1) I have two words of advice of UofL fans, don't panic. Sure UConn came in on Monday night and absolutely destroyed UofL in Freedom Hall. Sure, no one besides T-Will could do anything in that game, but remember, it was just one game. Bad nights happen. Now, if UofL loses at St. John's, at Notre Dame, and against DePaul, then you can start panicing.
2) On Wednesday, IU beat Iowa 68-60 to gain their first Big Ten win of the season (6-15, 1-8). To say that Tom Crean has had a rough first season at IU would be an understatement, but this has not been unexpected. When Crean came into the program during the offseason, he did quite a bit of house cleaning. After the Mike Davis firing, and the Kelvin Sampson debacle, the program was in an awful predicament. However, I do have confidence that Crean will be able to restore IU to the type of program it used to be, and more importantly, I believe that the President and AD at IU understand the problem, and will give Crean time to do the job.
3) On Wednesday, LeBron James had a triple-double (52 points, 11 assits, 10 rebounds) against the Knicks in Madison Square Garden, following up on Kobe's record setting 61 points earlier in the week. Well, correction, no he didn't. On Friday, NBA officials took away one of his rebounds, and said that it should have gone to Ben Wallace. Stupid staticticians and their stupid counting.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Strikeout - 1/29/09
In attempt to motivate myself to update more, I am going to try to implement a new column series. Since I rarely have the time to write a long piece, these will be a series of 3 quick points regarding a particular sport, and will be titled as such. Baseball = Strikeout, football = 3 Point Stance, hockey = Hat Trick, and basketball = 3 Pointer.
1. Now, I have never been a big supporter of a salary cap in baseball, but during this off-season, the New York Yankees are making me believe something needs to be done. So far, they have spent over $441 million on free agents. The second place buyer is the Cubs at slightly over $87 million. The total expenditure of the other 29 teams is $557.2 million, with the mean being $19.2 million, and the median (#15 on the list) $11.55 million. To me, this represents a problem. While I still do not favor an overall salary cap (although I am leaning more in that direction every year), I do not think a cap on free agency expenditure is not unreasonable. Maybe set a per year limit so teams have to build gradually, or a 2-3 year average mark that forces teams to choose whether they want a slow build, or throw all of their eggs into one basket.
2. The Reds have not done a lot in the free agent market, but I do like the moves they have made. I think signing Willy Taveras was a good move. It gives them a decent lead-off hitter and fills an unsure centerfield. If he can have a season somewhere between his very good 2007 season and his poor 2008 season, the Reds will be in good shape.
3. It sucks that Detroit plays at St. Louis instead of at Cincinnati. Maybe I will be able to convince my Tigers fan friend to go to a game against the Indians or Royals so he can boo those division foes.
1. Now, I have never been a big supporter of a salary cap in baseball, but during this off-season, the New York Yankees are making me believe something needs to be done. So far, they have spent over $441 million on free agents. The second place buyer is the Cubs at slightly over $87 million. The total expenditure of the other 29 teams is $557.2 million, with the mean being $19.2 million, and the median (#15 on the list) $11.55 million. To me, this represents a problem. While I still do not favor an overall salary cap (although I am leaning more in that direction every year), I do not think a cap on free agency expenditure is not unreasonable. Maybe set a per year limit so teams have to build gradually, or a 2-3 year average mark that forces teams to choose whether they want a slow build, or throw all of their eggs into one basket.
2. The Reds have not done a lot in the free agent market, but I do like the moves they have made. I think signing Willy Taveras was a good move. It gives them a decent lead-off hitter and fills an unsure centerfield. If he can have a season somewhere between his very good 2007 season and his poor 2008 season, the Reds will be in good shape.
3. It sucks that Detroit plays at St. Louis instead of at Cincinnati. Maybe I will be able to convince my Tigers fan friend to go to a game against the Indians or Royals so he can boo those division foes.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
UofL vs UK, Basketball
UofL won this game 74-71, on a 30-foot 3-point shot by Edgar Sosa with 2.8 seconds remaining. The game was tied at 71 with 16 seconds left, after UofL gave up a 4 point lead on two Earl Clark turnovers. Meeks and Patterson had wonderful games for Kentucky. Any success UK is to see this season will hinge on the performance of these two players.
With UofL, the key to playing well is emotion. Specifically, the players emotional state of mind. Sosa is a great example of this. He's been in a slide ever since he missed what would have been the game-winning shot against Texas A&M in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Overall, his confidence was shaken, and he plays better if he is confident in what he is doing. He will have a good game if he can hit an early shot. If he does not, then usually he will have a bad game. Hopefully, this game-winning shot will last in his mind a while.
But Sosa is not the only player who's performance depends on his mindset. Clark and Samuels are also like this. Clarks shot has been off, and you can see it in his body language and his expression. Same thing with Samuels. There are times when he is having a difficult time adjusting to college ball. Now, this is not a critique of anyone's work ethic. I have not felt like any player has given up on a game.
Monday, December 15, 2008
It's Been A While
It has been a long while since I have updated this blog, but it is difficult to write on topics when the teams you are following absolutely stink.
- UofL football had an abysmal year, going 5-7. This 5-7 was reached after being 5-2 at one point in the season. Jurich is standing behind Kragthorpe, but I expect some changes to be made on the offensive side of things. Namely a change in Offensive Coordinators. Jeff Brohm is a fine Quarterbacks coach, but his offensive playcalling leaves something to be desired. On the defensive side of the ball, Ron English had greatly improved the defense, for most of the season. If they show nearly as much improvement next year, then the defense will be fine.
- The Cincinnati Bengals have had an even worse season, but thankfully not as bad as the Detroit Lions. The season has not been helped by the injury to Carson Palmer, but things were destined to be bad before the season began. You can't release two starters, an offensive lineman and running back, and expect things to go well on offense.
- Free agency signing is in full swing for the MLB, and it looks like the Yankees are trying to buy their way back into the playoffs, but what else would you expect. They have already signed A. J. Burnett, a starting pitcher rated as the fourth best player in free agency, and are in talks with C. C. Sabathia, the second rated player in free agency. The Reds have not had a lot of movement in the free agent market, but no key players are up for free agency this year.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Phillie Phanatic.......Terrorist
In this time of turmoil, coming across an article like this is always enjoyable. This story is proof that you cannot tell who is a possible terrorist by their looks. Tell me, does this......thing look like a terrorist?
Apparently, someone forgot to clean up their foil wrapped hot dogs after filming a commercial. Someone thought they looked suspicious, so the police department disposed of them. I know bomb scares are no laughing matter, but a police department blowing up hot dogs is pretty funny. And that night's game was not delayed.
Apparently, someone forgot to clean up their foil wrapped hot dogs after filming a commercial. Someone thought they looked suspicious, so the police department disposed of them. I know bomb scares are no laughing matter, but a police department blowing up hot dogs is pretty funny. And that night's game was not delayed.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Saturday Commentary: No Sport Is Boring
As I sit here and watch the morning foursomes at the Ryder Cup, watching the momentum of the matches swing back and forth, I wondered how people could possibly find this boring. But that got me thinking on the larger scale. What makes one think a particular sport is boring?
I believe one answer is the personality of person watching the sport. The type of person that needs constant action of some sort is not going to be entertained by a methodical sport such as golf. But likewise, someone that likes to take things slow may not be interested in a fast paced game of basketball. Also, the personality of the society plays an important role. Everyone around the world is interested in football, but for Americans, it is a different type of football than the rest of the world plays.
Another factor contributing to the judgment of boring is that people may simply not understand the what is involved in the sport. I use hockey as a good example of this. There is continuous action, but people complain that there is not enough scoring. However, a 28-21 game of football is comparable in scoring to a 4-3 game of hockey. Both would have the same number of scores, but more Americans grew up with football, and know the game better than they know hockey. So, that lack of knowledge about the sport affects their opinion on it. I believe this also happens with golf and soccer. People do not understand how much skill and effort is required to succeed, so they dismiss them.
Ultimately, I view someone declaring a sport boring the same way I view reviews. It is all opinion. So, when someone says that a sport is boring, all they are really saying is that they think that sport is boring.
I believe one answer is the personality of person watching the sport. The type of person that needs constant action of some sort is not going to be entertained by a methodical sport such as golf. But likewise, someone that likes to take things slow may not be interested in a fast paced game of basketball. Also, the personality of the society plays an important role. Everyone around the world is interested in football, but for Americans, it is a different type of football than the rest of the world plays.
Another factor contributing to the judgment of boring is that people may simply not understand the what is involved in the sport. I use hockey as a good example of this. There is continuous action, but people complain that there is not enough scoring. However, a 28-21 game of football is comparable in scoring to a 4-3 game of hockey. Both would have the same number of scores, but more Americans grew up with football, and know the game better than they know hockey. So, that lack of knowledge about the sport affects their opinion on it. I believe this also happens with golf and soccer. People do not understand how much skill and effort is required to succeed, so they dismiss them.
Ultimately, I view someone declaring a sport boring the same way I view reviews. It is all opinion. So, when someone says that a sport is boring, all they are really saying is that they think that sport is boring.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
UofL vs. Tenn. Tech, College Football Week 2
The looked much better in this 51-10 victory. Yes, the level of competition was not very high, no offense, but the execution was there. The Receivers were not dropping passes, thus allowing the running game to get open. If only they could have remembered how to catch against UK. Another change in the offense was that is seemed like Cantwell rolled out of the pocket more. This might have been a response to him have several balls tipped last week, or just a product of gameplanning against Tenn. Tech. Either way, it appears to have been successful.
Once again, the defense looked good. This defense is not getting fooled on plays, and is not missing tackles. With last year's defense, this game would have been much closer.
In other news, Ohio State did not look good without their starting running back. It could be a long day next week against USC if he is not healthy. Whoever threw the flag for excessive celebration against Washington should be slapped. It is unreasonable to expect a team that has been on hard times to not celebrate when they score a touchdown as time was expiring to give them a chance to tie the game with the extra point, against a ranked team. The penalty made a simple 20 yard field goal into a more difficult 35 yard field goal. BYU blocked the kick, and won the game by 1. A shorter field goal would have allowed the kicker to get under the ball more, and put more of an arc on it.
Once again, the defense looked good. This defense is not getting fooled on plays, and is not missing tackles. With last year's defense, this game would have been much closer.
In other news, Ohio State did not look good without their starting running back. It could be a long day next week against USC if he is not healthy. Whoever threw the flag for excessive celebration against Washington should be slapped. It is unreasonable to expect a team that has been on hard times to not celebrate when they score a touchdown as time was expiring to give them a chance to tie the game with the extra point, against a ranked team. The penalty made a simple 20 yard field goal into a more difficult 35 yard field goal. BYU blocked the kick, and won the game by 1. A shorter field goal would have allowed the kicker to get under the ball more, and put more of an arc on it.
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