A Week In

As it stands now..I have 9 of 16 teams left in my bracket...terrible right?...I think so...mainly because Georgetown(who I had in the finals vs Texas) lost....to Davidson...well in defense to that pick..Stephen Curry is really good..really good..he's not big(6-2 is about it) but he's crafty and can shoot the lights of your favorite city at night..I should have known when he went 8-10 from 3 against Gonzaga and they werent good looks..like hand was in his face...so its not like he's getting those Raja Bell looks when he can tie his shoe then shoot...the kid(lol) is a force to be reckoned with

I dont have alot of insight in college basketball..especially because the tourney is basically a crapshoot...so I'll let the games when they start,speak for themselves...you should do the same.

NBA on the other hand..I can offer something...

Dallas has an issue...I feel they still WILL make the playoffs..despite having not beat a winning team since acquiring Jason Kidd...and despite losing Dirk for a unspecified amount of time because of his leg injury...I feel that they still have enough talent.......to still make the playoffs....Houston still is the team I feel will fall out,Denver in...speaking of which..why is Golden State still an 8 seed?...its just weird for a team as dangerous as the Warriors to be almost out of the race...and they were an 8 seed last year with Jason Richardson....odd to me I guess

Philly has taken the East by storm...okay...maybe not...but they are a force somehow...athletic wings....an actual point guard...capable center...seems like it could work,mean while Toronto has sputtered losing 8 of 10(they are .500...ew)...they really need it together to avoid Detroit who I dont think is a good matchup...the magic number(pun coming) is 6..which is the seed who plays..the Magic..I feel that is a better matchup,but again..the way Philly is playing...might be a little tough to lock up.

Sure didnt take long for Shaq to trash his old team....typical...there is a reoccurring trend...

I dont understand what Chad Johnson is doing..does he want out?...if so simply ask out...or be quiet

Hockey is irrelevant in the US...got that..but fighting is so overlooked...you'll never see a fight on CNN...basketball on the other hand....you see where I'm going with this...I hope..

This is the only way I'll remember Chris Webber..


to me that duo was Stockton/Malone 2.0..Nash and Amare before Nash and Amare..for all of his follies(the timeout thing,countless knee injuries) he still was a good player and an elite power forward in the late 90s and made basketball in Sacramento relevant again...

I'm Mad-less

This is the week where everyone is an expert...everyone knows something that the world doesnt so they have the edge on everyone else...I'm not saying I do...but I'm saying that I know what I think/feel is right..and thats all I can account for...

Here are the matchups I struggle with in the 2nd rd:
Clemson/Vandy(Clemson)
Drake/UConn(Drake)
Butler/Tennessee(Tennessee)
Purdue/Xavier(Purdue)

Teams I feel will go further than most think
Washington State(Grit will get you far,and they have their own tempo)
Kansas(lol,elite 8 is far)
Arizona(my fandom is behind it,but I like the matchup vs Duke,but I dont vs West Va)
Purdue(See Washington State)
Pitt(see Purdue)

Matchups I struggle with in the sweet 16
UNC/Washington St(Went with Wazzu)
Kansas/Clemson(Kansas)
Stanford/Texas(Texas,very hard to pick guard play over post play)

My Final Four
Washington State
Georgetown
Texas
UCLA

Basically for me whoever wins between the Texas/UCLA game will win it for me....I cant get over the fact that Texas beat UCLA in LA earlier this year,even though it was by a super slim margin.Plus you never know with the recent injuries UCLA has had with Love and Mbah a Moute

I am fully prepared for Washington State to let me down..fully..but there isnt anyone else I like in that region at all..sad really...but regardless I'm going with Georgetown to play Texas in the finals..in which I pick.....

Texas to win...

I think when you have a great point guard like Augustine...you have a good shot for anything...am I on top of rooftops screaming like I did a few years back?....nah...I'm not into it like my contemporary's are...but I'm eager to see how it plays out...

In the NBA....

Nuggets/Sonics is the reason they need to bring back the handcheck...putting up 168 points is out of control...but when star players can potentially get to the free throw line 20+ times in one game....something is up...when Lebron averages 30...everyone is like wow...but when Jordan or some other great player did it in the 90s...they earned it.Defense is already hard enough with all the offensive moves they could hit you with..but add that with you cant really touch them and the offensive player looking and drawing contact with you...there isnt really anything you can do...back in the 90s and before..players like Steve Nash would be isolated almost the entire game because of their liability on defense..

Dont listen to anything Jeff Van Gundy says...anything

Why do the Celtics have PJ Brown?....doesnt Leon Powe and Glen Davis fill the void at the forward spots fine?...or is he the center?....

Stop It

I've had enough...yes..the Rockets have won 21 in a row...their record is old enough to drink lol...but to think they are the best team in the west..stop...now...they arent the best team in the state WITH Yao...lets look at the record since Yao's injury..

Win vs Washington
Win vs Memphis
Win vs Denver
Win vs Indy
Win at Dallas(with no Dirk)
Win vs New Orleans
Win vs New Jersey
Win at Atlanta
Win vs Charlotte

...things that stick out to me...all but 2 are home games...add that with the fact that most of these teams' road records are terrible..does anyone think they will win the championship?....think Tracy can get out of the 1st round without Yao?...no?..still?...then why bring it up as a super huge deal...Its no credit for Houston to go from the 8 seed to the 2 seed..or Phoenix from the 2nd seed to the 5th..when it is so tightly pack you can lose 1 game and lose home court..so dont think its some great struggle to be on top of the west..you can literally fall up to it....I dont discount the streak..bringing it every night is a rarity in the NBA,but you cant give them credit for beating below .500 teams..well maybe you can...I wont...I hope they lose..

Where West Coast Biases Happens...

-Just for the record...of the 43,000+ voters...the people of america have decided that the ACC (41%) is the best college basketball conference this year...followed by the Big East(30%) and then the Pac-10(20%)...this is why I talk sports with less than 5 people on this earth...ESPN doesnt do much to curb that notion though..Big Mondays and Wednesday or whatever the heck they are calling it now are dedicated to those 2 leagues while the Pac-10 is stuck on FSN-Not Your Region...I think I did see more Pac-10 games on ESPN this year than the last 5 years...and while I'm thankful for those 3 games that were on...for the "World Wide Network" that is ESPN I'm going to need not exactly balance(because ESPN is an east coast network aka never going to happen) but atleast more credit...atleast some of the experts are quick to tell people what is up

-Just to add to that..the Pac-10 Conference Tourney is tonight(at 9pm) and I recently came across this tidbit
" 42 scouts representing 26 of the 30 NBA teams are expected to be on hand. 'The Pac-10 this year is deep and rich in talent,' Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak said. Jerry Reynolds, director of player personnel for the Sacramento Kings, didn't hesitate to assess it. 'The Pac-10 in my opinion is stronger than any league in the country, and most people, I think, agree,' he said."

Arent you glad your team doesnt vote on SportsNation?....or do they?

-When did we give individual NBA players a blogging day?..yesterday was Kobe Blogging day....missed that memo..I wouldnt even know what to say for a player that I routinely give credit and blame to..he's a polarizing player personally...but what is undeniable is the fact he would take your heart in a basketball game if he wanted to..

-This is the fastest I've ever seen anyone move in an NBA Arena...with good reason


-Heres something else I read about the Suns/Spurs game held Sunday...not so much about the game..more about the jerseys..if there is a spanish word for Sun...and spur...why use los?..understood in a convo...but on the jersey?



-Of actual game notes...I realize that TJ Ford may be hurting the Toronto Raptors more than helping..or a mix of both...he's a better scorer than Calderon..faster..but in terms of actually involving other players consistently..Jose has the advantage..I thought it was an isolated incident when the I watched the Raptors/Magic game...when late in the 4th,TJ literally came down and was given a pick by Rasho...he took the pick..and shot a jumper....he did that 5 times in a row..he made like 3 of them..but the game was too close for jumpers by a smallish point guard at the time...granted Bosh didnt play and Bargnani was having one of those I dont want to be aggressive games...so someone had to shoot....I just fear TJ may not be happy with his role right now and will continue to force

-Go watch Conference Tournaments...as many as you came...here are my predictions
ACC-UNC
Big East-Pitt
SEC-eh...Kentucky
Pac-10-Stanford
Big 12-Kansas
Big 10-Purdue

I Dont Believe It

There are a few things in sports that I hear more times than I could ever count...
-"He's a great coach"
and
-"Home court Advantage"

I will try to debunk these myths because I dont believe in either argument being the be-all-end-all arguments

"Coaching"

Great coaches are an immeasurable stat...how many times have you sat in on an NBA practice?..or how many conversations have you had with Phil Jackson or Isiah Thomas about strategies and their talent levels?...none have you?...coaching is only interpreted in practices..games are what the practice is for.You dont work on things in the game,that makes no sense.You and I as fans can only ID the really big mistakes or accomplishments..such as Avery Johnson not playing Jason Kidd for the last play against the Spurs...or playing with the lineups like Nellie has done with Golden State and making it work.

If you watch a team that is in your region you would be a little better at seeing what that coach does(or doesnt do) but you still cant say he's a terrible coach with no room for argument.The former Bulls coach Scot Skiles was fired..perception?...really good coach..but....he got fired...why?..his players were rumored to have quit on him..so it doesnt technically matter how great/good of a coach you are...if your players arent responding,get your boxes ready.So when I hear all the playoff talk,coaching is very very small advantage either way..and it would only take a super huge mistake for a playoff team to lose.

"Home Court"

I disregard baseball because the stadiums have different dimensions,NFL and college sports because of the crowds...but in the NBA?..I'm not buying...

To be a great NBA team you have to be able to win on the road...have to..there is no way to get around it.But there is a chance you could lose at home..it happens..people blow home court all the time..but if the Spurs and lets say..Lakers are playing..are you really going to hit me with road/home records?..both are really great teams...it could go either way..I would rather hear the matchups over something like that because you play Minnesota at home...you play Seattle,Atlanta,New York and Miami..if you play them 2x at home..well..thats 10 potential wins right there..

There is a player on the Phoenix that no one is giving blame to...he's shooting numbers are down...and his scoring is down 3 points...his name is Raja Bell...there isnt anyone who has dropped in statistics since the Shaq trade other than Raja.Phoenix needs him to do better..between him and Barbosa they are the shooting options...well..Gordon Giricek too,but we'll see about that last one.Just note that Shaq has been doing a decent job overall(more boards than scoring,which is why he's here remember that) and another thing to note is this....Shaq was a playoff move..not a regular season move..think Dallas vs San Antonio..would you want the 3 seed and finals appearance..or a 1 seed and a bounce in the 1st round....now the x factor for this is....you know...making the playoffs..but I expect them to do just that..and I think they have a better chance in the playoffs than the regular season.

All I've heard since Jason Kidd arrived in Dallas is how he's going to help Dirk...which I semi believe..but..I also think that Kidd will stunt the growth of Josh Howard...Josh needs the ball in his hands alot..he's a slasher...Devin Harris was a slasher as well..but could play off the ball...Kidd needs the ball to be effective offensively...see the difference?...watch and see if you do.

I decline all talk about the MVP race...its between these candidates
-Chris Paul
-Kobe Bryant
-Lebron James

If any of these players win it..I'll leave it alone..