Categories
College Basketball

Predicting the 2006 NCAA Tourney champs

The Bradley Braves advancing to the sweet 16 is a good story but the eventual champions will be the team that has at least one or two top NBA draft picks on the team. This has been the conventional thinking in picking NCAA champs for the last 20 years or so.

Jake Curtis of the San Francisco Chronicle takes the NBA picks theory and runs with it. He ranks the remaining 16 teams based on the likelihood of which spot in the draft their star players will be taken.


One way to predict which team will win the national championship is to total the number of likely first-round picks each of the 16 remaining teams has. In our rating system, three points are awarded for each player expected to be a top-five pick, two for a likely first-rounder, and one for a player who has a chance to go in the first round.

His system has UConn beating Duke in the finals. Three teams (Villanova, Memphis, Texas) are tied in 3rd place. If he’s correct, then in the games this weekend, take Connecticut over Washingon, Villanova over BC, Florida over Georgetown, Duke over LSU, Texas over West Virginia and Memphis over Bradley. George Mason vs Wichita State and Gonzaga vs UCLA are tossups.

Related Links:
[SFGate.com] : Projecting pros, NCAA champs

Categories
General Sports

Odds and Ends for Wed March 22 2006: Selig happy with WBC

So it seems we were too cynical and pessimistic about the WBC. According to Bud Selig (who is somewhat biased, I know), the WBC was a tremendous success. Attendance at the games was 737,000 and television ratings were decent in the United States and very good overseas. More than 1/3 of all television sets in Japan were tuned into the WBC finals. This means WBC 2009 is a virtual certainty.

[Reuters]: Cuba donates its cut from the WBC (7% of net tournament revenue) to Katrina victims.

[Pittsburgh Live]: Someone stole Bill Leavy’s golf cart.

[ESPN]: Hamburg is building a temporary hooligan jail for the World Cup. Philadelphia Eagles fans ask where the stadium courthouse is.

[Pittsburgh Live]: Well, this is just stupid. Steelers Safety Tyrone Carter’s brother had an additional 4.5 years tacked on to his 6 month sentence because he went to the Super Bowl instead of reporting to jail on time. Tyrone Carter said, “I would have done the same thing.”

[NY Daily News]: Steve Francis says that he better be in the starting lineup next season. Well, that worked out well, Isiah.

Categories
Indianapolis Colts

Colts sign Adam Vinatieri



Mr. Clutch

The most clutch kicker in the history of the NFL was signed by the Indianapolis Colts to replace the most accurate kicker in history. Usually, free agent Kicker signings don’t attract much notice but Adam Vinatieri is a special case. He has 19 game-winning field goals including two for Super Bowl victories.

It’s reported that his new deal averages $2.5 million a year and includes a $3.5M signing bonus. The contract is anywhere from 3 to 5 years. Not bad for a kicker.

Some reaction from the blogosphere:

[Onside Kicks]: I’d like to think the Patriots considered Vinatieri’s age, his (relatively) sub-par 2005 season and his history of back trouble while deciding not to franchise him or make him a substantial offer. But part of me wonders if the Patriots past success is working against them, and making them arrogant enough to think they can name their price regardless of the player. Maybe Paul Edinger or (gulp) Vanderjagt will come in and do a great job next season, but every missed field goal from here on is going to be blamed as much on Belichick and Pioli as on Vinatieri’s replacement.

[Boston Blood Sox]: Of all the teams, he had to go to the Colts. Indy signed away one of the biggest heroes in Boston sports history today. They needed a kicker and they got one of the best ever. This is just another player the Patriots have lost this year. Others such as Willie McGinist, and David Givens have left the team. There is some serious work to be done down in Foxborough to fill these holes for the 2006 season.

Related Links:
[Indy Star]: Colts don’t stand pat, land Vinatieri

[Boston Globe]: Kick in the teeth for Patriots

Categories
General Sports

Vote for the next Woman We Love

Every week, we’ll have a whole new set of nominees for you. This week we have:

Julie Berry

Jennifer Connelly

Lois Griffin

Stana Katic

Vanessa Marcil

Emily Procter

Voting will end next Tuesday. Vote now.

Categories
General Sports

Reese Witherspoon is the new Woman We Love

Reese Witherspoon, like Rachel McAdams certainly looks better as a brunette than a blonde. After years of ditzy Elle Woods roles, she changed her hair and made us believe she was June Carter in Walk the Line. It’s mainly on the basis of that movie tha t Reese was nominated as a woman we love.

See? We aren’t so shallow after all. Acting ability sometimes trumps a killer rack.

Categories
NHL General

NHL Power Rankings Roundup Mar 21 2006

The Ducks are making a case for being considered a contender by going 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. They are in the top 10 in three of the six rankings this. Here are the NHL Power Rankings by top sites this week.

Rank TSN.ca ESPN FoxSports Sportsline SI Yahoo
1 Red Wings Red Wings Red Wings Red Wings Red Wings Hurricanes
2 Senators Sabres Senators Senators Senators Red Wings
3 Stars Hurricanes Hurricanes Hurricanes Hurricanes Sabres
4 Sabres Stars Sabres Stars Sabres Senators
5 Rangers Senators Stars Predators Stars Stars
6 Predators Flames Predators Sabres Predators Rangers
7 Hurricanes Rangers Rangers Rangers Rangers Predators
8 Flyers Predators Flames Flames Flames Devils
9 Ducks Canadiens Flyers Ducks Flyers Avalanche
10 Sharks Kings Ducks Flyers Avalanche Flyers
11-30 more more more more more more

Categories
MLB General

Did anyone watch Japan win the WBC?

I can’t decide whether it was a good or bad thing for the WBC and ESPN that the US got knocked out of the tournament early.  On one hand, Americans might be so pissed off that we weren’t in the finals of our national pastime that we will pay more attention to it next time and demand our good players actually go.  On the other hand, it probably just means no one really saw the finals and the WBC was the big failure we thought it’d be.

Nonetheless, there are plenty of people outside the US that watched Japan beat Cuba in the finals.   The Japanese fans are all pretty excited about winning the inaugural World Baseball Classic.  (I think.  All the blog entries say WBC! but after that I’m not sure because I can’t read Japanese.) The final score was Japan 10, Cuba 6, Washington Nationals -1. Sadly, Cuba couldn’t even keep the extra cut of tournament profits by making it to the finals because they agreed that Castro’s government would not profit from the tournament and to donate their portion to charity. At least they got to keep their free iPod Nanos.

[MSNBC]: Japan beats Cuba for WBC championship

[Miami Herald]: Cuba’s cut to be donated

Categories
MLB General

John Rocker is dating a scary black chick

This probably should be in the Odds and Ends entry but we wanted to post a photo of her and because we like irony. (Such as Ms Deaf Texas being killed by a train while text messaging because she didn’t hear the whistle. It’s not funny, but I do believe it’s the definition of irony.)  In any case, John Rocker is dating a black woman and she looks like she could kick his ass if he started ranting on minorities again.

Links:
[NY Post]: ROCKER PITCHES TO BLACK BABE
[Aliciamarie.com]: Alicia Marie’s Official Website

Categories
Dallas Cowboys

TO raps about his favorite player

I mentioned this yesterday but I did the unthinkable and transcribed TO’s lyrics for you.  I wonder who he’s talking about when he says “To the hater who said I wouldn’t get my money.”  I don’t think McNabb ever said this but I could be wrong.

Here’s the mp3 of the song if any of you Cowboys fans want to download it to your iPod. Keep it in there for a couple of years and then let me know if it doesn’t cause you to want to kill Jerry Jones for bringing TO to Dallas by 2008.


I’m back and I’m better than ever
I’m back and I’m getting this cheddar
I’m back and this time I’m a cowboy
And I got em saying wow boy
I am back with a vengeance
I’m back on a mission
Got the recipe brah
So I’m back in the kitchen
Try to take me out the game
People saying I’m missing
Got the whole world’s undivided attention
It’s a brand new year
Got a brand new team
I’m a cowboy now
No more black and green
And To the hater who said I wouldn’t get my money
I’m laughing in your face ha ha that’s funny
When it comes to this game
I’m the best on the field
Some said I was gonna sign just a one year deal
But I got what I wanted up front $10 Mil
Change the rules of the game so now how you feel
See when I work my magic
When I get that rock
I dominate like Shaq when he down on the block
And this’ll probably be my best season by far
No more get my eagle on, meet me at the star

Categories
General Sports

Odds and Ends for Tuesday March 21 2006: Tagliabue goes out on top

Paul Tagliabue announced he would step down as the commissioner of the NFL in July. His 16 year tenure as commish was highlighted with labor peace, 17 new stadiums, and increasing the average NFL franchise value ten-fold.

[Reuters]: A Japanese teacher, gripped by the baseball fever that seized the nation during a game with bitter rival South Korea, was forced to apologize after watching the game in a classroom where students were taking a test.

[UPI]: Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona told a former British player his “Hand of God” goal against England in 1986 World Cup was “smart and crafty.” When asked by an interviewer “was it the hand of God, or what?” Maradona replied: “No, it was mine.” See below for video of the play.

[TwinCities.com]: Vikings head coach compares Daunte Culpepper to Terrell Owens. We’ll wait for the Culpepper rap.

[Off Wing Opinion]: ESPN is now the Al-Jazeera for sports agents.