey Baker award in 2006 and currently plays for the Philadelphia Flyers.
Rochester Institute of Technology is a Division III school in every sport except for Men's Ice Hockey. They became Division I for hockey in 2006.
Rochester Institute of Technology is a Division III school in every sport except for Men's Ice Hockey. They became Division I for hockey in 2006.
Hockey Baby!
While I'm not the usual hockey blogger on J.B. Sports Chat, I found this intersting article listing the most memorable 50 goal seasons in NHL history.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Gilbert Gets Probation
Gilbert Arenas's sentence, for having four guns in the locker room and causing the incident:
2 years probation. 30 days in a halfway house. 400 hours of community service.
Javaris Crittenton's sentence, for responding to Gilbert Arenas's threat:
1 year of probation. $1250 in fines. Community service.
Fair?
2 years probation. 30 days in a halfway house. 400 hours of community service.
Javaris Crittenton's sentence, for responding to Gilbert Arenas's threat:
1 year of probation. $1250 in fines. Community service.
Fair?
Gilbert Arenas, Jailbird?
In less than an hour, Gilbert's sentencing hearing will begin. Having read some of the prosecution's briefs, Agent Zero's cover-up, deceit, and sporadic understanding and regret should lead to a jail sentence. Arenas has lost a lot of money due to his suspension from the team and has severely hurt his ability to make significant basketball money in the future, but he clearly doesn't get it.
Henry Abbott brilliantly explains the initial incident between Arenas and Crittenton through Joe Pesci's "do I amuse you?" bit from Goodfellas. Gilbert threatened Javaris. He did it under the guise of humor, but the threat was there. From the perspective of Javaris Crittenton, it must have seemed highly dangerous. There are many what-ifs resulting from the confrontation, but the biggest is "what if Javaris drew his own loaded gun in retaliation?"
Gilbert Arenas needs to go to jail. His open letter in the Washington Post reeks of his inability to understand the gravity of the situation. Gilbert's public mea culpa is disingenuous at best. He is very sorry, for the children. For. The. Children.
Clearly, Gilbert doesn't get it. Gilbert shouldn't speak to youth about gun violence. He's not qualified. This incident isn't about gun violence; it's about intimidation and deceit. Gilbert acted as a bully and pretended that he wasn't a bully, and claimed he made a mistake in the process of keeping his family safe.
Unfortunately, there's a chance Gilbert will receive a suspended sentence and be ordered to do community service. If Gilbert's going to do community service, it should be community service where he interacts with adults, not children. Any community service he does should not be publicized later. He shouldn't be able to use it to show how much he cares about the community. Required community service isn't a publicity stunt, which might not be something Gilbert Arenas understands.
As for the children? Gilbert Arenas is not a role model and, now, he never will be. And he has no one to thank for that but himself.
Henry Abbott brilliantly explains the initial incident between Arenas and Crittenton through Joe Pesci's "do I amuse you?" bit from Goodfellas. Gilbert threatened Javaris. He did it under the guise of humor, but the threat was there. From the perspective of Javaris Crittenton, it must have seemed highly dangerous. There are many what-ifs resulting from the confrontation, but the biggest is "what if Javaris drew his own loaded gun in retaliation?"
Gilbert Arenas needs to go to jail. His open letter in the Washington Post reeks of his inability to understand the gravity of the situation. Gilbert's public mea culpa is disingenuous at best. He is very sorry, for the children. For. The. Children.
But if I help steer even just one young person away from violence and trouble, then I'll once again feel that I'm living up to Abe Pollin's legacy and to the responsibility I owe the kids of the District.
Clearly, Gilbert doesn't get it. Gilbert shouldn't speak to youth about gun violence. He's not qualified. This incident isn't about gun violence; it's about intimidation and deceit. Gilbert acted as a bully and pretended that he wasn't a bully, and claimed he made a mistake in the process of keeping his family safe.
Unfortunately, there's a chance Gilbert will receive a suspended sentence and be ordered to do community service. If Gilbert's going to do community service, it should be community service where he interacts with adults, not children. Any community service he does should not be publicized later. He shouldn't be able to use it to show how much he cares about the community. Required community service isn't a publicity stunt, which might not be something Gilbert Arenas understands.
As for the children? Gilbert Arenas is not a role model and, now, he never will be. And he has no one to thank for that but himself.
Redeem yourself with a whole new tournament!
Were you certain that Georgetown would make it to to the Final Four? Did you pick Kansas to go all the way? Do you wish you never heard the words "Northern Iowa"? Now is the time to redeem yourself! The NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship starts this afternoon. The first and second rounds are this weekend. The Frozen Four is April 8-10 at Ford Field in Detroit.
A more legible version of the bracket can be found here. Anyone brave enough to go in on a bracket contest?
Thursday, March 25, 2010
but I still hate Sidney Crosby
This was a beautiful moment in last night's game against the Penguins. Alexander Semin tied it up in the third with this sweet short-handed goal. It was credited as an unassisted goal, but now that I see it again, it was a pretty nice pass from the Crozz.
Thank you, Sidney Crosby! (p.s. you're still a douche.)
Love,
Kathleen
Look Mom, I'm on Yahoo! Sports
Getty Images
Was that really the best picture they could get? It is like Yahoo is trying to say, "Hey Gordon, you might be a highly skilled college player with a great NBA future, but don't forget that you're really just an unathletic white kid."
The Hope Begins Now
Ted Leonsis, owner of the Washington Capitals, has reached an agreement for the price of the Washington Wizards. Leonsis held the right of first refusal should Abe Pollin have wished to sell. Unfortunately, Pollin, a pillar of the DC community, died last year.
Leonsis turned the Caps around. The thought is that he can turn the Wizards around, too. The Wizards, as some may have noticed, have just tied their franchise worst losing streak. The team is in disarray. Its best player faces sentencing tomorrow (and seems to deserve a lengthy sentence if the prosecution's filings are correct). Its best active player refused to listen to his coach during a completely winnable game against the Bobcats. Its best (currently) scandal-free player was acquired in a trade with Dallas and is out for the season. The team starts Shaun Livingston at point guard. Ted Leonsis can only take this team upwards.
Leonsis turned the Caps around. The thought is that he can turn the Wizards around, too. The Wizards, as some may have noticed, have just tied their franchise worst losing streak. The team is in disarray. Its best player faces sentencing tomorrow (and seems to deserve a lengthy sentence if the prosecution's filings are correct). Its best active player refused to listen to his coach during a completely winnable game against the Bobcats. Its best (currently) scandal-free player was acquired in a trade with Dallas and is out for the season. The team starts Shaun Livingston at point guard. Ted Leonsis can only take this team upwards.
The Death of Sudden Death
This is huge news from yesterday, NFL Moves Toward College-Style OT; Playoffs Today, Regular Season Tomorrow:
The N.F.L. approved a new overtime rule for the playoffs Tuesday that will give each team at least one possession in the extra period unless the team that wins the overtime coin toss scores a touchdown on its first possession.
After years of debate, the sentiment in favor of overtime reform was so strong — it passed by a surprisingly large margin, 28-4 — that it is possible owners will approve the rule for regular-season games in the 2010 season.
[...]
The crux of the rule is to make overtime outcomes less dependent on the coin flip. If the team that has possession of the ball first scores a touchdown, the game is over. But if it kicks a field goal, the other team would get a possession and would win with a touchdown. If nobody scores on the first drives, or if both teams kick field goals, the game will revert to sudden death.
The change is expected to alter traditional overtime strategy. Bengals Coach Marvin Lewis said that the team with the first possession would have to consider going for a first down on fourth-and-short rather than attempting a lengthy field goal. And the team with the second possession — knowing what it needs to win, or at least to keep the game going — would be aware of when a field goal would be enough. That, McKay said, would offset the disadvantage of losing the coin toss.
Come on NJ, Lose Them For Us!
Good readers, it looks like we might be denied the chance to witness history by those "pesky" New Jersey Nets! By beating the Kings last night 93-79, the Nets ended an 8 game losing streak and are now 8-63.
Now this win makes me angry. Do I care about the Kings? No. Do I have a grudge against the Nets that makes me want to see them lose? No! I am angry because the Nets are trying to make my trek with Beau to the Izod center meaningless.
We went not for a love of the Nets or for good basketball (the little kids playing at half time were better than the Wizards and the Nets), but rather to be part of history. We went so that one day we could tell our kids that we saw the worst team ever in the NBA!
So readers, if you are a true sports fan, a true lover of records and tradition, join hands with me, yell at your TV's and will the Nets to lose!
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