College Basketball Preview: ACC

Remember at the end of the Mountain West Review where I said I was going to get less fact, number, and research intensive?  Yeah, I'm still going to keep that going.  It's much easier for me, and probably a better read for you.  Plus, it lessons the chances of me getting attacked by rabid fans of whichever conference I review, and my feelings are already a little bruised after a Dayton fan said I probably live in a trailer.  I'm still trying to get over that one.  Why don't people realize that words hurt?

1.  Duke.  More like Puke, am I right?  Seriously I hate putting these guys first, I just hate it, but I think they're the team to beat while the Heels figure out their new team.  In a bit of a switch, the Devils will be thin in the back court this season, with just Nolan Smith, Jon Scheyer, and graduated from high school a year early guy and big time recruit Andre Dawkins.  Luckily for them they have a whole bunch of big tall white guys who like to play on the perimeter and are comfortable handling the ball, as usual, so lack of guard depth shouldn't hurt in the half court, at least.  That group includes Kyle Singler, the preseason favorite for ACC Player of the Year.

2.  North Carolina.  Losing Hansbrough, Lawson, Ellington, and Green gives the Heels a lot to replace, but as you would expect there's a whole other group here ready to step in.  How good can Ed Davis be?  We'll find out.  I remember last recruiting season it was Ed Davis this and Ed Davis that and blah blah blah.  He will be counted on to be a big part of the offense.  The Heels recruiting class is loaded, with all five guys in the Rivals top 70.  Carolina will be loaded with big guys, with leading returning scorer Deon Thompson back, Davis, and three of the recruits 6-10 or bigger, headlined by John Henson who was described by Athlon as a "game-changing talent."  The key might be PG Larry Drew, the only real PG on the roster and a top recruit two seasons ago who was sheltered behind Lawson.

3.  Georgia Tech.  "Georgia Tech?" is probably what you are saying right now, but you best believe the Jackets are ready to make a run.  They bring in an outstanding recruiting class, including Rivals #3 overall Derrick Favors, a 6-9 center out of Georgia and the next Ralph Sampson III, as well as two guys the Gophers were looking at:  PG Mfon Udofia (#32) and Glen Rice, Jr. (#45).  With Gani Lawal's surprise decision to not enter the NBA draft and Iman Shumpert also back, the Jackets have as much talent as anybody (well, other than UNC or Duke).  Sadly, there is not a point guard from NYC on the roster, but one of the other newcomers this year is named Brian Oliver, so they got that going for them.

4.  Maryland.  Grievis Vasquez is still around?!!?!?!  Guy is on the Wade Lookingbill/Brian Cardinal program apparently - except he's talented.  Very talented, very good all-around player, and a flat-out stud, as shown by his triple-double against North Carolina last year, as well as several other near triple doubles.  The Terps have almost everybody back from last year, but don't have a secondary star to compliment Vasquez.  If one of the returners or top 100 recruit Jordan Williams can elevate their game to help him, Maryland might have a sweet 16 run in them.

5.  Clemson.  It's tough to know what to make of the Tigers.  Losing both K.C. Rivers and his-range-starts-when-he-enters-the-gym-type Terrence Oglesby weakens their perimeter, but they still bring back superstud post player Trevor Booker.  He can not only score, but he's one of the best rebounders in the country.  McDonald's All-American Milton Jennings joins up to help solidify the paint, but, like UNC, point guard play will determine how far Clemson can go.  Hopefully Oglesby enjoys Europe, his loss certainly weakens their hopes.

6.  Florida State.  Toney Douglas is gone.  Wow, how weird is that?  Dude seemed like he had been around forever, but I never got sick of him - now the Seminoles need to start life without him and they have a pretty good base to work from.  As usual they will still have a bunch of athletes, starting with 6-9 wing Chris Singleton and 7-1 beast inside Soloman Alabi.  Perhaps most exciting, however, is #7 recruit in the country Michael Snaer, a combo guard who was the California Player of the Year, will be lacing them up for FSU despite offers from UCLA and Kansas.  He should give Henson and Favors a run for ACC Freshman of the Year, and gives the Seminoles a chance to win on any night.

7.  Virginia Tech.  This is a team that I can see ending up higher than 7th, but right now I'm putting them here because this is where they ended up and I don't feel like cutting and pasting anything right now.  They lose their leading scorer in A.D. Vassallo, but returning guard Malcolm Delaney is a pimp and forward Jeff Allen is a beast down low, giving them an excellent inside-outside tandem.  The Hokies have been an NIT staple the last few years (other than '07), but if those two can get a little help from someone else the NCAA Tournament is certainly within reach.

8.  Wake Forest.  Last year the Demon Deacons raced out to a 16-0 record and a #1 ranking in the polls before coming back to earth and then flaming out in the NCAA tournament with a first round loss to Cleveland State.  This year they will have a tougher road ahead, losing their two leading scorers, James Johnson and Jeff Teague, off to the NBA.  Luckily, they still have hyper athletic and likely lottery pick next year Al-Farouq Aminu to work with.  They should be a very athletic team once again this year, but a mediocre recruiting class on top of losing their two studs means a step back.

9.  Miami.  I'm going to have to be honest with you here - I don't think I've seen a Miami game in two years.  Usually I've seen almost ever team, particularly from the power conferences, at least once or so a year, but somehow I've missed the Canes.  I know they lose Jack McClinton, who was their stud for a couple of years, and that certainly can't help.  The things I'm reading say that they have some pretty talented pieces and might be better than they were last year, but since I've never heard of any of these people I don't really know.  and I assume they'll lose a player or two to some sort of suspension since Miami is full of criminals.  Wow, I should really get to know this team better before they play the Gophers December 2nd.

10.  Boston College.  The Eagles were in a lot of ways a one-man show last season, and with Tyrese Rice now gone, some of those bit parts need to become major cogs.  BC does have two really interesting players, both oversized wing guys who can score inside or out in 6-8 Joe Trapani and 6-5 Rakim Sanders - who was a big part of their upset win of UNC at Chapel Hill last year.  Their issue is with lackluster post play, and with no new signees for this season they'll be relying on the same guys; foul-prone center Josh Southern and undersized PF Corey Raji, whose improvement might be the key for this season. 

11.  Virginia.  Tony Bennett is the new coach in Virginia, so you can expect the Cavaliers to get very slow and very boring in the near future.   For now, Sylvan Landesburg is an incredible player, but he needs a J.R. Reynolds to go with his Sean Singletary, or a Curtis Staples to go with his Harold Deane.  Yes, I'm trying to say he needs help.  Top 100 recruit Tristan Spurlock, a 6-8 wing from Virginia who was recruited hard by Georgetown, could be what he needs, but I don't see much improvement this year.  Bennett will make a difference, as boring as he his, but it will take time.

12.  NC State.  Man, has the this program taken a down turn in the last three years, and with their top three scorers gone to graduation it's not going to get any better this year.  Tracy Smith looks like he's going to end up being a very good player, but there's not much else here to get excited about.  Sid Lowe is still around, and he brings in good size and a couple highly regarded players in PF Richard Howell (Rivals #61) and C DeShawn Painter (#127), but took a big hit when PG Lorenzo Brown (#37) failed to qualify academically and had to go to prep school.  The school seems to believe in Lowe, and with girls like those above I doubt anybody is even paying attention to the court. 


So there you have it.  The ACC is always competitive, always tough, and always one of the best conferences in the nation and it should be the same again last year.  And with that I'm off to Portland for a well-deserved vacation until Wednesday, so I won't be around to either comment on the Twins/Yankees series or defend myself against the inevitable hate mail that will follow from this preview.  Hopefully Dawger, Snake, or Sidler will write a Twins post or two, but those guys are pretty much lazy sacks of crap who are borderline illiterate, so I wouldn't bet on it. 


Other Previews:
Conference USA
Atlantic 10 
Mountain West

I hope the Red Sox Lose

Sitting here at my parents' house (due to a flight tomorrow early and a babysitting issue we are spending the night over here) and having a nice glass of a fine Captain Morgan and taking in the Red Sox vs. Angels game.  Naturally, I hate the Red Sox more than I hate communists and  spiders combined, so I hope to hell they lose.  We're picking this up in the bottom of the third, tie ball game at 0-0.

-  By the way, since I'm here I saw my mother is currently reading Lady Chatterley's Lover (the book).  Yes, I get it's supposed to be a classic, but of course I had to tease her about reading smut.  Somehow this led to my mom talking for like five minutes and using words like penis and phallus.  I think I need another drink.  A double.  Or triple.

-  Now she just used the C-word.  Not as a curse word, but explaining how they use "that word" a lot in her smut book.  I swear to god I'm not making this up.  And now I'm getting the whole synopsis of this book.  It's basically porn.  Some chick is married and screwing around but her husband told her to go ahead and get pregnant by some other dude.  I don't know.  I just came here to watch baseball, jesus.

-  Somebody's on second for the Angels with one out.  God please I need to change the subject of my brain.

-  Did  you know Jon Lester once had cancer and then came back and pitched a no-hitter? 

-  I should also mention my mom went to a wine-tasting tonight.  Now she won't stop talking.  I can't even concentrate on the game - I have no idea what's happening, but I can tell you that some daughter of someone my mom knows is not behaving very well.  I don't know.  I can't keep up with the stories.

-  Bobby FatBreau walks, putting two on and one out for Torii Hunter, my mom's favorite player of all-time.  So NOW we get to watch the game.  I see how this works. 

-  Now the conversation has turned towards my blog, and she said I really need to "clean it up."  Well F that.  How am I supposed to clean it up with all this smut talk she's throwing my way.

-  Hunter walks.  I don't think I've ever seen that before.  First time for everything I guess.  So now we're loaded up for Guerrero.  I haven't looked up his stats this year, but he used to be pretty awesome.  Time to break this game open Vladdy.

-  Vlad strikes out, swinging at three straight pitches and reminding me of Jose Morales.  He used to remind me of Kirby Puckett, now he reminds me of Morales.  I'm guessing he must have hit some sort of age wall here.

-  My dad now called to have me check the playoff tickets that came in the mail today and tell him what section and row, so I missed the first two outs but now Roided-Ass David Ortiz is up.  He hit no home runs early but hit 27 late, I wonder if he re-learned how to swing or if he started up another cycle.

-  I just checked and this was Vlad's worst year of his career and by a lot.  Also Ortiz whiffs.  My mom seems to be slowing down.

-  Did you know Vlad led the league in caught-stealing in 2002?  It's true.

-  I think Lester is wearing a Crain-necklace.  Probably why the ump just made a horrendous call against the Sox.  Kendrick on first and two outs and I think someone named Mathis is up.  He might be a catcher but don't quote me on that.

-  Well I don't know if he's a catcher but I know he sucks because he just struck out.  Lester is seemingly developing quite well, too bad the Twins couldn't snag him in that stupid Johan trade.  Yeah, that's working out beautifully.  Christ, the centerpiece of the Yankees offer was Phil Hughes and he's developed into a stud 8th inning setup guy - more than the Twins can say they got out of their actual trade right now, apologies to C-Go fans.

-  Did I ever tell you how I almost played softball with J.D. Drew.  True story.  It was when he was holding out and playing for the Saints, and he was staying at a hotel down town where my friend Bear was working and they kind of got to be buddies.  We were playing on the same softball team and Bear asked him if he would play with us, he said he would, but before we had our next game he finally signed and obviously couldn't play softball with a bunch of weirdos.  Frickin' Scott Boras.  One more week.  One more week.

-  Wait a minute.  They're shooting something into the moon tonight?  That's the coolest thing I've ever heard.  Or, more accurately, an unmanned spacecraft launched in June will finally crash into the moon tonight in an attempt to find out if there is water or ice under the moon's surface.  This seems pretty elaborate to test for something they could have found out with, you know, a shovel, in the 1960s.  I'm guessing this is cover because the government has found out the Ko-Dan Armada is preparing to attack, and this is a covert test of our outer space missile defense system (OSMDS).  You heard it here first.

-  It seems I'm not paying any attention to the game, but it's now the bottom of the fifth with 1 out, runners on 1st and 3rd, and your boy Torii Hunter up again.  And now he's no longer up because he just hit the longest home run of all-time to give the Angels a 3-0 lead.  Jon Lester:  he could beat cancer, but he couldn't beat Torii Hunter.  Also my mom would like you all to know that she loves Torii, even though he doesn't have the sweetest ass in the league.  That belongs to Johnny Damon.

-  People who don't love baseball are idiots.  Seriously.  I bet if you did a correlation study where variable a = IQ and variable b = love of baseball, r would equal like, 0.9.  For real.

-  Did you see my Rockies tied up their series at 1-1?  I'd report more on it, but the game was at 1:30 when I was at work because I have a real job.  Rockies guy, take it away.

-   I really didn't like On The Road.  Sorry Dharma Bum.  Sorry.  I also feel like I'm getting really random.  I think their might be some rum in this rum and coke.

-  Football and IQ is probably like a -0.8.  LOLOLOLOLOLOL.

-  Game update:  Angels up 3-0, bottom of the seventh.  Care level:  dropping.

-  Bobby Fatbreau is now 0-0 on the game with four walks.  God that gives me such a boner.

-  Hunter hit by pitch.  Do you have any idea how many times I wanted to do that when he was with the Twins? 

-  Good thing the Sux brought in Mendoza or Ramirez or whatever Mexican that was so he could walk, HBP, and give up a hit.  Bases loaded and nobody out.  Good night Boston, you freaking retahds.

-  Would you believe my parents down own a pizza cutter?  True story.

-  You know, Nick Blackburn is a better pitcher than A.J. Burnett.  Unfortunately, the Yankees have a much better offense than the Twins, obviously.  Just get a split in NY and let's get a little more dome magic, am I right?

-  Some japanese guy almost got out of the jam but then instead gave up a two run double.  So close.  My dad's home now.  He was at his bowling league tonight and then the bar.  I'll be sure to let you know if he says anything wacky.

-  Well now they're talking about my academic career and how I got Cs a lot because I would never ever hand in homework but would ace all the tests.  Yeah, a non-conforming genius who plays by his own rules.  What up, ladies?

-  We're now getting a rundown of the bowling league tonight, so instead I'll tell you what's funny about the guys who are already getting thrown out as possible Free Agent targets of the Twins:  Chone Figgins and J.J. Hardy.  Guess who two of the top Targets are of the Tigers, according to my Tiger fan friends?  Yep.  And if you don't think there's about 15 other teams with those guys on their radar, you don't know dick.

-  this game is lame, my parents aren't being funny, and I have to get up before dawn to head to the airport, so I'm going to shut 'er down.  Look for a scheduled post of an ACC preview at around 1:30 or so tomorrow, then I'll be back Wednesday - so no Weekend Review this week.  Hopefully you'll figure out a way to get over it.  [of course, as I sign off I hear not only my parents discussing the merits of Nick Punto, but also hear my dad go on an absolute rant about Cub being sold out of roasted and salted soynuts, so I may be missing out on the good stuff]

Twins

1.  Obviously losing the first game isn't ideal, but I don't think anybody outside of the delusional and the wildly optimistic expected them to win this first game - not only due to the circumstances but also because of the pitching matchup.  The important thing in my opinion was that they made sure they didn't get blown out and let the Yankees know this is going to be a series, not a walk-over, and I think they accomplished that.  The score isn't as close as I would have liked at 7-2, but the team was able to get hits - actually outhitting the Yankees, and had plenty of opportunities to score, just couldn't get the big hits.  Even getting two runners on against Rivera is a bit of a mental win for the team.  I don't believe in moral victories, so this isn't one, but I do believe in moral losses - as in if the Twins got blown away here I could see them just rolling over and getting swept.  They now after to win three of the next four, which is going to be quite a chore, but game 1 gave me some hope, despite the loss.

2.  I am perplexed by Gardenhire's use of the DH.  Harris, really?  I understand why he was going Morales since he was swinging such a hot bat earlier this year, but now that he's looking overwhelmed (six pitches against Porcello, six swings-and-misses) why go with Harris?  Even the radio announcers were laughing at the Twins DH, saying they look like a national league team who doesn't have a DH and has to scramble to find one.  The move here is to play Gomez in center, shift Span to right, and move Kubel where he belongs which is no where near the field.  Gomez is a better CF than Span, and Span is immeasurably better than Kubel in right.  You gain far more in the field than you lose with Gomez's bat compared to Harris, if you actually lose anything at all there.  It's a no-brainer.  Which, of course, means Gardy will never, ever do it.

And speaking of my boy Kubes, I'm pretty sure he could face Sabathia 50 times without getting a hit.

Also, Rockies Guy - what happened?

OMG

I was going to write words but there are no words.  Try this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DWG Book Review: Gophers Illustrated

This, simply put, is an amazing book.  Now, it's not the kind of book you are going to spend hours reading at a time and isn't exactly Joycian in it's prose, but that's isn't it's purpose.  What it is, is the kind of book you will get hours of entertainment out of simply by leaving it out on a coffee table and picking it up whenever you have the urge - and any guests will enjoy it as well.

A simply astonishing amount of entries, page after page of detailed sketches and information about players, coaches, rivalries, games, and anything else you could possibly looking for as a Gopher Football fan.  Starting with John William Adams, the inventor of the expression Ski-U-Mah and the team's center starting in 1881 all the way through Matt Spaeth and Tim Brewster, author (and illustrator) Al Papas Jr. gives every significant player and event just enough verbiage so you remember, learn, or recall the entry, and the black-and-white illustrations are outstandingly done.

Seriously, eveybody is here.  You know Tyrone Carter, Darrell Thompson, Bruce Smith, Tony Dungy, and Bronko Nagurski are going to have entries, but what about some lesser-remembered favorites?  Rickey Foggie?  Yep.  Tutu Atwell?  Yep.  Tellis Redman?  Check.  Marquel Fleetwood?  You know it.  Even Preston Gruening gets a page.    

Events?  Want to see drive charts from the U's 1999 win over #2 Penn State or the 2002 Music City Bowl win?  They're here, along with the 1908 win over Pop Warner, Jim Thorpe, and Carlisle College and a 1904 win over Grinnell by the score of 146-0.

Throw in hundreds of interesting little statistical facts (The Gophers beat Michigan in their first ever meeting - it's the only time they've led the series), a listing of every award any Gopher has ever won by year, all the way down to all-conference, and the schedules and results of every game from every season in Gopher football history, and this book will keep you entertained.  I don't like phrases like "must have", but if you are a Gopher football fanatic, you absolutely must own this book.

As an added bonus, Papas will be doing a book signing this Friday at the University of Minnesota Book Store in Coffman Union this Friday at 4pm.  So go get the book, go get it signed, and then come back the next day to watch the Gophers beat whoever it is that they are playing.  Seriously.

Weekend Review - 10/5/2009

Wow, who would have thought we'd be sitting here still stressing about the Twins even  four days ago?  Quite the run to tie it (I think they are on a 16-4 run right now) and a little help from the Tigers and we are back to last year all over again.  That was a fun game to watch yesterday, and the cheers from the crowd when the White Sox scored and the chants of "Let's Go White Sox" were great moments.  Glad I had the chance to go.  No, I won't be in attendance on Tuesday, but I will most definitely be watching.  Let's hope we get the good Baker, not the gopher ball one.



WHO WAS AWESOME

1.  Delmon Freaking Young.  What.  The.  Hell?  I have no idea what got into him, unless it was that little bean ball/I hate Mijares incident, but whatever it is keep it going.  Delmoney absolutely destroyed Kansas City in this three game set, going 6-13 with three home runs and 10 rbi and coming up with the biggest hit of the game in both games 1 (the grand slam) and game 2 (bases clearing double off Grienke) and then knocking out two homers yesterday.  To put his production this weekend in perspective, these three games representent about 3% of the games he's played in all year and he put up 25% of his season home run total and 17% of his RBI total this weekend.  Is he finally turning it around and showing the player everyone thought he would be coming into the league, or is this nothing more than a small sample size flash?  I don't care, just do it for one more game.


2.  Jason Kubel.  If Delmoney hadn't had such a monster series, we'd be talking about Kubel who is almost as hot right now.  In the three games against KC, he went 6-13 with 3 homers and 8 rbi - the big difference is we expect this from Kubel.  His three-run bomb in the first yesterday set the tone and took a whole ton of pressure off the rest of the team, and continued a season of utter dominance as he's now up over 100 rbi and a .300 batting average.  Seriously, this batting line:  .300/.369/.535 with 27 dingers, 35 doubles, and 102 ribi is just sick.  He has a better slugging percentage than Alex Rodriguez, a better on base percentage than Johnny Damon, a better average than Mark Texeira, more homers than Evan Longoria, Justin Morneau, and Derek Jeter.  Seriously, at this point anybody bashing Kubel is either completely retarded or just running a bit, because he really and truly has had an elite hitting season this year.

3.  Jacob Edward Peavy.  This is a repeat from last week, but how can I not include him again?  A week after completely shutting down the Tigers, he did it again, going eight innings this time, and giving up just 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out five and giving up no runs.  You can read my post last week and pretty much apply the whole thing this week.  Two interesting additional thoughts about Peavy, both supplied by Snacks this week.  First, how impressed should we really be by him shutting down the Tigers twice?  As snacky-boy said, Carl Pavano did it four freaking times.  Pavano is the definition of mediocre, so perhaps it isn't time to make sweet love to Peavy just yet - although I lean towards the fact that this guy is pretty good.  Second, Peavy doesn't miss a whole lot of bats, and that isn't a desirable trait in the AL.  He only threw four pitches that batters swung and missed at tonight.  For comparison sake, Manship had nine and even Jesse Crain had two.  That's not a good thing.  If the Sidler still read this blog and wrote for it, he could probably do this better than I.


4.  B.J. Upton.  Bossman Junior has driven me crazy this year, first being my preseason pick for MVP and then proceeding to alternate between being hurt and sucking all season long, but he finally played the way I expected him to all year this weekend.  He started off by hitting for the cycle and driving in six on friday, scored two runs without getting a hit on saturday, and .  The thing that drives me and probably actual Rays' fans crazy is that he has all the tools to be an MVP candidate, but his numbers have taken an inexplicable dip this year.  Batting average from .273 to .243, OBP from .383 to .312, SLG from .401 to .376.  It's even more dramatic looking at deeper metrics, his walk rate went from 15.4% to 8.9%, his line drive % went from 19% to 15.5%, and his fly balls up are 31% to 40% and he's suddenly swing at 20% of the balls he sees outside the strike zone, where he was at just 15% last year.  Perhaps most damning is that that last year his BABIP was a ridiculous .350, and now that he's at a more normal .315 his numbers are awful.  Is the Bossman just an average player?  My eyes say no, but my brain is starting to say a solid maybe.

5.  Hakeem Nicks.  It's unfortunate that he got hurt and had to miss three games, because it's allowed Eli to get cozy and snuggly with guys like Manningham and Steve Smith which might slightly slow down his quick ascent to the #1 WR on the Giants, but it's clear he's going to be a star.  They managed to get him in the game a bit this week and he responded with a 54-yard TD catch.  Is it safe to say he's the next Randy Moss?  Yes, I think it probably is.  


WHO SUCKED

1.  Miguel Cabrera.  Obviously losing two of three to Chicago and coughing up a 2 game lead with three to play means a whole lot went wrong for the Tigers, such as scoring one total run in the first two games, but supposed MVP candidate Cabrera really forgot to show up, going 0-11 for the series.  And it's not even so much 0-11, but how many opportunities he squandered.  Game 1, first inning two runners on and 1 out - Whiff.  Fourth inning, runner on nobody out - popup.  Ninth inning, runner on nobody out - popout.  Game 2, first inning, runner on two out - popup.  Third inning, runners on 2nd & 3rd, two outs - ground out.  Sixth inning, runner on one out - strikeout.  Eighth inning, two on, 1 out - double play.  Even in game 3 he came up twice with a runner on base and failed to get a hit.  Sure, game 1 was a blowout so it didn't matter and they won game 3 anyway, but he had every opportunity to win or at least change that second game and failed to come through time and time again.  Of course, this probably just means he's due and he'll do a Jason Kubel impression to Baker on Tuesday.


2.  Clemson.  They weren't exactly a national title contender or anything, but with a kick-ass RB like C.J.  Spiller and a ranking just outside the top 25 in the preseason in like every poll it looked like they were poised for a good year.  Oops.  The losses keep piling up, and at this point the Tigers are 2-3 and suddenly look like instead of fighting for a top tier bowl they'd be lucky to make the Poulan Weedeater Bowl.  Losses to TCU, Georgia Tech, and this weekend to Maryland aren't horrible by themselves, but add them up and they haven't won a meaningful game this year.  It's always a struggle with a freshman QB, and Kyle Parker hasn't thrown a TD since September 10th, but they just keep finding ways to lose, and this week it was missed field goals - they missed two in the fourth quarter, either of which would have tied the game.  They weren't exactly chipshots at 47 and 48 yards, but kicker Rich Jackson hit a 51 yarder earlier, so you know he had the leg.  Sorry Clemson, not your year.   


3.  Dallas Cowboy Playcalling.  If you had the misfortunate of watching this crapfest I feel for you, though I had to watch it to.  At the end of the game, the Broncos had managed to suck slightly less than the Cowboys and had a 17-10 lead, but Dallas had the ball, 3rd and goal, with nine seconds left - two chances to tie the game.  So they go to Sam Hurd.  Huh?  I guess he'd be after Witten, Williams, Crayton, and Austin, but ok, maybe he had a good matchup.  Nope, he was going against Champ Bailey.  Now, Bailey may have been passed by guys like Revis and Asomugha, but he's still top shelf.  So of course, he knocked the pass away.  Then they ran THE EXACT SAME PLAY, which he again knocked away - Game Over, Broncos win.  And this wasn't Romo checking down, Hurd was the #1 option and Romo was Weber-locked on him.  The announcer also commented that Romo threw at Bailey 16 times in his 42 attempts, which, clearly, didn't work (Bailey had four pass deflections and an INT, and I'd love to see the overall results of those attempts).  Just an absolutely bizarre strategy.  

4.  Oakland Raiders Rushing.  So much for the three-headed monster (McFadden, Bush, Fargas).  Well, it could be a three-headed monster if the monster was a pile of crap with pipe cleaners sticking out and cotton balls and googly eyes for the three heads, but it certainly ain't some kind of real monster after Sunday's output.  Fargas was the star, gaining a whole 24 yards and 10 carries, while Michael Bush got 10 and McFadden carried six times for -3 yards.  Darrius Heyward-Bay was the team's second leading rusher thanks to a 20 yard reverse.  The Raiders gained 45 total yards on the ground agains the Texans, who ranked as the NFL's worst defense and were allowing 205 rushing yards per game to their opponents before Sunday.  Of course, this could be more of a Jamarcus Russell thing than a RB thing, since the Texans stacked the line and dared Russell to beat them - which he didn't, completing just 12 of 33 attempts for 128 yards.  Holy god is that guy terrible.

5.  Gopher football.  I didn't watch the game because I was busy doing I'm not really sure what, but seeing as how they lost at home to Wisconsin in a game in which they were favored, I'm going to assume they sucked.  No doubt either the Daily Gopher or the Gopher Football Blog has slightly more detailed information if that's your sort of thing.

Carl Pavano needs to watch this.

Farewell to the Dome, Swastikas and all

With the Twins playing their last three games at the Dome this weekend (most likely), I wanted to give the Homerdome a little love.  Make no mistake, the Twins will be losing a MAJOR home field advantage when they move into Target Field.  Don't get me wrong, I'm very much look forward to it, but the sheer mental advantage they had any time the Tigers or White Sox game to town will be missed, and in a lot of ways so will the dome

This isn't a best games ever list or a most meaningful list.  If you want there, check here or here.  This is a list of the first 10 memories I thought of when I decided to write this post nearly ten minutes ago, not all of them positive.  A good amount of my list overlaps with the two I linked, but this is merely a personal list.  Your mileage may vary.  Whatever that means.

10.  Some Random Royals game, 2000.  It wasn't an especially meaningful game, since the Twins sucked and I actually have no memory of who won or lost, but I remember this one because I had my first job after college, I called in sick, and The Egyptian and I went to this 12:05 game, bought two $30 tickets for just $30 total, and got hammered all afternoon.  It was great.

9.  First time I saw my boy Mussina pitch, late 90s.  I loved this guy from day 1, as I detailed in the post I wrote after his retirement, so getting to see him pitch for the first time was a treat.  I think he had a no-no for about five innings and ending up tossing a really nice outing - which I think he did everytime he faced the Twins. 

8.  Knoblauch returns, fans revolt, 1998.  Another game I was very fortunate to be at, it was quite the black eye for Minnesota fans who, let's be honest here, are mostly homer morons anyway.  If you recall, the brilliant tards in left field threw hotdogs, beer bottles, and whatever they could find at his stupid traitor head, causing Metrodome announcer guy to say, "Now cut that out."  It was pretty memorable.

7.  My first game ever, early 80s.  I remember they played the Orioles and I asked my dad why the team was named after a cookie, and I remember the final out coming when a Twin hit a foul pop that ended up hitting a speaker and coming back into play and was caught.

6.  That Eric Fox guy hit that home run, 1992.  I'm sure you remember this one - extremely light-hitting outfielder takes Aguilera deep to win a game for the A's in a pivotal series against the Twins, franchise takes a tumble.  Seriously it was nine years before they had a winning record again.  I wasn't at this game, but it still sticks with me. 

5.  Cal Ripken Jr.'s 3,000th hit, 2000.  This one is memorable not only because of the milestone, but because I was in attendance with Dawger and a couple of other people I don't remember, and he threw such a tantrum when everybody stood up and applauded and ripped his ticket in half after the game was over rather than keep it as a souvenir.  This night has spawned uncountable arguments about how "overrated" Ripken was an how he was basically "the same as a Cuddyer", and the world's greatest cartoon.

4.  Game 6, 1991 World Series.  It was starting to feel all over, but the much overhyped Puckett statement of "jump on back" was real enough based on his performance.  Both that catch against the plexiglass and the game winning home run in the 11th and are burned into my brain.      

3.  Game 7, 1991 World Series.  Another memory of a game I didn't attend in person, but not having this game on here would be criminal.  Pretty much universally cited as one of the greatest World Series Games in history, I remember watching it in my parent's basement.  Interestingly, it doesn't stick out to me as much as the other two games on this list despite being a better game.  But really, it's amazing if you think about it.  Jack Morris coming out for that 10th inning and shutting down Atlanta once again is really one of the last truly studly acts by a starting pitcher.  Other than Jim Leyland, name a manager who would send his starter out for a tenth inning of a world series?  There isn't one.  

2.  Game 7, 1987 World Series.  I actually don't remember a damn thing about this game other than the groundball to Gaetti to end the game, but that I remember very, very well.  I remember running out to the garage and honking the horn on my parents' car over and over again in celebration (come on, I was eleven years old), and feeling the sheer joy that can only come from a child seeing his team win a championship.  Incredible.  I really, really, really hope that someday in my lifetime they can win another one, but I know it won't be as special as this.

1.  Twins Sweep Sox for Miracle Comeback, 2008.  Probably seems weird ranking this as a better memory than the two World Series wins, but I was actually here for this game, it happened recent enough that it is still fresh, and I was old enough to really appreciate it.  This is the only entry I had the blog for, and I wrote about it immediately after I got home here.  Re-reading that post, I'm fairly certain that is the most emotion I have ever put into a post (not counting hate as an emotion.  or rage), and I know it's the most positive sounding I have ever been.  I still get giddy remembering it.  People high-fiving in the parking lot and in the streets after the game, spontaneous chants continually breaking out, and just a feeling of absolute euphoria.  this is just a taste of what it was like (skip to 2:40 and turn the volume up):

Seriously, I'm a bit terrified of how I'm going to react if the Twins win another series in my lifetime.  I'd be like a Mr. Burns in that episode where he gets shot full of drugs and Homer thinks he's an alien.

So farewell Metrodome, you get a pretty bad rap, and in a lot of ways you sucked big time, but I'm going to miss you quite a bit.  Since I'd rather shank myself in the eyeball than attend a Vikings game, I'm guessing I'll never be at the dome again after Sunday's game.  Well, at least until the next Monster Truck Rally. 

(as I post this the Tigers just lost and the Twins are up 9-0 in the fourth, things are getting interesting).

NCAA Basketball Preview: MOUNTAIN WEST

A very balanced conference over the last few years, albeit one that can't seem to do anything other than get eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament, will change this year with one dominant team and a whole bunch of question marks.  Also you can watch how I peter out at the end here, and if you hate these long-winded, stat and name filled previews you're in luck - I'm burned out.  The previews are going to be much less fact-intensive going forward.

1.  BYU.  The Cougars lose their best player in do everything swingman Lee Cummard, but return two other do everything types in swingman Jonathan Tavernari (16 pts/7rebs/2assist per game) and point guard Jimmer Fredette (16/3/4) along with two other starters, including guard Jackson Emery, who made the MWC's All-Defensive Team last year.  The Cougars have been a very efficient team, both offensively and defensively the last few years, and there is no reason to expect that to change.  BYU should be able to cruise to it's fourth straight Mountain West crown.  Also seriously yes, that guy's name is Jimmer.  Mormons make up some of the weirdest names. 


2.  SAN DIEGO STATE.  Nearly every contender in the MWC is hit hard by graduation, and the Aztecs are no different.  They drop over 50% of their scoring and lose four starters, but are my pick for #2 because they are bringing in some nice talent.  Malcolm Thomas and Tyrone Shelley, two former high school teammates as well as teammates of THE MAN Rico Tucker at Pepperdine give them two immediate scoring options -they were the Waves top two scorers two seasons ago and combined to average 28 points and 15 rebounds per game.  The Aztecs also welcome in a very solid recruiting class, highlighted by small forward Kawhi Leonard, a major get for the program as the #48th ranked prospect on Rivals150, and former Illinois big man Brian Carlwell. 

3.  UTAH.  The Utes lose their top four scorers from last year, including MWC player of the year Luke Nevill, but still return three starters including point guard Carlon Brown, who is an excellent all-around player and nearly notched a triple-double against Wyoming last season (15-9-9).  There are a bunch of intriguing newcomers as well, including two junior college players who ranked on JucoJunctions Top150 List (Rivals), and a freshman shooting guard in Marshall Henderson who can fill it up, going for over 40 three times this past season who turned down Gonzaga and Marquette to become a Ute.  Most intriguing are a pair of seven-footers; the 7-3 David Foster who returns from a Mormon mission, and 7-0 Jason Washburn, Rivals #90 before last season, which he ended up redshirting.

4.  UNLV.  Like SDSU, the Rebels lose over 50% of their scoring and will be relying quite a bit on newcomers, but ultimately their fate may rest in the hands of holdover Tre'Von Willis, a former transfer from Memphis and the team's leading returning scorer (11.4) and rebounder (4.3).  He can score, but can also be wildly inconsistent and shot better than 50% in only one of the team's final seven games and finished the year at just 38%.  The newcomers are highlighted by a couple of transfers - PG Derrick Jasper from Kentucky and combo forward Chace Stanback from UCLA.  Both were top 75 type recruits who, for one reason or another, didn't pan out at their original schools but still bring top tier talent.  They will be expected to start and be big contributors immediately.  Also incoming is Rivals #66 prospect for this year, shooting guard Anthony Marshall who could also see big minutes.


5.  NEW MEXICO.  Yet another team hit hard by graduation, the Lobos are losing their top three scorers, including All-MWC First Teamer Tony Dandridge, who was awesome.  The good news is that they have a lot of options at guard, including former Gopher commit for like a minute Nate Garth, as well as one-time Iowa commit Dairese Gary who followed Alford into the desert.  Add in a couple talented freshmen guards, their best returning player in small forward Roman Martinez, their second leading returning scorer and former top 100 recruit Phillip McDonald, and Junior College All-American wing Darrington Hobson, and the Lobos should end up being a pretty up-tempo team this year - a change from last year's 172nd tempo ranking.  The challenge will be finding someone to take over the frontcourt.


6.  WYOMING.  Maybe the team hit worst by graduation, the Cowboys lose three double-digit scorers including Brandon Ewing, one of the best player's in the school's history.  Wyoming will look to Afam Muojeke, the only returning scorer over 5.2 ppg, and a whole host of newcomers this year.  The two most interesting newcomers are a pair of opposites; a giant and a midget.  The giant comes from Auburn in the form of 7-2 (with a 7-5 wingspan) Boubacar Sylla, who suffered from foot problems and only played in four games for the Tigers.  Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer claims he's not a project or a stiff, but we shall see.  The little midget is 5-9 point guard JayDee Luster, a transfer from New Mexico State, who was ranked the #19 player in the state of California his senior year of high school and was being recruited by schools like Florida and Wake Forest before hurting his ankle and ending up at NMSU.  


7.  TCU.  Jesus, two and 2/3rds conferences done and I'm already getting burned out.  Time to make these shorter.  Whatever happened to Brandon Smith?  Does anybody know?  After he transferred to TCU, he just never showed up.  I even checked out a TCU message board at some point last year, and they had no idea over there either.  Maybe he's actually Devron Bostick in the witness protection program or some such, or like a Verbal Kint/Kaiser Soyze kind of thing.  Makes a lot of sense.


8.  COLORADO STATE.  Last season I predicted the Gophers would lose when they traveled into Colorado to play CSU.  I was wrong, but not by much.  I also thought the Rams would be a decent team.  I was wrong again.  They won just 9 games all year, mainly because their stud Marcus Walker shot just 41%.  He's gone now, but your boyfriend and former NDSU coach Tim Miles has the team moving in the right direction, bringing in a nice recruiting class including big man Trevor Williams, who the Gophers showed interest in at one time.  He also has already grabbed Chad Calcaterra for 2010, no if only he could find another weiner guard like Ben Woodside his master plan would be complete. 


9.  AIR FORCE.  Triple-option in hoops?  Only if the options are slow, slower, and slowest.  The Falcons are perennially one of the slowest (read:  boringest) teams in all of NCAA basketball.  The past five years they have been 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 4th, and 6th in slowest tempo.  That shtick was working well a few years ago when they were good, but that coach is gone and now the players are terrible and the team is terrible.  They ranked last in, well, almost everything last season and grabbed not a single conference win.  Oh, and four of their "best" players from last year are long gone.  They're like the Fordham of the Rockies.  



I think those got a lot better towards the end there.  Plus, as the kind folks from the Xavier board pointed out, I don't really know what I'm talking about anyway.  Expect future conference previews, and oh yes, I don't plan to quit, to contain less facts, less research, and more nonsense.  I can only believe this is an improvement.


Other Previews:
Conference USA
Atlantic 10

Regression to the Mean is a Cruel Mistress

-  Well, stick a fork in 'em.  You couldn't expect a thoroughly mediocre pitcher like Pavano to shut down the Tigers all season long, so this comes as no huge surprise.  To be fair, and I hate to be fair, they made a hell of a run to even make it a race.

I really thought the biggest mistake tonight was Gardy having Tolbert steal in the second.  The Twins had pounded Bonine in the first inning, and only managed to score two runs due to a nice play at second by Polanco and Santiago and the fact that Morales runs like he has a freight train attached to his ass.  It was to the point where Leyland even had the bullpen up and warming in the first.  His confidence had to be shot.  And then Tolbert leads off the second with a bunt hit.  I can only imagine Bonine was looking over his shoulder, paranoid he was about to be pulled.  Then Gardy sends slow ass Tolbert who gets tossed, clearing the bases and giving Bonine a chance to take a deep breath and feel like he's starting over - and it showed as he retired the next 8 (at least) Twins in order.  Now, it probably didn't matter since Pavano got pounded, but at the time I said it was a huge mistake and it looks like I was right.

In any case, it was a good year.  Kubel finally showed what he's capable of, Cuddy had a nice bounceback year, Mauer showed he is the best hitter in baseball, Morneau was on his way to another awesome season before he got hurt, and Span turned into the prototypical leadoff hitter.  If the pitching comes around, they are set up to be a pretty good team for a while.  We'll see.

-  Oh yeah, Comerica is a very nice park.  Nothing overly special, particularly on the inside, but the outside is very cool with a lot of cool Tiger sculptures and they have nice bronze statues of Kaline, Cobb, Greenberg, and other Tiger greats.  Good place, and our seats in the first row of left field were awesome.  Mid-way through the first, the guys sitting next to us show up and they are without question the drunkest dudes I've ever seen at any sporting event, and that includes me and Snacks.  At one point Kubel was up and the guy next to me says, "Man this team has a lot of lefties" in super slurred language, and then two pitches later Kubel is still up and he says, "ANOTHER lefty, is that all they have."  It was great.  And then in about the third I'm heading to the bathroom and the dude is in front of me and suddenly he turns and pukes all over the wall just outside the bathroom.  Somehow they don't get kicked out then, but in about the 6th, after constant yelling and beer spilling, they end up getting escorted out by security with their hands secured behind their backs.  It was pretty sweet.

I do have to give the guys credit though, at one point they were discussing Inge, and the one guy said, "He's a really good fielder at least, even though he can't hit" and the other guys says, "You know what Inge brings to the team?  Team Spirit." in the proper sarcastic tones for such a statement.  So I salute you super drunk Tiger fans, you may have been annoying idiots, but you definitely had one good line tonight.

-  Spent some time in the great state of Canada today for the trip, which was less thrilling than it sounds.  Turns out Canada is pretty similar to the US, just with more strip clubs, dumber, and dirtier.  Although it was pretty nice to have some guy flip me off not more than five minutes after we crossed the border.  My co-worker was driving and these three dirty canucks were about to cross the street so she slowed down, then they didn't move so she started to drive and then they started to cross so she drove slowly around them.  When we passed, one of the guys started yelling at the car and gesturing, pointing to his head as if to say, "Use your head, woman."  So I gave him a thumbs up when we passed.  When I looked in the rear view mirror, sure enough, he was giving me the ole salute.  Nice country.

As far as the border crossing goes, to get into Canada they look at your passports and let you in.  To get into the U.S., they ask about fifty questions, seach your car, trunk, and bags, and practically give you a full on interrogation.  They asked what we were doing, we said shopping, she said, "You've been shopping for three hours and you didn't buy anything" and then we said, "We work for a company in the U.S. and wanted to check out some of the Canadian stores to see what was different", and she's like, "Oh, do you do that often" and back and forth for like ten minutes.  It was nerve-wracking, and we didn't do anything wrong.  Man, I'd be a total mess if I was ever interrogated for anything for real. I was ready to confess to anything this lady wanted me to. Andy Dufresne I am not.

- If you go to a diner to get breakfast in Canada, if you order bacon what do you get? Do you get what we call Canadian Bacon and have to ask for American bacon to get the good kind of bacon? Seriously, I want to know.

- Speaking of strip clubs, we spent a lot more time in Detroit today as well, and let me tell you there are only three kinds of buildings in that city: out-of-business and condemned, restaurants advertising Coney Islands, and strip clubs. That's it. I don't know what the obsession is with Coney Islands, but it's insane. I don't think they even have a normal restaurant. The strip clubs were pervasive as well. My two favorite signs were "Free Chicken Dinner Thursdays" and "Thursday - Lesbian Night." I'm totally not making these up.

-  With the Twins eliminated from the tournament of baseball, I've decided to swing my allegiances over to the Rockies, mainly because of our very own Helton guy.  Here's what I know:

• Helton has had a good career and a good year, but has essentially been stealing money from the team for years.
• Marquis is the ace, but he's not really all that good
• Tulowitzski is the next Cal Ripken
• Iannetta and Stewart are both hot shot prospects who are basically poor man's Adam Dunns right now
• Barmes is Adam Dunn without the walks
• Garret Atkins sucks and it's a damn good thing the Twins didn't trade for him
• Carlos Gonzalez is everything we want Carlos Gomez to be.
• Ubaldo Jimenez, who I thought was not going to end up being very good after watching him in the Series, has turned out to be pretty good
• Huston Street can still close ball games
• Joe Biemel is a lefty Rod Beck, and Matt Daly is Pat Neshek
• Contreras is 100 years old, but is getting it done
• Hammel has maybe salvaged his career after sucking in the AL
• Aaron Cook is still the same Aaron Cook

Please let me know what else I need to know and what I may have been wrong on.  Let's keep trucking to Rocktober baby.  Rocktober.

-  Tonights post is brought to you by that girl from the awesome kick ass movie Saved!  No, I'm not talking about the super hot Jena Malone or the hot Mandy Moore.  Nope, I'm talking about Susan Sarandon's daughter Eva Amurri, who played Cassandra and was sort of terrifying and unattractive, so you probably think I'm a weirdo.  Well she's all grown up now, and I would love to supply a picture but for some reason the computer isn't letting me.  Well just google her.  Trust me.

-  So I cant' upload that picture, but I can upload others.  So go ahead and gaze at this picture of Audrina as a consolation prize, but it's really the winner.  God I love her.

-  Lastly, and most importantly, guess who's back.