June 2008 Sport

AL Standings (June 1)

1 Tampa Bay 35 22 .614
2 Boston 35 24 .593

3 LA Angels 34 24 .586
4 Chicago Sox 30 26 .536

NL Standings (June 1)

1 Chicago Cubs 36 21 .632
2 St. Louis 34 24 .586

3 Philadelphia 33 25 .569
5 Arizona 32 25 .561

Stanley Cup -- Detroit Red Wings 4-2

Detroit 4, Pittsburgh 0

Detroit 3, Pittsburgh 0

Pittsburgh 3, Detroit 2

Detroit 2, Pittsburgh 1

Pittsburgh 4, Detroit 3 (3 OT)

Detroit 3, Pittsburgh 2

Belmont Stakes

1. Da' Tara (2:29)

2. Denis of Cork

3. Anak Nakal/Ready's Echo

Also rans:

Macho Again, Tale of Ekati, Guadalcanal, Icabad Crane, Big Brown

French Open

Men's Singles - Finals

Roger Federer SUI (1) 1 3 0

Rafael Nadal ESP (2) 6 6 6

Women's Singles - Finals

Dinara Safina RUS (13) 4 3

Ana Ivanovic SRB (2) 6 6

Men's Doubles - Finals

Pablo Cuevas URU / Luis Horna PER 6 6

Daniel Nestor CAN (2) / Nenad Zimonjic SRB (2) 2 3

Mixed Doubles - Finals

Katarina Srebotnik SLO (1) / Nenad Zimonjic SRB (1) 2 6

Victoria Azarenka BLR (3) / Bob Bryan USA (3) 6 7

Boys' Singles - Finals

Jerzy Janowicz POL (12) 3 6

Tsung-Hua Yang TPE 6 7

Girls' Singles - Finals

Elena Bogdan ROU (10) 4 6

Simona Halep ROU (9) 6 7

US Open

19 hole playoff

R. Mediate (37)(34)(5)

T.Woods (35)(36)(4)

1 T Woods (-1)

2 R. Mediate (-1)

3 L. Westwood (EVEN)

T4 R. Karlsson (+2)

T4 D. Trahan (+2)

T6 C. Pettersson (+3)

T6 J. Merrick (+3)

T6 M. Jimenez (+3)

NBA Finals -- Boston Celtics 4-2

Boston 98, LA Lakers 88

Boston 108, LA Lakers 102

LA Lakers 87, Boston 81

Boston 97, LA Lakers 91

LA Lakers 103, Boston 98

Boston 131, LA Lakers 92

MVP: Paul Pierce

2008 College World Series -- Fresno State Bulldogs

Saturday June 14

Stanford 16, Florida State 5

Georgia 7, Miami 4

Sunday, June 15

Fresno State 17, Rice 5

UNC 8, LSU 4

Monday, June 16

Miami 7, Florida State 5 … Florida State is eliminated.

Georgia 4, Stanford 3

Tuesday, June 17

LSU 6, Rice 5 … Rice is eliminated.

Fresno State 5, UNC 3

Wednesday, June 18

Stanford 8, Miami 3 … Miami is eliminated.

Friday, June 20

UNC 7, LSU 3 … LSU is eliminated.

Saturday, June 21

Georgia 10, Stanford 8 … Stanford is eliminated.

UNC 4, Fresno State 3.

Sunday, June 22

Fresno State 6, North Carolina 1 … UNC is eliminated.

Monday, June 23

Georgia 7, Fresno State 6

Tuesday, June 24

Fresno State 19, Georgia 10

Wednesday, June 25

Fresno State 6, Georgia 1

NBA Draft

Chicago

Derrick Rose 6-3 196 PG Memphis Fr.

Miami

Michael Beasley 6-8 239 SF K.St. Fr.

Minnesota

OJ Mayo 6-4 200 SG USC Fr.

Seattle

Russell Westbrook 6-3 192 PG UCLA So.

Memphis

Kevin Love 6-9 255 PF UCLA Fr.

New York

Danilo Gallinari 6-9 220 SF Italy 1988

LA Clippers

Eric Gordon 6-3 222 SG Indiana Fr.

Milwaukee

Joe Alexander 6-8 220 SF W.Virginia Jr.

Charlotte

DJ Augustin 5-11 172 PG Texas So.

New Jersey

Brook Lopez 7-0 258 C Stanford So.

Euro 2008 -- Spain

Portugal 2-3 Germany

Croatia 1-1 (1-3 PK) Turkey

Netherlands 1-3 (OT) Russia

Spain 0-0 (4-2 PK) Italy

Germany 3-2 Turkey

Russia 0-3 Spain

Germany 0-1 Spain

Man of the Match: Fernando Torres

NASCAR Standings (17 races):

Kyle Busch 2496

Jeff Burton 2432

Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2352

Carl Edwards 2262

Jimmie Johnson 2220

Jeff Gordon 2171

Denny Hamlin 2150

Greg Biffle 2119

Tony Stewart 2042

Kasey Kahne 2031

Clint Bowyer 2021

Kevin Harvick 2016

Matt Kenseth 2001

Martin Truex Jr. 1945

Ryan Newman 1905

Thursday night in front of the TV

Celtics 89-73 Cavs (Celtics 2-0)
The Cavs started off hot and it looked like the Celtics would be sweating a little bit. But they cooled off after the 1st quarter, Lebron had another frustratingly sub-par game and the home team cruised through the 2nd and 3rd periods. Ray Allen finally tooled Wally Sczerbiak and the Celtics bench got a lot of playing time tonight. Suddenly the vulnerable Celtics are looking strong again at the right time and now the Cavs are in a must-win situation. (Snooze of a game for non-Celtic fans, truth be told)

Red Wings 4-1 Stars (Red Wings 1-0)
In the first few minutes of the match, I thought Osgood looked jumpy and out of sync in goal. My initial thought was that Dallas would have some chances to score. But Osgood settled in quickly and the Stars just never made much of the few scoring opportunities they had. As the game wore on it was the Stars that looked out of sync, off balance, they couldn't maintain possession and squandered their power play chances. The Red Wings are fantastic passers and stifling on defense. The Wings dominated this game and I suspect they'll dominate this series. Dallas did not look ready to play and Detroit punished them.

Chicago Fire 2-0 DC United
MLS players have gotten much better at controlling the ball, on-the-ball play is really vastly improved in the American game over where it was 10 years ago. The next leap forward needs to be in tactics: they control the ball, now they need to do something with it. With that in mind, DC United just struck me as a bunch of scufflers, they're not a good squad right now. They had no attack, they couldn't sustain possessions and only in the last few minutes of the match did they even pick up any meaningful scoring chances (all of which, obviously, went for naught). How much of that is simple ineptitude and how much is because they were up against the top team in the east? I couldn't say though my gut tells me DC won't be making the playoffs this year. Chicago was a better team but they didn't finish well, other than Blanco's terrific strike in the 2nd half--you'll be seeing that one on Sportscenter, though they strangely favor European highlights over American ones. They had the ball around the goal and generally didn't look scary. Blanco is perhaps the only pure scorer in the MLS right now and he showed it tonight.

Russ Roberts-John Nye
I generally listen to econ lectures or books on tape while watching sports. This is a bit of a hindrance to watching hockey because I don't know the players that well and sometimes I don't understand the foul calls. Otherwise I find I don't miss the commentary much except for the occasional out of the ordinary play (like what the hell happened to Ben Wallace?). When I listen to the announcers I usually find myself noticing only the ubiquitous product placements rather than any worthwhile observations. So throughout tonight's channel flipping I listened to Russ Roberts and John Nye discussing the evolution of European free trade in the 19th century. Here's an interesting factoid for ya: from 1750 to 1914 Great Britain did not have 1 single year of trade surplus. (Trade deficit is one of those generally worthless statistics that political types toss around because obfuscation is better than illumination. Think about it: all those burgers from Wendy's I've consumed over the years and yet Wendy's has never bought anything from me--how will I survive this crippling trade deficit? If what you buy is worth what you paid then it is an equal exchange and there is no deficit) Another point to consider: though Britain was the center of the Industrial Revolution, standard of living barely increased from 1750 to 1850. Not much of a revolution when you note that no one seems to have gotten rewarded for their effort.

TPC Sawgrass update

Sergio Garcia 66
Paul Goydos 68
Kenny Perry 68
Steve Elkington 69
Niclas Fasth 69
Todd Hamilton 69
Ian Poulter 69
Heath Slocum 69
Angel Cabrera 70
Fred Couples 70
Ben Crane 70
Miguel Angel Jimenez 70
Anthony Kim 70
Troy Matteson 70
John Merrick 70
Phil Mickelson 70
Jose Maria Olazabal 70
Brett Quigley 70
Kevin Stadler 70
Nicholas Thompson 70
D.J. Trahan 70
Boo Weekley 70

Look at Sergio jumping out to the early lead. When the Tiger's away the Spaniard will play. I'm skeptical of Garcia, always have been. But my pick, KJ Choi, is pretty much already out of it at +7. The grubby media types are rooting for either Mickelson or Anthony Kim but I say keep an eye on Ian Poulter or Boo Weekley, they're lurking.

NHL playoffs update

Conference Semi-Finals predictions
East
Canadiens over Flyers in 6
Rangers over Penguins in 7

West
Red Wings over Avalanche in 6
Stars over Sharks in 7

I'm still struggling with the east, missed both picks in the semis. The way the Rangers sliced through the Devils, who impressed me throughout the regular season, led me to think that they would rise above the youthful Penguins. The Penguins would have none of it and bumrushed the Rangers quickly at home and did well back in New York. Crosby and Malkin are on the road to the Stanley Cup. I took Montreal over Philly just because they had a better record and their peripheral stats seemed better--I don't believe I saw either of these squads all season long. I caught quite a bit of Philly's 1st round match-up against the Caps and wasn't impressed with their attack, which disappears from time to time. I sorta figured that Montreal would be the veteran team that would rise above the inconsistent Flyers. Well they didn't. I gotta take the Pens' relentless attack over Philly's inconsistency. Penguins in 6.

The west, on the other hand, is quite clear to me. The Sharks were the fashionable pick at the beginning of the playoffs to get out of the west, the team that could go to Hockey Town and get it done. But the Stars peaked at the right time--need to keep that peak going for a coupla more weeks--and jumped out to a 3-0 lead. The Sharks are a good squad and they kept Dallas on their toes but nobody comes back from 3-0. The Red Wings are the best. They've been the best all year and only Sidney Crosby on a mission even has a chance to beat them. Recalling what the Red Wings did to Eric Lindros on a mission back in the day, I feel for Crosby. Red Wings in 5.

Kentucky Derby picks

Win: Pyro
Place: Colonel John
Show: Big Brown

Went way out on the limb there.

NBA Playoffs recap -- Eastern Conference

I could've taken the Pistons in 5 but I think Andre Miller is one of the great underrated players I've ever seen and the Sixers will steal an early one from the Pistons and make it look interesting, maybe even go up 2-1. Then the Pistons put the clamp down and take them out. The Pistons are the better team and they know how to win but sometimes they lose themselves. They haven't won as much as they should have over the years. That said, they will not lose to Philly. Pistons in 6

Pistons in 6. I was more prescient than I had remembered about the Pistons-Sixers series. Like a heavyweight fighter, the Pistons liked to get smacked around a little before they get going. They're better and they always were but Miller and Iguodala are good players and when they get some help in there, they might be all right. The Pistons are too good for their own good: they seem to think the eastern conference championship is their birthright when they've actually been grand underachievers! I did not expect them to lose to the Sixers and they didn't, but they didn't impress, did they?

I believe all I've ever seen of Chris Bosh came while he was wearing a USA jersey 2 summers back. I'm not even sure what colors the Toronto Raptors wear. So for that reason alone I'm taking Orlando. I like what I see of Bargnani and with Bosh and TJ Ford, the Raptors got a nice nucleus going and in the east that alone gets you to the playoffs. Orlando is a little green but they've got explosive talent and I think they're ready to get better and I just don't think Toronto will stand in their way for long. Magic in 6

Magic in 5. Easy call. The Magic are ready to move on and grow while Toronto overachieved last year and made full advantage of the medocrity of the east this year. They've got some pieces in place but they need one big scorer (is there still life in Allen Iverson?) to make room for Bosh and Bargnani. Dwight Howard is an example of how basketball can be dominated by a single player. I'm not sure he's a great player but I'm convinced he's big and strong and against weaker competition in the east, he alone can push his team forward. Playing the Pistons will be a whole different struggle and we'll get a better gauge of Howard's dominance.

The Celtics were the best team in the league this year from beginning to end. That's pretty impressive and they should rightly see these playoffs as their time. The Hawks don't even posses a positive scoring differential and are coming in with a 3 game losing streak. The Celtics will lovingly carve up the Hawks in each of the first 4 games. Celtics in 4

Celtics in 7? Oh man, what is up with the Celtics? When the playoffs began one could make the argument that the Celtics were the best team; but no one could argue that the Hawks were anything other than the worst team in the playoffs. So how the hell did this happen? How did the Celtics get taken to 7 games? The Cavs are waiting you know! Credit the Hawks for letting it all hang out and give it up for the underappreciated Joe Johnson and maybe-should've-been-Rookie-of-the-Year Al Horford, they've got a coupla pieces there. But they're not as good as the Celtics, certainly not in Boston and the run ends tomorrow afternoon. But the Celtics have been scarred. Its not like the Pistons dropping 2 out of 3 to Philly, that was because the Pistons are occasionally lazy and unfocused. This is the Celtics losing to a team that is doing everything right at just the right time. This could makes the Celtics better or it could spell their doom. (Now is the time to remind that my pre-season pick was Cavs over Celtics in the east finals, Lebron over the Boston 3 Party is in the cards, no?)

2 years ago Lebron swept Arenas aside in ignominious fashion when really we should've seen a closer series. Last year the Wizards were decimated by injuries and couldn't hardly hope against Lebron on a mission. But this year finds the Cavs stagnating and the Wizards healthy and ready to rise. Probably shouldn't even go 7 but Lebron is a great player and he will fight hard to the end only to come up short. Wizards in 7

Cavs in 6. The Wizards have more talent but they don't have Lebron and they didn't play as a unified force in this series. They should've won this year, the Cavs were vulnerable and the Wizards pissed it away with tough talk and bullying play when what they needed to do was score more points! Will the Wizards keep the Arenas-Jamison-Butler nucleus and move forward next year or will they be dealing with the Mavs and Nuggets in the off-season? Last year the Cavs were Lebron and 4 other dudes; this year, they're Lebron and 4 even crappier other dudes. The only progression the Cavs can boast of is Lebron alone. Damn, he's a great player. Can he beat the Celtics by himself?

NBA Playoffs recap -- Western Conference

Suns-Spurs is being billed as the best 1st round match in NBA history and I don't doubt it. These are 2 great teams going at it from the gitty--savor that, sports fan. The Spurs are assassins: they grind people down throughout the game, throughout the season, throughout the playoffs. But this year I just don't think their grind makes it. Note that as prolific as they've been, they haven't won back-to-back championships, they wear themselves down, its hard to sustain that pace. As great and underappreciated as they still are, I think they come up short here. It might as well be early. Shaq to the Suns was a head-scratcher at first but defending Duncan is why they got him, to clog the lane against a superior ball control offense like the Spurs. The Suns ran out of gas 2 years ago against the Mavs and were robbed last year by the Spurs (and the league). As bizarre as the Shaq-Suns experiment seemed at first, it has the potential to be something special. I think the Suns gut it out and I think the Spurs come up tired in game 7. Suns in 7

Spurs in 5. I was dead wrong about the Spurs. My gut told me the Spurs are the champs til they get beat. But I thought the Shaq trade would finally pay off and they'd keep Duncan locked down. Nope. Looking back on it Shaq was a poor replacement for Shawn Marion--especially at that price--and to see it any other way was sheer folly. The Suns were experimenting their way into San Antonio and that's just not gonna work. The experiment failed. Grant Hill and Raja Bell disappeared, Boris Diaw just can't carry the load, Leandro Barbosa didn't contribute. And Shaq was a colossal failure. In the midst of all that Stoudamire looked out of sync and Nash never got his finger on the pulse. The Hack-a-Shaq in the 2nd period of game 3 was Popovich at his most ruthless: he took the ball out of Nash's hands and kept the Suns supporting cast to get a rhythm going--right when they needed it most! Meanwhile, Tony Parker found every seam in the defense and shot at a John Stockton-in-his-prime percentage. Instead of getting brushed aside quickly, the Spurs are good and warmed up now. The Spurs don't come for moral victories, they come for rings.

Mavs-Hornets is an interesting and unexpected match. Is this the return of Dirk's Mavericks or will they be put out to pasture by the up-and-coming Chris Paul? For now, I'll go with Dirk. The Mavs played so hard last year but then forgot to beat the Warriors. This year the expectations are more measured, the egos are still bruised and they come in as the flailing veterans against a team that has overachieved all year long. I think Chris Paul carries the Hornets to 3 wins but not 4. I like Dirk and Kidd to find a way in game 7. Mavs in 7

Hornets in 5. 'Is this the return of Dirk's Mavericks or will they be put out to pasture by the up-and-coming Chris Paul?' Yeah, it’s the latter. Look for the Mavs to get blown up (I'd keep Dirk, maybe Josh Howard and no one else), while the Hornets sail their 6 man rotation into San Antonio. The Mavs looked tired, they never had the energy New Orleans brought and they weren't a cohesive squad. They got mushed. The Hornets have a great core but I'm not sure they're better than Utah was last year so I don't see them moving past the Spurs.

Jazz beat the Rockets last year in 7 games in the exact same match-up. The Jazz went on to the conference finals (because they got to stomp Golden State instead of facing #1 Dallas) and the Rockets went on to the 2nd longest winning streak in NBA history. So why are they in the same spots as last year? Seems like the Jazz should be better, they should've incorporated Millsap, Korver and Brewer into their game a little more and rehabilitated Kirilenko; the Rockets should've done better with Yao and worse without him, instead they plodded along just like the year before. These 2 teams are dangerous and yet they both seem so tired and unprepared. I'll take the Jazz in 6 but either way I don't like the chances of the winner of this series to go much further. Jazz in 6

Jazz in 6. I was generally right on Jazz-Rockets, though I would not have predicted the games would come out as they did. When the Jazz took the first 2 in Houston I figured sweep. But somehow they gave back game 3 and neglected to show up for game 5. If they'd come up short at home last night, they might've had trouble back in H-town but they got it done. Williams and Boozer were so impressive last year but this year they're not sneaking up on anybody and I'm not sure they're demonstrably better than last year.

I suspect the Lakers aren't as good as they look. But they've got Kobe. Gasol and Odom are a terrific back-up tandem but I'm not in love with Walton, Turiaf or Radmanovic as the difference makers. The Lakers can score a lot of points but I just don't see them as a complete team yet. Even with Bynum I just don't feel like they're good enough to win it all. They should, however, breeze through the Nuggets, who will want to play the same style of ball with maybe more talent but quite a bit less cohesion. The Nuggets will want to play motion offense/matador defense in a fast tempo and the Lakers will pound them mercilessly. Lakers in 5

Lakers in 4. Lakers-Nuggets was a pretty easy call. I'm not completely in love with the Lakers (not after the way the Spurs dusted off Phoenix) but they're a better team than Denver all the way around. The Nuggets need to be blown up. They don't play defense, they don't help each other and they act like brats. Keep Carmelo and the underappreciated Marcus Camby and let the rest drift. George Karl is just hanging around for the massive paychecks. Kenyon Martin was never much of a contributor in Denver. Iverson is too much of a ball hog to be a contributor and just not tough enough to carry a team on his back any more (when Deion Sanders lost a step, his game was virtually gone and that's where the Answer lies).

NHL Playoffs update

Let's recap:

Conference Quarter-Finals predictions
East
Canadiens over Bruins in 6 (Canadiens in 7)
Penguins over Senators in 5 (Penguins in 4)
Caps over Flyers in 7 (Flyers in 7)
Devils over Rangers in 7 (Rangers in 5)

West
Red Wings over Predators in 4 (Red Wings in 6)
Sharks over Flames in 5 (Sharks in 7)
Avalanche over Wild in 7 (Avalanche in 6)
Stars over Ducks in 6 (Stars in 6)

How did I do? Not too bad. I picked all 4 advancers in the West. The Red Wings and Sharks had more trouble than I thought they would and frankly they have no one but themselves to blame! Dude, the Predators had absolutely nothing on Detroit and how they took 2 games is beyond me--even in a wildly unpredictable game like hockey, the Red Wings still should've swept Nashville. The Sharks, too, should've moved on with room to spare but the Flames played a wide-open style that allowed them to hang around. If the Sharks can drop 3 games to Calgary then they can drop 4 to Dallas.

I was only 2 out of 4 in the east, however. I was rooting for the Caps (Ovechkin is a beast), but they were a very even match-up with the Flyers. Their seasonal stats are virtually identical but the Caps were coming in hot and I thought that alone would push them past an even opponent. OT in game 7 shows that either team could've won. The only real surprise to me was the Devils. Wow, they limped quick. They dominated the east for long stretches of the season and it looked to me like they were poised for some ass kicking. Nope.

But now on to the next round. I've been watching a lot of hockey lately but I've managed to miss the Canadiens, Rangers and Penguins so far. I look forward to catching them from here on out.

Conference Semi-Finals predictions

East
Canadiens over Flyers in 6
Rangers over Penguins in 7

West
Red Wings over Avalanche in 6
Stars over Sharks in 7

So there it is.

Red Sox 6-4 Indians

I loved the way my Indians played last night. Except for Joe Borowski. They looked strong frustrating Jon Lester and Jake Westbrook did well into the 6th. Hafner got big hits, Martinez was clutch, Sizemore was strong on D and Cabrera and Blake had critical at-bats. Then came Borowski and he very quickly, very assuredly unraveled it all. Man, my Tribe needs a new closer. I'd be up for grabbing David Riske back from the Brewers but apparently they're closer needs are not being satisfied by Eric Gagne.

Oh and how the hell did the Red Wings blow game 3? I watched some of the 1st period and quite a bit of the 2nd and 3rd and Nashville exhibited absolutely no attack at all while I was watching. The Red Wings weren't playing classic hockey but they wree getting it done. Perhaps they got lulled to sleep by the obviously inferoir Predators. Somehow they beat Hasek for 2 goals in 9 seconds and added an empty netter to cake walk into game 4. WTF?

Trevor Immelman (-8)

Some bemoan the lack of drama on Sunday at the Masters but I dug it. Early on I had my eye on Snedeker but he started piling up bogeys and was out of it by the turn. Paul Casey disappeared quickly, Mickelson never got into it, Steve Flesh did not have a good day and Stewart Cink stepped up enough to collect 3rd place money. I kept waiting for Tiger to come around and he had his moments--beautiful stick on 16 but he didn't finish the birdie--but he just never looked comfortable out there. He looked like that last year against Zach Johnson too--has Augusta become his Waterloo?

So basically it was a waiting game to see if Immelman would yack it up and he did give up 2 strokes late and 75 on Sunday was the highest by a winner in 40 years. Nobody took it from him and he didn't give it away. He had the steady nerve and did what needed to be done. What's boring about that? That's good solid Sunday Masters golf.

NHL playoffs predicted

East
Canadiens over Bruins in 6
Penguins over Senators in 5
Caps over Flyers in 7
Devils over Rangers in 7

West
Red Wings over Predators in 4
Sharks over Flames in 5
Avalanche over Wild in 7
Stars over Ducks in 6

I know, I know: only 1 upset in the first round? The NHL doesn't have the home-ice advantage that you look for in other sports so upsets are fairly routine. I just don't see it coming this season, the top sqauds are too dangerous. That's good for now, I'll check back before the conference semi-finals.

NCAA B-Ball updates

Kansas 75-68 (OT) Memphis
Memphis had it and didn't close it. John Calipari is a great recruiter and a snappy dresser but he's not an in-game tactician. Derek Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts are 2 of the best guards I've seen in a while and they'll both be excellent pro players. I like Brandon Rush, probably a little undersized for what will be expected of him at the next level but I think he'll be pretty good.

North Carolina was disappointing but if you think about, the Tarheels have a long history of making the Final Four and then doing nothing. UCLA was just outmatched at every position by Memphis. I like Kevin Love but I think he'd be better served by another year in college and Darren Collison basically proved he can't play at the next level by getting his ass handed to him by Rose. I like Tyler Hansbrough, he's got good hands, good feet and plays with intensity but I just don't think he's got the skills to be an all-star; he could contribute along the lines of what Chuck Hayes is doing with the Rockets.

Tennessee 64-48 Stanford
UT's defense was too stifling for Stanford's attack. Gotta admit defense may win championships but in the ladies' game I'd rather see offense, cutting to the basket, crisp passing, clutch jumpers. Tennessee is a great champion (as usual) but it was a pretty dull game. Candice Parker went on to be the #1 pick in the WNBA draft this afternoon. Damn, they have the draft the day after the championship? No combines? No hype? No fun!

NCAA Update

One upside of Kentucky being so poor lately is that I actually put together a real bracket instead of picking UK to win (though I did have them going to the sweet 16 this year). The last time I picked the final correctly was (I'm guessing) the year North Carolina beat Illinois. Well, I had Kansas over Memphis in my bracket so I guess I'm sticking with that.

NIT Picking

Ohio State -3.5 UMass

In the NIT semi-finals, Ohio State easily handled Ole Miss while UMass brushed aside Florida. This actually looks like an interesting match-up. I still don't know much about these teams but I'll go with UMass to win straight up.

The buzz is that UMass's Travis Ford will be rolled out as LSU's new coach on Friday. With Western Kentucky's Darrin Horn (name dropper alert, a high school classmate of mine) heading to South Carolina the SEC will be infused with some new blood. Unfortunately for those guys, I think they're on the wrong side of big time basketball. Darrin, buddy, South Carolina is a graveyard, smack dab in the middle of the fiercest of SEC and ACC recruiting battles simultaneously; man, I thought Marquette would've been a better fit. As for LSU, its a football school and basketball over the years has been dedicated to zinging Kentucky every once in a while, I just don't see the upside. (Incidentally I thought the LSU job was ideal for Bobby Knight--he could've zinged Kentucky with some gusto and maybe built something interesting there but he seems to have found a home at ESPN)

NIT Picking

Massachusetts-Florida
I didn't blog as such but Florida was my pre-tourney pick to win it. Billy Donovan's mind games with his players, not allowing them to wear school colors for example, looked like just the thing a great coach does to motivate so-so players for a tournament run. Florida's players are actually pretty good but they were considered a disappointment this year. That was probably unfair as they're so green. A good run through this NIT may give them just the taste of success they need to come back strong next season. (Personally I'm hoping it burns them out and they suck next year) UMass incidentally is also coached by a Rick Pitino disciple, Travis Ford. I'll always remember Ford setting himself to take a charge from Shaq; didn't get the call if I'm not mistaken but on the up-side, he didn't shatter every bone in his body either. This shouldn't be quite as physically exhausting but I'm guessing Ford comes up on the short end here too. I'll take Florida.

Ole Miss-Ohio State
I saw Ole Miss play a coupla times this year and frankly they were pretty bad. I'm surprised they advanced this far even in a mediocre tourney like the NIT. I didn't see Ohio State play this year but I'm assuming they're better. I'll take Ohio State.

Looks like we're on track for a rematch of last year's NCAA finals. Or a double disappointment for football schools trying to turn into basketball schools. Never happened before. Cool or sad?

Friendlies & Qualifiers

USA 3-0 Poland
Did you see that beatdown that team USA laid on Poland? That was downtown Krakow, you know, not like the Poles got dragged off to some farflung burg like Columbus for that, they got their asses firmly paddled in front of the home folks. I was a little surprised because the Polish team looked big and fairly speedy at every position, I suspected USA would be lucky to get out with a draw. But frankly USA dominated the ball, consistently pushed forward and held the Poles to only a handful of decent scoring opportunities. This is the result of so many Americans playing in Europe now, they're not intimidated by foreign locales or fearsome-looking squads. It was just a friendly and I have no idea how representative this was of Poland's A-team but still this was a good solid victory for USA.

USA 0-1 (OT) Honduras (U-23 Olympic Qualification)
Too bad the Americans couldn't pull out the final Olympic qualifier but no biggie, the top two qualified for Beijing. Honduras put in a game effort and got it done in OT with a brilliant strike from by a forward named Welcom that I suspect will turn up on an MLS roster by the end of summer. I generally thought the Americans were the better squad but not decisively so--and they did get outscored!--but it was a skeleton crew since there was little to play for. Jozey Altidore came in late in regulation and saw little action and Freddy Adu sat out after pitching in 2 goals and an assist in the semi-final drubbing of Canada. That was the money game and Freddy shined out just like ya like.

I know you Americans probably don't care because you've been told you hate soccer all your life. But Freddy went out there and got it done while wearing a jersey with YOUR flag on it. You're getting well-represented whether you like it or not. I'm not saying USA's gonna win South Africa 2010 or even Beijing 2008 but the Americans don't suck at soccer.

Mr. Clemens goes to Washington

Right off: I couldn't care less about steroids. If Roger Clemens wants to do steroids or HGH or smoke angel dust in the dugout before the game, its his choice not mine and I don't believe for 1 second that it actually makes him better at anything. These drugs are not 'performance enhancers', they just make you bigger not better. For all the hand-wringing about the influence on the children the moralizers are completely missing the point--they're making it worse! By dragging Mark McGwire in front of Congress you're tacitly telling the children that if you do steroids you'll hit 500 HR's when nothing could be further from the truth! Why not bring up schlubs like Ryan Anderson? He actually got busted for steroids--unlike McGwire, Clemens or Bonds--and he stunk! What kind of 'performance enhancement' did he get? None because he stunk and it don't matter how many drugs he does, he's still gonna stink. Women in America have fought for decades for the right to control their own bodies, why don't these athletes stick up for their rights once in a while instead of pretending to not be guilty?

Tomorrow Clemens goes before some relatively unimportant Congressional committee (*) to proclaim his victimhood at the hands of Brian McNamee and the blood-sniffing American media that lives to point out the faults of others while ignoring its own culpability. Is Clemens a liar? I don't know and I don't care. To me he's a Hall of Famer and he always will be regardless of how many packs a day he smokes or what websites he peruses in the off-season. He played baseball at a very high level for a long time and contributed to a lot of good teams over the years, that's all I know. His 'morality' is his own problem, its not like I'm buying a used car from the dude.
(* To be fair, I consider all Congressional committees to be 'relatively unimportant')

Virtually all of the input I've gotten on this story is from the sports media which has its own point of view, its own narrative structure for this story that may or may not be relevant to reality. None of these sports talk guys have mentioned that today that committee had a hearing on Human Growth Hormone. Do you see? These Congressmen probably aren't interested in the he said/he said sportsy bullshit. This committee is interested in HGH and baseball (for whatever reason) is the high profile HGH case. Prediction: This committee is likely to conclude that HGH is the medicine of the future and won't give a shit about Clemens or McNamee or Major League Baseball (probably a good 2 years down the road when we've moved on to a gajillion other things and forgotten all this noise). You gotta remember: Congressmen spend most of their day listening to old people complain about health care costs. HGH may well be what keeps people alive longer for cheaper. Roger Clemens may be the test case for the wonders of the medicine of the future and what Congressman could pass up a health care victory? Clemens may become a Babe the Blue Ox for the ever-increasing elderly voting bloc, the new Matlock, the new Joe Dimaggio--he'll go down as the man who made Obama's health care plan look prescient! And what first term president could pass up a health care victory?

If this committee even notices Clemens at all it may be for what makes life better. Are you ready for Roger Clemens to be hailed as a hero?

Africa's game is the world's game

Al-Jazeera has a checkered reputation in the western world. Sure, their news items morbidly dwell on the Gaza Strip or the shifting winds of Iraq (and the Business Editor is lamentably unimpressed with their reportage on international commerce). But we dwell on Britney Spears, steroids and real estate crises in a pessimism-inducing manner when they could just as easily be seen as examples of what a stunningly varied culture and vibrant economy we have at our fingertips.

And westerners are a mildly (and thoroughly) paranoid lot. Good god, how many of us detest Fox News or CNN or PBS or the BBC or Bloomberg, Sky Sports, ESPN, CNBC? So you can see western skepticism of Al-Jazeera as a product of xenophobia but I prefer to see that western skepticism permeates everything in the free world. Its annoying when it leads to paralysis of self-doubt but it comes in handy for driving innovation and expanding cultural choices. So to me Al-Jazeera is just another news organization, no more anti-American than any of the American news outlets.

Here is a good overview of the African Nations Cup courtesy of Al-Jazeera's fine sports page. They're all over international soccer and auto racing and Olympic events. When it comes to cricket they're second to none (I'd love to admire that but I kinda hate cricket) and they also have a curious fascination with the NBA routinely and breathlessly updating the exploits of Kobe, Dirk, Nash, etc., in a manner I find quite encouraging for b-ball as an international sport. And they're plugged into You Tube as well as any news outlet I've encountered. Bravo to you, Al-Jazeera! And being hated for your radical views is the American way of welcoming you to the world, like a dog that growls before humping your leg.

Al Jazeera's African Cup round-up

Super Bowl XLII (NYG 17-14 Pats)

My thought was that the offensive lines would both be marvelous and Brady and Eli would both have great games and the Pats would pull away in the 4th. Thinking back on it, they both moved the ball very well, they just didn't score. They were both consistently converting on 3rd down until they got near FG range and then they'd falter. Not til the 4th did the offenses finally break through. And on that last drive I knew the Pats would be looking long for Moss but with 3 timeouts I thought they could've tried at least one underneath route for Welker or Faulk. Not sure why they pissed their time away like that, very unlike what the Pats offense has been like this year.

Brady wasn't sharp. A fair amount of credit for that goes to the NYG pass rush which was in his face all night and the Pats o-line which picked a bad time for their worst game of the year. Funny, for all the talk of Brady's walking boot nobody noted Moss's comment about Brady's high ankle sprain--in all that endless talk about the boot I never anyone heard anyone say 'high ankle sprain'! That said, I thought Brady moved well he just wasn't sharp on his passes, man, he was spraying balls all night. Looked more like a shoulder problem which could've been exacerbated by that pass rush.

So are the Giants the best team in the league? Sure, dude, they won the championship which is how we determine who the best team is. I don't see much room for an argument there. Winning the Super Bowl is what it's all about and the Giants did it. And the Pats didn't. Good season but they didn't win the game that everybody's trying to win so in a lot of ways it was all for naught. Funny, the 2 highest score teams in NFL history, 1998 Vikings and 2007 Patriots, both featured Randy Moss and both failed to win the championship. Oh well. Nobody remembers that the 1995 Indians had the best winning percentage ever or that Manny Ramirez hit 7th or that Sandy Alomar hit 30 HR's in the 9 spot--shit, most don't even remember that they were the victims of the Braves' only World Series title. You don't win the big one, you don't get remembered.

Early pre-pre-pre-season pick for next year: Cowboys over Steelers. We'll see if I still think come draft day (April 26).

Aussie Open update

Didn't get to see as much as I would've liked. I caught most of Djokovic taking out Federer in the semis and it was what you might expect. Just because Federer has whipped everybody in straight sets for as long as anyone can remember doesn't exactly mean that his matches aren't competitive. Quite the contrary! Tennis is a game of inches and the slightest advantage can look like an avalanche on the scorecard. Andy Roddick's best tennis has probably been straight set losses to Federer. For the first time in ages Federer didn't get those inches, the breaks didn't go his way and he went out early (yeah, great champions consider the semi-finals 'early'). Federer has always been vulnerable in tie-breaks and that's where Djokovic got him in the 2nd set. A breakthrough win for Djokovic, a good player in Federer's shadow for a while, he may be peaking at just the right time. I didn't see any of Tsonga's upset of Nadal in the semis nor of the final. Bet they were good. Djokovic over Tsonga in the final was not anyone's prediction.

I did see most of Sharapova over Ivanovic. Again, it wasn't a whipping, it was a close contest where Sharapova was able to exert her will when she needed it most. Good match by a good champ. Sharapova has won a Wimbledon, a US and an Aussie now. Can she take a French? Serena Williams has won all the majors but I believe she's the only one since Andre Agassi to win on all surfaces.

Australian Open update

Women's Final
Sharapova v. Ivanovic

I've seen a little of both of these ladies and they both looked strong. I'll take Sharapova.

NFL Quarterfinals

Packers 42-20. Seattle was up 14-0 in the first 5 minutes of the game and got smoked 42-6 from then on. I was only vaguely watching this game, just eyeballing it now and again to make sure that Green Bay was still piling on points. The Seahawks continue to be one of the most frustrating squads in all of sports: they occasionally look really good but just as often look inept and untalented. I still like that O line, those LB's, they’ve got an MVP RB, a QB that doesn't make mistakes, wideouts that have gotten over their dropsies and a really unique homefield advantage--why aren't they better? I picked the winner and the over but I missed on the dog.

Pats 31-20. The Jags got the end zone on their first 2 drives and sacked Brady on the Pats' very first play. Not much after that. I watched all of this game but I was pretty hammered by halftime so my perceptions are not interesting even to me. As I recall the Jags played well, it never felt like a blowout but they were 2nd best team on the field. I was right on the winner, the dog and the over.

Chargers 28-24. This was a strange game. Indy out-played them in every way, Peyton was unstoppable, the refs were homering all the way and the Chargers lost LT and Rivers in the first half. How did the Colts lose? I thought they'd win easily in an even contest but somehow with all the slants against them the Chargers made plays when they needed to and took advantage of every opportunity. An interesting performance, they'll need a lot more than that next week in Foxboro. Missed the winner and the fave but I got the over.

NYG 21-17. My prediction of the Cowboys pulling it out late was looking pretty good when the Cowboys got the ball on the 50 with 7 minutes to go. But Romo gave up a bad sack, had a bizarre grounding call and they ended up going back rather than forward. Romo's meltdown in the last 7 minutes was unfortunate, he made some brilliant plays early on but lost his head at the end and everyone else did too. (Where did TO disappear to in the 4th quarter?) It ended with a pick in the end zone but the game was over by then, the Cowboys offense sputtered coming down the stretch right when they needed to step up.

For my money the key play of the game was Crayton's drop with 1 minute left in the 3rd. The Cowboys were struggling to get out of their own end zone when Romo scrambles around and leaning backward against his own momentum in between two guys he hits Crayton dead on his palms perfectly in stride with miles of empty space ahead of him and he drops it. Man, that hurt. Instead of a big gain, something that might have put them in FG range, they punt, NYG drives and goes back on top. The 4th quarter is totally different if he catches that ball. Oh well, that possible future is now closed.

NY's touchdown drive at the end of the 1st half was huge, big momentum swing and Eli really planted his flag right there. And NYG owned the Cowboys on special teams, with many nice returns in the second half. Hard to imagine NYG winning at Lambeau so will a conference championship appearance be enough to earn Eli a little breathing room in the Big Apple media? I missed the winner and the over but I won with the dog.

NFL Quarterfinals

1/12 4:30 PM
Seattle 43o
Green Bay -7.5

I'll take Packers 27-24. Seahawks and the over.

1/12 8:00 PM
Jacksonville 49.5o
New England -13

Pats 37-27. Jags and the over.

1/13 1:00 PM
San Diego 46o
Indianapolis -9

Colts 35-21. Colts and the over.

1/13 4:30 PM
New York 46.5o
Dallas -7.5

Cowboys 31-27. NYG and the over.

BCS Champ Loses to Kentucky!

Yes, I know that headline doesn't play anywhere but here. But here is where I am and I doubt (I didn't bother to check) that UK has ever beaten a national champion in football so I went in that direction to kick off my post-championship analysis.

I was surprised that LSU was able to move the ball so easily against the Buckeye D. I thought LSU's weakness was at the QB spot and Ohio State would be ready for a steady diet of Hester between the tackles and Doucet to the outside, but they seemed back on their heels for the entire first half. I was also surprised at the way LSU corners dominated the Buckeye wideouts--OSU had nothing there all night long. They were stuck with the middle of the field and that gave that big Tiger D line all they needed to plug the running lanes. The roughing the punter penalty really killed the Buckeyes: instead of stopping LSU cold on their first drive of the second half, they were able to eat up more time of possession and stick another 7 on the board. That hurt bad. What would've been a momentum booster became a deflator instead. The Buckeye D was much more effective in the second half but that opening drive was too much to overcome since the Buckeyes had no big play ability.

My prediction incidentally was something like (I've forgotten which file its in) Ohio State 28-20. I thought it would be LSU that would get a quick lead and then fade as the Buckeye D re-grouped and the offense found a few holes in the Tiger secondary. There were no holes to be found and Broeckman just ain't the guy to find them. He held the ball too long too many times. This was due to the coverage, not his fault, but the ball is in his hands and he's the one that's got to deal with the action--dude, even on 4th down you've got to get rid of it.

This was the strangest year of college football I've ever witnessed. I was visiting a friend the night Ohio State lost to Illinois and the commentators were saying that the Buckeyes were now clearly out of the championship picture. My friend, a sporting novice, asked why they were saying that and I replied, 'I don't know. I don't think they are out because there's a lot of losing left.' I don't think that at that moment I particularly thought that Ohio State would actually get back to the top of the rankings but I can't say I was too surprised. Everybody lost this year. Everybody. Even the teams that never lose, they lost too. It wasn't that long ago that Kansas-West Virginia seemed like the championship match-up. As disappointing as that would've been to a lot of people (re: the grumpy national media that can't see beyond big stars and traditional powers), it would've been more representative of what this year was really like rather than the match we got. But it didn't happen because Kansas just couldn't keep it together against a feisty Missouri squad (Missouri played Championship spoiler--see what I'm saying?) and West Virginia had one of the worst choke performances I've ever witnessed--and I'm a Buffalo Bills fan! Everybody lost this year, even the underdogs.

Everybody had their chances--even Kentucky!--so you can't feel sorry for anyone except for 1 team: Oregon. If Dixon doesn't get hurt, he wins the Heisman and they probably end up facing Ohio State instead of 2-loss LSU. They limped into the bowl season and acquitted themselves nicely by pummeling upstart South Florida but they were one injury away from getting some glory.

This season reminded me of the 2002 World Cup. There were a lot of early exits by the major players that year: Argentina, France, Portugal all got bounced in group play. And they were replaced by wacky non-traditional squads like USA, Mexico, Turkey, South Korea, Senegal and Sweden. It was exciting to see the crazy upsets but in the end who played in the final? Brazil and Germany, which even soccer hating Americans know are the 2 top powers in the 'football' world. In the really crazy years I guess it's even more likely that the old schools finagle their way in to the big game.

One last snarky comment about this season: Tim Tebow did not deserve the Heisman. Don't get me wrong, he's the best player in college football and I have no doubt if he stays for 4 years he will go down as one of the all-time great college QB's. And may well win 3 straight Heismans! I'm sure his staggering stats looked great when you're sitting in an air-conditioned office in New York but down south we know he ran it up on Vanderbilt, Kentucky and South Carolina and got clobbered by Auburn, Georgia and LSU. How the hell you gonna give the Heisman to a QB with 3 losses? Yeah, his numbers were great but so were Colt Brennan's and he went undefeated! I know he got smooshed like a grape in his bowl game--uh, so did Tebow--but Brennan's the one that dragged Hawaii into a game they didn't deserve to be in and that's actually a pretty impressive feat in a world where that spot is usually reserved for Notre Dame.

So another tough loss for Buckeye fans. But don't worry, you've got a great shot at getting back next year! My pre-season top 3: Florida, USC, Ohio State as we get back to more predictability in the college gridiron game. I'll take Southern Cal over Florida in the Championship with Tebow winning back-to-back Heismans.