Chael Sonnen channels Jay Mariotti

Chael Sonnen: Channeling his inner Jay Mariotti



It is no stranger to anyone who follows The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) that Chael Sonnen likes to talk a lot of trash. In addition to calling out Anderson Silva before his August 7th title fight, he recently took verbal assault on UFC Middleweight Champion Georges St. Pierre and UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. However, it is his verbal assault on Lance Armstrong that will now have Sonnen linked to Jay Mariotti forever.



Now, for those not familiar with Jay Mariotti, he is a former columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times and currently is suspended from his current employer, AOL Fanhouse. Mariotti was a frequent panelist on the ESPN popular TV show “Around the Horn.” Mariotti had a history of bad mouthing everybody, rubbing people the wrong way, and especially calling out athletes who commit domestic violence. Mariotti got caught in his own war of words on August 18th, as he was accused of assaulting his girlfriend. Since then, we have not heard from Mariotti and a trial is pending.

So, that leads me to Sonnen. What did he do to link himself to Mariotti? Sonnen appeared on The Jim Rome Radio Show on August 4th and had some choice words for the former Tour De France winner. “Lance Armstrong did a number of things and he gave himself cancer. He cheated, he did drugs, and he gave himself cancer.” He further added, “Look here’s what I did, I screwed up, and I hope people learn from my mistakes.” Well, maybe Sonnen can use that quote to quote himself here in the coming days.

I had hope that perhaps Sonnen’s test would be false or perhaps caused by taking Nyquil or some over-the-counter cold medicine. Those hopes were dashed according to SI.com. According to an article published today, Sonnen was apparently concerned about the chance of testing positive that he told California State Athletic Commission chair (CSAC) George Dodd he used an illegal performance enhancing drug leading up to the fight. “He only indicated that he was taking it but he never indicated why”, Dodd said of a conversation he had with Sonnen during drug testing a day before the fight.

Chael Sonnen will likely lose an appeal should he request one, as he basically admitted to steroid use to the CSAC. He will likely be suspended for one year by the CSAC (which other states will honor) and a small $2,500 fine. While Sonnen will likely fight again, the bigger thing he loses is his credibility and respect from a lot of his fans and many of his fellow peer fighters. But who is the bigger loser in all of this? Well, the fans of course, who so wanted to see if Sonnen could knock off Silva in his immediate rematch, which will likely never happen.

It is my understanding Chael Sonnen does not have a nickname. Perhaps we should start calling him Chael “Mariotti” Sonnen. I’d love to hear Bruce Buffer say that name the next time he enters The Octagon.

BCS-A look back at 2000

I failed to mention it in my first blog post regarding this topic, but I absolutely hate how pre-season rankings can have an effect on who plays for the “National Championship.” Nobody should judge teams until the middle of October if you want to make this process more fair. The year 2000 was a perfect example of how pathetic pre-season rankings can be. The Alabama Crimson Tide began the year #3 in The Associated Press Poll. The Crimson Tide won the SEC Title in 1999 and rode that momentum into the 2000 season. In the end, The Crimson Tide finished 3-8 and made many, if not all voters, looking foolish in the process.

At the end of the 2000 season, the BCS formula spitted out two teams to play for the National Championship in the Federal Express Orange Bowl (ah, don’t you love corporate sponsors). #1 Oklahoma (12-0), Champions of the Big 12, would take on #2 Florida State (11-1), Champions of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Looking back, Oklahoma was a clear cut #1 team heading into The Orange Bowl. Ranked #18 in the preseason, Oklahoma won their first four games to climb up in the rankings. It had been over a decade since Oklahoma was a National Power, so it was nice to see them doing well. Out of nowhere, Oklahoma, went from a nice 4-0 team, to the #1 team in the country by demolishing 3 top ten teams (Texas, Kansas State, and Nebraska) in the span of four weeks. After a comeback victory on the road against Texas A&M, the Sooners held off rival Oklahoma State in the annual “bedlam” game before appearing in their first Big 12 Title game. In a rematch, Oklahoma held off Kansas State 27-24 to head off to The Orange Bowl.

The battle for #2 was much more controversial and much criticism was raised into the final BCS results. After it was all said and done, this is how #2, #3, and #4 in the BCS shook out:

#2 Florida State 5.37 (ACC)
#3 Miami 5.69 (Big East)
#4 Washington 10.67 (Pac 10)

http://espn.go.com/abcsports/bcs/rankings_full/2000-2001.html

So, did “every game count” in this situation? Well, hardly. During the regular season, where like I have mentioned, supposedly every game counts, Miami defeated Florida State 27-24 during October in what is widely known as the “Wide Right III” game. To make matters even more complicated, Washington defeated Miami 34-29 during a September contest. So, in the end, #3 beat #2, and #4 beat #3.

How did these results make the regular season important? Wouldn’t putting all these teams (and others) in a playoff made more sense? I think so, but in the end, numbers were crunched and through the power of soul-less computers, Florida State came out on top.

In the end, Oklahoma defeated Florida State 13-2 in the worst Orange Bowl since 1992 (Miami 22 Nebraska 0). Miami wrapped up the State of Florida championship by demolishing Florida in The Sugar Bowl. Washington went off to the Rose Bowl and defeated Drew Brees and Purdue to finish the year with one loss. Miami and Washington were left wondering what could have been, while Oklahoma celebrated their school claiming another “National Championship.”

What could have been….if only we had a playoff that year…..then Every Game Would Have Counted!

The BCS: Does it Work?

For the last twelve years, College Football fans have had to endure to the philosophy of The Bowl Championship Series (BCS). Some like it some do not. If you read my blog or my twitter, it is no secret that I do not hold the BCS in high-regard. Pure hate probably best describes how I feel about the BCS. I have not really understood how some people support the BCS in lieu of a playoff system. I do not feel it does its job. According to the BCS Web site (http://www.bcsfootball.org), “It is designed to ensure that the two top-rated teams in the country meet in the national championship game, and to create exciting and competitive matchups among eight other highly regarded teams in four other bowl games.”

Now, the BCS wants you to believe that is its goal, but in reality, The BCS, in my mind, is designed to set up a game in which a “National Championship” game pit teams ranked #1 and #2 in order to generate the most money for the member schools. The winner of the game is awarded a trophy, which is sponsored by a Corporation, in order to generate the revenue.

In addition to that Mission Statement, if you want to call it that, the official Twitter account (@EveryGameCounts) of the BCS describes the BCS as “The home for the BCS, the passion and the emotion of college football and its fans. In the run for the National Title, Every Game Counts.” In a related matter, I have had many friends of mine say that a playoff system would render College Football’s regular season meaningless.

Over the next few weeks and months leading up to what the BCS wants to believe is a National Championship game, I will be examining several case studies that will detail the flaws of the BCS and why a playoff system is the only way to go when deciding College Football’s National Champion. It is clear to me that the best two teams have not played for the “National Championship” because the BCS has not made it clear for the majority of the 12 years who is #1 and #2 at the end of the season. The first case study will examine what happened back in the 2000 College Football season.

The Slow Death of Big Sports 590 in Omaha

The Downfall of One Sports Radio Station in Omaha

This past Wednesday, August 25th, 2010, marked another new era for Big Sports 590. Beginning that morning, the new format for this station, which never was switched from my radio dial, will look like this.

5:00-11:00 a.m. Todd N’Tyler Radio Empire
11:00-2:00 p.m. The Jim Rome Show
2:00-5:00 p.m. The Dan Patrick Show (tape delayed)
5:00p.m.-5:00 a.m. Fox Sports Radio Programming
(the last hour of Pat O’Brien, Petros & Money, Tony Bruno, JT the Brick)

Two years ago, the station format looked like this.

5:00-8:00 a.m. The Steve Czaben Show
8:00-11:00 a.m. The Dan Patrick Show
11:00-2:00 p.m. The Jim Rome Show
2:00-6:00 p.m. The Big Show with Matt Perrault (local)
6:00-9:00 p.m. Gametime Live with Andrew Siciliano

So how did we get from two years ago until now?

Now, if you have not noticed yet, and if you like sports radio in Omaha, I am sure you have, but starting on Wednesday, 6 hours of Big Sports 590 programming will be syndicating the Todd N’Tyler Radio Empire. Now, I knew the change was coming and Todd N’Tyler would be reappearing on 590, much like they did in their earlier syndication years, before eventually coming off the station in favor of Steve Czaben, which was to me, is the best local sports radio option in the country for the morning. In December 2009, I was stunned to hear that Fox Sports Radio would not be renewing Steve Czaben’s contract and they would be replacing him with Stephen A. Smith. I mean, seriously, Stephen A. Smith? Is there one voice in America or the world that I would not rather wake up to each morning than Stephen A. Smith? NO! I consider Smith to be one of the most annoying people on the planet. Why would Fox Sports Radio want to replace Czaben with such a blowhard? Well, from reading a blog post from Czaben, the people at Fox Sports Radio thought that Czaben and his crew was too much like Mike & Mike, which I could not disagree with more. Czaben and his crew were actually entertaining.

So, 8 months into my morning sports talk withdrawal, I find out that Steve Czaben had been hired by Sporting News Radio for their 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. time slot. I immediately fired off an email to the director of programming at Big Sports 590 explaining how frustrated I was with Fox Sports Radio with their decision to hire Stephen A. Smith and I encouraged them to work with Sporting News Radio and get Czaben back on the air. I was informed that they were not aware that Czaben was back and they were surprised to not hear from Sporting News Radio yet about Czaben. However, they did agree with me on Stephen A. Smith and they said they would simulcast Todd N’ Tyler to expose them to some other markets around the area, and without saying it, I knew Big Sports 590 signal, 50,000 watts strong, was a big part of that.

Although I was disappointed with their decision, I moved on…….until today. I confirmed what I heard a few days ago, Big Sports 590 would broadcast the ENTIRE Todd N’Tyler Radio Empire show and tape delay Dan Patrick until the afternoon. HOW DID IT COME TO THIS??? Well, I thought about it, and then it hit me. The Todd N’Tyler Radio Empire…..was no longer an EMPIRE. Now, as most people in Omaha know, Todd N’Tyler began syndicating in Wichita, KS and Springfield, MO in November 2006. Eventually, five more stations were added and the Empire seemed to be growing strong. However, times turned and programming changes and low ratings resulted in The Empire being dropped in all but the Omaha (flagship market) and Wichita. So, rather than Big Sports 590 giving us what I and what I believe many people want (Steve Czaben), Journal Broadcasting Group (the parent company of 590), chose to try to rebuild this “Empire” by broadcasting it to a larger area outside of Omaha. Now, I like Todd N’Tyler, I even occasionally listen to their show, but don’t punish sport fans in an attempt to re-build something that to me, this “Empire”, already has appeared to fail.

As irritated as I am about Steve Czaben and Dan Patrick, the thing that still bothers me, 18 months after it happened, was the decision of Big Sports 590 and Journal Broadcast Group to not renew Matt Perrault’s contract in March 2009. Now, Perrault was not a local guy when he came to Omaha. He worked in Boston and Alabama before being hired for a new four hour local sports show. Now, I am going off memory here, but I do recall Perrault mentioning that the decision had nothing to do with bad ratings or money. So, if that was not the case, then what caused it? Well, for starters, Perrault did rub people the wrong way and a lot of my friends did not take a liking to him. To the average person, he came across as someone who did not care for The University of Nebraska and was just a big homer to Creighton University. Now, Perrault did not like Doc Sadler and The Nebraska program, but he did a great job covering Nebraska football and even did an immediate postgame show after every game, whether home or away. He was the first person on air to take calls from fans after every game and I truly believed he enjoyed doing that. To me, I enjoyed Perrault’s style and I liked his out of market view to things happening locally, something I felt like I did not get listening to 1620 the Zone. I think Perrault did a good job balancing between local and national topics and yes, since I did go to Creighton, I really enjoyed the enhanced coverage he provided of Creighton Athletics, something he continues to do to this day as moderator of “The Bluejay Café” on Rivals.com. While I do think Perrault can be a little crazy with some of his comments and views towards things, I enjoyed his radio style and wish it was still around Omaha until this day. Having two local radio options in the afternoon is not a bad thing.

As for Andrew Siciliano, he got the chopping block early in 2009, as Fox Sports Radio merged with AM 570 KLAC in Los Angeles. Petros and Money now hold his former primetime slot. Siciliano has rebounded and now hosts a local show in Los Angeles, while Petros and Money, two Los Angeles guys, have had to adjust to broadcasting to a national audience. I am not a huge fan of Petros and Money, I did enjoy them in the past while filling in for Jim Rome but having to listen to Petros yell on a nightly basis (kind of like a Stephen A Smith type of annoying) is something I do not need to have on my radio dial. Oh yeah, whatever happened to Krystal Fernandez anyway? Was there any guy out there that did not enjoy listening to her when she was on the air with Andrew?

So, what is my point? While I was glad that Big Sports 590 showed up in 2006 and provided Omaha with more local programming and national broadcasting options, I am disappointed that their four year journey has led to this. Six hours of national sports programming has been replaced by a radio show that everyone in Omaha can hear on Z92 (another Journal company). After that, fans are treated to three live hours of The Jim Rome show, followed by Dan Patrick, whose show ended three hours before Omaha even gets to hear hour one! Sports fans in Omaha and the surrounding areas can only hope that Big Sports 590 and Journal Broadcasting come to their senses soon, and give us fans more options for live sports programming, either national or local, throughout the day. If they do not, I can only think that decreased advertising dollars may lead to the death of this station.

College Football Preview

While the rest of the major sports and the rest of the NCAA use playoffs or tournaments to decide the best teams a fair shot at playing for a title, College Football once returns to using a formula where Coaches who don't watch any other games, Computer Dorks who have never played the game, and select media members and other distinguished individuals who may or may not watch games, decide who is #1 and #2.

I could please the few people who read this blog with a preview of who plays for the National Championship this year, but in reality, I really don't care, because the winner of that game receives a trophy and the right to claim a National Championship, something that in reality doesn't exist (IT'S MYTHICAL PEOPLE).

So it appears that according to coaches who only watch game film of their team and their opponents, Alabama and Ohio State are the two best teams in the country. Awesome to predict that considering we are only about 1 week into fall camp and nobody has played any games. But, after all, rankings are needed to sell games to big time TV networks to pay money to the business errrrrrr non-profit organization that is College Football.

So while I'll cheer on Nebraska, and hope they do well this year, I won't fret if they finish #3 in the BCS come December 5th, because if they finish amongst a bunch of teams with 0 losses, or 1 loss, and if they win that last exhibition bowl game, I can claim a National Championship, just like anyone else.

Oh, yeah, speaking of Nebraska. The coaches decided they were the #9 team in the ranking to start the year. It is nice of the coaches to reward Nebraska with such a high ranking, especially in the top 10, considering Nebraska has not beat a team ranked in the top ten since 2001. Also, does nobody else outside the state of Nebraska realize that the team has no starting quarterback yet, and that Bo Pelini has made comments to the effect that no starting quarterback may be in place by the time September 4th rolls around? I mean, is there any scarier phrase than “Nebraska returns 10 starters on offense”? I mean, the same offense that scored 7 points and turned the ball over 8 times against Iowa State (at home)? The same offense that mustered 106 yards of total offense against Texas in the Big 12 title game? The same offense that seem to be inept more than half the year against teams not in the Sun Belt? And this team is #9? Uh ok.

Midseason Baseball Awards

I meant to post this like two weeks ago. Oops. do not take into account anything that has happened since the All-Star Break.

We all know that Major League Baseball writers will not pass out their awards until October when they do it over the course of a two week period, but that does not mean I cannot hand out my first-half awards.

American League Rookie of the Year

If Carlos Santana was called up by Cleveland sooner than June, he might be a more serious contender to win the award. For now, I will go with Detroit Tigers Outfielder Brennan Boesch. He was named the AL Rookie of the month for the first two months of the season and is hitting a sparkling .342 with 12 home runs and 49 RBI’s. He trails the AL batting title by only .004 heading into the break and is sure to be a contender for the title if he holds up down the stretch.

National League Rookie of the Year

This is actually a very tough call and it has come down to two guys for me that have not even been in the Major Leagues the entire season: Buster Posey and Stephen Strasburg. In just 38 games, Posey has hit .350 with 7 home runs and 25 RBI’s. Strasburg has been for the most part dominant. In his first start, he struck out 14 Pirates (yeah, I know it’s the Pirates but still, he also walk zero batters!). Overall he is 3-2, with a 2.32 ERA with a ridiculous 61 strikeouts and 11 walks in just 42.2 innings. Don’t forget about that 1.01 WHIP. For now, I’ll go with Strasburg. Apologies to Jaime Garcia and Stephen Strasburg

American League Manager of the Year

Over the last 30 games, The Chicago White Sox are 25-5 and have vaulted into first place in the AL Central; however, the AL Central is always a division up for grabs. What nobody really expected this year was for The Texas Rangers to be leading the AL West at the All-Star Break; therefore, Ron Washington gets my vote at Texas (for now).

National League Manager of the Year

There are a lot of fresh faces at the top of divisions in the National League, but none more phenomenal to me than The San Diego Padres. Bud Black has done a tremendous job getting the Padres to a 51-37 record and two game lead in the NL West despite their shortcomings. Exactly what shortcomings? Well, for one, The Padres hit .250 as a team which is 25th out of 30 Major League Teams. How do you overcome that? Well, a league-leading 3.25 ERA does not hurt, as the Padres pitching staff has been the backbone of this team since Opening Day. For the Padres to contend down the stretch, I still think they need to get another bat in their lineup, especially to provide protection to Adrian Gonzalez (I mean seriously, why does anyone pitch to this guy? His protection is Scott Hairston who hits an incredible .241!)

American League Cy Young Award

Lot of good candidates out there, but right now Tampa Bay’s David Price is tied for the league lead in wins (12) and is the leading ERA man (2.45 ERA). Combine that with a 1.20 WHIP and 100 strikeouts in 115.1 IP and you have yourself a Cy Young Award winner.






National League Cy Young Award winner

You tell me.

Ubaldo Jimenez 15-1, 2.20 ERA, 1.05 WHIP
Josh Johnson 9-3, 1.70 ERA, 0.96 WHIP
Adam Wainwright 13-5, 2.11 ERA, 1.00 WHIP
Roy Halladay 10-7, 2.19 ERA, 1.05 WHIP

I do not even know where to begin. It is very hard to overlook the 15-1 record though. It’s Jimenez for now, but this race is on.

American League MVP

The Detroit Tigers trail the AL Central by ½ game heading into the break. A big reason why is Miguel Cabrera. He leads the AL in hitting (.346), RBI’s (77) and is only 2 jacks off the home run lead. Can you say Triple Crown? That’s more than enough to override the credentials of the other contenders in this category.

National League MVP

Adrian Gonzalez (Please see above under NL Manager of the Year category)

I know the Padres backbone is their star studded pitching staff, but there is no way in hell they are in first place or even contending with Adrian Gonzalez, who somehow is hitting .301 with 18 home runs and 56 RBI’s with no legitimate hitters in front of him, or behind him.

Open Championship Preview

Saint Andrews takes it turn in hosting The 150th or whatever they are on Open Championship (British Open to us U.S. Americans) on Thursday. Many classify Saint Andrews as “The Home of Golf.” I did not think growing up that the home of golf would be a place that is full of 40 mph cross-winds, dramatic temperature changes, and storms that develop without warning, but that is what golf historians tell me, so I will go with it. To me, golf is supposed to be played in nice, warm weather, with courses that do not look like they have been subject to 25 atomic bombs, but once a year, golf’s best gather overseas to decide who will win the third major golf championship of the year. So, here is a preview of things will transpire in this Open Championship.

-Some Euro will contend for The Open Championship on Sunday, not win, and we will never hear from him again.

Now, this happens at many majors, but it always seems like it happens at The Open Championship. Heck, even Europeans that win the Open (Paul Lawrie) are forgotten. Remember Lawrie? The guy who won the Open because Jean Van De Velde decided he did not want to? Considering most people who follow golf have probably already forgot the name of Gregory Havret (remember him? If not Google him), I do not have a doubt we will hear one name for the first and last time this weekend.

-Phil Mickelson will not win

OK, yeah, I know I said Phil Mickelson would not win The Masters, but at least now I have statistics to back this up. Mickelson has never done that well at The Open Championship. His best finish was 3rd in 2004 when he finished one shot back of Todd Hamilton and Ernie Els (Hamilton won in a playoff). His next best finish was a tie for 11th in 2000 and a tie for 19th in 2008. Last year Mickelson skipped the event to care for his wife, who was battling breast cancer (and still is); however, even if his wife Amy was healthy, I doubt he would have contended.

-Tiger Woods will contend

Tiger has done pretty well in majors this year and not so much else. However, he loves Saint Andrews and dominates the course. I cannot imagine not being in contention on Sunday. The one thing to watch out for is Tiger introducing a new putter for the first time. Most hardcore golf fans know that Tiger’s putting has slipped in recent years, which has prevented him from catching further up to Jack Nicklaus for most career majors.

-I (and a lot of people) will watch The Open Championship on Saturday or Sunday morning or both with a massive hangover.

I cannot really decide how I feel about morning sports events, but they suck if you are recovering for a hangover. I may have to end up DVR and starting from the beginning based on how blasted I get on Friday or Saturday night. Especially now since the city of Omaha has extended the bar time until 2a.m. and that goes into effect tomorrow. This is the one time of the year I wish I lived on the East Coast so I could get that extra hour of sleep.

-TV Cameras will have trouble picking up where the ball is.

Unless something changed from last year, ESPN will broadcast the event but they will not run the cameras. The BBC traditionally has done a poor job with their cameras and I do not expect to change this year. However, one thing you will be able to do is get up at 3a.m. to watch First-Round action. Now if only Augusta National would give us full TV coverage like that.

Remembering Owen Hart: 11 years later

The night the WWE went “Over the Edge.”



11 years ago, May 23, 1999, World Wrestling Entertainment held their monthly pay-per-view event in Kansas City, Missouri, called "Over the Edge." One of the matches during the event was for the Intercontinental Championship, featuring The Godfather (champion) facing The Blue Blazer (Owen Hart) for the title. As fans were watching a promo video for the match, Hart fell to the ring, which led to his tragic untimely death.

As Jim Ross was talking, Owen Hart was preparing to descend from the rafters on a cord. Hart never made the descent he had planned, as he tragically fell at full speed some 90 feet from the top of Kemper Arena, snapping his head against one of the turnbuckles and falling into the ring. I remember sitting in my seat in section 217 of the arena, watching the whole thing, and wondering to myself, “Is this real?” For those 3 of you that do not know, pro wrestling is scripted. After a few seconds or so, I saw Owen’s leg flinch and WWE announcer Jerry “The King” Lawler jump up from his announce position and run over to Owen. EMT’s rushed out. Right in the middle of the ring, in front of 15,000 people, there was an attempt going on to save the life of Owen Hart. Nobody at home saw the fall as TV cameras were not focused on Owen at the time of the fall, but there were people that night that did see that fall, me included.

After several minutes, Owen was rushed out of the arena on a stretcher and to a local hospital. Now, that stunt Owen was going to attempt was performed a number of times, without any serious problems. The decision to have Owen perform that entrance did not bother me. It is what happened after the fall did. Immediately, and I mean IMMEDIATELY, after Owen was removed from the arena, Jeff Jarrett, one of Owen Hart’s best friends, along with Debra (another one of Owen’s good friends), were forced to go on camera for an interview. Jarrett, visibily shaken, and Debra (crying) said something, but I could not remember what was said. In fact, I cannot even remember who Jarrett wrestled. The fact the show was going on at this point was mind boggling.

After that match, I looked at the video screen and Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler were talking. Nobody in the arena could hear them, as the audio was cut-off, but I had a hint of what they were saying. Owen Hart had died, and nobody in the arena was going to hear that. Vince McMahon had a show to do and he did not want every fan leaving the arena if they announced it. Back in 1999, I still did not own a cell phone and none of my friends had phones either. I can recall sitting in my seat for the rest of the show and not one person around me had even mentioned Owen’s death. But everyone outside the arena knew. Anyways, the show went on and Vince McMahon even made an appearance during the show (about 10 minutes before facing the media I may add). I got home and found out the news.

I do think Vince McMahon is a smart-business man, I mean, looking at the wrestling empire he has created. But he is not a good person, and his decision to keep that show going, after what happened was the first of his two giant blunders he has made the last eleven years (The Chris Benoit tribute show, before it was revealed Benoit murdered his family, was the over). McMahon’s horrible decision could be summed up in him suggesting that the show must go on, because Owen would have wanted it that way, or something like that. Oh really Vince, too bad you were not able to ask Owen that, because he died tragically two hours earlier. Now, of course I am upset because I saw the whole situation un-fold before my eyes and the truth was never told to me that night in the arena. But the biggest victims in all of this: Owen’s wife Martha and her two kids, who were left without a husband and what many other wrestler’s referred to as a great father.

I really do not know if this has ever been discussed, but I think next year it is time to give Owen his proper respect, and that is placing him in The WWE Hall of Fame.

If you want to read more about this or watch other videos, please visit the following links:

http://homepage.mac.com/knarley/owenhart/timeline/owentimeline.html

Random Thoughts

Random Thoughts



• USC May be stripped of 2004 National Championship by The BCS

I got a good laugh out of this today. A report out of USA Today suggests that there is a possibility that the BCS may strip USC of their 2004 BCS Championship, based on what the NCAA reveals in their investigation of the USC football program. My only question is this……Can you strip somebody of a title they did not actually earn in the first place? As everyone probably knows by now, in my opinion, teams do not win National Championships in College Football, you CLAIM National Championships. In what other major team sport (or any team sport) out there can there be two champions of something? Because in College Football, it has seemingly happened for over a period of 100 years and has happened as recently as 2003, when the BCS was supposed to be the model that would prevent split National Championships. The BCS can do what they want, I do not really care. Maybe Auburn will. (Remember, they went 13-0 that year, but did not get VOTED National Champion). And yes, I will admit, Nebraska has not won 5 National Championships in College Football; they have claimed 5 National Championships.

• NCAA Tournament Expansion

In what was a big sigh of relief to me and many College Basketball fans, the NCAA Board of Directors opted to expand the NCAA Men’s Tournament from 65 teams to 68 teams, not the 96 first feared. The question now remains of how the expansion is handled. Many people just assume that instead of one play-in errrrr opening round game between two 16 seeds, that there will be four opening round games between 16 and 17 seeds. Personally, I think it would be better and more competitive (and more watchable) if the last eight at-large teams in the field play for the right to compete in the NCAA Tournament. From what I have read, CBS and Turner did not pay for the rights to televise the tournament for opening round games, which could lead to the bottom of the barrel teams fighting for the right to get clowned by a #1 seed; however, I hope the NCAA sees it my way and makes the at-large teams battle it out for a spot in the final 64.

• Break up the Royals?

I was going to write an immediate column about what I thought about Ned Yost taking over as the manager of Kansas City Royals. This is the same Ned Yost that The Milwaukee Brewers fired when the team was 83-69 in 2008. The firing may have been justified, as Milwaukee was in danger of falling apart at the end of the season for the second straight season and missing the playoffs. However, so far, so good. The Royals are 5-2 under Yost and have lost each of their two games by just 1 run. Now, seven games are not even 5% of a major league schedule, so time will tell if the Royals can keep up this pace. Regardless of what the immediate future holds, Royals fans have to be happy with the start under Yost and the news that the prospects in the minor leagues (Mike Moustakas, Michael Montgomery, Aaron Crow, and Eric Hosmer) are all doing very well and may find themselves on the big league roster in 2011 and certainly no later than 2012.

• UFC 114: Evans vs. Jackson

Spike TV has done two thirty minute shows the last two Wednesdays promoting this fight. If you are a UFC fan and have not caught these episodes, I recommend you search your DVR for re-air dates because they are absolutely fantastic. I really do not know if the actual fight will live up to the verbal war these two have been one for the last year; however, it has been entertaining to see these two trade verbal jabs the last few months. If you need a taste of what, I am talking about, check out their audio press conference which was held this past Tuesday

http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=multiMedia.detail&gid=81898

• The Summer of Lebron

I don’t have much to say about this, other than I thought the Brett Favre coverage about him coming back every year was overdone. And now I got to put up with six weeks of this crap? I just hope whatever Lebron decides to do; he does it on July 1 and does not drag it out too long.

Another Royals Blunder

Royals find no use for Ka'aihue in his eleven day stint with Kansas City



On May 5, 2010, Kila Ka’aihue got the call he had been waiting for nearly a year and a half. Ka’aihue was informed he was being promoted to Kansas City, as the Royals needed a bat to replace Rick Ankiel, who very not surprisingly, landed himself on the 15 day Disabled List (DL). Ka’aihue had spent all of 2009 and the beginning of 2010 in Omaha. He was hitting .304 with seven homers, and 20 RBI’s in Omaha, prior to being called up. Royals fans, such as myself, were hoping that Ka’aihue would get a fair shot in Kansas City; however, as Royals fans have come to expect over the years, Ka'aihue's reign ended in dissapointment, as he departed Kansas City on Sunday, back to Omaha, after getting one start and four at-bats, getting one hit, and driving in one run. For the second time this year, Kansas City has rendered a good bat useless on their bench. First, they gave Mike Aviles a spot on the opening day roster and after ten days on the bench, demoted him back to Omaha, before being brought back up. By the way, Aviles is now an everyday member of the starting lineup and hit second today. Oh yeah, Aviles is hitting .378 in 13 games. (NICE GOING DAYTON AND TREY!!!!!!!)

Since a team only gets so many options to bring a player up and send him back down, Royals fans can only wonder if the Royals did the smart thing in bringing Ka’aihue up to the majors (no need to think about the question, the answer is no). The only two positions Ka’aihue can play (first base/designated hitter) are played by Billy Butler and Jose Guillen. The Royals did not even bother to use Ka’aihue in key pinch hitting situations, such as Wednesday night. In what could have been the downfall of Trey Hillman’s managerial career, he elected to keep Yuneski Betancourt at the plate with 2 on and 2 out in the 8th inning, while the Royals traded 4-0. Instead of getting Kila a shot to perhaps make it a one run game, Hillman stuck with Betancourt, who calmly did nothing at the plate, and the inning (and the game) was over.

Prior to learning of Ka’aihue’s demotion, I had planned to write that Kansas City should just flat out release Jose Guillen, eating his contract (whatever is left of the $12 million) and making the young Ka’aihue the full time DH. Guillen is not likely to come back to Kansas City next year and with the season pretty much over (from a playoff standpoint), Ka’aihue should have been given a shot. That will not happen, and with Rick Ankiel due back soon, Ka’aihue may not get another shot at Kansas City until 2011, which is a shame, because he is a great hitter. To me, this is just another blunder, in a long line of blunders, made by General Manager Dayton Moore, and prior manager Trey Hillman.

So, who is taking Ka’aihue’s place on the roster? The Royals called up Bryan Bullington from Omaha, a right-handed pitcher who will bolster the Royals bullpen, which has been horrible the first six weeks of the season. Bullington joins Blake Wood (3rd round, 2006 draft), in what hopes will be improvement to the bullpen. Now, some of you baseball purists may recognize the name of Bryan Bullington. He was the #1 overall pick of The Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2002 MLB Amateur Draft. After brief stints with Cleveland and Toronto, after being dumped by Pittsburgh, Bullington struggled and has a lifetime 5.09 career ERA. Since he is still relatively young at age 29, teams such as Kansas City can give him a shot with little or no cost, in hopes he could regain that edge that once made him the #1 overall pick in the draft. Should that be successful, Kansas City may have found itself a potential gem in a bullpen that desperately needs someone to come through in a big-time situation.

Random Thoughts-May 9, 2010

Random Thoughts

Tim Clark wins The Players Championship



First and foremost, congrats to Tim Clark for winning The Players Championship today. While most golf fans spend time arguing who the best player never to win a major is, Tim Clark was clearly the best player never to win a PGA tour event (he has won three on the European tour). That all changed today when Tim Clark shot the round of his life and held on to a one stroke victory over Robert Allenby. Now, for all you people out there that call The Players Championship “the Fifth Major”, I ask you please stop. Don’t get me wrong, it is one of the more important non-major events on tour, but it is not a major. I look no further back than 2008 to prove my point. Tiger Woods was injured and was on the verge of major surgery. With the U.S. Open forthcoming, which was Woods last tournament of the year, Woods skipped The Players Championship. In my opinion, if The Players Championship was a “Major”, then Tiger would not have skipped it.

When the Golf Channel was given the access to Tiger Woods for a five minute interview last month, Kelli Tilghman was summonsed to do the interview. Now, if you watch the Golf Channel, you certainly know that Lauren Thompson and Win McMurray are employed by that channel, and certainly are much more attractive than Kelli Tilghman. Perhaps the Golf Channel made the right move in not dispatching Thompson or McMurray to do the interview. Check out what happened today as Win McMurray reported on the “bulging” injury that forced Woods to withdraw from The Players Championship.

http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/video-blonde-hottie-on-why-tiger-had-to-pull-out-28330

As many co-workers certainly know, my favorite person in the entire world is former Miss Teen South Carolina Caitlin Upton. The answer was so priceless to me, that I called myself “Joe in Bugaha, U.S. American” during my days of emailing The Jim Rome Show, before it started to suck (another column for another day)

The answer she gave to why 1 in 5 children could not identify the United States on a map for priceless. This past spring, Catie (as she now likes to be called) showed everyone (in her view) that she was an intelligent person and finished in 3rd place with her boyfriend in The Amazing Race. She didn’t win a $1 million, but she won over my respect. Congrats Catie on finishing the race, and being the only woman to do so. As a tribute to you, I will never post another link or make another reference to you being Miss Teen South Carolina and having a bad night back in August 2007.

An incredible Mother’s Day story unfolded today in Major League Baseball, and roughly 12,000 people in Oakland, California were able to witness it in person. Dallas Braden, who had a 17-23 career record with a lifetime 4.64 ERA threw a PERFECT GAME on Mother’s Day, with his Grandmother in attendance. What nobody probably knew before today, Braden’s Mom died of cancer during his Senior Year of High School and his Grandmother raised him after that. Not only that, but Braden’s grandmother told Alex Rodriguez to “stick it” during a post-game interview.

Two weeks ago, the Yankees were in Oakland playing New York. Alex Rodriguez was the runner on first and had reached an area between 2nd and 3rd on a foul ball. Instead of running back to first base by touching second base first, A-Rod walked right over the mound, which led Braden to accuse A-Rod of breaking an unwritten rule and calling A-Rod and “individualistic baseball player.” After the game, A-Rod said "He just told me to get off his mound. I was a little surprised. I'd never quite heard that. Especially from a guy that has a handful of wins in his career ... I thought it was pretty funny actually." After Braden once again sounded off on the situation this past week, A-Rod responded this past Friday by saying "I think Major League Baseball reads the same articles as we do," Rodriguez said. "Now, look, I really don't want to extend his extra 15 minutes of fame." Well A-Rod, Braden joined a list of 18 other people who have thrown a perfect game in Major League History, and he didn’t need your help in getting his “lifetime” fame today. In A-Rod’s defense, time will tell if Dallas Braden will top Len Barker and Mike Witt, as “pitchers who had no business throwing a perfect game.”

Some quick thoughts on UFC 113, the best card put on by the UFC since UFC 100 last July.

• After the fights, Dana White indicated that Kimbo Slice would no longer fight in the UFC. My question is why Kimbo ever got a chance after he was beat during The Ultimate Fighter by Roy Nelson. Kimbo was gassed within 30 seconds of fighting Matt Mittrione last night and I am not sure why it took the referee so long to stop the fight.
• Considering how stacked the light heavyweight division is, I wish Dana White all the luck in the world in determining who the first person will be to get a shot at Maurico “Shogun” Rua’s light heavyweight title. Hopefully we don’t have to wait 6 months for another Rua fight, like we did for Machida-Shogun 2. Personally, I think it is only fair to give Rashad Evans the fight (if he beats Rampage Jackson); however, it is not unreasonable to believe that Machida deserves a shot at getting his belt back and having a third fight between these two great fighters.
• Josh Koscheck did his best attempt to win an Oscar last night by faking like he took an illegal knee to the face from Paul Daley. Replays clearly showed that the knee missed his face and fortunately for Paul Daley, he was not deducted a point. Unfortunately for Daley, that did not stop him from trying to fight Koscheck, AFTER THE FIGHT WAS OVER. White indicated that Daley would no longer be in the UFC after his post-fight actions. Considering White is threatening to cut Anderson Silva from the promotion, who may be the #1 pound for pound fighter in all of MMA, I would not be surprised to see White hold up his word in banning Daley from the organization.
• As if Daley’s post fight actions were not enough, Koscheck did his best to piss off the Montreal crowd by telling them that Pittsburgh would beat Montreal during the NHL Playoffs and that he will be Georges Saint-Pierre for his title. Koscheck may be right about the NHL, but good luck even getting through one round of GSP before being submitted.


What? You thought I was serious? Hell, no. Caitlin Upton can run for U.S. Senate and win in SouthCarolina for all I care, but I will always remember her for this.

Royal Blunders

The Royals are 11-19 and well on their way to losing 100 games (again). Here are some quick thoughts on three blunders made by Kansas City, some which occurred this year, and one that was building up over the course of time.



1. The Handling of Mike Aviles

In 2008, The Kansas City Royals made a midseason call-up and gave Mike Aviles his first crack in the big leagues. Aviles paid off for Kansas City as he hit .325, 10 homeruns, and drove in 51 runners in just 102 games. The limited action resulted in Aviles winning Player of the Year for Kansas City and he finished 3rd in the American League Rookie of the Year voting. The good times quickly ended for Aviles, as he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2009 and missed most of the season.

Fast-forward to 2010 and Aviles appeared to be picking up right where he left off. He hit .471 in Spring Training (24-51) and made the Royals Opening Day roster. Surely, somebody like Aviles would get his starting job back, based on his performance; however, The Royals just sat him on the bench and after one at-bat in two appearances he was sent back to Triple A Omaha.

So, instead of giving Aviles regular playing time in Omaha in the first place, he sat useless on the KC bench for the better part of the first two weeks of the season. After hitting .271 in Omaha over 18 games, KC called Aviles back up. Well, Aviles has only hit .350 since returning, yet he still has to share time with Chris Getz and Yuniesky Betancourt.

The handling of Aviles could not have been done any worse than it was. If the Royals were not going to start him from day one due to him coming off a recent injury, he should have been in Omaha in the first place. Instead, KC made a blunder and rendered Aviles useless for two weeks. This is only one of the examples of why The Royals have been near or at the bottom of their division for 20 years.

2. Ramon Colon

I really do not think this needs much explanation. Ramon Colon was with the Royals from 2007 up until his recent release. Despite struggles, he made the Royals opening day roster. After 5 appearances totaling 2 innings and an ERA of 18.00, Colon was released by the Royals and had his contract sold to the Tigers. No, not Detroit, the Kia Tigers of the Korean pro league. So there you have it, Kansas City had a player on their opening day roster who now pitches in Korea, about one month after the start of the season.

3. Alex Gordon

It appears Kansas City may finally be giving up on their 1st round pick from 2005. Gordon was selected #2 overall from the University of Nebraska after a decorated college career. Gordon, who played 3B for Kansas City, was sent back to Triple A Omaha and will be moved to the outfield. Now, it is possible that they are just trying to get Gordon some work at outfield and try him out again in 2011, as most of the outfield in Kansas City this year is not signed for 2011, or they are just trying to make him into a fielder at another position to increase his trade value (which is none). Anyway, this information is irrelevant. I just wanted to point out who Gordon was drafted around in 2005.

1. Justin Upton
2. Alex Gordon
3. Jeff Clement
4. Ryan Zimmerman
5. Ryan Braun
6. Ricky Romero
7. Troy Tulowitzki
8. Wade Townsend
9. Mike Pelfry
10. Cameron Maybin
11. Andrew McCutchen

Outside of picks 3 and 8, every one of those players is in the Major Leagues, and a few are all-stars. Needless to say, major miss by Kansas City.

College Coaching Changes

It has been awhile since I blogged about anything. I have been busy with school, work, and other things, but the recent chain of coaches changing teams in College Basketball has brought me out of a mini-sabbatical. Now, I went to Creighton University, so I may come across as bias to some people, but please understand that these are upfront, honest opinions on the three hiring’s made over the last four days.

Oregon-Dana Altman



For 16 years (minus one day in Arkansas), Dana Altman has been the head coach at Creighton University. During that time, he racked up 327 wins and seemed to always have the Jays winning 20 games a year and contending for NCAA Tournament bids. It seemed after he flirted with Arkansas in 2007 that he would end up coaching at Creighton until he retired (by the way, he said that in his welcome back press conference in 2007). However, if there is one thing you can never trust, it is the words out of a college coach’s mouth. The timing of this hire seems a bit strange, considering Creighton was coming off a record of 18-16, as the Jays failed to win 20 games for the first time in about ever, and missed either the NCAA Tournament or NIT in about forever.

I knew that Oregon was in the midst of a long coaching search (38 days). They reportedly sought out Tom Izzo, Jamie Dixon, Brad Stevens, and most recently, Mike Anderson. All either were just rumors or told Oregon no. I never thought that Dana Altman would ultimately end up the head coach at Oregon, but it was clear to me after this was over, that Altman needed a change, as the program on “The Hilltop” as we in Omaha liked to call it, had grown stale.

So what is Oregon getting in a coach? Well, for one, a coach who seemed to have gone away from made Creighton successful up until 2007. This was a change I was looking for at the time, as I had wanted Creighton to contend for sweet 16 appearances and not just NCAA appearances; however, this move backfired. Altman went out and recruited athletic players that he could never find a way to gel in his system. By the end of this year, Altman was subbing 5 guys out at a time, and at no point during the year did Creighton show they could be a consistently good team. There were 20 point blowouts on more than one occasion and the season ended with a semi-final loss in the CIT, yes, I said CIT.

So, can Altman go back to his pre-2007 ways and make that work at Oregon? Not likely. He’ll need to adapt to the Pac-10 style of play (well, not the conference’s play this year for sure), or otherwise, there is no chance he’ll be around once his 7 year contract ends up.

FINAL GRADE FOR COACHING CHOICE: C+ (Oregon reached, had nowhere else to go)

Creighton-Greg McDermott



By 8p.m. Saturday night, Creighton Athletic Director Bruce Rasmussen had been informed by Dana Altman that he had indeed accepted the head coaching job at Oregon. At a press conference today, Greg McDermott told of a story that occurred about 7 years ago. Following a loss in the MVC Tournament, McDermott was approached by Rasmussen and told him in some aspect that if Altman ever left Creighton, that he would be the first coach contacted. Rasmussen kept his word and contacted McDermott on Saturday night. By Sunday night, Rasmussen was in Des Moines and had offered McDermott the job. After sleeping on it, McDermott accepted and what seemed about 5 minutes after Altman’s press conference at Oregon ended, McDermott was announced by Creighton as a new coach.

So, what does Creighton get in McDermott as a coach? Well, he did struggle at Iowa State the last four years. He did not win a winning season, but if you take a look at the Iowa State athletic department as a whole, it is not very good. Even Gene Chizik, who struggled as Iowa State football coach, left for Auburn, and had a very good year down there. Cael Sanderson, who is wrestling to Iowa State, left to be head coach at Penn State. So perhaps McDermott was just not a good fit at Iowa State. That does not mean he is a bad fit at Creighton. In fact, in five years at Northern Iowa (a fellow MVC School), McDermott took Northern Iowa to the NCAA Tournament in his final three years at the school, including two-at large bids during that time. McDermott knows what it takes to win in the MVC, so it does not surprise me Rasmussen went to McDermott first. McDermott will have to work quickly to secure the remainder of the team and to convince incoming recruits to honor their commitments.

FINAL GRADE FOR COACHING CHOICE: B+ (the search went a little too quick, but in reality, there may have not been a better candidate.

Iowa State-Fred Hoiberg



“The Mayor.” Ask any Iowa State fan who that is, and they will tell you Fred Hoiberg. Tonight, it is being reported that Fred Hoiberg will be the new head coach at Iowa State. Seriously, Fred Hoiberg? I know he is probably the most popular player ever to play at Iowa State, but really? This is your hire? Iowa State, you are proving my point of having a terrible athletic department. Hoiberg played 10 seasons in the NBA, retiring with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2005. Since retirement, he has been in the Timberwolves front office, most recently being promoted to the vice president of basketball operations on September 27, 2009.

So, why is it a terrible hire? Hoiberg has ZERO coaching experience. Not just ZERO head coaching experience, ZERO assistant coaching experience, ZERO graduate coaching experience. I know Iowa State was working quickly to get a coach and unite the fan base, but apparently they wanted to go all style and no substance in securing a name hire like Hoiberg. Who is the biggest winner in this? Well, maybe Nebraska. Perhaps someone else (Iowa State), will finish last in the Big 12 instead of Nebraska next year.

FINAL GRADE FOR COACHING CHOICE: Below an F. 0.00%

2010 Masters Preview

Masters Preview



I will go ahead and break this down into groups of fives.

Five Who Can Win

1. Ernie Els

At the beginning of the year, Ernie Els would have been on my list of guys who cannot win The Masters. After failing to win a tournament in 2009, Els is off to a fantastic start in 2010, winning both The World Golf Championships at Doral and The Arnold Palmer Invitation. He has also logged three other top 12 finishes including a top five finish at The Farmers Insurance Open. Ernie is really feeling good about his game right now and I expect him to carry his hot start to 2010 right into Augusta National.

2. Tiger Woods

Do I really need to explain myself here? Regardless of how many women he has been in, the guy is the #1 golfer in the world.

3. Charl Schwartzel

Who? Yes, even I have not heard of this guy before today but Johnny Miller said he was legit, so I checked him out. He has only played in four events in the states this year, but he did make the round of 16 at the Accenture Match Play Championship, second at the World Golf Championships at Doral, and a tie for third at The Shell Houston Open. Not a bad start to the year.

4. Steve Stricker

Steve Stricker has elevated himself to the #2 player in the world, despite never winning a Major Championship. At age 42, he is this year’s version of Kenny Perry, as he is playing terrific golf right now. He won The Northern Trust Open, finished third at the Sony Open and has two other top ten finishes this year.

5. Camillo Villegas

I just have a feeling he is going to break out in the next two years and win a major. So why not now? Before missing the cut at The Arnold Palmer Invitational, Villegas won The Honda Classic and had three other top 20 finishes in his other three events. Look for some magic from Camillo this week.

Five Who Will Not Win

1. The winner of the Par 3 Contest

The person who has won the Par 3 Contest the day before The Masters has never taken home the coveted Green Jacket on Sunday. So I am just going to assume that this will not change.

2. Phil Mickelson

The one they call “Lefty” had an awesome finish to 2009, winning The Tour Championship and a World Golf Championship event in Shanghai; however, he has failed to carry over his 2009 finish into the 2010. Lefty’s best finish was a tie for 8th at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and has just three top ten finishes in 7 starts. He nearly missed the cut at the Shell Houston Open this weekend as well. Just not the performance I like to see from Phil to make me think he can win. I would not be surprised if Phil failed to make the cut.

3. Kenny Perry

Was there anybody outside of friends and family of Angel Cabrera and Chad Campbell that did not want Kenny Perry to win The Masters last year? After nearly holing his tee shot on 16, Perry limped home with a bogey-bogey finish and lost a playoff on the second hole to Angel Cabrera. Perry is off a terrible start in 2010 with only one top 10 finish at the SBS Championship to start the year and no other top 30 finishes in 5 other starts, including missing the cut at The Arnold Palmer Invitational. Kenny’s chance to shine was last year and I’m afraid that his window to win a Major Championship may be closing for this 49 year old man.

4. Tom Watson

Do not let the near win at The British Open fool you. That tournament is more about shot accuracy than anything and Watson nearly perfected it at age 59 last year. The Masters is too long of a course for Tom to stay a consistent contender. Hopefully he can make the cut though

5. Vijay Singh

After winning the Inaugural Fed Ex Cup in 2008 (mainly due to Tiger Woods missing most of the year with a knee injury), Singh did not win in 2009 and is off to a bad start in 2010 (although he did finish in a tie for fourth at Doral). I would be surprised to see him perform well at Augusta given his track record over the past year and a half.

Five People I Want To See In

1. Y.E. Yang

The dude started the Tiger Woods tailspin by stoning him at the 2009 PGA Championship. He also lifted his golf bag over his head like The Stanley Cup after winning it. Imagine what he celebration he could do if he won The Green Jacket?

2. David Duval

The guy is still trying to come back and establish himself as a legit golfer after nearly disappearing from the game completely. He has finished in a tie for second in the US Open last year and finished second at Pebble Beach earlier this year. Hopefully David has another magical run in him.

3. Kenny Perry

I want this guy to bag a major desperately, especially after last year’s debacle. Like I said above though, he will not.

4. Steve Stricker

This year’s version of Kenny Perry.

5. Phil Mickelson

Win one for Amy!

FIVE PEOPLE WHO I DO NOT WANT TO SEE WIN

1. Tiger Woods

Yeah, dude is a jerk.

2. Sergio Garcia

See Tiger Woods explanation above.

3. Angel Cabrera

C’mon, nobody wants to see a back to back champion. How boring would that be?

4. Ben Crane

I play ready golf. That means I’m not a slow player. This guy is as slow as it comes. Rory Sabbatini once left his group after playing a hole because Crane was so slow. I want this guy nowhere near the top of the leader board on Sunday.

5. Miguel Angel Jimenez

That damn ponytail of his bothers the hell out of me.

A Perfect Final Four?

A Perfect Final Four

OK, I will acknowledge something off the bat, I am not sure any Final Four is 100% perfect, but from taking a look at this year’s field, each and every team offers a unique storyline that will make this one of the more interesting Final Fours in my opinion.

Duke (The team everyone loves to hate)

As soon as the field was released two weeks ago, I immediately got a text and a facebook message that Duke was being gift-wrapped a Final Four with all the teams that were placed in their regions. Now, I do agree that Duke’s field may have been the weakest of the group; however, a team still has to go out and win their games. Remember when everyone said Kansas was given a tough field with having to deal with Ohio State, Georgetown, Maryland, Michigan State, etc? Well, they did not even get by Northern Iowa. So, Duke still had to win their games, and they knocked off teams from the Pac 10, Big 10, and Big 12 to earn their 12th Final Four under Coach K. Now, I know there is a lot of Duke Haters who hate seeing them succeed, but one must note that Duke has not been in a Final Four since 2004 (an eternity for them) and have not won The National Championship since 2001. Heck, Duke has only won one National Title since 1992. So, having Duke in the field adds a little more spice, and The Final Four could always use a little more spice. Baylor’s a nice story (considering where they came from), but they aren’t quite as exciting to watch as The Dukies.

West Virginia (Bob Huggins shot at a title)

For Bob Huggins, this is his second final four appearance (1992 Cincinnati). However, this time around, Huggins is leading his alma mater and the team he played for to Indianapolis for a shot at the title. Huggins has done a tremendous job coaching the Mountaineers this year in leading West Virginia to their First Final Four since 1959, especially since the team lost starting Point Guard Truck Bryant to injury during a practice right before The Sweet 16. His decision to play a 1-3-1 zone against Kentucky worked perfectly, and led to the upset of the considered tourney favorite once Kansas was dethroned in the second round. This may not be Huggins best team ever, as his 2000 team with the ill-fated injury of Kenyon Martin was probably the best; however, this is his toughest team, and there would be nothing sweeter for Huggins then to lead his alma-mater to The National Championship.

Michigan State (The team that Duke Haters probably need to hate more)

With all the hate out there for Duke, I wonder where all the hate is for Michigan State. Did you know this is the 6th Final Four appearance in the last 12 years for Tom Izzo and Michigan State? That’s one final four appearance every two years. That’s pretty damn good, considering how easy it is for a team to play a bad game and get run out of the NCAA Tournament. Heck, that’s pretty good considering how tough it has been for some NCAA teams out there to even MAKE the tournament lately (uhh, Nebraska, hello?) Izzo again has showed why he is a genius this tournament as he was able to lead The Spartans to The Final Four without their star Point Guard Kalin Lucas, who was injured during their 2nd round game against Maryland. Had Michigan State been able to cash in more than one title during this run, perhaps they would get that Duke hate, but for now, they’ll get all cheers should they face Duke on Monday Night.

Butler (The host school)

Never in the history of the NCAA Tournament has the host school reached the Final Four until this year. Now, some people may try to drop that Cinderella story on Butler; however, this is no Cinderella story. Butler earned a #5 seed in this year’s tournament, posting quality non-conference wins and running through The Horizon League. George Mason on the other hand snuck into the tournament as an 11 seed, gaining one of the last at-large spots available. This team deserves to be there and it would not be a surprise to anyone at this point to see Butler playing for it all, just 7 miles from their home arena on Monday Night. Should they get to Monday Night and should they win, it would mark the first time a team outside a power conference won the title since UNLV in 1990. If they do so, they would score wins against the SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, and either The Big East or ACC along the way. Look for a decent home court advantage in terms of crowd support for The Bulldogs this weekend.

Predictions

Well, I’ve acknowledged to many people I stink at making predictions (I picked Ohio State, Kansas State, Kentucky, and Baylor to make it before last weekend); however, I will give it a shot.

I’ll take Michigan State over Butler in a close game, with Michigan State pulling away at the end.

I’ll take Duke, because I think they’ll shoot and defend the perimeter better than Kentucky did against West Virginia.

And on Monday Night…..well, I’ll wait for the actual matchup to make that prediction….

Sweet 16 preview

I can't recall the last time that 11 different conferences were represented in The Sweet 16. The most amazing part of it is that The Big Ten leads all conferences with 3 teams represented heading into the games on Thursday and Friday Night. The Big East, Big 12, and SEC each have two representatives, while the remaining teams hail from the ACC, Pac-10, A-10, Ivy League, West Coast, Missouri Valley, and Horizon leagues. So, who's got the easiest road to Indianapolis? Let's take a look.



East (Syracuse)

#1 Kentucky vs #12 Cornell
#2 West Virginia vs #11 Washington

Kentucky got good news this week when they learned that potential Elite 8 opponent West Virginia lost starting PG Darryl Bryant. Before they can think about that, they must face Cornell, led by 8 seniors, to go against Kentucky and their fabulous four freshman. Cornell also has the luxury of playing 50 miles from home, but keep in mind, if any team travels well, its Kentucky, and their fans will be at the Carrier Dome in full force. Washington is one of the hottest teams entering the sweet 16, as they have won 9 straight games, including the disposing of #3 seed New Mexico in the second round last weekend. Don't count out Washington in this game; however, regardless of the outcome, I fully expect Kentucky to be heading to Indianapolis at weekend's end.

South (Houston)

#1 Duke vs #4 Purdue
#3 Baylor vs #10 Saint Mary's (CA)

I loved Baylor coming out of this region from the beginning. I thought they had a fairly easy draw in rounds 1 and 2, with having to either deal with an overseeded Notre Dame, or Old Dominion in round 2. Now the Bears head home to Texas to play in Houston for The Sweet 16. While Omar Sahman of Saint Mary's may be one of the tournaments two cinderella players, I don't think he will have as much success this time around, as Baylor has good size to defend him in the post. Saint Mary's will have to shoot the three ball well in order to get to the Elite Eight.

Most people didn't expect Purdue to advance past Siena in round one, let alone Texas A&M in round two, this of course due to the fact that Robbie Hummel is out for the year and Purdue got blown out of The Big Ten tournament by Minnesota. Purdue has shown they are the toughest team in the tournament, and don't count them out against the Dukies. In the end, I expect Baylor to beat Duke on Sunday and head to Indianapolis to take on Kentucky.

West (Salt Lake City)

#1 Syracuse vs #5 Butler
#2 Kansas State vs #6 Xavier

Syracuse will once again be without Arine Onuaku for their game against Butler on Thursday, leaving just 7 guys to fill the 5 spots on the floor. Now, if Wesley Johnson and Andy Rautins shoot tomorrow like they did on Sunday, Butler has no chance. What further hampers Butler (who is not a Cinderella story btw) is that they only shoot 34% as a team from three, and they will need to shoot the three against the Syracuse 2-3 zone. Shelvin Mack and Willie Veasley are the Bulldogs best bet from three.

If you refer to Xavier as a "mid-major", you deserved to get punched in the face. Led by Indiana transfer Jordan Crawford (who dunked over Lebron btw last summer), the Musketeers have not skipped a beat under Craig Mack, who took over for Sean Miller who bolted for Arizona. The obvious keys for Xavier to win this game are to stop Jacob Pullen (34 points against BYU) and Dennis Clemente. In a prediction that will make the stomachs of Kansas fans turn, I fully expect Kansas State to be playing basketball on Saturday afternoon against Syracuse, and I'll take Kansas State and Jacob Pullen and Jamar Samuels ability to shoot the three, to take down Syracuse.

Midwest (Saint Louis)

#9 Northern Iowa vs #4 Michigan State
#6 Tennessee vs #2 Ohio State

Perhaps the most wide open field, despite the fact that Ohio State is led by Junior guard Evan Turner, who at 6-8, is Ohio State's tallest player (that operates as their PG). Tennessee somehow was able to recover during the year after Tyler Smith was kicked off the team for his role in a January 1, 2010, arrest involving four basketball players. 8th year player Wayne Chism (it seems that long anyway) was on the team that blew a 21 point first half lead to Ohio State in the 2007 Regional Semifinals so you know that revenge will be on his mind Friday night. It doesn't matter, too much Evan Turner, and the Buckeyes move on.

As a graduate and season ticket holder to Creighton, I have seen Northern Iowa play many times this year, including once in person. It does not surprise me that they knocked off Kansas; however, i never in my right mind expect it to happen. The theme of Northern Iowa all year was a new player stepping up each game and Ali Farokanamesh certainly did that against Kansas, hitting the shot of the tournament so far to put Northern Iowa up by 4 with 26 seconds left. With Michigan State needing to replace star PG Kalin Lucas, who tore his achillies heel, I would normally go ahead and pick Northern Iowa to win in this case. However, I learned this week that Northern Iowa will be featured on this week's cover of Sports Illustrated. For that sole reason alone, I'll take Michigan State. I'll take Ohio State though come Sunday.

So there you have it. I expect to see Ohio State, Kansas State, Kentucky, and Baylor in Indinapolis next weekend.

Random Thoughts-Sunday Night

Random Thoughts, never thought today I'd have to talk about Tiger Woods.



I thought I had a lot to blog about prior to today; however, now I am not sure I can cover all my thoughts. I guess first things first, Tiger Woods. Out of nowhere today came the report that Tiger spent 5 minutes with ESPN and The Golf Channel. Now, of course, unless those interviews were going to be with Erin Andrews or Lauren Thompson, I don’t care. I did watch anyway and nothing alarming came out of the interviews. At this point, I just want to know how he is going to perform on the course, and what the next tournament he is going to play after The Masters. My money is on The Players Championship in Mid-May.

This morning, the collective groan you heard from the north were Minnesota Twins fans reacting to the news that their closer, Joe Nathan, would undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the season. I am not surprised one bit, considering the first thing I thought of when I heard of “Joe Nathan” and “elbow discomfort” about two weeks ago were the words “Tommy John.” Now, Twins fans should not panic too much. I know Nathan has been the second best closer in baseball outside of Mariano Rivera the last couple years, but if there is any organization that can develop someone into any position, it is the Twins. Jon Rauch will likely be the closer, as he has some experience at the role, but knowing the Twins, they could always go with someone else.



This evening, the collective cheer you heard from the north were Minnesota Twins fans reacting to the news that their catcher, Joe Mauer, agreed to an 8 year deal worth $184 million with a no-trade clause. As I pointed out in an earlier blog post, it was essential this deal get done as Joe Mauer needs The Twins and The Twins need Joe Mauer. More details of the deal will be released tomorrow but I have to wonder just how much of this money is deferred and whether or not it includes an ownership option later in Joe’s life. Mauer is only 26 now so he will only be 34 or 35 when this contract is up. If Mauer is still the hitter he is then as he is today, a position change could be in order, and may already have happened by the time the contract is up.

This goes back a little bit, but Oregon suspended star QB Jeremiah Masoli for his role in a burglary this offseason. Masoli was not kicked off the team, and will have an opportunity to return to the team in 2011. This is a stunning blow to Oregon, as they were predicted to be a top 10 team this year. That likely will not happen now. The question is, do Oregon fans want Masoli back? They might, but should they want him back? His poor decision making off the field will end up costing Oregon on the field and it may take a long time for him to receive the forgiveness of the Oregon faithful.

The first four days of the NCAA Tournament…. where to start, why not just ask some questions.

Why did it take Kansas 37 minutes to press Northern Iowa?

How unconscious is Ali Farokmanesh, and how many national radio shows is he going to be on starting tomorrow?

Is anyone going to remember that Kansas State lost to Kansas three times in the regular season? After all, Kansas State is in The Sweet 16 and Kansas is now back in Lawrence.

Are the Florida Gators still having nightmares of Jimmer Frederette just schooling them for 30 minutes on Thursday?

How in the hell did Texas blow an 8 point lead in overtime with 2:30 remaining?

Out of all the buzz-beaters/last second shots, why on earth was GUS JOHNSON not involved in ANY of them? Someone should get fired for that! Bad placement!

Why were most of the buzz-beaters/last second shots on Thursday and Saturday? (Actually, that may answer the Gus Johnson question)

Do I owe the Pac-10 an apology? Sort of, good job Washington, fair effort California

Why were Notre Dame and Marquette given 6 seeds? They were over-seeded by at least two slots and it showed during their first round matchups? That being said, what happened to the Big East?

Can Michigan State continue to win without Kalin Lucas? Can Purdue continue to win without Robbie Hummel?

Could you please visit this twitter link? Someone wants to say hi to the world. http://twitter.com/OmarSamhan

Does the NCAA know their secret plan to have non-power conference teams knock each other out of the tournament this year failed in three instances? The NCAA likes to pit two-non power conference teams against each other with the winner facing a power-conference team in the second round. Perhaps we deserve more first round matchups between power conference and non-power conference teams after what happened this year.

1. #9 seeded Northern Iowa defeated #8 seeded UNLV en route to beating #1 seeded Kansas.
2. #10 seeded Saint Mary’s (CA) defeated #7 seeded Richmond en route to beating #2 seeded Villanova.
3. #12 seeded Cornell defeated #5 seeded Temple en route to beating #4 seeded Wisconsin.
4. Honorable mention, #5 Butler defeated #12 seeded UTEP. #4 Vanderbilt would have been the opponent, but they lost to #13 seeded Murray State. So in the end, the NCAA plan that I allege, did not happen.

Oh yeah, I guess on an entertainment note, Dancing With The Stars begins tomorrow night. I will tune in to see how Erin Andrews and Chad OchoCinco perform. However, if you actually call and vote for Kate Gosselin tomorrow after her performance, to keep her on TV another week, you are a giant scumbag.

Coming up later this week (or tomorrow for that matter), a preview of the Sweet 16 and UFC 111, which airs March 27, 2010, live on Pay-Per-View

My Bracket

In creating these match-ups, there are two big rules I had to keep in mind. The first is that teams are not allowed to play a conference opponent until the regional final, unless there is more than 8 bids in a given league. The second is that BYU for their own reasons does not play on Sunday, so I had to place them in a regional that plays on Thursday and Saturday and the NCAA will have to also take that into account for their first and potential second round match-ups.

My overall #1 seed is Kansas and they would play #4 overall seed Duke if they made it to the final four. My #2 overall seed is Kentucky and they would play #3 overall seed Syracuse if they made it to the final four. Also, Syracuse is hosting the East Regional this year, making them ineligible to play in their home building. Regardless of whether Minnesota wins the Big 10 tourney or not, I have them in my field.

So, I can’t figure out a way to upload a bracket onto this, but here are the match-ups. I’ll try posting a link to my bracket at NCAA.com if they allow me.

The Condensed Version

1. Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse, Duke
2. Ohio St, Kansas State, Georgetown, West Virginia
3. New Mexico, Villanova, Purdue, Baylor
4. Pittsburgh, Maryland, Michigan St, Wisconsin
5. Tennessee, Texas A&M, Butler, Temple
6. Xavier, Richmond, Vanderbilt, BYU
7. Oklahoma St, Clemson, Northern Iowa, Gonzaga
8. UNLV, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Marquette
9. Florida St, Old Dominion, Texas, Saint Mary's
10. Louisville, San Diego St, Missouri, Wake Forest
11. UTEP, California, Washington, Florida
12. Minnesota, Murray St, Utah St, Siena
13. Oakland, Wofford, Cornell, New Mexico St
14. Sam Houston St, Ohio, Houston, Montana
15. North Texas, Vermont, Morgan St, UC Santa-Barbara
16. East Tenn St, Ark Pine Bluff/Winthrop, Robert Morris, Lehigh

Midwest Bracket

1. Kansas
16. East Tennessee St
8. UNLV
9. Florida State
5. Tennessee
12. Minnesota
6. Xavier
11. UTEP
3. New Mexico
14. Sam Houston State
7. Oklahoma State
10. Louisville
2. Ohio State
15. North Texas

West Bracket

1. Duke
16. Lehigh
8. Marquette
9. Saint Mary’s (CA)
5. Temple
12. Siena
4. Wisconsin
13. New Mexico St
6. BYU
11. Florida
3. Baylor
14. Montana
7. Gonzaga
10. Wake Forest
2. West Virginia
15. UC Santa Barbara

East

1. Kentucky
16. Winthrop/Arkansas Pine Bluff
8. Notre Dame
9. Old Dominion
5. Texas A&M
12. Murray St.
4. Maryland
13. Wofford
6. Richmond
11. California
3. Villanova
14. Ohio
7. Clemson
10. San Diego St
2. Kentucky
15. Vermont

South

1. Syracuse
16. Robert Morris
8. Georgia Tech
9. Texas
5. Butler
12. Utah St
4. Michigan St
13. Cornell
6. Vanderbilt
11. Washington
3. Purdue
14. Houston
7. Northern Iowa
10. Missouri
2. Georgetown
15. Morgan St.

Updated Field of 65

Updated Field of 65 (4p.m. est, selection sunday)

Big East (8): Syracuse, West Virginia, Villanova, Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Marquette, Louisville, Notre Dame
Big 12 (7): Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, Texas A&M, Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma St
ACC (6): Duke, Maryland, Clemson, Wake Forest, Florida State, Georgia Tech
Big Ten (5): Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Purdue, Minnesota
SEC (4): Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Florida
Mountain West (4): New Mexico, BYU, UNLV, San Diego St
Atlantic 10 (3): Xavier, Temple, Richmond
Pac 10 (2): California, Washington
C-USA (2): Houston, UTEP
WAC (2): New Mexico State, Utah St
WCC (2): Saint Marys, Gonzaga


One Bid Leagues (20)

American East Vermont
Atlantic Sun East Tenn St
Big Sky Montana
Big South Winthrop
Big West UC Santa Barbara
Colonial Old Dominion
Horizon Butler
Ivy Cornell
MAAC Siena
MAC Ohio
MEAC Morgan State
Mo Valley Northern Iowa
NEC Robert Morris
Ohio Valley Murray State
Patriot Lehigh
Southern Wofford
Southland Sam Houston St
Summit Oakland
Sun Belt North Texas
SWAC Arkansas Pine Bluff

Last Four In: UTEP, Utah St, Minnesota, Florida (in order)
First Four Out Mississippi St, Virginia Tech, Illinois, Seton Hall (in order)

Updating the field of 65

After yesterday's action, I am thinking right now there are at most 4 open spots available for at-large teams. This assumes there are no surprises in conference tournaments and there is that possibility out there. So for now, here is my updated field, which I will begin seeding here today.

Updated Field of 65

Big East (8): Syracuse, West Virginia, Villanova, Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Marquette, Louisville, Notre Dame
ACC (7): Duke, Maryland, Clemson, Wake Forest, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech
Big 12 (7): Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, Texas A&M, Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma St
SEC (5): Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Florida, Mississippi
Big Ten (5): Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Purdue, Illinois
Atlantic 10 (3): Xavier, Temple, Richmond
Mountain West (4): New Mexico, BYU, UNLV, San Diego St
Pac 10 (2): California, Washington
WCC (2): Saint Marys, Gonzaga

One Bid Leagues (22) (clinched spot in bold, projected team non-bold)

American East Stony Brook
Atlantic Sun East Tenn St
Big Sky Montana
Big South Winthrop
Big West UC Santa Barbara
Colonial Old Dominion
Conference USA Utep
Horizon Butler
Ivy Cornell
MAAC Siena
MAC Kent State
MEAC Morgan State
Mo Valley Northern Iowa
NEC Robert Morris
Ohio Valley Murray State
Patriot Lehigh
Southern Wofford
Southland Sam Houston St
Summit Oakland
Sun Belt North Texas
SWAC Jackson State
WAC Utah State

Last Four In: Virginia Tech, Illinois, Florida, Mississippi
First Four Out: Rhode Island, Seton Hall, Minnesota, Mississippi St

Thursday Night Wrap-Up

Georgia Tech did not clinch a bid with its 62-58 win over North Carolina tonight; however, they avoided the disaster that Memphis and UAB suffered earlier today. Tough year for the Tar Heels. I don’t even think they are NIT quality at this point and Roy Williams will have to decide on whether or not to accept a CBI bid, if they are fortunate enough to get one.

San Diego St barely survived an upset attempt today at the hands of Colorado State but held off The Rams 72-71. The win keeps the Aztecs in the conversation; however, they are not guaranteed a bid as of yet.

The Cinderella story of Cincinnati ended at Madison Square Garden tonight as Da’Sean Butler hit a 3 pointer at the buzzer (off the backboard) to help West Virginia to a 54-51 victory over West Virginia. They will move on to the semifinals while Cincinnati heads to the NIT. Gotta feel for Deon Dixon of Cincinatti, who turned the ball over with 3.1 seconds left, allowing West Virginia to get the final shot.

Florida has not been to the NCAA Tournament since they won back to back titles in 2006 and 2007 and they have not clinched a bid yet. I still think Florida is on the right side of the bubble and they secured that status with a 78-69 win over Auburn. The Gators get no brownie points for beating Auburn, but they don’t lose anything by beating them either.

Barring a miracle, it is this bracketologist’s opinion that the Pac-10 will have at most two teams in the NCAA Tournament. Stanford defeated Arizona State 70-61, who finished 2nd, in the Pac-10 standings, in the quarterfinals of the Pac-10 Tournament. While Arizona State finished 22-10, they only have 1 top 50 RPI win (San Diego State) and lost both games to conference champion California. Their RPI (53) and Strength of Schedule (75) also do them no favors. I post this with no idea what will happen with Washington tonight, but they need to defeat Oregon State tonight to keep their tourney bubble a-float.

Updated Field of 65 (assuming Washington wins tonight)

Big East (8): Syracuse, West Virginia, Villanova, Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Marquette, Louisville, Notre Dame
ACC (7): Duke, Maryland, Clemson, Wake Forest, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech
Big 12 (7): Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, Texas A&M, Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma St
SEC (5): Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Florida, Mississippi
Big Ten (4): Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Purdue
Atlantic 10 (3): Xavier, Temple, Richmond
Mountain West (4): New Mexico, BYU, UNLV, San Diego St
Conference USA (2): UTEP, Memphis
Pac 10 (2): California, Washington
WCC (2): Saint Marys, Gonzaga

One Bid Leagues (21) (clinched spot in bold, projected team non-bold)

American East Stony Brook
Atlantic Sun East Tenn St
Big Sky Montana
Big South Winthrop
Big West UC Santa Barbara
Colonial Old Dominion
Horizon Butler
Ivy Cornell
MAAC Siena
MAC Kent State
MEAC Morgan State
Mo Valley Northern Iowa
NEC Robert Morris
Ohio Valley Murray State
Patriot Lehigh
Southern Wofford
Southland Sam Houston St
Summit Oakland
Sun Belt North Texas
SWAC Jackson State
WAC Utah State

Last Four In: Washington, Mississippi, Memphis, San Diego State
First Four Out: San Diego State, Seton Hall, Illinois, Dayton