Jalen Rose Is All Over The Place

Former Michigan and NBA Star as well as current ESPN basketball analyst Jalen Rose can't seem to stay out of the headlines recently. Rose's exposure shot up earlier this month after he was featured in the most recent 30 for 30 episode about the Fab 5. The documentary, which was one of the best 30 for 30s, generated criticism of Rose after he shared his feeling on the composition of the Duke basketball team in the early 1990s. Rose felt that the only black player who were recruited to Duke were "Uncle Toms" and specifically cited Grant Hill who grew up as the son of former NFL QB Calvin Hill. Rose said he resented Hill for having an easier childhood and felt that players like him from the rougher parts of the country weren't recruited by Duke.

Rose's comments did not sit will with Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski or Grant Hill as well as several other Duke alums. Rose has since apologized to the likes of Hill and stated that he was sharing how he felt as a hot-headed 19-year old Freshman at Michigan.

Rose returned to the spotlight this week after he ran his car off the road on his way to his Detroit-area home. Rose submitted to a BAC test at a local hospital after refusing a breathalyzer test and the result came back over the legal limit. Rose was cited for Drunk Driving and will have to appear in court in a few weeks. Rose issued a public apology yesterday.

Tennis: Novak Djokovic On A Roll, Andy Roddick In A Tumble

Serbian Tennis Star Novak Djokovic has been unbeatable this year, literally. The 23-year old moved to the Semis of the Sony Ericsson Open with a win over South African Kevin Anderson to extended his unbeaten streak to 24 straight matches, he is a perfect 22-0 in 2011. The Australian Open Champ has taken his game to another level this year and has his sights set on Rafael Nadal's World Number 1 ranking after supplanting Roger Federer for the number 2 spot earlier this year.

In other Tennis news Andy Roddick will relinquish his position as the top-ranked American player next week after his early exit from the same tournament. Mardy Fish who has reignited his career over the past 2 years surpass the soon-to-be 14th ranked Roddick and he reached the Semis with a win over 6 seed David Ferrer and could be ranked as high as 11th after the tournament. Unfortunately this also means that no American will be ranked in the top-10 and is endemic of American Tennis' failure to return to prominence after the retirement of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.

Also a random tidbit: In researching for this blog I came across a headline on ESPN.com's Tennis page that reads "Ferrer annoyed, lobs tennis ball at crying baby" I didn't actually read the article but just thought you should know. Europeans are sore losers I guess.

Opening Day Is Almost Upon Us

Spring Training is finally over and meaningful baseball will begin anew tomorrow afternoon when the Detroit Tigers take on the Yankees. Opening Day is always a momentous occasion that will carry on through Friday night. Optimism is high throughout the MLB (with the perennial exceptions of Pittsburgh and Kansas City) and there is no better time to be a fan of your team. As a Mets fan Opening Day has tended to be as good as it gets over the past couple of seasons although the Amazin's tend to stretch expectations out until mid-May or so.

As for the real contenders it's the usual cast of characters who are predicted to be playing October baseball. At least 98% of all baseball analysts have already penciled in the Phillies and Red Sox for the Fall Classic and rightfully as those two teams made the biggest splashes during the offseason after both teams won 90 games last year. In fact I'm a little disappointed in the baseball pundits of the world because I haven't come across a daring prediction for the 2011 yet. The 2010 World Series featured two teams in the Giants and Rangers who were mere afterthoughts heading into season. I don't know why but after last year's result I am annoyed that no one is making an call that require them to go out on a limb. Sure the the Phillies might have the best rotation ever on paper (also the have the best nickname thanks to the presence of Joe Blanton: Fat Joe and the Terror Squad) but they play the games for a reason and I can't wait to see which teams surprise and disappoint us.

Busted Brackets: VCU And Butler Reach Final Four

The Final Four are finally settled as VCU stunned number 1 seed Kansas in the Elite 8 and Kentucky knocked off North Carolina. The Final Four now features a pair of cinderellas in 8 seeded Butler who reached their second consecutive National Semifinal and the 11 seed VCU Rams. 4 seed Kentucky will play 3rd seeded UConn Kemba Walkers (sometimes referred to as Huskies) in the other semifinal.

It's safe to say that pretty much no one had VCU and Butler facing off in the Final Four or that this would be only the 3rd Final Four since the inception of the 64-team format that had no number 1 seeds. If you followed my March Madness preview then you were not at all surprised to see UConn and Kentucky make it through. In fact VCU just ruined what has become my most successful bracket ever as I cracked the top 10,000 on ESPN.com (out of 5.9 million that's not too shabby) but having Kansas win the National Title will cripple any chance of finishing in the top 1,000 or so.

It will be an interesting dichotomy as one side of the draw we have two of the most successful programs in college basketball history facing off while on the other we have two teams that nobody saw getting past the 2nd round. That means one of the small programs will play for the National Title and given how this tournament has gone we may very well see the 1985 Villanova squad's record for the lowest seed to win a title either tied or beaten next weekend.

Kemba Walker Shines Again On The Big Stage

Kemba Walker continued to build up his UConn legacy after leading the 3rd seeded Huskies to a 74-67 over number 2 San Diego State with a 36 point effort. Kemba took over in the 2nd half scoring 22 points and not allowing the Aztecs a chance to get back into the game. After seeming to fade down the stretch of the regular season the Huskies have rebounded in a big way. Kemba took over Madison Square Garden making history as UConn won 5 games in 5 days to win the Big East Tournament and earn a 3 seed. The Huskies will make their 10th Elite Eight.

Kemba Walker's play has single-handedly raised expectations for this UConn team that could not have foreseen this outcome heading in to the season. As a Junior Kemba leads one of the nation's youngest teams that starts 3 Freshmen and a Sophomore alongside the player of the year candidate. The Huskies last reached the Elite Eight in 2009 when they reached the Final Four and won their first ever Sweet 16 game where they were the lower seed. Kemba and UConn can't rest for long however as they await the Arizona Wildcats who dominated top seeded Duke in the 2nd half.

Buck Showalter Sounds Off On AL East

Baltimore Orioles Manager Buck Showalter sounded off this week in an interview with Men's Journal Magazine on his competition in the AL East. Showalter first followed up on last year's criticism of Yankee SS Derek Jeter accusing the Yankee Captain of constantly baiting umpires into making bad balls-and-strikes calls by sticking his butt out on pitches inside. Showalter was vocal about how irritated he is at the number of calls Jeter gets because of this and went so far as to yell at Jeter from the dugout last season. The verbal attack was clearly a coaching tool to show the young players of the Orioles that they shouldn't be afraid of anyone. The Orioles improved significantly when Showalter was hired mid-season last year posting a 34-23 record after going 32-73 to start the season. Showalter does have a valid point as Jeter is notorious for this type of gamesmanship but at the same time if it works why stop?

Showalter didn't stop there and went after the Boston Red Sox next by taking a jab at General Manager Theo Epstein. On the subject of the success of Epstein during the past off season Showalter responded,

"I'd like to see how smart Theo Epstein is the Tampa Bay payroll. You got Carl Crawford 'cause you paid more than anyone else, and that's what makes you smartes? That's why I like whipping their butt. It's great, knowing those guys with the $205 million payroll are saying, 'How the hell are they beating us?'"

I think it's pretty clear Showalter is taking a Rex Ryan approach to coaching but again he makes a solid point. With no salary cap in baseball, success in Free Agency has been reduced to how much money you can spend. MLB GMs, especially in the big markets like New York, Boston and Los Angeles, don't have to worry about maneuvering their payroll or making value based decisions personnel decisions yet they make more money than their counterparts in any other sport.

2 Reasons Why The NBA Has Been So Much Better This Year

The level of play, and perhaps more importantly the level of competition, in the NBA this year has in my mind far surpassed anything we have seen in at least the last decade. It's been a long time since we've seen so many intriguing story lines as well as legitimate contenders at once, especially in the Eastern Conference. Using my own blog as a barometer I've found that I'm putting up way more post about the NBA than I did last year because I'm so much more interested.

I believe there are two major reasons that can account for the increased entertainment value we've seen this year. First and foremost has been the Miami Heat, specifically the summer saga that lead to their assemblage of talent and the resulting fallout. The summer also contributed on different level with Team USA winning the FIBA World Championship for the first time since 1994. The FIBA tournament win was significant because the US team was devoid of the talent featured on the Olympic team like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Instead it featured the young stars of the NBA whose games have significantly improved since this year across the board.

Team USA didn't have the same expectations it usually has for the Olympics because the World Championship has usually showcases the 3rd and 4th tiers of American talent while the stars hold out for the Summer Games. The team was lead by a 21-year old in Kevin Durant who was a terrific leader from start to finish and earned tournament MVP honors. However Durant wasn't the big story as he had already established himself as one of the game's top players the year before. Instead it was the maturation process of guys like probable '10-'11 MVP Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Rudy Gay and Andre Iguodala to name a few. The so-called "B-Team" went undefeated in the tournament and all six of the aforementioned players made the All-Star team this year. It has been a long time since so much young NBA talent has realized its potential all at the same time and the league is better for it. Teams like the Thunder and Bulls (who I foresee/hope will face off in the Finals), are title contenders because of it.

The other reason centers around the Championship Celebration that James, Wade and Chris Bosh held before the team had even practiced together. The Heat painted a giant bullseye on their backs and at the same time put a chip on every other team's shoulder. The Heat have become terrific villains (or heels for those in the know) and any team that beats them is put-over in the eyes of fans. The challenge of taking out the Heat has caused other teams to elevate their play and that has had a trickle-down effect on the rest of the league.

In years past it seemed that the first two rounds of the playoffs were entirely missable and the real action didn't start until the Conference Finals. This year the 2nd round may even be more entertaining as it could very easily feature 4 great series right down the line with matchup possibilities lake Thunder/Lakers, Bulls/Heat and Spurs/Mavericks; all of which are worthy of a Conference Finals matchup.

Knicks Lose 4th Straight, Fall Below .500

The New York Knicks dropped their fourth consecutive game to fall to 7-10 since acquiring Carmelo Anthony a month ago. Their latest defeat came at the hands of Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic 111-99. In what is becoming a broken record the Knicks played well for most of the game leading at halftime and were tied early in the 4th. However they once again failed to stay with their competition at then end of the game and were done in by their lack of size.

Anthony dropped 24 points and chipped in a season-high 9 assists by counterpart Amar'e Stoudemire posted a season-low 13 points on 6-20 and could not stop Dwight Howard underneath. Howard continued his excellent play of late scoring 33 with 11 rebounds but that time of performance was to be expected when he had the likes of PFs Stoudemire and Ronnie Turiaf posing the only obstacles on defense.

The Knicks have been hurt by their lack of size all season and were minus-14 in that department against the Magic. I think the Knicks will struggle throughout the rest of the regular season against teams with good big men and expect an early exit in the playoffs at the hands of the Bulls or Celtics. I thinks it's fairly clear to everyone that the Anthony trade was made for the future and that the Knicks basically traded 4 quarters for 1 dollar. They were playing .500 ball before the trade (even worse if you take away their early 9-game winning streak) and should finish around .500 and in 7th in the East behind the 76ers.

I think for now Knicks fans will have to be content with the fact that they are building for the future. They need size and the auxiliary scoring sacrificed by giving up Danilo Gallinari and Raymond Felton but that can be added in the offseason. I believe the bigger question will be whether head coach Mike D'Antoni will be able to fit the pieces to together next to put together a well-oiled machine. The Knicks won't have the same makeup D'Antoni had in Phoenix and he has yet to prove that he coach any other kind of team.

Is Carson Palmer Going To Retire?

After a dismal 2010 campaign with the Cincinnati Bengals, QB Carson Palmer has had enough. Earlier this offseason Palmer was extremely candid when he voiced his desire to be traded and was adamant that he would retire rather than suit up for the Bengals ever again. Palmer cited the $80 Million he's been paid since being the number 1 overall choice in the 2003 draft after winning the Heisman at USC.

Regardless of the CBA situation Bengals owner Mike Brown responded to the Palmer situation earlier this week saying that he was not going to trade Palmer no matter what. So the question is where does this leave Palmer and the Bengals? Cincinnati have a severely disappointing season last year after winning the AFC North in 2009 and adding WR Terrell Owens. Palmer's play seemed to decline considerably last year as his interception numbers skyrocketed.

The logical thing to do in this situation in my mind (and likely in head coach Marvin Lewis' mind) would be to ship Palmer off as soon as the labor situation is resolved and draft a QB of the future in the first or second round in late April. The problem here lies with Mike Brown who is known to be overly involved with the football operations of his team despite not having the highest football IQ in the business. One only needs to review some of the coaching meetings from Hard Knocks 2 years ago to see that the "suggestions" he made to his coaching staff were pretty much ridiculous. If Brown wants to play hardball with Palmer he may leave his team handicapped without a QB.

I truly think that Carson Palmer is serious about retiring if he can't land somewhere else. At worst he would find himself in a situation similar to Brett Favre when he retired from the Packers but wanted to go to the Vikings.

Barry Bonds Perjury Trial Finally Begins, Claims He Didn't Know He Was Taking Steroids

Barry Bonds who was indicted for perjury during a 2003 hearing before a grand jury back in 2007 and his trial finally got under way this week. Bonds' defense has centered on the fact that he did not at the time know that what his trainer was giving him were steroids and he was simply ignorant. His defense has made him out to be a victim and cites that they key testimonies that will be brought against the slugger including an ex-girlfriend only came forward after their relationships with Bonds had soured.

The biggest news from the first day of the trial however came from Bonds' lifelong friend Greg Anderson who again refused to testify against Bonds and was immediately held in contempt. Anderson will be forced to spend the remainder of the trial in jail for his actions. This will be the third time Anderson will spend time in jail for refusing to testify against Bonds. Anderson was the go-between for Bonds and the BALCO lab that supplied Bonds with the PEDs he used.

The recommended sentence for the charges Bonds faces is thought to be around 15-21 months in prison but it is unknown how severely the court will come down on Bonds. Without the testimony of Anderson Bonds may be able to evade a significant sentence thanks to his high-priced defense team and lack of concrete evidence against him.

NFL Owners Vote To Move Kickoffs To 35-Yard Line

The NFL Owners meetings concluded yesterday with the owners passing a vote to move kickoffs from the 30-yard line to the 35-yard line citing the need to increase player safety. The reception of the rule change by coaches, players and former players has ranged from somewhat negative to "what the f*ck is wrong with them". The rule change will be significant as the number of touchbacks is likely to skyrocket and will greatly encumber many kick returners who rely on kickoffs to earn their keep.

The owners have stated that the move was made to reduce the dangerous head-on collisions that take place during kickoffs as they have been under scrutiny the last few years because of a growing understanding of concussions and their dangerous after effects. The is the second kickoff alteration the owners have made in the name of safety, they reduced the legal size of a blocking wedge to 2 men several years ago.

The many negative responses have cited the fact the most consistently exciting play in football is being taken away. There is merit to this argument as we will likely see a large increase in touchbacks next year as well a likely increased use of of the "mortar-kick" where the kicker attempts to kick the ball higher for more hang time which will be more effective will 5 more yards to work with. This move has seen the most success when used to stop the best returners in the game (the Philadelphia Eagles were the first team to successfully neutralize Devin Hester using this technique).

I will also be interested to see what happens in the college game as the NCAA moved kickoffs back from the 35 to the 30 a few years ago and now for the first time will have a longer kickoff distance than the pros. I really disagree with this move and believe that it unnecessary to make a drastic rule change to increase player safety. I think the most important thing that the league can do now is to encourage better education throughout all levels of football in order to teach better tackling technique to reduce head injuries. I believe the heavy fines the NFL began implementing last year will soon begin to bear fruit in terms of instigating a fundamental shift in they way players attack the ball-carrier.

P.S. Thank god they didn't mess around with punt returns

Phillies Interested In Signing Luis Castillo

In a move Mets fans have been expecting for close to 2 years now, GM Sandy Alderson announced the release of 2B Luis Castillo. The Mets will be forced to eat the $6 Million Castillo had left on his contract but in the long run will be glad to be free of the 35 year-old infielder. Castillo's contract along with the $12 Million owed to former 15-game winner Oliver Perez will be the lasting legacy of former GM Omar Minaya. The Mets are expected to cut the former starter by the end of Spring Training unless he can come out of nowhere to win the lefty-specialist spot out of the bullpen.

Mets fans have pretty much despised Castillo's presence since his most famous moment in June of 2009 when "the drop" occurred (see below). Castillo actually responded as best someone can by hitting around .340 for the rest of the season after the incident to finish 2009 with a .302. However 2010 was a much different story as Castillo's knees finally failed him and he struggled to a .235 average and had opposing outfield playing at softball depth whenever he came up to bat (sidenote: despite Castillo's 8th grade level power a friend of mine still managed to hit a home run with him in MLB 2K10. Total B.S.).

Castillo is now free to sign with any team for the league veteran minimum of $414,000 which will be deducted from the amount owed by the Mets. The Philadelphia Phillies have emerged as a likely suitor as 2B Chase Utley will be missing time with knee problems of his own and are said to be looking for a veteran presence. When I first heard this report I was happy because finally someone else would be forced to watch Castillo stare down every single 3-1 fastball right middle he faces. However the more I think about it the more I'm sure he will have some kind of Renaissance with a new team, especially if he indeed signs with the Phillies, it's only fitting.

P.S. No joke when I was writing "(see above)" I wrote "see f*ck" without even thinking about it. I'm now depressed after writing this post.

Another University Of Florida Football Player In Trouble For Marijuana, Percy Harvin Don't Lie

University of Florida CB Janoris Jenkis recently plead guilty to a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge and became the lastest in a line of Florida players who have run into minor trouble with the law as a result of smoking pot in the past few years. Perhaps the most noteworthy case were the positive tests of Bristol, CT's own Aaron Hernandez who tested positive for multiple types of marijuana prior to the NFL Draft. However as usual there was minimal fallout and the TE went on to have a terrific rookie season with the New England Patriots.

This isn't a major story but I bring it up because anytime a Florida player gets in trouble for weed I harken back to some (in)famous comments made by Minnesota Vikings WR Percy Harvin prior to his rookie year while speaking to high school prospects in an effort to sell them on UF. I think the video has been mostly removed from the web but here is a transcript of Harvin's talk:

Student #1: "So, like, I know the football program at Florida is one of the best in the nation, but what's it like outside of football? Do they let you go off and have any fun?"

Harvin: "Oh, hell, man, Gainesville is a blast. Let me tell you something, brother, high as the football program is ridin' these days, people on campus know you play ball, you are the king. There ain't nothing you can't do down there: Go to bars, go clubbin' until four in the morning, and the girls -- good lord. They jump on you the minute you walk in the door, I mean, if you wake up in the morning and you got less than six girls in your bedroom, you weren't even trying, son."

Florida Coach: "Yes, well, there's time for socializing and everything, but the strongest bonds you make as a Gator are with your teammates, wouldn't you say, Percy?"

Harvin: "Oh, no doubt. Me and the guys, if we didn't go out we'd just sit up in someone's apartment, firing up jays and drinking and playing XBox -- man, have you ever played 2K9 on weed? It's hilarious! Me and Brandon Spikes were going up against each other one night, and he was acting the fool and --"

Student #2: "They let you smoke weed?"

Florida Coach: "Oh, no, no that's not a --"

Harvin: "Let me? Man, they can tell you not to do it, but when it comes right down to it, what are they gonna do, babysit us every second we ain't at practice? I mean, yeah, there was that one coach who barked at me because I was late to practice and showed up all bloodshot and everything, and I guess I kind of went off and choked him and whatnot, but it wasn't like anybody was gonna let that get out. Trust me, you keep bringing home those SEC trophies, they'll take care of you."

Mets' Ownership Officially On The Hook For $1 Billion

The trustee for the victims of the Bernie Madoff scandal, Irving Picard, officially amended his lawsuit of the Wilpon family in order to attempt to recover over $1 Billion from the Wilpons saying they profited from the losses of Madoff's victims. This latest sum is more than $700 Million more than the $300 million Picard was originally seeking. Picard contends that the Wilpons and Madoff were "too cozy" and that the Wilpons' business ventures in fact relied upon false profits withdrawn from Madoff's machinations from 2002-2008.

When the lawsuit first surfaced the Wilpons announced that they were willing to sell 20-25% of the team in order to pay for any losses they might incur. This sent the message that the Wilpon family is likely to settle for a huge sum of money which would compromise their ability to run the Mets franchise. With Picard now seeking more than $1 Billion the Wilpons will likely have to settle for a much higher sum than they originally planned.

The Wilpons have reiterated that they will not relinquish a controlling share of the team however that stance may be in jeopardy. Fred and Jeff Wilpon have to continue to assure the media that they were also victims of Madoff's and the entire premise of the lawsuit is false. Unfortunately they have a history of present an "everything is perfectly fine" message to Mets fans regardless of the actual state of the team. I think the Wilpons are going to get taken to the cleaners by this lawsuit and all of a sudden 100% of the Mets will be available for sale before we know it.

As a Mets fan I feel bad for the Wilpon family as they are likely to never be the same after this suit is all said and done but at the same time it would be refreshing for new ownership to take control of the team. Lots of high profile candidates have come forward indicating their interest in buying the team headlined by Donald Trump. A sale of the Mets might be what is required to turn around their historically poor fortunes.

The Real Losers Of The NFL Lockout

With the NFL lockout now in full swing and a decertified Player's Union sitting on their hands until an April 6th injunction hearing (which will basically argue the lockout is unlawful and will hope to force NFL business to resume as usual despite not having a CBA in place) many football analysts are left only having the Draft to discuss. In the absence of any March football news bar the labor hearings there have been dozens of pieces about who are the winners or in most cases the biggest losers of the lockout. Many NFL coaches and players feel hosed by the NFL especially people like new head coach of the San Francisco 49ers Jim Harbaugh who cannot conduct mini-camps and OTAs to get acclimated with his team, assess personnel and implement his system. Other losers are teams like the Philadelphia Eagles who are unable to trade their expendable asset in the form of Kevin Kolb or make a splash in Free Agency.

Then of course you have the individual players most notably the nearly 500 unrestricted free agents who currently have no team nor any means of signing with a new one. Also there are the Adrian Peterson's of the world who liken the conduct of the NFL to "modern day slavery" despite the $10.72 Million Peterson was paid in base salary last season.

However many are forgetting the people who will be hurt the most by the NFL lockout save ESPN.com's Howard Bryant. Despite the "war chest" the owners have compiled in order to wait out a lockout we are in the midst of seeing pay cuts across the board for every NFL franchise as well as many layoffs likely to come in the near future depending on how long the lockout period lasts. These rank-and-file employees obviously do not have the means to survive a lockout like the players do and virtually all of them have had their financial futures thrown into disarray.

In addition Bryant's article sheds light on the $4 Billion dollars the owners secured through their television contracts to see them a season or even 2 without football. Bryant argues that such is the NFL's power that they were able to strong-arm their television clients into accepting deals that would force them to continue paying the league even if a season was cancelled and in one case DirectTV would actually pay the NFL more in 2011 if the season is cancelled than it did in 2010 to broadcast its famous Sunday Ticket Package. This would invariably cause a trickle-down effect for the television companies if the work stoppage continued into the season and would put even more people in financial peril.

This labor situation is getting to the point where now I hope the courtroom dealings get nastier and nastier so that the NFL and its owners will be forced to own up to all their greedy financial dealing they have been getting away with since the NFL took over as the preeminent cash-cow in professional sports.

Morehead State Drops Louisville In Biggest Upset Of Day 1

The first real day of the NCAA Tournament delivered everything we love about March Madness with multiple buzzer-beaters and major upsets. The Day's biggest upset saw the 13 seed Morehead State Eagles knock off the number 4 seeded Louisville Cardinals with a 3-pointer in the final seconds to secure a 62-61 victory. Sadly I had Louisville going to the Sweet 16 in almost every bracket this year.

Other exciting action saw last year's cinderella National Championship runner-up Butler slip past Old Dominion on a last-second tip-in to advance with a 62-60 victory. The other big surprise (except to myself, see previous post) was the 12th seeded Richmond Spiders defeat of number 5 Vanderbilt. The 13 seed Princeton Tigers gave 4 seed Kentucky (as well as those who picked them for the Final Four) a scare before the Wildcats were able to eke out a victory with a last-second basket of their own to move on 62-60.

This is usually the time where I rip my bracket to shreds for being so terrible but I personally had a decent day with 14 0f 16 games correct missing only the Louisville game and 11 Gonzaga's win over St. John's which will prove costly as I had the Red Storm in the Elite 8. Anyways I currently stand in about 17,000th place on ESPN.com with is admirable but I'm certain that before tomorrow is over I'll be lucky to crack the top 1,000,000 in any of my brackets.

NCAA Tournament Set To Kick Off Tomorrow

The always-entertaining first round (which they are calling the second round over here in Australia) of the NCAA Tournament will start tomorrow and rest assured Gus Johnson of CBS will have the vocals all rested up after an intense finish to the Pac-10 Tournament where he had to be one his game.

At this point I've filled out so many brackets that at one point or another I've picked pretty much every team to win in the first round but my most definitive predictions are as follows:

Final Four : Kentucky, UConn, Kansas, Pittsburgh

Championship: Kansas def. UConn

First Round Upsets (not including 8v9 or 7v10): 12 Richmond over 5 Vanderbilt, 12 Memphis over 5 Arizona, 11 Marquette over 6 Xavier, 11 Missouri over 6 Cincinnati

Sleeper Major Upset: 14 Bucknell over 3 UConn (doesn't mean I think it will happen just that if any 14 or 15 seed is going to win it will be Bucknell)

And without further adieu more Gus Johnson

The Future Of Jose Reyes

One of the few bits of good news to come out of Mets camp this spring has been the consistent play and more importantly health of SS Jose Reyes. Reyes is healthier than he has been in the last 3 or 4 years and that should have a dramatic impact on his play in the upcoming year. Reyes has been the spark plug that ignites the team and since 2006 they have only been successful when he has been successful. In the past this would be a great thing for the Mets but 2011 will be different. Reyes in entering the final year of his contract and will test Free Agency next season.

The problem facing the Mets front office is that the better Jose performs this year the more expensive it will be for the team to re-sign him. Reyes is an immense talent and barring an Andruw Jones-like collapse in his contract year will likely command a contract in excess of $100 Million this winter. The Mets have a gloomy outlook for this upcoming season thanks to the financial woes of their Ownership with the Wilpon family on the hook for multiple hundreds of millions of dollars. They also have to deal with the $20 Million owed to Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo who are longshots to even make the team this year and had no flexibility in bringing in talent to improve last offseason because the team had no money to spend (the Wilpons had to borrow a reported $25 Million for the MLB just to cover current operating expenses).

The fact that the team isn't expected to contend in any real way this season has lead to speculation that they will try to trade Reyes during the summer if they feel they will be unable to pay him big money. Along with 3B David Wright, Reyes has been a cornerstone of the organization since 2003 and I'll reiterate how crucial he has been to any success the team has had over the past 6-7 years. The only way I can see Jose staying New York (or maybe just Queens as the Yankees might look to him to replace Derek Jeter at SS if they move him to DH next year) would be for the Mets to surprise everyone this year and be in contention until September. Regardless it will prove to be an interesting 2011.

At least if he leaves I can live this picture down

Kevin Durant And The Thunder Ready To Make Noise In The West

The Oklahoma City Thunder went into Miami tonight to face off against a Heat team playing with a chip on its shoulder that had won 3 straight after a season-worst 5 game losing streak. Despite having one of their poorest shooting nights of the season the Thunder played stifling defense and get enough big buckets down the stretch from their All-Star phenoms Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook as the Thunder controlled the 2nd half en route to a 96-85 win. The game featured some of the most athletic players in the NBA and delivered some of the most violent dunks of the season from all angles. However the story of tonight's contest is how much of a force the Thunder will prove to be come playoff time.

A team brimming with young talent, the Thunder came out of nowhere last season to win 50 games and reach the 2nd round of the Western Conference playoffs. In addition to having one of the top 5 players in the NBA in Durant (whose only 22 by the way) they have built a terrific supporting cast lead by Westbrook, James Harden, Nick Collison and rapidly emerging defensive star Serge Ibaka to name a few. After a mostly successful first half of the season the Thunder found themselves in 4th place in the West but may have made the most underrated moves of the trading deadline. Thanks to a surplus of talent at the SF position OK City shipped talented scorer Jeff Green to the Boston Celtics for C Kendrick Perkins.

The addition of Perkins immensely improves their inside presence on defense and gives them a much needed upgrade in terms of size and postseason experience. Perkins was vital to the success of the Celtics in recent years and it was his injury in the NBA finals last June that allowed the Lakers to overcome the C's in Game 7. Perkins played only his second game for the Thunder tonight but his presence was felt as he and Ibaka dominated the paint and refused Miami's Big 3 from getting inside resulting in James, Wade and Bosh combining to shoot 7-24 in the second half.

The Thunder have now won 5 straight games and 8 of their last 9. The are significantly improved defensive team now with Perkins in the lineup and will not miss Jeff Green's production thanks to Harden flourishing in an expanded roll. Perkins also adds some much needed veteran leadership to this young team which will be immensely valuable down the home stretch. As we come in to the final weeks of the regular season Oklahoma City will look to pressure the Lakers and Mavericks for the 2nd and 3rd seeds in the West as they are likely to be one of the hottest teams headed into the playoffs.

NFLPA Attempting To Prevent Top Prospects From Attending NFL Draft

With the NFLPA now decertified and nothing positive on the horizon until the April 6 lockout injunction hearing it appears that the only good thing left in the NFL, the 2011 Draft, is also in jeopardy (sort of). The former Player's Association is currently putting a plan in place to instigate a boycott of the NFL Draft by having the top prospects who will be invited to the draft not attend in order to spite the NFL and its owners.

Now I understand where the players are coming from in this situation because they don't want players entering the Draft to endorse the people who are trying to limit the amount rookies can be paid and are preventing them from even signing a contract once they are drafted. However this from the prospects' perspective not attending the Draft would be a real shame. All of the prospects invited are expected to go in the early parts of the first round and have been waiting for this day for the better part of a decade in most cases. The Draft is also a huge family event and a seminal moment for fans to vocalize their opinion of their team's top choice (just ask Donovan McNabb).

I think this latest issue is indicative of the quickly deteriorating relationship between owners and players. I no longer have any hope for a deal to get done before a judge rules in favor of one side or the other and until that point things are likely to get nasty. It's becoming clear that the leaders of these negotiations basically hate each other which will make it nearly impossible for either side to shelf some pride and give ground. Of course we fans are suffering at the end of that and now we can be joined by NFL Draft prospects.

Here We Go Again, CBA Deadline Approaches Final 24 Hours

Despite two separate extensions that delayed the expiration of the NFL's Collective Bargaining Agreement by 8 days a new deal has yet to be put in place and it appears the owners and players have yet to make any more significant progress. It appeared as though the key issue all week was how to distribute the a billion dollars a year that the owners claimed they needed because of their dwindling profit margin. The owners lowered that total to $800 million a year last week with the deadline pressing down upon them. The players union however has refused to give ground on their side because they are demanding full financial transparency from the owners to validate the owner's claim that they need more money.

The owners have responded by making some of their financial records available to the union and feel that should sufficient because it is more information than they have made accessible to practically anyone else. The unions feels this is still not enough information and are demanding all of it if they are going to make a compromise. My feeling here is that the owners are embarrassed to filly disclose their financial records because I am sure they all have lots of unnecessary expenses on the books for things like hiring relatives and needlessly expensive travel that will make them look bad.

The owners may once again cave however because if the union is forced to decertify tomorrow afternoon this labor negotiation will go to court and most if not all of their financial data will go on record anyways. What's worse for the owners is that if it goes to court their financial books will become public knowledge whereas the players' union is willing to sign a nondisclosure agreement in return.

The latest news from from the labor talks is also discouraging as union spokesman Demaurice Smith went on record today saying the players will not accept adoption of an 18-game regular season schedule, one of the major issues of contention, no matter what. At this point the best we fans can hope for tomorrow is another extension but in order for that to happen one side is going to have to make a move toward shortening the divide between the owners and players will the deadline breathing down their neck.

Kemba Walker Taking Over MSG

Connecticut Huskies G Kemba Walker dropped 24 points, including the final 2, as UCONN sank the number 3 ranked Pitt Panthers in yet another fantastic finish to a Big East Tournament game moving the Huskies into the semifinals. The game was a back and forth battle in Madison Square Garden that saw UCONN holding the ball with the score tied at 74-74 and a chance for the final shot. Walker, who had a strong case for Big East player of the year, took the ball off the inbound and immediately decided that he was going to take the gaming winning shot with no time left. Furthermore I'm convinced the Walker immediately knew he was going to make it. Kemba dribbled around running down the clock before making a move to the top of the key and setting up a devastating step-back jumper. Walker drained what can only be called a beautiful shot as the 19th ranked Huskies stormed the court in celebration. In seeing that shot it reminded me of another game winner from the 1998 NBA finals, remember that one?

Look familiar?

In other game-winning shot news Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks knocked off the Memphis Grizzlies last night by nailing a 15-foot jumper from the wing with no time left and the score tied at 108-108. Anthony was quoted as uttering "I Do This" while the shot was in the air, successfully reinforcing his ballerificness (that's a word).

Did Brandon Meriweather Shoot Two People

A report has surfaced in recent days that New England Patriots S Brandon Meriweather was present at a shooting that took place on Feb. 28 and that Meriweather is being accused of gunning down two men. Since this report came out it has become clear that there is no real evidence against Meriweather being the shooter or even being present at the shooting. The only existing link is the testimony of the two men who claim to have been shot by Meriweather. However even their lawyer has gone on record saying they can't be sure if Meriweather was the gunman and police are currently investigating if he was even there to begin with.

To be honest I think the only thing that is holding this story together is the fact that Brandon Meriweather gunning down two men in a shooting is entirely plausible. I mean the only record Meriweather holds at the University of Miami is being the first guy to take his helmet off and use as a weapon (0:50 mark in the video below; also see what I did with the H Gilmore reference). I have a feeling concrete will come of this report and Brandon Meriweather can get back to leading with his helmet and reinforcing his bad technique habits in no time. In the unlikely case this story actually does turn sour I think he'll just contact Marvin Harrison and get his hitman to silence any potential witnesses.

Big East Tournament: St. John's Escapes Rutgers, Villanova Nightmare Continues

The Big East kicked off the most competitive conference tournament in the country yesterday as the first round opened in Madison Square Garden. The Villanova Wildcats who began the year 16-1 and was ranked as high as 7th in the nation completed a disastrous 4-10 finish to their season when they were knocked off by the 9-22 South Florida Bulls who had won only 3 Big East games all year. Nova will likely still make the NCAA tournament despite losing their last 5 contests but should expect no higher than a 9 or 10 seed at best. They were knocked out of the top 25 last week for the first time since the end of the 2008 season.

Tonight the second round saw the resurgent St. John's Red Storm escape Rutgers 65-63 in the most controversial of endings (see below). St. John's was one of the hottest teams in the country down the stretch and finished the regular season ranked 18. At the end of a back and forth battle the Red Storm held a two point lead with Rutgers needing to inbound the length of the court with about 5 seconds left. St. John's picked off the inbound attempt but the player prematurely ran with the ball out of bounds and then chucked said ball deep in to the stands with time still remaining on the clock. The officials were unable to review the play and ran out of the stadium as fast as they could. The call should have been a technical foul on St. John's resulting in a free throw for Rutgers who would then have the chance to inbound the ball from half court with 1.7 seconds remaining. It looks like St. John's is living a charmed life this year.

Daily Miami Heat Hate Blog

The Miami Heat lost their 5th consecutive game tonight at home against the Portland Trail Blazers. The broken record book on the Heat this year has been their lack of success against plus .500 teams and halfway through a brutal 10-game stretch against all winning teams the Heat are 0-5. While clutch shooting (or perhaps lack thereof) had been the go-to statistic to explain the Heat's recent struggles (see video below) a new and perhaps more important trend has emerged after their most recent loss.

The Blazers bench outscored the Heat's bench 41-8 in this contest effectively nullifying 38 points from Dwyane Wade and 31 from LeBron James. In fact in the Heat's 5 straight losses their bench has been outscored by 102 points or more than 20 a game. A lack of production from Chris Bosh (7 points on 3-11 shooting against the Blazers) has compounded Miami's struggles. To shed a different light on this most recent loss one must only look at the New York Knicks last night who also got 30 points each from Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire, they defeated the Jazz by 22 en route to scoring a season high 131.

The Heat have now lost 21 games this year and sit in third place in the Eastern Conference. I bring this up because that is the same number of losses the Cleveland Cavaliers had all of last year with James. Of course the success of the Heat will be determined by how successful they are in the playoffs which will be very interesting considering they were penciled in to win the East before the season started and now there are even whispers that they might struggle to get out of the first round likely against either the Knicks or the red-hot Philadelphia 76ers who have won 7 of their last 8 and are quietly on a tear.

Tiki Barber To Make Return To NFL

Former New York Giants RB Tiki Barber has filed papers for reinstatement to the NFL and plans to return to the gridiron for the 2011 season. Barber, 36, retired early and somewhat unexpectedly from the Giants in 2006 in order to pursue a career in television. The decision drew ire from Giants fans far and wide who questioned his toughness and commitment to the team as he was coming off the most productive years of his career. Barber would further alienate himself from the Giants fan base after his retirement by criticizing Giants head coach Tom Coughlin and the leadership ability of QB Eli Manning.

The Giants won the Super Bowl in 2007 in case anyone forgot.

Barber spent time after his retirement working as an on-screen analyst for NBC's Football Night In America program for several years before the network decided not to renew his contract following the 2009 season. Tiki had been working for Yahoo! Sports last season.

I'm not sure how much a 36 year old tailback can contribute to an NFL team after being absent from the game for 4 years but clearly one or more teams has expressed enough interest in Barber to bring him back for one more go. I wouldn't be entirely surprised to see a team like the New York Jets or the Dallas Cowboys make a move for Barber considering he will likely be paid the minimum for a league veteran which is around $750,000-$850,000 a year. However the most likely landing spot for Tiki will probably be Tampa Bay where he would have the chance to play with his twin brother Ronde who recently signed a 1-year extension with the Bucs.

Soccer Player Gets Ejected For Helping Security Remove A Streaker

Ashley Vickers of Dochester was given a red card in the 70th minute of a match tied 1-1 against Havant & Waterlooville (sweet name) resulting in his team losing 3-1. His crime? Vickers tackled a man who had run onto the field in a Borat-inspired mankini and was running circles through the players while security personal stumbled around in pursuit. Vickers took it upon himself to help security remove the man so the game could be restarted. As a result he was given a red card for committing a violent act on the field.

Now admittedly that's no soft tackle but at the same time that's a pretty pathetic statement by the referee about the conduct expected of soccer players. This is the type of thing that will prevent soccer from ever being successful in the US. There is an inherent "wussification" in the sport that is a real turnoff to the American sports fan. I understand the desire to limit violence and keep the sport "gentlemanly" but at what cost?

I don't remember any umpire ejected the Left Fielder after his take down of a Red-Man in a game against the Phillies last fall.

The Only People In The World Hoping For A Lockout Are In The UFL

Amid all the analysis of the CBA negotiations I found an interesting article on ESPN.com today discussing the future of the United Football League and how it would stand to benefit from an NFL work stoppage.

The UFL began playing football two years ago as the latest attempt to create another competitive football league besides the NFL just like the XFL, NFL Europe, USFL and the Arena League (now owned by the NFL) to name just a few. The UFL hoped to succeed where others had failed by bringing in much more recognizable players and coaches who had had some success at the NFL level. 4 of the 5 teams have former NFL head coaches like Jim Haslett and Jim Fassel and a bevy of former NFL players including Daunte Culpepper, Jeff Garcia and even embattled former Ohio St. RB Maurice Clarett. The most successful aspect of the UFL has been that it has become a landing spot for many NFL veterans who are cut from their squads during the preseason who now have a place to play during the fall which can aid in landing them another job in the NFL later on in the season.

Unfortunately the UFL has had trouble taking off and has lost a total of more than $80 Million in their first two years alone which has hindered their ability to expand. Because of these financial woes they also alienated some of their players who had trouble signing with NFL teams midseason because the UFL demanded a $150,000 transfer fee meaning players had to wait until the end of the UFL season.

It now appears that the UFL may be on its last legs if the league cannot generate enough revenue during it's 3rd season. However a work stoppage in the NFL would surely be a boon to the UFL who could take advantage of the football-starved fan base. Personally I don't hold out much hope for the UFL's future although it wouldn't completely surprised me if the NFL invested in the league, even partially, and tried to develop it into a type of minor-league like the NBA's D-League.

The UFL season kicks off on August 7th to try and avoid some of the competition they have with the NFL fans. Not sure how that will go however.

LeBron And The Heat Lose 4th Straight Game To A Winning Team Then Cry About It

In what is becoming a recurring topic for this blog the Miami Heat lost their 4th consecutive game on Sunday to the Chicago Bulls who finished their season sweep of Miami with their third win over LeBron and Co. Much is being made of Heat coach Eric Spoelstra's post-game comments where he admitted that Heat players were crying in the locker room but I feel there's no point in addressing that, LeBron is a baby and everyone already knows that.

A more telling story about the Miami Heat I feel has been the team's shooting percentage in the 4th Quarter with less than 10 seconds to go on shots that would tie or win the game so far this season. The Heat this season are shooting 5% percent (1-18) in those situations highlighted by LeBron's 1-7 and Dwayne Wade's 0-5. It's no secret that LeBron lacks the killer instinct needed to come through in the clutch that was pioneered by Michael Jordan and is on nightly display at the Staples Center in Los Angeles with Kobe Bryant but I expected more out of Wade who has a ring.

When LeBron chose to sign with Miami I felt the only way they would be successful would be if LeBron acquiesced the ball to Wade at the end of games when a big shot was needed. LeBron can't hit big 3's (he would have won a title in Cleveland if that were the case) and even his last two game-winning attempts in which he drove to the basket (easily his best skill) were turned away. I think it's becoming clear that no matter how hard they try Wade and LeBron simply cannot play together. Things look all well in good when the Heat are moving the ball up and down the court in transition scoring highlight-reel dunks but the good defensive teams in the NBA (aka every single title-contender) have caught on to their success and have been able to slow the Heat down.

The Heat are suffering when they are forced to slow down into a half-court game and are becoming handicapped by their lack of consistent auxiliary scoring. They have some good shooters in the form of Mike Miller and Mike Bibby but their playing time is diminished because they are not good defenders who can balance out the offensive games of the Big 3. The Heat must find a way to change their gameplan successfully and they must do it quickly. If they continue to struggle in the remaining 20 or so games of the regular season they could find themselves fighting the Atlanta Hawks for the 4-seed in the East instead of the Celtics for the 1-seed.

With Lockout Deadline Looming First Signs Of Progress Emerge

With less than 12 hours before the current NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement expires negotiations between NFL owners and the Players' Association showed their first real signs of optimism as the owners put forward a significantly improved proposal for a new CBA in the eyes of the players. By no means does this news signify that a new deal will be in place before 11:59 PM Thursday but it does increase the possibility of the CBA deadline being delayed in order to continue negotiations.

This would prevent the owners from locking-out the players which would meant the players would then decertify the union. Decertification would mean individual players could then take action against the NFL in an anti-trust case basically meaning there would be no union that could stop a lockout and give each player the ability to sue the NFL.

The extension of a deadline would likely be around 24 hours if it is agreed upon. Much of the near future of the NFL will be decided by the time Saturday arrives and we will know if these labor talks will become ugly and last until September or if our prayers will be answered and a deal will get done soon.

Did Anyone Realize Where Sean Salisbury Ended Up?

A few years ago you couldn't catch an ESPN report on the NFL without hearing from former NFL QB and football analyst Sean Salisbury. However one day it seemed he simply fell off the map and hasn't appeared on the world-wide leader in sports since 2008. Apparently Salisbury was unhappy with ESPN because he was disgruntled about being paid and respected less than former NFL players who had had much more successful playing careers. Salisbury's contract was not renewed and he was replaced by the likes of Trent Dilfer and Tim Hasselbeck (who of course also had mostly unremarkable careers with the exception of Dilfer's Super Bowl run with the Ravens in 2000).

I bring this story about Salisbury up because I finally just discovered where Salisbury resurfaced. Sean Salisbury can now be found every fall as the voice of the Lingerie Football League where he does play-by-play and analysis. I can't really decide if Sean is in a worse of better position now than he used to be. Obviously he's making less money and has to judge the decision-making and mechanics of women who are playing tackle football instead of actually using his football knowledge but at the same time those women are playing tackle football in their underwear. That kind of seems like a zero-sum equation to me. Regardless I thought I would bring that up because I can now post of video of the LFL on this blog.

Carson Palmer Wants Out. Badly.

I'm not quite sure if it's the weather, the city, the franchise or a year as a teammate of Terrell Owens but Cincinnati Bengals QB Carson Palmer has made an emphatic statement of his desire to leave the Bengals to back up his trade demand after the season ended. Palmer was recently quoted as saying that he will "never set foot in Paul Brown Stadium again" (guess he'll have to sit if he plays there with a visiting team).

Palmer went on to say "I have $80 Million in the bank. I don't have to play football for money. I'll play it for the love of the game but that would have to be somewhere else. I'm prepared to live my life"

A year after he lead the team to an AFC North division title and only the 2nd winning season in the 20 years, Palmer and Bengals struggled mightily in 2010 losing 10 straight games at one point. Palmer tied his career high in INTs and as a result has become irrevocably disgruntled with the Bengals management and owner Mike Brown (to be fair I can't really blame him, after watching the Bengals on Hard Knocks two years ago it appeared that Brown jammed his nose in every facet of the team despite his lacking in football IQ).

Palmer was once considered to be among the elite passers in the NFL but having suffered significant knee and elbow injuries it appears that he has fallen back to the middle of the pack. Palmer has put himself in a dangerous position as the Bengals cannot trade him until a new CBA is in place and that may not be for many months. Palmer is considered to be the number 2 QB on the trade market behind the younger Kevin Kolb of the Philadelphia Eagles but if there is no CBA in place before the draft in April then the Eagles will likely keep Kolb despite his wish to be a starting QB as he is only owed $1.4 Million in 2011 and thus increase Palmer's value and the likelihood he could be traded.

Only Two Days Remain Before NFL CBA Expires

With the current NFL Collective Bargaining agreement set to expire at 12:00 AM on Friday morning both the NFL Player's association and the NFL owners have continued their ongoing negotiations under federal mediation. When the CBA expires the owners have the ability to exercise their option to lockout the players, preventing them from having any contact with their NFL teams or signing with a new team through free agency. As one of the millions of frustrated fans who want nothing more than a deal to get done so they can return to business as usual I want to take the opportunity to describe the situation as best I understand it.

The NFL owners opted out of the current CBA several years ago because they felt that the players were receiving too large a percentage of revenue while most teams were experiencing a decline in profits. The players seemed to back this idea up as they have demanded nothing more than the existing CBA to remain in place. One of the biggest issues the players have voiced with the owners demand for a is CBA is that the owners have refused to disclose their financial numbers that would prove the financial peril they are claiming (with the exception of the Green Bay Packers who are the only publicly owned franchise).

As negotiations have proceeded we keep hearing that the two sides are not close on any of the issues they are discussing. The 4 major issues they are discussing are as follows:

1) How to divide the $9 Billion in revenue generated by the NFL each year. Under the old CBA the players were entitled to about 60% of revenue and the owners would like to diminish that percentage.

2) Expanding the length of the regular season from 16 to 18 games. The owners are pretty unanimous is their support of adding to regular season games to the schedule in order to increase revenue. Players have voiced their concerns about extra injury and compensation and this expansion is tied closely to the net issue.

3) Improving benefits for retired players. As the longterm health effects that go along with an NFL career are being discovered combined with an ever-expanding understanding of concussions it has become clear that the NFL has failed to provide adequate support to its retired players who suffer from a litany of medical concerns related to their playing days. The conundrum here is that the owners maintain they need to decrease the players' share of aforementioned revenue to support former players.

4) The institution of a rookie wage scale. The owners are concerned that the top draft picks every year are signing massive guaranteed contracts before ever playing a down (which they are correct about, see JaMarcus Russell). The NBA has a successful model for rookie wages and I agree with the owners on this one.

The only development that has happened in the labor talks recently happened to today when the federal mediator ruled in favor of the players' union claim that $4 Billion paid to the owners from TV contracts should be held by a third party until a new CBA has been agreed upon. The NFLPA has successfully argued that the owners should be investigated because they believe that the owners constructed their TV contracts that would entitle them to the $4 Billion despite the lockout in return for not generating the highest possible revenue. This move was clearly done to guarantee the owners a "war chest" that would give them a significant advantage over the union in surviving the lockout.

If the owners are prevented from getting this money during a lockout we could see the CBA deadline delayed which would prevent a lockout for the time being.