Tuesday Talkers

 I hate this time of year.  Not because of Christmas because I love Christmas because hey, no work, but because there's so little going on.  College basketball is just so slow.  There might be an interesting game or two, but in general it's pretty boring.  And next week is even worse with Christmas and stuff.  I have no idea why college kids can't play basketball over Christmas week.  I doubt they like their families anyway.  So since I have nothing else to write about and I just did a movie blog, here's just some stuff.


- Things should be a bit more entertaining when Rutgers joins the Big 10 than previously hoped.  Not because they're any good, because they're still pretty terrible at 5-7 this year (with a loss to William & Mary!) but because former Hoya Greg Whittington has committed to play for the Scarlet Knights after getting kicked off the team at Georgetown.  Whittington is a solid player who averaged 12 points and 7 rebounds per game for Georgetown last season before being ruled ineligible.  Of course I suppose it's a a question of if he ever actually arrives there considering that being ruled ineligible and then getting kicked off the team, not to mention he's dealing with ACL tear right now.  And I don't know when he'd be eligible to play or how many years he'll have left since his circumstances are a bit weird.  Hooray for information!

-  North Carolina is a fascinating team this year, and I don't just mean because they've beaten Louisville, Michigan State, and Kentucky while losing to Belmont and UAB, although that's pretty crazy in and of itself.  I mean because they're playing a completely different style than anyone else in basketball.  The average basketball team takes 32.5% of their field goal attempts from behind the 3-point arc, and scores 26% of it's total points on three-pointers.  The Tar Heels take just 15.9% of their shots from three, and that shot makes up just 10.7% of their points - both of those are dead last in the NCAA.  The team in front of them in % of attempts (Lamar) takes 19.8% of their shots from three, and the team in front of them for % of points from three (Bowling Green) gets 14.3% of their points from deep.  So North Carolina ignores the three point shot to at extent that nobody else can even touch, and it's intentional because almost every year under Roy Williams they've ranked in the 330s in those metrics (I had no idea).  It's probably a good thing since they shoot under 30% and Marcus Paige is their only halfway reliable shooter, but isn't that weird.  I think it's weird.  And I'm sharing it with you because you deserve to know weird things that are weird.

-  If you're wondering about the Gophers, and I'm sure you are since this is allegedly a Gopher blog, they take 39.6% of their shots from three (48th) and get 32.1% of their points from there (54th), shooting an above average 35.7% (vs. 33.9% national average).  These numbers are all up considerably from last season when the Gophers were ranked in the 270s, which makes sense both given the change in roster make up and Pitino's emphasis on the 3-ball.  Plus, it's way more fun.

-  Semi-Gopher related, but if Rashad Vaughn ends up at Iowa State (I said if!!) he's in for a monster year.  Hoiberg gives his guards so much freedom offensively and such little responsibility defensively that he'll end up averaging like 25 a game.  I don't know that it's the best thing for his development, but it's not like a bad defensive year will suddenly drop him out of the first round of the draft.  I really hope he's a Gopher next season, but I can see the Iowa State appeal no doubt.

-  Apparently Miramax is going to be producing a sequel to Rounders and will be turning Good Will Hunting into a television series.  These both sound like horrible ideas.  Rounders 2 could be good depending on where they take the characters, but for some reason I'm picturing a version of the Hangover with more gambling, and I suppose that could be entertaining even if it isn't necessarily "good" if you know what I mean.  The Good Will Hunting series is baffling.  I have no idea what they'd even do with it.  Hopefully someone smarter than me has that one figured out already.

- Tons of stuff going down in baseball with the winter meetings and everything, way too much to comment on in depth even for me, but I'll tackle a couple things:

• The Twins signed Phil Hughes, Ricky Nolasco, and Mike Pelfrey and are still chasing Bronson Arroyo.  I read one comment along the lines of, "I've never seen a team retool by chasing so much mediocrity" and that may be true, but mediocrity is a huge upgrade for this team.  Twins' starters had an ERA of 5.26 last season, worst in the majors by nearly half a run (0.45 to be precise).  They were the second worst in 2012 with an ERA of 5.40, better than only the Rockies.  2011?  Fifth worst at 4.64.  From 2011-2013 Twins' starters' ERA was 5.08, worst in the majors.  So yeah, Hughes, Nolasco, Pelfrey, and Arroyo might be mediocre, but they almost can't be worse than what they've been trotting out there.  Right?  RIGHT?
• Jason Kubel is back with the Twins, and that's cool because he was always one of my favorites and I even had a Kubel shirt which I have since gotten rid of (waa waa).   He signed a minor league contract with an invite to spring training, and it surprised me they got him so cheap.  Yes he was brutal last year, but in 2012 he hit 30 homers and OPS+ed 120.  He's become even more useless against lefties, but he should be a solid platoon player against right handed pitchers.  Considering Doumit hits lefties pretty well that could be a pretty good DH combo.  Of course there's no chance of that actually happening because Gardy.
• Speaking of the AL Central, I am really not liking what the White Sox are doing.  Everyone has ranked them for years as having the worst farm system, so the thought was they'd be terrible for like a decade and that made me smile because fuck the White Sox, right?  Well now all of a sudden they've acquired a young promising outfielder in Avisail Garica, a young promising outfielder in Adam Eaton, a young promising third baseman in Matt Davidson, and the latest big swinging Cuban in 1B/DH guy Jose Abreu.  The pitching is still a huge question mark behind Chris Sale, but I liked it better when Kenny Williams was burning the team down by trading away all youth and trying to fix problems by throwing money at them.  I can't remember this new guys name but he's been making a lot of mostly under the radar, smart moves and I don't like it one bit.  Now, with the two new guys, Alejandro de Aza is suddenly available, and this stupid guy will probably do something smart with him.  Sucks.
• By the way, Eaton is 5-8 and describes himself as "gritty dirt bag" kind of player.  So that should be a blast.  Hawk will probably have an orgasm on the air at some point.

-  Finally got all subscribed up with Netflix and we started watching Orange is the New Black.  Really good show.  In a world where I'm having more and more trouble finding new good shows and even some of my old favorites seem to be heading off the rails, it was refreshing to find a show that is both well made and entertaining since there are like 3 of those left.  Check it out.  It's not Breaking Bad, but what is?  Nothing.  Nothing is.  God such a good show I miss it so much.  Magnets, bitch!

-  Plus, it brings Amazonian hot Laura Prepon back in my life, which is a solid plus.

-   Semi-Gopher related, but it seems Syracuse fans have little to no interest in traveling to Houston for the Texas Bowl against the Gophers.  Instead, the fantastic Syracuse blog Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician is organizing a donation drive among readers/fans to send under privileged Houston area kids to the game for free, with a goal of getting tickets for 200 kids (plus a hotdog, soda, and a freaking Cuse shirt).  I don't know if it's the Christmas season or getting older or having my own kids or what, but I thought this was really, really cool.  Or maybe it's just the Gopher connection.  Let's go with that.

-  I love Jay Cutler.

-  If you don't know the story behind this, it's here.

-  I know the last thing anybody really wants to hear about is someone else's fantasy woes (Jay Cutler would weight in on this one) but indulge me for a moment.  Due to Andrew Luck falling off a cliff post Reggie Wayne injury and Alex Smith suddenly lighting the world on fire I benched Luck for Smith two weekends ago in our quarterfinal.  Ended up losing by 2 points on Brandon Marshall's last catch Monday night, and would have won easily if I had kept Luck in there.  Then I would have won easily this week, so I should be in the championship, but I'm not instead at sitting around like a loser.  Fantasy football is really stupid.  And so are you.

-  I took this quiz and got 198/200 (missed Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine).  I feel both proud and slightly embarrassed.

-  Good news for the Gophers, Florida State absolutely crushed Charlotte tonight.  The same Charlotte squad who beat Michigan earlier this year, and, with a certainly possible good year in a weak Conference USA, could end up a top 100 RPI team.  Thus, since Florida State beats them and the Gophers beat Florida State through osmosis that helps the Gophers' RPI.  Or something.  I don't know.  I'm not that bright.

-  I was gonna right more but first I got distracted by Orange is the New Black and then I realized I really hate you.

Week In Review - 11/16/09

Holy crap dude, how freaking crazy was Belicheck going for it on fourth and two with a six point lead and just two minutes left from his own 30 yard line?  Was that anything other than, "We know damn well if we punt you're going to score and beat us, so we better keep the ball as long as possible?"  Either that or Belicheck has finally lost it.  Just bizarre, but what any entertaining game in general and a great comeback by Manning.  College basketball is finally back as well, and my thoughts on the Gopher hoops game are right here.  If you're looking for Gopher football thoughts, god save your soul.


WHO WAS AWESOME

1.  Evan Turner.  I mentioned this in my Big Ten Preview, but I'll say it again - Evan Turner is ridiculous.  He certainly didn't disappoint in the opening week, putting up a triple-double in the opener against Alcorn State and following it up with 24-17-4 against James Madison.  Sure, the competition wasn't the best, but Turner and the rest of the Buckeyes looked very, very good, winning the two games by an average of 34 points.  I'm telling you, with Turner, David Lighty, and William Buford this team is going to be very tough and Memphis-y.  If Jon Diebler keeps shooting like he did last year (or better so far), this is going to be a really good team.  We'll know more after next week when they play Carolina, but watch out folks.

2. Rotnei Clarke.  Corliss Williamson didn't do it.  Scotty Thurman didn't do it.  Patrick Beverley didn't do it.  Clint McDaniel, Todd Day, and Ronnie Brewer couldn't do it. Hell, not even the great Oliver Miller could do it, but apparently Rotnei Clark can - break 50 points in a game, that is.  Clarke became the first Arkansas player to ever score 50 points in a game, putting up 51 in Friday night's 130-66 win over Alcorn State.  Clarke had 31 at halftime, and hit 13 three-pointers on 17 attempts for the game breaking the SEC record held by former Arkansas guard Alex Dillard.  It's good timing, too.  I had just read an article about how the Razorbacks had a bunch of players suspended (including superstud Courtney Fortson) and would need Clarke to step up in order to take some of the pressure off their star center Michael Washington.  Step up indeed.

3.   Dayton.  There are a ton of really good games starting this week, but over the weekend it was mostly blow-outs or mid-level teams squaring off.  There was, however, one game between two teams that both had NCAA Tournament aspirations:  Creighton vs. Dayton.  Seeing as how Dayton is listed at the beginning of this entry, you would probably guess that Dayton won, and you'd be correct.  The Flyers trailed most of the game, but outscored Creighton by 15 in the second half behind a strong showing by Chris Wright, who scored 25 on 9-12 shooting.  I'm still not entirely sure what to make of Dayton, other than that their fans are deluisonal, but even though they had more trouble with Creighton than they probalby should have, this is still a good win on a resume.

4.  Brandon Jennings.  I've been trying to avoid talking about Jennings' great start to his NBA career since he really pissed me off by skipping college to go play in Europe, but after Saturday night's 55-point explosion, I don't see any way to put it off any longer.  First off, this is a really solid fifty-point game, with a high shooting percentage (21-34 from the floor, 7-8 from three) and some other contributions (5 rebs, 5 assists) - and they won.  Second, something like this probably shouldn't be too surprising, especially since he burst into the league and almost had a triple-double in his first ever NBA game (17-9-9).  Thirdly, everything I'm reading says that this kid is already the quickest guard in the league and is essentially unguardable one-on-one, and compares him to Allen Iverson.  Finally, this really sucks because now I'm going to have to make an effort to watch a Milwaukee game.  Thanks Brandon.

5.  Ekpe Udoh.  Other players may have put up gaudier numbers so far (like Isaiah Thomas's 24.7ppg in three games or Al-Farouq Aminu's 25 and 11 boards per in two games), but nobody surprised me more than Udoh, the former Michigan Wolverine and current Baylor Bear.  Udoh put up 18 points and 11 boards (with 3 blocks) in the opener vs. Norfolk State, and followed that up with 21 and 7 with 5 blocks in game 2 vs. Hartford (Vin Baker U).  I remember Udoh as a all-defense no offense type, like a young Dikembe Mutombo or any of the endless parade of seven-foot "project" from Senegal into the NCAA.  His career average was just 5.5 ppg coming into this season, so either this is merely a case of playing inferior opponents, or Udoh learned some offensive skills.  The Bears play two more cupcakes before taking on Alabama and then Arizona State, so we won't know much until then.  If he has learned to play offense, it's going to torture Baylor fans because this was the exact piece they were missing last year.

[UPDATE:  Found this on ESPN:

When he decided to transfer from Michigan, Baylor's Scott Drew thought he was going to get a super-defensive stud in Ekpe Udoh. He didn't know that Udoh would also be an offensive threat.
Udoh saved the Bears from falling to Hartford yesterday, hitting a 20-foot fadeaway game winner. In addition to his five blocks, Udoh scored 21 points and is now averaging 19.5 ppg through his first two games.
Udoh worked exclusively on his offense during his redshirt season and over the summer. Besides Kevin Rogers, Scott Drew has never really had an offensively-dominating big man. He normally runs the offense entirely through his guards. While this still shouldn't change, it should be nice to have a threat down low in Udoh.]

  

WHO SUCKED

1.  Mississippi State.  I read in a couple of places that Miss State was a "dark-horse" final four contender.  I love Jarvis Varnado more than I love my wife, but I wasn't quite ready to buy that - at least not until they figured out who they were going to get their offense from.  Still, I expected good things.  Well, they are not off to a very good start, losing their opener at home to Rider 88-74.  Two major issues:  three-point defense and scoring.  They allowed Rider to shoot 10-16 from three-point range, which is tough to overcome for anybody, particularly when nobody can throw the ball threw the hoop on your own team.  Pimp-Daddy Varnado was 8-8 (complete line:  22pts, 14 rebs, 7 blocks - such a stud), but the rest of the team shot just 18-54.  The three point defense could jsut be a fluke, but perimeter scoring will need to greatly improve.  They run a three guard offense, and the three starters shot a combined 9-31.  Varnado deserves better.  Pick it up, jerkstores. 

2.  Utah.  The Utes lost their top four scorings from last season, but still had three starters back as well as a bunch of talented new comers, so I don't know if anybody knew what to expect from them this season.  I feel reasonably confident, however, in saying that nobody expected to see a team that would lose to Idaho in their season opener, the Vandals first win over Utah since 1938.  Now, Idaho is actually a better team this year than most people think, but this game is a stinger for the U of U, and I have a feeling this is going to be a very frustrating year in Mormonville.  Special shout out to the Utes two best players, Carlon Brown and Marshall Henderson for shooting a combined 9-27.    

3.  Jay Cutler.  LOL.  Nice job Cutty, five interceptions against the 49ers (17 for the season, , including two in the red zone, one of which was in the end zone at the end of the game.  The game that the Bears lost 10-6, meaning if they manage even just two field goals or a TD out of those trips, they win.  Oh, and also the niners scored all 10 of their points off two of his other picks, with both drives starting in Bears territory.  Is it really fair to say he single-handedly lost that game for the Bears?  Yes.  Yes it is.

4.  Timberwolves.  Ok, I think we all knew it was going to be bad, but did we know it was going to be this bad?  After winning the opener over a hapless New Jersey squad, they have now lost ten straight, including a brutal 0-4 this week that inluded a loss to Memphis who had lost seven straight of their own prior to beating the Wolves.  Earlier in the season they were at least putting up a fight - the loss to Boston was a great game - but now they're just getting killed.  Their four losses this week were by 41, 23, 12, and 10, with only the 12 point loss to Dallas being in the realm of respectability (the 10 point loss was the Memphis game, and might be more embarrassing than the 41 pointer against Golden State).  I know Love is out and now Jefferson is out, but *newsflash* Jefferson was in the lineup for both the Golden State and Portland games, and trust me, it's not just him.  Flynn, Love, and Jefferson are the only players who should ever see a starting lineup in their careers, everybody else is a role player at best.  Still, better to be a Wolves fan than a fan of Iowa.  

5.  Iowa.  Seriously, you guys are embarrassing the conference.  You lost to Texas-San Antonio.  AT HOME!!  BY TWELVE!!!  Good lord, they're a middle level Southland Conference team.  They're called the Roadrunners for god's sake, and they had never beaten a Big Ten team.  I know they lost a couple pretty good players to transfers after last season, but Anthony Tucker, Matt Gatens, and Jarryd Cole + filler should be enough to beat damn UTSA.  I guess when Tucker and Gatens shoot 2-15 from three for the game, it's tough to win.  Well, way to go Lickliter, your dismantling of the Iowa basketball program is nearly complete.  Honestly, it's like the guy is a double agent.  He's my new favorite coach.

As for me, there will be a preview of Stephen F. Austin up shortly, then I'm going to be in New Jersey the rest of the week.  I'm sure they'll be a post or two, because what else am I going to do?  Until then......

Weekend Review - 8/24/2009

Yep, it's about time to bring back the Weekend Reviews every Monday. Let's get started. I could probably have mentioned Michael Cuddyer's two homers in one inning as being awesome, and it was, but I'm not going to.

WHO WAS AWESOME

1. Matt Hasselbeck. Yes, it's preseason football so really gives a crap, but you can still pay attention to a few things; one of which is that Hasselbeck is poised for a big year. He's coming off a year when he was hurt most of the season, and he sucked even when he did play, putting up a career worst 2-to-1 INT to TD ratio, so he's sort of been forgotten, but he could easily return to his 2007 form. Remember, not only was Hasselbeck hurt last year, but his his top two recievers, Deion Branch and Nate Burleson, were both hurt all year. This year, not only are those two back, but he now has a bona fide #1 in T.J. Houshmanzilly. And there is still no running game to speak off, so they're going to have to chuck it. It's going to be a good year.

2. Tavaris Jackson. If you read the live blog I did of the great Brett Favre's first Viking appearance, you know that I switched over to the Twins game as soon as the world's biggest attention queen left the game. I wish I wouldn't have, because according to the box score and Theory, T-Jax put on a straight up clinic. The numbers are gaudy, 12-15 for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns, and the reviews are glowing. Personally, I hope this gets somebody interested enough to give the Vikes a fifth round pick for him. No chance this guy becomes anything more than a poor man's Vince Young - and that is poor indeed, no matter what Bogart says.

3. John Smoltz. I don't know if it was the motivation that comes from getting cut, or facing a team in the Padres who really can't hit, but Smoltzy reached back in time and tossed a gem on Sunday in his debut with the Cardinals. Well, gem is probalby a bit strong, considering he only threw five innings, but giving up no runs and three hits while striking out 9 in those five innings is impressive, particularly coming from a guy who got destroyed when he was tossing for the Red Sox. The Cards have the hitting to make a run (and Pujols hit #40 yesterday), and if Smotlz can solidify an already very good pitching staff they will leap the Dodgers as the NL favorite.

4. Jay Cutler. I don't like to say nice things about other people in the NFC North, or about drunks because drinking is wrong and against God's word, but Cutler suddenly makes the division seem extra interesting. He played in just three series Saturday night, and managed to direct that shitty Bears offense to scores in all three - 2 TDs and a field goal. He did Cutler-like things, going just 8 for 13, but racking up 121 yards and a TD in the team's 17-3 win over the Giants - a pretty good defense. If Cutler gets that offense in gear, we are looking at a three horse race in the division.

5. Charlie Haeger. You're wondering who this is, and so I'll tell you. He's a knuckleballer for the Dodgers, and I love knuckleballers who aren't named Dickey, so this is even more exciting. On Saturday, Heager pitched a honey of a game against the Cubs going seven innings and giving up just three hits while striking out seven. That makes two starts for Haeger this year since being called up, and he's gone seven in each and has tallied an ERA of 1.93 and a WHIP of 0.86. Could this be the dominant knuckle ball pitcher American has been waiting for all this years? Yes, yes I think it could. And he's working with Charlie Hough, which can only help.

WHO SUCKED

1. Mark Buehrle. Remember when Buehrle set a record for most consecutive batters faced without allowing a runner, including his perfect game? Well things have sort of gone all to hell since then. After getting racked for five runs and 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings against the Orioles on Sunday, he's now gone 0-4 with an ERA over six since that perfect game. I don't really care, because he's half a fag and the White Sox are nothing but a collection of pedophiles and rapists, but I thought I'd point out that noted butt pirate Mark Buehrle sucked this weekend.

2. Arizona Diamondbacks. They beat the Astros on Sunday, so that takes a little bit of sting out of this, but prior to yesterday they had lost seven straight. They've been awful all season, and my preseason pick to win the NL pennant is currently sitting at fifteen games below .500, 19 games out of first in the division, and 15.5 out of the Wild Card. How could this happen you ask? Brandon Webb blowing out his shoulder after one start didn't help, but overall the starting pitching has been good, and the offense has been ok. The bullpen, however, has been a nightmare, putting up the fifth worse bullpen ERA in all of baseball. Scott Shoenweiss, who is fifth on the team in games pitched, is sporting an ERA over 8. Dan Haren is still awesome though.

3. Matthew Stafford. I already hit on an NFC North QB, so why not another one? The difference is that this one sucks. Yeah, yeah, he's a rookie and everything so we shouldn't expect him to be a star right away, but 5-13, 34 yards, and a pick on his very first attempt isn't exactly reassuring, especially when Culpepper played well and Drew Stanton threw a touchdown pass. He wasn't exactly rosey his first time out either, completing half his passes and going for 1 touch and 1 interception. Obviously as a rookie it's not quite time to give up on him or anything, but I'd say it's looking more like Culpepper will be the starter, and I'd guess for the entire season. At least one of the teams in the division will suck.

4. Cowboys Stadium. I mentioned here before that when I drove passed Cowboys Stadium it looked like a metal garbage dumpster, and it sounds like Jerry Jones tried to spruce the place up by putting a giant, 160 foot HD TV screen above the field. There's just one small problem: it's getting in the way. Titans' punter A.J. Trapasso hit the video screen with a punt in the Titans/Cowboys game this weekend, and the Titans actual punter, veteran Craig Hentrich, said that he and Trapasso both hit it several time in warm ups, and that any punt with a five second hang time is going to hit the screen. Jerry Jones response, "You don't gotta move it. The rule is very clear, you just kick it over." So it sounds like Jones screwed up by putting it to low, and now that it's going to be a major issue, his response is to ignore it and make teams take a do-over whenever it happens. This whole story is like a metaphor for the Jerry Jones era.

5. Harrison Barnes. I didn't read this and I haven't bothered to look it up, but according to the radio this morning, Mr. Barnes narrowed his possible schools list to six: UNC, Duke, UCLA, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Iowa State. You'll notice there is no Minnesota on the list. Really a shame too. I was looking forward to stealing and Ice Cube lyric so I could say, "If you F with Barnes, he leaves scars." I guess I'll save that one.

Honorable sucking mention to Super Sioux Fan. Not only has she stopped posting or commenting on this blog, but here own wildly entertaining blog, Diary of a Sioux Fan, has not only been killed, but she deleted every post she ever made as well. You suck, SSF.