Friday Morning Five-Pack

The weekend is almost here, so to get you prepared for what should be a nice little weekend of hoops, here are 5 pre-games shots to enjoy.

• The end of an era or a blip in the radar? That is what I am asking myself after seeing Gonzaga lose at home to St Mary's last night, bringing their conference record to 3-3 and their overall record to 13-8. At the beginning of the year my boy Nat told me this was the team that could do deep into the tournament because of their depth. When they lost some of their early out-of-conference games to highly ranked teams (SDSU, K-St, Notre Dame, Illinois), I figured they were just starting slow. But then losses to Santa Clara and San Francisco sounded the alarm. With an RPI above 60, they might just need to win the WCC Tournament if they want to avoid missing the tournament for the first time since 1998.
• So let's talk JerseyShore. First off, it just saddens me that Sammi, the one original cast member actually from Jersey, is the worst character on the show. I can handle her being a bitch, but can she do something besides simply lying around in bed? Second, the show has definitely morphed over the two years, as now the cast are straight-up celebrities. The girls and guys they bring home aren't necessarily interested in them, but rather want to be the ones to score with Snoooki or Vinny. And what is up with Situation? Has the celebrity really gone to his head? I'm not sure I have seen him all season. Finally, news spread yesterday that their next season will be taped in Italy. Say that again - the cast of Jersey Shore is going to Italy next year. I am soo stoked because it is going to be a train wreck. The fact is that this whole Jersey Guido/Gorilla Juicehead culture that they have helped spark is not an Italian thing. They are going to be way over their heads with the culture shock. AND I don't think any of them can speak a lick of Italian.
• The NHL All-Star game is this weekend and in case you hadn't heard, they are trying out a new format this year. Instead of East-West or North America-World, they have selected two captains who then get to pick their teams. It is an awesome idea that is a tribute to how sports are played by children all around this country. I think it is a great idea, but I have two minor complaints. 1 - Instead of having a live draft on Friday night, how about you take everyone's sticks, throw them into a pile and blindly select them one at a time? 2 - The chosen captains, Nicklas Lidstrom and Eric Staal, don't exactly reak of excitement. I understand why they chose those two, but they could have done better.
• Thanks to my boys at the page 2 podcast who alerted me to the fact that Packers NT BJ Radji is actually bigger now than William 'The Refrigerator' Perry was during his hey-day. It's a pretty amazing concept when you think about it because the Fridge was considered this novelty because of how big he was. We had never seen a man this big be good at sports and naturally the nation took to him. Fast forward 25 years and huge football players are now the norm. Our country is getting bigger every year and while I will be the first to laugh at a 'fat man doing a fat man dance', it's a very disturbing trend.
• Finally, let's talk about Jimmer Fredette. The guy can simply make buckets. His range is out of the gym good and he appears to be loved by all his teammates, not to mention all the media. I got to watch the last 5 minutes of the SDSU-BYU game and I was able to come to the conclusion that he is the real deal. Most people are now trying to decide whether he can make it in the NBA and who he reminds them of. Instead of jumping forward to the NBA, though, I would like to stay in the present and talk about the prospects of this BYU team. They are 19-1 and are the top rated RPI team. Their best wins are over SDSU, Arizona, St Mary's and UNLV while their lone loss was to UCLA. The Mountain West is undoubtedly up this year, but their out of conference schedule did not exactly set the world on fire. I worry that a physical team from the Big East of Big 10 might present match-up problems for them. I also worry whether the rest of the team will be able to contribute anything from the field. It was an amazing display by Jimmer the other night, but lost was the fact that the rest of the team scored 28 points on 11-32 shooting. I know that on the season they are 6th in the country in the scoring (84.5) points, but against the best team on their schedule, his teammates were no where to be found.
  

Excited for the Sounders

It's been 81 days since we last saw the rave and green play and I am itching for the new season to start. March 15 is the magical date - the home opener on ESPN against LA. It's still 46 days away and I just want it to be here already.

Since it's still a ways in the distance all I have is the regular reports from Tony Ventrella and Matt Gaschk on the first few days of training. It's not ideal, but it is still exciting. I am really excited by all the possibilities that this season might bring. Coming into last year, some experts declared the Sounders to be the pre-season favorites to win the MLS title while others predicted a second year collapse.

We all know how it went down. The season started off on a positive note but quickly went sour after that. They sat in last place with a 4-8-2 record in May. They then climbed out the hole and made the playoffs for the second straight year. It was a nice accomplishment, but they then flamed out for the second year in a row, scoring only 1 goal in 180 minutes. It has left fans, players and management wanting more. Listen to Sigi's comments and one thing is apparent - this has to be the year they win MLS Cup or things will have to change.

I definitely respect the line they are taking. Making the playoffs is nice, but it is not the ultimate goal. I love our core - I love Keller, Alonso, Montero, Zakuani, Hurtado, Ianni and Evans. Hell I love them all. BUT we can't get complacent if we are not getting the job done.

Now that the tough talk is out of the way, I want to again stress how excited I am. The best thing about pre-season camp is that anything is possible. Fredy Montero might win the scoring title. Kasey Keller might go out on top. Ozzie Alonso might win MVP. Roger Levesque and Mike Fucito might tally a combined 10 goals. An unknown camp invitee might make the team and exceed all expectations.

Right now, the most interesting part of camp is seeing what new faces are able to make the team. I am assuming that our second round pick Michael Tetteh will not only make the team but will be challenging Leo Gonzalez for playing time by the end of the season. With the news that Julien Baudet won't be signing with the Sounders, I am also assuming that rookie Leone Cruz will be making the team. After that, it is a crap shoot. We have two rookie goalies - Bryan Meredith and Josh Ford - in camp. We have three other rookies - Servando Carrasco, Alex Caskey and Corey Attaway - plus some random trialists whose names I don't even know. Some are going to be cut early. Others might stick around for a little while. A lucky few might be the next diamond in the rough ala Mike Fucito and Mike Seamon. Whatever the final result, I am excited by the possibilities that the new faces my bring. Anything is possible.

My Gas-Station Epiphany

The other night while I lay in bed, I saw an infomercial for an exercise dvd. The routine itself was nothing special, but the salesman said something that has been on my mind for a few days now. He said that humans are the only mammals that worry about aging. While all other mammals worry about their next meal, we are left to ponder our mortality as we grow older.

Recently I have been having a lot of thoughts about my own mortality. What would happen to my family if I was no longer around? Would they have to move out of the house? Would my daughter have any memories of me? How would my wife cope? It's a depressing thing to think about, but I'm not overly concerned - I think it just goes along with having a family that depends on you. It goes along with getting older and being scared of losing everything.

I can handle those thoughts. Where I am starting to struggle is with the aging of my body. I am still playing soccer a few days a week. One of my teams is a competitive men's league team, the other an over-30 men's team just for fun. I feel like I still have a few years of competitive soccer in my gas tank. I will never be the player with the best skills but I am finally smart enough to make up for it. I know how much my body can take when competing against 25-year olds in soccer. I know how to conserve energy and I know my limitations. The funny thing is that I actually play worse in leagues where I have more time and often more skill than most of the players on the field. I sprint more. I dribble move. I turn the ball over more. I no longer play to my abilities and at the end of the night, I'm totally drained. Recently I was even wheezing after my over-30 league. It was a depressing feeling.

But no where is my age catching up to me more than on the basketball court. While I was an undergrad I was in amazing shape. I could stay on the court all night. I was lucky to have such good friends who happened to be great basketball players - I could go about my job setting screens, grabbing offensive rebounds and playing mad defense. My motor never stopped. Then I came to UW and starting playing some IM basketball with the guys in my department. We were terrible but I never particularly felt like I was the problem. We simply did not have more than 3 ballers in the whole department. We lost a lot. And by large amounts. Still, even in defeat I would use my fouls and let the other team that they couldn't just get away with pressing us when they were up by 40. It was stupid, but I was too proud.

I took last season off, but was really excited to come back this season. I am in fairly good shape these days thanks to Effin Tony Horton and our team is much better than in years past. My mind is clear and I am having a good time. This in spite of shooting about 10% from the field and being unable to bring the ball over midcourt even though I am the secondary ballhandling option. Just the other day I wondered how I played 25 minutes and yet contributed nothing. Last night, while pumping my gas at Chevron, I came to a startling realization - I simply am no longer a good player. It's not that I lost my skill (I really never had any), it's that I don't have the juice in me to dive on the floor, to move my feet on defense, to run downcourt on any turnover. I just don't do it anymore. Instead, I am trying to show my worth by taking charges.

The team we played last night was like many graduate school IM teams - alpha males in their early 20's who sole goal in life is to be better than you. They drive fancy cars and because their daddies ignored them when they were kids, they are out to prove to the world how great they are. Last night we started off really well and were actually winning 12-3 at one point. The next time I looked we were down 26-16. They simply cranked up the defense and forced us into turnover after turnover. Now at that point, I assume they are going to step down the intensity and just cruise in the second half. As always I was wrong. These guys want to pour on the points in order to feel good about themselves. They get fired up when they perceive that one of their opponents has thrown an elbow, threatening my teammate if he does it again. And of course, they are still double-teaming on defense. The kid that was guarding me in my grill so much that I could hear him breathing. The kid had no talent and it pissed me off that I couldn't handle his pressure. I realized then that I used to be that kid and my college friends were just like the team we were playing against. I used to make up for my lack of talent by getting in opponent's grills. They used to run the court and score at will.

I simply don't have it anymore. I don't have the desire to work hard and I don't have the mental fortitude to put up with the trash-talking. Both physically and mentally I'm old. Not only does it takes me a few days for my body to recover, but it takes my brain a few days to recover as well. There was an a-hole that we played against in our over-30 league the other night that accused us of being 10-year olds and then yelled at our PK taker as he approached the ball. His team was up 6-2 at that point. I honestly have not stopped thinking about it since. Same goes for last night's basketball game - again I have so many things to say to those guys. I just can't seem to get over it.

The good news is that besides the trash-talking and the running up of scores, I am having a good time playing bball again. Games are late enough so I can put my daughter to bed and be there by gametime. I honestly am not that upset with my gas-station revelation that my best basketball days are behind me.

What I am afraid of is what will happen when I realize I can't remain competitive in soccer. Will I know when that day comes? If so, will I be able to step back and play only for fun? Will over-30 leagues be good enough to quench my competitive appetite? If not, will I transfer my competitiveness to my daughter? Will I be able to find other activities to keep me active?

Getting old sucks. I have been blessed all these years to have avoided a major injury. I am blessed to have a family that allows me to continue playing soccer and basketball. At some point I am going to have to stop playing competitively and stay in shape by working out in my 'home gym'. The problem is that I have no say in when that will be. Unlike with job, where I am getting better on a daily basis, my athletic prowess is slowly slipping away. By the time I am 55 I'll be at my peak professionally,but I probably won't be able to run the length of a soccer field. I have always chuckled at my dad when he says that youth is wasted on the young, but I am starting to see that it's the truth. And it's a sucky thing to realize.

Getting Excited for the Pro Bowl

Now that the conference championship games are out of the way, we can finally focus on the most important game of the year: the NFL Pro Bowl. Ok, ok, that is a bold faced lie. The NFL Pro Bowl is terrible and is the worst of all the sports' All-Star games. I'm not necessarily a fan of those in the MLB, NHL or the NBA, but at least those don't represent a compromise in the sport's integrity. To me it's all about how much effort the guys give in the game and if not high, then at least, how much of a showcase the game is.

In baseball, players can go all out, with only beaning, taking out fielders and prolonged pitching outings against the unwritten riles. With homefield advantage on the line (not to mention the recent domination by the AL), players can go all give maximum effort without hurting themselves. In the NHL and the NBA, the players don't foul and they don't play defense. On the surface that doesn't sound ideal, but what makes them different is the overall creativity that can be displayed. Anyone who has played either sport as a youth can remember trying trick shots on the playground (or frozen lake). It is part of the fabric of the game and as All-Stars - players can put on a showcase of tricks that they would only ever try in practice.

But football? The foundation of the game is violence yet no one wants to get hurt in a mere exhibition game. When you take away the physicality you hurt the game. And it's not like they are going to try trick plays to spice things up (although they should - see below). It just isn't the same.

Now as I write this column, I can honestly say that I have not read any pieces this year on how to change the Pro Bowl. I don't remember reading anything in the past and only remember some elements of Simmons' piece on the NBA All-Star game from a few years ago. I have only discussed this with my boys D-Lib and J-Will over pizza. With that being said, here are a few modest proposals on how to make the Pro Bowl relevant.

1. I call this the Williams Plan as my buddy noted that to make the game better you need to rev up the competitive juices in the players. To do this, he suggested having a rookie team and a veteran team, knowing that the rookies would be happy to be there and just cocky enough to think they could win. On the other hand, the veterans would NOT want to lose to the same bunch that they hazed just a few months ago. You know that Ray Lewis would love to get his hands on Sam Bradford. And you know that there is some unknown rookie who wants to make a name for himself at the expense of a seasoned veteran.
2. I call this the Intramural Plan as instead of having only 2 teams, you make 8 teams of 8 players and hold a 7v7 tournament. You could elect 8 QB's to act as the captains of their teams and select any players they want. You play width-wise across the field and you must always have a two-man line. I think this could definitely work as being the champion of an 8-team tournament is much more exciting than winning a meaningless game with teammates that you don't choose. And if you want to cut down the injuries, you could make it a flag-football game and play 40 minute games with a running clock.
3. I call this the College Plan as we get two of the most innovative college coaches, say Chip Kelly and Chris Peterson, to lead the individual teams. In doing so, they can implement a basic version of the spread or wishbone offense - something most NFL fans will never see. And it can be required that each team attempts 2-4 gadget plays a game, just to spice things up. You're telling me that you wouldn't watch Michael Vick running a spread offense with Adrian Peterson, Roddy White, Calvin Johnson, DeSean Jackson and Larry Fitzgerald on the field at once? It would be dynamite and a welcome step away from the vanilla play calling you will see.
4. I call this the How Has This Not Happened Yet? Plan because it is the easiest one to implement. Instead of just a meaningless game, turn the whole weekend into a spectacle, ala the NBA and NHL All-Star Weekends. When I was younger, I used to love watching the QB Competitions in Hawaii. You might remember the moving targets that they had to hit or the longest throw competition. They were great. Well, bring them back and put them in Pro Bowl Weekend. Then add in some other events like a kicking competition, a fastest man competition and a weight lifting competition. Hell, you could even try a touchdown celebration competition. I know the players would buy into this because they are competitive freaks who want bragging rights. Again, would you not watch a 40-yard sprint between DeSean Jackson and Chris Johnson?
5. Now if the NFL is not willing to go entirely radical, here are a final few minor suggestions they could try. First, they could encourage more offensive creativity by going with CFL rules and only 3 downs. Or they could require teams to go for it on 4th down instead of punting. Or they could split the teams up in a way that allow for more competition - maybe by collegiate conference (SEC + ACC vs Big 12 + Big 10) or simply have two captains pick the teams like what the NHL is trying this year. Or how about giving a lot of bonus money to the winning team? I'm sure the NFLPA would put the kibbosh on that, but it's probably the #1 way to get the guys to try.
   

I would love to hear your ideas - I'm sure there are some obvious one's that I missed. And if you are going to watch the game on Sunday night, I have only one thing to say - dude, get out of the house more.

Monday Morning Five-Pack

If you're like me, you got a case of the Monday's today. So to help, here is a Monday morning five pack of sports goodness. Hope you enjoy.

• What has gotten into the Devils? They are not 6-0-1 in their last seven, having outscored opponents 28-13. They have pulled themselves into a tie for last in the league with the Oilers are are only two points behind the 14th place Islanders in the East. I said I would start believing if they beat the Flyers on Saturday. Well, they did. And then they beat Florida. I'm ready to go into 100% hope mode, but they remain 20 points out of the playoffs. That is ridiculous. So if they beat Detroit on Wednesday, I'll start to believe.
• Since Mikhail Prokhorov officially called off the negotiations with Denver, the Nets are 2-1 (and would be 3-0 if not a one point loss to Dallas). I'm not naive enough to say the loss of the distractions are the only reason for the improved play, but it definitely has to be part of the reason. Also contributing is the resurgence of Brook Lopez, the return of Anthony Morrow from injury and some straight-up stability. After tinkering with the lineup for a good part of two months, it seems like Avery Johnson finally has settled on his rotation.
• I unfortunately did not watch one down of either conference championship games Sunday and I'm not sure that I will be able to give any sort of breakdown of SB45. What I can say though, is that the match-up is all that we could have hoped for. I know that won't go over well with Seahawks fans, but having the Steelers face the Packers is perfect. You have the NFC/NFL's most successful team, the 12-time champion Packers against the 6-time Super Bowl Champion Steelers. It's like the NFL version of Celtics-Lakers or Canadians-Red Wings. I am super stoked.
• My college basketball teams continue to roll. The Huskies eked out a tough win against a gritty ASU team in a game that past teams may have gotten tripped up by. If they want to finish the conference with 1-3 losses and improve their seeding, they need to win games like this. Bucknell on the other hand improved to 4-0 in the Patriot League but actually saw their RPI drop because of how poor Colgate is this year (330+ in RPI). I am sold on us winning the regular season crown, but terrified that we might somehow get upset in the PL tourney.
• Finally, a word on my favorite soccer player, Clint Dempsey. Some of you may be aware that I met Clint at an airport in 2005 as he was on his way back to the Revolution after being cut from National team camp. He was a totally cool dude who didn't tell me to get lost when I approached him. I have been a big fan ever since. Anyways, the dude is the best American playing in the EPL. He has already become a Craven Cottage legend for his relegation saving goal against Liverpool in 2007 and his miracle goal against Juverntus in 2010. Every year time the Fulham is nearing relegation, he is there to save him. The dude just kills it. With rumors of a Liverpool transfer undying, Clint went out and scored two against Stoke City on Saturday - including one PK, a spot where very few Americans have ever scored from in the EPL. I'm not sure whether I want him to go to Liverpool. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with Liverpool, I just don't want him to get stuck on a bench. Sure, they are less likely to get relegated in the next five years, but he has a good thing going right now.
  

Huskies Pull Away in Second Half

Going into last night's game against Arizona I had this feeling that Huskies were going to come out and punch the Wildcats in the face early and often. I wasn't sold on 'Zona being our main rival for the Pac-10 crown, but as records go, they were the only other 1-loss team in the conference. So I was a little shocked when I turned on the game in the second half and the dawgs were only up by one, 45-44. I'm not sure how the game had played out so far, but I figured that either 'Zona was better than expected or we were simply not executing well.

That all changed around the 14 minute mark when Matthew Bryan-Amaning was fouled hard on a breakaway. It seemed to charge up the team and really get the crowd into it (not to mention, it led to the strangest moment of the game when Isaiah Thomas "mistakenly" took the foul shots intended for MBA). Over the next six minutes, the Huskies opened their lead from 3 points to 9 points and the result was never in doubt. The thing that I took from the game is how balanced they are. MBA took over the game for a few minutes. Then Isaiah. Then Venoy on two consecutive plays. Then Holliday. It really was a team effort -this current team is not relying on one player like they have in the past several years (Q-Pon, Brockman, Roy). That is an major asset come tournament time when defenses will surely be tighter.

The play of the game for my vantage point was when Isaiah Thomas dove out of bounds to save a blocked shot, got up, ran down the court, drove the lane and found Holliday for a wide-open three. He appears to be having a lot of fun and really has taken on the role of point guard following Gaddy's injury. It's almost as if a light bulb went off in his head telling him that the Huskies are a better team when he is creating shots for others. I am loving how he is playing and loving this team in general (along with Bucknell, they are part of my my current love triangle).

Final stats from the game:
PTS - Thomas 22, Holliday 22, MBA 18, Ross 8, Venoy 7
Reb - N'Diaye 8, MBA 7
Assists - Thomas 10
3-pt FG% - 30.4%
FT % - 65.4 (it remains a big key, year after year)

Buying Into the Mets

Something strange is happening...I am starting to get really excited for the upcoming Mets season. Maybe it's because I have lowered my expectations. Maybe it's because we have hit rock bottom. Maybe I am just tired of the Devils and Nets sucking. Whatever the reason, I am starting to talk myself into being excited. Let's count the ways.

• I am starting to talk myself into Terry Collins. Listen to any of the players and they all rave about him. They all talk about his leadership. They all talk about his discipline. After five years of Charlie Manuel and Willie Randolph, he might actually be a good fit (well, for a few years before he alienates everyone).
• I am starting to talk myself into comeback years for Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes and Jason Bay. Beltran and Reyes are not far removed from being two of baseball's top players and are both free agents at the end of the year - they NEED to have huge years if they want to get paid. As for Bay, he is too good not to rebound, right?
• I am starting to talk myself into the free agent signings. I think I love the one-year deal they gave Chris Young. He is a flyball pitcher who is perfect for our ballpark and will be extra motivated to pitch well in order to get a long term contract in the offseason. Same goes for Taylor Bucholz and Chris Capuano. I may not be in favor of one-year deals moving forward with this team, but for now, while we are trying to tear down the foundation in order to rebuild it again, it is perfect.
• I am starting to talk myself into the pitching staff not being terrible. Mike Pelfrey may not be the ideal opening day starter and RA Dickey may not be an ideal #2 starter, but both have good to great stuff and can possibly win 13-15 games. Add in an improving Jon Niese and Dillon Gee, I think there is tons of upside to the staff (and don't forget that we get Johan back mid-season).
• I am starting to talk myself into a good bullpen. Alderson and Collins do not believe in penciling pitchers into specific roles, but they have been acquiring arms that can do anything. I have to believe that Collins handles the bullpen better than Manual last year.
• I don't need to talk myself into Wright, Ike and Thole. I love them.
• Finally, I am starting to talk myself into the Phils not being as good as everyone says. I was the first to say that their staff was unhittable, but their bullpen is not very good and their offense is getting older by the day. I know this might be the most ridiculous thing to talk myself into, but hey, I need to talk myself into something...

Pitchers and catcher haven't even reported and I am already pumping myself...for the inevitable letdown. Let's Go Mets Go.

'Melo-Drama Over

Nets Owner Mikhail Prokhorov heard the pleas of Nets fans everywhere and finally put an end to the Carmelo trade rumors when he instructed Gm Billy King to pull out of all discussions with the Nuggets. He then went and canceled his meeting with Carmelo scheduled for last in the week. Folks, it seems that this deal is finally dead. And I for one, couldn't be happier.

It's not that I didn't want Carmelo. It's just that trading for Carmelo is like scratching poison ivy. It feels really good at first, but when you're done, you're in no better place than you started. Really, you should have just left it alone from the start.

I decided not to talk about the trade rumors until something concrete happened. My objection was simply to stay level headed and not let all the excitement go to my head. Some people might not rate Carmelo as a top 10 player, but there is no doubt that by acquiring him, the Nets would have gained instant credibility. They would have the score-at-will player they are sorely missing. They would have a local product to build the team around. They would have had another piece in their growing collection of WAG's. The possibilities were endless (did you hear the one about the secret handshake that would bring Chris Paul to Brooklyn in 2012?).

Acquiring Carmelo would have been like scratching an itch. Damn it feels good. But then you're done and realize the team would be no better off. Let's actually digest the proposed trade. The Nets were going to get 'Melo and Chauncey Billups from Denver and Richard Hamilton from Detroit. Billups made it be known in the press that he would ask for a buyout and not play for NJ - so really it would be Melo and Rip. I don't know how many of you have seen Rip lately, but he looks done. So really it was all about Carmelo. In return, the nets would send Troy Murphy and Johan Petro to Detroit and Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, Anthony Morrow, Stephen Graham, Ben Uzoh and at least 2 first round draft picks to Denver. At the end of the day that would leave only Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries, Jordan Farmar, Travis Outlaw, Sasha Vujacic and 2 scrubs as the only Nets to remain with the team.

They would essentially be gutting their team and losing their salary cap flexibility to sign 'Melo for 3 years and Rip's skeleton for 2 years. I'm sorry, but maybe the lineup of Melo-Lopez-Humphries-Farmar-Hamilton could make the 8 seed in the East, but that's as far as they could go. That would be their ceiling. And then 'Melo would leave after 3 years.

The thing that the media kept striking out on was Carmelo's clear lack of interest in playing in NJ. People were saying that Prokhorov and Nets management could talk him into signing an extension. They could sell NJ/Brooklyn as the place to play. There was tons of optimism, but it was all unfounded. Carmelo consistently said how he wanted to play for the Knicks. If he wanted to go to the Nets, he would have said something by now. To me, his silence was deafening. I know he was never coming to NJ. And you know what, that's fine.

My problem was that he kept it dragging on too long. I don't know if he was playing the Nuggets. I don't know if he is just dumb, but the fact remains that he handled the situation all wrong. And not only did it affect his play, but it hurt the Nets too. This isn't a team that was going to make the playoffs...and I know they only won 12 games last year, but a 11-31 record to me is a major disappointment. They have been in many games and clearly should have 15-17 wins right now. Now that all the trade talk is over, Harris and Favors can quit being distracted and instead help us win some ball games.

I looked at their schedule and in their first 41 games, their opponents win percentage was 52.7%. This included two games against Miami, Lakers, Orlando, Boston and Chicago. In their last 41 games, their opponent's win percentage is 48.9%, which is being skewed upwards up by two games against San Antonio and Boston. In fact, they have another game against Detroit, Cleveland, Philly, Minnesota, two against Milwaukee and three against Toronto. The level of competition definitely goes down over the last half, so much so that I don't think 16-18 wins out of 41 games is out of the question.

So yeah, we didn't get Carmelo. We still have some bad contracts (looking at you Travis Outlaw). The 2011 free agent class isn't very strong. But we still have flexibility and an owner who is willing to think creatively (not sure Billy King can, but I believe in Prokhorov) to improve this team. If Favors can develop into the player most think he can be and if they are able to get some luck in the upcoming draft, they might be able to contend in a few years. With Carmelo, fist round exits would have been the best case scenario.

NBA's Most Funnest Teams

In what might be a huge surprise to some, there apparently wasn't enough support given to the idea of having a 12-win team on national tv in 2010-11. As a result, I don't get to see my Nets at all. However, being on the West Coast gives me the awesome opportunity to watch some really fun teams without having to stay up to 2am. My buddy Gorman was shocked to hear that I enjoy watching teams like the Suns and the Warriors considering they don't play a lick of defense, a staple of college-age Schmicker. Now while I do enjoy my share of fundamentals and defense, the 80-78 games involving the early 2000 Pistons made me want to gauge my eyes out. Just because I am not skilled enough to score at will and just because all I can do is set screens, box out and get on the floor doesn't mean I want to watch a pro team do it.

In railing on the Seahawks recently, I said that they were uninteresting and someone I didn't care to watch. Since this went over so well, I thought I should take the time to list the 2011 NBA Teams I Find Most Interesting to Watch (TIFMIW) and the reasons why. A basic premise is as follows: is this a team I am willing to watch take on a boring team like Detroit or Cleveland?

1. Miami Heat - LeBron. Wade. Killing the hopes and dreams of opposing crowds.
2. LA Clippers - Two words: Blake Griffin. Enough said.
3. OKC - Look, I'm a transplant so my allegiance to the old Sonics isn't as strong as others. the chance to see not only Durant but also Westbrook is too good to pass up
4. NY Knicks - As a Nets fans I'm not supposed to admit this, but I enjoy watching the Knicks all of a sudden. You can single handedly thanks Amare for that - I have always thought he was a freak.
5. San Antonio - Love the fundamentals. Love Popovich. Not bored by Manu or Timmay
6. Golden St. - No defense + Stephen curry + Monta Ellis = 48 minutes of fun
7. Utah - Not sure what it is, but really like Deron Williams. Would be higher if not for AK47's new hairdo
8. Chicago - Derrick Rose is quickly becoming the best point guard in the league
9. Minnesota - They definitely aren't any good, but I can't pass up an opportunity to see Kevin Love pull down 20boards in a game (he's done it 7 times already)
10. Dallas - Not a huge fan of Shawn Marion or even Jason Terry, but Dirk and aging Jason Kidd are good for at least one highlight a night

So who is a shocking omission from this list? Has to be Portland and Phoenix, two teams that at one point made my dream match-up. But then the Suns killed their team and made Steve Nash play next to Hakim Warrick, Marcin Gortat and Vince Carter. Meanwhile, Brandon Roy lost all the cartilage in his knee and in the process, Portland lost all their excitement.

Who are the teams Jonesing to get on this list?
Orlando - Always good for something, whether it be from J-Rich or Stan Van Gundy's wardrobe.
Milwaukee - Simply to see if Brockman gets any minutes
Boston - Definitely a subjective decision on my part, but I just can't get up for anyone on this team besides Rondo (Which is a shame because they are damn good)
LA Lakers- I hate Kobe, but they are at least fun to root against. And they play some nice basketball from time to time.


Meanwhile, the list of most uninteresting/least exciting teams are as follows (and no, their names do not deserve boldface):
30. Cleveland -Just everything is sad about this franchise
29. Detroit - Maybe they are punished for past discretions, but wow is this a boring team
28. Philadelphia - Occasionally Elton Brand may have a nice game, but does anyone come home from a Sixers game raving about how fun it was?
27. Sacramento - Sorry Jason, but I can't find anything fun with Sac-town these days. Maybe if they take Cousins off the meds...then just maybe
26. Toronto - Interestingly enough, this isn't a Euroleague team but an NBA. Who knew?

Statline of the Night

Tonight the UW Department of Biostatistics took on the UW School of Law. As is always the case when we play the Law, Dental or Med Schools, we took a whoopin. Fortunately this time the guys weren't dicks so we walked off the court without any major confrontations. Anyways, enough about that - tonight's statline is a two-parter

1. We were held scoreless in the second half (yes, we scored 0 points after halftime) in a 41-15 defeat
2. In 25 minutes I had 0 points, 0 boards, 0 assists, 2 fouls and 1 turnover. I'm not entirely sure what I was doing on the court for those 25 minutes but I certainly contributed nothing.
   

Tuesday Morning Five-Pack

Frequent readers of this blog should be prepared for a steady dose of Bucknell and UW hoops in the coming months. In any normal year combined 8-1 conference records would be enough to talk about...add in how terrible 2010 was as a sports year for me and I am completely drinking the cool-aid. They lead off this week's five pack.

• My buddy Tim has had Bison season tickets for the past few years. At halftime he sent me this report...Up 9 at half. Offense runs every set within first 15-18 seconds of the shot clock. The motion offense is a thing of beauty. Bryson Johnson is the next Bettencourt. He is the first guy since KB who can get his shot off anytime he wants. Very quick trigger. Muscala is an offensive force but also a defensive liability. He needs to get stronger on the boards. Also, defense as a whole is a bit weak, but that's consistent with the Dave Paulsen era. The guy knows good O.
  I personally was unable to watch the game live on the CBS College Sports because of the Seahawks game, but I was able to catch multiple replays. I will give Holy Cross some credit - they battled back from a 13 point deficit to tie the game with less than 30 seconds left, but in the end, the Bison were victorious. My thoughts from watching on tv are the same as last week - Mike Muscala (18pts, 15 reb) cannot be stopped. Even on the last play of the game when every person knew who the ball was going to, he was able to get open and drain a shot for the win. I have been trying not to say this, but combined with Sophomore's Joe Willman and Bryson Johnson and Senior guard Daryl Shazier, this team reminds me a LOT of a certain squad that beat Kansas and came back the next year to beat Arkansas. I am absolutely stoked about where this could be headed.
• It's been a rough couple of weeks for the Huskies. Abdul Gaddy was lost for the season. The Seattle PD started an investigation on an still unnamed player on charges of sexual assault. Then they went down to Stanford and were upset in a terribly uninspiring game. Needless to say, I was interested to see how they would respond against Cal on Sunday. Would the Cardinal simply be a hiccup or the start of a rough patch...well, the answer was never in doubt as the Huskies simply rolled the Golden Bears by 21. Isaiah Thomas was amazing, dishing a career high 13 assists to go along with 27 points. Justin Holliday and Matthew Bryan-Amaning combined for an additional 45 points. They are so deep and if they get the game to their tempo, I'm not sure there is a team that can beat them.
• So the Devils went back to their losing ways on Saturday with a 3-2 OT loss to Florida, but then turned around and put another 5-spot on the board in a 5-2 win over the Islanders. That is now 18 goals in 4 games - a nice little stretch for a team that was averagin 1.8 goals a game. I was kidding the other day when I said they could make the playoffs, but if they can get two more wins in a row I will start to possibly believe it.
  
• No disrespect meant to the Seahawks - they put on a great show - but really can you get any better than Chicago-Green Bay in the NFC Championship game? Packers-Bears is the biggest NFL rivalry period and while they have played each other in the regular season well over 100 times, amazingly they have not played in the playoffs since the 1940's. I have been on the Packers bandwagon all season, but am shocked that the Bears are currently home dogs - that has to lead to a "No respect" game, right? On the other side of things, New York-Pittsburgh is a really interesting match-up that I think the Steelers will win. I'm sure the NFL is hoping for the ratings bonanza that would be Chicago-New York, but I think Pittsburgh-Green Bay would be just as amazing.
• I have been deliberately holding back on the Carmelo trade rumors because I refuse to believe he is coming to NJ until I actually see him and LaLa sitting in front of a Nets backdrop, wearing the gray and red. It has finally come to a point though where I have to say something. Carmelo, please, please just make a decision. Your Indecision is starting to drive me crazy. If you don't want to come to NJ, come out and say so. Don't keep waffling. Don't meet with Mikhail. Just say so and we will move on. Look, the Nets aren't a good team right now. We need Devin Harris, Brook Lopez, Derrick Favors and either Travis Outlaw/Anthony Morrow to be ON everynight in order to win. We cannot handle distractions right now. And even though I'm not in the lockerroom, I have to assume that Harris is distracted by the off the court stuff. He just isn't himself, which is a shame because the Nets are 7-4 when he scores more than 20 and 3-24 when he doesn't. Simply put, if Carmelo isn't coming, he needs to let us know so we can go on with our business.
  

Finally, I just want to say that Blake Griffin should be in the All-Star game. I think most people are focusing on his dunks, but the fact remains that he is averaging 22.5 pts and 12.8 boards a game and is starting to change the culture of the Clippers as a rookie. And while we're at it, rebounding leader Kevin Love (21.1 pts, 15.7 boards a game) should also be there, regardless of the T-wolves record.

Holy Crap!

The Devils not only won their second game in a row, but they did so by scoring 5 goals again! In past seasons this would not have been a big deal, but as we have said before, they suck this year. So how out of character were the 6-3 and 5-2 wins over Tampa Bay? Well, let's take a look at some facts.

• The team had only scored 5 goals on two other occasions this year and are on only their second winning streak (>1 win in a row) of the season
• They now have 83 goals on the year which means the past two games accounted for 13.3% (!!) of their goals this season
  
• They won on the road for only the 5th time all season
• Even with the 11 goal outburst and back-to-back wins they remain last in the NHL goals (18 behind the Islanders) and last in points (7 behind the Islanders)

Ok, so enough of the bring me down. Let's talk positives. Last year, 88 points was good enough for 8th place in the East. Assuming a similar number makes it this year, that means the Devs need 62 points out of their final 39 games. That's something like a 31-8-0 record...TOTALLY possible right? I mean, they have won two in a row...

Sounders Add Some Depth

Today was an exciting day for the Sounders as they welcomed 5 new members to the family. They entered the day with 5 total draft picks including the 11th overall pick. Most experts expected them to go with a goalkeeper such as Zac MacMath or a creative midfielder with their first pick. After MacMath was selected 5th by Philly (not really sure what is going on with the Union - they are going through goalies like my kid goes through pants), the Sounders decided to trade down. Shockingly, their trade partner was the hated Portland Timbers, which for management is no problem, but for fans is a little hard to swallow. Anyways, we traded the 11th pick and an international roster spot for the 20th overall pick and allocation money. Thanks to the good folks at gosounders.com, I learned what exactly this means...apparently allocation money can be applied to bring down salaries on new signings or for transfer fees. It is a way to get provide cap relief but cannot be used on current salaries. While we don't exactly know the specifics, we do know that they are hurting for cap space, so receiving some allocation money will be huge. (For those interested, Portland then traded the 11th pick to Houston for allocation money which means that they essentially traded their second round pick for an international slot).

When I left the draft to put my daughter down for her nap, I was left to dream of who we might get with our back to back picks at 20 and 21. My hopes were John Rooney and Anthony Ampaipitakwong, two players who some experts had going to Seattle in the first round. Turns out that they lucked out and Michael Tetteh, the final Generation Adidas member, was still available. Hanauer was seen buying a lottery pick after the selection as the Sounders not only got a left-footed defender/midfielder, but they got one that won't count against the cap for a minimum of one year (can be more if he doesn't get enough playing time). For a team with salary cap issues, that is HUGE. Now I won' pretend that I know much about any of these guys, Tetteh describes himself as an attacking defender who is going to work his butt off and who is really excited to come to Seattle. He is 22 years old on Saturday, from the UCSB and originally from Ghana

Then with the next pick, they selected Juan Leon Cruz, a center back out of SMU and member of many US Youth National Teams. The guys at Soccer by Ives think highly of him, saying that he "provides the team with a lot of depth at a position that they having nothing at besides their two starters... and will most likely leap frog Ianni and Wahl in the pecking order."

Then, two picks after John Rooney came off the board, the Sounders selected Servando Carrasco, a midfielder from Cal-Berkeley. He is being described as a creative midfielder, with definite potential who was the key for the Bears attack. Then, in what should be considered a complement, the SBI guys said he is a vocal leader that should fit in very well in that Osvaldo Alonso mold.

Two picks later, they selected a Jersey boy, GK Bryan Meredith (Monmouth Univ) to provide some depth at goalkeeper. I don't know much about him, but 2011 will provide the opportunity for him to convince the Sounders that he should take over the starters job from Keller in 2012. And finally, with their third round pick, they selected Alex Caskey, a midfielder from Davidson University.

Overall, a very impressive haul. They may not have gotten a stud, but they got five guys who can fight for playing time and provide depth. Hanauer and Sigi were absolutely thrilled, noting that all 5 guys were ranked in their top 25 prospects. I don't think either of them are envisioning these guys to start, but they realize how important depth will be this year after flaming out of Champions League last year. I personally am excited to see what these guys can do. Even if they don't get much playing time this year if they can develop like Mike Fucito, Mike Seamon and David Estrada then I think this draft will be considered a success.


****************

In a completely unrelated note, huge props to my Bucknell Bison for their 75-60 win at American on Wednesday. The Eagles were the pre-season conference favorites and I was a little worried after the Bison's lack-luster performance against Navy over the weekend. There was no need for me to worry though, as Mike Muscala scored a career high 33 and the Bison rolled. I am really excited and all in with this team. Not since 2006 have I felt this good about our team. I am starting to envision the glory days again. Hopefully they won't end up hurting me.

I Finally Have Friends!

I finally did...I finally joined the millions of people on Facebook. I'm not overly proud of it but at the same time I'm not overly embarrassed about it either. Sure, I feel like I have sold out; sure I feel like a hypocrite, but I finally got to the point where I realized that Facebook can be what I want it to be. Considering my disdain for Bookspace over the past few years, it really is an amazing turnaround.

I decided that I am going to try it for a few months to see if I like it. So far, it has been a bit underwhelming, but I think that is only because most of my friends are people that I see on a regular basis. Now don't get me wrong - it's nice to know what they are up to, but really, part of the reason I joined was to reconnect with a few of my friends from high school.

I have secretly been monitoring The Wife's Facebook account for a few months to see what I should expect. She has a lot of different types of friends. There are the friends that write on their own walls 20 times a day. There are the friends whose comments are incredibly boring or self-righteous. There are the friends that love to provide links to everything. And there are the friends who friend everyone, just to say they have 1000 friends.

I don't want to be any of those people. I never want to write on my own wall. No one cares what I am doing in my life. And frankly, I don't want everyone to know when I am taking a dump. However, I do want to write on my friends' walls. I want to ask my cousins boyfriend Brian about the Nets. I want to talk footie with Mike. I want to help C-buns make fun of Gorman. And I want to ask my hs friend Aramis who thought it was a good idea for him to have a kid.

I also don't want to have friends just to have friends. I am unsure how realistic it is, but I am going to try to have strict friend rules. If I did not talk to you in high school, I don't want to be your Facebook friend. If I haven't talked to you at least once since high school I also don't want to be your Facebook friend. Co-workers? Not going to happen - I work with you and on occaision I like to talk about my personal life, but I don't want you to see pictures of me with beer in my hand. I have yet to come up with a rule for college friends, but I only want to be your facebook friend if I would also have a drink with you at our reunion. If not, then I'm sorry but I don't want to be your friend.

In a nutshell, I want to use Facebook minimally and for specific reasons. I don't want to let it get out of control. I sit on the bus every day and am amazed at the amount of people who are focused only on their personal electronic device. I am amazed at how many people will stop mid-conversation to answer their phone or send a text. I am just annoyed at the amount of time people waste with their mobile devices. I don't want to become that person.

I don't know how this experience is going to be nor do I know if I will follow my rules. But one thing I can say is that if I feel myself slipping away; if Facebook is cutting into my time with my daughter; if I start checking Facebook at work I will step away. That I promise.

What a Weird Ending

Was it just me, or was the ending to the National Title game the most anti-climatic and least celebratory winning moment in recent history? First, it started with Brent Musberger's amazingly boring call of the game winning kick. Then it carried on with the on-field "celebration" and interviews. I'm not even sure that Cam Newton cracked a smile. It was all really eerie to me. Which is a shame, because the last 7 minutes of the game (the only part I saw due to an old-man soccer league) were some of the most interesting theatre (Canadian spelling) of the year.

Down 19-11, Oregon was forced to punt with 5:05 left in the game. The odds were seemingly insurmountable - I mean, even if the Ducks defense had been playing well, their surely was no way that Auburn wouldn't pick up at least a few first downs. Not with Cam Newton leading the way. And then it happened. On 2nd down, Casey Matthews knocked the ball out of Newton's hand and the Ducks recovered. It was an unthinkable error by Newton, although you wouldn't have known it listening to Musberger and Kick Herbstreit as they were falling all overMatthews with praise. Now this is not meant to take anything away from Matthews, but we all known Newton needs two hands on that ball in the situation. Anyways, Oregon goes on to score and they get the two point conversion to tie. Again, Musberger and Herbstreit missed the most important part of the 2-point conversion -the amazing catch by Ducks QB Darron Thomas on a miserable snap.

This alone would have been enough drama and intrigue. Auburn however was not done and with a little over 2 minutes left, freshman Michael Dyer had the run of the year. Given the circumstances, I would dare to say that it was even more important than what we saw from Marshawn Lynch on Saturday. Dyer ran up the middle for a 3-4 yard gain, seemingly tackled but then with the encouragement of the Auburn sideline started running again. Looking at the reply, his knee was never down - he had fallen on top of the tackler but never went down. It was an amazing event and one that both he and the refs got right. From there, it was all about getting into the middle of the field and killing the clock.

Yet somehow, the Ducks defense let Dyer break through the line and he ran in for a TD. But wait a minute, another review. This time the on-field ruling was overturned as he was tackled 6 inches from the goal line. There was 10 seconds left. Auburn had 2 timeouts. I think most of America was screaming at their tv's when coach Gene Chizik sent out the field goal team. I mean, you have a Heisman winning QB who ran for nearly 1500 yards and 20 td's this year. Surely you should run the ball and call timeout if you don't make it....well, Chizik only decided to throw Newton on the field after the Ducks called timeout to ice the kicker. Newton abruplty got stuffed on a QB sneak that everyone saw coming (what was up with the Victory formation at that time? Either take a knee or sneak with a real formation). Then with 2 seconds left, Wes Bynum hit a 19 yard field goal to give the National Title to the Auburn Tigers.

It was one of the more amazing final 7 minutes of a game that I have seen. The only thing that would have been better is if I heard a little more emotion from the announcers and seen a little more emotion on the field. I just looked at the front page of ESPN.com and it shows a picture of Newton with the crystal ball and a huge smile, so obviously he did smile at some time during the night. The fact that there was no emotion when the kick went through the uprights, however, is an image that I won't be forgetting for sometime, however.

Monday Morning NFL Musings

Let me start with a disclaimer: the following column I am writing without having seen more than 5 minutes of live action over the weekend. These simply are my thoughts and feelings after having watched the highlights.

• First, congratulations to the Seahawks and all their fans for the improbable win Saturday. I have spent the past 24 hours trying to figure out how they got it done, and it finally hit me. This was a classic "Us vs the World" game. Outside of Seattle, no one wanted the Seahwaks to make the playoffs. Certainly, no one thought they should be in the playoffs, let alone hosting a playoff game. All of America assumed that the defending champs would come in and torch the Seahawks. No one believed in the Seahawks except for the Seahawks themselves. I was not a huge fan of the Pete Carroll hiring, but really, this is the perfect scenario for him. I'm not sure there is another coach in the league who you would want giving the pregame speech before Saturday's game. All week long he was not apologizing for the Hawks crashing the party. He played on the team's emotions and got them to respond. They played with a chip on their shoulders all night and walked away with an improbable win.
• Looking forward, the Bears-Seahawks tilt will be an interesting one. You have the Bears, a team that I, like the rest of America, doesn't believe in going against a team that no one wants in the playoffs. The difference here might simply be the environment as I'm not sure the Seahawks can get it done on the road. Playing at home with a chip on your shoulder is one thing - going to wintry Chicago will be an entirely different thing. With that being said, for the second straight week, I am going to go out on a limb and say the Hawks have a great shot at winning. Not because of their skill, but because of two things: Carroll pushing the right buttons and Jay Cutler being Jay Cutler.
• Ok, final thing about the Seahawks. I KNOW I am not supposed to talk ill of them. I am supposed to be in love with their overachievement...but I just can't get past what this run is doing to their draft status. Had they not made the playoffs, depending on tie breakers they would have had anywhere from the 7th to 13th pick in the draft. Now, the lowest they can go right now is 25 - I hate to be Debbie Downer again, but there is a a HUGE dropoff in talent from 13 to 25, so I hope this run is worth it in the long run.
• The AFC really has two delicious semi-final matchups. The Ravens and Jets got rid of the representation from the Central and the West and made it two inter-division match-ups. You have what might be the most physical games of the year, Ravens-Steelers III on Satruday night, and then what might be the most chippy game of the year, Jets-Pats III on Sunday night. I am really looking forward to both.
• I know I am not telling you anything you don't already know, but the X-factor in the AFC semi-finals might be the play of the two young QB's, Joe Flacco and Mark Sanchez. In what is becoming a growing trend, inexperienced QB's are actually starting to win playoff games. Out are Manning, Brees, Favre, McNabb. In are Rodgers, Ryan, Flacco and Sanchez. I don't know what it is -maybe they are more prepared during their college days than past QB's, but it is a really promising trend moving forward.
• It's funny what fantasy football can do to a man. I had Michael Vick on my fantasy team this year and being that I wanted to win my league, I had to secretly root for the Eagles to do good. As a NY sports fan, that is a tough pill to swallow. I mean, I HATE the Eagles. Luckily, fantasy football does not carry over into the playoffs, which meant that Vick's late game interception was a thing of pure beauty.
• The most disappointing result for me this weekend was the Chiefs absolutely rolling over at home. This was an exciting team that I was hoping would make it far in the playoffs, but they turned out to be the pretender that many experts thought they were.
• Finally, this has nothing to do with the playoffs, but I saw the list of Pro Football Hall of Fame candidates and I have to say that it continues to be weird seeing players whose entire career I saw on the list. I'm not sure where you go with the current list, but this is going to be an amazing class. Jerome Bettis, Marshall Faulk and Deion Sanders are sure locks. But after that, you have Curtis Martin, Andre Reed, Cris Carter, Charles Haely, Willie Roaf, Tim Brown and 6 others to choose from. Whatever the decision, it is going to be a stacked group
  

Instant (Over)Reaction: BU @ Navy

On Saturday night, while the entire city of Seattle was just starting to celebrate the Seahawks improbably win, I sat down to watch my Bucknell Bison play the Navy Midshipmen on CBS College Sports Network.

Bucknell came into the game riding a 3 game winning streak (7 of last 8) an overall 9-7 record and an RPI ranking of 92. Navy, on the other hand, entered the game with a 5-11 record and an overall RPI ranking of 330. (For those interested, there are 345 total D-1 basketball schools). Now I know that Bucknell has not had much success at Navy in their history (6-13 in the past 19 meeting) to be exact, but surely this was a game they had to win.

I decided to rip of Simmons and provide a running diary throughout the game. So here we go:

5:05pm PDT As always, we have to wait for the previous game to finish. I'm a big fan of the Wyoming football uni's, but I don't know if it carries over to basketball. Ok, the uni's aren't bad, but the court is really hideous.

5:09 Finally, BU-Navy is on my tv. We are 3 1/3 minutes into the game and amazingly the score is 0-0. Ok, its not that amazing - anyone who has ever watched Patriot League hoops knows how terrible the offense is. Paul Westhead would cry if he ever watched game tape. Currently on the court for the Bison are Daryl Shazier, GW Boon, Mike Muscala, Cameron Ayers and Bryson Johnson.

5:15 Beautiful pick 'n roll and easy bucket by YouTube sensation Mike Muscala.

5:17 Just down the road from me, UW is now up 82-62 with 5 minutes left. What was a 1-point game at halftime has now turned into an absolute rout. Sick 'em dawgs, In Annapolis, the Bison take their first lead 11-9 off a third pointer from Daryl Shazier.

5:23 We are a quarter of the way through the game and the score is 13-11. We're on pace for a 52-44 game, folks!

5:24 Whoh, a David Robinson sighting! The Admiral was in the house to celebrate the 25 year anniversary of Navy's elite 8 run. Luckily that came well before the Patriot League was formed, which means I can still be arrogant about the Bison being the only PL team to ever a NCAA Tournament game. And now for the first time tonight, Did I tell you that we beat Kansas??

5:32 Timeout Bison. A 6-0 run by the Midshipmen has Bucknell reeling. Come on guys, this is Navy we're talking about. They suck. I don't care if they have won 4 in a row against us.

5:41 Finally we see some hustle. Four Bison on the floor - red head Joe Willman comes up with it. Really appreciate that.

5:44 Halftime. Bison down 28-27. Bottom line is that Navy worked harder than us for the majority of the half and deserve to be on top. On defense the Bison could not find an answer for JJ Avila, who was just draining his three point attempts. It looked like we finally woke up in the last two minutes, but need to continue playing with some passion and energy. The Patriot League may not be good, but winning on the road is alwsays tough no matter conference you play in. Here are the stats at halftime:

• BU: 39.9% from field, 2-6 three pointers, 16 rebounds, 5 turnovers.
  
• Navy 39.3% from field, 5-16 three pointers, 16 rebounds, 6 turnover.
• Leading scorers: Navy - JJ Avila with 11 on 4-8 (3-6) shooting. BU - Mike Muscala with 8points.
  

5:55 Here is the one problem with watching Bucknell on TV - the announcers are always idiots. You know that if you are calling a Patriot League game, you are not thought highly of at your network. These guys at least know the correct pronunciation of Bucknell, but still, not a huge fan.

6:00 Ok, game back on. I'm sorry, but Bucknell's road oranges are the best uni's in the country. I challenge anyone to find me any better.

6:04 Poor Daryl Shazier has male pattern baldness at age 22. I'm sure he would kill for some of Bryson Johnson's hair. Back to the game..Bison up 31-30 with 17 minutes left in the game.

6:14 After the realization that we could actually lose this game, Shazier provides some senior leadership as he hits a three, steals the ball and goes in for a lay-up. Timeout Navy. Bison up by 2.

6:18 This Bison team has the typical lanky-ass white boys that Bucknell always gets (Dan Bowen, Brian Werner, Chris McNaughton) but for the first time in along while, it looks like some of the other guys have the physiques to play in better leagues. Not that physiques equate to wins on the basketball court. I'm just saying.

6:25 Under 10 to go. Bucknell 45, Navy 42. Midshipmen have no answer for Muscala, who I am really really impressed with. The announcers keep on saying that they don't know how he escaped the clutches of the University of Minnesota because they could really use him. Well, I'll tell ha how - people go to Bucknell for the education, not the basketball. This young man is a student first, athlete second.

6:28 Biggest Bison lead of the night, 53-45. I think we might finally be starting to pull away. Shazier and Muscala cannot be stopped right now. On the other side, Navy may have found themselves a nice little player in JJ Avila. Dude is a freshman and is just lighting things up. 17 points on the day.

6:31 Ok, Navy has to have the most boring court in America. I like the look of the Boston Garden hardwood as much as anyone, but at least there was some color on the court. This just looks small time.

6:36 I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but Shazier is simply unstoppable right now. Wow. I am really really impressed with his growth over the years. He has 23 tonight, 1 from tying his career high. If Navy can't stop his penetration they are not going to get it done.

6:37 Uh-oh. JJ Avila fouls out on an illegal screen. The Navy coach was gambling by having him in the game with 4 fouls and 6 minutes left on the clock and it appears to have backfired on him. Besides Jordan Sugars, I'm not sure anyone else has scored for the Midshipmen tonight. They're only down by 7, but they might be done.

6:40 Just to make sure I get it in again, Have I told you that we beat Kansas?

6:41 Yes I realize that no one will have gotten this far...because no one will have even started reading this in the first place.

6:43 First dunk of the game with 3 minutes left! When I was at Bucknell, I didn't see a real dunk until my sophomore year. We just didn't have any athletes. And then...then...Brian Muckle threw one down from the elbow. It still remains the best dunk I have ever seen in person.

6:50 Bucknell 64, Navy 60. 43.3 seconds left. First finger nail biting moment of the night - not because it's nerve racking, but I just haven't learned to stop. Been doing it my whole life.

6:53 Wow. I just learned that Tuesday night's game at American will also be televised on CBS College Sports. That should be one of the two games of the year - I wouldn't have done this running diary had I known I could have done it on Tuesday instead!

6:56 This is really the part of a bball game I can't stand. Foul shooting contests just draw out the game so much...I officially just want the game to be over. 15 seconds left, Bucknell up by 3.

7:00 And that's it. Shazier hits all his free throws down the stretch. Bucknell 71, Navy 64. Not the prettiest or most convincing wins you will see, but a road win nonetheless. As I said earlier, winning on the road is the toughest thing to do in sports. It doesn't matter what level you are competing at. And with the game at American staring us in the eye, a loss would have put us at risk of starting 0-2 in the conference. Now the worst we can do is one game back of the lead after Tuesday. Luckily I don't think that will be a problem. Ray Bucknell!

Not Sure About Harbaugh

The recent news of Jim Harbaugh leaving Stanford to coach the 49ers has left me scratching my head. From Harbaugh's perspective, it's a no brainer. He coaches at Stanford, hardly a school with a big football tradition. Even though he went 11-1 this year, eventually they won't have Andrew Luck and eventually they will be middle of the pack again. Right now he is the IT coach. He clearly wanted to go to the NFL someday, and today, San Fran offered him $5 million a year. It's a no-brainer.

From the 49ers standpoint, it seems like a no brainer, too. Here is a team that is looking to regain the proud legacy of Walsh, Montana, Young, Rice. They have been dreadful the past few years with Alex Smith, Shaun Hill, JT O'Sullivan and Troy Smith as their QB's. They have been dreadful the past few years with Dennis Erickson, Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary as their coaches. They need something to grab on to; something to believe in. Enter the IT college-coach who happens to be working just down the road from them.

It seems almost too prefect. You know how the saying goes: if something appears too good to be true, it probably is. Now I'm not Nostradamus. I can't predict how good Harbaugh is going to be. Hell, he has the bloodline (his brother John is the Ravens coach) and he has playing experience (14 years in the NFL), so who knows, he might be good. The thing that makes me weery though is the recent failure of college coaches going to the Pros. Now I know Pete Carrol has led the Seahawks to the playoffs, but he at least had been an NFL coach before and he coached at USC for a decade. Harbaugh has been at Stanford for 4 years and San Diego 3 years before that. That's it. When I hear that, I can't help but think of the long line of coaches not named Carrol to have made the jump and failed. I'm talking: Nick Saban, Bobby Petrino, Steve Spurrier, Dennis Erickson, Butch Davis, Rich Brooks and Mike Riley.

I don't know. Maybe I am being a moron here, but this hiring just doesn't feel as good to me as it does to others. I am hoping that my 49ers insider (ok, not really an insider, but a long-suffering fan) can offer his thoughts on the signing.

Devils Trade Captain USA

In trading Captain Jamie Langenbrunner back to Dallas, it looks like the Devils "fire sale" has officially begun. I put the words fire sale in quotations because a fire sale to Lou Lamiorello is not the same as a fire sale to say, the Florida Marlins. Yes there are a lot of high priced, underachiveing veterans on this team, but I don't get the sense that Lou is just going to trade them all away. First there is the issue of the no-trade cause. Second is the issue that I honestly think he thinks they are not a terrible team. Which is a shame, because the 2010-2011 Devils are brutally horrible.

Anyways, the Devils got a conditional third round draft pick in the deal for the Devils and USA Captain. At first glance, I was very underwhelmed considering the experience and leadership he brings to a team. So I, along with my buddy Bich, summoned help from the Crappy One. He explains:

I really liked him (even though he was garbage this year), which might have clouded my judgement a little, but I think he gets a lot of respect around the league from both players and management. 2 time cup winner. Leading goal scorer in the 2003 playoffs. Captain of team USA. I think he could have gotten a 2nd rounder and maybe even a 4th rounder on top of that. Right now, the pick is a 2011 third rounder, but with the following scenarios:

1. Stars win a playoff series this year - pick becomes 2011 2nd rounder
2. Stars resign JL before July 1 - pick becomes 2011 2nd rounder
3. Stars lose in first round/miss playoffs, BUT resign JL after July 1 - pick stays as 2011 3rd rounder, but they will swap picks in 2012 (NJD 2012 3rd rounder for DAL 2012 2nd rounder)
4. Stars don't win a playoff round/miss the playoffs AND let JL walk after this season - pick stays as 2011 3rd rounder.
   

So it seems like the best case scenario is #3. Devils get an extra 3rd round pick this year and swap next year's 3rd for a 2nd. It's all too confusing, but I think it actually makes more sense for deals to go this way; it makes the whole rental concept a little better. I still think I would have guaranteed a 2nd rounder and then had the bullshit part of it be about swapping a 3rd for a 4th or some crap. sometimes I really think that figuring out cancer is easier than all of this.

Ok, great. So depending on how Dallas does, it might move up to a 2nd round pick. The problem I have is this: yes its great to acquire picks. But one reason people have given to why this team is so crappy is that they have been unable to get any stud draft picks in the past decade because they are always picking late in the first round. So really, how is getting a 2nd round draft pick any better than that? You're telling me they couldn't have at least waited until the trading deadline when a contenders may be more desparate to win now?

Our conversation then moved on to who should become the new Devils Captain. It's an interesting question given the lack of success the Devils have had since Scott Stevens retired. Now I'm not going to blame the playoff collapses on Langenbrunner (who has been captain since 2007), but I don't think you can overlook his record: 3 years, 3 1st round exits. I know he has the intangibles, but I just never felt like he was Captain worthy. It probably is a crazy statement for someone so removed to make, but it's just how I feel. For all I know he might be the most amazing lockerroom guy their is.

My thought originally was whether they give the "C" to Kovy yet. I really hope not, but didn't know if there were any other options besides him or Elias. Once again, the Crappy One had this to say:

Parise will be the next captain. NEEDS to be the next captain, which is why they shouldn't name Kovy or Elias. Giving it to either of them means that at some point in the next few years, you have to strip them of it to give it to Parise (assuming he re-signs). The only caveat to this is whether or not Elias retires after his contract is up in the net year or 2 (I think after next season). He's kind of hinted that at the very least, he's not going to be signing another long-term deal, so maybe he comes back on a 2 year deal or something. Kovy is going to be around for too long and giving him the "C" would be a bad move for their hopes of re-signing Parise.

I'd say they give it to Arnott first, Elias second, as both of them might have a limited future with the team. Giving either of them the "C" will sort of show that Lou is planning on keeping them around past this season, to say nothing of not trading them by March. They could give it to Arnott to ride out the rest of the year, then let him walk in the postseason and give it to Zach. Or, they could just hold off on naming a captain and go with 3 alternates the rest of the year, then give it to Parise when they announce his re-signing in June.

I continue to drink the Crappy One's bathwater again, as he is dead right on this one. Somehow I totally forgot about Parise. I'm unsure whether Parise will want to come back to this dreadful team after he gets healthy. I wouldn't blame him for not wanting to - I mean, first off they stink. And second, they openly disrespected him by signing Kovy to that huge deal, all while knowing his contract would be up soon. I get that the team would love to have both of them, but can they offer him the type of money he deserves? Right now, probably not. Maybe in the future, but what if they can't? What a better way to show their commitment to him than by not naming a captain and giving it to him for the 2011-12 season and beyond? That would be an amazing ploy to get him to stay. And it's not like the Devils haven't done this before. they actually went the entire 2005 season without a captain after Stevens retired. So yes, Lou...do this. Give Zach the "C".

Weird spot for this Mets fan

As I was wearing my new Mets hat last night (thanks for the great present, Megan!), my dad reminded me that it was less than a month before pitchers and catchers report to spring training. Normally just that thought would get me ultra-excited. I mean, in Spring Training, all 30 teams believe that they can win the World Series. Regardless of what happened the year before, hope springs eternal. This year seems a little different though. While I am always excited to have the Mets back, the truth is that the 2011 season seems over before it has even started. It's a weird position to be in because even after the terrible collapses of 2007 and 2008, the front office went out and spent money. Even in the worst of times, we still believed.

This offseason has been one like none other. We finally fired Minaya and brought in a GM who I described as a "man with vision" and a "man with a plan." We are starting to see what his plan is and it consists of remaining fiscally responsible and not taking on bad, long-term contracts. He is clearly trying to build towards 2012 when a lot of the contracts (Castillo, K-Rod, Beltran) come off the books. In the meantime, the team clearly does have a budget and with so much money already invested in current players, he has maybe $5-$8 million to spend this offseason.

For a franchise that has come accustomed to spending money, working on a budget is a weird thing for me to get used to. Don't get me wrong- I have been asking the team to stop with the big contracts and to rebuild. In theory that seemed like the right thing to do, but in reality it is really, really strange when Ronny Paulino, DJ Carrasco, Taylor Buchholz and Chris Capuano are your only offseason signings.

Again, I'm not flip-flopping on this one - I believe that Alderson is doing the right thing. I'm just saying that it is a new feeling that I have to get used to. And you know what? I am starting to talk myself into his signings. They may not be Carl Crawford or Cliff Lee, but they fill some holes on this team. Carrasco, Buchholz and Capuano all can be quality arms that we can use in a variety of ways (ie - short relief, long relief, starting rotation, spot starts). The latter two are coming off of elbow-injuries but that worries me less than had they been coming off of shoulder injuries (hello, Kelvin Escobar!). I think they all have tremendous upside with only a little risk. Paulino is nothing more than a back-up catcher, but a good one at that. And not mentioned above was their trade for middle infielder Chin-lung Hu, who has been described as a fabulous fielder with little pop. He may not be the next Jose Reyes, but at the very least if we lose Reyes for awhile, he should be able to step in and help this team.

Alderson has somehow gotten 4 signings out of the limited budget and appears to have one last move to make. Whether it's Chris Young, Jeff Francis, Brad Penny, Freddy Garcia or Jeremy Bonderman, it is apparent that he wants another arm for the rotation - preferably a guy who is, for whatever reason, coming off a down year and will be willing to sign an incentive laden deal. All of the above fit the bill, yet the one I would be most excited about is Francis, who I see as a perfect 5th starter. He may not be a household name, but he is only 3 years removed from a 17 win season. While he may have a high career WHIP (1.43) moving from Colorado to CitiField alone should help bring down his ERA (not to mention home runs against).

For now, this is what Mets fan have to be excited about: a new organizational philosophy, a new man on the bench and a few bargain basement free agents (and of course for the healthy return of Beltran, Reyes, K-Rod, Santana and Maine). It won't be until we are clearly out of the NL East race in June, however, that Alderson will make his big time moves. At that time, when the team is completely blown up, we will really buy into the new 2011 motto: Wait til 2012!

More NCAA Hypocrisy

Writing about an event that happened a few weeks is far from timely, but I figure it's never too late to opine about the hypocrisy that is the NCAA.

By now you all have probably read about the five Ohio St football players who were suspended five games next year for receiving improper benefits. The infractions were brought to light when a police raid at a Columbus tattoo parlor uncovered autographs and memorabilia that the players sold to the shop in return for some ink. The NCAA investigated the charges and after deciding that their was enough evidence to show guilt, suspended the five players for the first five games of the 2011 season, but not for last night's Sugar Bowl.

There are so many talking points to the story that I almost don't know where to begin. However, the most logical is to look at this from the player's point of view. Now I am not naive enough to think that big time college football players are like any other students on campus. The fact is, most get their college education paid for. Most enroll in cupcake majors. Most are big men on campus. And a rare minority will even make it to the NFL. Still if you can strip that all away you have 18-22 year olds who love to have a good time, love to go out to eat, and love to do what every red-blooded college student likes to do. Even though they get their education paid for, many still don't have any extra money for luxuries that more well off students have.

When faced with the question of how to pay for something, the players are able to use their most marketable quality: their star status. So they sell the jersey or a ring or an award and get a tattoo . Most other college students would do the same. The problem is, under NCAA rules, college football players are not allowed to sell any memorabilia for money. Even though they can keep the jerseys and rings for the rest of their life, as long as they are in college, they don't own any of it.

For me, this is where the hypocrisy smacks you in the face. Log onto any big time college football program's catalog and you will undoubtedly see 10 different versions of jerseys with at least 25 different number options, all selling for more than $50. The universities aren't allowed to put names on the back to go along with the numbers, but no one is dumb enough to not realize whose jersey they are buying. The jersey is only as good as the player wearing it. Once Terrelle Prior graduates from The OSU, his #2 will be irrelevant until another star player wears it. People spend money on the OSU #2 because of Prior. He is the reason the jersey sells, but he will never see a cent from it.

From the NCAA perspective, the rule was put in place to discourage players selling jerseys to boosters for 10x their retail price - you know, a sly way to get around the improper benefits from booster problem. To me, it is correct in spirit. However, for a minor infraction such as this, I think the NCAA needs to be lenient. Unlike receiving free housing or providing academic fraud, receiving tattoos in no way gave a competitive advantage to the players. They should have let it go. However, not only did the NCAA punish the players, but they did so for next year, rather than for this year's bowl game. The whole thing reaks of foul play - you know an OSU-Arkansas meeting in the Sugar Bowl WITHOUT Terrelle Prior would mean a loss of millions of dollars due to lower ratings. That is something the NCAA simply could not handle.

The next logical step is to ask what we can do moving forward? This is the part I have given a lot of thought to. I have long been a supporter of allowing players to either get paid by the athletic department or through a job. I am fully aware that this is an opinion that often falls on deaf ears. After all, most football players get their tuition paid for while Joe and Jane Schmo have to take out student loans. The rub to me is that while they do get tuition and books paid for, they most often won't have any extra spending money because they are not allowed to have paying jobs like other college students. It doesn't matter your position in life - when you feel like you need money for something, you will do whatever it takes to get that money, if even it means breaking the rules.

I propose one of two ideas. First, why not let the players get paid in addition to their tuition. All across America, universities fill up 75,000 seat stadiums (or as my friend BusStoller will tell me, 110,000 in Ann Arbor) every Saturday. Give the team a share of the revenue from ticket sales, food and merchandise. Let the coaches split it up evenly and give the players $50 every two weeks. I know it's not a lot, but at least the players could be getting something for filling the stands. After all, no one is showing up to watch coaches coach. Second, why not allow athletes on scholarships to have jobs. Now I understand the slippery slope that this entails. As it is, college football players have limited time to study and make grades with the intense amount of time they spend in practice and in meetings (a 2008 poll indicated they spend 44.8 hours on football and 40 hours on school work a week). If they are allowed to work a job, their academics will probably slip. My proposal would be to actually lower the maximum amount of practice time allowed a week. Scholarship players who want to get a job would be able to. Those that want more time to study would be given that. We really don't need players and coaches spending 20 hours a day living and breathing football. At some point, the law of diminishing returns sets in and you are no better a team for every increase in practice time.

Now the above is simply my naive thoughts on college football. However, I never played football; I was never on an athletic scholarship; I never had any event more important than a intramural basketball game against Vedder Vertigo. So I would love to hear from some of my readers - DLib, TGasp I'm especially talking to you.

I am beginning to hate new-old-retired-retread Devils' coach Jacques Lemaire more than Henrik Tallinder

Here was the starting lineup for our New Jersey Devils in tonight's game against the Wild of Minnesota:

Forwards: Rod Pelley-Tim Sestito-David Clarkson.
Defensemen: Colin White-Henrik Tallinder.
Goaltender: Johan Hedberg.

Seriously? And Mattias Tedenby, the team's best young player (fast as hell with some ridiculous moves), was a healthy scratch. I don't even have any jokes. Not even any Ranger-bashing. I'm just perplexed, which will soon give way to frustration and anger.

This is an example of saying one thing and doing another. Lemaire, et al. say they want to win and try to turn things around, but they have a funny way of accomplishing it. And even if they were trying to tank it, which I don't think pride would ever allow them to do (this isn't the NBA), they're not even trying to hide it. We can see through the bullshit and, as a fan, at least pretend that you care. Do it for me, the guy who has had to rely on shitty webstreams and radio broadcasts and gamecasts for the last decade because I lived somewhere else. The guy who still tried to go to games whenever I was in town. The guy who bought jerseys and hats. The guy who finally moved back to the area after 12 years only to have the excitement of seeing his team on a regular basis beat down by a terrible team.

Just like Rob, I can take a rebuilding year as long as there is a plan, but don't be disrespectful about it. Try, goddamnit. That is all.

Tuesday Morning Five-Pack

While I finish up working on my thoughts regarding the suspended OSU players and the NCAA, I thought I would give y'all something to start your day off right. In no particular order, here are the small things that are on my mind:

• Kevin Love is an absolute beast this year. Last night was his 6th game with 20+ rebounds; he is averaging 15.6 boards a game, which is almost 2.5 more than reigning rebound champion Dwight Howard. What's even better is that the T'wolves don't appear to be so hapless anymore. I'm still not sold entirely on Michael Beasley yet, but if you offered me Love and Beasley for Brook Lopez and Devin Harris right now, I'd jump on it.
  
• Remember this Christian Laettner shot from 1992? Well, my boys from Bucknell repeated it Sunday against Richmond. For those wondering, that is leading scorer Mike Muscala hitting the shot for the 9-7 Bison. As you can see on the right, BU is currently ranked in the top 100 of the RPI and I think along with American U they are going to be the class of the league. Here's hoping for another NCAA tournament shot.
• I wish David Beckham would just go away. I have no doubt that when he signed with the Galaxy that he thought his international career was over with. I have no doubt that he was coming over here to retire. But then something funny happened: against all odds, England started showing interest and he realized that playing in MLS wasn't going to get him back to the World Cup. So in 2009 he forced a loan to AC Milan where he raised his status enough that he was looking like a sure bet to represent England at in South Africa. Then he got injured and had to miss the tournament. Convention would say that finally at 35 his international career was over. England would be crazy to pick him for WC'14 when he was 39, right? Well, apparently Beckham doesn't think so as he is now chasing another loan deal. I can understand his flip-flopping in the past. I mean, he thought he was done, but then was given some hope. There is no hope for him in 2014. He has a commitment to keep with the Galaxy and with this league. He needs to realize that his career will soon be over and that he needs to begin to transition to his post-playing career. Stop chasing England, please.
• Recently I caught some crap for among other things, calling the Seahawks uninteresting. It was a totally subjective description based solely on my excitement or interest level in certain players. Well, since I gave examples of uninteresting teams, I wanted to return the favor and provide the scenario I would love to see in the playoffs. FIRST ROUND: Saints over Seattle. GB over Philly. KC over Baltimore. Jets over Indy. SECOND ROUND: Saints over Atlanta. GB over Chicago. That would then leave us with Jets-Pats and Chiefs-Steelers in the AFC and Saints-Packers in the NFC. Any combo from here on out would be totally interesting to me.
• The Devils suck. I think we all know that (even though I still never thought I would utter those words). What we don't know is what the future holds for one Mr. Zach Parise. As of now, the upcoming restricted free agent has not had any discussions with the front office on a new contract. I think this could be a major problem. I mean, Parise already knows that the current team stinks, but he is away from the game and the team. He might think that their is some hope. What happens if he comes back for month at the end of the season and really sees that their is no hope? There is no way he stays, right? If I'm the Devils, I totally reload. I first re-sign Parise to a long term contract ASAP. I then try to trade all their bad contracts. I know that sounds like a typical 'know-it-all' blogger reaction, but I'm not saying that they should trade for other all-stars. That is impossible given their lack of bargaining power. No, I'm saying, trade for young, unproven guys or draft picks. Get rid of Elias, Arnott and Langenbrunner, hell even maybe Brodeur (the only guy who could get an all-star in return). Get younger. Build around Ilya AND Parise. I can handle a horrendous year if their is a plan.
  

Ok, that's it for now. Hope to have something else up before the Sugar Bowl tonight, but might not count on it.

Amazing Seattle Sports Weekend

Every once in awhile even the little metropolis known as Seattle can have a good sports weekend. They always seem to be far and few between, but when they happen, you can just feel the collective excitement.

No place was this more evident than with the Huskies win over #18 Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl. I'm not going to bask in the glory of correctly predicting the game, because really it was an easy one to see coming. Because we are dealing with athletes ranging from 18-22 year olds, let-down games are too common. Nebraska didn't want to be in the Holiday Bowl. Their heads were in Glendale, AZ even though their bodies were in San Diego.

Now, that is not to take anything away from the Huskies. From the very start of the game (or so I am told since the early part of the game was not being shown due to the Meineke Car Care Bowl runover), the Huskies defense and special teams took it to the Huskers. They played with all out passion the entire 60 minutes and didn't worry about their lack of depth. They didn't worry that they should have been physically out matched. None of that mattered. They wanted to get a win for their senior captain, Jake Locker.

With that being Jake's last game, there has been a lot of talk about his legacy. Is it one of unfulfilled promise and expectations or is it one of grit, leadership and sacrifice? I personally don't blame any of the losing seasons on him. I think the turnover in coaches from Neuheisel to Gilbertson to Willingham really ravaged the talent and Willingham was never able to restock the shelves. Jake came along during a down time. He was a freak of an athlete, but very raw. The coaches didn't know how to use him. Still, scouts saw the talent and he would have been the top pick in the draft last year. Instead, he decided to return to school because he said he had unfinished business: leading the team to a winning record and a bowl game. Unfortunately, to some, this season feels like a waste because of his Heisman candidacy and the thought that this was a 8-9 win team. They see the story as 'what could have been.'

To me, his story will ultimately be one of sacrifice. He had some really terrible games this year, but I never felt that he regretted his decision. He had a bigger vision than Heisman Trophies and endorsements. When the team was 3-6 and staring another losing record in the face, the team rallied and got to a bowl game. Then, not wanting to let Locker down, the defense played the game of the season. Winning the Holiday Bowl in the fashion that they did will give a nice boost to recruiting. And possibly even more important, it will help the UW community feel good about itself once again.

Providing the bread to the Husky victory sandwich was the basketball team's road sweep of UCLA and USC, something they have only done two other times in history. In fact, it was the first time they swept their opening Pac-10 road series since 1965. I will be the first to say that while this team looks very impressive right now, there are some flaws, namely late game offensive efficiency, foul shooting and lack of front court depth that need to be fixed before NCAA Tournament time. However, I will also be the first to say that they are a ton of fun to watch. Isaiah Thomas, Matthew Bryan-Amaning and Justin Holiday have taken the leadership role to heart and are playing some amazing basketball. Venoy Overton continues to be a pesk (and my favorite player), Abdul Gaddy is much improved and Terrence Ross looks to be the real deal (and could be the X-factor come tourney time). I think they are clearly the class of the league and can only stop themselves if old habits pop up.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention everyone's favorite football team, the Seahawks. I have gotten some resistance from Seahawks fans for my comments on the team last week. I want to clarify one thing. I am not going to complain about them making the playoffs while teams with 3 more wins than them stay home. That is a tired cry and really one that will get you no where. Fact is that Seattle finished tied for first in their division. They split the season series with St Louis but had a better division record than the Rams. Thus they EARNED the right to the playoffs. It's the simple. However, that does not change my comments from last week. I have heard the following phrases thrown around from Seattle fans: "made the best of the situation", "can't fault them for the division they play in", "what is so wrong about rooting for a bunch of overachievers" and "what makes the Rams or 49ers any better?" From a fan perspective I get all of that. I really do. That is what home teams fans are supposed to think. I'm simply saying that I get nothing out of this team. I think they are phony and uninteresting. The Rams probably aren't a better team, but I would have rather watched him play than the Seahawks. It's my opinion and I won't apologize for that.

Now with all that being said, I would like to thank the Seahawks for helping stop Steven Jackson and Josh Brown. You helped me win my fantasy football title and for that I thank you. Also, let me be the first to say that I think they might actually have a chance against New Orleans next week. I originally thought it would be a blow-out, but the Saints are hardly they team they were last year. And they have to travel to frigid/rainy Seattle against a team they know they should beat. It might be the makings of a classic trap game. Only time will tell.