Gophers, Twins, Golf, all kinds of crap. Joe U says, "If Joe Posnanski wasn't blogging, you'd be the most entertaining person I read" and Patrick S. says
"Your blog is just about my favorite thing ever"
In case you were curious, and I'm sure you've been dying to know, I'm pulling for the Buckeyes tonight against LSU. As much as I generally dislike all non-Gopher Big Ten teams, I've had just about enough Big Ten bashing since last years debacle of OSU vs. Florida.
And they're off to a good start with a long TD run by Wells, which gives him 2 carries so only 21 to go to win the O/U prop bet. Also important, Buckeyes +3.5.
LSU's "All-American" white long-haired safety did a horrible job on that run. Which goes to prove, you can't be a good d-back if you're white, no matter how many fake awards The Man tries to give you.
I wasn't able to watch the Gophers' Big Ten opener live, seeing as I was too busy pissing all my money away to the assholes at the Casino, but I did get a chance to watch it via the wonderful magic of TiVo and the fact that I get the Big Ten Network at home. Thank you DirectTV. Anyway, watching it using fast forward at the slow parts and in a few different seatings left me with some impressions:
1. Obviously, it was a hell of a game. As I said in my game preview, I was expecting a 25 point blowout win for the Spartans. I really underestimated how far the Gopher defense and intensity has come since Tubby took over. They looked like a completely different team compared to the FSU game. I'm just hopeful they can keep it up the rest of the season, and that this was a trend, not an aberration. Easily the best game I've seen them play in two years, maybe longer.
2. Gopher offense still needs a lot of work, but not sure the right players are in place on this roster to make it happen. Tollackson seemed to be the focal point of the offense Saturday, and his role should be complementary. Ended up 5-14, with several of his shots blocked. I like Tollackson as a rebounder, dirty work doer, and dropping in some shots when they're there. I don't like him as a main offensive component, taking fade away twelve footers.
3. Is this what we can expect from Dan Coleman? He's the leading scorer on the team, but against the three best teams the Gophers have faced he's scored 7, 10, and 6 points. We've seen him have good games against good teams in the past, but maybe the problem is McKenzie has seemingly stopped scoring this season. He's on pace to take almost a hundred less shots this season compared to last. I was hoping he'd be more in control this year, and force less bad shots, but I didn't want him to lose his edge completely. Hopefully he can get more aggressive, and hopefully Coleman's game will improve with another scorer on the court.
4. Travis Busch played three minutes in the first half. I don't know why. He looked like a little kid. He'd didn't do anything glaringly wrong (that I noticed), but physically he looks like he's the ball boy.
5. Al Nolen had his ups and downs, but overall for a freshman point guard playing his first Big Ten game, on the road no less, I was very impressed. 7 assists, 1 turnover, and four steals is a hell of a game. He made some mistakes, and took at least one blazingly stupid shot, but going into next season with him our #1 point guard is no longer a worry.
6. The lack of winning experience amongst the Gopher players was obvious at the end of the game. They had it down to a point deficit, and made huge mistakes to let their chance slip away. Turnovers, dumb shots, and giving up easy baskets to the Spartans was pretty much all that happened in the last few minutes. And not fouling down six with twenty seconds left, instead letting MSU dribble out fourteen seconds and them giving up an uncontested layup. That wasn't good.
7. Overall, awesome game. I couldn't be happier. If they can play like that the entire Big Ten Season, they might steal some games.
8. Illinois sucks bad.
9. Raymar Morgan is awesome. Additionally, both freshmen Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers look to be very good.
Colorado -3.5 vs. Tulsa Manhattan +8 @ Marist North Texas -9.5 vs. UL-Monroe Loyola-Chicago +12.5 vs. Butler
Down three of their best players, 3rd string goalie plays an entire game and the team is coming off one of their worst home weekends in a decade. Sound like disaster??? Sounds like success to me! The Gophers game out and methodically crushed the power house known as Wayne State 5-1 and 5-2 this weekend. The train is officially back on the tracks and seats are now being reserved for the frozen four in Denver. All Aboard!
Also, UND choked again this weekend. I was lucky enough to watch Fridays St. Cloud vs UND game on T.V.. After not allowing St. Cloud to have a shot on net in the 2nd period and taking a 2-0 lead early in the 3rd period UND still found a way to melt down and lose the game. Nice team. Who was it that claimed my statement of "UND is the most overrated team in the history of college hockey" was the most idiotic thing they ever heard? That person can feel free to send me a personal email and tell me what an intelligent statement that really was and also beg for my forgiveness. Sioux suck!
The Gophers open up Big Ten play on Saturday, and as a treat, get to head to East Lansing to take on the sixth ranked Spartans of Michigan State. I'm not sure they can make this line high enough.
The Spartans were pretty good last year, with Drew Neitzel doing pretty much everything, and are even better this year, now that he has some help. They've come along way since losing an exhibition game earlier this year to Grand Valley State, and have beaten everybody they've played other than UCLA, and in that game they had the lead and let it slip away in the end. In short, this is a national championship contender type team, and the Gophers are hoping they're on the bubble at some point.
While Neitzel is unquestionably the leader of the team (his A/TO ratio is 4.3/1 this year, how sick is that?) he's not even the leading scorer this year, due to a huge leap made by Raymar Morgan. He has increased every statistic across the board, going from 11.7 points to 17.4, 5.2 rebs to 7.1, and 49% shooting to 59% shooting. He played on some team that did something this summer that I don't feel like looking up, but it was a big deal and obviously did alot for him.
Add in Goran Suton and Drew Naymick (both of whom I would have sworn would have transferred as being worthless after watching them in the past), Marquise Gray and a a talented trio of freshman in Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers, and Chris Allen, and this is not going to be a very fun Saturday in Gopherland - although I'm betting we'll get to see Minnesota boy Isaiah Dahlman (4.3 minutes per game).
So, since they have no shot - Tubby's a great coach and all, clearly, but so is Izzo - the one thing to concentrate on is Al Nolen. I mean, Hoffbauer and Shamala won't be able to get a shot off, Spencer will be worthless down low against those guys, and Coleman's cute little inside/outside game will be shut off, so you got to watch something. If Nolen can handle Michigan State's pressure with Neitzel and Lucas and Walton, it bodes very well for this year and beyond. If he struggles mightily, to the point where McKenzie is bringing up the ball, that is not good. I don't expect a freshman, in his first Big Ten Game, at the Breslin Center, to play flawlessly, that's as stupid as expecting college coaches to cater to the pro coaches whims. But this could show us alot. Of course, even if he panics and sucks, it doesn't mean he's going to have a horrible career, but it does make the outlook for this season a little bleaker. Michigan State 90, Minnesota 63.
Rider -4.5 vs. Marist Canisius +9 @ St. Peter's UC-Fullerton -6 vs. UC-Irvine SMU +13 @ Colorado UC Davis -5.5 vs. UC-Riverside Fairfield +5.5 @ Loyola-MD
Ok, so I am a complete idiot. I really believed in Illinois, but they clearly don't deserve that love because they are a gigantic crap factory. Also, I'd love to break the game down for you. My plan tonight was to sit home and watch a bunch of basketball and give you all the insightful comments you've come to love, but Theory called me so I went to the bar instead and got hammered. So here's your breakdown: Illinois sucks.
Apparently, the balance I talked about with them really just means "they're all mediocre." Great.
- How does Villanova come into Dumpster arena and be down by fifteen in the second half? They probably saw the arena and got all depressed. What a shit hole.
- Seriously. I knew Villanova was overrated, and Scottie Reynolds is more like Scott Daniels and a big ole waste of space, but how do you lose at Dumpster Arena to Dumpster U? I don't get it. I hear their law school is money though.
- Will "Wheel" Walker just scored. I know one gangster who's very happy right now.
- I hate gambling.
- So I was watching OSU/Illinois at the bar, and these redneck losers were all like "put the TV on the Wild game" and I was all like "F that, I was here first go to hell" so then they left on the basketball game. That was awesome. And then I beat those guys up.
- New poll added over on the right. I'd put it on the left, but I don't know how.
- Stanford getting the calls as if they were UNC. By the way, I mentioned before how UNC was overrated and how they get such home cooking at home. Well, there were a total of 7 fouls called on UNC in their win over Kent State. Not in a half, in the whole freaking game. Give me a break. They're destined to win the championship because it seems it's been dictated by a higher power. Gay.
- SNACKS: Stop betting our money on the bowl games. You're terrible.
- click on the ads over on the right. I want to get rich by doing nothing.
- Did I mention that I'm home from the bar, wife is asleep, and I plan to keep drinking? You should have assumed.
- Here's your preview for the Gopher v. MSU game: They're going to get killed. Tis true. I'd love to watch the game, but that day we're taking a bus to Iowa to the Casino for Snacks' bachelor party. I'm going to assume I'm going to be pretty drunk. And gambling. Beer + gambling = the greatest day ever.
- How can USC/Cal be on zero channels. Dumb.
- Can someone please explain to me how Mbah a Moute is a pro prospect? He has one skill. Jumping. That's it.
- I got my ticket in the mail to the big North Texas/New Orleans matchup. I'm going to be on the N. Texas campus for a work related seminar and they're playing NO, so I figured I might as well go. Can't be worse than Dumpster arena.
- Oh, and the picture has nothing to do with anything, but I figured, hey, why not?
- Hm, turns out, maybe Kansas was pretty good anyway. Missouri too. Perhaps this BCS thing isn't the best way to settle a college football championship, and maybe a playoff is in order. I know I'm probably the first person to suggest this, but somebody had to say it.
- So Theory has decided to kill his blog, holycrapdoesthatpissmeoff.blogspot.com. Tis a true shame. A much better writer than I.
- Hey The Todd. You are missed. Write something.
- Brook Lopez sounds like the name of a hot chick.
- Whichever Shipp that is for UCLA (Jerren/Jeremy/Josh), he's a solid, solid player.
- I can't ever remember a year when the top four seeds were so obvious: Memphis, UNC, Kansas, and UCLA. Nobody else can touch these teams. I just noticed Wash State is ranked #4. This is, quite seriously, the stupidest thing I've ever seen ever. Even worse than DWG not winning Gopher Nation's best Gopher blog award. You have to be kidding me with this WSU love. Who else? Tennessee? Georgetown? They're good enough to make a serious run in March, but no way in hell are they number 1 seed material. Weird year.
- Awesome. Stanford (aka Gaysford, weak I know, but I hate them and I got nothin') hit a three to pull within 6 with a minute left and they were all happy and excited and forgot to get back on defense and gave up a long pass for a dunk. I hate Stanford and everyone who has ever attended that douchebag factory.
- I bet Robin Lopez hates himself. He's probably a cutter.
- Golf season started today. F Paul Goydos!
- I feel like I should drunkenly rant about something, but I just don't have the energy. So I'll call it a night. Also, Garth Snow is a queer.
A few thoughts from the games I saw last night, and my take on this whole Okposo situation.
- Northwestern is brutally bad. I mean, I knew they were bad when I had to watch them play DePaul at Dumpster Arena, but it seems they're getting worse. The got Kevin Coble back, but Coble would have to be Jimmy Chitwood to make this team anything other than last place.
- Michigan looks like it's trying to run John Beilien's system. WVU always used to shoot a lot of threes, make a lot of threes, and get out-rebounded. They got two of the three against Wisconsin, shooting 18 threes and getting out-rebounded 32-24. Too bad they only made 5 of the 18. Seemed like everytime I switched to the game I saw them clank one off.
- Another thing I somehow missed by switching back and forth was Minnesota boy Jon Leuer scored 25 points, hitting five threes. I didn't even know that tall dopey SOB could shoot threes. His previous career high was 12, so this was a pretty good day for him.
- Iowa is going to be bad this year, and has been bad, but they can still be tough. The gave Indiana a pretty tough night last night, before the Hoosiers finally took the lead for good mid-second half. They weren't ready to go quietly though. If you don't have Big Ten Network, first Ha Ha I do because I'm better than you, and second, you missed a hell of a shooting exhibition by Justin Johnson. He hit six threes in the final two minutes, including one from about 30 feet and one from just inside half court.
- Tulane might end up being a sneaky team in C-USA. After beating LSU last night, that makes them 3-0 against the SEC. Sure, it's Auburn, LSU, and Georgia, but still. Plus, they have a dude named Daniel Puckett, and he's white. So that's something.
- So the whole Okposo bit. My impression, and correct me if I'm wrong, is that he left because the Islanders guy told him he wasn't being developed properly, and the whole discussion on this is if it is a coach's job to prepare his kids for the pros or to win games.
The clear answer is kind of both, but winning takes a HUGE priority here. It's not the coaches job to one or two kids and prepare them for a pro career and neglect the rest of the team. That's just asinine. His job is to win, and with this winning and practicing you would think any decent player would develop his skills within that system. I don't understand how this is even up for discussion. It's ludicrous.
The Gopher basketball team brought in Kris Humphries, and basically told him "Do whatever you want so you get drafted." Well it was clear what kind of a disaster that was. Is this what was supposed to happen with Okposo too? Give me a break. If Okposo was bad enough that he couldn't "develop his skills" on a normal team with a coach who understands he's there to win, he should have gone to whatever team is the equivalent of where the Gophers were under Monson. Let's say Alaska. I think they have a team.
Okposo is a joke for leaving and expecting special treatment. Snow is a joke for expecting special treatment. Lucia (is he the coach still?) is in the right here. If you think differently, you don't understand sports and should probably go read a blog on quilting or knitting.
UCONN -3 @ Seton Hall (W) Notre Dame -2 vs. WVU (W) Villanova -4 @ DePaul (L) Illinois -4.5 vs. Ohio St (L) East Wash +1 vs. Northern Arizona UCLA -3 @ Stanford Cal -1 vs. USC North Texas -1.5 @ Troy St (L)
So there you go. Indiana, Michigan State, Illinois, and Wisconsin tournament teams, with Ohio State on the bubble. Purdue, barring a big run in the B10 tournament, Minnesota, and Penn State NIT teams.
I've also included a short Haiku on each team. Enjoy:
INDIANA: White, Rose Dominate The Big Ten has no answer Hoosiers Champions
MICH ST: Neitzel know as good Wow, where did Morgan come from Freshman are the key
ILLINOIS: Illini puzzle Keep letting games slip away Good balance. Will win. WISCONSIN: Hate them so very much Everyone in that state Should just die. For real.
OHIO ST: Beat Gators. Good Win. No other quality wins Buckeyes tough to rank
PURDUE: Young and talented Have played just that way so far How good and how soon?
GOPHERS: How much can Smith help? At least great class next season NIT I think
PENN ST: Claxton back once more Doesn't matter. Lions no good Could surprise at home
MICHIGAN: What a total mess Remember when they were great? Thanks Amaker! Yuck!
IOWA: Smith gone, Freeman hurt Leaves nothing for Lickliter Welcome to team, coach.
NORTHWESTERN: Bad again this year Will it ever end? Who knows? Tubby solves their zone
So there you have it. If you want an in depth preview of each team, with actual statistics and player names and analysis, head on over to From the Barn, where he breaks down each team in an intelligent way.
Also worth checking out is PJS's discussion on the lack of local coverage of the Minnesota basketball team. Excellent, excellent point. Radio is pretty much the same way as well. The only think I can figure is that the local media pretty much forgot about the Gophers due to the poor showings in the last few seasons, and haven't got up yet. I have to assume they will get there eventually.
And Gopher Nation hands out their 2007 Gopher Nation Awards. There's an award for Favorite Gopher Blog, and I didn't win. It went to that son of a bitch Paging Jim Shikenjanski. Yeah, real tough to win when you actually research articles and are insightful. Congrats PJS.
Lastly, I would like to add, that my new favorite former basketball player is Keon Clark. Most of the big time sports blogs have picked this up already, but in case you missed it, at a court hearing, Clark admitted, "I've never played a game sober." He also admitted he is an alcoholic. Um, I think that was pretty easy to infer from the first statement there, slim.
Clark was a badass shot blocker at UNLV in college, and could dunk from anywhere. He also had less shooting range than Jeff Hagen, but his athleticism and leaping ability got him into the NBA, drafted 13th overall in 1998 after averaging 14.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game in his two years with the Rebels. He played for the Nuggets, Raptors, and Kings (and 2 games for the Jazz), averaging 8 points and 6 rebounds per game for his career, including highs of 11.3 and 7.4 in 2001-2002. At which point, the wheels fell off Britney Spears style.
First, he fired his two agents, who were veterans at repping NBA players and instead hired a banker friend of his from back home, who had never represented an NBA player before - ever. And this was right as he was about to hit the free agent market and get a nice, fat contract. Probably a bad move. Following that, Wikipedia lists his other issues:
n 2003, Clark was ordered to pay $8,500 per month in child support to his long-time girlfriend, Jamie Hall
Clark was scheduled for jury trial on August 14, 2006 in Vermilion County, Illinois on: 1 Count of Possession of Cannabis, C misdemeanor; 2 counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance, Class 4 Felony; and 2 counts of Possession of a Firearm without a valid FOID, class 3 felony.[3]
In addition to these legal woes, Clark was recently in trouble for driving on a suspended license, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, and DUI.[4][5]
On September 20, 2007, he was sentenced in absentia to 30 months in prison for driving on a suspended license. He was not present at the sentencing, and an arrest warrant was issued for him.[6] On October 11, 2007, he was sentenced to 30 months of prison in Vermillion County Circuit Court on a different charge, for not having a firearm owner's identification card and for possessing drugs.[7] The State's Attorney office wants the sentences to be served consecutively.[8] He was arrested on October 18, 2007 in Splendora, Texas by the US Marshals.[9] The prison term for his Vermillion County conviction was thrown out and new sentencing hearing was scheduled in December 2007. During the hearing, Clark has said he is an alcoholic and "never played in an NBA game sober", drinking alcohol at halftime break of games.
There was also a story somewhere - which I can't find again - about how he missed a couple of court dates because "I had so many court dates I couldn't keep them straight."
Keon Clark is a true American hero. I leave with a short, 2-minute highlight film from his NBA days. Keep in mind he's doing this all while he's hammered. Truly, a man to be admired.
TCU +20 @ Texas (W) Houston +5 @ UMass (L) Wisconsin -8 @ Michigan (W) Dayton -6.5 vs. Akron (L) Kent St +22 @ UNC (L) New Orleans -5 vs. AR-Little Rock (L) Indiana -10.5 @ Iowa South Florida -11.5 vs. Rutgers (W) Penn St +1.5 @ Northwestern Tulane PK vs. LSU UNC-Wilmington +4 @ Drexel (L) Georgia St +12 vs. George Mason (W) Creighton -4 @ Indiana State (L) Duquesne -7.5 @ Bowling Green (W) Northeastern -4 @ Towson (L)
and all that crap. I don't have time to write anything more, I have a long hard day of laying on the couch watching bowl games (and Cincy vs. Louisville) ahead of me.
I would like to mention that I was 7-2 betting on beer pong matches last night. Yes, we set cupspreads and everything, ranging from a pick em to as high as -4.5 cups. It was pretty awesome, and I was the awesomest.
Also, if your name is Klinger you should be ashamed of your beer pong showing last night. Weak.
Cincinnati +14 @ Louisville Alabama +2.5 vs. Clemson Wichita St -2 vs. Illinois St
Posts
