After a couple of months into the investigation, Memphis has now had their 2008 Final FOur taken away. This is all due to the use of an ineligible player (Derrick Rose), that's name was never technically revealed. He took a his SAT several times in Chicago, IL and then when he really needed the score, he traveled to Detroit, MI to take the test. He finally got the required score there. It's very unusual for someone to take a test out of their geographic reason, although I took my first SAT four and a half hours away from home. I was playing in an AAU tourney that weekend and didn't want to miss the tournament so I took it up there. Rose took his test to be closer to the infamous Worldwide Wes, who makes his home in Detroit. Weird how this all works out.
The one nice thing the NCAA did was not to penalize the players and new coaches at Memphis. They weren't a part of the problem and shouldn't get schoalrships taken away or a postseason ban. They did receive three years of probation, which is only a minor problem for the program. The NCAA has to look into John Calipari, he should be punished. This is his second run-in with problems that he didn't take the fall for shady dealings in his program. The first problem was with Marcus Camby at UMass and now the Derrick Rose situation at Memphis. Don't think Kentucky won't be on probation by the time he leaves there. Hopefully, things won't get swept under the carpet like they do at...
DUKE
Duke had a similar situation with Corey Maggette during his one year at the school. It was proven that Maggette took money from an AAU coach (myron Piggie) who was given the money through two different agents. Duek knew all aong and played Maggette throughout the season and didn't receive any penalities for playing an ineligible player. The Final Four banner still hangs in Hansborough Indoor Stadium. This is clearly a double standard in how the NCAA handled the Memphis and Duke situations. Just because Coach K is "Coach K" doesn't mean that he doens't break the rules and obviously he did in this situation. I'm pretending that Coach K is the only one to "severly bend" the rules but he got caught and nothing happened because it's Coach K and Duke. NCAA needs to take away their banner pronto.
Brett Favre is back, blah, blah, blah.
The Yanks took six of their last seven against the BoSox and it looks like there has been a severe reversal of roles. The Yanks played with more energy, danced a little bit in the dugout (ARod looked like a fool trying to join in), and got better pitching (though it wasn't great, it's still better). Matsui is starting to play better and seems to finally use to the DH role, although I still don't like him. Derek Jeter is once again putting up great numbers with his .333 batting average. He has to be the prime candidate for MVP although Texieria will probably steal a lot of votes from him. Texieria does so much for the Bronx Bombers, his timely hitting, his great 'tude, and probably the most important, his fielding.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
It's Back
After about a one month hiatus, I'm back and hopefully back to get on this at least a couple of times a week. No internet at home though, we'll see how this works. After a busy eight weeks traveling to Sioux Falls, SD (recruiting), Washington DC (wedding), Vegas (recruiting), and then Myrtle Beach, SC (vacation) I'm finally back and refreshed for the new school year.
We have a great recruiting class coming in along with a couple of other possibilities that we should find out about before school starts. Right now, we have eight freshmen coming in. A big class but we needed it since eleven total guys from last year's team are not with us because of many different factors which include graduation, chasing girlfriends, transferring, and a mutual decision to part ways. I believe we will be more talented, more athletic, tougher, and have a higher basketball IQ than we did last year. Usually that means we will have more wins, but experience plays a huge role as well. So we'll see. We will need to get another class of talented players in order to reach our goals off winning the conference, making NCAAs, and then a National Championship.
Many things have happened since I've been gone and I'll hit as much as I can...
Favre is back, which isn't surprising at all. Everyone up here loves him because he is playing for the Vikes now, they hated him when he was with the Packers. His decision making is simliar to how I figure out which pair of Jordan's I'm going to wear for the day. I start with the white and blue 4's or then flip 3's, or do I surprise everyone with the 23's. Well Brett, you surprised no one. Honestly, I don't care one bit about #4.
LIONS WIN THEIR FIRST PRESEASON GAME!!!!
Usain Bolt is fast, really fast. It's amazing to me to see him run. He is a head taller than everyone else and just seems to be in cruise control while everyone else is running into potholes. Mark my words, he will change sprinting forever. You'll see taller sprinters over time, who will look more like 400 and 800 runners, long and lean.
Yankees are taking over. To watch the Yankees over the past month has been great. They've worn down the rest of the league. Sabathia, Burnett, and Swisher have brought an excitement to the clubhouse and it clearly has made a difference in how the team is. Whip cream pies for game winning hits, personal handshakes, and dancing on homers. This certainly isn't the Yanks of old but it's refreshing to watch guys have fun. Boston is fading and looking like the Yankees the past couple of years. Papi stinks, Varitek stinks, Lowell is old, Papelbon isn't the same, should be interesting to see if they make the playoffs.
Isiah Thomas got his first big time recruit to verbally commit. It should be interesting to see if the kid stays with it because he already committed to Kentucky. Renardo Sidney got cleared by the NCAA. If he didn't, "lawsuit city" to the NCAA. Latavious Williams is the only HS senior planning to go to Europe. He will have his hands full to say the least. Duke got Andre Dawkins to enroll early. He already had enough core courses and did well on his SAT. It gives Duke three guards now to go along with Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith. Daniel Hackett did this a couple of years ago and did ok. Hollis Thompson did it as well at Georgetown, he ended up redshirting second semester and didn't lose eligibility. I still don't this happening on a regular basis like it does in football. Tommy Anaker is once again making noise with his recruiting. He gets high profile players interested and who wouldn't want a Harvard education? A couple of issues I have with that, can those same players adapt to the rigorous course work and can Amaker coach them to get some wins.
As everyone knows, I'm a big fan of the US National Soccer Team. We did pretty well in the Gold Cup sporting a roster of their "B" team. Got 2nd to Mexico, after giving up five goals in the 2nd half. We then went to Mexico City and lost 2-1 in World Cup Qualifying. We've never won there, that should happened soon. Maybe if Landon Donovan didn't play with the swine flu we would've won. I wasn't able to catch either game (no cable at mi new casa) so I was naturally disappointed in our inability to establish ourselves as a power.
That's it for now, have a good one.
We have a great recruiting class coming in along with a couple of other possibilities that we should find out about before school starts. Right now, we have eight freshmen coming in. A big class but we needed it since eleven total guys from last year's team are not with us because of many different factors which include graduation, chasing girlfriends, transferring, and a mutual decision to part ways. I believe we will be more talented, more athletic, tougher, and have a higher basketball IQ than we did last year. Usually that means we will have more wins, but experience plays a huge role as well. So we'll see. We will need to get another class of talented players in order to reach our goals off winning the conference, making NCAAs, and then a National Championship.
Many things have happened since I've been gone and I'll hit as much as I can...
Favre is back, which isn't surprising at all. Everyone up here loves him because he is playing for the Vikes now, they hated him when he was with the Packers. His decision making is simliar to how I figure out which pair of Jordan's I'm going to wear for the day. I start with the white and blue 4's or then flip 3's, or do I surprise everyone with the 23's. Well Brett, you surprised no one. Honestly, I don't care one bit about #4.
LIONS WIN THEIR FIRST PRESEASON GAME!!!!
Usain Bolt is fast, really fast. It's amazing to me to see him run. He is a head taller than everyone else and just seems to be in cruise control while everyone else is running into potholes. Mark my words, he will change sprinting forever. You'll see taller sprinters over time, who will look more like 400 and 800 runners, long and lean.
Yankees are taking over. To watch the Yankees over the past month has been great. They've worn down the rest of the league. Sabathia, Burnett, and Swisher have brought an excitement to the clubhouse and it clearly has made a difference in how the team is. Whip cream pies for game winning hits, personal handshakes, and dancing on homers. This certainly isn't the Yanks of old but it's refreshing to watch guys have fun. Boston is fading and looking like the Yankees the past couple of years. Papi stinks, Varitek stinks, Lowell is old, Papelbon isn't the same, should be interesting to see if they make the playoffs.
Isiah Thomas got his first big time recruit to verbally commit. It should be interesting to see if the kid stays with it because he already committed to Kentucky. Renardo Sidney got cleared by the NCAA. If he didn't, "lawsuit city" to the NCAA. Latavious Williams is the only HS senior planning to go to Europe. He will have his hands full to say the least. Duke got Andre Dawkins to enroll early. He already had enough core courses and did well on his SAT. It gives Duke three guards now to go along with Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith. Daniel Hackett did this a couple of years ago and did ok. Hollis Thompson did it as well at Georgetown, he ended up redshirting second semester and didn't lose eligibility. I still don't this happening on a regular basis like it does in football. Tommy Anaker is once again making noise with his recruiting. He gets high profile players interested and who wouldn't want a Harvard education? A couple of issues I have with that, can those same players adapt to the rigorous course work and can Amaker coach them to get some wins.
As everyone knows, I'm a big fan of the US National Soccer Team. We did pretty well in the Gold Cup sporting a roster of their "B" team. Got 2nd to Mexico, after giving up five goals in the 2nd half. We then went to Mexico City and lost 2-1 in World Cup Qualifying. We've never won there, that should happened soon. Maybe if Landon Donovan didn't play with the swine flu we would've won. I wasn't able to catch either game (no cable at mi new casa) so I was naturally disappointed in our inability to establish ourselves as a power.
That's it for now, have a good one.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
NBA Draft, US Soccer, and Rules of 3
I wasn't able to catch much of the draft because of the basketball tourney I was at but from what I gathered, it was very interesting to say the least, especially for the local Twolves. Why on Earth do you draft two point guards back to back in the draft? I'll let David Kahn answer that one. He said, they can play together. What exactly is he smoking? Neither of those guys want to play shooting guard, they are both pure points at the NBA level. Now onto the even more confusing part...
The Twolves drafted Tywon Lawson as well and then traded him to the Nuggets. Then it was to Lawson's Carolina teammate, Wayne Ellington with the 28th pick. Next up would be Nick Calathes (a combo guard). I just don't get it. Why draft so many points? Why not mix in a DeMar Derozan with the 6th pick? Jonny Flynn will be a very good pro and probably better than Rubio but it doesn't make sense to pick him. It's basically like the Lions drafting Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez in the same draft.
One of my favorite players got picked much earlier than everyone expected, at 13. Tyler Hansbrough is going to a part of the first "White Out" since the NBA integrated. Yes, the Pacers have Danny Granger, Jarrett Jack, and Roy Hibbert but they could actually play five white guys on the court at the same. I'm not sure what that says about the Pacers or the state of Indiana but it would certainly be interesting to see.
Patty Mills got hosed. He ended up in a good situation in Portland but there is no way he should've lasted that long. He dominated the US Olympic team in last year's Olympics. CP3, Deron, and JKidd could not contain his speed. He got by them at will. I think he could do that every night in the NBA if he is given a chance. He did have 29 points and 10 assists against Steph Curry and Davidson in one of his last games, and that is after a wrist injury which made him a terrible shooter.
The US Soccer team played well for a half and it wasn't enough against Brazil. They really played hard and played like they are capable of in the first half and led 2-0. It was blantantly obvious to me that the fitness level of the Americans was no where near the Brazilians. They flat out were tired and they couldn't get the balls they were getting in the first half. You can't expect to win big games when you aren't in good enough shape. I know, I know they played a bunch of games before, but so did Brazil. Rule #76 - No Excuses, Play Like a Champion. It's simply disappointing to get teased like we did for 45 minutes and actually see what we are capable of. Benny Feilhaber needed to play all 90 minutes for the US to have a chance. He controls the ball and has a ton of savvy and doesn't seem to be afraid of handling the ball in traffic. His Plus/Minus for the Confederations Cup was extremely high and I'm sure it was tops on the US team.
Onto a sour note. The Rule of 3 apply to celebrity deaths this past week. Ed McMahon, then Michael Jackson, and it ended with Farrah Fawcett. I was a big fan of Star Search growing up and I got to see Ed in action every Saturday morning. Phil Hartman's portrayl of him on SNL was classic. "You are correct, sir!" Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, a what a talented mess he was. He was super weird but his talents were out of this world. No one had ever seen these dance moves before he brought it out on the Mike Douglass Show. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sRfqvwgimU. I don't have much memories of Farrah Fawcett but she sure was a beauty. On top of these three, Billy Mays, infommerical great passed away at home this morning.
The Twolves drafted Tywon Lawson as well and then traded him to the Nuggets. Then it was to Lawson's Carolina teammate, Wayne Ellington with the 28th pick. Next up would be Nick Calathes (a combo guard). I just don't get it. Why draft so many points? Why not mix in a DeMar Derozan with the 6th pick? Jonny Flynn will be a very good pro and probably better than Rubio but it doesn't make sense to pick him. It's basically like the Lions drafting Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez in the same draft.
One of my favorite players got picked much earlier than everyone expected, at 13. Tyler Hansbrough is going to a part of the first "White Out" since the NBA integrated. Yes, the Pacers have Danny Granger, Jarrett Jack, and Roy Hibbert but they could actually play five white guys on the court at the same. I'm not sure what that says about the Pacers or the state of Indiana but it would certainly be interesting to see.
Patty Mills got hosed. He ended up in a good situation in Portland but there is no way he should've lasted that long. He dominated the US Olympic team in last year's Olympics. CP3, Deron, and JKidd could not contain his speed. He got by them at will. I think he could do that every night in the NBA if he is given a chance. He did have 29 points and 10 assists against Steph Curry and Davidson in one of his last games, and that is after a wrist injury which made him a terrible shooter.
The US Soccer team played well for a half and it wasn't enough against Brazil. They really played hard and played like they are capable of in the first half and led 2-0. It was blantantly obvious to me that the fitness level of the Americans was no where near the Brazilians. They flat out were tired and they couldn't get the balls they were getting in the first half. You can't expect to win big games when you aren't in good enough shape. I know, I know they played a bunch of games before, but so did Brazil. Rule #76 - No Excuses, Play Like a Champion. It's simply disappointing to get teased like we did for 45 minutes and actually see what we are capable of. Benny Feilhaber needed to play all 90 minutes for the US to have a chance. He controls the ball and has a ton of savvy and doesn't seem to be afraid of handling the ball in traffic. His Plus/Minus for the Confederations Cup was extremely high and I'm sure it was tops on the US team.
Onto a sour note. The Rule of 3 apply to celebrity deaths this past week. Ed McMahon, then Michael Jackson, and it ended with Farrah Fawcett. I was a big fan of Star Search growing up and I got to see Ed in action every Saturday morning. Phil Hartman's portrayl of him on SNL was classic. "You are correct, sir!" Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, a what a talented mess he was. He was super weird but his talents were out of this world. No one had ever seen these dance moves before he brought it out on the Mike Douglass Show. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sRfqvwgimU. I don't have much memories of Farrah Fawcett but she sure was a beauty. On top of these three, Billy Mays, infommerical great passed away at home this morning.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
CWS, Crappy US Soccer, Twolves, and the Draft
The LSU Tigers just took down the Horns from Texas in Game 3 of the Championship Series for the College World Series, Phew. A great series to say the least. I think Paul Molinari's (LSU's coach) wife got more airtime than he did and for good reason, she is pleasing to the eye. It's always interesting to see how players react to a little adversity when the game is just about over. Two Texas players got caught looking at strike three in the 9th inning. I will never understand how guys will continue to get caught looking at strike three, especially when it is away. I'm pretty sure this will not be the last time you see either of these teams heading to Omaha.
I am going to continue to badmouth US soccer because they are all of a sudden playing much better after my rant (and many others). Like I said previously, the US needed to slow the tempo down and makes runs when Spain least expected it. Though, the US won 2-0 I don't think they played the way they should of. Spain totally controlled the time of possession and the game. The US got lucky in part because they played aggressive and with confidence. I can't wait to see how the US reacts to whoever they play in the Championship Round, either Brazil or South Africa. I do know that the US' confidence will be sky high after beating the #1 ranked team in the world. I don't see them having a shot against Brazil but I don't know enough about South Africa to make a prediction.
Once again Demarcus Beasley was on the bench for the whole game. Great decision by Bob Bradley. I'll figure it out for everyone, the score when Beasley is on the pitch the US is 5-1, when he is off the pitch, we win 5-0. Hmmmm. Don't play him next one either. Once again the US defense did a superb job and got themselves out of sticky situations, there can't be sticky situations against the Brazilians. Benny Feilhaber needs to see more minutes. He is a spark off the bench and we always seem to score or at least attack more efficiently when he is in the game.
Michael Bradley, who is basically the Saul Smith (Tubby's son) of national level soccer. He gets overly ridiculed by everyone and sometimes the critics are right. Today, he got screwed. He got a red card for a tackle that he clearly got a piece of the ball. Now, he will be forced to sit out the Championship. Hopefully Feilhaber gets the start and maybe an appearance by Freddy Adu. We shall see...
Let's go the Twolves. They just traded Mike Miller and Randy Foye in order to get three useless bigs along with the #5 pick. Now, they have the fifth, sixth, 18th, and 28th picks in the first round. Rumor has it they want Hasheem Thabeet and Ricky Rubio. We'll see how they end up packaging those picks in order to get a higher pick, preferably the 2nd. David Kahn, the Wolves' new GM wants to pull something similiar to what his former team, the Blazers, have done over the last five years. They need to get rid of the rif-raf and bring in a lot of young guys and a couple of veterans that will be patient with these young guys. Blazers did it with Brandon Roy, Travis Outlaw, and Greg Oden and surrounded those guys with veterans like Joel Pryzbilla and Steve Blake. The only problem the Wolves might have is, who wants to live in Minnesota during the winter (I know I live here but it's not the nicest place on the planet during January and February).
Blake Griffin will not be the best player in this draft. Too many holes in his game right now. He lost a game of HORSE to Jared, The Subway Guy, and they were shooting nothing but jumpers. I hope for the best for him but I'm not exactly sure the Clippers are the right franchise to help him get to the next level. Jordan Hill will be a role player his whole career and isn't worth a top 10 pick, period. Stephen Curry will be a stud if he plays for the Knicks, perfect system for him. Jonny Flynn is going to be a great pro, regardless of who he plays for. Earl Clark will be the next Lamar Odom, kinda of an enigma. He has a ton of talent but we'll never know when he is going to bring it. Not a huge fan of James Harden or Tyreke Evans, but I think they will both be in the league for a long time, plus both are only 19 right now. We'll see how the pieces of the puzzle fit into place tomorrow night.
I'm off to Sioux Falls, SD tomorrow morning to check out an AAU tournament.
I am going to continue to badmouth US soccer because they are all of a sudden playing much better after my rant (and many others). Like I said previously, the US needed to slow the tempo down and makes runs when Spain least expected it. Though, the US won 2-0 I don't think they played the way they should of. Spain totally controlled the time of possession and the game. The US got lucky in part because they played aggressive and with confidence. I can't wait to see how the US reacts to whoever they play in the Championship Round, either Brazil or South Africa. I do know that the US' confidence will be sky high after beating the #1 ranked team in the world. I don't see them having a shot against Brazil but I don't know enough about South Africa to make a prediction.
Once again Demarcus Beasley was on the bench for the whole game. Great decision by Bob Bradley. I'll figure it out for everyone, the score when Beasley is on the pitch the US is 5-1, when he is off the pitch, we win 5-0. Hmmmm. Don't play him next one either. Once again the US defense did a superb job and got themselves out of sticky situations, there can't be sticky situations against the Brazilians. Benny Feilhaber needs to see more minutes. He is a spark off the bench and we always seem to score or at least attack more efficiently when he is in the game.
Michael Bradley, who is basically the Saul Smith (Tubby's son) of national level soccer. He gets overly ridiculed by everyone and sometimes the critics are right. Today, he got screwed. He got a red card for a tackle that he clearly got a piece of the ball. Now, he will be forced to sit out the Championship. Hopefully Feilhaber gets the start and maybe an appearance by Freddy Adu. We shall see...
Let's go the Twolves. They just traded Mike Miller and Randy Foye in order to get three useless bigs along with the #5 pick. Now, they have the fifth, sixth, 18th, and 28th picks in the first round. Rumor has it they want Hasheem Thabeet and Ricky Rubio. We'll see how they end up packaging those picks in order to get a higher pick, preferably the 2nd. David Kahn, the Wolves' new GM wants to pull something similiar to what his former team, the Blazers, have done over the last five years. They need to get rid of the rif-raf and bring in a lot of young guys and a couple of veterans that will be patient with these young guys. Blazers did it with Brandon Roy, Travis Outlaw, and Greg Oden and surrounded those guys with veterans like Joel Pryzbilla and Steve Blake. The only problem the Wolves might have is, who wants to live in Minnesota during the winter (I know I live here but it's not the nicest place on the planet during January and February).
Blake Griffin will not be the best player in this draft. Too many holes in his game right now. He lost a game of HORSE to Jared, The Subway Guy, and they were shooting nothing but jumpers. I hope for the best for him but I'm not exactly sure the Clippers are the right franchise to help him get to the next level. Jordan Hill will be a role player his whole career and isn't worth a top 10 pick, period. Stephen Curry will be a stud if he plays for the Knicks, perfect system for him. Jonny Flynn is going to be a great pro, regardless of who he plays for. Earl Clark will be the next Lamar Odom, kinda of an enigma. He has a ton of talent but we'll never know when he is going to bring it. Not a huge fan of James Harden or Tyreke Evans, but I think they will both be in the league for a long time, plus both are only 19 right now. We'll see how the pieces of the puzzle fit into place tomorrow night.
I'm off to Sioux Falls, SD tomorrow morning to check out an AAU tournament.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Dice K and US Futbol
Once again I'm venturing off into another tangent but this most be exposed. And what I'm talking about is the wonderful Red Sox pitcher known as Dice-K. Like I said when he came into the league, he is overhyped and would only be effective for a couple of years. He is basically Hideo Nomo. Just a flash in the pan.
Pitchers like Dice-K and Hideo are very similar because they are something that the majors hasn't seen before. The novelty of their crazy windup and "great" pitches wears away after a couple of seasons. Major League hitters are too good and technology is too great for these flash in the pan type pitchers to be effective. The game is about making adjustments and after seeing this great "gyroball" that Dice-K throws hitters are pounching all over him. He is 0-5 right now and on the DL. My guess is that he will never have the effectiveness that he had his first year in majors. So much for Scott Boras getting Steven Strasburg "Dice-K" money.
Now I'm going back to US Soccer. After badmouthing the system and the players, they come back and beat the Egyptians 3-0 in the last game of pool play of the Confederations Cup. Now onto the best part, they advanced to play the #1 ranked team in the world, Spain, on Monday in the semifinals because the soccer crazy Brazilians beat up the Italians, 3-0. Goal differential was the difference.
Bob Bradley made his best decision in a year and sat Demarcus Beasley. The US came out and dominated the possession game and controlled the tempo throughout. It was nice to see them play with passion and act like they wanted to be there today. The Epyptians played like they didn't know what hit 'em. It was a totally contrast from the Brazil and Italy games. It didn't look like we wanted to be there during those game. We made great runs throughout the game and didn't seem to take as many unwarranted chances.
Next step versus Spain is to control tempo and make timely runs when we can. There is no reason to try and push tempo when we aren't nearly as talented. We should attempt a Princeton style (basketball lingo) offense in order to dominate the time of possession and take away Spain's attacking. Our best defense will be our offense. It's a very simple strategy and isn't necessarily easy to execute but it will probably be our only chance.
Great day for sports tomorrow. The start of best of 3 Finals of the College World Series and the "final" round of the US Open at Bethpage Black.
Pitchers like Dice-K and Hideo are very similar because they are something that the majors hasn't seen before. The novelty of their crazy windup and "great" pitches wears away after a couple of seasons. Major League hitters are too good and technology is too great for these flash in the pan type pitchers to be effective. The game is about making adjustments and after seeing this great "gyroball" that Dice-K throws hitters are pounching all over him. He is 0-5 right now and on the DL. My guess is that he will never have the effectiveness that he had his first year in majors. So much for Scott Boras getting Steven Strasburg "Dice-K" money.
Now I'm going back to US Soccer. After badmouthing the system and the players, they come back and beat the Egyptians 3-0 in the last game of pool play of the Confederations Cup. Now onto the best part, they advanced to play the #1 ranked team in the world, Spain, on Monday in the semifinals because the soccer crazy Brazilians beat up the Italians, 3-0. Goal differential was the difference.
Bob Bradley made his best decision in a year and sat Demarcus Beasley. The US came out and dominated the possession game and controlled the tempo throughout. It was nice to see them play with passion and act like they wanted to be there today. The Epyptians played like they didn't know what hit 'em. It was a totally contrast from the Brazil and Italy games. It didn't look like we wanted to be there during those game. We made great runs throughout the game and didn't seem to take as many unwarranted chances.
Next step versus Spain is to control tempo and make timely runs when we can. There is no reason to try and push tempo when we aren't nearly as talented. We should attempt a Princeton style (basketball lingo) offense in order to dominate the time of possession and take away Spain's attacking. Our best defense will be our offense. It's a very simple strategy and isn't necessarily easy to execute but it will probably be our only chance.
Great day for sports tomorrow. The start of best of 3 Finals of the College World Series and the "final" round of the US Open at Bethpage Black.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
US Soccer and Omaha
Ok, so I'm going to venture onto something that isn't exactly on most basketball head's minds but I'm going for it regardless...
I've been a huge fan of the US National Soccer Team for a long time. And now it's starting to be like being a Detroit Lions fan (wait, I am). This whole plan the US Soccer Federation put into place a while ago has become amusing. The original plan was for the US to win the World Cup by 2010. After watching the terrible performance this past week in the Confederations Cup, I threw up in my mouth. We have a zero percent chance of even making the second round of the World Cup if we play anywhere near the way we played against Italy and Brazil. I know Italy and Brazil are two world powers but we weren't close.
It's embarrassing to watch guys like Demarcus Beasley play against these teams. He shouldn't even be on the pitch (yes, my soccer lingo). He hasn't gotten any better since he and Landon Donovan were supposed to be the next best thing after finishing 4th at the U20 World Championships a few years back. If you watch other sports, guys get better as they get older, i.e. Lebron, Peyton Manning, Greg Maddux, but this isn't the case with US Soccer. Beasley and Donovan are perfect examples of that, they peaked at 20 and 21. They haven't gotten any better and are very predictable.
As I was talking to our soccer coach the other day (after we both stopped watching the Brazilians kick our dog) and he was talking about the fake confidence that the US has. They walk out of the tunnel like they have actually beat someone. Congrats, you've beaten Honduras, Trinidad, and Columbia, countries that are more known for their drug trade than soccer. We will never even have a chance to win the World Cup unless these things happen:
1) Kids are forced to be creative. Our teams have zero creativity and it shows against the quality clubs. There is too much coaching at the younger ages and kids are told to reign in the fancy dribbling and creative passing. There is too much emphasis on winning when the kids are 6, 7, and 8 year olds. Obviously, the US isn't Brazil or Italy in soccer but we can actually look at how basketball is in the US. Kids in basketball are forced to be creative because they play "streetball" and are forced to make adjustments on the fly without the help from coaches. The system in soccer is much too structured, let them play and figure things out for themselves.
2) There needs to be more development at the National Team level. Guys can't peak at ages 20 and 21, and if they do they shouldn't even be in consideration to have the honor of having the US on their jersey. It should be a rule, if you aren't play for your club teams then you aren't playing for the National Team (Thanks, Jon Lowery for the idea). There is no way someone who isn't getting any burn has the fitness or the timing to be at the highest level for the US to be successful against the best teams in the world.
3) The biggest argument that I get when I talk to people is that soccer isn't the main sport in the US. That is blantantly obvious to everyone, soccer doesn't get the best athletes in the US, basketball and football do. They could at least do a better job at the younger levels to attempt to get better athletes, instead of the uppity rich kids we have playing now. If you were a kid, do have dreams of playing in the NBA or the NFL? It's certainly not going to be easy, but there has to be an attempt.
4) And last but certainly not least, there needs to be change at the top. There is never new blood. If things don't change, things will always be the same. Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley are both native Americans and have been somewhat successful in regards to pushing things to another level but they aren't great coaches. Why not try to bring Jurgan Klinsmann (I know, I butchered the spelling) over to coach. Yes, he lives in Huntington Beach, CA but he played and coached in Germany. He knows what it takes to get to the next level because he has been there as a player and a coach. Hire him now.
Now onto the great play we have seen in the College World Series. I haven't exactly kept up on the games as much as I have in the past because I actually have to work now but it certainly has been exciting. After watching last night's Texas-Arizona State game, it has certainly refreshed my mind into watching college baseball as much as I can. What a game. The Sun Devils go up by one in the 9th after a underused frosh triples to score a guy from second. The Augie Garrido led 'Horns didn't back down from the challenge in the bottom of the 9th. Cameron Rupp hit the furthest homer I've ever seen in Omaha, over the batter's eye in center, to tie it up. Next pitch, Connor Rowe hit a screamer over the left field bleachers to end the Sun Devils' dream season. The #1 ranked Hook 'em Horns now face the #3 ranked LSU Geaux Tigers in a best of three series starting on Monday. Two of the best programs in the country going at it in a winner take all series, can't get any better than that.
It's too bad that the famous Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha will be gone after this year. They are building a new downtown stadium for the Series to continue in Omaha. I'm a big time traditionalist and I understand there are times to build new things but you certainly won't have the same feel in the new stadium. It's kind of like the old Yankee Stadium. Yes, the new one is great and has all the things you would want but why change something that is history. It's what makes Wrigley and Fenway great.
I've been a huge fan of the US National Soccer Team for a long time. And now it's starting to be like being a Detroit Lions fan (wait, I am). This whole plan the US Soccer Federation put into place a while ago has become amusing. The original plan was for the US to win the World Cup by 2010. After watching the terrible performance this past week in the Confederations Cup, I threw up in my mouth. We have a zero percent chance of even making the second round of the World Cup if we play anywhere near the way we played against Italy and Brazil. I know Italy and Brazil are two world powers but we weren't close.
It's embarrassing to watch guys like Demarcus Beasley play against these teams. He shouldn't even be on the pitch (yes, my soccer lingo). He hasn't gotten any better since he and Landon Donovan were supposed to be the next best thing after finishing 4th at the U20 World Championships a few years back. If you watch other sports, guys get better as they get older, i.e. Lebron, Peyton Manning, Greg Maddux, but this isn't the case with US Soccer. Beasley and Donovan are perfect examples of that, they peaked at 20 and 21. They haven't gotten any better and are very predictable.
As I was talking to our soccer coach the other day (after we both stopped watching the Brazilians kick our dog) and he was talking about the fake confidence that the US has. They walk out of the tunnel like they have actually beat someone. Congrats, you've beaten Honduras, Trinidad, and Columbia, countries that are more known for their drug trade than soccer. We will never even have a chance to win the World Cup unless these things happen:
1) Kids are forced to be creative. Our teams have zero creativity and it shows against the quality clubs. There is too much coaching at the younger ages and kids are told to reign in the fancy dribbling and creative passing. There is too much emphasis on winning when the kids are 6, 7, and 8 year olds. Obviously, the US isn't Brazil or Italy in soccer but we can actually look at how basketball is in the US. Kids in basketball are forced to be creative because they play "streetball" and are forced to make adjustments on the fly without the help from coaches. The system in soccer is much too structured, let them play and figure things out for themselves.
2) There needs to be more development at the National Team level. Guys can't peak at ages 20 and 21, and if they do they shouldn't even be in consideration to have the honor of having the US on their jersey. It should be a rule, if you aren't play for your club teams then you aren't playing for the National Team (Thanks, Jon Lowery for the idea). There is no way someone who isn't getting any burn has the fitness or the timing to be at the highest level for the US to be successful against the best teams in the world.
3) The biggest argument that I get when I talk to people is that soccer isn't the main sport in the US. That is blantantly obvious to everyone, soccer doesn't get the best athletes in the US, basketball and football do. They could at least do a better job at the younger levels to attempt to get better athletes, instead of the uppity rich kids we have playing now. If you were a kid, do have dreams of playing in the NBA or the NFL? It's certainly not going to be easy, but there has to be an attempt.
4) And last but certainly not least, there needs to be change at the top. There is never new blood. If things don't change, things will always be the same. Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley are both native Americans and have been somewhat successful in regards to pushing things to another level but they aren't great coaches. Why not try to bring Jurgan Klinsmann (I know, I butchered the spelling) over to coach. Yes, he lives in Huntington Beach, CA but he played and coached in Germany. He knows what it takes to get to the next level because he has been there as a player and a coach. Hire him now.
Now onto the great play we have seen in the College World Series. I haven't exactly kept up on the games as much as I have in the past because I actually have to work now but it certainly has been exciting. After watching last night's Texas-Arizona State game, it has certainly refreshed my mind into watching college baseball as much as I can. What a game. The Sun Devils go up by one in the 9th after a underused frosh triples to score a guy from second. The Augie Garrido led 'Horns didn't back down from the challenge in the bottom of the 9th. Cameron Rupp hit the furthest homer I've ever seen in Omaha, over the batter's eye in center, to tie it up. Next pitch, Connor Rowe hit a screamer over the left field bleachers to end the Sun Devils' dream season. The #1 ranked Hook 'em Horns now face the #3 ranked LSU Geaux Tigers in a best of three series starting on Monday. Two of the best programs in the country going at it in a winner take all series, can't get any better than that.
It's too bad that the famous Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha will be gone after this year. They are building a new downtown stadium for the Series to continue in Omaha. I'm a big time traditionalist and I understand there are times to build new things but you certainly won't have the same feel in the new stadium. It's kind of like the old Yankee Stadium. Yes, the new one is great and has all the things you would want but why change something that is history. It's what makes Wrigley and Fenway great.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Stan, Kobe, Pens, and the "Next" Phenom
As most of you know, the Lakers won their 15th championship and I think it's too bad. SVG put his team into position to be up 3-1 and they failed, miserably. He set up a play to get Courtney Lee a layup - missed. He had them up 5 with 37 seconds to go, Dwight Howard missed two free throws and then Jameer Nelson decides to barely contest a Derek Fisher 3. And now, because of those losses, Hedo is probably leaving because there is no way the Magic can afford to have three maxed out contracts on their roster (Howard, Lewis, and Hedo). It's too bad because they have a great core and with a healthy Nelson they have a chance to make it back next year.
Now onto Kobe. What an arrogant, self-centered idiot. Be yourself for once in your life. Maybe he has been watching too many Michael Jordan videoes. Did anyone see him after the game, did that not look familiar? MJ did before, just like anything else Kobe does, he copied someone. On top of that, he gets the Finals MVP trophy and shows it off, which is fine, then he gets the Larry O'Brien Trophy (yes, that's the name for it) and lets his childern play with it before any of his teammates get a chance to enjoy the moment. I know it's not the Stanley Cup but you do have teammates and at least let them share the moment. By the way, he has ZERO chance for a championship if he doesn't have Pau Gasol. Gasol was clearly the difference maker with his passing ability and his defense on Howard.
Let's move onto the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Pens played unreal with in Game 7 and deserved to win. With their young nucleus they can make themselves a dynasty a la the Edmonton Oilers with Gretzky, Juri Kurri, Paul Coffey, and Grant Fuhr. Let's hope Mario can keep them together.
Over the past couple of weeks the sports world has heard all about this unbelievable catching prospect from Las Vegas. He just completed his Sophomore year in high school and is getting his GED and heading to Junior College in order to be eligible for next season's draft. It should be interesting to see how this all works out. Bryce Harper is supposedly the next superstar just like Brien Taylor, Mark Prior, and every other overhyped prospect. I hope him and his family are making the correct decision, only time will tell. I'm surprised Sonny Vaccaro isn't involved, I might be speaking too soon on that one though.
Now onto Kobe. What an arrogant, self-centered idiot. Be yourself for once in your life. Maybe he has been watching too many Michael Jordan videoes. Did anyone see him after the game, did that not look familiar? MJ did before, just like anything else Kobe does, he copied someone. On top of that, he gets the Finals MVP trophy and shows it off, which is fine, then he gets the Larry O'Brien Trophy (yes, that's the name for it) and lets his childern play with it before any of his teammates get a chance to enjoy the moment. I know it's not the Stanley Cup but you do have teammates and at least let them share the moment. By the way, he has ZERO chance for a championship if he doesn't have Pau Gasol. Gasol was clearly the difference maker with his passing ability and his defense on Howard.
Let's move onto the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Pens played unreal with in Game 7 and deserved to win. With their young nucleus they can make themselves a dynasty a la the Edmonton Oilers with Gretzky, Juri Kurri, Paul Coffey, and Grant Fuhr. Let's hope Mario can keep them together.
Over the past couple of weeks the sports world has heard all about this unbelievable catching prospect from Las Vegas. He just completed his Sophomore year in high school and is getting his GED and heading to Junior College in order to be eligible for next season's draft. It should be interesting to see how this all works out. Bryce Harper is supposedly the next superstar just like Brien Taylor, Mark Prior, and every other overhyped prospect. I hope him and his family are making the correct decision, only time will tell. I'm surprised Sonny Vaccaro isn't involved, I might be speaking too soon on that one though.
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