Last night, amidst all the Bracetology talk on ESPN‘s family of networks, Dick Vitale unveiled his blueprint to “dominate college basketball.” And frankly, it all seemed to bewilder/bore Bob Knight.
Author: clay
The tournament shook out on Sunday evening as the brackets were revealed to a drooling, anticipation-ridden audience of millions. And after all was said and done, one matchup stands out above all the rest: USC vs. Kansas State. Now, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out why this 6/11 matchup is gonna be the bomb – it’s O.J. Mayo and Kevin Beasley fool! – but it does take some serious mental dexterity to figure out who you’ll draw before the selection show even goes down.
But that Mayo kid, he’s a sharp one.
I told him [Kansas State’s Bill Walker], ‘I think we’re going to draw you guys,”‘ Mayo said Sunday at Galen Center, where the Trojans watched as the pairings were announced. “Omaha seemed like a good place to play. At the same time, it’s all about the money.”
Mayo was referring to the fact that he and Kansas State’s Michael Beasley are two of the most talented freshmen in the country, making for an attractive matchup.
Beasley is the third-leading scorer in the country, averaging 26.5 points. Mayo isn’t far behind at 20.8 points. Both figure to be early first-round picks whenever they decide to declare for the NBA draft.
“It’s still Kansas State vs. USC–two good teams, two teams that play hard,” Mayo said. “We’ll get a crowd there, it should be exciting.”
The 20-year-old Mayo said he has known Walker since the age of 3, calling him “my best friend in the world.”
Mayo said the two spoke again after learning they would face each other.
“He was like, `What made you pick that?”‘ Mayo said with a smile.
Mayo made his prediction to several teammates as well.
“That’s what `O’ kept saying. It was a great call by him,” Davon Jefferson said.
Pretty good prediction by a kid who is playing in his first and probably last NCAA Tournament. Same goes for Beasley – uh, everything except the prediction part.
Links:
[CBS2.com]: Mayo Predicted Trojans Would Face K-State
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Around the Rim: That’s Amare!
1. The Suns can still run
There was some serious doubt about whether Shaquille O’Neal could physically keep up against the Warriors. Well, he couldn’t, but the Suns didn’t need him to. Shaq spent most of the evening in foul trouble, finishing with nine points and 14 rebounds, but Amare Stoudemire more than made up for the Big Cactus’ off night by scoring 36 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and blocking four shots in a 123-115 victory. The Suns were smoking hot shooting the ball, converting 45-of-82 for a blistering 55 percent field goal percentage. Steve Nash was key down the stretch, scoring eight consecutive points for the Suns at one point in the fourth quarter, finishing with 21 points and 13 assists. Baron Davis missed tying his career-high by two points, producing 38 in the loss as Golden State continues to hold onto the eighth spot in the West, sitting two games ahead of Denver.
2. Shining Wizards
After missing 16 games with a hip injury, Caron Butler returned to the Wizards roster on Thursday to score a team-high 19 points. Butler was on fire early, hitting six of his first eight shots, but it wasn’t the former All-Star’s quick start that sealed the 101-99 victory; rather, it was the Cavaliers horrible finish. Cleveland could only muster up 45 points in the entire second half after taking an eight-point lead into halftime. LeBron James posted 25 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, but it wasn’t all pretty as he committed seven turnovers. During the game, Gilbert Arenas said in a sideline interview that he was supposed to make his comeback against Cleveland, but the doctors nixed the idea prior to tipoff.
3. The Blaze get burned
Portland looked as they were destined to defy the odds a couple months, but after losing to the Kings last night, they simply look destined for the lottery. Sacramento lost two games in a row at home prior to knocking of the Blazers 96-85, but with the win the Kings are just four games behind Portland in the standings. Ron Artest led all scorers with 22 points to go with six steals while Brad Miller and Beno Udrih scored 14 apiece. Brandon Roy scored 21 for the Blazers who were a miserable 30-of-78 (.385) from the field while committing 27 fouls and giving up 19 turnovers.
Thursday’s Player of the Day: Baron Davis @ Phoenix 46 min, 38 pts (FG: 15-30, 3FG: 6-11, FT: 2-4), 9 reb, 8 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk
Friday’s Games to Watch: Tonight is such a big night in the Association, we just couldn’t limit ourselves to a single game. So, we’ve got four – yes, four – must-see contests lined up for your viewing pleasure.
Utah (43-23) @ Boston (51-12)
Carlos Boozer. Kevin Garnett. Deron Williams. Ray Allen. Paul Pierce. Andrei Kirilenko. Mehmet Okur. Rajon Rondo. Should we continue?
Los Angeles Lakers (45-19) @ New Orleans (43-20)
The Hornets just knocked off the Spurs by 25 points and now they’re welcoming the best of the West into their home hive. New Orleans is 23-10 on its own court, but the Lakers don’t care what court they’re playing on, posting a 20-10 record on the road.
San Antonio (44-20) @ Detroit (46-18)
It might not be the most edge-of-your-seat basketball matchup in the league, but it is a rematch of the 2005 Finals and a possible preview of the 2008 Finals. The Spurs must overcome their recent road woes on a court where the Pistons are 24-6 if they don’t want to slip further down the stacked West standings.
Charlotte (24-40) @ Houston (44-20)
A chunk of history will be on the line as the Rockets attempt to claim sole possession of the second longest winning streak in NBA history by knocking off their 21st consecutive opponent.
Buzzer Beater: Smush Parker was released by Miami earlier in the week and on Thursday he decided to return to Los Angeles. Unfortunately for Smush, he signed with the Clippers and not the Lakers. Talk about jumping out of the pan and into the fire. Sure, things might be slightly better in that other L.A. compared to Miami, but there certainly won’t be any celebrations in the streets any time soon. This is the sixth team for Parker in his short career.
You always hear about “Manny being Manny,” but who is Manny Ramirez really? Well, here’s a little tidbit about the Red Sox outfielder that you might not know: Manny is totally into Manny being the best Manny that Manny can be.
It’s all about inner peace with Ramirez nowadays. He’s into yoga and meditation and all-around relaxation of the mind, body and soul. Oddly enough, he’s even turning to self-help books like Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret because, as stated in the book’s synopsis, “By applying the knowledge of The Secret, they bring to light compelling stories of eradicating disease, acquiring massive wealth, overcoming obstacles, and achieving what many would regard as impossible.”
Yep, Manny is still being Manny.
Manny seemed like a new man Thursday, sitting at his locker with a peaceful look and a soft voice in a 10-minute interview with The Associated Press, then taking the inspirational book, “The Secret,” from his shelf and using a pink highlighter to mark passages.
“Hey, you’re the architect of your life,” he said. “Let me tell you something. We’ve got so much bad stuff inside, it’s up to us to make the best of it.” …
Now he’s engrossed in “The Secret.”
“It’s about life. It’s good. You should read it. Go and buy it,” he advised a reporter. “Sometimes you go and read a book and that person who wrote it, all his experience that he got in 50 years, you get in one day if you read a book.”
Nearby, Ramirez’s buddy, David Ortiz, said Ramirez hasn’t changed much as a person – just a laid-back, friendly man who sometimes simply prefers not talking with reporters. But Big Papi has seen a change in Ramirez’s interests.
“He’s taking some meditation class now. He thinks that might help him to get his spirit going around so he can go to different places,” Ortiz said with a look that indicated he’s not convinced. “Some crazy stuff, you know how it is.
“Manny fools people. Manny does a lot of things that people don’t think he would normally do, but he’s got his own program.
Links:
[Kentucky.com]: Sox slugger Ramirez discusses life
If you’ve been paying attention to the NBA this season then you’ve noticed the Bulls Drew Gooden’s mangled mess of a beard. And if you’ve really been paying attention then you’ve probably noticed that Gooden isn’t the only one sporting the Billy goat look. In particular, we’re talking about Washington’s DeShawn Stevenson. Turns out the two made a friendly wager over the summer to see who could resist the razor longer.
”That’s how it all started. I dared him, and now we’re to this point. There are some penalties for whoever cuts the beard first.
Obviously, the first penalty would be losing the respect of lumberjacks across the nation, but the penalty Gooden is referring to is the $20,000 that is at stake. That’s a whole lotta money for just growing a beard and proper beard etiquette clearly states any beard bets over $500 are to be announced publicly in advance. Rumor has it that Kimbo Slice, Baron Davis and ZZ Top are pretty pissed they didn’t get invited to participate.
Links:
[SunTimes.com]: Gooden hopes to be hair for the long run
Believe it or not, but yet another football league has gone under. Well, that’s not exactly true because the All American Football League isn’t giving up just yet. The AAFL is being forced to postpone its 2008 opening season until 2009 due to a lack of financial funding.
“I invested 29 million dollars in cash to roll out the operations of the league,” Katz told the station, adding he was owed “a lot more money” by a student loan company.
“When I told the board I would subsidize the league, that was before the bond market collapsed,” Katz said.
Say what you will about Vince McMahon’s pathetic XFL, but at least they had an opportunity to prove they sucked on the field.
In other news…
[Can’t Stop the Bleeding]: The NCAA doesn’t like ESPN
[The Big Lead]: Clay Buchholz scores a perfect dame
[ThePittsburghChannel.com]: Billy Crystal, you’re outta here!
[Smarter Sports Blog]: Reporter flips over covering sled race
[CBS4Denver.com]: Barry Bonds alleged use of roids pays off in a big way…just not for him
[The Swim Aids]: Golfers don’t like the idea of random drug tests
[Jibblescribbits]: Is Alexander Ovechkin the lost love child of Andre the Giant? You decide
[Links Link]: It’s been a bad week for John Daly…wait, aren’t all his weeks bad weeks?
America has gone workout crazy. Everyone, everywhere wants to be buff, tan and super sexy nowadays, but what’s the best way to go about getting that ultra hot look? Well, at the Anti-Gym, they figure humiliation will melt those unsightly pounds right off your body.
Now, stop being fat already!!
Links:
[CollegeHumor.com]: Horrific Gym Commercial
[Anti-Gym]: Home
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Around the Rim: Up, up and away!
1. Rockets keep rolling
Despite winning their 20th consecutive game against Atlanta on Wednesday, the Rockets showed signs of slippage along the way. Houston managed to score just 32 points in the first half of last night’s game, but the Hawks couldn’t capitalize on their sorry opening half and lost 83-75. Tracy McGrady led the hottest team in the league with 28 points and nine rebounds as Houston shot just 33 percent from the field, including a pathetic 6-of-29 performance from behind the 3-point line. But regardless of the percentages, the Rockets are now tied for the second-longest win streak in league history. Just to put it into perspective, while Houston has won 20 straight contests, there are five teams (New York, Miami, Seattle, Memphis and Minnesota) who have yet to win 20 games during the entire season.
2. Hornets deliver against the champs
The Spurs fell out of the Southwest Division’s driver seat last night thanks to a 100-75 pounding from the Hornets. Chris Paul was unstoppable with 26 points and 17 assists in the game, pulling his team within ½ of a game of Houston and SA for the division title – the Rockets are now in first via a tiebreaker with the Spurs. San Antonio got 24 points from both Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, but the Spurs only scored eight points as a team in the final quarter as Nawlins pulled away. Hornets All-Star forward David West missed three games prior to the victory, but he didn’t miss a beat against Duncan. West finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds.
3. Sixers shocker
Despite going scoreless during the final 2:27 of the game, Philadelphia somehow managed to steal a victory in Detroit. Chauncey Billups had an opportunity to win the game, but his buzzer-beater bounced off the rim, giving the Sixers an improbable 83-82 victory. Andre Iguodala finished with a game-high 22 points as Philly won its seventh game in nine tries, bringing their record to 31-34 which is seventh best in the East.
Wednesday’s Player of the Day: LeBron James @ New Jersey 46 min, 42 pts (FG: 12-23, 3FG: 2-7, FT: 16-23), 11 reb, 7 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk
Thursday’s Game to Watch: Golden State (40-23) @ Phoenix (42-22)
While this game pits the league’s two top-scoring clubs against each other, there’s more on the line than offensive supremacy. The Warriors are fighting to catch the Suns in the standings and a win tonight would bring them within ½ game of their division rivals while also putting a little bit of breathing room between themselves and the Nuggets who are trying to grab the last playoff spot currently occupied by Golden State. For Phoenix, a win would mean gaining ground on the Lakers in the division. This could be a game where Shaquille O’Neal proves to be a detriment to the team as the Warriors will try to beat the big fella down the court every single possession.
Buzzer Beater: Greg Oden finally practiced with his teammates on Wednesday, putting in 45 minutes of work after missing the entire season with a knee injury. While he wasn’t going full speed, he tested the knee as he ran a few offensive sets. All in all, it’s a great sign for the Portland faithful.
Mascot misbehavior has been at an all-time high this year. It seems like every time you turn around some dope in a costume is attacking some other dope in a costume. Tuesday night at the Summit League tournament championship the mascots from IUPUI and Oral Roberts got to scraping. Unfortunately, no heads went rolling.
It’s almost NCAA Tournament time which means it’s time to hear about how much money your employer will lose this year as you surf the net looking for scores and secretly watch the games on the mini-television you have hidden under your desk.
This year’s final numbers indicate that $1.7 billion will be lost in productivity. But, hey, who cares as long as you get to see No. 14 seed knock off a No. 3 seed on a last second buzzer-beater.
“Those who insist there will be no impact are kidding themselves,” Challenger said in a statement. “The key for companies is finding a way to maximize the positive aspects of March Madness so that they outweigh the negatives.”
For every 10 minutes workers spend on basketball, companies will lose about $109 million, Challenger said. That figure is based on the current average hourly wage for all American workers, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics pegs at $17.50.
Look, you can either lose $1.7 billion or we can all call in sick for a month. Your choice.
Links:
[SignOnSanDiego.com]: March Madness cost companies mad money