Well the Gophers are back in the NCAA Tournament and I gotta say despite everything else it feels damn good. I'm also pretty pleased with the 11 seed, because it keeps the Gophers away from the #1s and #2s as long as possible, although a possible second round match-up with Florida would probably be every bit the bloodbath you'd see against a #1 or #2. I'll be back with a preview of UCLA on Wednesday night (and then will go radio silent (except twitter) until the next week as we take our annual trip to Chicago to watch all the games from the Dayton Bar with Bogart.) I've also been informed that the Dayton Bar is also an Ole Miss bar so I'm looking forward to watching them hopefully beat the Badgers.
Anyway, here are the toughest things I'm struggling with as a fill out my bracket:
1) Florida or Georgetown? There were three teams I wanted to put in the final four for sure: Louisville, Florida, or Georgetown. Unfortunately, now I can't do that and need to make a choice between the Gators and Hoyas since they'd play in the Sweet 16 if everything holds. I love Florida because they have so many weapons and can score inside or out, and they compliment that with great defense. Georgetown is also an amazing defensive team, and they have Big East Player of the Year Otto Porter who is good enough to carry that offense on his back a la John Wallace or Kemba Walker. I hate that I have to choose, but I'm going with the Gators.
2) What do do with Wisconsin. I hate this. I was all set to have both Wisconsin (because I hate them) and Kansas State (because they, and Bruce Weber, suck) to lose in the first round, but it all broke wrong. Wisconsin gets an Ole Miss team who I don't think can compete with them, and Kansas State gets the play-in winner of LaSalle and Boise State, neither of whom is very good at all. I almost have to take K-State and Wisconsin to both win their first round match-up, and if that happens there's no way K-State can beat the Badgers because Ryan can coach circles around Weber and the Wildcats are perfectly undisciplined enough to fall right into Wisconsin's traps. So I have Wisconsin in the Sweet 16. Feels really wrong and icky and dirty, but since they're always the luckiest team in America you can't rule it out. I'm still rooting against them though. If you don't it means you hate America.
3) Who comes out of the West? In every other region it's come down to one or two difficult decisions between teams I think are good enough to make the Final Four, while in the West I'm decided who is least flawed among the contenders. Gonzaga and New Mexico are good teams no doubt, but neither has been tested as often or as consistently. Both have some good non-conference wins of course but Gonzaga ran through a pretty crappy conference and although New Mexico played in a good MWC I just don't know if I'm buying it. That leaves Ohio State, about whom there are no questions regarding having been tested, but unless their offense continues to be about more than DeShaun Thomas they're going to struggle. If anything wacky happens I'm betting it's in this region, because there are some really weak teams for their seed (Arizona, K-State, Wisco, etc.). Right now I'm going to buy the Buckeyes. The team's offense is coming together with Thomas finding plenty of help, the defense is top-notch as usual, and the coaching is solid.
4) Can Louisville Survive? I think the Cardinals are the best team in the NCAA and my pick to win it all, but holy hell is the Midwest Region a bitch. I consider Oklahoma State, St. Louis, and Michigan State as dark horse Final Four candidates and sure enough, they're all here. The only real saving grace is that Duke is the #2 here and Duke sucks so at least they catch a break there. Even some of the really high seeds (#12 Oregon, #14 Valparaiso) are pretty dangerous. Whoever gets out of this region is going to have to have done some seriously good work. Luckily Louisville hits my check list - come in on a high note (not necessarily a conference tournament victory but just playing well), good guards who can make free throws, great defense, and a team who can shoot without being dependent on the 3. So yeah, despite the tough region Louisville is my champ.
5) Who upsets Kansas? I know Kansas has kind of shed that choker label, what with the two Final Fours since 2008 and all, but there's no way this version of Kansas is Final Four bound so the question becomes where do they get bounced? I'm betting they don't get out of the first weekend with North Carolina knocking them out as one of the toughest 8 seeds I can remember. I know Carolina has been talked about as being "down" this year and maybe they are with 10 losses, but do you realize their worst loss this year was to Texas? And after that their worst loss was to Butler? The rest are 3 losses to Miami, 2 to Duke, and one each to Indiana, Virginia, and NC State which means the Heels don't have a single loss to a team outside of kenpom's top 100 teams. They're probably a little too perimeter dependent to make a significant run, but they should dispatch Villanova with ease and then in a one-time game against Kansas? It could happen, kids, it could happen.
6) How good is Miami? That's an important question, because I don't believe in Indiana and I don't believe in Marquette, which means it's either Miami or Syracuse coming out of the East for me. I do expect Syracuse to beat the Hoosiers and face the Canes with a Final Four berth on the line, so it becomes a matter if I think Miami is good enough to handle the Cuse. As it turns out, I think they are. They're experienced enough to not get rattled and they have the guard play needed to break down the Orange's zone with four guys who are lights out from three, and they play excellent defense, rebound well, and come in off an ACC Tournament Championship. Their free throw shooting is a bit suspect, but otherwise Miami is another team who looks really, really good and I have them in my Final Four.
That's it for now, back later with a Gophers/UCLA preview.
Showing posts with label WWWWW Brackets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WWWWW Brackets. Show all posts
Monday, March 18, 2013
Monday, March 19, 2012
Post-Vacation Ramblins (A little bit of everything)
Holy cow does two weeks of vacation fly by. I can't believe it's over and I'm back doing real life things. Real life sucks, and Minnesota doesn't have an ocean or bars that stay open until 4am. I have no idea what I'm doing here. But a whole lot happened in those two weeks, and as I sit here and watch the Gopher NIT game and pretend to not care what happens, I'll write some of those things down.
- By the way, I have the Gophers +6, Rodney Williams over 19.5 pts+rebs, Austin Hollins over 1.5 made 3s, Reggie Johnson over 7.5 rebs, and both teams combined over 13 made 3s. Some people may say that's a lot of bets for one game, and this is where I'd refute that but I got nothin'.
- The Chicago trip was awesome as usual, even if it was just one night this year because Bogart has to take his stupid family on vacation. Nothing too crazy to report, but the night did end with Dawger trying to act like a fake bouncer at some bar and bothering people for their IDs before he passed out in a chair outside and then challenged Bogart's 17-year old (male) ward to a wrestling match when we got back to his place at 3am. So that was weird. Or actually pretty normal.
- We join the Gopher game in progress with them winning 6-0. Can we just call the game right here?
- I apologize for not knowing this but I've been on vacation and also haven't really wanted to pay any attention to the Gophers, but is Ralph hurt or something? Or just benched because he sucks and is graduating anyway?
- Once again my bracket is in shambles with two Final Four teams (Mizzou and FSU) bounced and that certainly doesn't help, but UNLV and Memphis getting smacked in the first round when I had both making Sweet 16 runs killed me, along with Belmont who I also had in the 16. Naturally my wife is kicking my ass and could win the whole thing if Kansas takes it, and my bracket blowing up in my face during the first weekend, I've been informed, is now considered an annual tradition of the Chicago trip along with wings at the Dayton Bar (or a brat if you're Dawger), yelling at strangers at the W bar, or Coldplay at the Yahtzee bar. No, I don't know the name of any of the bars we always go to, just know them by nickname. Seems more insider and hip that way.
- I can't be the only person who hears D.J. Cooper's name (of the Ohio Bobcats) and thinks "For D.B. Cooper and the money he took, you can look for answers but that ain't fun, now get the pit and try to love someone bawitdabadabangdabangditty." Right?
- Jesus this game is sloppy. It's like watching a sea otter make love to a mop. The Gophers are so bad I want to kidnap every single one and send them to Clem Haskins basketball camp. Or something. I don't know, somebody who can teach how to not turn the ball over and also doesn't hate shooting. You know who else hated shooting? MLK, and look what happened to him.
- I really hope you watch the Walking Dead, or if you don't you weren't one of those jackasses who bailed on the season when things were moving a little slowly, because the show just had its season finale and the last handful of episodes were bad-ass and were going a little Game of Thrones-y just killing people off. Not to mention an orgy of zombie killing to kick-off the last episode. Just an awesome last few hours, including the death of an annoying but main guy, the death of a main important guy, the deaths of a bunch of filler dudes, Daryl continuing to morph into a badass, some ninja showing up with two armless walker pets or something and saving Andrea, a look at a giant prison where they're heading which is supposed to be badass according to people who read the Walking Dead comics and no I'm not one of them, and Rick reminding everyone why he's in charge and he's the leader. Just awesome. Other than that mom lady and that idiot kid this show suddenly rocks again in every way.
- Gophers lead by 12 at half. No, I'm not remotely excited. In case you've ever wondered if it's better to win the NIT or make the NCAA Tournament and lose in the first round, the latter is considerably better and it's not close. That means the second one, dummy.
- It's been a while since I've officially dedicated a post to a chick, but this one is dedicated to Becki Newton who plays Quinn on How I Met Your Mother. The show started out the gate with Cobie Smulders hotter than the sun, but she faded a bit and Alyson Hannigan somehow went from cute and funny to straight up hot (note: pretty sure it was the bigger boobs after she had a kid). They've also had guest stars like Sarah Chalke and Rachel Bilson who both rate in the top 20 or so hottest chicks going today, but Newton might be the hottest of them all not counting Chalke.
- Speaking of hot chicks I was going to post a youtube video of when Christina Aguilera, who is still hot shut up I don't want to hear it leave me alone, performed at the vmas with Fred Durst and was headbanging and how it was so sexy and stuff like that. But it's not there the way I remember in any of the videos I found after searching for 3 minutes. I feel dumb. Like you probably do every day.
- I don't have a huge opinion on Dwight Howard deciding to stay in Orlando, at least for another year, but there was something I liked about him coming out and apologizing to his fans for created a circus and that they didn't deserve that. I also liked how he mentioned that he "got some bad advice" and was now running from it, as compared to LeBron who got some bad advice and embraced it as the best idea ever. This was like Goofus and Gallant from highlights magazine. Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about.
- In case you care Peyton Manning signed or will sign or is about to sign with the Broncos, so you can take your stupid Tebow jersey and light in on fire and then shove it up your ass. I don't know why I wrote that so meanly, but if you own a Tebow jersey you don't really care you just turn the other cheek as your weak Jesus taught you and take it like you're some dork in Madison who just sits there and lets Dawger slap your slice of pizza out of your mouth. That's why the black jesus is better. I have no idea where I was planning on taking the sentence, but here we are. I think it was supposed to have something to do with Demaryious Thomas, who is apparently now the black jesus just so I can pretend I didn't get lost in my own thought, never to return that that chick from Pan's Labyrinth.
- There's no doubt the Gophers blow this lead, right?
- I had two units on the Rodney bet, by the way and he's just 1 pt or reb away from a win. Between the double bet on that and the double on the game if I can win those two I can cancel out all of my super shitty bets that suck.
- Osenieks falls down after taking an inadvertent head butt to his temple. He still manages to take the ball and get it to a guard, which proves to me he's more of a man than Justin Morneau who probably would have fallen down immediately like a girl and sat out the next two years. Thank god Osenieks isn't from Canadia. Seriously, between Morneau, Koskie, and Sidney Crosby I'm starting to think the tough guy reputation for Canadians is as overblown as white guys having smaller dinks. *points down, pelvic thrust*
- If you aren't reading this you really should. It's the story of a dude who taught his cat to use instant messager when he's at work. Just read it.
- Ok so the Gophers are up 15 now, and assuming nobody transfers or Rodney doesn't do something stupid like go pro we're basically watching next year's team + chuck buggs and whatever that white kids name is because Ralph is nowhere to be seen (and I'm assuming no Mbakwe sixth year). I have to admit I don't really hate what I see. I don't love it, necessarily, because the outside shooting is just atrocious, but Andre Hollins is really growing into that point guard role (scoring point, but still) and Coleman and Austin Hollins both show a nose for scoring the ball that I really like. And speaking of that where the hell is Chip? Apparently there is so much going on with this team it's impossible to keep up. God this is just like school all over again.
- And Dre Hollins basically just went for back-to-back heat checks and canned them both. I freakin' love this kid. He's got 20 point per game potential by his senior year written all over him. Assuming there's a different coach of course, I can't imagine Tubby allowing a 20 point per game scorer on this team.
- Dammit, I think I left my beef jerky in Bogart's basement. Instead I'll have one of these Nathan's Famous kosher dill pickles, which, as a connoisseur of pickles, are the second best I've ever had behind my aunt and uncles homemade spicy pickles. Really, if you like pickles go buy these. I'm from a polish family so grew up eating pickles with every meal including breakfast (and still do), I'm compelled to order a pickle from any sandwich shop that sells them (Jimmy John's are better than Potbelly's, for the record) and I once won twenty bucks off a guy in college (WSCT QB, who I know occasionally reads here) by drinking a jar of pickles juice, which I did in one tip back and about 20 seconds and it was easy. I know my pickles. Go buy these. Even better than Claussen, and that's saying something.
- It's amazing how good this team is when they just get to let loose.
- Early Sweet 16 leans:
Cuse -4 over Wisconsin (Wisky too dependent on the three against that zone)
Michigan State -4.5 over Louisville (Sparty peaking, but this is one I may switch up on by gametime because L'ville is too)
Cincy +7.5 vs. Ohio State (Buckeyes are flawed and this Cincy team is athletic enough to stay with them)
Marquette -1.5 vs. Florida (maybe I'm dumb because Florida beat Virginia despite being terrible from the perimeter, but Marquette isn't UVA)
Xavier +6 vs. Baylor (Xavier always keeps em close and Baylor is a choker team)
Ohio +10.5 vs. UNC (Marshall out will hurt, but I'm still wary here)
Indiana +9 vs. Kentucky (weird line that feels like a trap since IU beat UK earlier, but I guess I'm falling for it)
NC State +8 vs. Kansas (I don't think Kansas is built to blow out a good team, and NC State is a good team)
The only one of these I love is Cincy, so throw your money that way. Despite my bracket being in a shambles (as usual) I do well gambling (as usual) so hopefully that keeps up.
- Oh good, Gophers go into a stall. That always works for this team.
- Anybody ever gone to Coastal Seafood in Mpls or St. Paul? Looks like they have shrimp and seafood from all over including Rhode Island Monkfish which I'd love to have a chance to cook. Color me interested, which is like a greenish yellow.
- Gophers win 78-60 in a game that they dominated from the start. If this wasn't the NIT I'd say this bodes well for next year. I mean, look at Wichita State - nice run in the NIT, nearly the entire team back, and they made a nice run in the NCAA Tournament this year. NIT success vs. NCAA success the following year - it's nearly a perfect correlation. Can't wait for 2013. And I can't believe I have to watch this again on Wednesday. I feel like Lady MacBeth.
IT'S STILL THE NIT, DUMMIES!
- By the way, I have the Gophers +6, Rodney Williams over 19.5 pts+rebs, Austin Hollins over 1.5 made 3s, Reggie Johnson over 7.5 rebs, and both teams combined over 13 made 3s. Some people may say that's a lot of bets for one game, and this is where I'd refute that but I got nothin'.
- The Chicago trip was awesome as usual, even if it was just one night this year because Bogart has to take his stupid family on vacation. Nothing too crazy to report, but the night did end with Dawger trying to act like a fake bouncer at some bar and bothering people for their IDs before he passed out in a chair outside and then challenged Bogart's 17-year old (male) ward to a wrestling match when we got back to his place at 3am. So that was weird. Or actually pretty normal.
- We join the Gopher game in progress with them winning 6-0. Can we just call the game right here?
- I apologize for not knowing this but I've been on vacation and also haven't really wanted to pay any attention to the Gophers, but is Ralph hurt or something? Or just benched because he sucks and is graduating anyway?
- Once again my bracket is in shambles with two Final Four teams (Mizzou and FSU) bounced and that certainly doesn't help, but UNLV and Memphis getting smacked in the first round when I had both making Sweet 16 runs killed me, along with Belmont who I also had in the 16. Naturally my wife is kicking my ass and could win the whole thing if Kansas takes it, and my bracket blowing up in my face during the first weekend, I've been informed, is now considered an annual tradition of the Chicago trip along with wings at the Dayton Bar (or a brat if you're Dawger), yelling at strangers at the W bar, or Coldplay at the Yahtzee bar. No, I don't know the name of any of the bars we always go to, just know them by nickname. Seems more insider and hip that way.
- I can't be the only person who hears D.J. Cooper's name (of the Ohio Bobcats) and thinks "For D.B. Cooper and the money he took, you can look for answers but that ain't fun, now get the pit and try to love someone bawitdabadabangdabangditty." Right?
- Jesus this game is sloppy. It's like watching a sea otter make love to a mop. The Gophers are so bad I want to kidnap every single one and send them to Clem Haskins basketball camp. Or something. I don't know, somebody who can teach how to not turn the ball over and also doesn't hate shooting. You know who else hated shooting? MLK, and look what happened to him.
- I really hope you watch the Walking Dead, or if you don't you weren't one of those jackasses who bailed on the season when things were moving a little slowly, because the show just had its season finale and the last handful of episodes were bad-ass and were going a little Game of Thrones-y just killing people off. Not to mention an orgy of zombie killing to kick-off the last episode. Just an awesome last few hours, including the death of an annoying but main guy, the death of a main important guy, the deaths of a bunch of filler dudes, Daryl continuing to morph into a badass, some ninja showing up with two armless walker pets or something and saving Andrea, a look at a giant prison where they're heading which is supposed to be badass according to people who read the Walking Dead comics and no I'm not one of them, and Rick reminding everyone why he's in charge and he's the leader. Just awesome. Other than that mom lady and that idiot kid this show suddenly rocks again in every way.
- Gophers lead by 12 at half. No, I'm not remotely excited. In case you've ever wondered if it's better to win the NIT or make the NCAA Tournament and lose in the first round, the latter is considerably better and it's not close. That means the second one, dummy.
- It's been a while since I've officially dedicated a post to a chick, but this one is dedicated to Becki Newton who plays Quinn on How I Met Your Mother. The show started out the gate with Cobie Smulders hotter than the sun, but she faded a bit and Alyson Hannigan somehow went from cute and funny to straight up hot (note: pretty sure it was the bigger boobs after she had a kid). They've also had guest stars like Sarah Chalke and Rachel Bilson who both rate in the top 20 or so hottest chicks going today, but Newton might be the hottest of them all not counting Chalke.
- Speaking of hot chicks I was going to post a youtube video of when Christina Aguilera, who is still hot shut up I don't want to hear it leave me alone, performed at the vmas with Fred Durst and was headbanging and how it was so sexy and stuff like that. But it's not there the way I remember in any of the videos I found after searching for 3 minutes. I feel dumb. Like you probably do every day.
- I don't have a huge opinion on Dwight Howard deciding to stay in Orlando, at least for another year, but there was something I liked about him coming out and apologizing to his fans for created a circus and that they didn't deserve that. I also liked how he mentioned that he "got some bad advice" and was now running from it, as compared to LeBron who got some bad advice and embraced it as the best idea ever. This was like Goofus and Gallant from highlights magazine. Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about.
- In case you care Peyton Manning signed or will sign or is about to sign with the Broncos, so you can take your stupid Tebow jersey and light in on fire and then shove it up your ass. I don't know why I wrote that so meanly, but if you own a Tebow jersey you don't really care you just turn the other cheek as your weak Jesus taught you and take it like you're some dork in Madison who just sits there and lets Dawger slap your slice of pizza out of your mouth. That's why the black jesus is better. I have no idea where I was planning on taking the sentence, but here we are. I think it was supposed to have something to do with Demaryious Thomas, who is apparently now the black jesus just so I can pretend I didn't get lost in my own thought, never to return that that chick from Pan's Labyrinth.
- There's no doubt the Gophers blow this lead, right?
- I had two units on the Rodney bet, by the way and he's just 1 pt or reb away from a win. Between the double bet on that and the double on the game if I can win those two I can cancel out all of my super shitty bets that suck.
- Osenieks falls down after taking an inadvertent head butt to his temple. He still manages to take the ball and get it to a guard, which proves to me he's more of a man than Justin Morneau who probably would have fallen down immediately like a girl and sat out the next two years. Thank god Osenieks isn't from Canadia. Seriously, between Morneau, Koskie, and Sidney Crosby I'm starting to think the tough guy reputation for Canadians is as overblown as white guys having smaller dinks. *points down, pelvic thrust*
- If you aren't reading this you really should. It's the story of a dude who taught his cat to use instant messager when he's at work. Just read it.
- Ok so the Gophers are up 15 now, and assuming nobody transfers or Rodney doesn't do something stupid like go pro we're basically watching next year's team + chuck buggs and whatever that white kids name is because Ralph is nowhere to be seen (and I'm assuming no Mbakwe sixth year). I have to admit I don't really hate what I see. I don't love it, necessarily, because the outside shooting is just atrocious, but Andre Hollins is really growing into that point guard role (scoring point, but still) and Coleman and Austin Hollins both show a nose for scoring the ball that I really like. And speaking of that where the hell is Chip? Apparently there is so much going on with this team it's impossible to keep up. God this is just like school all over again.
- And Dre Hollins basically just went for back-to-back heat checks and canned them both. I freakin' love this kid. He's got 20 point per game potential by his senior year written all over him. Assuming there's a different coach of course, I can't imagine Tubby allowing a 20 point per game scorer on this team.
- Dammit, I think I left my beef jerky in Bogart's basement. Instead I'll have one of these Nathan's Famous kosher dill pickles, which, as a connoisseur of pickles, are the second best I've ever had behind my aunt and uncles homemade spicy pickles. Really, if you like pickles go buy these. I'm from a polish family so grew up eating pickles with every meal including breakfast (and still do), I'm compelled to order a pickle from any sandwich shop that sells them (Jimmy John's are better than Potbelly's, for the record) and I once won twenty bucks off a guy in college (WSCT QB, who I know occasionally reads here) by drinking a jar of pickles juice, which I did in one tip back and about 20 seconds and it was easy. I know my pickles. Go buy these. Even better than Claussen, and that's saying something.
- It's amazing how good this team is when they just get to let loose.
- Early Sweet 16 leans:
Cuse -4 over Wisconsin (Wisky too dependent on the three against that zone)
Michigan State -4.5 over Louisville (Sparty peaking, but this is one I may switch up on by gametime because L'ville is too)
Cincy +7.5 vs. Ohio State (Buckeyes are flawed and this Cincy team is athletic enough to stay with them)
Marquette -1.5 vs. Florida (maybe I'm dumb because Florida beat Virginia despite being terrible from the perimeter, but Marquette isn't UVA)
Xavier +6 vs. Baylor (Xavier always keeps em close and Baylor is a choker team)
Ohio +10.5 vs. UNC (Marshall out will hurt, but I'm still wary here)
Indiana +9 vs. Kentucky (weird line that feels like a trap since IU beat UK earlier, but I guess I'm falling for it)
NC State +8 vs. Kansas (I don't think Kansas is built to blow out a good team, and NC State is a good team)
The only one of these I love is Cincy, so throw your money that way. Despite my bracket being in a shambles (as usual) I do well gambling (as usual) so hopefully that keeps up.
- Oh good, Gophers go into a stall. That always works for this team.
- Anybody ever gone to Coastal Seafood in Mpls or St. Paul? Looks like they have shrimp and seafood from all over including Rhode Island Monkfish which I'd love to have a chance to cook. Color me interested, which is like a greenish yellow.
- Gophers win 78-60 in a game that they dominated from the start. If this wasn't the NIT I'd say this bodes well for next year. I mean, look at Wichita State - nice run in the NIT, nearly the entire team back, and they made a nice run in the NCAA Tournament this year. NIT success vs. NCAA success the following year - it's nearly a perfect correlation. Can't wait for 2013. And I can't believe I have to watch this again on Wednesday. I feel like Lady MacBeth.
IT'S STILL THE NIT, DUMMIES!
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
March Madness Preview
Well I'm back which sucks. I mean, I'm back in Minnesota from Florida for a couple of days before I head to Chicago with Snake and Dawger to watch some hoops with Bogart, but man am I going to miss Florida. So awesome. And even though we were on Estero Island, which is across from Fort Myers, we didn't go anywhere near the Twins facility. We didn't plan not to or anything, but we didn't plan to necessarily either and there was just so much to do we never got around to it and really I don't care one bit because hey, it's preseason baseball. What with all the laying on the beach, swimming in the ocean, playing with the kids, drinking, ogling college girls in bikinis on their Spring Break, fishing (although I wish I did more) and incredible food, there just wasn't time.
We even lucked into being there for Shrimp Fest, which meant there was a kick-ass parade the kids loved and the festival offered a massive amount of delicious shrimp, which fit in with all the other incredible seafood we were able to have (including an amazing crab chowder on Sanibel Island and tons of grouper and shrimp prepped in various ways). Not least of which was simply picking it up fresh from the daily market and preparing in the condo. I made grilled chili-lime shrimp, almond-crusted grouper, grilled spicy garlic shrimp, and spice-rubbed sea bass with a brown butter sauce and I know I like to brag about my cooking on here and everything but I absolutely knocked these out of the park. In fact, that grouper recipe is so good I'll share it at the end of this post. Plus they had Yuengling everywhere, including a place that had it on tap for $1.50 during happy hour. Many were consumed.
But enough about the past, time to look to the future and preview the NCAA Tournament. Not just picks for a bracket pool, but also some good lines I'll be wagering on at TopBet NCAA Hoops. I've realized lately that the reason I'm not doing well in bracket pools lately because I get a little too crazy. If I pick three crazy things to happen deep in the tournament, even if one does I'm screwed because it doesn't make up for the two that didn't. So I'm going to dial it back a bit this year, but I'll still throw out my crazier feelings because then if they hit I look smart. Oh, and I may write something Gopher-related tonight if I decide to watch them play LaSalle. I'm not sure yet.
SOUTH REGION:
The big story here obviously is Kentucky, which had rolled through this season without much issue until dropping the SEC Championship to Vandy, but still received the #1 overall seed due to their regular season domination. I also think they caught a break with their #2 and #3 seeds in Duke and Baylor because both have a tendency to shrink from big games and it wouldn't be remotely surprising if neither makes the sweet 16. I'm actually picking UNLV to beat both because they have the size and athleticism to neutralize Baylor's advantage and beat up on Duke, and like I said both teams are upsets waiting to happen. The only real danger is if Duke gets hot from 3, and the Rebels have struggled in that area but I think it's a worthy gamble.
Kentucky's biggest competition in the region might be Wichita State, a team I was willing to have go all the way to the Elite 8 or Final Four in my bracket if they avoiding the wrong match-ups, and clearly they didn't. I was initially tempted to stubbornly stick with what I was hoping would happen and have them shock the Wildcats (see what I did there) but reason prevailed and there's just no way I can take them over Kentucky so I have the Shockers out in the round of 16. I think they're the right kind of team who could take them down (experienced, well coached, disciplined, with enough size to deal with UK) and will be hammering them wagering wise assuming they get that far, but gotta go with the Wildcats here, as well as to win the region.
Early upsets I like UCONN over Iowa State and Xavier over Notre Dame. I actually liked either UCONN or Iowa State as a sleeper squad, but again, not against Kentucky, and I'm giving the edge to Connecticut mostly just based on experience but wouldn't be at all surprised to see the Cyclones pull it out. Xavier underachieved most of the year while Notre Dame overachieved, both results that seem to be evening themselves out. Xavier is the more talented squad, so they're the pick.
WEST REGION:
A pretty straight-forward region to me without a ton of upsets, but one that stands out to me is Memphis over Michigan State in round 2 (or 3, whatever). I know Sparty closed out the year strong, but the Tigers were on fire to finish up. They won 11 of their final 12 games which included wins over Xavier, two wins over a good Marshall team by 20+, two wins over a good UCF team by 19+, and a double-digit win at a decent Tulsa squad. There's more. Memphis also ranks in the top 20 in kenpom.com's offensive and defensive efficiency ratings, one of only seven teams in the country to have that distinction (the others: Syracuse, North Carolina, Wichita, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio State, and, yes, Michigan State).
In my estimation the two best teams in the top half of this region are Memphis and Michigan State, and whoever wins this one goes on to the Elite 8, knocking off New Mexico in the round of 16. I would probably lean Sparty here just to be safe, but MSU just lost Branden Dawson for the year and that shifts things for me. Dawson isn't just their second best inside scorer and rebounder, he's their best athlete. The other inside players for the Spartans don't have anywhere near the athleticism of Dawson, and that's going to be sorely missed against a team like Memphis, which why I'm taking the Tigers.
The bottom half of the bracket is all about Marquette and Missouri, either of who could be a Final Four team and neither of which will have any issue reaching the Sweet 16 to face each other. I give the edge to Mizzou because this game is going to be all about fire power and Missouri has just a bit more. This might be the best game of the entire tournament. And as far as early upsets in this region the only one I have outside of the Memphis thing is Virginia over Florida. I once considered Florida a sleeper - and still would - but this matchup against UVA is a killer for them. The Gators rely on the outside shot, which is what the Cavs completely excel at shutting down, and they don't play nearly good enough defense to make Virginia's lousy offense pay, and they don't have anybody who can handle Mike Scott. I considered Long Beach but I think New Mexico is too hot and too good, and I was planning on having Murray State lose their first round matchup but then they pulled Colorado State and well, that ain't gonna happen.
EAST REGION:
Maybe the biggest question of the whole tournament is what to make of Syracuse now that Fab Melo is suspended for the tournament. There is going to be a tendency to overreact, such as the line on their opening game against Asheville falling from -17 to -15.5 (note: hit that -15.5 hard), but don't forget Syracuse is a very balanced, very good team, and even though their defense takes a pretty big hit with Melo out their offense is still going to be top notch. They can easily make it to the Final Four, depending on match-ups. So let's look.
One of the worst match-ups for the Orange could come in the second round against Kansas State. The Wildcats are big and physical (which is why they swept Missouri) and absolutely crush on the offensive boards (6th in the country), which just happens to be Syracuse's biggest weakness (341st) and that was with Melo. If K-State could shoot a little bit I'd feel a lot better, but between that and the fact and that I'm not even sure they can beat Southern Miss (although I think they probably can) means I'm pushing the Cuse through to the Elite 8 after beating Wisconsin in the Sweet 16 (I hate them, but I think they're peaking at the right time and Vandy is always ripe to throw up on themselves in the tournament).
In the bottom of the bracket I also see the seeds holding up and Ohio State and Florida State meeting in the Sweet 16 (only upset I have here is WVU over Gonzaga), which means I have seeds 1-4 in the round of 16 in this region which is lame but it's what I see. Both these teams are very flawed offensively, but both play tremendous defense, so I expect this one to stay in the 50s and be close the whole way, but with FSU clicking on all cylinders right now I'll give them the nod. And this is also where I see Syracuse's run ending, with FSU making the Final Four. The Seminoles are one of the biggest teams in the country with a defense that can contain the Orange, and with their shooting starting to come around they can get their shots against that zone. The Seminoles in the Final Four could only happen if they were the least flawed of a bunch of flawed high seeds, and that's exactly what we got here once Melo got suspended (Syracuse was my championship pick prior to the news). It's going to be the winner of that FSU/Ohio State game, bank on it.
MIDWEST:
This one is pretty clear cut, and I can't see any reason this shouldn't come down to Kansas vs. UNC in the Elite 8. The winner of Creighton/Alabama is probably the biggest threat to beat UNC before then (I have Creighton, but neither one is going to beat the Heels) because the bottom half of that bracket is just brutal. Both Temple and Michigan are ripe to be upset in the first round, but with their opponents being Ohio and the winner of Cal/USF it just ain't going to happen. I put Michigan in the Sweet 16 by default, but that's just a terrible grouping of teams. Those who whine about UNC getting favorable treatment, well, you kind of got a point.
The bottom is where I see some really wacky shit happening, with all three first round games outside of Kansas being upsets (NC State over SDSU, Belmont over G-Town, and Purdue over St. Mary's). I think the Boilers are better than the Gaels and NC State is peaking while SDSU is fading after doing it with smoke and mirrors most of the way, but the Belmont one probably needs more of an explanation than that. For me it's not so much a matter of matchups or statistical analysis, but this one is more of a "feel" game for me. Belmont is loaded with upper classmen and has building towards this for years, while Georgetown pretty much had to reset itself after last year and losing three top players to graduation. They've had a good year despite that, but as stupid as it sounds this one feels like destiny. Should be epic, and if Belmont can take care of G-Town I think they take down NC State as well before falling in the Sweet 16 to Kansas.
As far as that Elite 8 game goes between the Jayhawks and Tar Heels, it's weird because although I'm usually a Jayhawk hater dating back to Jacque Vaughn and Jeff Boschee and Eric Chenoweth and all those other nerds I'm on the bandwagon this year. I absolutely love Thomas Robinson in a Blake Griffin (in college) kind of way, although he takes Griffin's size and athleticism and adds in an actual post game which is why he reminds me so much of Hakeem Olajuwon and I don't care who knows it. Because of that and because I've seen North Carolina lose focus way too many times this year, I'm taking the Jayhawks. Of course it also wouldn't surprise me to see UNC run the table the whole way, but I'm betting on Kansas (plus Self is a better game coach than Williams). I just see Thomas Robinson doing a Danny Manning here, even if trusting Kansas in an NCAA Tournament is usually a foolish decision.
From there I have Kentucky over Kansas in the Final, which makes me sick because I hate thinking about watching Calipari win one. Hopefully somebody can take them down, although if it's Wichita I'm going to hate myself for chickening out.
Finally, since I promised, here is that almond crusted fish recipe. I made Grouper, but if you're in Minnesota it would probably work on tilapia or whatever else you can get. Try it. It'll change your life.
1/2 c. almonds chopped fine
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 t. allspice
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
1 t. sea salt
1 t. black pepper
1 t. paprika
Mix all that together and then roll the fish around in it so it's got a nice count of the almonds. Heat a pan to high and heat your oven to 400 degrees. Throw the fish on the pan for 1 minute on each side to get a nice sear, then throw in the oven for 10 minutes or so depending on thickness. Serve.
So good you'll go burn down your local Red Lobster.
We even lucked into being there for Shrimp Fest, which meant there was a kick-ass parade the kids loved and the festival offered a massive amount of delicious shrimp, which fit in with all the other incredible seafood we were able to have (including an amazing crab chowder on Sanibel Island and tons of grouper and shrimp prepped in various ways). Not least of which was simply picking it up fresh from the daily market and preparing in the condo. I made grilled chili-lime shrimp, almond-crusted grouper, grilled spicy garlic shrimp, and spice-rubbed sea bass with a brown butter sauce and I know I like to brag about my cooking on here and everything but I absolutely knocked these out of the park. In fact, that grouper recipe is so good I'll share it at the end of this post. Plus they had Yuengling everywhere, including a place that had it on tap for $1.50 during happy hour. Many were consumed.
But enough about the past, time to look to the future and preview the NCAA Tournament. Not just picks for a bracket pool, but also some good lines I'll be wagering on at TopBet NCAA Hoops. I've realized lately that the reason I'm not doing well in bracket pools lately because I get a little too crazy. If I pick three crazy things to happen deep in the tournament, even if one does I'm screwed because it doesn't make up for the two that didn't. So I'm going to dial it back a bit this year, but I'll still throw out my crazier feelings because then if they hit I look smart. Oh, and I may write something Gopher-related tonight if I decide to watch them play LaSalle. I'm not sure yet.
SOUTH REGION:
The big story here obviously is Kentucky, which had rolled through this season without much issue until dropping the SEC Championship to Vandy, but still received the #1 overall seed due to their regular season domination. I also think they caught a break with their #2 and #3 seeds in Duke and Baylor because both have a tendency to shrink from big games and it wouldn't be remotely surprising if neither makes the sweet 16. I'm actually picking UNLV to beat both because they have the size and athleticism to neutralize Baylor's advantage and beat up on Duke, and like I said both teams are upsets waiting to happen. The only real danger is if Duke gets hot from 3, and the Rebels have struggled in that area but I think it's a worthy gamble.
Kentucky's biggest competition in the region might be Wichita State, a team I was willing to have go all the way to the Elite 8 or Final Four in my bracket if they avoiding the wrong match-ups, and clearly they didn't. I was initially tempted to stubbornly stick with what I was hoping would happen and have them shock the Wildcats (see what I did there) but reason prevailed and there's just no way I can take them over Kentucky so I have the Shockers out in the round of 16. I think they're the right kind of team who could take them down (experienced, well coached, disciplined, with enough size to deal with UK) and will be hammering them wagering wise assuming they get that far, but gotta go with the Wildcats here, as well as to win the region.
Early upsets I like UCONN over Iowa State and Xavier over Notre Dame. I actually liked either UCONN or Iowa State as a sleeper squad, but again, not against Kentucky, and I'm giving the edge to Connecticut mostly just based on experience but wouldn't be at all surprised to see the Cyclones pull it out. Xavier underachieved most of the year while Notre Dame overachieved, both results that seem to be evening themselves out. Xavier is the more talented squad, so they're the pick.
WEST REGION:
A pretty straight-forward region to me without a ton of upsets, but one that stands out to me is Memphis over Michigan State in round 2 (or 3, whatever). I know Sparty closed out the year strong, but the Tigers were on fire to finish up. They won 11 of their final 12 games which included wins over Xavier, two wins over a good Marshall team by 20+, two wins over a good UCF team by 19+, and a double-digit win at a decent Tulsa squad. There's more. Memphis also ranks in the top 20 in kenpom.com's offensive and defensive efficiency ratings, one of only seven teams in the country to have that distinction (the others: Syracuse, North Carolina, Wichita, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio State, and, yes, Michigan State).
In my estimation the two best teams in the top half of this region are Memphis and Michigan State, and whoever wins this one goes on to the Elite 8, knocking off New Mexico in the round of 16. I would probably lean Sparty here just to be safe, but MSU just lost Branden Dawson for the year and that shifts things for me. Dawson isn't just their second best inside scorer and rebounder, he's their best athlete. The other inside players for the Spartans don't have anywhere near the athleticism of Dawson, and that's going to be sorely missed against a team like Memphis, which why I'm taking the Tigers.
The bottom half of the bracket is all about Marquette and Missouri, either of who could be a Final Four team and neither of which will have any issue reaching the Sweet 16 to face each other. I give the edge to Mizzou because this game is going to be all about fire power and Missouri has just a bit more. This might be the best game of the entire tournament. And as far as early upsets in this region the only one I have outside of the Memphis thing is Virginia over Florida. I once considered Florida a sleeper - and still would - but this matchup against UVA is a killer for them. The Gators rely on the outside shot, which is what the Cavs completely excel at shutting down, and they don't play nearly good enough defense to make Virginia's lousy offense pay, and they don't have anybody who can handle Mike Scott. I considered Long Beach but I think New Mexico is too hot and too good, and I was planning on having Murray State lose their first round matchup but then they pulled Colorado State and well, that ain't gonna happen.
EAST REGION:
Maybe the biggest question of the whole tournament is what to make of Syracuse now that Fab Melo is suspended for the tournament. There is going to be a tendency to overreact, such as the line on their opening game against Asheville falling from -17 to -15.5 (note: hit that -15.5 hard), but don't forget Syracuse is a very balanced, very good team, and even though their defense takes a pretty big hit with Melo out their offense is still going to be top notch. They can easily make it to the Final Four, depending on match-ups. So let's look.
One of the worst match-ups for the Orange could come in the second round against Kansas State. The Wildcats are big and physical (which is why they swept Missouri) and absolutely crush on the offensive boards (6th in the country), which just happens to be Syracuse's biggest weakness (341st) and that was with Melo. If K-State could shoot a little bit I'd feel a lot better, but between that and the fact and that I'm not even sure they can beat Southern Miss (although I think they probably can) means I'm pushing the Cuse through to the Elite 8 after beating Wisconsin in the Sweet 16 (I hate them, but I think they're peaking at the right time and Vandy is always ripe to throw up on themselves in the tournament).
In the bottom of the bracket I also see the seeds holding up and Ohio State and Florida State meeting in the Sweet 16 (only upset I have here is WVU over Gonzaga), which means I have seeds 1-4 in the round of 16 in this region which is lame but it's what I see. Both these teams are very flawed offensively, but both play tremendous defense, so I expect this one to stay in the 50s and be close the whole way, but with FSU clicking on all cylinders right now I'll give them the nod. And this is also where I see Syracuse's run ending, with FSU making the Final Four. The Seminoles are one of the biggest teams in the country with a defense that can contain the Orange, and with their shooting starting to come around they can get their shots against that zone. The Seminoles in the Final Four could only happen if they were the least flawed of a bunch of flawed high seeds, and that's exactly what we got here once Melo got suspended (Syracuse was my championship pick prior to the news). It's going to be the winner of that FSU/Ohio State game, bank on it.
MIDWEST:
This one is pretty clear cut, and I can't see any reason this shouldn't come down to Kansas vs. UNC in the Elite 8. The winner of Creighton/Alabama is probably the biggest threat to beat UNC before then (I have Creighton, but neither one is going to beat the Heels) because the bottom half of that bracket is just brutal. Both Temple and Michigan are ripe to be upset in the first round, but with their opponents being Ohio and the winner of Cal/USF it just ain't going to happen. I put Michigan in the Sweet 16 by default, but that's just a terrible grouping of teams. Those who whine about UNC getting favorable treatment, well, you kind of got a point.
The bottom is where I see some really wacky shit happening, with all three first round games outside of Kansas being upsets (NC State over SDSU, Belmont over G-Town, and Purdue over St. Mary's). I think the Boilers are better than the Gaels and NC State is peaking while SDSU is fading after doing it with smoke and mirrors most of the way, but the Belmont one probably needs more of an explanation than that. For me it's not so much a matter of matchups or statistical analysis, but this one is more of a "feel" game for me. Belmont is loaded with upper classmen and has building towards this for years, while Georgetown pretty much had to reset itself after last year and losing three top players to graduation. They've had a good year despite that, but as stupid as it sounds this one feels like destiny. Should be epic, and if Belmont can take care of G-Town I think they take down NC State as well before falling in the Sweet 16 to Kansas.
As far as that Elite 8 game goes between the Jayhawks and Tar Heels, it's weird because although I'm usually a Jayhawk hater dating back to Jacque Vaughn and Jeff Boschee and Eric Chenoweth and all those other nerds I'm on the bandwagon this year. I absolutely love Thomas Robinson in a Blake Griffin (in college) kind of way, although he takes Griffin's size and athleticism and adds in an actual post game which is why he reminds me so much of Hakeem Olajuwon and I don't care who knows it. Because of that and because I've seen North Carolina lose focus way too many times this year, I'm taking the Jayhawks. Of course it also wouldn't surprise me to see UNC run the table the whole way, but I'm betting on Kansas (plus Self is a better game coach than Williams). I just see Thomas Robinson doing a Danny Manning here, even if trusting Kansas in an NCAA Tournament is usually a foolish decision.
From there I have Kentucky over Kansas in the Final, which makes me sick because I hate thinking about watching Calipari win one. Hopefully somebody can take them down, although if it's Wichita I'm going to hate myself for chickening out.
Finally, since I promised, here is that almond crusted fish recipe. I made Grouper, but if you're in Minnesota it would probably work on tilapia or whatever else you can get. Try it. It'll change your life.
1/2 c. almonds chopped fine
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 t. allspice
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
1 t. sea salt
1 t. black pepper
1 t. paprika
Mix all that together and then roll the fish around in it so it's got a nice count of the almonds. Heat a pan to high and heat your oven to 400 degrees. Throw the fish on the pan for 1 minute on each side to get a nice sear, then throw in the oven for 10 minutes or so depending on thickness. Serve.
So good you'll go burn down your local Red Lobster.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
DWG Projected NCAA Tournament Teams
I figured I'd take a crack at projecting out who will be invited to the NCAA Basketball Tournament in March. Let's take a look at this when the tournament rolls around and see how I did.
American East (1): Maine
Atlantic 10 (3): Xavier, Temple, Richmond
ACC (6): Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Maryland
Atlantic Sun (1): East Tennessee State
Big 12 (6): Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Texas, Missouri, Colorado
Big East (8): UCONN, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Pitt, St. Johns, Syracuse, Villanova, WVU
Big Sky (1): Weber State
Big South (1): Coastal Carolina
Big Ten (7): Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan State, Purdue, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Ohio State
Big West (1): UC-Santa Barbara
Colonial (2): VCU, Old Dominion
C-USA (2): Memphis, Southern Miss
Horizon (1): Butler
Ivy (1): Harvard
MAAC (1): Fairfield
MAC (1): Central Michigan
MEAC (1): Morgan State
Missouri Valley (2): Wichita State, Missouri State
Mountain West (4): San Diego State, BYU, New Mexico, UNLV
NEC (1): Central Connecticut State
Ohio Valley (1): Murray State
Pac-10 (3): Washington, UCLA, Arizona
Patriot (1): American
SEC (5): Miss State, Florida, Kentucky, Georgia, Ole Miss
Southern (1): Wofford
Southland (1): Stephen F. Austin
SWAC (1): Jackson State
Summit (1): Oakland
Sun Belt (1): Western Kentucky
WCC (1): Gonzaga
WAC (1): Utah State
Just missed: Seton Hall, Detroit, Dayton, Loyola-Marymount, George Mason, Tennessee
Wasn't that an exciting post?
Ok, I'll give you a little bit more and strongly recommend George Dohrmann's new book, Play their Hearts Out. It takes a look behind the scenes of the youth basketball machine and how it starts turning kids into commodities to be used and traded for money and prestige as early as 10-years old. It is a fascinating look into a weird, sometimes creepy world that turns a kids game being played by kids into big business. I couldn't put it down, and it's the gift that keeps on giving because most of the kids who are featured in the book are now freshman or sophomores in college and I keep seeing their names pop up playing for teams like Cal, Oregon State, New Mexico, and Maryland. In fact, the kid who hit the game-winner for Maryland tonight, Pe'Shon Howard, is one of the more prominent characters. I can't recommend it more highly. In fact, my brother is reading it now and my dad is reading it after him, but after that I can send it to somebody. If you want it for free, shoot me an email with your address.
American East (1): Maine
Atlantic 10 (3): Xavier, Temple, Richmond
ACC (6): Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Maryland
Atlantic Sun (1): East Tennessee State
Big 12 (6): Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Texas, Missouri, Colorado
Big East (8): UCONN, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Pitt, St. Johns, Syracuse, Villanova, WVU
Big Sky (1): Weber State
Big South (1): Coastal Carolina
Big Ten (7): Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan State, Purdue, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Ohio State
Big West (1): UC-Santa Barbara
Colonial (2): VCU, Old Dominion
C-USA (2): Memphis, Southern Miss
Horizon (1): Butler
Ivy (1): Harvard
MAAC (1): Fairfield
MAC (1): Central Michigan
MEAC (1): Morgan State
Missouri Valley (2): Wichita State, Missouri State
Mountain West (4): San Diego State, BYU, New Mexico, UNLV
NEC (1): Central Connecticut State
Ohio Valley (1): Murray State
Pac-10 (3): Washington, UCLA, Arizona
Patriot (1): American
SEC (5): Miss State, Florida, Kentucky, Georgia, Ole Miss
Southern (1): Wofford
Southland (1): Stephen F. Austin
SWAC (1): Jackson State
Summit (1): Oakland
Sun Belt (1): Western Kentucky
WCC (1): Gonzaga
WAC (1): Utah State
Just missed: Seton Hall, Detroit, Dayton, Loyola-Marymount, George Mason, Tennessee
Wasn't that an exciting post?
Ok, I'll give you a little bit more and strongly recommend George Dohrmann's new book, Play their Hearts Out. It takes a look behind the scenes of the youth basketball machine and how it starts turning kids into commodities to be used and traded for money and prestige as early as 10-years old. It is a fascinating look into a weird, sometimes creepy world that turns a kids game being played by kids into big business. I couldn't put it down, and it's the gift that keeps on giving because most of the kids who are featured in the book are now freshman or sophomores in college and I keep seeing their names pop up playing for teams like Cal, Oregon State, New Mexico, and Maryland. In fact, the kid who hit the game-winner for Maryland tonight, Pe'Shon Howard, is one of the more prominent characters. I can't recommend it more highly. In fact, my brother is reading it now and my dad is reading it after him, but after that I can send it to somebody. If you want it for free, shoot me an email with your address.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Tournament Predictions
Ok, I think I have my bracket all figured out. But before I get to telling you what is going to happen, I'm going to go ahead and strongly recommend the new Alice in Wonderland movie. With about as strong of a recommendation as I can give. I'm a huge fan of the original stories, and this managed to stay true to those while being completely original at the same time. Well, not completely original. At it's core it's kind of the same story that's been done a million times, but doing it with time-honored characters with enough of a twist so it doesn't feel cliched is a tall task, but Burton pulls it off brilliantly.
It's not for everyone, like most of Burton's work, and only scores 53% positive on Rotten Tomatoes, but if you like Burton, Sleepy Hollow, Nightmare Before Christmas, and/or the original Alice stories you need to go see this, and in 3D if you can. I was skeptical about 3D, but it's not at all intrusive or distracting, and really just gives the screen more depth. And, of course, there are the few jump scenes. I could write paragraphs on this movie, but that's not why we're here, so just go see it.
On to the tournament. Here's what is going to happen:
MIDWEST REGION
FIRST ROUND
-Kansas over Lehigh - Slaughter.
-UNLV over Northern Iowa - UNI gets all this pub for their great defense, but they suck on offense.
-Mich State over New Mex State - This is one 12/5 game that isn't remotely up for grabs.
-Maryland over Houston - The Cougars have a few good players, but they're lucky to be here. Maryland is a Final Four contender.
-SDSU over Tennessee - The Vols are just streaky enough to lose a first round game.
-Georgetown over Ohio - Slaughter.
-Oklahoma State over Georgia Tech - The really funny thing is that the Yellow Jackets have enough talent to challenge for a Final Four berth, but they can't put it together.
-Ohio State over UCSB - Slaughter.
SECOND ROUND
-Kansas over UNLV - I like the MWC, and I like UNLV, but they have no chance to match up with Kansas.
-Maryland over Michigan State - One of the toughest calls for me in the entire tournament, but I think Greivis Vasquez is the kind of player who can carry a team in this kind of tournament thing.
-Georgetown over SDSU - Like I said, I like the MWC, as shown by having SDSU win one, but they can't hang with the Hoyas.
-Ohio State over Oklahoma State - James Anderson vs. Evan Turner should be fantastic, but Turner has a lot more help.
SWEET SIXTEEN
-Maryland over Kansas - This might be my dumbest call of the tournament, but everyone really needs to chill about Kansas. They aren't nearly as good as you would all like to believe. They're basically the same team from last year, and I don't remember them in the Final Four.
-Ohio State over Georgetown - The Buckeyes have zero answer for Greg Monroe, but the Hoyas have no answer for Turner. Or Lighty. Or Buford. One of those last two is going to have a huge tournament, I'm just not sure which.
ELITE 8
-Ohio State over Maryland - I've said since the year started that Ohio State was a Final Four team, I can't very well back off now.
WEST REGION
FIRST ROUND
-Syracuse over Vermont - VM beat the Cuse as a 14 a few years ago, and I expect this one to be closer than you'd think, despite the fact that one fact has nothing at all to do with the other.
-Florida State over Gonzaga - FSU is great defensively, as long as they can find some scoring they should roll.
-UTEP over Butler - Butler finally grabs a high seed, just in time to lose to the new Butler.
-Vandy over Murray State - I don't even like Vandy, but why are people calling Murray a possible sleeper? They're awful.
-Xavier over Minnesota - My official pick is actually the Gophers, but I'm picking X for my bracket.
-Pitt over Oakland - This is going to be tight, trust me.
-BYU over Florida - This one isn't. Florida doesn't even belong in the tournament.
-Kansas State over North Texas - Not really sure what to make of K State, but this isn't the game they're going to lose.
SECOND ROUND
-Syracuse over Florida State - The Seminoles "Good D No O" shtick will work against the Zags, but you need to bring a complete game to beat the Orange.
-UTEP over Vanderbilt - I like UTEP and I hate Vandy. I actually would have picked Vandy to lose against almost anybody, but I don't want to validate morons who think Murray State is an upset candidate.
-Xavier over Pitt - Or Minnesota over Pitt, doesn't matter who wins round 1, Pitt isn't getting out of the weekend.
-BYU over Kansas State - I anguished over this one. I know taking a 7 over a 2 is a risk and really sets me up to lose a bunch of points, but I can't help it. K State is going down early, and BYU is the call.
SWEET SIXTEEN
-Syracuse over UTEP. The Miners run ends.
-BYU over Xavier. Pretty good matchup, but BYU gets to play in Salt Lake if they make it this far.
ELITE 8
-Syracuse over BYU. The Salt Lake thing makes this close, but the Orange advance to the Final Four without having to play anyone seeded higher than a 7.
EAST REGION
FIRST ROUND
-Kentucky over ETSU - Laugher. Probably the biggest margin of the tournament.
-Texas over Wake Forest - I was looking forward to picking against both of these teams, and now they're matched up so I have to pick somebody to win. I'll go with the Longhorns since they have more talent.
-Temple over Cornell - I, like man, think both these teams were underseeded and like them both quite a bit. Somebody's got to win though, and the Owls have more talent.
-Wisconsin over Wofford - I watched Wofford win their conference championship. That was by default. They, and the entire SoCon, are garbage.
-Marquette over Washington - I heard somebody saying the Pac 10 is undervalued because of East Coast Bias. That may be true a lot of years, but this year the Pac is just terrible. There is no way this game should be a pick 'em.
-New Mexico over Montana - This game bores me.
-Clemson over Missouri - I liked Mizzou here until I found out they have a starter out and his replacement hurt.
-WVU over Morgan State - One last hurrah for the chucker.
SECOND ROUND
-Kentucky over Texas - Texas actually has the talent to knock out the Wildcats, and I really hope they do.
-Wisconsin over Temple - Fascinating match up of two similar teams, but Wisconsin does it better.
-New Mexico over Marquette - A lot of people are taking Marquette here, but I have too strong of a crush on Darington Hobson.
-WVU over Clemson - Since I have Clemson winning last round pretty much by default, I can't very well have them beating my Final Four team.
SWEET SIXTEEN
-Kentucky over Wisconsin - Another good opportunity for Kentucky to slip up, but I'm not seeing it.
-WVU over New Mexico - Hobson is really good, but the Mountaineers have about five guys who are nearly as good, with a couple who are probably better.
ELITE 8
-WVU over Kentucky - This is going to be a hell of a game. Look for De'Sean Butler to continue his heroics.
SOUTH REGION
FIRST ROUND
-Duke over Ark-Pine Bluff - I'm just glad the Golden Lions got to play in a real game.
-Louisville over Cal - I'm not really sure what to think of either team. Both can be really good or really bad. I'll give the advantage to Pitino.
-Texas A&M over Utah State - The Aggies knock out a team from Utah in the first round for the third year in a row. Anti-Mormon bias.
-Siena over Purdue - I'm almost starting to think this is reaching "too obvious" status, but I can't talk myself out of it.
-ODU over Notre Dame - I don't get it, the Irish went on a tear without Harangody, but now he's back. Ergo, they're going to suck again. Plus ODU is pretty good.
-Baylor over Sam Houston - I think I read somewhere that this might end up being a barn-burner. That would F up a lot of brackets.
-Richmond over St. Mary's - Love me some Spiders. If they were playing any other 10 seed they'd blow them away, bad luck getting the Gaels.
-Villanova over Robert Morris - Nova is overrated, but not so overrated that RMU could win.
SECOND WIN
-Duke over Louisville - I know some people (Snacks) are taking the Cardinals here, and although I can see it, I can't quite pick it.
-Texas A&M over Siena - I'm close to picking Siena here, but I can't quite talk myself into it, seeing as how they beat nobody this year.
-Baylor over ODU - I know Baylor is the sexy pick for the Final Four, and even I am picking them here, but this will be a dangerous game for them.
-Richmond over Villanova - I told you I liked the Spiders. But Villanova is supremely overseeded at #2. They are in a complete tailspin right now, and Scottie Reynolds is the most overrated player since Steph Curry.
SWEET SIXTEEN
-Duke over Texas A&M - You know what's sick? The Aggies are the best team the Blue Devils could possibly face in the first three rounds. NCAA loves Duke like a fat kid loves cake.
-Baylor over Richmond - Well, I don't love the Spiders quite this much.
ELITE 8
-Duke over Baylor - I just can't put Baylor in the Final Four. Any other 2 seed, any other three seed, and a bunch of four or five seeds would go over Duke, but none of them ended up in this bracket. This sucks.
FINAL FOUR
-Syracuse over Ohio State - The Orange is just such a complete team. I love the Buckeyes, but I think the Cuse is just a bit better.
-West Virginia over Duke - The Dukies finally play a real team, and they get smoked.
-Syracuse over West Virginia - A Big East showdown for the crown, with Syracuse taking it down and Andy Rautins proving me completely wrong by winning Most Outstanding Player.
There you go, the perfect bracket. Just go ahead and copy those picks and you'll be rolling in the dough Scrooge McDuck style. Unless you are in the same pool I am, in which case you can't copy my picks. It's unethical.
It's not for everyone, like most of Burton's work, and only scores 53% positive on Rotten Tomatoes, but if you like Burton, Sleepy Hollow, Nightmare Before Christmas, and/or the original Alice stories you need to go see this, and in 3D if you can. I was skeptical about 3D, but it's not at all intrusive or distracting, and really just gives the screen more depth. And, of course, there are the few jump scenes. I could write paragraphs on this movie, but that's not why we're here, so just go see it.
On to the tournament. Here's what is going to happen:
MIDWEST REGION
FIRST ROUND
-Kansas over Lehigh - Slaughter.
-UNLV over Northern Iowa - UNI gets all this pub for their great defense, but they suck on offense.
-Mich State over New Mex State - This is one 12/5 game that isn't remotely up for grabs.
-Maryland over Houston - The Cougars have a few good players, but they're lucky to be here. Maryland is a Final Four contender.
-SDSU over Tennessee - The Vols are just streaky enough to lose a first round game.
-Georgetown over Ohio - Slaughter.
-Oklahoma State over Georgia Tech - The really funny thing is that the Yellow Jackets have enough talent to challenge for a Final Four berth, but they can't put it together.
-Ohio State over UCSB - Slaughter.
SECOND ROUND
-Kansas over UNLV - I like the MWC, and I like UNLV, but they have no chance to match up with Kansas.
-Maryland over Michigan State - One of the toughest calls for me in the entire tournament, but I think Greivis Vasquez is the kind of player who can carry a team in this kind of tournament thing.
-Georgetown over SDSU - Like I said, I like the MWC, as shown by having SDSU win one, but they can't hang with the Hoyas.
-Ohio State over Oklahoma State - James Anderson vs. Evan Turner should be fantastic, but Turner has a lot more help.
SWEET SIXTEEN
-Maryland over Kansas - This might be my dumbest call of the tournament, but everyone really needs to chill about Kansas. They aren't nearly as good as you would all like to believe. They're basically the same team from last year, and I don't remember them in the Final Four.
-Ohio State over Georgetown - The Buckeyes have zero answer for Greg Monroe, but the Hoyas have no answer for Turner. Or Lighty. Or Buford. One of those last two is going to have a huge tournament, I'm just not sure which.
ELITE 8
-Ohio State over Maryland - I've said since the year started that Ohio State was a Final Four team, I can't very well back off now.
WEST REGION
FIRST ROUND
-Syracuse over Vermont - VM beat the Cuse as a 14 a few years ago, and I expect this one to be closer than you'd think, despite the fact that one fact has nothing at all to do with the other.
-Florida State over Gonzaga - FSU is great defensively, as long as they can find some scoring they should roll.
-UTEP over Butler - Butler finally grabs a high seed, just in time to lose to the new Butler.
-Vandy over Murray State - I don't even like Vandy, but why are people calling Murray a possible sleeper? They're awful.
-Xavier over Minnesota - My official pick is actually the Gophers, but I'm picking X for my bracket.
-Pitt over Oakland - This is going to be tight, trust me.
-BYU over Florida - This one isn't. Florida doesn't even belong in the tournament.
-Kansas State over North Texas - Not really sure what to make of K State, but this isn't the game they're going to lose.
SECOND ROUND
-Syracuse over Florida State - The Seminoles "Good D No O" shtick will work against the Zags, but you need to bring a complete game to beat the Orange.
-UTEP over Vanderbilt - I like UTEP and I hate Vandy. I actually would have picked Vandy to lose against almost anybody, but I don't want to validate morons who think Murray State is an upset candidate.
-Xavier over Pitt - Or Minnesota over Pitt, doesn't matter who wins round 1, Pitt isn't getting out of the weekend.
-BYU over Kansas State - I anguished over this one. I know taking a 7 over a 2 is a risk and really sets me up to lose a bunch of points, but I can't help it. K State is going down early, and BYU is the call.
SWEET SIXTEEN
-Syracuse over UTEP. The Miners run ends.
-BYU over Xavier. Pretty good matchup, but BYU gets to play in Salt Lake if they make it this far.
ELITE 8
-Syracuse over BYU. The Salt Lake thing makes this close, but the Orange advance to the Final Four without having to play anyone seeded higher than a 7.
EAST REGION
FIRST ROUND
-Kentucky over ETSU - Laugher. Probably the biggest margin of the tournament.
-Texas over Wake Forest - I was looking forward to picking against both of these teams, and now they're matched up so I have to pick somebody to win. I'll go with the Longhorns since they have more talent.
-Temple over Cornell - I, like man, think both these teams were underseeded and like them both quite a bit. Somebody's got to win though, and the Owls have more talent.
-Wisconsin over Wofford - I watched Wofford win their conference championship. That was by default. They, and the entire SoCon, are garbage.
-Marquette over Washington - I heard somebody saying the Pac 10 is undervalued because of East Coast Bias. That may be true a lot of years, but this year the Pac is just terrible. There is no way this game should be a pick 'em.
-New Mexico over Montana - This game bores me.
-Clemson over Missouri - I liked Mizzou here until I found out they have a starter out and his replacement hurt.
-WVU over Morgan State - One last hurrah for the chucker.
SECOND ROUND
-Kentucky over Texas - Texas actually has the talent to knock out the Wildcats, and I really hope they do.
-Wisconsin over Temple - Fascinating match up of two similar teams, but Wisconsin does it better.
-New Mexico over Marquette - A lot of people are taking Marquette here, but I have too strong of a crush on Darington Hobson.
-WVU over Clemson - Since I have Clemson winning last round pretty much by default, I can't very well have them beating my Final Four team.
SWEET SIXTEEN
-Kentucky over Wisconsin - Another good opportunity for Kentucky to slip up, but I'm not seeing it.
-WVU over New Mexico - Hobson is really good, but the Mountaineers have about five guys who are nearly as good, with a couple who are probably better.
ELITE 8
-WVU over Kentucky - This is going to be a hell of a game. Look for De'Sean Butler to continue his heroics.
SOUTH REGION
FIRST ROUND
-Duke over Ark-Pine Bluff - I'm just glad the Golden Lions got to play in a real game.
-Louisville over Cal - I'm not really sure what to think of either team. Both can be really good or really bad. I'll give the advantage to Pitino.
-Texas A&M over Utah State - The Aggies knock out a team from Utah in the first round for the third year in a row. Anti-Mormon bias.
-Siena over Purdue - I'm almost starting to think this is reaching "too obvious" status, but I can't talk myself out of it.
-ODU over Notre Dame - I don't get it, the Irish went on a tear without Harangody, but now he's back. Ergo, they're going to suck again. Plus ODU is pretty good.
-Baylor over Sam Houston - I think I read somewhere that this might end up being a barn-burner. That would F up a lot of brackets.
-Richmond over St. Mary's - Love me some Spiders. If they were playing any other 10 seed they'd blow them away, bad luck getting the Gaels.
-Villanova over Robert Morris - Nova is overrated, but not so overrated that RMU could win.
SECOND WIN
-Duke over Louisville - I know some people (Snacks) are taking the Cardinals here, and although I can see it, I can't quite pick it.
-Texas A&M over Siena - I'm close to picking Siena here, but I can't quite talk myself into it, seeing as how they beat nobody this year.
-Baylor over ODU - I know Baylor is the sexy pick for the Final Four, and even I am picking them here, but this will be a dangerous game for them.
-Richmond over Villanova - I told you I liked the Spiders. But Villanova is supremely overseeded at #2. They are in a complete tailspin right now, and Scottie Reynolds is the most overrated player since Steph Curry.
SWEET SIXTEEN
-Duke over Texas A&M - You know what's sick? The Aggies are the best team the Blue Devils could possibly face in the first three rounds. NCAA loves Duke like a fat kid loves cake.
-Baylor over Richmond - Well, I don't love the Spiders quite this much.
ELITE 8
-Duke over Baylor - I just can't put Baylor in the Final Four. Any other 2 seed, any other three seed, and a bunch of four or five seeds would go over Duke, but none of them ended up in this bracket. This sucks.
FINAL FOUR
-Syracuse over Ohio State - The Orange is just such a complete team. I love the Buckeyes, but I think the Cuse is just a bit better.
-West Virginia over Duke - The Dukies finally play a real team, and they get smoked.
-Syracuse over West Virginia - A Big East showdown for the crown, with Syracuse taking it down and Andy Rautins proving me completely wrong by winning Most Outstanding Player.
There you go, the perfect bracket. Just go ahead and copy those picks and you'll be rolling in the dough Scrooge McDuck style. Unless you are in the same pool I am, in which case you can't copy my picks. It's unethical.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Here's What's Going to Happen: East Region
FIRST ROUND
#1 Pitt over #16 East Tennessee State. Should be the closest thing to a competitive 16/1 or 15/2 game, with the Bucs being able to hang at least a little bit with Pitt.
#9 Tennessee over #8 Oklahoma State. Should be a pretty competitive game, since Tennessee and Oklahoma State have almost identical Ken Pom ratings, and watching the two teams you can see how closely matched they will be. As Snacks said, will the good Tennessee show up (the one who swept Florida and South Carolina and beat Marquette, Georgetown, and Siena) or the bad one (who lost to Miss State, Ole Miss, and Alabama). Actually looking at the Volunteer resume, I think they are much better than a 9 seed, and I also think Ok State is an ok team who got hot at the end of the year.
#5 Florida State over #12 Wisconsin. Florida State has come a long way since they lost to Northwestern earlier this year, and they managed to ride senior point guard Toney Douglas to a very impressive 10-6 record in the ACC this year. They turn the ball over way too much, which is worrisome, but Wisconsin doesn't create turnovers at all - and they suck.
#4 Xavier over #13 Portland State. You want to know how confused I am about Xavier? The first pass through this bracket I had them in the final four. On a subsequent pass later (and I've gone through this one a whole bunch of times) I had them losing this game right here. I still think the could lose this one, but Portland State is the worst defensive team in the NCAA tournament, so I can't possibly make this pick.
#6 UCLA over #11 VCU. Really, everybody? Really? We're all picking VCU here because of a game they won two years ago? The same VCU team that lost to Vanderbilt? And East Carolina? And was one of UNC-Wilmington's seven wins this year (RIP Brent Blizzard)? Really? I think UCLA will be fine here - Collison shuts down Maynor.
#3 Villanova over #14 American. American might be able to give Nova a run here, especially if the shots aren't falling for the Wildcats and Scottie Reynolds since American shoots quite well from three themselves. And it's a good matchup for the Patriots since their complete lack of an inside presence won't hurt against Villanova and their lack of an inside presence.
#7 Texas over #10 Minnesota. More on this later today
#2 Duke over #15 Binghampton. Duke is top 17 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Binghampton is top 159 in both. Even if I didn't think Duke was actually good this year - and I do - this is an easy blowout call.
SECOND ROUND
#1 Pitt over #9 Tennessee. In a normal year, I'd say an athletic, offensive type team would have a chance against a Pitt team, but this Tennessee team is incredibly sloppy, and incredibly bad defensively. And whoever is going to take this Pitt team down is going to have to have some size, and not just height but bulk, in order to slow them down, and is going to need a game changer at guard - too bad the Vols are loaded with wing players instead.
#5 Florida State over #4 Xavier. If I considered Xavier losing to Portland State, I definitely don't think they can handle a Florida State team. FSU's defense is just way too tough for a pretty bland Xavier offense, and I don't think the Musketeers have any chance at slowing down Douglas. X also relied on their superior size to wear down teams in the A-10, and won't be able to count on that against the Seminoles.
#6 UCLA over #3 Villanova. It makes me nervous taking a team that is horrible at defending the three pointer (UCLA) over a team that relies so much on the three-pointer in Villanova, but I can't possibly bring myself to allow Villanova and that Stephen Curry-esque chucker Scottie Reynolds to advance any further.
#2 Duke over #7 Texas. The only real concern here for Duke is containing Oliver Miller Lite, Dexter Pittman. He's got size the Dukies can only match with Brian Zoubek, who only plays 12 minutes a game. He'll have to come up big, but other than that Texas is a horrible shooting team and Duke plays very good perimeter defense, so that should take of the Horns.
SWEET SIXTEEN
#5 Florida State over #1 Pitt. Of course, my bracket goes completely up in smoke if FSU can't get passed Florida in the first round, which is a legit concern, but assuming this matchup happens I think it's a great chance for the Seminoles. Pitt's strengths are it's size and inside players to go along with an overrated point guard in Levance Fields. FSU is one of the biggest teams in the NCAA, and can match Pitt's size and skill, and Toney will destroy Fields. Even the biggest weakness of FSU, their propensity to turn the ball over, is masked here because for all the press about Pitt's defense they don't cause turnovers.
#2 Duke over #6 UCLA. Remember what I said about UCLA not being able to defend the three-pointer?
ELITE EIGHT
#2 Duke over #5 Florida State. It pains me to put Duke in the final four, and through various incarnations of this bracket I've had every seed from one through six in at various points, but when it all shakes out, I think everything points to Duke. If Pitt manages to get passed Florida State, I think they will steam roll Duke, but that's not how I have it picked. God what an awful bracket. Not a final four worthy team in the bunch.
WEST REGION
MIDWEST REGION
SOUTH REGION
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Here's What's Going to Happen: South Bracket
FIRST ROUND
#1 North Carolina over #16 Radford. Second biggest margin of victory in the whole tournament.
#9 Butler over #8 LSU. Seems odd that LSU would be favored over Butler, but I suppose with Butler losing in the Horizon tournament it makes some sense. One interesting fun fact I found is that Butler relies on making free throws a lot in order to score their points. If LSU can keep from fouling them, they might take this one.
#12 Western Kentucky over #5 Illinois. I have a feeling this is going to be a popular pick after WKU's run to the sweet 16 last year, but I have to go ahead and make it as well. The Illinois offense is just way too unpredictable, and can go for far too long periods of time for them to make a run in the tournament, and it wouldn't be shocking for them to go dead on offense right away in the first round, especially with Chester Frazier banged up. WKU isn't a particularly great defensive squad, but I don't know that you have to be to shut down the crapass Illini.
#4 Gonzaga over #13 Akron. I almost took the Zips here, really I did. They play very good defense, and are one of the best in the country at turning their opponents over. Unfortunately, I can't get past my love for Gonzaga this year. I think they are absolutely one of the best teams in the country this year. Austin Daye might be one of my favorite players and he and Heytveldt for a great tandem in the paint (and outside it) when Heytveldt isn't high, and both Heytveldt and Bouldin shoot over 50% from the field - and Bouldin is a guard. With Pargo running things, the Bulldogs could go far.
#6 Arizona State over #11 Temple. Rich Harden and Jeff Pendergaph are absolutely one of the best NBA Jam style tandems in the country. Temple has some weirdo named Christmas.
#3 Syracuse over #14 Stephen F. Austin. Shouldn't be an issue for the Orange, and I stress shouldn't be. There are a couple of reasons things could get dicey, however. SFA is one of the slowest teams in the country, and also one of the best defensively, holding opponents to just 28% shooting from three and 42% from two. Those are awesome numbers. If they can keep the Orange from scoring, they aren't the most disciplined team in the world and could implode. Of course, those gaudy defensive numbers come from a team with a Strength of Schedule that was 219th in the country, but hey, it could happen.
#10 Michigan over #7 Clemson. Doesn't Clemson seem like the kind of team that would choke here? And doesn't Manny Harris seem like exactly the type of player to raise his game on the big stage?
#2 Oklahoma over #15 Morgan State. This will be the biggest margin of victory in the entire tournament.
SECOND ROUND
#1 North Carolina over #9 Butler. Butler is cute, really they are, but they aren't nearly as good as last year and will be exposed in a huge way by the juggernaut that is the Tar Heels. Of course, if Lawson can't play or something, this gets a whole lot more interesting.
#4 Gonzaga over #12 Western Kentucky. As I said above, I love the Zags this year.
#6 Arizona State over #3 Syracuse. This is going to be a barn burner. I've gone back and forth on this one about ten times, and I just can't make up my mind. Right now, I'm feeling Arizona State will be able to take it, based simply on how good James Harden is.
#2 Oklahoma over #10 Michigan. The Wolverines have zero answer for stupid Blake Griffin. Not even a little bit.
SWEET SIXTEEN
#4 Gonzaga over #1 North Carolina. Seriously, I really like Gonzaga this year. I also don't like the matchup for the Heels, who I pretty much had in my final four all season long until about five minutes ago. Just looking at numbers, North Carolina relies heavily on the two-point shot over the three pointer, and the Bulldogs are awesome at defending the two - their only defensive weakness lies in defending the three which is not going to be a major factor. Neither team turns it over, and both offenses are incredibly efficient. UNC relies on the free throw line to get a ton of it's points (if you watched Hansbrough you know this), but Gonzaga is one of the best at not fouling. As long as the Bulldogs can keep them off the o-boards, they can win. I think they do it. Look out for Austin "All" Day baby.
#2 Oklahoma over #6 Arizona State. Griffin and the Sooners face a good post man here for the first time, but he's also all kinds of the wrong matchup for the Sun Devils. Jeff Pendergaph is a skilled big man, but he doesn't have the strength or size to handle Griffin. I know I keep emphasizing Blake, but seriously, he's pretty much the whole team.
ELITE 8
#4 Gonzaga over #2 Oklahoma. The Sooners finally run into a team that can deal with Griffin in the Bulldgos and Josh Heytveldt. If Gonzaga has a defensive weakness, it's quick guards with some size, and Willie Warren will end up being the key to this game more so than Griffin. I think Pargo can handle him, and I think the Zags finally break through and make their elusive first final four appearance.
BOO YA.
WEST REGION
MIDWEST REGION
Here's What's Going to Happen: West Region
Before I get started here, can I tell you something? I really hate Saint Patrick's day, I mean REALLY hate it. A bunch of morons run around like idiots. I was in a big seminar thing today with probably 100 people or so, and at least 75% of them were wearing green. What the hell? It's so stupid. Why do we even care about Ireland? And don't even get me started on all the amateur rookie drinker types who get bombed off their ass and have no idea how to act because they're morons. Did you know that the biggest Irish bar in Denver actually closes on St. Patricks Day? Despite all the money they could make, people are such morons that they close to avoid the idiocy. And did you know they have parades for this garbage? In both Minneapolis and St. Paul? Ugh, why? Seriously, look down at what you're wearing right now. If you have anything green on please find the nearest wall and run into head first, really fast.
Ugh. Let's move on.
FIRST ROUND
#1 UCONN over #16 Chattanooga. And it will be ugly.
#8 BYU over #9 Texas A&M. Not a big believer in the Aggies this year. And in doing my bracket, it seems I'm not very big on the Big 12 as a whole, even though KenPom has them as the fourth best conference, ahead of the Big Ten - who I am also not very high on. BYU is in the top 25 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, and are very, very good at shooting the basketball. Good enough for me.
#5 Purdue over #12 Northern Iowa. At first glance, I thought the Boilers got lucky in getting what I think is the worst #12 seed in the bracket, and who I consider the third best Missouri Valley team. Then I started thinking. Hummel is back, they were predicted to win the Big Ten preseason but had some struggles with his injury, and now that they are all together again, they won the Big Ten tournament. Plus they have the college KG.
#4 Washington over #13 Mississippi State. Like Washington here. Even though Miss State has maybe the best defensive player in the country in Jarvis Varnardo, overall the team is pretty bad and only got here by winning a weak SEC tournament. Not enough firepower or overall defense to hang.
#11 Utah State over #6 Marquette. Like you're surprised. Marquette just isn't the same team without James and have struggled against good teams with their only win in their last six without him over St Johns. They also struggle against bigger teams, and that's what the Aggies are. They still have plenty of firepower and Utah State can play some pretty awful defense at times, so this could go the other way, but I'm picking my second favorite team here.
#3 Missouri over #14 Cornell. I like Cornell, really I do, and I think there are some good teams they could beat but for the second year in a row they get a terrible matchup. Last year they couldn't deal with Stanford's twin towers, this year they won't be able to handle the uptempo style and athleticism Missouri brings.
#7 Cal over #10 Maryland. I know Snacks is in love with greasy haired foreigner Greivis Vasquez, but I don't trust the Terrapins despite their three top 10 wins. They also have a ton of bad losses. And you know what they say about guard play in the tournament and Cal has a couple of studs.
#2 Memphis over #15 CS-Northridge. CSN might actually be able to give Memphis a game for a half, but that's it.
SECOND ROUND
#1 UCONN over #8 BYU. This will be closer than you think, but superior talent wins out.
#5 Purdue over #4 Washington. I changed this one a couple of times, but I can't get over the fact that I think Purdue has underachieved all year and is ripe for a run with Hummel back. And I like the Huskies, but they just haven't impressed. They didn't really beat anybody outside the conference.
#3 Missouri over #11 Utah State. Similar to Cornell, I just don't think Utah State can keep up with a much more athletic Missouri team who will be able to shut down their perimeter game. Add in a very good offense for the Tigers going against a pretty poor USU defense, and this one will probably be a blowout.
#2 Memphis over #7 Cal. I expect the Bruins to give Memphis a hell of a game, and it wouldn't shock me to see them pull this one out. Memphis has done it with defense all year, but the last time they played a team with a backcourt as good as Cal's was way back in December when they played Syracuse - and they lost. I still think the Tigers pull it out in the end, as Cal's defense is just bad enough to keep them out of the sweet sixteen.
SWEET SIXTEEN
#1 UCONN over #5 Purdue. And here's where it ends for the Boilers. I have no idea not only how they will handle the size of the Huskies, but also how they will handle the quickness. They score, they rebound, they play great defense, and they get excellent guard play from AJ Price and company.
#3 Missouri over #2 Memphis. I've changed this one out a whole bunch of times, but I just can't get away from how good Missouri turned out to be this year. A top 20 offense and a top 10 defense at a pace that many teams can't handle, they not only won the Big 12 tournament, but also beat both Kansas and Oklahoma in the past month and a half. Their only real weakness is stopping the opponents offensive rebounding, and Memphis is good here with Dozier and Taggert so this could be the difference, but I think Missouri is the better team.
ELITE EIGHT
#1 UCONN over #3 Missouri. This will be a fun game. The teams matchup well, and Missouri can handle the Huskies' size, but in the end it will come down to guard play, and Price, Walker, and Austrie have the collection of mediocre bits over at Mizzou outclassed. One thing to watch is UCONN doesn't create many turnovers on defense, and if they don't disrupt Missouri on the offensive end this could end up going the other way.
Ugh. Let's move on.
FIRST ROUND
#1 UCONN over #16 Chattanooga. And it will be ugly.
#8 BYU over #9 Texas A&M. Not a big believer in the Aggies this year. And in doing my bracket, it seems I'm not very big on the Big 12 as a whole, even though KenPom has them as the fourth best conference, ahead of the Big Ten - who I am also not very high on. BYU is in the top 25 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, and are very, very good at shooting the basketball. Good enough for me.
#5 Purdue over #12 Northern Iowa. At first glance, I thought the Boilers got lucky in getting what I think is the worst #12 seed in the bracket, and who I consider the third best Missouri Valley team. Then I started thinking. Hummel is back, they were predicted to win the Big Ten preseason but had some struggles with his injury, and now that they are all together again, they won the Big Ten tournament. Plus they have the college KG.
#4 Washington over #13 Mississippi State. Like Washington here. Even though Miss State has maybe the best defensive player in the country in Jarvis Varnardo, overall the team is pretty bad and only got here by winning a weak SEC tournament. Not enough firepower or overall defense to hang.
#11 Utah State over #6 Marquette. Like you're surprised. Marquette just isn't the same team without James and have struggled against good teams with their only win in their last six without him over St Johns. They also struggle against bigger teams, and that's what the Aggies are. They still have plenty of firepower and Utah State can play some pretty awful defense at times, so this could go the other way, but I'm picking my second favorite team here.
#3 Missouri over #14 Cornell. I like Cornell, really I do, and I think there are some good teams they could beat but for the second year in a row they get a terrible matchup. Last year they couldn't deal with Stanford's twin towers, this year they won't be able to handle the uptempo style and athleticism Missouri brings.
#7 Cal over #10 Maryland. I know Snacks is in love with greasy haired foreigner Greivis Vasquez, but I don't trust the Terrapins despite their three top 10 wins. They also have a ton of bad losses. And you know what they say about guard play in the tournament and Cal has a couple of studs.
#2 Memphis over #15 CS-Northridge. CSN might actually be able to give Memphis a game for a half, but that's it.
SECOND ROUND
#1 UCONN over #8 BYU. This will be closer than you think, but superior talent wins out.
#5 Purdue over #4 Washington. I changed this one a couple of times, but I can't get over the fact that I think Purdue has underachieved all year and is ripe for a run with Hummel back. And I like the Huskies, but they just haven't impressed. They didn't really beat anybody outside the conference.
#3 Missouri over #11 Utah State. Similar to Cornell, I just don't think Utah State can keep up with a much more athletic Missouri team who will be able to shut down their perimeter game. Add in a very good offense for the Tigers going against a pretty poor USU defense, and this one will probably be a blowout.
#2 Memphis over #7 Cal. I expect the Bruins to give Memphis a hell of a game, and it wouldn't shock me to see them pull this one out. Memphis has done it with defense all year, but the last time they played a team with a backcourt as good as Cal's was way back in December when they played Syracuse - and they lost. I still think the Tigers pull it out in the end, as Cal's defense is just bad enough to keep them out of the sweet sixteen.
SWEET SIXTEEN
#1 UCONN over #5 Purdue. And here's where it ends for the Boilers. I have no idea not only how they will handle the size of the Huskies, but also how they will handle the quickness. They score, they rebound, they play great defense, and they get excellent guard play from AJ Price and company.
#3 Missouri over #2 Memphis. I've changed this one out a whole bunch of times, but I just can't get away from how good Missouri turned out to be this year. A top 20 offense and a top 10 defense at a pace that many teams can't handle, they not only won the Big 12 tournament, but also beat both Kansas and Oklahoma in the past month and a half. Their only real weakness is stopping the opponents offensive rebounding, and Memphis is good here with Dozier and Taggert so this could be the difference, but I think Missouri is the better team.
ELITE EIGHT
#1 UCONN over #3 Missouri. This will be a fun game. The teams matchup well, and Missouri can handle the Huskies' size, but in the end it will come down to guard play, and Price, Walker, and Austrie have the collection of mediocre bits over at Mizzou outclassed. One thing to watch is UCONN doesn't create many turnovers on defense, and if they don't disrupt Missouri on the offensive end this could end up going the other way.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Here's What's Going to Happen: Midwest Region
Before I get started with this, I just want to say I fully expect this tournament to be one of the most unpredictable in years, and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see zero #1 seeds in the Final Four - well, it would surprise me, but not shock me. That being said, I'm sure my picks will suck hard, but so will yours jackass.
FIRST ROUND
#1 Louisville over #16 Alabama St/Morehead St: Naturally.
#8 Ohio State over #9 Siena: It seems weird to me to be picking the Buckeyes here after I pimped Siena all year, but I don't feel right picking the Saints. They had a good year, but not a great one, and although they played a whole bunch of good teams, they never beat anybody, although they did play Kansas tough. They aren't a good defensive team, which hurts in the NCAAs, but they do have good guard play, which helps. I just think Ohio State is starting to peak at the right time, and their guards can handle Siena's.
#5 Utah over #12 Arizona. Picking Arizona is the trendy upset pick this year, but I'm not buying it. While I really think Budinger, Wise, and Hill are really an excellent trio for Arizona, there's a reason why they were #62 in the RPI while Utah is #9, and they are #39 on KenPom while Utah is #25. Need more? How about Arizona is 132nd in defensive efficiency - just seven tournament teams are worse. They also allow opponents to shoot almost 36% from three, one of the worse marks in the country. Utah, yep, you guessed it; white boys shoot 38%, one of the better marks in the country. So go ahead and pick your trendy upset - you'll be wrong.
#4 Wake Forest over #13 Cleveland State. There are two schools of thought here. The first is that Wake Forest, who was once ranked as the #1 team in the country, is much better than a four seed and is a sleeper final four contender. The other is that Cleveland State and their super slow tempo and solid defense will be troubling for a team like Wake, who is a bit overrated thanks to their hot start and is horrible at taking care of the ball (200th in turnover %) and whose best player and point guard sports a 1-1 Ast/TO ratio. I am closer to camp #2 than camp #1, but I can't quite pull the trigger on an upset here.
#6 West Virginia over #11 Dayton. I really like West Virginia this year, despite Huggy Bear's track record of early round flameouts. And as much as I liked the A-10 this year, there's no way I can pick Dayton to beat the #8 team in the country according to KenPom. Oh, yeah, WVU is the #8 team in the country using Ken's ratings. I KNEW they were that good.
#3 Kansas over #14 North Dakota State. Give it up Bison fans, give it up. You're going to get destroyed. Almost a home game? What do you think it will be for Kansas? Do you really think Sherron Collins will let precious little gnome/elf/leprechaun Ben Woodside go off? Can those weak little girly armed sissy boys NDSU calls forwards handle Aldrich? Give me a break, nerds.
#7 BC over #10 USC. Looking at stats, I should probably be picking USC here. They are better defensively, and even though the Trojans turn it over way too much, BC doesn't force any turnovers. So the Trojans should probably be the pick. But how can I pick against big-game Tyrese Rice, as a senior in his last chance to shine? I looked, and in his junior and senior seasons he always played well in big games. This is another chance.
#2 Michigan State over #15 Robert Morris. Meh. Robert Morris isn't good enough to make this even remotely interesting.
SECOND ROUND
#1 Louisville over #8 Ohio State. Ohio State might be peaking at the right time, but so is Louisville, and the Cards are infinitely better than the Buckeyes. Yes, infinitely. Seriously, there isn't a single position where the Bucks have an advantage, except possibly backup center. Even OSU's best player, Evan Turner, can't compare to Earl Clark or Terrence Williams - whichever one you want to call the small forward.
#4 Wake over #5 Utah. Probably the toughest pick for me of the entire bracket. I really don't think Wake is that bad, and I think Utah is better than most think. Plus, Wake's strength is their athleticism, and Utah hasn't had much trouble with athletic teams (beat LSU and hung right with Cal). However Wake is better than either of those teams. And Wake's weakness is turnovers, but Utah sucks at forcing them. In the end, the matchup just favors Wake too much and hurts Utah, but I think overall Utah is every bit as good as Wake.
#6 West Virginia over #3 Kansas. There's no doubt Kansas has been super impressive this year, especially with all the talent they lost from last year's team. However, I think it's been a bit of a mirage due to the Big Twelve being down this year. The only good teams the Jayhawks beat in non-conference were Washington and Tennessee, a couple of pretty overrated teams themselves. This could go the other way if they can't stop Aldrich, but I'm going with the Mountaineers.
#2 Michigan State over #7 BC. I mentioned that it was tough to bet against Tyrese Rice, but when he has to go up against Kalin Lucas it's actually not that tough at all.
SWEET SIXTEEN
#1 Louisville over #4 Wake. Here's where I can finally pick against Wake, who should consider themselves fortunate for the draw they got. Remember how the Demon Deacons turn it over too much? Well, the Cardinals are the first team they are going to play who are good at forcing turnovers. Beyond that, they are the second best defensive team in the country according to defensive efficiency (behind Memphis-who played an easier schedule). The Deacs are a quality defensive unit themselves, but struggle against good offensive teams - which the Cards are.
#6 West Virginia over #2 Michigan State. Yep, that's right. Guess how many teams rank in the top 15 in both offensive and defensive efficiency? Two. Gonzaga and WVU, and Gonzaga has the added bonus of playing in a poor conference to pad their stats. And we aren't just stats-related here, believe it or not, the Mountaineers are a really good team. They get scoring from four players, with a healthy mix of inside and out. They're very athletic, but don't turn it over much. Although there's no seven footer here, they have good size including a 6-6 shooting guard. Everybody rebounds, and they do it really well, particularly on the offensive end. Remember this name: Devin Ebanks. He will be this year's Derrick Rose - but without the final four appearance, because...
ELITE 8
#1 Louisville over #6 West Virginia. So pretty much everything I said about West Virginia applies to Louisville, except they're much better in every facet of the game. The biggest difference here will be the fact that WVU doesn't shoot the ball well, and Louisville is one of the best in the world at not letting people shoot the ball well. The opposite applies, but I can't take a Bobby Huggins team any further, especially when they run up against Rick Pitino. Louisville swept WVU in the regular season, but only by a total of nine points so expect this one to be a war, with the Cards pulling it out in the end.
Friday, March 28, 2008
NCAA Hockey Preview #2
Seriously, what is wrong with you WWWWWW. Sarah Chalke???? Thanks to that disgusting photo I can’t even eat my donut this morning. What really pisses me off is I bought one of those really good raised donuts with white frosting and the cute little spring colored sprinkles. Now that is wasted thanks to Sarah "I am 30 pounds over weight" Chalke. You really need to step it up. Also, screw drivers are gay. Not white wine spritzer gay, just plain old gay. Why is C. Garey so angry and why does he use his entire name as a moniker??? C. Garey, I am only asking why you are so angry and I am in know way judging you. On to hockey.
Midwest Regional (Madison, Wi "greatest city on earth")
Did you know that Bogart once puked crap out of his mouth and onto his arm while road tripping it in Madison. It what just like that episode of South Park where Cartman poops out his mouth. The only difference is Cartman had an actual turd come out his mouth and Bogart had some hybrid combination of turd and #3's. I know this is disgusting, but it is also fascinating if you really think about it. You know this isn’t any worse than the picture of nasty ass Sarah Chalke. God I still feel sick. F U WWWWWW!
#1 North Dakota vs #4 Princeton- I would love nothing more then to start this preview by predicting a Princeton victory but I don’t want to look like one of those bitter guys who say Brett Farve sucks and then tries to prove it. Instead I will just say North Dakota sucks but is still really good? Either way they win this game, but I don’t think it will be a blow out. I still say North Dakota is a one team line. Anyone who shuts down the Duncan-Oshie line will be in the game with North Dakota. NoDak does have a great defense and possibly the 2nd best goalie in the country. Kangas is clearly a better goalie than Lamerioux. North Dakota wins 3-1. God knows I would love to see an upset here! Also, have you heard the internet rumor about the time Duncan and Lamerioux got real drunk and put live pocket gophers "in" each other? Sick.
#2 Denver vs #3 Wisconsin- I still can’t believe Wisconsin is in this tournament. You can take your pairwise rankings a stick them right up Sarah Chalke fat ass. However you do the math Mankato State got screwed. To top it off Wisconsin gets to play at home. F’ing Bucky cheated somehow and he will burn in hell when it comes out. Denver really should win this game but Bucky in the Kohl Center scares me a bit. I am going to pick Denver to win 2-1, but my gut is saying Wisconsin at home. Whoever wins this game wins the region, book it!
Regional Final #1 North Dakota vs #2 Denver- This game will set college hockey back 10 years. Denver will play trap hockey that makes the MLS look interesting. The beautiful part about this game will be another failure by the mouth breather Hakstol. Denver wins 2-1. With all the talents UND loses this year it will be a minimum of three years before they are title contenders again. Suckers!
Northeast Regional (Worcester, MA)
#1 Miami (shit house!) vs #4 Air Force- Miami is the classic team that puts up huge numbers all year and then goes up in a ball of flames every year at the NCAA tournament. This year will be no different. Miami does have a legit stud in Ryan Jones. Jones has scored 30 goals in 38 games this year and made the Hoby Baker top 10 list. All I know about Air Force is I watched them get out played by the Gophers back in December. At that point the Gophers absolutely sucked and where playing without the team members who where playing in the world Jr. Tournament. You know that Air Force will work real hard because that is what idiots in the armed forces do. The problem is these kids are playing for a service school because they aren’t good enough to play for a top tier program or they want to make something out of their lives other than athletics. That’s not exactly American if you ask me. Miami wins 3-2.
#2 Boston College vs #3 Minnesota. Boston College is led by Nathan Gerbe. The beauty of Nathan Gerbe is Dawg towers over him. Gerbe stands 5-6 but is skilled as hell. He is exactly the type of player the Gophers need to start recruiting. Here is a little history for you. Do you know the last time the Frozen Four was in Denver the Gophers won the NCAA title? And.....The last time the Gophers lost to Denver in the WCHA Final Five Championship they went on to win the NCAA Title. What does this mean???? Boston College wins 3-1! This is a game the Gophers can win, but my gut tells me they won’t. That is to bad because the winner of this game will move onto the Frozen Four. Saturday will also be a sad day for The Bear as he will say good bye to his all time favorite Gopher, Derek Peltier. The good news for The Bear is he will be able to have Peltier caddy his golf clubs for him this summer at Meadow Brook.
Northeast Championship #1 Miami vs #2 Boston College. Miami once again wets the bed. Boston College wins 5-2. Eat it Ryan Jones!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Rheumatoid Picks Up The Pieces For The Bears Guy Peltier!
Talk about having a case of the Albany’s during March Madness. That is exactly what the Bear’s Guy had yesterday when he sent his wild slappa god knows where with fifteen seconds remaining and the Gophers tied 2-2 with St. Cloud State. Hey Peltier, way to be the guy who shite’s the bed when there is every chance in the world to finally be a hero and leave your mark on the Gopher hockey program. You really know how to pick’em Bear!!! Luckily for all Gopher fans Mike "rheumatoid" Howe was hopped up on Advil Gel Caps and was able to pounce on Peltier’s sloppy turd. Lucifer also reared his beautiful head again last night as Howesy scored his "6th" goal of the year. Even more amazing than Howe’s joints working properly was the fact that Dawg called me with 3 minutes left in the game to tell me the Gophers would score before OT. Good call Bert!
Incase you didn’t hear, Alex Kangas walked on water last again last night. My question to all readers. Is Kangas the greatest college goalie ever? Did you also realize that the final five lands on easter weekend this year? Can anything else point to a Gophers championship this weekend?
Seriously WWWWWW, your bracket is terrible. Can we please get Mrs. WWWW or Old Man WWWWW to break down college hoops for us? Those two at least have a clue what is going on. I might butcher the use of "too" but even I could tell that OJ Mayo is a dime a dozen talent and Arizona had the same chance of beating W. Virginia as Wozniak had driving home from Madison without puking on the side of the road.
With all the talk about Bogart’s terrible, flaky and down right disgusting skin I thought I would post a picture of what it looks like for the readers who do not know him. Seriously man, have you ever heard of lotion?
Go Gophers!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
WCHA Final Five
The WCHA final five begins tonight at the Xcel. Tonights play-in game features the Gophers vs St. Cloud State. The winner of tonights game moves on to Friday's semi-finals to play #1 seed Colorado College. The other semi-final will feature the University of we hate native americans vs the Denver Pioneers.
The Gophers head to the Final Five after possibly the longest 3 game series in the history of the WCHA. The Gophers lost 1-0 in double OT, won 2-1 in OT and won 3-2 in double OT to advance. There are three keys to tonights game for the Gophers. 1) Kangas, 2) score 3+ goals and 3) stay out of the penalty box. They follow my keys and I guarantee victory.
Next years Hoby Baker winner needs to continue playing like he did last weekend. That might be a bit much to ask, but I have never been one to shy away from asking for to much. Kangas either gets shutouts all weekend or I write him off faster than Frazee! Seriously, if the Gophers want any chance of advancing this weekend Kangas can not allow more than two goals a game. Sad, but true.
Next to the Play of Kangas goal scoring is the next biggest factor for the gophers. I know that sounds like the dip shit analyst who says "whoever scores more goals will most likely win the game", but the Gophers need to find a way to score 3 goals without playing 100 minutes of hockey. Last Sundays game was a perfect example of what I am talking about. The Gophers had numerous chances to score goals right in front of the net and instead of putting the puck in the corner of the net the forwards would rush shots and hit the Mavericks goalie in the chest. The Mavericks goalie (Zacharias) played well last weekend, but the Gophers made him look better than he is. Mouth breather Jase Weslosky is not the goalie Zacharias is, so 3 goals isn't like asking for the moon.
ATTENTION TO THE BEARS GUY PELTIER!!!! The 3rd key to tonights game for the Gophers is staying out of the penalty box. St. Cloud basically lives by it's power play. Their #1 unit of Roe, Lasch and Nodl is possibly the best power play unit in the country. As a team, St. Cloud leads the WCHA in PP efficiency at 21.9%. That means the Gophers can only take necessary penalties. Note to Peltier, we don't need any Cross Checking, Roughing, Boarding or whatever other dumb penalty you decide take 60 feet behind the play. Those are the penalties that will get the Gophers beat tonight. Maybe the gophers should just sit Peltier all weekend? Hey Bear, nice player!
Predictions for the weekend.
Play-in game MN 4 St. Cloud 2. The Gophers will be to tired to skate all over the rink which is a good thing for this team. They will sit back and play "system" hockey and rely on Kangas to make saves. How much does it suck that the Gophers have turned into the Wisconsin Badgers of college hockey? God I can't wait for some actual talent to get back in the program next year! Also, keep your eyes out for the Todd slinging his shit on the ice if the gophers happen to lose. I am on record as saying The Todd doesn't have the arm to get it over the glass.
Semi-final #1 Denver 3 UND 2. Upset of the weekend. UND has been playing to good for to long. The also looked very poor last weekend. On top of that, Denver will be looking forward to this game after the cheap crap UND pulled up in Grand Forks last month. Yet another banner slips through the fingers of Neanderthal Hakstol.
Semi-final #2 CC 3 MN 1. Gophers have nothing left and even if they did Colorado would still beat them. I still think CC is the class of the WCHA.
3rd Place Game. Who really cares other than the Sioux fans who will still act like winning this game is a big deal, f'ing losers!
Championship- CC 5 Denver 2. Denver can't skate with CC. CC locks up a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Tom Pohl update from the University of Minnesota. Gophers Pohl in Intensive Care Following Surgery at Rochester Hospital. University of Minnesota senior Tom Pohl is in intensive care following surgery resulting from an injury suffered in the Golden Gophers double overtime victory over Minnesota State on Sunday in Mankato . Pohl sustained a skull fracture when his head hit the boards in front of the teams bench at 6:09 of the second period. The injury resulted in bleeding on the brain and Pohl was airlifted to St. Marys Hospital in Rochester . Successful surgery was performed to stop the bleeding and stabilize the fracture. Pohl remains at the hospital for further observation.We are very fortunate that he has tremendous medical care, said Minnesota coach Don Lucia, who is in Rochester with Pohl and his family. Were looking forward to him returning to school at one hundred percent and our thoughts and prayers remain with Tom and the Pohl family.
Here is a link to the Gophers incoming recruits. Things are really looking up talent wise. Only two questions marks coming in over the next two years, Brandon Martell and Josh Birkholz. Martell just isn't that good and Birkolz comes off as a whiny kid who pouts when things aren't going his way....f'ing cake eater! http://gopherpuck.blogspot.com/2007/01/committed-gopher-recruits.html
Kyle Okposo played in his first NHL game Tuesday night for the New York Islanders. The Black Ginger played 14 minutes and registered two shots on net. It looks like two months of Minor league hockey got his development back on track. Good thing he got out while the getting was good.
Lastly, even though the smartest man in Grand Forks is on record as saying the Gophers won't make the NCAA tournament they are a lock. The worst team to make the NCAA tournament in Gophers history....without a doubt, but I will still take a game or two in the NCAA after the season this team has had.
Lastly, Lastly....WWWWWW, nice NCAA picks! I thought you where suppose to be the hoops guy on this blog? The Sports Guy knows more about college hoops!
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