FYI, it's 6-3 Yankees in the ninth. It's Opening Day of the 2011 Major League Baseball season, and twelve teams are taking part. The Atlanta Braves already dumped the Washington Nationals, 2-0, in the first game of Atlanta's post-Bobby Cox existence. New manager Freddi Gonzalez oversaw sinkerballer Derek Lowe pitching 5 1/3 solid innings, with an assist from second-year star and Rookie of the Year '10 runner-up Jason Heyward, who became just the second major leaguer to homer in the first at-bat of his first two major league seasons. Who knew there was such a stat? Just over five months to the day after Tim Lincecum, Buster Posey, and the San Francisco Giants won the 2010 World Series, 4-1, over the Texas Rangers, a new season has begun (and the Yankees are already winning; I've seen this movie somewhere before...). It's been an off-season of trades, free-agent signings, contract talks, retirements and injuries, and now it's time for the 162 game push to the playoffs. If, however, you somehow slept from the alcohol-soaked post-game celebration of the Giants 'till today, I can gladly give you the LD (for lowdown) on what happened Nov-Mar. Here are ten of the biggest things to know as the 2011 season kicks off: Always Phightin' Since 2007, the Philadelphia Phillies have made four-straight postseasons, been in the NLCS three times, the World Series twice, and have won the Fall Classic once. They came from middling about with an uneven offense over the summer to crashing Bobby Cox's final division championship party with a tremendous August-September run in which they were nearly unbeatable. They've boasted a lineup of megastars and powers like Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino and Carlos Ruiz. Last year they had the CY Young Award winner, 21-game winner Roy Halladay, who threw two no-hitters before the 2010 season was officially over. And you're telling me they got better!?! Well, it's arguable. It has been argued all winter. >>>They lost All-Star right fielder Jayson Werth, who had 87 home runs and 251 RBIs over the last three seasons, in which the Phils had made the NLCS each year. Werth was signed by the Washington Nationals for 8 years, $126 million. That contract was much-debated, but there's no doubting Werth's departure saps the Phils of some speed and some all-fields power. >>>Perennial All-Star second baseman Chase Utley is on the disabled list right now with a knee injury, and this after he missed nearly 50 games last year. When healthy, Utley, a lifetime Phillie, is an above-average defender and an offensive force that has produced five 20 home run seasons (3 30+) and 4 100-RBI seasons. He terrifies pitchers with his inside-out, line-drive machine-swing and usually helps set the table for cleanup man Ryan Howard. But, of course, as you must know, the Phillies also picked up the best free-agent pitcher on the market, left-hander and 2008 AL CY Young Award winner Cliff Lee. Lee, 33, is a two-time 18-game winner (23 in his Cy Young-winning campaign) who has pitched in the World Series twice (in '09 with the Phillies) and, until he lost a pair of tight pitching duels to Tim Lincecum in October '10, had a positively historic postseason stat-sheet-it's still above average, by the way. But Lee is an inning-eater and a strike-out guy who helped complete The Puzzle. You've probably heard by now, but Lee joined defending Cy Young winner Roy Halladay, two-time 20-game-winner Roy Oswalt, and former NLCS and World Series MVP Cole Hamels on the Phillies' staff, completing a quarter that has some checking the history books to see if such an impressive group has ever pitched for the same team in the same year (it's arguable, and two teams have, years ago, boasted 4 20-game winners a season, but whatever). The Halladay, Lee, Oswalt, Hamels-plus right-hander Joe Blanton, who pitched on the '08 World Series winning team-has made the Phillies an automatic favorite for the NL pennant, especially after a year in which the Giants won with a sometimes-dormant offense but a rotation of Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Jonathan Sanchez and Barry Zito. Boston Rockin' Sox Last year, for just the second time since 2001, the Boston Red Sox missed the postseason (the Tampa Bay Rays won the AL East crown and the New York Yankees won the Wild Card berth), and this during a year when they were AL pennant favorites for snagging bulldog right-hander John Lackey from the Angels. Perhaps as atonement, or as the result of being struck with inspiration, Sox owner Theo Epstein went out and got the two biggest names (among position players, thereby omitting Lee) on the free-agent market, outfielder Carl Crawford and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. >>>>Crawford, who was previously a lifetime Tampa Bay Ray (and Devil Ray), is 30, is a former All-Star game MVP, and has batted .300 five times, has hit 15 triples four times, 15 home runs four times, and, in his piece de resistance, has stolen 409 bases in his career, with 7 seasons of 45+. The Red Sox are not a big running team, so Crawford's stolen base numbers (which include 60 in 2009) may take a hit, but a guy who has scored 100 runs three times will fit in well with a Sox lineup that, even missing two key players (1B Kevin Youkilis and 2B Dustin Pedroia) for nearly half the year, ranked second in the major leagues in runs scored. >>>>Gonzalez, 29, is a left-handed slugger who spent the past five seasons almost singlehandedly making the San Diego Padres look like contenders. He has four straight 30 home run seasons, three 100 RBI seasons, and has a career average of .284. He is expected, with his power-to-all fields hitting approach, to leave dents aplenty in Boston's famed Green Monster in left field. The Red Sox have mostly worked on getting healthy this offseason. Outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury missed nearly 150 games last year with rib injuries, pitchers Dice-K Matsuzaka and Josh Beckett, and position players J.D. Drew, Victor Martinez (now departed for the Tigers), Youkilis and Pedroia all missed time. Their main offensive weapon, third baseman Adrian Beltre, left for the Rangers after putting up a .300, 30, 100 season.
>>>But the Sox have big reason to hope. After all, their batting lineup could look something like this: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Crawford, Gonzalez, Ortiz (as in David, 'Big Papi'), Youkilis, Drew, Scutaro (as in Marco, their shortstop), and I don't know who their catcher will be, honestly. But it barely matters. This is a terrifying batting order that matches anything the Yankees have put out in recent years. They should be a run-scoring machine, and if their pitching rotation is healthy, they'll have Beckett, Lackey, Matsuzaka, and CY Young contenders Jon Lester and Clay Buchholtz around.
This team is the favorite to win the World Series.
Ah, this post is getting long. I'll breeze through a few other big developments.
Idiots Unite!
After winning the AL East crown twice in three years, the Tampa Bay Rays had to do a major cutting of payroll, losing Carl Crawford, home-run machine Carlos Pena, hit-matchine shortstop Jason Bartlett, no-hit pitcher and 2008 ALCS MVP Matt Garza and 40-save closer Rafael Soriano. But their team, which still boasts major talents at 3B (Evan Longoria), CF (B.J. Upton), RF (Ben Zobrist) and in the pitching rotation (David Pryce, James Shields), isn't exactly going to be full of high schoolers. Part of this is because they picked up two people very familiar to the AL East, Messrs Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez. They're in their 30s now, but both men played on the Red Sox's history-making 2004 squad, which called themselves Idiots. Both are said to be in good shape (particularly Manny, who had a poor go of it for the White Sox late last year), and, if healthy, they could be a major boost of offense and experience for a somewhat deflated team and fan-base.
Counting the Cards
The biggest thing the St. Louis Cardinals didn't do this off-season was re-sign star and future Hall-of-Famer Albert Pujols to a new contract. Therefore, he becomes a free agent at the end of the season, and the three-time MVP is refusing to talk about his contract during the regular season.
The biggest thing the Cardinals did do is lose pitcher Adam Wainwright for the year to Tommy John Surgery. Wainwright won 39 games for them the past two seasons.
The Cardinals play in a division that includes the lowly Pirates, inconsistent Astros, oft-bumbling Cubs and mysterious Brewers, and boast a lineup of Pujols, Matt Holiday, Colby Rasmus and Yadier Molinda, but Wainwright's absence will be felt, and, should the Cards' fortunes turn sour early enough, could Big Albert change his mind about not talking about his contract?
Other big news included future Hall-of-Famer Derek Jeter resigning with the Yankees after ugly contract talks. The 36-year-old is 76 hits away from 3,000 (he'd be, if you can believe it, the first Yankee) and is coming off one of the statistically poorest seasons of his accomplished career, but he plays on a team that boasts offensive talents like Alex Rodriguez, Mark Texeira, Robinson Cano, Jorge Posada, Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson. The Yanks, who lost the ALCS in 6 games to the Rangers last year after winning it all the year before, missed out on any big signings (Lee, Crawford, Gonzalez, Beltre) and lost perennial star pitcher Andy Pettite to retirement, but picked up closer Rafael Soriano to set up for The Great Mariano Rivera and still feature two-time 20-game winner C.C. Sabathia atop the rotation.
The Milwaukee Brewers excited fans by picking up pitchers Shaun Marcum and Zack Greinke (the 2009 AL CY Young Award winner) to keep the team afloat pitching-wise in Prince Fielder's contract year (which is hoped to be productive), but Greinke will miss the start of the season after injuring himself playing basketball.
Last, but certainly not least, the Colorado Rockies, who were expected by many to compete for the NL pennant but were offset by injuries and a poor start, re-signed their two best players from a year ago. They safely kept 27-year-old shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who missed 40 games last year with an injury but still hit .315 with 27 home runs and 95 RBIs (including 14 home runs in September). They also retained 25-year-old outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, who was third in the NL MVP voting last year after a prodigious breakout season that included a league-leading .336 average and 197 hits, plus 111 runs scored, 34 doubles, 9 triples, 34 home runs and 117 RBIs. Oh, he stole 26 bases, too.
Those are the biggest stories of the 2011 Major League off-and-now-on-season. Now on with the show!
By the way, since I've been writing this article, the Yankees won (6-3).
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Finals Week-Part 2; March 31, 2011
Yes, there has been a lot of buzz about the NCAA Final Four, what with no Number 1 or Number 2 seeds, plus a back-in-the-Final Four Butler and high-riding 11th-seeded VCU.
But there is another Final Four out there, and, though it also includes a team from the University of Connecticut boasting a high seed and serious talent, there's no Kemba Walker in sight.
Tuesday night, the two-time defending champion Lady Huskies of UConn dismissed the #2 Duke Blue Devils (Lady Devils?), 75-40, in the third game of the NCAA Women's Elite Eight, sending Coach Geno Auriemma's crew to their twelfth straight Final Four. The win was UConn's 114th in their last 115 games. Yes, you read that right.
UConn's win made the Lady Huskies the third of the women's Final Four teams, joining #2 Notre Dame (a Big East rival they've beaten three times this year) and #1 Stanford (the only team to beat UConn in the last three seasons). They were joined some three hours later by the Texas A&M Aggies, who upset the Baylor Lady Bears, 58-46.
While there may not be any storylines as compelling as #11 VCU's jaw-dropping run through a slew of powerhouses (USC, Georgetown, Purdue, Kansas), or Butler's returning to the Final Four for the second straight year while being a Number 1 or 2 neither time, but the ladies' tournament has drama aplenty.
First, as mentioned, there is the fourth meeting of the year anticipated between UConn and their archrivals, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
"It's going to be rough," UConn Superstar Maya Moore said of the match. "We know each other so well and there are not a lot of surprises. It's going to be a battle to grind it out. We're representing well for our conference. It should be fun."
While it's unlikely that anyone but the eventual winner will look like they're having fun at any point during Sunday's Final Four matchup, if anyone was, it ought to be Moore. The senior point guard is a four-time All-American, whose final shot of Tuesday night's game (she had a game-high 28 points) gave her 3,000 points for her career, a distinction only 7 other women have reached in the NCAA.
"I don't think about [that] right now," Moore said.
"We did talk in the locker room that this was going to be a big night for Maya," Auriemma said after cutting down the nets in the aftermath of the Elite Eight victory. "You could just sense it."
What many are wondering is if Moore is sensing a third-consecutive national championship, which is a very real possibility, considering their 3-0 record against the Irish this year. The Irish, though, are riding high after dismissing #1 Tennessee, an all-star laden team led by legendary coach Pat Summit.
Despite all the attention heaped on UConn, Moore, and the Big East rivalry, the other Final Four matchup isn't one to sleep on, either.
Number two Texas A&M, which is playing in the program's first Final Four, just beat a team against whom they were previously 0-3 this season, #1 Baylor.
"Our team has gone through so much; we've gone through so many things," A&M point guard Sydney Colson said. "We have so much resilience."
They needed it to get by Baylor, led by 6'8 sophomore Brittney Griner. Griner had an impressive game, with 20 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks, but she made just 6 of her 18 shot attempts from the floor, and was hounded the whole game by fellow All-American Danielle Adams, who stands 6'1.
"My shots weren't falling," Griner said glumly after the defeat. "It wasn't anything A&M did."
A&M will play the other remaining #1 (other than UConn), Stanford, who handily beat 11th-seeded Gonzaga, 83-60, in the Elite Eight. The Cardinal romped to a 33-2 schedule this year, which, of course, includes THE victory, the one that ended UConn's 80-game winning streak, back on December 30.
The women's Final Four will be played Sunday evening, the day after the men's semifinals.
But there is another Final Four out there, and, though it also includes a team from the University of Connecticut boasting a high seed and serious talent, there's no Kemba Walker in sight.
Tuesday night, the two-time defending champion Lady Huskies of UConn dismissed the #2 Duke Blue Devils (Lady Devils?), 75-40, in the third game of the NCAA Women's Elite Eight, sending Coach Geno Auriemma's crew to their twelfth straight Final Four. The win was UConn's 114th in their last 115 games. Yes, you read that right.
UConn's win made the Lady Huskies the third of the women's Final Four teams, joining #2 Notre Dame (a Big East rival they've beaten three times this year) and #1 Stanford (the only team to beat UConn in the last three seasons). They were joined some three hours later by the Texas A&M Aggies, who upset the Baylor Lady Bears, 58-46.
While there may not be any storylines as compelling as #11 VCU's jaw-dropping run through a slew of powerhouses (USC, Georgetown, Purdue, Kansas), or Butler's returning to the Final Four for the second straight year while being a Number 1 or 2 neither time, but the ladies' tournament has drama aplenty.
First, as mentioned, there is the fourth meeting of the year anticipated between UConn and their archrivals, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
"It's going to be rough," UConn Superstar Maya Moore said of the match. "We know each other so well and there are not a lot of surprises. It's going to be a battle to grind it out. We're representing well for our conference. It should be fun."
While it's unlikely that anyone but the eventual winner will look like they're having fun at any point during Sunday's Final Four matchup, if anyone was, it ought to be Moore. The senior point guard is a four-time All-American, whose final shot of Tuesday night's game (she had a game-high 28 points) gave her 3,000 points for her career, a distinction only 7 other women have reached in the NCAA.
"I don't think about [that] right now," Moore said.
"We did talk in the locker room that this was going to be a big night for Maya," Auriemma said after cutting down the nets in the aftermath of the Elite Eight victory. "You could just sense it."
What many are wondering is if Moore is sensing a third-consecutive national championship, which is a very real possibility, considering their 3-0 record against the Irish this year. The Irish, though, are riding high after dismissing #1 Tennessee, an all-star laden team led by legendary coach Pat Summit.
Despite all the attention heaped on UConn, Moore, and the Big East rivalry, the other Final Four matchup isn't one to sleep on, either.
Number two Texas A&M, which is playing in the program's first Final Four, just beat a team against whom they were previously 0-3 this season, #1 Baylor.
"Our team has gone through so much; we've gone through so many things," A&M point guard Sydney Colson said. "We have so much resilience."
They needed it to get by Baylor, led by 6'8 sophomore Brittney Griner. Griner had an impressive game, with 20 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks, but she made just 6 of her 18 shot attempts from the floor, and was hounded the whole game by fellow All-American Danielle Adams, who stands 6'1.
"My shots weren't falling," Griner said glumly after the defeat. "It wasn't anything A&M did."
A&M will play the other remaining #1 (other than UConn), Stanford, who handily beat 11th-seeded Gonzaga, 83-60, in the Elite Eight. The Cardinal romped to a 33-2 schedule this year, which, of course, includes THE victory, the one that ended UConn's 80-game winning streak, back on December 30.
The women's Final Four will be played Sunday evening, the day after the men's semifinals.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Finals Week, March 27, 2011
Ladies and gentlemen: we have our Four.
No, really.
After the annual awesomeness known as the NCAA tournament (also nicknamed March Madness) began two weeks ago, with 68 teams alive, spawning workplace and college dorm brackets/betting pools everywhere, these are the four teams left alive: Butler University, the University of Kentucky, the University of Connecticut, and Virginia Commonwealth University. In short, technical, acronym language, that's BU, UK, UCONN and VCU.
Yes, basketball fans, this is what we've got. The defending national runner-up, who lost last year's national championship game by two points (Butler). A resilient big-name squad who lost big-name players to the NBA draft last year but still nipped two of this year's best teams in the tournament(Kentucky). The male counterpart to the ultimate dominant women's basketball franchise (UCONN). And a 15th seed that you've probably never heard of (VCU). That, respectively, is an 8th seed, a 4th seed, a 3rd seed, and an 11th seed.
I didn't make a bracket myself, but I know people at work, at my alma mater, at my church, and at my home (hello, Dad) who did, and almost all of them were way off. Top top seed Ohio State lost to Kentucky in the Sweet Sixteen. Defending champion Duke lost to Arizona in the Sweet Sixteen, who lost to Connecticut last night. Number one Pitt was eliminated by Butler a week ago on that shocking last-second foul. And number one Kansas, my dad's pick, lost to VCU in one of the great all-time upsets.
Because of my work schedule and the tournament schedule, I didn't get to make a post about the Sweet Sixteen or Elite Eight action, but here's what happened:
Sweet Sixteen:
#4 Kentucky beat #1 Ohio State.
#5 Arizona beat #1 Duke.
#1 Kansas beat #12 Richmond.
#3 UCONN beat #2 San Diego State.
#2 Florida beat #3 Brigham Young.
#8 Butler beat #4 Wisconsin.
#11 VCU beat #10 Florida State.
#2 North Carolina beat #11 Marquette
;Then, last night and throughout this afternoon, the Elite Eight burst onto the scene. The matchups: Butler vs. Florida, Arizona vs. UCONN, VCU vs. Kansas, and Kentucky vs. North Carolina.
First, the drama-loving darlings of Butler beat Florida, 74-71, in overtime, becoming the first team to ever make back-to-back Final Fours without being seeded 1 or 2 either time. Their coach, Brad Stevens, 34, is also the youngest man to ever coach in a Final Four twice. Due to their record of success, their gusty play and their constant ability to make late dramatics work, the Bulldogs could be considered a heavyweight going forward.
Then the Arizona Wildcats failed to duplicate the fast and furious magic that won them an impressive double-digit victory over the defending-champion Duke Blue Devils when they fell, 65-63, to UCONN and Kemba Walker to send the Huskies to their second Final Four in three years.
Sunday afternoon, just as people like myself were getting out of church, a David/Goliath matchup for the ages began, with #11 VCU, who had to beat USC just to get into the Round of 64 two weeks ago, facing the last #1 seed, the Kansas Jayhawks. Kansas won the 2008 National Championship and, with the superb athletic tandem of identical twins Marcus and Markieff Morris, looked nigh unbeatable. Surprise! The VCU Rams, supported by a small quadrant of fans in a vastly pro-Kansas arena, led Kansas by 14 at the half and withstood a late charge with timely shooting and tough, full-bodied defense, to win, 71-61. They are the official tournament darlings (sorry Butler), a bandwagon people are jumping on by the hundreds, and just the third 11-seed to ever make the Final Four (LSU, 1986; George Mason, 2006). They are reminding us that anything is possible. And they have a coach, Shaka Smart, who is just 33.
Following that stirring story came a classic heavyweight matchup, #4 Kentucky vs #2 North Carolina. They brought a combined 4,085 victories (2,052 for KU, 2,033 for UNC), 12 National Championships (7 for KU, 5 for UNC). And they were playing for a spot (the final spot) in the Final Four, a distinction the schools had earned a combined 31 times coming into the game (13 for KU, a record 18 for UNC). As you might expect with such powers, it was a battle all the way, with big fouls, players chirping at each other (and the refs), thunderous three-pointers and a pair of freshmen (KU's Brandon Knight, UNC's Harrison Barnes) putting their teams on their shoulders for minutes at a time. But, despite their efforts, the Tar Heels never led after the game's opening minutes, even though they tied the second half late. The Wildcats always seemed to have an answer (one with three points attached to it) for each mini-surge, and held off UNC for a 76-69 victory. That made Coach John Calipari the second man to take three programs to the Final Four (University of Massachusets, 1996; University of Memphis, 2008; KU).
The Final Four matchups, set for Saturday, April 2, are Butler-VCU and Kentucky-UConn, to be played in Houston. The winners will, of course, meet in Monday's NCAA National Championship Game. A game Butler lost last season by mere inches.
No, really.
After the annual awesomeness known as the NCAA tournament (also nicknamed March Madness) began two weeks ago, with 68 teams alive, spawning workplace and college dorm brackets/betting pools everywhere, these are the four teams left alive: Butler University, the University of Kentucky, the University of Connecticut, and Virginia Commonwealth University. In short, technical, acronym language, that's BU, UK, UCONN and VCU.
Yes, basketball fans, this is what we've got. The defending national runner-up, who lost last year's national championship game by two points (Butler). A resilient big-name squad who lost big-name players to the NBA draft last year but still nipped two of this year's best teams in the tournament(Kentucky). The male counterpart to the ultimate dominant women's basketball franchise (UCONN). And a 15th seed that you've probably never heard of (VCU). That, respectively, is an 8th seed, a 4th seed, a 3rd seed, and an 11th seed.
I didn't make a bracket myself, but I know people at work, at my alma mater, at my church, and at my home (hello, Dad) who did, and almost all of them were way off. Top top seed Ohio State lost to Kentucky in the Sweet Sixteen. Defending champion Duke lost to Arizona in the Sweet Sixteen, who lost to Connecticut last night. Number one Pitt was eliminated by Butler a week ago on that shocking last-second foul. And number one Kansas, my dad's pick, lost to VCU in one of the great all-time upsets.
Because of my work schedule and the tournament schedule, I didn't get to make a post about the Sweet Sixteen or Elite Eight action, but here's what happened:
Sweet Sixteen:
#4 Kentucky beat #1 Ohio State.
#5 Arizona beat #1 Duke.
#1 Kansas beat #12 Richmond.
#3 UCONN beat #2 San Diego State.
#2 Florida beat #3 Brigham Young.
#8 Butler beat #4 Wisconsin.
#11 VCU beat #10 Florida State.
#2 North Carolina beat #11 Marquette
;Then, last night and throughout this afternoon, the Elite Eight burst onto the scene. The matchups: Butler vs. Florida, Arizona vs. UCONN, VCU vs. Kansas, and Kentucky vs. North Carolina.
First, the drama-loving darlings of Butler beat Florida, 74-71, in overtime, becoming the first team to ever make back-to-back Final Fours without being seeded 1 or 2 either time. Their coach, Brad Stevens, 34, is also the youngest man to ever coach in a Final Four twice. Due to their record of success, their gusty play and their constant ability to make late dramatics work, the Bulldogs could be considered a heavyweight going forward.
Then the Arizona Wildcats failed to duplicate the fast and furious magic that won them an impressive double-digit victory over the defending-champion Duke Blue Devils when they fell, 65-63, to UCONN and Kemba Walker to send the Huskies to their second Final Four in three years.
Sunday afternoon, just as people like myself were getting out of church, a David/Goliath matchup for the ages began, with #11 VCU, who had to beat USC just to get into the Round of 64 two weeks ago, facing the last #1 seed, the Kansas Jayhawks. Kansas won the 2008 National Championship and, with the superb athletic tandem of identical twins Marcus and Markieff Morris, looked nigh unbeatable. Surprise! The VCU Rams, supported by a small quadrant of fans in a vastly pro-Kansas arena, led Kansas by 14 at the half and withstood a late charge with timely shooting and tough, full-bodied defense, to win, 71-61. They are the official tournament darlings (sorry Butler), a bandwagon people are jumping on by the hundreds, and just the third 11-seed to ever make the Final Four (LSU, 1986; George Mason, 2006). They are reminding us that anything is possible. And they have a coach, Shaka Smart, who is just 33.
Following that stirring story came a classic heavyweight matchup, #4 Kentucky vs #2 North Carolina. They brought a combined 4,085 victories (2,052 for KU, 2,033 for UNC), 12 National Championships (7 for KU, 5 for UNC). And they were playing for a spot (the final spot) in the Final Four, a distinction the schools had earned a combined 31 times coming into the game (13 for KU, a record 18 for UNC). As you might expect with such powers, it was a battle all the way, with big fouls, players chirping at each other (and the refs), thunderous three-pointers and a pair of freshmen (KU's Brandon Knight, UNC's Harrison Barnes) putting their teams on their shoulders for minutes at a time. But, despite their efforts, the Tar Heels never led after the game's opening minutes, even though they tied the second half late. The Wildcats always seemed to have an answer (one with three points attached to it) for each mini-surge, and held off UNC for a 76-69 victory. That made Coach John Calipari the second man to take three programs to the Final Four (University of Massachusets, 1996; University of Memphis, 2008; KU).
The Final Four matchups, set for Saturday, April 2, are Butler-VCU and Kentucky-UConn, to be played in Houston. The winners will, of course, meet in Monday's NCAA National Championship Game. A game Butler lost last season by mere inches.
Monday, March 21, 2011
America's SWEEThearts, March 21, 2011
After 52 college basketball games in five days, televised consecutively on four different networks, we have our Sweet Sixteen.
There was the First Four, where teams battled for low seeds and tournament berths, the Round of 64 where some high seeds stopped short, and the Round of 32, where David beat Goliath repeatedly in shocking fashion.
And then there were sixteen.
Those sixteen are:
5th-seeded Arizona
8th-seeded Butler
3rd-seeded Brigham Young (BYU)
3rd-seeded Connecticut (UCONN)
1st-seeded Duke
2nd-seeded Florida
10th-seeded Florida State (FSU)
1st-seeded Kansas
4th-seeded Kentucky (UK)
11th-seeded Marquette
2nd-seeded North Carolina (UNC)
1st-seeded Ohio State
12th-seeded Richmond
2nd-seeded San Diego State
11th-seeded Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)
4th-seeded Wisconsin
You've got three Number One seeds: Kansas, Duke, and Ohio State.
Kansas crushed 16th-seeded Boston University and then soundly beat 9th-ranked Illinois to make it this far, riding the strength of their three-point shooting and the parallel unparallelled skills of the Morris brothers, Marcus and Markief.
Duke, which has been in headlines for its recovery of star freshman point guard Kyrie Irving, who had been out of action since December after suffering a toe injury. Irving's return could have rattled a group that was truly gelling as a team during their ACC Tournament Championship run, but instead led them to a blowout victory over 16-seed Hampton University. They were met by a stiff challenge in the Michigan Wolverines in round two, the same Wolverines who beat 4th-seeded Tennessee by 30 points in the first round, and held them off for a 73-71 victory. ACC Player of the Year Nolan Smith led the defending-national champion Blue Devils with 24 points. The Michigan victory gave "Coach K" Mike Kryzewski his 900th career victory, just the second with that number after Bob Knight. If Duke wins out and repeats its national championship, Coach K would claim the all-time record, surpassing Knight's 903 wins.
Ohio State made mincemeat out of a pair of lower seeded teams, blasting First Four survivor UT-San Antonio 75-46 before pummeling 8th-seeded George Mason 98-66. Said Naismith Player of the Year candidate Jared Sullinger after the latter: "We can play better." This after a game where David Lighty scored 25, going 7/7 on three-point attempts, Sullinger and teammate William Buford each scored 18, and the team totaled 16 three-pointers. The Buckeyes are due, however, for a could-be classic matchup with fellow heavyweight Kentucky (a 4 seed) in the next round.
Two Number Two seeds advanced:
Mountain West Conference champion San Diego State made quick work of UNCO, the University of Northern Colorado, in the round of 64, then beat the Temple Owls 71-64 in double overtime to advance to the sweet 16.
The North Carolina Tar Heels, who won the ACC's regular season championship before losing the conference tournament championship game to archrival Duke, dropped 102 points on their first round opponent, 15th-seeded Long Island University (LIU), then clawed their way past the seventh-seeded Washington Huskies, 86-83, to move on.
Two Number Three seeds advanced:
While their brethren Threes were upset within a span of minutes of each other Sunday night, UCONN and BYU each gave impressive performances, the Huskies proving it isn't only their women's team that rocks with an 81-52 victory over Bucknell in the first round and a 69-58 defeat of conference rival Cincinnati in round two. Meanwhile, the Cougars JIMMERED their way into the Sweet 16 with arguably the nation's most popular player, scoring machine Jimmer Fredette. They beat Wofford 74-66 and Gonzaga 89-67, with Fredette scoring more than 30 in each game. He is arguably the front-runner for Naismith Player of the Year honors.
Number Fours Kentucky and Wisconsin each advanced, with the Wildcats nipping Princeton 59-57 in round 1 and avenging last year's shocking Elite Eight loss to West Virginia with a 73-68 defeat of the Mountaineers. Wisconsin beat Belmont 72-58 and then Kansas State 70-65, outlasting KSU point guard Jacob Pullen's tournament high 38 points.
5th-seeded Arizona beat Memphis (77-75) and Texas (70-69).
Last year's tournament darlings, the eighth-seeded Butler Bulldogs, scraped past Old Dominion, 60-58 in round 1, then upset #1 Pittsburgh 71-70 in an ending that will live in infamy. Butler was up 70-69 on the Panthers after a Josh Smith layup with 2.2 seconds left. But Pitt's Greg Brown, preparing to make a desperate final shot, was fouled at midcourt, 50 feet from the basket, with 1.4 seconds left, by Butler's hero-turned-goat Shelvin Mack. Brown made his first free throw, tying the game, and his second clanged off the rim and landed in the hands of big Butler forward Matt Howard, who was the hero of round 1 with a last-second layup that sent ODU home. This time, he grabbed the ball and turned, attempting to make a wild shot, while Pitt's Nasir Robinson grabbed his arms and back, trying to restrain him. The foul, with 0.9 seconds left, has made the unfortunate Robinson a popular figure over the past few days, primarily because Howard made one free throw to break the 70-all tie. Two fouls in 1.4 seconds gave Butler a most improbably win that has been the talk of the sporting world. Last year, Butler surprised everyone by appearing in the national championship game, and, with the help of one current-NBA rookie Gordon Heyward, nearly had a miracle finish, losing to Duke by just three. Their repeat hopes are gaining steam.
Tenth-seeded Florida State battered Number two Notre Dame, 71-57, in the round of 32, following a surprising defeat of Texas A&M in round 1, 57-50.
Late last night, two 11-seeds found their calling, as Marquette shocked #3 Syracuse, 66-62, and VCU, who had to claw their way into the tournament and then beat #6 Georgetown in round 1, crushed a heavily favored Purdue team (a 3 seed), 94-76, for their first Sweet Sixteen berth ever.
And twelfth-seeded Richmond dumped 13-seeded Morehead State, who had shocked #4 Lousiville in the first round, 65-48.
Much has talk has been made of how the city of Richmond now has as many schools in the Sweet Sixteen (Richmond and VCU) as the Big East conference has (UConn, Marquette), after the Big East landed an NCAA record 11 teams into the tournament.
The matchups Thursday and Friday will be as follows:
Ohio St. vs. Kentucky, Marquette vs. North Carolina, Duke vs. Arizona, and UConn vs. San Diego State; Kansas vs. Richmond, VCU vs. Florida State, Butler vs. Wisconsin, BYU vs. Florida.
The big ones to watch are OSU vs UK, UConn vs. San Diego, VCU vs. Florida State, BYU vs. Florida, and there's always a chance something wild will happen in Butler's game vs. the Wisconsin Badgers. They've just got a history...
There was the First Four, where teams battled for low seeds and tournament berths, the Round of 64 where some high seeds stopped short, and the Round of 32, where David beat Goliath repeatedly in shocking fashion.
And then there were sixteen.
Those sixteen are:
5th-seeded Arizona
8th-seeded Butler
3rd-seeded Brigham Young (BYU)
3rd-seeded Connecticut (UCONN)
1st-seeded Duke
2nd-seeded Florida
10th-seeded Florida State (FSU)
1st-seeded Kansas
4th-seeded Kentucky (UK)
11th-seeded Marquette
2nd-seeded North Carolina (UNC)
1st-seeded Ohio State
12th-seeded Richmond
2nd-seeded San Diego State
11th-seeded Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)
4th-seeded Wisconsin
You've got three Number One seeds: Kansas, Duke, and Ohio State.
Kansas crushed 16th-seeded Boston University and then soundly beat 9th-ranked Illinois to make it this far, riding the strength of their three-point shooting and the parallel unparallelled skills of the Morris brothers, Marcus and Markief.
Duke, which has been in headlines for its recovery of star freshman point guard Kyrie Irving, who had been out of action since December after suffering a toe injury. Irving's return could have rattled a group that was truly gelling as a team during their ACC Tournament Championship run, but instead led them to a blowout victory over 16-seed Hampton University. They were met by a stiff challenge in the Michigan Wolverines in round two, the same Wolverines who beat 4th-seeded Tennessee by 30 points in the first round, and held them off for a 73-71 victory. ACC Player of the Year Nolan Smith led the defending-national champion Blue Devils with 24 points. The Michigan victory gave "Coach K" Mike Kryzewski his 900th career victory, just the second with that number after Bob Knight. If Duke wins out and repeats its national championship, Coach K would claim the all-time record, surpassing Knight's 903 wins.
Ohio State made mincemeat out of a pair of lower seeded teams, blasting First Four survivor UT-San Antonio 75-46 before pummeling 8th-seeded George Mason 98-66. Said Naismith Player of the Year candidate Jared Sullinger after the latter: "We can play better." This after a game where David Lighty scored 25, going 7/7 on three-point attempts, Sullinger and teammate William Buford each scored 18, and the team totaled 16 three-pointers. The Buckeyes are due, however, for a could-be classic matchup with fellow heavyweight Kentucky (a 4 seed) in the next round.
Two Number Two seeds advanced:
Mountain West Conference champion San Diego State made quick work of UNCO, the University of Northern Colorado, in the round of 64, then beat the Temple Owls 71-64 in double overtime to advance to the sweet 16.
The North Carolina Tar Heels, who won the ACC's regular season championship before losing the conference tournament championship game to archrival Duke, dropped 102 points on their first round opponent, 15th-seeded Long Island University (LIU), then clawed their way past the seventh-seeded Washington Huskies, 86-83, to move on.
Two Number Three seeds advanced:
While their brethren Threes were upset within a span of minutes of each other Sunday night, UCONN and BYU each gave impressive performances, the Huskies proving it isn't only their women's team that rocks with an 81-52 victory over Bucknell in the first round and a 69-58 defeat of conference rival Cincinnati in round two. Meanwhile, the Cougars JIMMERED their way into the Sweet 16 with arguably the nation's most popular player, scoring machine Jimmer Fredette. They beat Wofford 74-66 and Gonzaga 89-67, with Fredette scoring more than 30 in each game. He is arguably the front-runner for Naismith Player of the Year honors.
Number Fours Kentucky and Wisconsin each advanced, with the Wildcats nipping Princeton 59-57 in round 1 and avenging last year's shocking Elite Eight loss to West Virginia with a 73-68 defeat of the Mountaineers. Wisconsin beat Belmont 72-58 and then Kansas State 70-65, outlasting KSU point guard Jacob Pullen's tournament high 38 points.
5th-seeded Arizona beat Memphis (77-75) and Texas (70-69).
Last year's tournament darlings, the eighth-seeded Butler Bulldogs, scraped past Old Dominion, 60-58 in round 1, then upset #1 Pittsburgh 71-70 in an ending that will live in infamy. Butler was up 70-69 on the Panthers after a Josh Smith layup with 2.2 seconds left. But Pitt's Greg Brown, preparing to make a desperate final shot, was fouled at midcourt, 50 feet from the basket, with 1.4 seconds left, by Butler's hero-turned-goat Shelvin Mack. Brown made his first free throw, tying the game, and his second clanged off the rim and landed in the hands of big Butler forward Matt Howard, who was the hero of round 1 with a last-second layup that sent ODU home. This time, he grabbed the ball and turned, attempting to make a wild shot, while Pitt's Nasir Robinson grabbed his arms and back, trying to restrain him. The foul, with 0.9 seconds left, has made the unfortunate Robinson a popular figure over the past few days, primarily because Howard made one free throw to break the 70-all tie. Two fouls in 1.4 seconds gave Butler a most improbably win that has been the talk of the sporting world. Last year, Butler surprised everyone by appearing in the national championship game, and, with the help of one current-NBA rookie Gordon Heyward, nearly had a miracle finish, losing to Duke by just three. Their repeat hopes are gaining steam.
Tenth-seeded Florida State battered Number two Notre Dame, 71-57, in the round of 32, following a surprising defeat of Texas A&M in round 1, 57-50.
Late last night, two 11-seeds found their calling, as Marquette shocked #3 Syracuse, 66-62, and VCU, who had to claw their way into the tournament and then beat #6 Georgetown in round 1, crushed a heavily favored Purdue team (a 3 seed), 94-76, for their first Sweet Sixteen berth ever.
And twelfth-seeded Richmond dumped 13-seeded Morehead State, who had shocked #4 Lousiville in the first round, 65-48.
Much has talk has been made of how the city of Richmond now has as many schools in the Sweet Sixteen (Richmond and VCU) as the Big East conference has (UConn, Marquette), after the Big East landed an NCAA record 11 teams into the tournament.
The matchups Thursday and Friday will be as follows:
Ohio St. vs. Kentucky, Marquette vs. North Carolina, Duke vs. Arizona, and UConn vs. San Diego State; Kansas vs. Richmond, VCU vs. Florida State, Butler vs. Wisconsin, BYU vs. Florida.
The big ones to watch are OSU vs UK, UConn vs. San Diego, VCU vs. Florida State, BYU vs. Florida, and there's always a chance something wild will happen in Butler's game vs. the Wisconsin Badgers. They've just got a history...
Speaking of the NCAA, March 21, 2011
So, as you may be able to tell by my last post, which was all about Day 1 of the Round of 64 in the NCAA Men's Tournament, I bit off more than I could chew by trying to approach NCAA coverage that way. There were so many games per day, and they went late into the night-and I was thus up late watching them-that I had to give up that approach. The games have been excellent, including last night, when three teams seeded 10 or higher beat 2 or 3 seeds to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. The tournament has been thrilling so far, including an absolutely unforgettable finish by the Butler Bulldogs, who shocked #1 Pittsburgh, buckets of three-pointers by some guy named Jimmer, big-time upsets and the spectacle of blood-soaked Wisconsin players competing to the end in a big win over Kansas State.
Friday, March 18, 2011
NCAA Tournament, Round of 64-Day 1; March 18, 2010
With the First Four in the books (the winners of the games being UNC-Asheville, Clemson, Virginia Commonwealth University and University of Texas-San Antonio) the round of 64 kicked off yesterday with 16 games played at such timing and spacing that three different networks showed basketball for some five hours--heaven for the true sports fan.
Since baseball hasn't started up yet and football has ended-and may be ended for a while-and my dad and I are big sports fans, this is the first time in a while I've really been into basketball. I watched the March Madness '08 tournament with relish, even switching my vote from one team to another during Kansas' surprising Final Four massacre of UNC. This year, since I'm learning more names and more rules and since I enjoy my dad's gruff-but-usually-accurate (think Simon Cowell) commentary on plays and coaching, I've been watching a lot of hoops. Some NBA (by now, I'm quite well-acquainted with LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, Paul Pierce, etc...) and some college (in my house we're Duke fans).
But there's no question that college ball is more interesting than pro ball. The games are shorter, the players are more selfless, the crowds are far more enthusiastic, the stakes (pride, bragging rights) are much higher, and it's just more fun to watch. The scores are closer to earth and the officiating tends to be better.
I worked from 1-9 yesterday, so I missed the vast majority of the basketball action yesterday, and I was too tired to finish what I was able to watch late. But it was a scintillating day of action where some favorites ruled the roost but where some lower-seeded teams sparked upsets worthy of their own true-story film.
Yes, there were beatdowns. The third-seeded Connecticut Huskies whomped the 14-seeded Bucknell Bison, 81-52, with All-American Kemba Walker leading the charge with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 12 assists in a magnificent performance. Number-two Florida rolled over its 15-seeded-opponent, University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), 79-15, and another Number Two seed, San Diego State, rejected the University of Colorado, 68-50.
But not all top dogs reigned supreme on this exciting day. Sixth-ranked St. John's, who beat 1 seeds Duke and Pittsburgh during the regular season but were playing without injured point guard D.J. Kennedy, lost an early lead and never recovered, losing to 11-seeded Gonzaga 86-71. Fifth-seeded Vanderbilt suffered their third first-round loss in as many years, losing 69-66 to twelfth-seeded Richmond.
On ESPN recently there has been some amusing discussion about who could be this year's Butler (some saying it could be Butler itself), Butler being Butler University, Butler of the Horizon Conference who rose to prominence during last year's NCAA tournament and ended up playing all-time great Duke in the National Championship Game. Their run memorably ended on a halfcourt shot by Gordon Heyward that nipped the rim and bounced away. Last night they got another memorable ending, this one in their favor, when Matt Howard tipped in a ball that had been flung and then deflected near the hoop as time expired, with the Bulldogs' game against ninth-seeded Old Dominion tied at 58. Shawn Vanzant did the flinging, and then Andrew Smith hit the ball, where it deflected off the backboard. As the final seconds ticked away, Howard flicked it in for the 60-58 victory.
In one of the day's biggest upsets, fourth-seeded Louisville, whose impressive run through the Big East tournament had fallen just short of the intended goal with a championship game loss to UCONN, saw their run end as early as possible when Morehead State's Demonte Harper nailed a three-pointer with 4.2 seconds left to give the 13-seeded Eagles a one-point lead, 62-61. The play was based, according to reports, on a dream Morehead State coach Donnie Tyndall had the night before. A dream victory in more than one way.
The Temple Owls had a dream of their own to remember last night, when Juan Fernandez hit a one-footed fadeaway from 18-feet distant to give the Owls a 64-62 win over the Penn State Nittany Lions.
And after an unusually difficult night on the court, Kentucky freshman Brandon Knight shook off a night where he missed his first seven shot attempts and landed a driving layup with 2 seconds left to give the UK juggernaut a breathtaking 59-57 victory over 13th-seeded Princeton.
Naismith Player of the Year favorite Jimmer Fredette scored 32 points in Brigham Young's 74-66 win over Wofford, a school I almost attended, to keep that 3-seed's hopes alive.
This day of exciting, often edge-of-your-seat action did not even include three of the number one seeds (Ohio State, Kansas, Duke), who will all play Friday. Duke has been in the headlines for the recovery of superstar freshman guard Kyrie Irving, who missed almost 30 games with a toe injury. The Blue Devils won the ACC tournament with impressive full-team play that some say could be hindered by the return of a star of Irving's magnitude.
Here are all the scores from Day 1 of the Round of 64:
5-Kansas State-73, 12-Utah State-68; 11-Gonzaga-86, 6-St. John's-71;
6-Cincinnati-78, 11-Missouri-63; 7-UCLA-78, 10-Michigan State-76;
4-Wisconsin-72, 13-Belmont-58; 3-UCONN-81,14-Bucknell-52
3-BYU-74; 14-Wofford-66;
2-Florida-79, 15-University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB)-51
2-San Diego State University-68, 15-University of Northern Colorado-50
12-Richmond-69, 5-Vanderbilt-66
1-Pittsburgh-74, 16-UNC Asheville-51; 4-Kentucky-59, 13-Princeton-57
7-Temple-66, 10-Penn State-64; 13-Morehead State-62, 4-Lousiville-61
8-Butler-60, 9-Old Dominion-58; 5-West Virginia-84; 12-Clemson-76
Since baseball hasn't started up yet and football has ended-and may be ended for a while-and my dad and I are big sports fans, this is the first time in a while I've really been into basketball. I watched the March Madness '08 tournament with relish, even switching my vote from one team to another during Kansas' surprising Final Four massacre of UNC. This year, since I'm learning more names and more rules and since I enjoy my dad's gruff-but-usually-accurate (think Simon Cowell) commentary on plays and coaching, I've been watching a lot of hoops. Some NBA (by now, I'm quite well-acquainted with LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, Paul Pierce, etc...) and some college (in my house we're Duke fans).
But there's no question that college ball is more interesting than pro ball. The games are shorter, the players are more selfless, the crowds are far more enthusiastic, the stakes (pride, bragging rights) are much higher, and it's just more fun to watch. The scores are closer to earth and the officiating tends to be better.
I worked from 1-9 yesterday, so I missed the vast majority of the basketball action yesterday, and I was too tired to finish what I was able to watch late. But it was a scintillating day of action where some favorites ruled the roost but where some lower-seeded teams sparked upsets worthy of their own true-story film.
Yes, there were beatdowns. The third-seeded Connecticut Huskies whomped the 14-seeded Bucknell Bison, 81-52, with All-American Kemba Walker leading the charge with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 12 assists in a magnificent performance. Number-two Florida rolled over its 15-seeded-opponent, University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), 79-15, and another Number Two seed, San Diego State, rejected the University of Colorado, 68-50.
But not all top dogs reigned supreme on this exciting day. Sixth-ranked St. John's, who beat 1 seeds Duke and Pittsburgh during the regular season but were playing without injured point guard D.J. Kennedy, lost an early lead and never recovered, losing to 11-seeded Gonzaga 86-71. Fifth-seeded Vanderbilt suffered their third first-round loss in as many years, losing 69-66 to twelfth-seeded Richmond.
On ESPN recently there has been some amusing discussion about who could be this year's Butler (some saying it could be Butler itself), Butler being Butler University, Butler of the Horizon Conference who rose to prominence during last year's NCAA tournament and ended up playing all-time great Duke in the National Championship Game. Their run memorably ended on a halfcourt shot by Gordon Heyward that nipped the rim and bounced away. Last night they got another memorable ending, this one in their favor, when Matt Howard tipped in a ball that had been flung and then deflected near the hoop as time expired, with the Bulldogs' game against ninth-seeded Old Dominion tied at 58. Shawn Vanzant did the flinging, and then Andrew Smith hit the ball, where it deflected off the backboard. As the final seconds ticked away, Howard flicked it in for the 60-58 victory.
In one of the day's biggest upsets, fourth-seeded Louisville, whose impressive run through the Big East tournament had fallen just short of the intended goal with a championship game loss to UCONN, saw their run end as early as possible when Morehead State's Demonte Harper nailed a three-pointer with 4.2 seconds left to give the 13-seeded Eagles a one-point lead, 62-61. The play was based, according to reports, on a dream Morehead State coach Donnie Tyndall had the night before. A dream victory in more than one way.
The Temple Owls had a dream of their own to remember last night, when Juan Fernandez hit a one-footed fadeaway from 18-feet distant to give the Owls a 64-62 win over the Penn State Nittany Lions.
And after an unusually difficult night on the court, Kentucky freshman Brandon Knight shook off a night where he missed his first seven shot attempts and landed a driving layup with 2 seconds left to give the UK juggernaut a breathtaking 59-57 victory over 13th-seeded Princeton.
Naismith Player of the Year favorite Jimmer Fredette scored 32 points in Brigham Young's 74-66 win over Wofford, a school I almost attended, to keep that 3-seed's hopes alive.
This day of exciting, often edge-of-your-seat action did not even include three of the number one seeds (Ohio State, Kansas, Duke), who will all play Friday. Duke has been in the headlines for the recovery of superstar freshman guard Kyrie Irving, who missed almost 30 games with a toe injury. The Blue Devils won the ACC tournament with impressive full-team play that some say could be hindered by the return of a star of Irving's magnitude.
Here are all the scores from Day 1 of the Round of 64:
5-Kansas State-73, 12-Utah State-68; 11-Gonzaga-86, 6-St. John's-71;
6-Cincinnati-78, 11-Missouri-63; 7-UCLA-78, 10-Michigan State-76;
4-Wisconsin-72, 13-Belmont-58; 3-UCONN-81,14-Bucknell-52
3-BYU-74; 14-Wofford-66;
2-Florida-79, 15-University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB)-51
2-San Diego State University-68, 15-University of Northern Colorado-50
12-Richmond-69, 5-Vanderbilt-66
1-Pittsburgh-74, 16-UNC Asheville-51; 4-Kentucky-59, 13-Princeton-57
7-Temple-66, 10-Penn State-64; 13-Morehead State-62, 4-Lousiville-61
8-Butler-60, 9-Old Dominion-58; 5-West Virginia-84; 12-Clemson-76
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Devils' Advocate, March 13, 2011
The Duke Blue Devils won revenge, bragging rights and a Number One seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament with a 75-58 battering of blood rival North Carolina in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship early Sunday afternoon.
The Devils (30-4 going into the NCAA tournament) found today's victory particularly sweet after the UNC Tar Heels (26-7) won the ACC Regular Season Championship at their behest last week in a 81-67 pounding. Led by senior Nolan Smith's 20 points, Duke captured a no-doubt-about-it victory against a team that had led them by 10+ at halftime in both of their meetings this season.
"It was the ultimate team effort," Smith said. "Everybody made big plays. When you do that, there's something inside you that you just have to feel good and we felt that."
The team effort grabbed them their record-19th ACC Tournament title overall, third in a row and fifth in the last seven years. It also snagged Mike Kryzewski (more affectionally known, of course, as "Coach K") his 13th title, tying him with North Carolina great Dean Smith for the most all-time.
The Devils jumped out of the gate, running away with early margins of 8-0 and 22-8, playing the tall, athletic Tar Heels tough in the paint and on the boards. The team effort Smith spoke of saw forward Kyle Singler and guard Seth Curry each notch 11 points, and forwards Miles Plumlee and Ryan Kelly and guard Andre Dawkins each added 9, continuing a conference tournament trend that saw the Blue Devils move a little more into team-wide offensive territory, rather than focusing mostly on the trio of Smith, Singler and Curry.
Duke played fast, furious defense, snagging breakaways and hounding UNC's tall men, like seven-footer Tyler Zeller, and doing their best to suffocate their opponent's big scorers, like forward Harrison Barnes (16, after scoring 40 the previous night), Zeller (14), and John Henson (10). The Tar Heels never gave up and fought hard in the second half, often making highlight-reel dunks and layups, but they were never closer than 9 points down after the 22-8 deficit early. Their attempts to make catch-up runs late were cut short by key three-pointers from Curry, Kelly and Dawkins. They were also penalized at the free-throw line by Smith, who was a perfect 7-for-7 and was named tournament MVP after the game.
"What they did was fantastic," North Carolina Coach Roy Williams said of Duke.
After becoming the ACC's clearly-outlined top dogs by the end of the regular season, they both ripped through the tournament, North Carolina overcoming double-digit defeats each night, including last night's semifinal against Clemson, while Duke spread the wealth around in another double-digit revenge victory, this one against notable NCAA tourney snub Virginia Tech.
"I love the ACC," Coach K said afterward. "The ACC has made me a better coach. I just feel that when you are a part of something bigger than you and you're in a tournament representing that conference you should try to be at your best...We don't talk about the NCAA tournament or anything like that. We just say we want to win this tournament. You could see how happy we are."
As much as they relish the ACC tournament victory, they are made all the happier by this victory's grand prize, a Number One seed in the 68-team NCAA tournament (of which they are the defending champions). The other Number One seeds are Ohio State (number one overall, who won the Big Ten Championship with a 71-60 defeat of Penn State today), Kansas and Pittsburgh. North Carolina, which started the season slowly but rolled down the stretch, leads the pack of Number Twos that also includes San Diego State (Mountain West Conference Champions), Notre Dame and Florida. The Number Threes are Syracuse, Connecticut (UCONN, the Big East Champs), Purdue and Brigham Young University. The Fours are: Kentucky (SEC Champs), Texas, Louisville and Wisconsin.
The NCAA tournament starts on Friday.
The Devils (30-4 going into the NCAA tournament) found today's victory particularly sweet after the UNC Tar Heels (26-7) won the ACC Regular Season Championship at their behest last week in a 81-67 pounding. Led by senior Nolan Smith's 20 points, Duke captured a no-doubt-about-it victory against a team that had led them by 10+ at halftime in both of their meetings this season.
"It was the ultimate team effort," Smith said. "Everybody made big plays. When you do that, there's something inside you that you just have to feel good and we felt that."
The team effort grabbed them their record-19th ACC Tournament title overall, third in a row and fifth in the last seven years. It also snagged Mike Kryzewski (more affectionally known, of course, as "Coach K") his 13th title, tying him with North Carolina great Dean Smith for the most all-time.
The Devils jumped out of the gate, running away with early margins of 8-0 and 22-8, playing the tall, athletic Tar Heels tough in the paint and on the boards. The team effort Smith spoke of saw forward Kyle Singler and guard Seth Curry each notch 11 points, and forwards Miles Plumlee and Ryan Kelly and guard Andre Dawkins each added 9, continuing a conference tournament trend that saw the Blue Devils move a little more into team-wide offensive territory, rather than focusing mostly on the trio of Smith, Singler and Curry.
Duke played fast, furious defense, snagging breakaways and hounding UNC's tall men, like seven-footer Tyler Zeller, and doing their best to suffocate their opponent's big scorers, like forward Harrison Barnes (16, after scoring 40 the previous night), Zeller (14), and John Henson (10). The Tar Heels never gave up and fought hard in the second half, often making highlight-reel dunks and layups, but they were never closer than 9 points down after the 22-8 deficit early. Their attempts to make catch-up runs late were cut short by key three-pointers from Curry, Kelly and Dawkins. They were also penalized at the free-throw line by Smith, who was a perfect 7-for-7 and was named tournament MVP after the game.
"What they did was fantastic," North Carolina Coach Roy Williams said of Duke.
After becoming the ACC's clearly-outlined top dogs by the end of the regular season, they both ripped through the tournament, North Carolina overcoming double-digit defeats each night, including last night's semifinal against Clemson, while Duke spread the wealth around in another double-digit revenge victory, this one against notable NCAA tourney snub Virginia Tech.
"I love the ACC," Coach K said afterward. "The ACC has made me a better coach. I just feel that when you are a part of something bigger than you and you're in a tournament representing that conference you should try to be at your best...We don't talk about the NCAA tournament or anything like that. We just say we want to win this tournament. You could see how happy we are."
As much as they relish the ACC tournament victory, they are made all the happier by this victory's grand prize, a Number One seed in the 68-team NCAA tournament (of which they are the defending champions). The other Number One seeds are Ohio State (number one overall, who won the Big Ten Championship with a 71-60 defeat of Penn State today), Kansas and Pittsburgh. North Carolina, which started the season slowly but rolled down the stretch, leads the pack of Number Twos that also includes San Diego State (Mountain West Conference Champions), Notre Dame and Florida. The Number Threes are Syracuse, Connecticut (UCONN, the Big East Champs), Purdue and Brigham Young University. The Fours are: Kentucky (SEC Champs), Texas, Louisville and Wisconsin.
The NCAA tournament starts on Friday.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Madness in March, March 12, 2010
NCAA BASKETBALL
Tomorrow, Sunday, March 13, is not only the day we change our clocks forward an hour but also the day 68 lucky teams throughout men's Division 1 basketball find out they are in the NCAA Tournament, an annual event often referred to as March Madness.
For today, though, the madness involves the way the conference tournaments are breaking down? Jimmer scores 52? Check. Louisville arguably the hottest team in the country? Check. Duke/UNC scheduled for a second date in two weeks (third on the season)? Check. Number-one overall Ohio State rolling toward a position as one of the favorites in the big dance? Checkeroo.
Okay, let's face it. Selection Sunday will look a whole lot worse to some teams than it will to others. After all, teams are given 1st-16th seeds, which means some quietly-successful teams will have to enter the tournament playing the best teams in the country, which almost always lead to stat-padding and blowout losses. The big question right now, hours before the selections, are who will get what? Number one seeds? If you've been paying attention to the NCAA this season, three teams (Ohio State, Kansas, Duke) have lost the week they received the #1 ranking, and two others (Texas and Pitt) have been on the cusp before suffering debilitating losses to unranked opponents. So it's clear that there are no givens. Well, maybe one or two. Ohio State and Kansas are expected to be number ones, given their status as elite that has remained this year despite losses here and there.
>>>>Note: Kansas is currently up 63-55 on Texas, about two thirds of the way through the second half of the Big Twelve Conference Championship Game. Nationwide, Kansas is ranked Number 2 in the country, and Texas is ranked 10th.
>>>>Tomorrow, Ohio State (which nipped unranked Michigan today by a score of 68-61) will play unranked Penn State for the Big Ten title.
Otherwise, it's difficult to pick out a given for a Number One. Brigham Young University, behind star Jimmer Fredette (see below), got as high as third in the rankings this season, but lost twice to conference rival New Mexico and and lost third-scorer Brandon Davies to university student honor code violations. Last night, BYU finally beat New Mexico, behind 52 points (33 in the first half!) from Fredette, arguably the front-runner in Naismith Player of the Year contention. BYU is currently down, 43-31, to San Diego State University, whom they beat twice this year, in the Mountain West Conference final.
Then there's defending national champion Duke University. The Blue Devils were ranked #1 overall twice this year, but lost it in January after dropping a contest against conference foe Florida State and in late February after being beaten by underdog Virginia Tech, another conference rival. The Devils just avenged the latter game, beating the Hokies 77-63 today in the ACC Conference semifinals behind Player of the Year candidate Nolan Smith's 27 points. Tomorrow, at 12:30 p.m., the Devils will take on blood rival UNC after the Tar Heels beat Clemson, 92-87, in overtime in the other semifinal. This is just weeks after UNC dealt Duke a difficult double-digit loss in their second season meeting, after the more-experienced Devils recovered from an early deficit to beat the Heels at Duke in January. Duke has been in the headlines all year; North Carolina recovered from a sluggish start to romp through the rest of the regular season schedule and the conference tournament so far (well, they've been down by at least 10 in all tourney game so far, but it hasn't hurt their record). The two teams are the defending national champions of the past 2 years, and it is believed that Duke would be an automatic #1 if they win the season's rubber match tomorrow. North Carolina would likely be close, but a debate would still rage.
Last year, Duke beat rising star Butler by a basket in a classic game that came down to a nearly-there last-second half-court shot by Butler's Gordon Heyward to claim the title. The year before, North Carolina rolled through Michigan State in Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson's senior year curtain call.
We're not quite into the thick of the madness this year, but we're getting quite close.
This week's top-ranked teams nationwide were:
1. Ohio State
2. Kansas
3. Pittsburgh (lost to UCONN in the Big East Conference tourney two days ago)
4. Notre Dame (lost last night in overtime to Louisville)
5. Duke
6. North Carolina
7. San Diego State
8. Brigham Young
9. Purdue (lost yesterday to Michigan State in the Big Ten tournament)
10. Texas
Note: San Diego went on to beat BYU in the Mountain West Conference Final, 72-52.
Tomorrow, Sunday, March 13, is not only the day we change our clocks forward an hour but also the day 68 lucky teams throughout men's Division 1 basketball find out they are in the NCAA Tournament, an annual event often referred to as March Madness.
For today, though, the madness involves the way the conference tournaments are breaking down? Jimmer scores 52? Check. Louisville arguably the hottest team in the country? Check. Duke/UNC scheduled for a second date in two weeks (third on the season)? Check. Number-one overall Ohio State rolling toward a position as one of the favorites in the big dance? Checkeroo.
Okay, let's face it. Selection Sunday will look a whole lot worse to some teams than it will to others. After all, teams are given 1st-16th seeds, which means some quietly-successful teams will have to enter the tournament playing the best teams in the country, which almost always lead to stat-padding and blowout losses. The big question right now, hours before the selections, are who will get what? Number one seeds? If you've been paying attention to the NCAA this season, three teams (Ohio State, Kansas, Duke) have lost the week they received the #1 ranking, and two others (Texas and Pitt) have been on the cusp before suffering debilitating losses to unranked opponents. So it's clear that there are no givens. Well, maybe one or two. Ohio State and Kansas are expected to be number ones, given their status as elite that has remained this year despite losses here and there.
>>>>Note: Kansas is currently up 63-55 on Texas, about two thirds of the way through the second half of the Big Twelve Conference Championship Game. Nationwide, Kansas is ranked Number 2 in the country, and Texas is ranked 10th.
>>>>Tomorrow, Ohio State (which nipped unranked Michigan today by a score of 68-61) will play unranked Penn State for the Big Ten title.
Otherwise, it's difficult to pick out a given for a Number One. Brigham Young University, behind star Jimmer Fredette (see below), got as high as third in the rankings this season, but lost twice to conference rival New Mexico and and lost third-scorer Brandon Davies to university student honor code violations. Last night, BYU finally beat New Mexico, behind 52 points (33 in the first half!) from Fredette, arguably the front-runner in Naismith Player of the Year contention. BYU is currently down, 43-31, to San Diego State University, whom they beat twice this year, in the Mountain West Conference final.
Then there's defending national champion Duke University. The Blue Devils were ranked #1 overall twice this year, but lost it in January after dropping a contest against conference foe Florida State and in late February after being beaten by underdog Virginia Tech, another conference rival. The Devils just avenged the latter game, beating the Hokies 77-63 today in the ACC Conference semifinals behind Player of the Year candidate Nolan Smith's 27 points. Tomorrow, at 12:30 p.m., the Devils will take on blood rival UNC after the Tar Heels beat Clemson, 92-87, in overtime in the other semifinal. This is just weeks after UNC dealt Duke a difficult double-digit loss in their second season meeting, after the more-experienced Devils recovered from an early deficit to beat the Heels at Duke in January. Duke has been in the headlines all year; North Carolina recovered from a sluggish start to romp through the rest of the regular season schedule and the conference tournament so far (well, they've been down by at least 10 in all tourney game so far, but it hasn't hurt their record). The two teams are the defending national champions of the past 2 years, and it is believed that Duke would be an automatic #1 if they win the season's rubber match tomorrow. North Carolina would likely be close, but a debate would still rage.
Last year, Duke beat rising star Butler by a basket in a classic game that came down to a nearly-there last-second half-court shot by Butler's Gordon Heyward to claim the title. The year before, North Carolina rolled through Michigan State in Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson's senior year curtain call.
We're not quite into the thick of the madness this year, but we're getting quite close.
This week's top-ranked teams nationwide were:
1. Ohio State
2. Kansas
3. Pittsburgh (lost to UCONN in the Big East Conference tourney two days ago)
4. Notre Dame (lost last night in overtime to Louisville)
5. Duke
6. North Carolina
7. San Diego State
8. Brigham Young
9. Purdue (lost yesterday to Michigan State in the Big Ten tournament)
10. Texas
Note: San Diego went on to beat BYU in the Mountain West Conference Final, 72-52.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Heat Getting Burned, March 6, 2011
"The Miami Heat are exactly what everyone wanted, losing games. The world is better now because the Heat are losing." -Miami superstar Dwayne Wade, one of the Big Three, on the notion that people love rooting against the star-studded Heat
Back in July, LeBron James gave today's society one of its lasting plays on words when he said he was taking his talents to Miami, where he, perennial superstar D-Wade and free agent Toronto forward Chris Bosh were going to form an elite trio with championship-level ability. Right now, it's hard to say that James, Wade, Bosh, or anyone else's talents are the answer.
The Heat have lost four of their last five games, the one win an eight-point, Feb. 25 win over the lowly Washington Wizards, and the losses are tell-tale because the now-third-ranked Heat (#3 in the Eastern Conference behind the Boston Celtics and the Chicago Bulls) are 0-9 against the league's best four teams (Celtics, Bulls, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks).
There was a close loss (93-89) in Chicago to MVP favorite Derrick Rose and the Bulls on the 24th, the win over Washington at home the next day, the widely-viewed superstar bash with the Carmelo Anthony-Amare Stoudemire New York Knicks on Feb. 27 (which the Heat lost by 5). Then they blew a 24-point lead at home to the Orlando Magic, who are fourth in the Eastern Conference, on March 3. The next night they were disemboweled in San Antonio by the NBA's best team, who dealt them a 125-95 loss. And earlier today, Sunday, March 6, they suffered a crushing, one-point loss at home to the Bulls, against whom they are 0-3 this year.
Before the season began, the Big Three of Wade, James, and Bosh sent Miami fans into a frenzy, declaring that they would win "not one, not two, not three, not four, not five" world championships. The team scuffled early on as two guys (James and Wade) used to being the go-to guy learned to play together. Then they started rolling, losing only a single game in December (98-96, to the second-place-in-the-West Mavericks).
Their current 43-20 record is nothing to scoff at. LeBron James scored 51 points in a game against the Magic in mid-February, Dwayne Wade scored 40 points in consecutive games, and the entire Big Three made the Eastern Conference All-Star team, Wade and James as starters. Along the way, the Three have gotten big help from Mike Miller, Eddie House, the now-traded Carlos Arroyo, and newcomer Mike Bibby.
But with the season more than half over, and the playoff picture coming into focus, it's becoming clear that Miami has problems with any teams over .500, not just the league's best handful of teams. They have yet to beat #1 Boston in three tries, and add Chicago to that same list, now the #2. They've split four face-offs with in-state rival Orlando. And their best moment of the year might have been a Christmas Day defeat of the Los Angeles Lakers in L.A.
But that grand holiday moment is a distant memory now. The Heat led by 12 at one point in today's crushing 87-86 home court loss to Chicago, where Derrick Rose dumped 27 points on them and Luol Deng added 18. The Big Three combined for 63 points, led by James' 26, but this season has been a study in how stats-padding superstars don't always add up to big wins. The Bulls outscored the Heat 23-16 in the third quarter despite just 39 percent shooting by Chicago--five Miami turnovers no doubt contributed directly to the loss.
Superstar-laden teams are often villified, usually unfairly, by players and fans around the league: see New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Lakers, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, etc... The Heat have been no different, but now that they've proven the Big Three can play, and win, together, they need to prove that they can beat the best. After all, a crowd-pleasing declaration of "not one, not two, not three" championships can be a hard act to follow.
Back in July, LeBron James gave today's society one of its lasting plays on words when he said he was taking his talents to Miami, where he, perennial superstar D-Wade and free agent Toronto forward Chris Bosh were going to form an elite trio with championship-level ability. Right now, it's hard to say that James, Wade, Bosh, or anyone else's talents are the answer.
The Heat have lost four of their last five games, the one win an eight-point, Feb. 25 win over the lowly Washington Wizards, and the losses are tell-tale because the now-third-ranked Heat (#3 in the Eastern Conference behind the Boston Celtics and the Chicago Bulls) are 0-9 against the league's best four teams (Celtics, Bulls, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks).
There was a close loss (93-89) in Chicago to MVP favorite Derrick Rose and the Bulls on the 24th, the win over Washington at home the next day, the widely-viewed superstar bash with the Carmelo Anthony-Amare Stoudemire New York Knicks on Feb. 27 (which the Heat lost by 5). Then they blew a 24-point lead at home to the Orlando Magic, who are fourth in the Eastern Conference, on March 3. The next night they were disemboweled in San Antonio by the NBA's best team, who dealt them a 125-95 loss. And earlier today, Sunday, March 6, they suffered a crushing, one-point loss at home to the Bulls, against whom they are 0-3 this year.
Before the season began, the Big Three of Wade, James, and Bosh sent Miami fans into a frenzy, declaring that they would win "not one, not two, not three, not four, not five" world championships. The team scuffled early on as two guys (James and Wade) used to being the go-to guy learned to play together. Then they started rolling, losing only a single game in December (98-96, to the second-place-in-the-West Mavericks).
Their current 43-20 record is nothing to scoff at. LeBron James scored 51 points in a game against the Magic in mid-February, Dwayne Wade scored 40 points in consecutive games, and the entire Big Three made the Eastern Conference All-Star team, Wade and James as starters. Along the way, the Three have gotten big help from Mike Miller, Eddie House, the now-traded Carlos Arroyo, and newcomer Mike Bibby.
But with the season more than half over, and the playoff picture coming into focus, it's becoming clear that Miami has problems with any teams over .500, not just the league's best handful of teams. They have yet to beat #1 Boston in three tries, and add Chicago to that same list, now the #2. They've split four face-offs with in-state rival Orlando. And their best moment of the year might have been a Christmas Day defeat of the Los Angeles Lakers in L.A.
But that grand holiday moment is a distant memory now. The Heat led by 12 at one point in today's crushing 87-86 home court loss to Chicago, where Derrick Rose dumped 27 points on them and Luol Deng added 18. The Big Three combined for 63 points, led by James' 26, but this season has been a study in how stats-padding superstars don't always add up to big wins. The Bulls outscored the Heat 23-16 in the third quarter despite just 39 percent shooting by Chicago--five Miami turnovers no doubt contributed directly to the loss.
Superstar-laden teams are often villified, usually unfairly, by players and fans around the league: see New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Lakers, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, etc... The Heat have been no different, but now that they've proven the Big Three can play, and win, together, they need to prove that they can beat the best. After all, a crowd-pleasing declaration of "not one, not two, not three" championships can be a hard act to follow.
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