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(12/05/05 4:29pm)
After going toe to toe with the top team in the country, it had to be hard for the Hoosiers to focus on their game with Eastern Michigan Saturday night. And in Bloomington, the hangover capital of the world, no one could blame them if they came out uninspired, flat and undisciplined.\nBut they didn't. \nFacing a tough 2-3 zone defense that limited senior forward Marco Killingsworth's opportunities, the Hoosiers remained patient and moved the ball extremely well to get open shots. They jumped out to an 8-1 lead and never looked back, coming away with a 79-63 victory. \nThough it wasn't the inspired performance we saw against Duke, the Hoosiers proved that they can win the games they have to and avoided playing down to their competition with some help from their bench. \nSure, Killingsworth had an off night, but can you blame him? His back and shoulders had to be really sore from carrying the entire team against Duke. So why was I impressed with this victory? Because of the guys who picked up the slack.\nErrek Suhr continues to baffle me with his aggressive defense, fearless offense and all-out hustle. It's not like I didn't expect him to try hard or anything, but he's always in the mix, around the ball and in someone's face on defense. I imagine being guarded by him would be like having a mosquito in your pants, it's not like it really hurts, it's just annoying.\nSuhr also converted a four-point play at the end of the first half that garnered a standing ovation. Suhr does all a 5-foot-8 kid can do: play hard, hit open shots and energize his teammates. After five games this season one thing is for sure, the guy has a heart slightly larger than our $1.9 million scoreboard. \nThe other player that stepped up his game Saturday night was Aussie import Ben Allen. \nVegemite, Crocodile Dundee II and IU punter Tyson Beattie were all imports from the land down under, and they are all terribly disappointing. They all had potential but never realized it. Ben Allen will not be added to that list. \nThe 6-10 freshman is more Russell Crowe than Heath Ledger -- solid if not spectacular, as opposed to hard to watch. He finally had his break-out game against Eastern Michigan, dropping 15 points and grabbing five rebounds. His ability to step out and hit deep shots makes him especially dangerous, as he hit two big 3-pointers Saturday night. Though he's not quite the thunder from down under, Allen's finesse game around the basket is a great change of pace from Killingsworth's raw power. \nAfter the game, Allen continued to impress, remaining humble and saying that he still had a lot to work on. Hmm, a 6-10 freshman, that's well spoken, is a budding star on IU's basketball team, looks a little like Andy Roddick and has an Australian accent? He must have serious trouble meeting girls. \nAnd hey, I'm fine with Allen and the rest of the team going out and having fun; they deserve it for all their hard work. As long as they avoid a hangover.
(12/01/05 6:11pm)
It's easy to look at Wednesday's 75-67 loss to the No. 1-ranked Duke Blue Devils and think that there's no such thing as a moral victory. But I couldn't help myself from repeatedly saying "What if?" \nWhat if D.J. White had two healthy feet? The Hoosiers dominated in the paint on offense as Marco Killingsworth made Shelden Williams look more like a junior varsity bench player than a preseason All-American. Killingsworth finished with 34 points and 10 rebounds and surely opened a few eyes in the ESPN audience. Had White been in the game and not looking like a GQ spread with James Hardy and Mike Davis Jr., the Devils would have had no answer inside. When January rolls around and the boot comes off White's foot, the Hoosiers will be downright scary in the paint. \nWhat if Killingsworth starts hitting more free throws? He's not exactly Shaq-esque but Marco needs to be more consistent from the charity stripe. After tonight's 4-9 free throw performance he should be living on the line until the next game. He gave away five easy points that could have been the difference in the game.\nWhat if Duke wasn't Duke? It's a well known fact that the Blue Devils get plenty of gifts from the referees in nearly every game they play. Had two or three questionable fouls gone the other way, the final result would have been different. \nI know I shouldn't be looking for a silver lining in this heartbreaking loss but it's hard to ignore the positives. \nIU coach Mike Davis called the crowd "un-freaking-believable." It was by far the best atmosphere for a game I have ever seen. I got chills several times because of how loud it got in Assembly Hall. Hoosier fans showed up in force and proudly displayed their support for our revived basketball program. It was obvious that it is a good year to be a Hoosier.\nFor any of you that are upset about the loss just remember this: Without their best returning player our boys played with the best team in the country for 40 minutes and could have easily won the game.\nIt was nice to see James Hardy on the sidelines. He obviously knew he was going to be on national television. James, it's nice to see you with the basketball guys again but that suit was a crime against nature. Seriously, did you rob Michael Irvin's wardrobe?\nSo yeah, we lost to Duke. But as I walked to my car, I couldn't help but think: What if we play them in April?
(12/01/05 12:59am)
Tonight is one of those few occasions in life when you can make a difference. It's the kind of moment where you (yes, YOU) have a chance to impact history. It's the sort of thing some college students only dream about. It's the chance to help your basketball team topple the consensus No. 1 team in the country on national television, and help bring our beloved basketball program back to national prominence.\nBy beating Duke tonight on ESPN, with everyone's favorite college basketball guru Dick Vitale in the house, the Hoosiers can announce to the world that they are back. IU should be a basketball powerhouse, so all the students, not just the players, need to do what it takes to make it happen. \nBut if you think attending the game is all you can do, you're sorely mistaken.\nNot only do you need to be there, you need to show up. And by that I mean each and every one of you reading this needs to bring all the energy you have. I've got a few guidelines for tonight that you need to follow, since the crowd can be a deciding factor in a huge game like this.\n1. Wear white\nI know it's after Labor Day, but we need to show unity in the crowd. Plus, do you really want to be the jackass that stands out in the crowd because he didn't dress like everyone else? \n2. Arrive early\nThe pep rally is supposed to run until 8:30 but you should be in your seats no later than 8:40. Let those Dukies hear what they are up against during warm-ups. Wandering in after introductions is unacceptable. So if you're walking to the game, leave a half hour earlier than usual.\n3. Be loud\nNobody who's in Assembly Hall tonight should have a voice tomorrow. Get the place rocking. There is no reason to hold back because it is probably the biggest game you will ever attend. Show how much you love your players, your team and your school. \n4. Coordinate chants\nThe "Sean May Sucks" chant during the North Carolina game last year gave me chills. The entire arena went with it and kept it going the entire game. It was the loudest I have ever heard Assembly Hall, but tonight's crowd needs to top it. \nThis year's returning Indiana native is freshman starting forward Josh McRoberts. Let's show him what he's missing by spending his college years in Durham, N.C.\nNeed some ideas? \nI think "Your State Hates You," "We Don't Need You" and anything referring to him as a "traitor" should work.\n5. Stay classy \nRemember, we aren't Maryland fans. Last year they brought out all sorts of cheers and signs about J.J. Redick's sister. Even though he's the most hated player in college basketball, there is a line and they crossed it. Heckling is fine -- I encourage it -- but we're a classy bunch of kids at IU. Remember that. (Unless you're yelling at McRoberts, then say whatever you want.) \nCome to think of it, maybe we shouldn't focus any of our heckling on Redick. Maybe silence will throw off his game. \nAs for the actual game, I don't like to make predictions, but you might want to bring your court storming shoes.
(11/18/05 3:54pm)
I 'm issuing a challenge right now. If the Hoosiers want to impress me in their opening game tonight against Nicholls State, they have to accomplish a few easy tasks. In a matchup like this one, winning simply isn't enough. When you're playing a tiny school that happened to go 6-21 last year while playing in the Southland Conference, you need to make a statement. Nicholls State's football team came to Bloomington in early September and nearly pulled one of the biggest (and most embarrassing) upsets in school history. But luckily you can't run the triple option in basketball, so I think we're OK. \nWith that said, here's the list of things the Hoosiers must accomplish for me to leave tonight's game impressed.\n1. Ben Allen, Sean Kline and Cem Dinc need to combine for at least 15 points and 10 rebounds. These guys need to start performing and show they can fill the rather large void left by D.J. White's absence. With tougher competition ahead, they need to get used to contributing regularly. After all, Marco Killingsworth can't be expected to carry the team by himself while everyone else plays below expectations. Translation: he can't be turned into Alex Rodriguez while the rest of the team is the 2005 Yankees. \n2. Out-rebound the Colonels in both halves. The Hoosiers need to prove they can rebound with anyone, and tonight's game shouldn't be too tough. With teams like Duke, Michigan State and UConn on the schedule, IU needs to make sure they limit their opponent's second-chance opportunities. Or, like Paris Hilton, they'll be letting guys score way too easily. \n3. Keep Nicholls State out of the double-bonus in both halves. When you are far more talented than the other team, there is no need to pick up stupid fouls and give up free throws. The Hoosiers need to get used to guarding without fouling, playing defense with their feet and not their hands and helping each other when needed. Duke gets more cheap calls than any team in the country, and if the Hoosiers aren't prepared, they could be free thrown right out of the game Nov. 30.\n4. Score at least 80 points. The Hoosier guards need to push the ball up the floor and get easy buckets in transition. Earl "X-button" Calloway (that's speed burst on the PS2) is the fastest guard IU has had in years, and along with Lewis Monroe, is the key to the transition game. If the Hoosiers can get easy buckets off the fast break, this game could be over early, allowing coach Davis to pull his starters and keep everyone healthy. And avoid an Eagles-esque meltdown. \n5. Show me the reserves. My new buddy Adam Ahlfeld needs to get at least five minutes of playing time. After hitting his first career three-point basket in the Hoosiers' last exhibition game, I think we all want to see Ahlfeld get some regular season minutes right away. When Davis puts him in, the fans will know the game is pretty well in hand. He's sort of like the world's largest victory cigar. So come on guys, put this one away early so Ahlfeld can get in and the crowd can go crazy.\nSo guys, you've got my list. Start this season out on the right foot. It's a home game and the campus is buzzing with excitement for the start of this year. Now go out there and impress me.
(11/10/05 4:32am)
Friday, as I sat amid the belt buckle-busting, "big boned" representatives from practically every news outlet in Indiana, I saw something I never thought I'd see. A much maligned Hoosier player received a pass on the left wing, put the ball on the floor, flew through the air and slammed it home with Vince Carter-like authority. I was puzzled. The player was quick, confident and even explosive. The player was ... Sean Kline? \nAfter the initial reaction from the crowd, everyone in the press area was looking around at each other asking questions like: "Who was that?", "Where did that come from?" and "Was that Kline?" \nI have to admit, over the past two years, I haven't been the biggest Sean Kline supporter. In moments of alcohol-fueled frustration, I am guilty of directing my anger at a player that, in the minds of some, represented the problem with the Hoosier basketball program of late. He epitomized high expectations and low results.\nComing to IU out of Huntington North High School, Kline was an All-State selection and was ranked as one of the top 50 prep players in the nation by some. It appeared IU had another stereotypical blue collar native Hoosier star that would shine in his home state like so many before him. But this fairy tale turned out to be anything but typical.\nKline redshirted as a true freshman and struggled to get involved in his first year of eligibility. Then, just when it looked like he was on the right track, posting several excellent games as a sophomore, he suffered a season-ending (and career-threatening) knee injury during the Purdue game in 2004. \nLast season, Kline looked bulky, slow and simply hard to watch because it was obvious he wasn't fully healthy. \nKline's problem has never been a lack of effort. He reminds me of the kid from your middle school basketball team with the wrap-around Rec Spec goggles and the kneepads that didn't match the uniform. We all knew the guy, the one that dove around the gym with the caution of a kamikaze pilot and cared less for his body than Camryn Manheim. Kline's effort and toughness have never been in doubt but his confidence, execution and decision-making have always been questionable. That is, until Friday.\nSure it was an exhibition game, but this was an entirely different player. It was night and day. Several times Kline posted up and called for the ball, maneuvered and put it in the hoop. All I could think was, "Where is Sean Kline, and what have you done with him?" \nHe finished with 13 points and two crowd-pleasing blocks in 19 minutes. \nWith D.J. White now out until late December, players like Kline and Aussie-import Ben Allen will need to pick up the slack. A year ago, White's injury would have meant death to the Hoosiers' early season prospects, but this is a different season and a different team.\nKline has started his senior season out on the right foot, and the sky is the limit for him and his team if they play with the confidence and ability they are capable of. \nSo, I'm officially captaining the new Sean Kline bandwagon. Who's coming with me? Let's support an Indiana native who has given four tough years to the team we all love.\nAfter all, how great would the story of his career be if the fifth-year senior and native Hoosier helped lead his team to the Final Four?
(11/01/05 5:19am)
No sports tradition is more revered in this country than the link between the people of Indiana and basketball. Everyone associates the state with the sport, regardless of where you go or who you talk to. I'm not a native Hoosier. I grew up on the sun-soaked beaches of Southern California, but even from 2,090 miles away I was drawn to the mystique surrounding the Hoosier state and its obsession with roundball. As a 6-foot-2-inch, comically un-athletic shooting guard, Indiana basketball was something I looked at with hope for most of my high school years.\nWhen my academic career landed me in Bloomington in August 2003, I immediately signed up for basketball tickets. I pictured an experience much like walking into Fenway Park for the first time. I expected to be inspired and awed. I expected to get chills. What I got was disappointment. What I got was Assembly Hall.\nTo put it plainly, the atmosphere in Assembly Hall rivals that of a mausoleum. I don't know if it's the lack of energy, the bad lighting or the large collection of people who look like they died three years ago, but something about it reminds me of a tomb.\nWhat's worse is that the people who cheer the loudest are often the farthest from the floor and therefore have the least influence on the game. \nWe've all seen it. During a great rally, all the students will be standing and cheering while the older fans, who take up the best seats right on center court, have their rear ends stapled to their seats. Like Adam Ahlfeld, there's no hope of ever getting them up and involved in the game. \nSo I'm posing this question to IU Athletics Director Rick Greenspan: If a large portion of the crowd is slightly less enthusiastic than a collection of zombies, why do they get the best seats in the house? After all, we have been told by this same athletics department that "crowds help win games." \nThe problem with Assembly Hall is that there is no real home court advantage because there is no real student section.\nDuke has the "Cameron Crazies," Michigan State has the "Izzone," Illinois has its "Orange Krush" and Indiana needs to follow suit. A great student section makes it much more difficult for visiting teams to execute while at the same time it energizes the home team that much more. IU needs a rowdy collection of students with coordinated cheers, painted faces and the energy to scream for an entire game.\nWhy not just put all of the students together on one side of the court behind the benches? That way, the students would be allowed to cheer together and not interfere with the tea party atmosphere the elderly Hoosier fans seem to love so much.\nMr. Greenspan, you've done some wonderful things for this school so far. You've revitalized a dying football program and added an amazing scoreboard to Assembly Hall. You are clearly trying to put your stamp on IU Athletics. Wouldn't a permanent student section be a great way to continue that progress?
(10/14/05 5:11am)
Times are changing in the land of the Hoosiers. A major component of basketball in Bloomington for the last few years is gone. \nAfter what can only be described as a disappointing career, highlighted by flashes of brilliance followed quickly by maddening mental breakdowns, a player decided it was time for a new challenge. In the spring, he ended months of speculation by confirming most of our fears and leaving the IU program. It was like someone punched the entire Hoosier nation in the gut. It was official. The Patrick Ewing Jr. era was over. \nGone are the towel-waving cheers and inexplicable fouls that punctuated his years of dedication to the cream and crimson. The freakish athletic ability that disappointed us so many times will be sorely missed. But Ewing wasn't the only non-graduation related departure this off-season. \nLucas "I was on the basketball team?" Steijn has also left for the greener pastures of junior college. The team also lost a junior guard who wore the number four, but I try to forget he ever existed. For the rest of the season, I'll simply refer to him as "the 47th pick." Think of him as my Voldemort from Harry Potter, also known as "he who shall not be named." Just avoid speaking his name in my presence, unless of course you want to see me fly off the handle in an obscenity-laced tirade, usually concluding with a phrase like, "He makes Bill Buckner look good in the clutch." In fairness to the aforementioned Mr. Ewing, if the 47th pick possessed one-tenth the heart of little Pat, he would have been national player of the year last season.\nBut let's not focus on the past. It's a new era for IU hoops and the newcomers are far more important than the recently departed. After watching one Hoosier practice, it became clear that this is a completely different team. \nAuburn transfer Marco Killingsworth brings intensity, leadership, toughness and a much needed additional scoring option to the IU post game. The pairing of Killingsworth and D.J. White could be the best post duo in the conference, provided White is healthy. (At the end of last season, his back was sore from carrying the team all year). Add the well-rounded inside-out game of Australian import Ben Allen, and the Hoosiers have frontcourt depth and talent they haven't had in years. The arrival of more post depth has allowed Robert Vaden to move back out to the perimeter, where he is more comfortable as a slasher and spot-up shooter.\nHowever, the biggest change this year will be the Hoosiers' guard play. Lewis Monroe, another Auburn transfer, and Earl Calloway, a junior college import, both like to push the ball up the floor and aren't afraid to attack the hoop. The arrival of these two has allowed Marshall Strickland to move back to his natural position: shooting guard.\nThis season's X-factor could be the team's latest addition. Cem Dinc, a 6-foot-10-inch guard/forward who came to Bloomington via the Turkish national team. Since making his commitment to IU, there have been more rumors about Dinc's skill than Nick and Jessica's breakup. Reports on this kid are all over the map. I've heard he can shoot more than 50 percent from beyond the arc, he can dunk from the free throw line, he once ran a 10.8 in the 100 meter, he can leap over tall buildings in a single bound and he's more powerful than a locomotive. OK, those last two were from Superman, but all the others are actual rumors, I swear.\nIf you're like me, you see reason for hope this season and this new era of IU hoops. Hoosier Hysteria is tonight and I know your attendance will be appreciated. The Hoosiers have as much talent as anyone in the country and in case you hadn't heard, the Final Four will be played just up the road at the RCA Dome. Just throwing that out there.\nOf course, on the other hand, if we somehow manage to miss the tournament again, Mike Davis will have done in six years what Jerry Yeagley couldn't do in 31: Turn IU into a soccer school.
(09/28/05 4:47am)
Rafael Palmeiro has done it again. Just when I thought I was free of his finger pointing, forceful denials and 80s-style porn-stache, he jumped right back into the news. It was revealed last week that Palmeiro pointed out teammate Miguel Tejada as a possible reason why he tested positive for the steroid Winstrol earlier this year. Palmeiro claimed a shot of vitamin B12 he received from Tejada earlier this season must have been the cause of the positive test. Um ... Raffy? Give it up. We all know you cheated. Now please just go away, you're only making it worse for yourself.\nWhen I found out Palmeiro had been flagged for steroids, I had a flood of emotions. Initially, I was shocked, puzzled, in denial and then finally I just sat back and tried to enjoy it. Oddly enough, it was the same reaction I had to the Ralph Macchio cameo on "Entourage."\nWith his positive test, any credibility he had in baseball was gone. But by throwing his teammate under the bus, any credibility with his friends is gone too. Seriously, who would trust this guy now? He lied in front of Congress on national television. Can you imagine being his neighbor and lending him something? I see the retrieval of your property going something like this: "I never borrowed your lawn mower, period!"\nWhat I don't get is why everyone is so surprised Palmeiro was cheating. I mean, the guy has been a spokesman for Viagra since 2002, so he's been using performance enhancers for years. I also don't understand why everyone is saying he'll never be allowed into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Why not? He has the same right as anyone else, provided he pays the $14.50 entrance fee and takes the tour. I've heard it's a great family vacation.\nWith apologies to Pete Rose and Ricky Williams, nobody in the history of sports has flushed a Hall of Fame career down the toilet faster than Palmeiro. Earlier this season, he became only the fourth player in the history of baseball to record 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. If he had any respect for the game that had been so good to him, he would have retired before reaching that milestone. His name simply does not belong next to those of Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray, and I hope Major League Baseball does the right thing and removes his name from the record books. \nThe real tragedy of the whole steroids issue is that I've actually started to like Jose Canseco. Aside from coming across as the only relatively normal person on "The Surreal Life," he has also been proven right on almost every player he named as a steroid user in his book. Canseco has done more to get steroids out of sports than anyone who came before him. He's become the Woodward and Bernstein of baseball.\nSpeaking of Canseco, I want to try something: Miguel Tejada was fingered by Rafael Palmeiro, who was named by Jose Canseco in his book. Canseco was once romantically liked with Madonna, who was in "The Next Best Thing" with Benjamin Bratt, who was in "The Woodsman" with Kevin Bacon. Man, that really does work for anybody.\nI have a solution to the Hall of Fame debate surrounding players like Rose, Barry Bonds and Palmeiro that could satisfy everyone. I think we should give them their plaques at Cooperstown ... then hang them in the men's room above the urinals like the sports section at Chili's.
(04/26/05 4:31am)
It's that time of year again. The summer is fast approaching, but before you can return home and leave this endless sea of tests and term papers, you're forced to re-learn all of the knowledge you've spent the entire semester trying to forget. It's time to review for finals. \nWith that in mind and the fact that this is my last column of the school year, I'd like to take this opportunity to give you a little review of the semester. I realize this is a tall task, and I feel like I need to bring in the big guns and cap the year off right, so I've asked our venerable basketball columnist, Matt "Cakes" Glenesk, to join me in this great undertaking.\nPhillips: So Cakes, I'm really a huge fan of your writing and I'm really excited to be working with you.\nCakes: Glad to lend my expertise to your little column. After all, you are riding my coattails all the way to the top. \nPhillips: Uh, thanks, I guess. So the Bowl Championship Series left us with two teams claiming national championships yet again and...\nCakes: What are you saying? That you're better than me?\nPhillips: No, no, I was just trying to ask you what you thought the future holds for college football. \nCakes: No matter what, people will watch. Whether it's the BCS or a tournament, fans will want to be a part of the "national championship game," especially if there's controversy surrounding it. And hey, let's speed this up -- I've got places to be and people to insult. \nPhillips: Alright, I'll see what I can do. \nCakes: You do that.\nPhillips: Roy Williams finally got his national championship as North Carolina cruised to the title this year. \nCakes: You mean Huckleberry Hound?\nPhillips: Yeah, him. So after losing eight players to graduation and the NBA draft, can Carolina even be competitive in the ACC next year?\nCakes: It's North Carolina, they'll bring in people to plug the holes -- just like the Indiana Daily Student. Consider yourself a walk-on point guard, replacing Raymond Felton. \nPhillips: While I'm flattered by the analogy, let's move to one of my favorite topics, Nomar Hamm. I know you're a Cubs fan, how do you feel about the oft-injured shortstop, now that he's on the disabled list with a torn groin?\nCakes: I feel bad for Mia. Now that she's retired from soccer, what else is she going to do?\nPhillips: Well, like I always say, if you're gonna hurt a groin, make sure it's your own.\nCakes: Don't try to be funny. \nPhillips: Sorry, sir. This past weekend gave us the NFL Draft, who do you think the big winners and losers were this year?\nCakes: Arizona was this year's big winner. Any time they can get any player to go there it's a plus. They got Antrel Rolle to shore up the defense and J.J. Arrington, a guy my height, so I'm OK with that. \nPhillips: And the biggest loser?\nCakes: My girlfriend, for being deprived of my presence for 10 hours. This Adonis was busy recapturing the glory days, when sports came first.\nPhillips: So on draft day it was picks before chicks for you?\nCakes: OK, that was incredibly lame. \nPhillips: Well, what did you think about Maurice Clarett getting selected with the 101st pick by the Denver Broncos?\nCakes: I don't think that third-round money is going to cover all his attorney's fees. \nPhillips: Yeah, I mean this guy is in court more than Bobby Brown.\nCakes: Alright, you finally made a funny joke. Now if I were you I'd pull a Costanza and quit while you're ahead. \nPhillips: Hey, we're not finished --\n I still have a few more questions. Don't be a jerk and take off now. \nCakes: You calling me a jerk? I've read your stuff this semester, good luck filling my shoes, you no-talent hack.\nPhillips: Yeah, it's gonna be real tough squeezing into those size nines. \nCakes: Nine and a half!
(04/19/05 4:24am)
After his team's dismal 4-8 start, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner felt it necessary to let his team know that its struggles would not be tolerated. Yeah, that's the way to motivate a bunch of overpaid underachievers -- piss them off and completely alienate them. But what do I care, I hate the Yankees. \nOK, I shouldn't say I hate the Yankees because I don't want to single them out. I really hate all New York sports teams but all for different, totally unrelated issues. There is just something about the teams inhabiting the Big Apple that really drives me nuts and I know I'm not alone.\nI mean I can't be the only one who is irked by the fact that there are three NFL teams from the state of New York, and the only one that actually plays in New York is the Buffalo Bills. Anyone else ever wonder about that? Here are a few of the reasons I hate New York's beloved teams.\nWhy do I hate the Jets? \nFor the same reason I can't stand Veronica on the "Real World/Road Rules Challenge." She looks great at first glance, but as the season wears on there's always way too much drama surrounding her, and she never performs like you think she should. So, you expect her to be eliminated as a result of the cat-fight and lack of effort but somehow she ends up in the finals every time. How the Jets made the playoffs this past season is beyond me, but if I have to see Chad Pennington or Herman Edwards lecture the media again I'm going to toss my TV out the window and send them the repair bill.\nWhy do I hate the Giants?\nTwo words: Eli Manning.\nThe Mets?\nAs far as the Mets go, I don't truly hate them; I pity them. They spend way too much money on players who are either past their prime (Mo Vaughn) or never end up having one (Victor Zambrano, Steve Trachsel).\nLast and absolutely not least, the New York Yankees.\nI hate the Yankees for so many reasons I don't even know where to begin. So, here are just a few of the main things that irk me about the Punks in Pinstripes. \nThey give ridiculous contracts to players I can't stand. They added a roided-up Jason Giambi, they got Kevin Brown in a trade but neglected to acquire his health from the Dodgers, they rented Javier Vasquez for a year and then they added Alex Rodriguez who has now departed two teams that have both gone from bottom feeders to pennant contenders once he left town, coincidence? \nI hate them because with their $200 million payroll they could sign every player on the Brewers, Pirates, Devil Rays and Royals opening day rosters and still have about $20 million to play with. \nThen there's Gary Sheffield, the fan-shoving, mid-season meltdown-prone star of the New York soap opera. Seems like wherever Sheffield ends up, something bad happens. Really I don't care about the incident with the Red Sox fan. I probably would have done the same thing given the situation. But my real problem with Sheffield is that he, like Giambi, admitted to using steroids during the BALCO hearings but somehow has managed to escape scrutiny. Why does he get a free pass? Is it because he was an MVP candidate last year? \nBut, of course, there's one thing about the Yankees that makes my skin crawl more than anything else -- George "The Boss" Steinbrenner. He and that glorified lap-dog Brian Cashman are simply adding huge contracts and forgetting the most important aspect of team sports: chemistry beats talent every day of the week. And I blame Cashman as much George; he's No. 2 to Steinbrenner's Dr. Evil. Maybe the team's awful start this year will send a clear signal to the Yankees' management and make them change their ways. Yeah, that's likely to happen.\nBut hey, if they miss the playoffs, maybe they'll finally wake up in the city that never sleeps -- I want to be a part of it.
(04/12/05 4:54am)
I'm not what you'd call a golf fan. I can't play it, don't watch it and really don't even like to talk about it. In fact, the only enjoyment I've gotten from anything golf-related was watching expert greens keeper Carl Spackler chase gophers around in "Caddyshack." Honestly, I'd rather watch the fairway grow than watch golfers play on it. That was, of course, until this past Sunday at Augusta.\nAfter a first round spent hacking through more thick grass than Ricky Williams on a three-day bender, Tiger Woods made a phenomenal late charge to win his fourth Masters and solidify the fact that he is the best golfer on the planet. \nThursday, Woods made numerous horrible shots and, in classic Tiger fashion, dropped more f-bombs than a HBO special. Seriously folks, if you're gonna watch Tiger struggle through an early round, get all the impressionable children out of the room. \nBut he kept battling and finished that first day at +2.\nRarely have we ever seen Woods as the underdog or as the guy who claws his way back to be competitive. Usually if Tiger isn't in contention after the first day, we don't hear from him for the rest of the tournament. But this weekend, Woods was playing for more than a trophy or an over sized check. He was playing for his ailing father, his pride and to show all the nay-sayers that he was really back. \nAfter seven straight birdies in the third round (played Sunday morning because of rain) and a chip shot for the ages on the 16th hole of the final round, no one could argue that Woods had regained the magic that put him on top of the golfing world several years ago. But then, just as he seemed invincible, he became human again. By bogeying both the 17th and 18th holes, he allowed a hard-charging Chris DiMarco to tie him and send the tournament to a playoff. \nBut this was Woods' day from the beginning, and nothing was going to stand in his way.\nOn the first playoff hole, Tiger had what might have been the most important shot of his career, a 15-foot birdie putt to win the Masters. With his father so sick, he couldn't be in attendance, and with his mother and drop-dead gorgeous ex-nanny wife watching less than 50 feet away, Woods calmly stepped up and sunk it. Then we saw what we became so accustomed to just a few years ago, the "Tiger fist-pump" and celebration. It had been too long since he'd shown that sort of emotion. What we saw Sunday was not the machine-like, seemingly bored Tiger of the past two years. We saw the vulnerable, emotional Tiger that made golf fun to watch just a short time ago. \nNo, I'm serious, golf was fun to watch.\nI know I wasn't the only one watching who started doing the "nah-nah-nah" thing that Ty Webb does to coax his ball into the hole (Note to readers: if you don't like or get "Caddyshack" references, you may want to stop reading) as Tiger's chip on 16 Sunday headed back toward the flag. And I could feel the world with me as I yelled "Noonan, Noonan" in an attempt to distract DiMarco into missing his chip on the first playoff hole. OK, so I was in my room yelling at a TV screen, but I was into it, living and dying with every drive, putt and chip. I was, for a few hours, a golf fan. \nWill we always root for Tiger? Probably not. I mean it's hard to root for someone who's got more money than some countries and has a model for a wife. \nI can't tell you if Tiger is really back or if he'll ever win another major championship. But after watching him Sunday, I can tell you this: I'll be back on my couch next week to watch him again. \nAnd if he never wins another major title, he's still got nine to keep him company. So he's got that going for him, which is nice.
(04/05/05 4:37am)
OK, enough already. I'm over it, I can't stand it, and it needs to go away. I'm a fairly reasonable person, but after a while things just start to aggravate me and I have to lash out. So, to the networks that carry sporting events on their channels, stop with the shameless promos.\nFrom the March Madness to the Super Bowl, this trend has gotten out of hand. Fox likes to put the stars of its soon-to-be-canceled shows in the stands at the World Series. The network heads use it as a way to plug their awful programming by making the actors seem like they love baseball, thus connecting them to the viewers. It's pathetic. I mean, has anybody actually watched "House"? During October, I must have seen that promo where Dr. House screams, "You're risking a patient's life!" 2,000 times. I wish I was exaggerating. \nIt wastes precious time that I could be watching actual sports because the networks believe sports fans actually care about other programming. As if the guy who is so into NBA basketball that he is sitting through a Hawks-Jazz game really cares if Don "The Matador" Everest gets taken out by Eddie Towne on the gripping finale of "Tilt." I think I speak for every sports fan when I say, please have some respect for us, the viewers. \nIt's terrible, I think at this point of the NCAA tournament I can recite all of CBS's weeknight lineup. Seriously, if I have to hear Dick Enberg say, "Stay tuned for an all new 'Numb3rs' right here on America's most watched network, CBS," I'm going to cause bodily harm to someone. \nBut hey, in their defense, those 300 TV time-outs per game aren't possibly enough time to fit in all the plugs they have lined up, so really it's a necessity. The funniest moment of the tournament this year was hearing Ian Eagle (no, that's really his name) start laughing as he read the promo for "Spring Break Shark Attack," starring Shannon "and I thought 'The O.C.' had lame plot lines" Lucio. Ian was simply laughing because he was thinking what we were all thinking "Are they serious?" \nOh, the hits keep on coming for CBS. Be prepared to be bombarded during the Masters by ads for its new TV movie, "Locusts." In this sci-fi thriller, it's up to Lucy Lawless to save the world from a bioengineered killer swarm that is three times larger than normal locusts and reproduce at a rate 10 times faster. \nYeah, that's exactly what I want to hear about right before Phil Mickelson blows another major by missing a "gimme" five-foot putt.\nBut since broadcasters have about as much common sense as their network's movie ideas, I know it's going to happen. \nAnd while we're on the subject, I have another complaint (imagine that). Last year I was at home watching my beloved San Diego Padres -- or as I now refer to them, the Los Angeles Padres of San Diego -- on Fox's Sunday baseball. The game was rudely interrupted because some local yahoo decided he should get involved in a high-speed chase with the cops. Great idea, since that always ends well. But the larger point is that most viewers really don't care about some jerk speeding down the highway with 25 cops behind him. We know how this story ends already. So unless the guy played running back for the '73 Bills, don't show it to us.\nI know this is a long, protracted rant, but I've had enough of this. It has worn on me for too long, and I couldn't hold it in anymore. So please, stop plugging your product during my sporting events. I'm tired of it.\nAnd hey, be sure to check out my column next Tuesday in the Indiana Daily Student, America's best college newspaper.
(03/29/05 4:59am)
So OK, now what? I've examined it from every angle and I'm lost. I don't know who I should pull for this weekend in the Final Four. I'm not unlike the contestants on MTV's "Real World/Road Rules Challenge." I know I have no life, so the task at hand is increasingly important to me. I have no specific allegiance to any of the teams left, and after this past weekend's amazing games I'm honestly too worn out to jump on a bandwagon at this stage. \nThere's no real underdog, but that doesn't mean that they aren't feel-good stories. Plus, there's just something about North Carolina, Illinois, Louisville and Michigan State that makes a true fan of college basketball happy to see them succeed. Here's a taste of why you should love each of these teams.
(03/22/05 4:34am)
The questions rolled through my head as I watched team after team lose. Why did we even try? Why would we do that to ourselves and our readers? How could we possibly have been so far off?\nA week and a half ago, fellow columnists Ryan Corazza and Matt "Cakes" Glenesk teamed up with me to predict the NCAA's major conference tournament champions. Evidently we're pretty bad at it.\nMichigan State, Wake Forest, North Carolina, UCLA, Stanford, Connecticut, Kansas, Texas, Kentucky and Alabama. That's the official list of teams who didn't win their respective tournaments despite the most ringing endorsement the Indiana Daily Student had to offer. Even better is the fact that only one of those teams, Kentucky, even made the finals of its tournament championship, and only Michigan State, UNC and Kentucky are still playing in the big dance. \nAfter realizing that we went 0-11 with our picks and seeing my tournament bracket become more useful as kindling, I feel I should apologize for what we did.\nI mean it's our job as journalists to fully investigate situations and then report to you what we think the results will be. I'm not saying we didn't try but a monkey throwing feces at a wall would have at least gotten one right. \nI could make lame excuses but instead I'm going to take responsibility for what happened and move on. It's not worth it to dwell on the past. In our defense I feel I should offer one bit of information though. We are all really busy with our lives away from the IDS.\nCakes, our diminutive basketball columnist, has recently had talk shows clamoring to get him on since the discovery that he is, in fact, Rick Moranis' love child. The man simply didn't have time to study the Big Ten's rosters and predict the correct winner. Besides, if he stays away from the forest for too long, Snow White starts to wonder where he went. \nCorazza was busy rooting for the hapless White Sox, updating his TheFacebook profile and yelling at people who quote lines from "Napoleon Dynamite." How could he possibly take time to examine the intricacies of the Big 12 and realize that Kansas could not possibly win without Keith Langford at 100 percent? Or how could he have known that suspended-player-of-the-year candidate Chris Paul would mean so much to his Wake Forest team?\nAs for me, I've got a lot going on as well, such as maintaining a 3.4 grade point average, playing baseball (not real baseball, PlayStation baseball) and of course watching endless reruns of "My Super Sweet Sixteen." Seriously, that show is classic; it has more unintentional comedy than an interview with Anna Nicole Smith. \nBut frankly, this was bound to happen. This is why people love college basketball -- they love how unpredictable it is. How they are always surprised and somehow always shocked that the teams they picked didn't win. Sports fans thirst for an underdog, and it seems that every March we get plenty. We get great stories that not only leap off the TV screen and into our living rooms, they touch us in a way that no other sport can. College basketball is competition at its finest. Young men playing simply for the love of the game, giving their all regardless what the name on the front of their jersey says. \nMaybe the moral of the story is that it's impossible to predict what's going to happen during March Madness. Maybe it's not worth predicting who will win and who will lose simply because we can't. \nOK, so maybe I'm making excuses for our poor performance but I think this result epitomizes college basketball and the lessons it teaches us. Nothing is certain and sometimes the best things in life are unexpected.
(03/08/05 4:53am)
It's the most wonderful time of the year. Right now, the spring is the ultimate season of possibility. Enjoy it while you can. Across the country, sports fans love the spring. There's hope for every player, every team and every city. Baseball is starting up and everybody is in first place. And the NFL will soon see a slew of new players added to rosters with the annual college draft and free agency. I'm looking toward this spring with pure enthusiasm. Like R. Kelly at recess, I'm in heaven.\nThe NFL has just finished the annual cattle call that is the combine, and now all 32 teams are getting excited about their future possibilities. With no sure-fire superstars, every scout has a different take on who will be the top pick. Right now it looks like the only player people agree will make an impact is Michigan wide receiver Braylon Edwards. And who can argue with the scouts on this one? When you look at the way other Michigan wide outs such as David Terrell, Desmond Howard and Marquis Walker have torn up the NFL, it's hard to disagree with their assessment. No disrespect to Edwards, but if Mike Williams hadn't been screwed by the NCAA and had been allowed to play this year, there would be no question who the best player in this draft would be. Williams sat out an entire year and ran a 4.6 for his 40-yard dash, making some scouts forget he had 176 receptions and 30 touchdowns in only two seasons at the University of Southern California. Guess what, regardless of what a stopwatch tells you, the man can play.\nIn other news from the combine, Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers seems to have distanced himself from the other players at his position. I heard one scout's take on Rodgers and I was, for once, speechless. The guy said that Rodgers has a chance to be as good as Kyle Boller. Are you trying to insult the kid? That's like telling an NBA prospect he has a chance to be as good as Darko. People call Cal head coach Jeff Tedford a "quarterback guru" but the signal callers who have played for him reads like a who's who of first round busts. Names like Trent Dilfer, Akili Smith, Joey Harrington and Boller have all put up great college numbers, then gone on to pull a John Rocker and absolutely disappear off the face of the earth. Does anybody else wonder what happened to that guy? Or is it sort of like what happens when Tony whacks someone on the Sopranos, we just accept it, try to forget it and move on? At this point, I wouldn't really be shocked to hear Ted Turner say that Rocker went into the witness protection program.\nOh, and speaking of idiots and gigantic busts, there's comedy, there's high comedy and then there's Maurice Clarett bombing out of the combine. After he ran slower than many of the lineman in his sprinting drills, Clarett showed how much progress he's made with his maturity by refusing to finish his workout. A running back with no work ethic, personality issues and problems with the media, are you thinking what I'm thinking? With the second pick in the 2005 NFL draft the Miami Dolphins select ...\nAs far as baseball goes, it's spring training, and every team has a chance. Right now all fans are drinking their team's Kool-Aid and are excited about their free agent acquisitions. I actually heard a Dodgers fan yapping about how great the Jeff Kent signing was and how Milton Bradley is really going to step up and be a leader this year. Tiger fans think the addition of oft-injured outfielder Magglio \nOrdonez is their ticket to the playoffs. Orioles fans love that they have Sammy Sosa and are even defending him for getting tossed out of a spring training game this weekend. But Cubs fans and I know the truth; he just wanted to pack up his stuff and leave early. But I'm not going to hate on stupid, myopic fans right now, because last week I caught myself thinking that Woody Williams could actually win 20 games this year for the Padres ... I promise I'll never go off my medication for that long ever again. \nBut hey what can I say, it's the spring and anything is possible.
(03/01/05 4:40am)
This time of year, there's one thing that makes me more insane than John Chaney: It's all the so-called experts telling us "who's in" and "who's out" of the NCAA Tournament. They are almost always wrong, and this past week's games only reinforced that.\nAfter watching "tournament lock" Texas Tech get spanked by "NIT bound" Texas A&M and seeing Alabama, Wisconsin and Pittsburgh all falter last week, I knew what I had to do. I had to go to the best "bubble game" of the weekend any way I could. Luckily, it was only a four-hour drive away in South Bend, where Notre Dame faced the UCLA Bruins. Notre Dame has been deemed a sure thing for the tournament, while UCLA is generally considered to be on the outside looking in. \nDespite my hatred for both teams involved in the game, I was sure this was a good idea. So here's a recap of my Sunday in South Bend. I really hope you appreciate what I have to go through for you, the reader. \n11:30 a.m. -- Arrive in South Bend. It was 33 degrees when we left Bloomington. It's only 30 here, shouldn't be too bad.\n11:34 a.m. -- Get out of car to stroll around campus. Can't speak, I am so cold. Who knew the North Pole was only 200 miles from Bloomington? Ike and I battle the cold to take a look at the famous Notre Dame landmarks. \n11:45 a.m. -- Make inappropriate gestures toward "Touchdown Jesus."\n12:07 p.m. -- I no longer have sensation in my face.\n1:50 p.m. -- Introductions of starting lineups. Notre Dame does their own version of the mid-'90s Chicago Bulls introductions. The lights were out, the music was loud, and I kept waiting for the announcer to go, "And NOW AT GUARD, FROM NORTH CAROLINA ..."\n2 p.m. -- Game tips off. We keep getting scoring updates from the IU game via text messages.\n3 p.m. -- Get message that Hoosiers win. Celebrate like we just won the lottery while a Notre Dame player shoots his free throws in our direction.\n3:01 p.m. -- Get blamed for missed free throws.\n3:03 p.m. -- Ike and I belt out a spot-on rendition of "Indiana, Our Indiana" as the Irish trail by double digits. The entire crowd now hates us.\n3:10 p.m. -- Halftime. Bruins dominating 41-26.\n3:15 p.m. -- New Irish head football coach Charlie Weis addresses student section. Everyone has been saying it's great that Weis has lost 60 pounds, but after seeing him in person, I don't buy it. I mean, Charlie Weis losing 60 pounds is like throwing a deck chair off the Titanic.\n3:20 p.m. -- Bump into Ron Powlus in the men's bathroom (insert any number of Powlus career and bathroom content jokes here). \n3:25 p.m. -- Is it me or have Notre Dame's fans had less to cheer about than any other major program over the last 10 years? \n3:55 p.m. - Torin Francis is inexplicably taken out of the game for the Irish. UCLA proceeds to go up 20. Can someone please help me understand how IU lost to Notre Dame?\n4:15 p.m. -- Notre Dame's feverish comeback is thwarted when their head coach, Mike Brey, does a Mike Davis and gets a technical foul for running all the way under his own basket to yell at an official. \n4:30 p.m. -- Final score: UCLA 75, Notre Dame 65. \nSo a team that's supposed to be securely situated in the tournament field loses at home to a team that's not supposed to be in the conversation. \nIf anything, this game proved one thing: Until selection Sunday, nobody knows who is in and who is out. Unfortunately, until then we have to hear everybody's opinion on the matter.
(02/22/05 5:26am)
Ah, baseball. It's always there for me when I need it. Just when I thought my sports intake was going to drop significantly with the end of football, baseball is right there to cheer me up. \nSure, it's still February, and in most parts of the country the snow hasn't even melted, but pitchers and catchers reported last week, and dang it, I'm ready for some baseball. \nIn case you've been doing more important things this winter, I thought I'd fill you in on the most intriguing stories leading into the 2005 Major League Baseball season.\nThe Mets have tried, once again, to reload and be competitive. They added Carlos Beltran and Pedro Martinez to an already hefty payroll in an attempt to finally compete with the spending of the cross-town rival Yankees. Beltran was an OK signing, but the Mets have a history of signing guys they think can produce in New York and being sorely disappointed. See Mo Vaughn's injuries (all of them), Kazuo Matsui's wild inconsistency and Mike Cameron's .231 average last year for examples. As for Pedro, I saw him coast down the stretch on a team that won the World Series. What is he going to do when his team is struggling late in the year? I have a feeling he's in New York for the paycheck and really could care less about how the team fares. Oh, and by the way, Pedro, Michael Jackson called, he wants his hair from the "Thriller" video back.\nSammy Sosa is no longer with the Cubs. They sent him, his rapidly disappearing talent and his steroid allegations to the Orioles for Jerry Hairston Jr. and a bag of balls, and for some reason Cubs fans think this is finally their year. Do I think the Cubs got any better this offseason? Nope. They signed Jeromy Burnitz and his Coors Field-aided 37 home runs to replace Sosa, which isn't an improvement. They also made the biggest mistake in franchise history when they re-signed Nomar Hamm. Didn't Cubs management see what happened when the Red Sox let Nomar go? So Cubs fans, get ready for a fast start, promising summer and a horrific mid-September collapse leaving you out of the playoffs once again. Have a lovely season.\nRandy Johnson is a Yankee. Nothing against the Big Unit, but what's with the Yankees' pitching rotation and their signings over the last few years? Apparently the strategy is to sign as many pitchers as they can over the age of 35. Seriously, these guys will be picking up social security checks before they finally win another World Series. Is anybody else waiting for Steinbrenner to ask The Unit to clean up his appearance? Here's how I picture it going: Big George will approach Johnson on a game day and tell him he needs to cut his hair two inches shorter. Then, after Randy choke-slams George through the locker room floor, Steinbrenner demands he's traded. At that point, Yankees GM Brian Cashman will come in acting like he's going to trade The Unit but then suddenly hit Steinbrenner with a chair and declare that he's taking over ownership of the team. Sigh ... If only baseball were like professional wrestling. \nThe biggest story of the winter has been the steroid allegations made by Jose Canseco. Hopefully, all of this steroid stuff will cause a dramatic change in the league and I can finally believe what I'm seeing is authentic. Some players are already looking a lot less juiced.\nIf you missed it, Ivan Rodriguez showed up to training camp at 193 pounds, 22 pounds lighter than last year, but still denies Canseco's claims about his steroid use. Anyone else think trusting him is about as smart as trusting Ruben Studdard to guard your Milanos? Jason Giambi now looks like he's on the Paris Hilton cosmopolitan and Parliaments diet. Honestly, in two years that guy went from Paul Bunyan to Mary-Kate Olsen. \nAlthough the steroid allegations will hopefully alter some aspects of baseball, as I've pointed out, some things can never change. The Mets will always play second fiddle in the Big Apple, the Yankees will always give ridiculous contracts to players past their prime, the Cubs will always disappoint their fans.\nBut cheer up, Cubs fans, only 360 days until pitchers and catchers report.
(02/15/05 5:46am)
Feb. 15, 2005 -- a date that will live in infamy. \nI feel like a piece of me has been ripped away, leaving me a partial version of my former self. A sport that was rapidly becoming America's new national pastime has gone the way of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. \nI hate to be the bearer of bad news, sports fans, but there will be no NHL season this year. Please stop crying. Yes, the sport that brought us household names like 2004 goals leader Ilya Kovalchuk and Miika Kiprusoff, who might be the best goalie since Terry Sawchuk, will not have a season this year because the owners and players couldn't come to a new working agreement. Just typing that last line gets me emotional ... I need a minute to compose myself. \nSure, TV ratings are way down for hockey (bowling beat it several times on ESPN last year), and I'm not sure if the five people in the United States who care about the NHL will even read this, but I can't suffer in silence any longer. \nThe last few months have been agonizing for me. Watching intently while Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHL Players' Association Executive Director Bob Goodenow played hard to get with each other was simply gut wrenching. They are exactly like Summer and Seth on "The O.C." Just kiss and make up already! Sheesh.\nWhat I miss about hockey is the skill involved. I mean, nothing beats watching glorified boxers on skates. Those 20 minutes of fighting highlights on ESPN shows every night are nothing short of magical. Stars like Krzysztof Oliwa, who totaled only five points last year but managed to rack up 247 penalty minutes, have made hockey what it is today. Seriously, the guy spends more time in the penalty box than Michael Jackson spends working through legal proceedings. \nI'll miss the storied franchises like the Atlanta Thrashers, Columbus Blue Jackets and the Carolina Hurricanes. Who could forget the Tampa Bay Lightning's miracle run to the 2004 Stanley Cup? Not even the NBA finals could rip me away from my hockey. I mean, who cares about the toppling of the soap-operatic dynasty that was the Lakers when I can watch guys whose names I can't pronounce play a sport whose rules I don't understand? \nSpeaking of other sports, what am I going to watch without the NHL around? The hockey season lasts from October until June -- that's nine months. What could possibly replace it? College football, the NFL, the World Series, college basketball, the NBA and 4,000 replays of the World Series of Poker just can't fill the void. \nIf you don't sympathize with me, think of what Canada is going through. Sports Illustrated says our neighbor to the north could lose as much as $170 million in revenue from hockey's absence. "America Jr." simply can't take a hit like that. I mean, Canada's only useful exports are cheap prescription drugs, Jim Carrey (before he became a serious actor) and those Labatt Blue commercials. Without the NHL, they'll start leaching off of us, then irrationally blaming America for their problems, like Mexico or France. \nThe issue surrounding the end of the NHL season is the inability of the players and owners to agree to some kind of salary cap and reduction of total player salaries. This discussion really relates directly to the fans, which is why it is getting so much press. I mean, listening to billionaires tell millionaires that they need to earn less to save the sport they love is a problem everyone can relate to. Then, of course, hearing the millionaires complain about making less money only increases the public's sympathy for them. After all, like Latrell Sprewell, they have families to feed. \nI mean, it is easy to see why everyone is so upset ... right?
(02/08/05 4:42am)
I hear everyone talking about how Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash is far and away the MVP of the NBA's first half. Sportswriters, broadcasters, even my friends are all telling me how great he is and how no one can compete with him right now for that award. Guys, aren't you forgetting someone? \nLeBron James is having the best season of anyone in the NBA. Don't believe me? Look at the stats. LeBron (which, of course, is French for "The Bron") is seventh in the league in points per game with 25.3, fourth in assists with 7.6 per game and second in steals with 2.34 per game. Oh yeah, and he's also averaging 7.2 rebounds and is fourth in the league in minutes per game with 41.5, which is about seven minutes more than Nash averages. \nBut want to know the most amazing thing about this season for King James? He has the Cleveland Cavaliers (yes those Cavaliers) only 0.5 games behind the Detroit Pistons for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. \nIf you want to argue that Nash has done more without considering statistics, I still say you're wrong. Nash has players around him who were already stars in Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire. The Suns might at least make the playoffs without Nash and his Sheryl Crow-like hairdo, while James is left with B-level talent that he has helped make better. I mean, without LeBron, who on that roster would lead the Cavs to the playoffs? Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Robert "Tractor" Traylor? LeBron James is without a doubt the league's MVP to this point in the season; there should be no argument or questions about it. \nWhat's even more amazing about this kid is that he's barely 20 years old. Only two years removed from his senior prom, he has taken his franchise from a perennial doormat to a serious contender. When you look at what has happened to the rest of the "sure-fire stars" from his draft class, his progress is even more stunning. \nNo. 3 pick Carmelo Anthony's scoring is down this year, and critics have openly questioned his work ethic and character.\nThanks to Larry Brown's coaching prowess, No. 2 pick Darko Milicic is being groomed for a career as the world's tallest pizza delivery boy. \nJames also sets an example for the rest of the guys on his team. He has missed only two games this season, despite having a sprained ankle and a badly bruised orbital bone around his left eye. \nWatching him play is really something. He's like a combination of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson ... without the gambling or sleeping around. \nHe has Jordan's athletic ability, creativity and scoring prowess, yet he gets his teammates involved like only Magic could do: by improving their ability, fostering chemistry and becoming a leader along the way. I mean, honestly, do you think Drew Gooden is going to make trouble in the locker room when his scoring is up three points per game and he's playing for a title contender? \nAnd what about the nonbelievers within the league? Carlos Boozer had a chance to sign a long-term deal with the Cavs but chose to stab them in the back and go to Utah. Is he nuts? He left Cleveland, the home of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, to move to Salt Lake City, where it's illegal to have any fun at all, let alone play music.\nBoozer gave up a chance to be Pippen to LeBron's Jordan all so he could be overshadowed by a Russian guy with a mohawk on a last place team. Nice work, Carlos, glad to see that Duke education is helping you make smart decisions in the real world. \nMaybe a guy in his second year shouldn't win the MVP award simply because he hasn't established himself for long enough. But if anyone is going to change the way people think about the NBA, it's going to be LeBron James. \nStill need more proof? Just watch him play sometime.
(02/04/05 5:31am)
The Patriots will win Super Bowl XXXIX, bank on it. Call the bookie and bet the farm, the car. Heck, bet the kids. New England has what it takes to win it all -- again. \nThe Patriots should dominate the game using their fast, opportunistic defense to make plays, shut down the Eagles' running game and harass Donovan McNabb all day. People always talk about New England's linebackers but the Pats' defensive line is just as much a part of their success. The front their 3-4 scheme is anchored by all-pro Richard Seymour and second-year monster Ty Warren, who at 6 feet 5 inches and 300 pounds looks like he's more likely to eat an offensive lineman than run by one.\nBut the story of this game will be told by the Patriots' offense. With Corey Dillon pounding away and Tom Brady distributing his passes to everyone but the ball boy (he hit 10 different receivers in a playoff win against the Colts), I don't think the Eagles have what it takes on defense to stop New England's machine-like attack. \nWitnessing an Eagles celebration would shock me more than a Paul McCartney wardrobe malfunction during the halftime show. Sure, Philadelphia is a good team but expecting it to win is like expecting Freddie Mitchell to give the media the silent treatment. Seriously, that guy's need to be on camera and have people paying attention to him has reached Paris Hilton-like status. Speaking of which, calling out Rodney Harrison might be the dumbest thing I've heard since a friend told me Dr. Phil came out with a book on weight loss. \nIn the past four years I've learned that there are three things you can always count on: Sleep being more important than class; Lindsay Lohan always wearing the trashiest outfit in the room and the bigger the stage, the better Tom Brady plays. Look for him to pick up Super Bowl MVP honor No. 3 this Sunday.