Weekend Review

Can't really put Gopher hoops in either category this week. A win over Michigan State to go along with the Ohio State win would have put them in the Awesome column, but they certainly didn't suck. My thoughts on the games are in previous posts, but I'm very wary of this game at Iowa this week. I think this game will go a long way towards telling us what kind of team the Gophers are this year. If they can't win at Iowa, you might as well mark down all road games not against Indiana or Penn State as a loss. More on that later in the week.

WHO WAS AWESOME

1. Arkansas Hoops. Maybe the most surprising team this season, the Razorbacks are 11-1 with a win over #4 Oklahoma this week and heading into SEC play as a suddenly interesting team. Sure, none of their other 10 wins are against anybody good, but that sounds an awful lot like the Gophers. And why not? Maybe the biggest reason for their fast start (they were picked last in the SEC) is one-time Gopher target point guard Courtney Fortson. If you recall, Fortson was ranked #60 on the Rivals 150, and was their 9th ranked point guard, and chose Arkansas over the Gophers, Tennesse, Florida State, and Missouri. He’s certainly lived up to his high billing, teaming with vastly improved big man Michael Washington (from 4.3 points and 3.9 rebs per game to 15.9 and 10.4) to revitalize the Razorbacks, leading the only Arkansas fan I know to say, “Hawgball is back.” Um, ok. But I do know Fortson is the real deal, as he’s averaging 15.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game (third in the nation) and nearly put up a triple double in the big win over the Sooners, going for 12 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds. His turnovers are a little high at 4 per game, but hell, he’s a freshman whose only 5-11 and he’s putting up those numbers? I’d take it.

2. Utah Football. Well I’m going to go ahead and say that was a pretty big win, stomping all over former #1 team in the country Alabama 31-17 in the Sugar Bowl to finish up as the only undefeated D-I team in the country. The Utes used their underrated and underappreciated speed to jump out to a 21-0 nothing lead right out of the gate, and to harass Bama QB John Parker Wilson (dude, just go by J.P.) all night, picking him off twice and sacking him 8 times despite the supposed stronger, faster, and more powerful Crimson Tide offensive line. What I thought was even more impressive was that after falling behind 21-0, Bama scored the next 17 to cut the lead to four. Just when it looked like Utah’s fast start might be wiped out, they shut ‘em down, scoring the next 10 points to get to the final margin. My favorite part was the radio guy whose name I didn’t get I heard ranting the next day about how this was the one time in 100 games where Utah would beat Alabama, how they wouldn’t beat USC in 100 tries, and how the only reason they won was because Bama didn’t care, and he “guaranteed” the Crimson Tide spent their month of practice before the game “working on other things” and “didn’t even prepare for this game.” What? First of all, you’re an idiot. Secondly, that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. And lastly, Utah stomped the shit out of Alabama; that’s a very good team right there in Mormonsylvania.

3. Michigan State Hoops. Yep, they get this spot again after a couple of very nice road wins to start the Big Ten season, following up the whoopin’ they gave your beloved Gophers by beating a much improved Northwestern team in Evanston 77-66 on Saturday to move to 2-0 in conference played, tied with Wisconsin at the top. Kalin Lucas, Chris Allen, and Raymar Morgan were once again the catalyst, leading the team with a pair of excellent games a piece. Lucas followed up his 24 point destruction of the Gophers with 17 points and 9 assists, making sure the Wildcats’ Michael Thompson knew he didn’t belong anywhere near the best PG in the Big Ten list. Chris Allen stayed hotter than Valerie Malone, going for four more three pointers and 17 points, and Raymar Morgan’s under the radar double/double against the Gophers (10 & 10) was much more obvious, this time going for 22 & 13. After the first weekend of Big Ten play, it’s very much looking like it’s the Spartans and everyone else. I still think Purdue has a chance to compete with them, but they looked very shaky in their loss to Illinois.

4. Pitt Hoops. I’ve hated the stupid Pitt Panthers every since the Brandin Knight and Carl Krauser days, mostly because those two were queers, but also because they were overrated every year. Every year they would play an essentially worthless non-conference schedule, get ranked in the top 10, play ok in conference, and then get bounced in an upset in the NCAA tournament, but things might be changing. The team is still a bunch of queers, especially Levance Fields, but this might actually be a complete team this season. They made a major statement this week winning both Big East conference games on the road to go to 2-0. First with a win at Rutgers, not a very good team but the RAC is always a tough place to play, and then with a monster win at #11 Georgetown in convincing fashion 70-54, led by monster DeJuan Blair’s 20 points and 17 rebounds. Blair leads the Big East in rebounding at 12.5 per game, and along with forwards Sam Young and Tyrell Biggs gives the Panthers not only a big team but an extremely talented team this year. Pitt has the talent to make a deep run this year, but I’m almost certain Fields will continue the tradition of crappy Pitt point guards and screw it up somehow.

5. Boston College Hoops. This spot was going to go to Wake Forest for their impressive win over BYU in Provo, ending the Cougars 53-game home winning streak, but it’s impossible to ignore BC’s huge win over North Carolina last night, especially because it happened in Chapel Hill in their ACC opener. Naturally, Tyrese Rice led the way for the Eagles with 25 points on 7-13 shooting with 8 assists and five rebounds, and got help from swingman Rakim Sanders who chipped in with 22. BC was able to hold the Tar Heels to just 38% shooting and turned them over 15 times in the win. Ty Lawson (3-13) and Tyler Hansbrough (6-15) both really struggled with their shot, in Hansbrough’s case frequent double teams slowed him down, as well as BC center Josh Southern who did a hell of a job. At least that’s what I read, I really wish I had seen this game so I could form an opinion on just how fluky this result was. Obviously defeating the Heels at home is a huge occurrence, especially for a team who has a loss to St. Louis on their record and whose best win was over Providence before last night. Was this a case of BC turning the corner? Are the Heels vulnerable? Was a UNC weakness uncovered or was this just a weird night? I’LL NEVER KNOW!!!!!!!!!


WHO SUCKED

1. Big Ten Football. God dammit, every year it’s the same “The Big Ten sucks” talk and every year the conference as a whole goes out and proves everybody right, and this year is again no exception. The conference is 1-5 after another embarrassing Rose Bowl loss to USC, this time by Penn State 38-24 in a game that wasn’t nearly that close until the Nittany Lions went on a last quarter rampage and outscored the Trojans 17-7 after USC had given up and put the water boys and cheerleaders in the game. Thankfully Iowa salvaged a modicum of pride by whomping on a horrible South Carolina team 31-10 behind Shonn Greene who it turns out is kind of a pretty big stud. The rest of the conference was pukey. Michigan State lost by 12 to Georgia, Wisconsin got rolled by Florida State by 29, and Kansas thumped our very own Golden Gophers by 21 (btw, you’re kind of an idiot if you didn’t see that coming). Hard to believe Northwestern’s loss was the best non-Iowan result from the bowls, as they lost in OT to Mizzou. Tonight’s game is going to be ugly. I think the spread could be pretty much anything and I’d take Texas over Ohio State. Only the biggest Big Ten homer in the world (Hi Dad) could find anything positive to take out of this bowl season.

2. Gonzaga. Ok, I’ll be honest: I have no idea what is happening here. Going into the season I thought this would legitimately be the Bulldogs best team ever. With Pargo back at the point, Pothead Heytvelt in the post, and Bouldin and Daye on the wing I actually thought this team might be a legit Final Four contender. Instead they’ve lost three straight after losing 66-65 to Utah on Wednesday, and really look more like a bubble team right now. Their only signature win right now is against Tennessee, and with the WCC looking down as St Mary’s and San Diego disappoint, they have two more chances: this week at Tennessee (again, for some reason) and against Memphis mid-season. They should be ok, with a strength of schedule ranked 12th right now, an easy conference, and wins over Oklahoma State and Maryland on the books, an NCAA berth shouldn’t be an issue. Then again, with four losses in the last five games, including against Portland State and Utah, maybe they need to be worried.

3. Minnesota Vikings. I don’t even know what to write, this was incredibly disappointing. Not necessarily because they lost, since it should have been obvious to all that this wasn’t a very good team that basically had no chance to win a Super Bowl or anything, but because it really felt like with a better QB and/or a better coach this game was there for the taking. The defense must be really frustrated right now, since they played an awesome game and were completely undercut by a bad gameplan, poor QB play, and atrocious special teams – all of which can be traced directly back to coaching and Mr. Brad Childress, not to mention the bizarre decision to give the Eagles a field goal by declining a penalty that would have backed them up 10 yards. Of the 26 points the Eagles scored, only the long screen pass to Brian Westbrook TD was really their fault, every other point came about as a result of either an offensive turnover or a long punt return by notorious bonehead DeSean Jackson. Speaking of Jacksons, Tarvaris had a really poor game, even by his standards completing just 15 of 35 passes for 164 yards and one interception, but actually played much worse than that, with several of his incompletions hitting Eagle DBs in the hands and dropping to the ground. Jackson fooled me like many others into thinking he might have figured the game out with a few good outings recently, but I was strongly reminded otherwise by the countless poor throws, bad decisions, and Adam Weber-like staredowns of his #1 options. I’ve never really been a “fire the coach” kind of guy, even giving Mike Tice the benefit of the doubt throughout his tenure, but I’m starting to get on board with the fire Childress brigade, even after a division title (won mostly by default). And they really need to figure out a new solution at QB, whether Cassel, McNabb, or Warner become available or through a trade for Rosenfels or someone. I don't know the answer, but there are a lot of questions.

4. Georgia Tech football. Ok, so I kind of realize that a lot of bowl games are mainly won by the team who is happier to be there or who has more to play for, but some times one team has EVERYTHING going it’s way and they still get rolled, and that’s pretty much what happened with the Yellow Jackets. Playing in the prestigious Chick-Fil-A Bowl essentially in their own backyard in Atlanta against an LSU team that couldn’t have been too excited to be there after a disappointing season where they were ranked #7 to start the year (with a #1 vote) before going 3-5 in the SEC, Georgia Tech got completely whooped on 38-3 by the Tigers, in a game that was 35-3 and basically over by halftime. Tech QB Josh Nesbitt was particularly awesome, completing just 8 of his 24 pass attempts. Seriously, this was a pretty embarrassing performance. I’d rather be a Gopher fan than a Yellow Jacket fan.

5. Notre Dame basketball. If you're a top ten team, you don't lose to St. John's, even on the road. In a very good Big East, wins like that are key and you can't afford to drop that game. And Harangody is overrated.

PJ Hill is a Douche (not the Badger running back)

And, more importantly, the Gophers knocked off the #24 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes 68-59, assuring that they won't start the Big Ten 0-2, will probably keep right around their current ranking of 21st, and I will still go to the games this year.

In case you missed it, the aforementioned Hill decided that although his team was getting it's doors blown off this afternoon he'd take it upon himself to trash talk one Mr. Lawrence Westbrook, a guy who I wouldn't fight if I was offered a million dollars and given a gun. He even took the douchiness to a special level usually reserved for guys who put their sunglasses backwards on their heads and wear bluetooth ear pieces everywhere they go by standing next to Westbrook on the free throw line after L-Dub was fouled an about to shoot, woofing at him the whole way until the refs made little P.J. move - Minnesota was up like 8 at this time with under a minute left. He then continued yapping even after Westbrook made the free throws, after the final buzzer sounded (and his team lost), in the handshake line (which almost led to an altercation), and from the entry to his team's tunnel while the Gophers were singing the rouser (along with Will Buford, who Jon Diebler eventually pushed to get him to get down in the tunnel).

I don't have a lot of rules in life - ok, that's not true, I have a ton of rules and most people constantly break them and piss me off - but this one is a biggie: when you aren't very good at basketball, and your career high in points is seven, and you managed all of three on that day, and the guy you want to trash talk scored fifteen and averages over 10 times as many points per game as you, and your team just got worked, you keep your god damned mouth shut you stupid douchebag, or you just look like even more of a jackaas than you already do with your wanna-be a broke ass Troy Hudson dreads. I hope he dies.

Anyway, the game was awesome. With Al Nolen in foul trouble very early, like before we even got to our seats, running the offense for the majority of the first half fell to Devoe Joseph, and he answered the call in a huge way, leading the Gophers to a 34-24 halftime lead with his scoring and, more importantly, some stellar point guard play, including breaking a Buckeye press with the dribble and finding Shamala cutting from the corner with a pretty pass that would have been a monster dunk by pretty much anyone else on the team other than Hoff or Busch. Joseph's numbers actually ended up pretty pedestrian, 7 points on 3-9 shooting, four assists and two turnovers, but unlike it baseball the numbers can't and don't tell the whole story here. If Joseph can't step in like he did, Westbrook would have had to give it a go, and that's not a good look. Absolutely the player of the game in my book.

Although it is very hard to overlook what Damian Johnson did out there today. This statline is just sick: 12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks with zero turnovers. A completely dominating performance without actually being dominating. What can't this guy do? Well, he can't hit a jumper beyond about fifteen feet, but that's ok. And I think he's starting to realize that himself, so that's even better. PJS over at the Daily Gopher is falling more and more in love with him each game DJ plays, and has even started lobbying for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year consideration. And you know what? I completely agree.

Overall it was a very enjoyable game, and it was awesome to see a game where the Gophers were much more talented than a Buckeye team. A couple of short thoughts on some other players:

- Ralph Sampson III is probably my second favorite Gopher behind Joseph, and he looked to be on track for a nice offensive game after scoring a couple of early buckets. Tubby pulled his playing time however, opting for a smaller, more athletic lineup and RSIII ended up with just those four points in 17 minutes, but finished tied for second on the Gophers with five boards. Call me crazy, but I know Snake will agree, I think Sampson has the potential to be an absolute star by the end of his stake here.

- The guy who tied Sampson with five boards was Paul Carter, who looked good today and helped the Gophers outrebound the Bucks 35-27, a nice change from the Michigan State game (although let's not compared the two opponents, let's just be happy with this result). I'm not really sure what to make of Carter. At one point today I joked he was Quincy Lewis without the scoring, which is funny because that's all Lewis did. I think Carter can follow in DJ's footsteps eventually. I don't expect him to a major scoring threat at any point, but he could easily develop into something approaching DJ's all around game.

- Travis Busch and Jonathan Williams only played 3 minutes each, none of them in the second half - and the Gophers won. Not a coincidence.

- I think I still believe in Devron Bostick, but I'm starting to wonder if he's nothing more than a more athletic Hoffbauer. Nearly half his shot attempts are from three. Of course, the Hoff is at over 70%, so maybe not quite. (NOTE: Not a rip on Hoff. I love what he gives this team).

- Jon Diebler for the Buckeyes is at over 75%, and that's before today's game where he chucked up 13 shots, 11 of them from beyond the arc. Although "chucked" seems to invoke visions of poor shots, and since he was 5-11, I'll withdraw my adjective.

- Lastly, B.J. Mullens is very, very good. I don't know why he doesn't get more touches, but I'm glad for the Gophers and the rest of the Big Ten. He only took two shots today, but made them both and they were both impressive. The first was a really smooth jump hook from about 12 feet, and with his seven foot frame was pretty much unstoppable. The second was even more impressive, getting it on the block and using a combo shot fake-drop step-duck under to go right around Colt Iverson like he was Felton Spencer for the easy lay-in. The kid is very smooth, and has very good footwork. Once he gets a little more confidence and with it more aggressiveness it's going to be trouble. Although I'm still pretty sure RSIII can take him.






Also P.J. Hill is a douche (not the Badger running back).

Gophers vs. Ohio State

Here's your preview:

The Gophers have no answer for Evan Turner. BJ Mullens and Dallas Lauderdale show Iverson and Sampson what a real Twin Towers attack is supposed to be, and when Travis Busch comes in Lauderdale dunks over him so hard he actually dies. Jeremie Simmons does a Kalin Lucas impression, and with no clue how to stop all these people the Gopher defense gets confused a bunch of times leaving Jon Diebler open shot after open shot, which he of course knocks down. Even though Anthony Crater has left the team and opted to transfer, he still manages to score six straight points when Shamala comes in and is inexplicably matched up with him. The Buckeye defense confuses and stifles the Gophers, who shoot less than 30% for the game, even after Tubby plays a few students from the student section in an effort to keep the whole squad "extra fresh." With the Buckeyes up up 40 with five minutes left, the Gophers reluctantly go to the press and end up outscoring OSU by twenty to cut the final margin to 77-57.

Craptacular

Well, my emotions yesterday ranged from disappointed to wildly disappointed to anger to apathy to kind of sleepy and back to disappointed. Not because of the football game, because in all honesty I have no idea who won that game, but the god damn jerk hole basketball team. I think I've finally settled on optimistically disappointed, because although Michigan State is a better team, they still couldn've won that game but just weren't all the way there today.

Some things, of course, are out of the team's control. Kalin Lucas was completely ridiculous today, despite what, in general was pretty solid defense. Chris Allen was hotter than Tiffani-Amber Thiessen in that episode of 90210 where she wore that black lacy thing in the first half. The Spartans, seemingly like most Gopher opponents, were unconscious from the free throw line making 12 of 13. There was little doubt in my mind that MSU was both better and more athletic than Minnesota, and clearly the better team.

However, there are certain things that left me absolutely stunned and bewildered yesterday. The first among these was the complete and utter unwillingness and inability of the Gophers to get the F back on defense, whether after a miss or, even more unforgivably, after a made basket. The highlight dunk reel dunk you've seen on sportscenter that I've been too pissed off to notice who did it was a prime example. The game was still in the balance, and the Gophers had just scored. Whoever that was for the Spartans just ran up the court while three Gophers' backs were turned and put it down for the thunder dunk. And that's just the most emphatic example, because it happened over and over again, a fundamental mistake and an embarrassment on a Tubby Smith team.

Overall defense didn't seem to be much better. When the team was matched up, making the correct switches and fighting through screens when needed they played well, and overall held the Spartans to just 41% shooting, but the amount of breakdowns leading to easy baskets was an absolute killer. One guy switching and the other guy not, getting lost in screens, not helping at the right time or helping at the wrong time (such as Colton Iverson jumping out to double the horrible shooting Travis Walton's 18 foot jumper, leaving Suton open for the jump-pass to layup) all led to easy buckets for Michigan State. Another fundamental issue that just shocked me on a Tubby team.

Lastly, and no big surprise here, but the rebounding and specifically offensive rebounding was really a killer. A 41-22 edge to the Spartans, who also grabbed 16 offensive boards, is just too much to overcome. Some of it was to be expected, as The Daily Gopher says, this was a MSU strength against a Gopher weakness, but my god, how frustrating to watch. Particularly plays like when Hoffarber got Chris Allen to settle for a long jumper, then turned and watch it miss as Allen went right around him to grab his own miss for an easy put-back. Again, some of it is to be expected, the Gophers just don't have the personnel to keep guys like Morgan and Suton (5 o-boards apiece) off the glass all game, but effort plays like the one I described by Hoffarber seemed to abound all game, and that is what led to the disappointment in this team.

Last thing I want to say, because this is making me a bit sick, is that Tubby needs to find a shorter rotation. Far be it from me to criticize the black jesus, but playing 12 games like yesterday just seems excessive, and nobody can really get a rhythm. Busch has got to go. He can score when he's open, no doubt, but he gives anything he scores right back with horrible decisions, poor defense, and the inability to rebound with big ten caliber big guys. Shamala also doesn't bring much to the table, except against the right matchup. There is no reason to ever have Hoffarber and Shamala in the game at the same time, except against slow teams who are playing a zone - like Northwestern. Shamala is basically a poor man's Hoffarber, so when you need to get Hoff a rest, go with someone who gives you a different look like Paul Carter everytime, not just a watered down version of the same player. And some of the combinations Tubby came up with yesterday really give me pause. Where does he expect to find offense with Devoe, Hoff, Shamala, Busch, Bostick, and Williams? How are you going to rebound with Nolen, Westbrook, Shamala, Busch, and Carter? Just bizarre.

Three final points (I promise):

1. You might as well light my big ten predictions on fire. Already.

2. We got the Fargo-Moorhead Acro Team yesterday. Awesome as always, but I really hate it when dudes are on the team. If sexism is to be allowed anywhere, and it should probably be allowed everywhere, the FM Acro Team should be one of the first places on the list.

3. I am, quite seriously, going to kill the guy who sits next to us at Williams. Dude, no matter how loud or often you yell at the refs, it isn't going to change a thing. Also, please stop yelling at Al Nolen to "GO!" when there are still fourteen seconds left in the half. I think he knows what he's doing. The opposing teams also don't travel every time they get the ball, or commit a foul every time they get near a Gopher player. I could go on and on, but I get feel my rage starting to boil over and I don't want Mrs. W to accidentally run into that damn doorknob again, so I just need to stop.


Please, please, please beat Ohio State on Saturday. Otherwise I can't be held responsible for my actions

Short and Sweet Big 10 Preview

1. Purdue - E'Twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel are two of the best players in the conference, and the Boilers overall sport a very balanced attack, with three players scoring in double figures and five players averaging over four rebounds, and are one of the best defensive teams in the nation. The Boilers only have two losses, a blowout against Duke and an OT loss to Oklahoma, both current top five teams. If Keaton Grant gets his shot back (shooting just 34% this year, 31% from three) they will be even more dangerous. If Baby Boilers hadn't quite arrive last season, they're certainly there now. I don't see anyway they don't win the conference, short of a plane crash or Jan Gangelhoff becoming employed there.

2. Michigan State - Really tough call for me between 2 and 3, and maybe it's just the pessimist in me but I'm giving the nod to the Spartans, regardless of what happens tomorrow at Williams Arena. Since I already wrote a preview of the game tomorrow, I feel like I've covered the Spartans plenty. They have a myriad of weapons at their disposal, and steady leadership in Izzo and Kalin Lucas.

3. Minnesota - Thought about giving the Gophers the #2 spot, but the athletes on Michigan State were the difference maker for me. It's incredible the difference a quality coach like Tubby can make, and I'd put him right at the top of the conference with Izzo - and then makes a difference both on a game by game difference and all season long. With the talent the Gophers now have, a coach like Tubby can take those games the close games that would have lost for all those years and turn them into wins.

4. Illinois - I didn't really know what to expect from the Illini this year, but I'm sold. Wins at Kent State, Missouri, and Vanderbilt are all very good wins, and the only loss, at home to Clemson by 2, is nothing to be ashamed of. A balanced attack with four double-digit scorers could get even better once Kentucky transfer Alex Legion gets more in tune with the rest of the team. I still don't know who Mike Davis is, but it seems the Illini found quite a gem, taking a guy who wasn't highly recruited or rated two years ago and having him now in the top 15 in scoring and top 2 in rebounding in the conference.

5. Michigan - Tough to know what to make out of this Wolverine team, but it's impossible to ignore those two big wins over Duke and UCLA, and the only two losses on their record are to Duke and Maryland; not a bad loss in the bunch. I'm a little nervous at putting them this high, but the results speak for themselves. Manny Harris is on track to win Big Ten Player of the Year (top 5 points, rebounds, assists) and has plenty of help from DeShawn Sims making an improbable leap in all statistical categories this season, from chronic underachiever to top 3 in scoring and rebounding. Let's just say if he was a baseball player, there'd be some questions about what supplements he's been taking.

6. Ohio State - Yes, they only have one loss, but that loss speaks volumes. Losing at home to West Virginia by 28 is enough to undermine any confidence I had in the Buckeyes after their wins over Miami and Notre Dame. I suppose, objectively, any team that relies on freshmen and guys playing really significant roles on team for the first time can expect a clunker here and there, but that kind of loss leaves such a bad taste there's no way I can put them any higher than sixth.

7. Northwestern - Guess which team comes out ranked third in the Big Ten in Ken Pomeroy's rankings? I suppose the fact that I'm writing it in the Northwestern section should be a dead giveaway, but yep, it's the Wildcats. Seems more than a little wonky, but they have been playing pretty well, ranking in the top 50 in offensive and defensive efficiency, only one of two Big Ten teams to do so (Illinois). None of the wins are great (DePaul, Florida State) but none of their losses are bad either (at Butler and at Stanford, both top 40 type teams). Coble is back again to lead the team in both scoring and rebounding, but the boost from two big freshman, 6-8 John Shurna and 7 foot Kyle Rowley, that make this one of the more dangerous Wildcat teams in recent memory, although I fully expect Abu Shamala to shred them again.

8. Wisconsin - Hot damn does it feel good to put the Badgers here for reasons that are real and not more like spite and hatred. None of their three losses are all that jarring on their own (at UCONN, at Marquette, vs. Texas), but it's some of the wins that really produce the red flags; 2-point wins over both Iona and Idaho State and just a seven point win over Long Beach, all at home. The wins at V-Tech and San Diego are good, but there's just nothing about this Badgers' teams that says top half of the league. Although Trevon Hughes has improved his shooting, his overall play is still wildly inconsistent, and Marcus Landry hasn't made any kind of leap from last season. It's basically the same team as last season, minus Butch and Flowers, and that's not a good thing. The Badgers have gotten almost nothing from any newcomer. Still, it's a Badger team, and they can always bore teams into losing to them with their lameness.

9. Iowa - I guess it's the Hawkeyes at ninth, I mean, I gotta put somebody here, right? Basically the near miss at Boston College and win over Kansas State get them the nod over Penn State. And for those of you nerds who are into that kind of thing, the Hawkeyes' leading scorer this season is a Minnesota boy, Anthony Tucker from Minnetonka, pacing the team with 13 ppg. Additionally, over 80% of his shot attempts come from three point land, so he's basically Hoffarber on a better team. Actually, that entire team shoots three pointers like Chris Kingsbury was their coach, with 48% of their attempts as a team from behind the arc, good for fourth in the country. I suppose they could get hot some game and beat somebody.

10. Penn State - At least they're used to being ranked down here, and this year should be no exception. Talor Battle is one of the most improved players in the Big Ten this year, nearly doubling his scoring and assist output to rank in the top four in the conference in both and Jamelle Cornley is still there doing what he does, but the team is paper thin and frankly not very good. At least they don't turn it over much.

11. Indiana - There's really nothing good to say here. If you thought their 5-7 record was a product of a tough schedule, and they did have a tough schedule, they certainly made sure to prove you wrong by dropping their last two non-conference games at home against crappy Northeastern and even worse Lipscomb. If you're looking for bright spots here, good luck. Seriously.


Ok, this wasn't as short as I thought it would be. And right now Illinois is winning at Purdue in the second half, and if this keeps up I reserve the right to chance all of this.

Gophers vs. Michigan State Preview

Aside from the fact that game is at 11am on a Wednesday, everything about this game excites me. The first ranked Gopher team in a very long time, undefeated, about to begin Big Ten play against Big Ten Giant and #10 team in the country Michigan State. This will go a long, long way towards telling fans what this year's Gopher squad is all about. Was the Louisville game a fluke? Did they catch an overrated Cardinals team at the wrong time? It's possible. The Gophers played a hell of a game, but it's tough to tell just what this Louisville team is all about. The players on the roster and the coach say they should be a giant, as does the blowout win against UAB Saturday, like the team that was ranked #9 when the Gophers played them. But that loss to Western Kentucky still lingers and shows the Cards can put up an unexplained stinker. I'm inclined to believe Louisville is a very good team, and the Gophers have come together quicker than anyone could have anticipated and belong on that level - Wednesday will tell us more.

The Spartans have a similar, yet more forgivable, blemish on their record with their loss at home to Maryland (although Maryland ranks 37th at KenPom, WKU 147th). I'm not paying much attention to their blowout loss to North Carolina, because how can you possibly evaluate anyone playing that juggernaut? That said, those two losses and no real big wins would have left me thinking Sparty was ripe for the picking, but a couple of weekends ago, the same day the Gophers beat Louisville, the Spartans grabbed a really nice victory, beating #5 Texas on the road 67-63.

The teams rank similarly, with the Spartans #42 and the Gophers #49, and are similar in a lot of ways. In terms of offensive efficiency, the Gophers rank 27th, the Spartans 28th. In defensive efficiency, the Gophers are 84th, the Spartans 69th. Neither team turns the ball over much, although the Gophers rank 2nd in blocked shot percentage on defense and 12th in steal percentage, and the Spartan offense is mediocre on both counts. The biggest statistical edge I could find either way is the Spartans' offensive rebounding prowess going against the Gophers weakness in allowing offensive rebounds. The Gophers are 268th in offensive rebounding allowed percentage, while the Spartans are 35th in grabbing offensive rebounds. Although the silver lining here is that an undersized Texas team held the Spartans to just 9 offensive boards in their game, the Gophers have more size than the Longhorns to bang with MSU.

This seems like as good a place as any to look at the Spartan personnel, and just like last year the main guy the Gophers need to worry about is Raymar Morgan, taking another big step forward this year and averaging a career high 15.3 points per game, including a 29 point outburst against Oklahoma State. Texas was able to completely neutralize him using quick players, and held him to just 8 points (on 3-3 shooting) and managed to turn him over 6 times. I'm confident DJ will be able to handle him.

The next four leaders in minutes played for the Spartans are all guards, which again plays into the Gophers strengths. Al Nolen will have his hands full with lightning quick Kalin Lucas, second on the team in scoring with 11 points per game and averaging an incredible 6.5 assists to 1.0 turnovers ratio; although I think Lucas will have his hands full with Nolen too. Travis Walton starts in the backcourt with Lucas, and he can handle the point duties as well. Don't expect a lot of turnovers from the Spartans, but the guards need to at least keep them out of a good rhythm.

The other two big scoring guards are two sophomores, 6-3 Chris Allen (10.2 ppg) and 6-4 Durrell Summers (9.4). These are the kind of guys who worry me, because I'm not sure who guards them. Westbrook can handle one or the other, probably Allen, but I'm worried if Summers gets a chance to dismantle Hoffarber he won't be shy about it. Could be an excellent opportunity for Paul Carter to shine here.

One wild card is 6-10 senior center Goran Suton, who has always been kind of ho-hum but since returning from an injury a few weeks ago has been on fire, scoring 18 and 16 in his last two games while shooting 7-8 and 7-9 in the two games. Based on the job the Gophers did against a far superior Samardo Samuels, I'm not too worried about him, but it's someone to keep an eye on.

Last thing to watch is with super freshmen Delvon Roe hurt and likely to miss the game, his minutes will flow over to perpetual disappointment Marquise Gray. Since coming to MSU after being the 21st ranked player on the Rivals 150 for 2004, Gray hasn't even come close to living up to his potential, never averaging more than 7 points per game. The thing is, that potential is still there, and he is shooting 70% this year in his 14 minutes per game. Although it's not overly likely, I can see Gray getting overlooked with all the other scorers to worry about and ending up with Travis Busch on him all game or something.

Overall, these two teams match up pretty well together. I think the biggest key to the game comes down to Al Nolen vs. Kalin Lucas. Both can distribute (#2 and #3 in assists in the Big Ten), neither turns it over (1.0 per game for Lucas, 1.5 for Nolen), both can play defense (Nolen first in steals, Lucas 14th), and both pretty much key their team on both ends. After watching Nolen the last couple of weeks, how could I possibly not believe? Gophers 66, Spartans 60.

I also plan to do some kind of Big Ten preview before the game tomorrow. It may end up being nothing more than a list, but you should be grateful I give you anything. There are kids in Africa without the internet who don't get to read DWG at all.

Weekend Review

I'm giving Childress and Jackson a pass this week since they won and made the playoffs, even though it was against the Giants' backups in the second half, including David Carr, and they showed some of the worst clock management I've ever seen at the end of the game.

WHO WAS AWESOME

1. Ralph Sampson III and Devoe Joseph. Both guys played their best game as a Gopher, at least scoring-wise, last night in a 82-56 stomping of High Point, Sampson hitting his career high with 17 and Joseph also setting his career best with 11 off the bench. Devoe continues to be a steady back-up point guard, but last night showed the hot shooting touch that I've been waiting for, hitting 3-4 from three and hitting a nice pull-up with his foot on the line. He's not a true point, and I don't think anybody ever thought he was, and isn't much of a creator but does a nice job filling in for Nolen here and there. It will be interesting to see if Tubby finds ways to get him shots off the ball, but I suppose that's still Hoffarber's job for now - as it should be. Sampson was very impressive and continues to develop, although he can still be a little awkward at times. His hook shot isn't very polished, but it seems to work, and he's getting more aggressive on the block each and every game. He has a lot of confidence in his 12-15 foot jump shot, and he's starting to hit which gives an added dimension to his game. I was most impressed with his passing last night, as he hit a couple of nice cutters and seems to know what to do with the ball on the high post. This hi/lo Sampson/Iverson bit might end up being a pretty nice little duo. So now it's on to the Big Ten schedule and Michigan State and Ohio State this week. With both games at home, it's time to make a major statement. Ken Pomeroy gives the Gophers a 61% chance to beat Michigan State, with the Ohio State game being a 50/50 proposition. How awesome would 2-0 be?

2. Notre Dame Football. Look, I hate the Irish as much as you do. They’re basically the Duke basketball team with fewer rich boys and less success but the same amount of arrogance, so it pains me to praise them and their crazy-fat coach Charlie Weis, but it must be done here after they stomped Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl (sponsored by Sheraton Hotels and Resorts). Now, it was the Hawaii bowl, which isn’t exactly the standard bearer for awesome bowl games, but at least Hawaii had won the past three times it was eligible (vs. Ariz State, UAB, and Houston). Again, not a murder’s row of invitees here, and I’m not exactly praising Notre Dame, because I would never do that, but hey, it’s their first bowl win in 15 years and breaks their bowl-losing game streak at 9, so they deserve some kind words – even though Hawaii wasn’t very good at 7-6 and actually lost to Utah State who only had three wins. Much maligned, and rightly so, Irish QB Jimmy Clausen set a Notre Dame bowl game record by passing for 401 yards and 5 TDs against the terrible Warriors’ defense, with 177 yards and 3 TDs going to probably made up name guy and WR Golden Tate on their way to splitting the MVP – although it should probably go to the Hawaii OLine for giving up 8 sacks. In case you’re wondering, Minnesota High School wide receiving Jesus Michael Floyd had 2 catches for 17 yards. With most skill players back with the Irish for another season, you might think they could build on this and turn the program around; but you’d be wrong – Notre Dame is broken.

3. Minnesota T-Wolves. It’s not often I’ll get to write about these clowns here, so I might as well take advantage after they snapped their 13-game losing streak by beating the Knicks 120-107 Friday night. It took either a lot of luck or some hot shooting, depending on how positive or negative you want to be, but they won. They came into the game 28th in the league in three-point shooting percentage, but managed to make 13 of 24 in the big win over the Knicks, including 7-9 from Rashad McCants and 3-4 from Rodney Carney who I honestly had no idea was on the Wolves. Al Jefferson was big with 21 points and 15 rebounds, although the real hero was, of course, Brian Cardinal who played just 8 minutes and contributed 0 points and 2 rebounds, but put up a +/- of +15 which is apparently a basketball stat now to lead the team and will the Wolves to their fifth victory with his grit and hustle. Naturally, the lost the very next night at home to Orlando by twenty, continuing to put themselves in prime position to make a huge mistake by drafting Thabeet.

4. San Diego Chargers. 8-8 isn’t particularly impressive, but after starting the season 0-3 and then sitting at 4-8, making the playoffs is. The Chargers completed the Broncos’ collapse of a 3 game lead with three to play, destroying Denver and the overrated Jay Cutler 52-21 last night, led by LaDainian Tomlinson's three touchdowns. I'll say this, the Chargers have looked very hot the last few games, and Tomlinson is a big part of it. He looked bad at the beginning of the year, and a lot of people thought he was done, but maybe it really was the toe injury. He's looked incredible again the last few games, and came up with 96 yards rushing on just 14 carries last night, showing the speed, quickness, and strength that seemed to be missing most of the season. I'd say this could be a very dangerous team in the playoffs, but it turns out the get the Colts in round one, so they're pretty much done.

5. West Virginia Football. There's no doubt it was an overall disappointing season for the Mountaineers, who started the season ranked #8 with national champion aspirations and ended up unranked and playing in the Meineke Car Car Bowl, but it was a nice win over a pretty good North Carolina team to end the season. Additionally, it capped off a very good career for Major Harris 2, who won his fourth bowl game as a starter. White finished his career as the all-time leading rusher for a QB, but may have made a statement to NFL scouts by throwing for 332 yards and 3 TDs in the Bowl, an attempt to answer critics who don't believe he can play quarterback at the next level. I didn't watch the game, so I have no idea if he looked like a QB or if it was mainly dumpoffs, but I'm pretty sure he's got a future in the NFL as a receiver. But then again, Seneca Wallace has started to look pretty good for Seattle, so who knows.



WHO SUCKED

1. Christmas sports. Woof. We have three days off plus the weekend, and all we get to watch is crap? I mean, I’m sitting around the house on Friday and there aren’t even any sports on all afternoon, and when they finally start it’s the crappy NBA. And that’s all it was for the first three days, stupid NBA crap and worthless bowl games. Thank god for gambling, at least I could make those bowl games semi-interesting. And when college hoops finally started back up, we got nothin’. Washington State vs. LSU, West Virginia vs. Ohio State, UAB vs. Louisville, Siena vs. St. Joes, and Texas Tech vs. Stanford, and those are the only games that are even remotely interesting. It’s so bad that Arkansas vs. Northwestern State was actually on TV on Saturday afternoon. Didn’t there used to be tournaments at this time of year? With actual good teams and good games? I thought so, but maybe I’m stupid, I don’t know. At least conference play is starting up soon, couldn’t be more fired up for that Gophers/Spartans tilt on New Year’s Eve day. It’s super awesome that it’s at 11am.

2. Gonzaga/Xavier Hoops. Remember how last week I called out both of these teams for wasting opportunities? Like they hadn’t necessarily done anything dreadfully bad, but had just missed out on chances for big time wins? Well, I’m guessing they both must have said, “How can we REALLY suck?” because both teams dropped games to unranked teams at home last week, Gonzaga to Portland State (awful) and Xavier to Butler (slightly more forgivable). The Musketeers are a little less sucky here, because Butler is actually a decent team and a decent program with only one loss on their record and already had a couple of good road wins, but that’s not to say this isn’t a killer. Xavier should expect to drop out of the top 25 after back-to-back poor showings, and with no ranked teams left on the schedule and a tough A-10, it will be a struggle to get back in. Gonzaga has no excuse for this loss against the Vikings, whose best win this season before this was over Montana, ranked 221st in the country. Portland State’s basketball program has only been around for 11 seasons, and had never beaten a Top 25 team. Add to that the Zags had only lost twice before at the MAC since it opened in 2004, and this is one of the biggest upsets I can remember. Don’t worry too much for either Gonzaga or Xavier, both will win enough conference games to get in the NCAA tournament without a worry, but both truly and epically sucked this week.

3. Ohio State Hoops. Well, the Buckeyes didn’t take long to basically erase most of the good feelings going their way after a great start to the year, getting absolutely blown out at home by West Virginia 76-48 in a laugher. The Suckeyes shot just 31%, including 2-18 from three, while allowing the Mountaineers to have their way with them, shooting 48% on the game and, despite being a much smaller team, held the rebounding edge on OSU. The Buckeyes also managed all of three assists for the entire game, which I assume is some sort of record but I’m not about to spend the time trying to look that up, and their two leading scorers, Evan Turner and Jon Diebler, combined to go 6-27, a typical Stephen Curry night, and with BJ Mullens in foul trouble all game and David Lighty injured, they were pretty much dead.

4. Boston Celtics. Are the Celtics crumbling like the broken down old men they mostly are? Probably not, if their 45 point win over Sacramento means anything on Sunday, but there may be a bit of a cause for concern here after they lost back-to-back games over the Holidays. They dropped the Christmas day rumble to the Lakers 92-83, and then dropped a game the next night to the 8-23 Warriors 99-89. They are still 28-4, but losing half of their total losses in back-to-back nights has to raise an eyebrow at least. Remember last year, when KG, Pierce, and Allen were playing heavy minutes all season and it was a concern that they wouldn't make it to the end of the season? After winning the championship and roaring to a 27-2 start nobody seemed to be paying attention anymore, but those guys are now a year older and still playing heavy minutes. If I'm a Celtic fan, and I'm not, I'd be just a wee bit concerned, despite the great start.

5. Dallas Cowboys. Teams lose all the time in win and you’re in, lose and go home situations; it happens every year. Rarely, however, is it as spectacular as the Cowboys losing to the Eagles 44-6, ending their season and sending Philly to the playoffs to take on the Vikings. Tony Romo, not exactly known as a PTPer already, helped cement his reputation as they guy you don’t want playing QB in a big game, putting up a stellar 55.8 QB rating for the game, completing just 53% of his passes for all of 183 yards and 0 TDs. He also managed to help the Eagles out quite a bit, throwing an INT and fumbling twice, both recovered by Philly, one of which was taken back for a score. Although he did manage to get Terrell Owens 106 of his 183 yards, so at least someone on the Cowboys is happy. ROMOLICIOUS!

You're a Dickey

Sitting here, the night after Christmas watching Step Brothers and thinking about the newest Twin, the Minnesota version of CC Sabathia if you will, R.A. Dickey, and as you might guess, I have some thoughts.

- First the movie review of Stepbrothers. It's not over just yet, but I like it. Not love it, but like it. Snake told me it really sucked, and he's an idiot, so I figured it would be pretty good. Some pretty legit laugh out loud moments, and a not overly horrid story - thin as it is. The movie is basically just an excuse for Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly to both act like Will Ferrell for 90 minutes. Actually, now that I think about it, if I wasn't drunk off my ass I'd probably hate this.

- Drinking Red Stripe and Newcastle - both X-mas gifts from the wife along with a Gophers' shirt and Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii. I got her an Ipod and a Coach Purse. I think I'm lower maintenance.

- So back to the awesomeness that is Robert Allen Dickey, the newest Minnesota Twin baseball thrower guy. He's a knuckleballer, which automatically means he's an awesome dude. But instead of just taking my first impressions, based on nothing more than his knuckleballness, I should probably break down what up with this guy.

Honestly, this isn't a very exciting signing. Dickey is pretty much the definition of mediocre - and boring. He's played for the Rangers and Mariners for the past six years, but only pitched as much as 30 innings in 2003, 2004, and 2008; all as a part-time starter, part-time reliever. None of these years were very good, the best being in 2003 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP, last year he posted similar numbers with a 5.21 ERA and 1.56 WHIP. More interestingly and less compellingly, he never really even put up good numbers in the minor leagues. His best minor league season was 2007, when he pitched 169 innings at triple A in 31 games (22 starts), posting an ERA of 3.72 with a 1.29 ERA - decent numbers, but nothing that will blow you away, especially considering his poor major league numbers.

What you're going to hear alot of, and I already have, is that he put up "great" numbers in relief last season, a 2-0 record and a 2.00 ERA. Yes, he was better in relief, putting up a 1.11 WHIP, .205 OAV, and a .594 oOPS compared to a 1.77 WHIP, .316 OAV, and .892 oOPS when starting. Which, hey, maybe he really is that good as a reliever but to me it sounds basically like a huge fluke and this is a completely retarded waste of a signing, except for the whole knuckleballer thing. His BABIP (opponent's batting average on balls in play) as a starter was .322 as a starter, and just .226 in his 36 innings of relief. His career number is .314, which means his performance as a starter was pretty much in line with what you would expect, but his reliever numbers were so many standard deviations from what you would expect that they can not be trusted as being indicative of future performance.

But wait, WWWWWW, he's a knuckleballer, that's a weird pitch. Maybe he does much better when batters don't get to see him much. I thought maybe that could be something positive, but alas, no such luck. Two of his worse three innings last season were innings 1 and 2, and actually in the first three innings of a game his opponent's line read .300/.373/.518. Oof. Worthless.

- How fluky was that .226 BABIP by the way? Not a single pitcher in the major leagues with 100ips or more beat that number. And actually, only 1 pitcher (Carlos Marmol) with more than 65 innings beat that number. I'm very skeptical of this pick up. And bored.

- The movie got worse, too. So I switched to Vodka/Cranberry. Bogart introduced me to the art of putting a lime in these, and it's rocked my world.

- We are watching Made on MTV now, and it's about some gay drama kid who wants to become a varsity baseball player and she's not buying it when I try and tell her baseball would be the hardest sport to get good at if you've never played before. I'm right, right? Of course, they're in Boston and keep saying Vah-sity instead of Varsity. I don't get how that happens. I mean, you know you're completely butchering a language and sound like a bunch of uneducated douche bags, right? And yet you take pride in this? It's like that overstated accent they use for Minnesotans in Fargo which drives every actual Minnesotan crazy, but if we were proud to sound like and intentionally wanted to.

- You know how people are all pissy because the Yankees signed Sabathia, Burnett, and Texeira? Well calm down. First of all, the Yanks lost $88 million off their payroll from last season with Mussina, Abrea, Giambi, and others coming off the books so technically they are actually paying less this coming season compared to last season right now. And there is no guarantee they are going to be any kind of good team. Texeira is the only really great signing in there. Sabathia is an injury risk or a "get fat" risk, and Burnett is pretty much guaranteed to get hurt next year, considering he's only had 3 season's out of 8 where he stayed healthy, and last season was one of the good ones - he's pretty much Carl Pavano version 2.0. Their catcher is like, 50 years old and fading and the backup is a Red Sox reject. Jeter is losing the minute amount of range he ever had over at short as well as his power and should probably be moved to second base at this point. Their outfield is probably going to be one of the slowest in the majors, the starting pitching is a massive question mark, and short of Mariano Rivera there isn't a single decent reliever in the group. So no worries. Twins will win more games than the Yanks, I mean, they have R.A. Dickey now.

- Billy Bean (not Billy Beane) just appeared on this Made episode to pump up the gay kid since he's gay too. Too bad Bean sucked ass as a hitter (career OPS+ = 55).

A Christmas Wish Answered

If you could have one thing for Christmas, what would it be? For me, it would be a post from Siouxper Sioux Fan, and guess what was in my yahoo mailbox? That's right, it's a wish no more. So without further wasting of time, here she is, possibly drunk at work:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
hey, okay I feel bad for the blog here is a off the cuff post (haha like they havent ALL been)

REAL HOCKEY TEAMS PLAY DURING XMAS BREAK (suck it)
So I felt like this was well needed. Since the last two hockey posts were LITERALLY the worst shit I have ever read in my life, I decided to save the blog once again. HA
And my team is finally on a winning streak (6 games bitch) so I am not as ashamed to write about them now.
We play Michigan State on sat and Michigan Tech on Sunday. I am predicting 2 W's.

Do you know that when WWWW sent us a Christmas card he did not put me or Baby Dawger on the envelope.....????? What kind of shit is that? I was VERY offended but then I remembered the time that he said something about how all girls named Kaylyn were HOT.....So then I was no longer mad at him. And then I decided that he may be a genius.

So who else is in love with W's Shark Reviews lately? I might be your #1 fan W. And FYI the reason that Snake doesnt post anymore is because he quit watching hockey and just sits at home all day on Facebook. What a Loser.
Him and bogart just sit and "poke" each other back and forth.

So honestly I only wrote this post because I am so bored at work today. It is 4:26pm on tuesday which = the longest shit of my life. I just want to get out of here so I can sit in a half an hour of traffic, go to ridgedale to my least favorite store of all time to pick up my dad a Gopher Wrestling Sweatshirt. BS
You know I talked to a big Gopher Hockey "FAN??" today and even though she is a U of M Alum. she didnt know that they had one of the, if not THE best Wrestling programs in the country.......How do you not know that?
I dont get it....... Granted she is the same person that I try to make "small talk" with in the break room and it goes something like this

Hockey"fan?" (wearing a gopher hockey sweatshirt)-"Hey Kaylyn how is it going"?

Kaylyn"siouxper sioux fan"-"oh good, nice games this weekend, huh?

Hockey"fan?"-"HUH?" (with very stunned look on face)

Kaylyn- "The hockey games" (derrrrrrrrrr)

Said Hockey "fan"- "oh yeah I dont ACTUALLY watch the games unless I got to them, I dont like keep track of how they are doing".

Kaylyn-"Nice fan" (then walk away)

That is about how it goes. It really is sad. It seems to be the pattern with Gopher hockey "fans". Except Snake he is an exception to this pattern, if they suck he will gladly say "they fing suck" and that is what I like and appreciate about Snake. What I dont like about Snake is how he is ALWAYS sandbagging me on the blog.....dick.

Anyways that about covers it........shit it is only 4:36pm. Now I get to go home and put the finishing touches on Christmas while dawg spends his evening at the bar, then the Gopher Basketball game. I personally would rather fucking kill myself but, hey whatever.

Siouxfan out Bitches
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Merry Christmas? And thanks Momma Dawger, as always I remain your #1 fan.

The dude behind us just

The dude behind us just compared hoffbauer to larry bird in a favorable way