Gophers vs. Hoosiers (taped)

So I already know what happened in the Gopher game, they lost by like 15, but I had to kind of sort of watch it at the bar since I was busy drinking and sucking at Golden Tee. Luckily, the Big Ten network was kind enough to replay the game at 11 tonight, and since I have more beers and don't feel like sleepy time, I'm going to watch it and write things that may or may not be interesting.

I seriously can't believe the whole "forget Royce White" attitude. I really can't. I honestly can't relate to the "let's stop recruiting him because he cheated" group. It's such a minor offense, I don't understand why we'd need to write him off. Congratulations all of you who feel this way, because even if Tubby would take him (and he should) I would be willing to bet he won't come here now. Good work. And people call me negative.

Pregame - So Dan Coleman is 33 points away from 1,000 in his career. What do you play, around 30 games a year? So in four years, that's a less than 10 point per game average to get to 1,000. Congratulations?

18:58 - McKenzie called for a carry. For the one hundredth time this year. You'd think he'd figure that out.

17:49 - Excellent turnaround for Coleman. He really could be so much better than he is. All the tools are there.

17:05 - Another McKenzie turnover. If he wasn't the only offensive option on this team, I'd say bench him.

15:24 - Had one of our biggest traffic days ever today (about a PJS average day). I guess this whole Royce White thing is a pretty big deal.

14:24 - DJ White just destroys Spencer to get an offensive rebound and a put back. It's just not fair.

13:49 - I'm ok with McKenzie taking a shot from anywhere at any time. We tried the whole "distributor thing." It didn't work

13:38 - Holy crap - great block by Coleman on White. That makes it White 277, Coleman 2 over the last four years.

12:54 - This would be alot more fun if I didn't know what was going to happen. Also, I happened to catch some of the Twins/yankees preseason game this afternoon. Kevin Slowey started and gave up 3 runs in 2 innings. Also, Brendan Harris, our new second baseman (or Brandon, not sure) had two ground balls he dove for, one to the left and one to the right, and didn't get a glove on either of them. And Carlos Gomez misplayed a flyball which he turned into a double, and then tried to throw home for a play at the plate and threw it into the dugout. They don't look good.

11:48 - Tonights trivia question "which former hoosier holds the big ten freshman scoring record?" I'm gonna go with Calbert Cheaney.

10:32- If nothing else, they're making them work for shots. Also, if the Wolves end up with Eric Gordon I'll kill myself. Not really, but that would suck.

8:42 - Jon Williams scores with a very nice move on the block. Is there hope? I kind of doubt it, but every so often he shows some glimpses. Plus anybody who can swat the ball Antoine Broxsie style is ok in my book.

8:01 - Blake Hoffbauer: 182 field goals attempted, 138 from three. Jesus Christ, Rickert, it's ok to step inside the line once in a while.

7:09 - Seriously, Eric Gordon is just not very smart with the basketball. The Gophers (who are very good at this) turned him over 7 times last game, and he has several already this game.

6:18 - 48.4% of Butlers field goal attempts this year are from three. Wow. Just amazing. They are either ripe for an upset or are ready to rip through the tournament.

5:40 - J Williams just airballed a free throw.

4:25 - Eric Gordon averages 2.5 assists per game. 2.5. 2 point five. You know who averages more than that in the Big Ten? Everybody. That's god awful for a point guard, especially an "All-American" type.

3:52 - Dan Coleman is the 233rd biggest ball hog in the country, taking 27.4% of the team's shots when he's on the court. The biggest? Charron Fisher of Niagara, at 38.9%. Interestingness? Stephen Curry of Davidson at 35.4%, OJ Mayo at 34.7%, and Luke Harangody at 34.9%. Biggest ballhog in the Big Ten is Kosta Koufos at 31.8%. I was shocked too.

1:40 - Dan Coleman knocks down a three, making him 3-18 on the year. I don't know why Tubby made him stop shooting the three. He shot 34%, 35%, and 28% the last three years. Not great, but I don't know that it's "stop shooting" territory. It's not like it's Rickert.

0:00 - I still can't believe DJ White hit that shot. What a dick. Also, the fact that it's his first career three pointer does not bode well for his NBA career. Currently projected as the 21st pick in the first round, if you're curious. Over a full round earlier than Rick Rickert.

0:00 - My new favorite stat is Assist Rate. This is the percentage of possessions a player gets an assist when a team scores when he is on the floor. Darrell Jenkins of East Carolina leads the country, as 47.8% of his teams field goals come from an assist from him if he's on the court. That's sick. Jamar Butler leads the Big Ten at 34.6%. Leading Gopher is Al Nolen at 28%.

18:20 - three hoosier offensive rebounds to start the half. Awesome. I can't wait to pick against Indiana in the first round, by the way.

17:22 - Dan Coleman hits another three. See, I told you. Stupid Tubby.

15:09 - That is a horrible, horrible charge called on Coleman. And I'm pretty much the last one to mention bad calls.

14:35 - Out of beer. Switching to scotch. NOTE: This is not a good idea.

12:48 - I somehow manages to get my best tie (dry clean only) into the wash and it is now ruined. This sucks more than I can even begin to tell you.

10:38 - Jesus does Al Nolen show some really, really solid flashes sometimes. I have to admit, I'm very excited to see what he does the next few years. No Whammies.

8:50 - McKenzie drains threes on two possessions and I've now decided I'm blaming this season on him and his "trying to be a point guard to show the NBA people 'see, I can be a point guard' when in reality he's a shooting guard with a CBA future."

8:18 - We have a 47-46 Minnesota lead. I believe it's somewhere around here the wheels come off.

0:00 - Wow, what a god damned surprise. The Gophers hang with a superior team for about 33 minutes, and then get their doors completely blown off. I can hardly believe it.

Update to Royce White Situation

Relax, spaz.

Here's a sampling of some comments at the gopher hole:

"Let's drop this guy"

"He is free to go to college elsewhere, we don't need this kind of crap"

"The neat thing is that even if you are an axe-murderer, if you've got the athletic talent there's always some coach who will give you another (and another and yet another) chance."

"The past is a great predictor of the future."

People. CALM DOWN. We don't even know what happened. There is no info on this, and people are ready to condemn White. This is knee-jerk speculation at best. Completely irresponsible idiocy at worst.

There are hardly even any rumors out there about this. The only rumor I've stumbled across is that he cheated in school. Who didn't? Do you seriously want to deny him entry to the U if it turns out that he copied off a friend's paper? Does that transgression mean to you that he is a problem child and a poor human being? Michael Beasley got kicked out of several different schools, and he's been nothing but a model citizen at Kansas State.

De La Salle has every right to kick someone out of school for whatever violation occurred against their honor code. I respect that, and I think it sucks that this happened, both for the Gophers and for Royce White, but it did, and it needs to be dealt with. The news has been out for less than four hours, and people are saying he's a waste of talent? He doesn't deserve a scholarship? Give me a fricking break. Christ, I hope he ends up somewhere else so he can thrive, not be stuck here with a fan base with people ready to crucify him and who will be at his throat at every little thing.

Can't you see it if he comes to the U? If he ever gets T'd up in a game, the idiots with this mindset will cry "I knew he had an attitude problem, he never should have been given a scholarship here" while if golden boy Hoffarber got T'd up it'd be because he shows such "passion" for the game. This is ridiculous.

So here's my advice:

1. Calm down.
2. Relax.
3. Try and keep some perspective on this.
4. If you can't do any of those, just shut up.

And some a-hole ran over my mailbox last night.

The 2008 Twins comparables

I know WWWWWW is a big fan of Baseball Prospectus’ list of comparables (they are only supposed to suggest what a player might do in a particular year) in their big book. Here’s a look at your Minnesota Twins through the lens of my favorite BP comps.

C – Mauer (his comparables are depressing…Mark Grace?)
1B – Carlos Delgado
2B – Michael Young
3B – Catfish Metkovich
SS – Alvaro Espinoza
RF – Jermaine Dye
CF – Terrance Long
LF – Vlad Guerrero
DH – Paul O’Neill

I bet this team would score more runs than the actual 2008 Twins.

Royce White Kicked Out of DeLaSalle!

According to the Star Tribune:

DeLaSalle, White part ways
Posted on March 5th, 2008 – 9:58 AM
By John Millea
DeLaSalle junior Royce White, one of the top basketball recruits in Minnesota, has been dismissed from the school for undisclosed reasons. School officials will not discuss the reasons, or even confirm that it has happened. But it has.

White might be able to gain eligibility at another Minnesota high school next season if his family physically moves. How his dismissal from DeLaSalle affects the recruiting process remains to be seen. The 6-7 forward has been offered scholarships from colleges such as Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan State and Iowa State.

So it's unconfirmed by the school, but it sounds like this guy is pretty certain as to what's up. I doubt White will have trouble finding a new school for next season, I'm guessing schools/coaches are already lined up outside his door, but what does this say about his attitude? Obviously it's just speculation at this point, but with Rodney Williams an academic question mark, the two Minnesota kids for 2009 are looking awfully shaky right now. More as more comes out.

Link here. Thanks to Snacks for the headsup.

PODS

Well, well, well. Being a "great blog mind", i was thinking to myself all weekend how i would start this weeks blog off. Nothing was really coming to mind, until I remembered Nick Faldo a.k.a. a big dumbass who clearly knows nothing about golf telling me that Matt Kuchar was gonna win this weekend, HA! Here's this Faldo guy giving me shit because i picked Luke Donald (2nd), but he was gonna pretend he had a great PGA tour mind and pick Matt Kuchar (T43 or some crap.....what he clearly did down his leg Sunday) So "Nick" who's your pick this week???

Now that i got that off my chest, let's talk some golf. This year's Honda Classic was a definite one to remember. For the first time since 2004 "The Big Easy" Ernie Els got back in to the win column on the PGA Tour. Being the top ranked player in the field, his ath to victory was not as easy as some might think. With former Honda Classic Champion Luke Donald and former PGA tour winner Mark Calcavecchia hot on his heels all day Sunday, Ernie knew he would have to play a mistake free final round. With a final round 67 and a little case of "Calc" pooping down his leg on 15, Els let the field know he is getting back to where he belongs. Did i mention that Matt Kuchar finished T43?? Just want to make sure everyone knew that.

One player i was extremely impressed with over the week was the young Australian Matt Jones, whoooooooooooo??? This was my first thought. This kid has now made 6 of 6 cuts this year, he's got a great swing and a whole lot of upside. Being in contention for the first time in his career clearly got to him Sunday, but when this kid learns how to close your gonna be hear alot from this guy.

This week the Tour heads to the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club for the 2008 PODS Championship. This weeks sponsor got me to thinking if "Nick Faldo" guy just shoved himself in a POD after that ridiculous prediction from last week. Anyways, this years field on paper looks to be one of the strongest of the year to date. This year like every year at the copperhead course will come down to who's hitting the ball the best this week. This course with its tree lined fairways is all about finding fairways if your going to score well, and placing the ball in the right spot on the greens to give yourself the best chance at birdies. My pick to win this week is Floridian Joe Durant. If he can get the flat stick rolling, I look for him to have a good week. And I'm gonna have an honor mention pick, and that is the big swede Carl Pettersen.

- Grandslam

Bubble Statement

It was a big day for bubble teams, as Virginia Tech and Ole Miss both won games they had to have. Ohio State did as well, but they still have a lot of work left. Arkansas and UNLV both lost on the road, the Razorbacks to fellow bubble team Ole Miss. Both teams should still be ok at-large wise as long as they live up to expectations in their conference tournaments. UNLV's loss was to New Mexico - who may have just put themselves in the bubble conversation with that win, jumping up to 46th in RPI, although a SOS of 127th doesn't help.

On to today:

ATLANTIC SUN: I'm sick of Belmont, yet once again, they're on top of the A-Sun. They've made the tournament the past two years as a fifteen seed, and have failed to even put the tiniest little scare into their opponent. They do have wins this season at Alabama and at Cincinnati, so maybe this year's team is a little better equipped to handle the big boys. Their top four scorers are around from last season, and guard Justin Hare has led the Bruins in scoring for three seasons. Their closest competitor is Jacksonville, a team who lost 8 straight earlier in non-conference play, but played well in the A-Sun.
FAVORITE: Belmont
SLEEPER: Mercer and Gardner-Webb are low seeds, but Mercer beat USC and GW beat Kentucky this year, so either could surprise
W's PICK: Belmont. The most talented and most experienced team in the conference should be able to get through.

PATRIOT:
This conference was dominated for a while by Holy Cross and Bucknell, but those two teams have fallen to the bottom of the conference as new contenders arise in American (the picture is for them) and Navy. Both teams ended the season hot, with Navy knocking off American in the second to last game behind 34 from likely Patriot POY Greg Sprink. Unfortunately for the Midshipmen, they lost a surprising one to Colgate in the season finale to give American the regular season title and home court through the tournament (each game is played at the higher seed in this one).
FAVORITE: American, regular season champ and home court throughout.
SLEEPER: Holy Cross. They're the bottom seed and will have to win four games on the road, but they were much improved the second half of the season and have a win at American on the resume.
W's PICK: Navy. Sprink is a good enough player that he can carry the Midshipmen on his shoulders and take them to the dance.

SUN BELT:
Two of the better mid-major teams reside in the Sun Belt, in Western Kentucky and South Alabama, and the Belt may actually get two bids. South Alabama should be in good shape as long as they get to the finals, with a win over Mississippi State and a sweep of WKU, as well as a 3-pt loss at Vanderbilt. The Jaguars also have an advantage in that the tournament is being held in their own arena. Western Kentucky might not be able to get in even with a finals appearance and may need to win the whole thing. They are led by one of the best players in the country in Courtney Lee, who is still looking for his first NCAA tournament appearance. If you get a chance to watch these two teams, do it.
FAVORITE: South Alabama
SLEEPER: Denver. Ok, not really. There isn't really a sleeper here, because USA and WKU are head and shoulders above everybody else. Denver does rank 340th out of 341 in terms of tempo, so it's possible they could screw everybody up.
W's PICK: Western Kentucky. Western is an excellent team, whose only two losses in conference were to USA, and it's tough to beat a team three times (or so the saying goes). Needing to win the tournament, along with the force that is Courtney Lee should be enough to get the Hilltoppers into the dance - and make a very nerve-wracking Selection Sunday for South Alabama.

OTHER BUBBLE GAMES:
Dayton @ St. Bonnies - Dayton can't afford to lose anymore games
BC @ Miami - Miami is probably in anyway, but should take care of business just to be sure
Syracuse @ Seton Hall - pretty much an elimination game
Kentucky @ South Carolina - Can Kentucky get in? Don't know, but they need to keep winning.
LaSalle @ UMass - Minutemen second in line in A-10 for an at large, need to take care of a surprisingly good LaSalle team
Tulsa @ UAB - Blazers only hope for C-USA beyond Memphis
Oklahoma @ Ok State - Sooners probably in, State probably out
Tennessee @ Florida - pretty much a must win for the Gators
Texas A&M @ Baylor - Aggies sliding badly and desperately need this game, Baylor should be in but can really help themselves out
Wyoming @ BYU - A BYU win guarantees them at least a share of the MWC title, which might be enough to get them an at-large if they fall in the MWC tournament


God I love this stuff.

TOMORROW: Missouri Valley & NEC first rounds. Second round action for the Atlantic Sun and Big South

The Best Time of the Year

Yes, it is upon us. The greatest time of the year. Starting today, conference tournaments begin, carrying on for the next two weeks culminating in selection Sunday. Then the Big Dance (along with the NIT and CBI - Go Gophers). There's nothing better than Day Action, although that doesn't start until Thurday. In any case, it's championship week(s), and it all gets started with the Horizon, Big South, and Ohio Valley today.

HORIZON: This would be a huge one if the Gophers had any kind of prayer of getting an NCAA bid. Butler is a lock for the tournament, whether they win the Horizon tourny or not, and if someone knocks them off that takes away a bid from a bubble team, as there is no other Horizon team worthy of consideration. The good news for the Bulldogs is that the Horizon protects their top two seeds, so Butler and Cleveland State get byes into the semifinals. The semis and championship are also played at Hinkle Field House, which just so happens to be Butler's home gym.
FAVORITE: Butler
SLEEPER: Wright State. Despite a three game skid, they give the Bulldogs fits. The Bulldogs won't have to face them unless they get past Cleveland State in the semis.
W's PICK: Butler. Despite not having the pressure of having to earn a bid into the NCAA tournament, they are head and shoulders above the rest of the teams in the conference.

OHIO VALLEY: Basically a two team conference, with Murray State and Austin Peay at the top. The Governors (Austin Peay) are at the top of the conference, at 16-4, three games better than the Racers (Murray State). The two teams split the regular season matchup, and despite a slight talent edge to Austin Peay, you can't count out Murray State as they seem to make it to the tournament quite often, going all the way back to Popeye Jones. No at-large bid possibilities to the loser here, so it's all on the line.
FAVORITE: Austin Peay
SLEEPER: Tennessee-Martin. The Skyhawks boast the nation's third leading scorer in Lester Hudson. Hudson averaged 25.4 points per game this season and can score with anybody, going for 35 against Memphis, 27 against Mississippi State, and 36 against Vanderbilt. He shoots 46% from the field, 40% from 3, 82% from the line, and chips in with 7.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 2.9 steals at 6-3. Despite going just 11-9 in the conference this year, Hudson is the type of player who could get hot and lead them to a bid.
W's PICK: Austin Peay. The Governors lost in the OVC championship game last season, and should be focused enough to get it done this year.

BIG SOUTH: Another two team conference, with last season's darling Winthrop and UNC-Asheville's freak team the only two relevant teams. Asheville's Kenny George is a monster at 7-7, 360 lbs. If you haven't seen him, look here:



He only plays 20 minutes a game, but manages to score 12.5 points, pull in 7 rebounds and block 4 shots per game. He's not athletic enough to handle a lot of bigger conference big men, but can hold his own in the Big South. Winthrop has a new coach and some new players this year, and isn't the same team that knocked off Notre Dame last year, but could still do some damage, with wins over Georgia Tech and Miami this season.
FAVORITE: UNC-Asheville. Tied with Winthrop at the top, but swept the Eagles.
SLEEPER: High Point. Third in the conference, beating both Asheville and Winthrop once this season. They boast the conference's second leading scorer in Arizona Reid, who averages 24.2 per game and scored 42 in the regular season finale (and also leads in rebounding at 11.1 rpg). I don't consider High Point a serious threat.
W's PICK: Winthrop. Despite not being quite as good as last season, Winthrop is still the best in the conference and has the experience to get to the dance once again.

OTHER BUBBLE GAMES:
Wake Forest @ Virginia Tech - if Tech keeps winning, they can get in
Purdue @ Ohio State - Buckeyes on their last legs, can't afford any more losses (ESPN 6pm)
Miami (OH) @ Kent State - Kent in position for a rare MAC at large bid, has to avoid slipping up (ESPN2 6pm)
UNLV @ New Mexico - Rebels may be at large worthy as well, also need to avoid losses
Arkansas @ Mississippi - A monster game here. Not quite an elimination game for Arkansas, but pretty much is for Ole Miss. A Razorback win puts them in and the Rebels out (ESPN 8pm)


TOMORROW: Atlantic Sun, Patriot, Sun Belt

Postseason Fields

I've never tried this before, but here's how I think the three postseason tournaments shake out:

NCAA (65 bids)

Already In (1): Cornell

Conf Tournament Winners (30): Albany, Xavier, North Carolina, Belmont, Texas, Louisville, Northern Arizona, Winthrop, Wisconsin, UCSB, VCU, Memphis, Butler, Niagara, Western Michigan, Hampton, Southern Illinois, UNLV, Wagner, Austin Peay, UCLA, American, Mississippi State, Davidson, Stephen F. Austin, Mississippi Valley State, Oral Roberts, Western Kentucky, Gonzaga, New Mexico State

Locks (18): Duke, Clemson, UCONN, Georgetown, Marquette, Pitt, Notre Dame, Indiana, Michigan State, Purdue, Kansas, Stanford, Washington State, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Drake, BYU, St. Mary's

At Large (16): Miami, Oklahoma, Baylor, Kansas State, Arizona, USC, Arkansas, Dayton, UMass, South Alabama, Kent State, Illinois State, UAB, West Virginia, Kentucky, Mississippi



NIT (32 bids)

Reg Season Conf Winners - No NCAA bid (10): UMBC, Portland State, UNC-Asheville, CS-Northridge, Rider, Boise State, Alabama State, Lamar, Robert Morris, Morgan State

At Large (22): Virginia Tech, Maryland, Syracuse, Villanova, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oregon, Arizona State, Florida, St Joe's, Rhode Island, Creighton, New Mexico, Houston, Oklahoma State, Sam Houston State, Ohio, San Diego State, Wright State, George Mason, IUPUI

CBI (16 bids)

East (4): Siena, Temple, Seton Hall, Wake Forest

West (4): Nevada, Utah State, California, CS-Fullerton

Midwest (4): Cincinnati, Cleveland State, Miami (OH), Minnesota

South (4): Florida State, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, Charlotte


So there you have it.

Gopher/Buckeye Recap (Kind of)

The Gophers knocked off Ohio State at Williams Arena yesterday, 71-57, in a game that will be a big boost to their RPI and NIT or CBI hopes. Getting a win over a top 50 team can only help them wrangle a bid into one of the crappy tournaments, which means having to watch this team even more.

I attended yesterday's game with the 7-months pregnant Mrs. W, who is more of a basketball tolerater rather than a fan. After the 24-23 first half - one of the most boring halves of basketball I have ever seen - we decided to cut out and go eat some steak. It was really good. So I don't really have a recap of the clearly much more exciting second half, for that you can try over here at PJS.

I will recap the first half for you by posting real, true quotes from Mrs. W at the game yesterday:

On the Gophers' offense: "It's like they don't know what to do out there. They're just floundering about."

After noticing the score for the first time with about 5 minutes left: "Holy crap this is low scoring. What the hell?"

On the spazzy members of the band: "What's wrong with band people?"

On Ohio State: "They're way faster than the Gophers, and they seem to have their shit together."

On Kosta Koufos: "That guy is really frickin' tall."

On a guy stamping his feet when cheering: "Is that guy special?"

On her favorite part of the game: "The dance team at halftime, for sure."

On the guy in front of us who kept standing up to yell at the refs: "Keep yelling, frumptastic. I'm sure the ref will change his mind. What an idiot. And his kid is next to him. That poor kid should be taken away so he has a chance in life."

On the Gophers in general: "They suck. This is embarrassing."


And there you have it. Obviously, they got their shit together in the second half, scoring 47 points, and beat a Buckeye team that really needed this win. Excellent win, and I kind of wish we had been there for the second half. Maybe next time the Gophers won't suck so bad in the first half and force us to leave.


Temple +6.5 @ St Joe's
Maryland -2 vs. Clemson
Cincinnati -4.5 vs. Providence
Kentucky +14.5 @ Tennessee
Notre Dame -5.5 @ DePaul
Indiana +5.5 @ Michigan State
UCLA -5 @ Arizona
Clemson/Maryland OVER 148


Yesterday: 9-8
Season: 376-354

Go Twins

I managed to catch some of the Twins/Red Sox game on Boston's station NESN last night. I managed to watch enough to see Kevin Slowey give up back-to-back homeruns and see Punto demonstrate his gritty scrappy hustletude by sliding in the outfield to grab an errant throw from Joe Mauer.

I'm so excited for this season.


Vandy/Arkansas OVER 147.5 (W)
Oklahoma -1.5 vs. Texas A&M (W)
Wichita State +12 @ Drake (W)
St Mary's +6.5 @ Gonzaga
Stanford -4.5 vs. Washington State (W)
Syracuse -2.5 vs. Pitt (L)
Duke -12 @ NC State (L)
Miami -6.5 vs. Virginia (L)
Ohio State +3 @ Minnesota (L)
Baylor -6.5 vs. Missouri (W)
Memphis -11.5 @ Southern Miss (L)
Kansas State +13 @ Kansas
UCONN -5 vs. West Virginia (W)
Alabama +6.5 @ Ole Miss (W)
Rhode Island PK @ LaSalle (W)
Marquette -3 vs. Georgetown (L)
Vanderbilt +7 @ Arkansas (W)

Thursday: 7-5
Season: 367-346