No, Jim Valvano was not from Philadelphia — he was born and bred in Queens, New York. But in last night's Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden, Philadelphia hoopsters stole the show.
In the opener, No. 4 Kansas pounded No. 13 Memphis inside, outrebounding the Tigers 39-26 to come away with an 81-68 victory. The reason the Jayhawks were able to dominate inside was simple: Marcus and Markieff Morris.
The Morris twins were dominant during their high school days in Philadelphia, winning back-to-back state titles in 2006 and 2007 at Prep Charter, where they took on Tyreke Evans' American Christian squad, then transferring to APEX Academy in Jersey for their senior season.
The junior twins out of Philadelphia have steadily progressed each season in Lawrence, with both Marcus and Markieff seeing their minutes, points and rebounds rise every year. Now as juniors, the Jayhawks are their team.
Marcus was named to the preseason All-American second team, and through 8 games leads Kansas in scoring at 18 points per game. He's second in rebounding, and his offensive efficiency has been ridiculous, shooting 63.2 percent from the field and 52.6 percent from three. Markieff leads the team in rebounds at 8.9 per game, and trails only his brother in scoring, putting up 12.4 points a night on 55.2 percent from the field himself.
Last night was more of the same. Marcus and Markieff were the best players on the court period, combining for 30 points on 14-22 from the field, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks. Markieff led all scorers with 16 points (tied with Will Barton of Memphis) on 8-11 shooting and had 7 rebounds. Marcus scored 14 points on 6-11 from the field himself, putting up a tremendous all-around game with 8 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Along with a helping hand from Thomas Robinson's 10 and 10 double-double, Kansas owned the paint and won fairly convincingly thanks largely to the twins out of Philadelphia.
In the nightcap, it was an inside-outside Philadelphia combo that put on a clinic. High school teammates at Neumann-Goretti, Scoop Jardine and Rick Jackson went to Syracuse as a packaged deal.
Much like the Morris twins, the Neumann-Goretti teammates have seen their numbers and minutes increase each and every year, though Jardine missed what would have been his sophomore season in 2008-09 due to a medical redshirt, making him a junior-eligible player while Jackson is a senior. Now in their fourth year in the program, Jardine and Jackson are the undisputed leaders of the Orange.
Through 9 games, the 6'9" Jackson leads Syracuse in rebounds, averaging 12.8 per game, and blocks at 1.7 per contest. His 13.6 points per game are second only to Kris Joseph, and he's shooting 56.5 percent from the field. Jardine leads the Orange in assists (6.4) and steals (2.1) per game, and is right behind Jackson in points, scoring 13.2 a night. This duo is largely responsible for Syracuse's 9-0 start.
They were certainly more responsible than anyone else for the Orange holding off Michigan State 72-58 last night. Jackson was nothing short of the player of the game, scoring 17 points on 8-15 shooting and hauling in a game-high 16 rebounds. The Spartans had absolutely no answer for Jackson inside, which is why he was able to put up such an impressive double-double.
Jardine was just as good on the perimeter. He netted a game-high 19 points on an obscenely efficient 7-9 shooting, had three assists and two steals, and hit one of only two three-pointers Syracuse made all night. The other, by the way, came off the fingertips of another Philadelphia product, freshman Dion Waiters from Burlington Life Center Academy.
Jim Boeheim sure does love his Philadelphia players. Hakim Warrick won a national title at Syracuse, and Rakeem Christmas — who Dickie V mentioned by name last night — is on his way to Cuse next year.
It was quite an impressive showing for Philadelphia up in NYC last night. Hell, even the biggest cheerleader for the Orange in the Garden has Philadelphia ties — former Philadelphia 76er and Syracuse alum Derrick Coleman.
There must have been something in the air giving good vibes to Philadelphia basketball last night. Because not only did the Morris twins and the Neumann-Goretti grads put on a show in the Garden, but the Sixers defeated the Cavs for their second straight win behind an absurd game by Thaddeus Young: 26 points and 11 rebounds on 11-12 shooting. Don't look now, but the Sixers have won four of their last five and no longer occupy last place. I'm not sure if I should be happy about this or not.
To make Philadelphia basketball's night even more complete, former Villanova star and Pennsylvania High School Player of the Year Kyle Lowry, from Cardinal Dougherty, went off for the Rockets in their 97-83 win: 22 points, 12 assists, 6 steals, 3 rebounds, 7-13 from the floor, 4-6 from three and 4-5 from the line.
In case you haven't been paying attention, Lowry is having himself a breakout season. Since Aaron Brooks went down with an ankle injury, Lowry has been running the show and doing a masterful job. Thanks to the increased playing time and his maturity in his fifth season, he's averaging career-highs in minutes (33:42), points (10.7), rebounds (4.2), assists (7.1) and steals (1.9). And last night, he went off, just like a slew of Philadelphia ballers.
Just like the rest of America, that's exactly how I'm feeling today: fat and lazy. Unfortunately, like everyone else, I'm back at work with a ton of stuff to do after that glorious four-day hiatus. There's nothing more deflating than coming back to work after extended time off.
Deflating was sort of the theme of the holiday weekend for the Flyers, Eagles and Penn State. Coming off a 6-1 win on Thanksgiving Eve for their third straight victory, the Flyers thought they had stolen a victory in a game in which they weren't at their best, only to get shafted on a horrendous call in overtime and lose in the ensuing shootout.
For starters, that's not a penalty. But even if the referees want to argue that it was a penalty thanks to the Avery rule — a penalty that's not even on the books — then why the hell did they wait some 5 seconds or more to make the call when Mike Richards and the Flyers were in possession of the puck the entire time? And why wasn't Miikka Kiprusoff whistled for a slash, when he very clearly hacked at Pronger's legs after the hand incident? Just horrible, horrible officiating. No two ways about it.
It was a tough loss, especially given the two dazzling goals the Flyers scored: the first by Nikolay Zherdev to open the scoring, and the second by Claude Giroux in the shootout.
To make the weekend even more deflating, the Flyers went out and lost again via the shootout the very next day to the lowly Devils. Despite outshooting Jersey 41-25 and dominating damn near every facet of the game, the Flyers couldn't solve Johan Hedberg, who made 40 saves and stoned all but one Flyer in the shootout. In fact, the only goal that beat him in regulation was a trick bank shot by Danny Briere, and only Zherdev took the open invitation through the five-hole Hedberg seemed to be providing to everyone in the shootout.
Yes, the Flyers managed to get a point in each game, but 4 points would have felt a whole lot nicer than 2, especially given the disallowed goal and the way they dominated the Devils. That's deflating.
And so was Penn State going out in the final battle for the Land Grant Trophy by losing to Michigan State in a series that the Nittany Lions have traditionally dominated.
Even though these two teams came in with very different seasons — Michigan State at 10-1 and tied with Wisconsin and Ohio State atop the Big 10, Penn State at 7-4 and going through a rebuilding year — I honestly had the feeling that Penn State would find a way to put it all together and ruin Michigan State's chances at the Big Ten title.
Despite Derek Moye's best efforts, that didn't happen. The Spartans were, just as they have been all season, better than Penn State essentially across the board. As tough as it is to go through a season like Penn State did, it was nice to see them fight to the very end. And that fight made things mighty interesting at the end, turning what was a 21-3 and 28-10 deficit into a thrilling finish before ultimately losing 28-22. Matt McGloin had another 300-yard game, but it was Moye who stole the show, almost singlehandedly getting the Lions back into this one.
He put forth a herculean effort in the forth quarter, catching several passes, almost making a miraculous touchdown catch, stripping Michigan State's Trenton Robinson after the safety foolishly tried to return his interception out of the end zone instead of taking a knee, thus keeping Penn State alive, and then hauling in a touchdown catch right after that. It was quite a performance from the junior receiver. For the day, he finished with five receptions for 65 yards and a score. Those numbers brought his 2010 totals to 48 receptions for 806 yards and 7 scores. He finished fifth in the Big Ten in receiving yards, sixth in receiving yards per game (67.2), third in yards per reception (16.8) and his seven TDs were fourth most in the conference. Quite an impressive season for Moye.
Justin Brown, by the way, led all receivers with 6 catches for 106 yards on Saturday. That guy is gonna be a star. With Moye and Brown both back next year, not to mention the return of burner Curtis Drake from injury, track stars Devon Smith and Shawney Kersey, Penn State is loaded at receiver next year for whoever — McGloin, Robert Bolden, maybe even Paul Jones (if he doesn't transfer) — the quarterback is.
Still, it's kind of deflating to wrap up the season with a loss at home, and doing it in the final battle for the Land Grant. I really wanted Michigan State to come up short of sharing the Big Ten title with the Badgers and the Buckeyes.
As deflating as the Flyers' back-to-back shootout losses were, and as deflating as this season has been at times for Penn State, nothing was more deflating than the Eagles' loss to Chicago yesterday.
Sitting at 7-3, the Eagles and Michael Vick were the talk of the NFL. They had just won three straight games against the Colts, Redskins and Giants, had won five of their last six games including a 31-17 manhandling of the Falcons, and everyone alive was beginning to proclaim Vick as the league's MVP.
With all three two of their division rivals already losing their games before they kicked off, the Eagles had a golden opportunity to distance themselves from the pack, remain a game up on the Giants and really put their stamp on a run to the playoffs. Plus, they were taking on a Bears team that many thought had the easiest road to their early-season 7-3 record.
But the Eagles suffered a deflating 31-26 loss, bringing expectations a little bit more back down to earth.
With no Asante Samuel in the lineup, Jay Cutler torched the Eagles' secondary — a combination of Joselio Hanson, Dimitri Patterson and rookie Trevard Lindley — for 247 yards and four touchdowns without turning the ball over once. The Eagles' defense is just not the same without Asante. That was made abundantly clear yesterday.
Meanwhile, Chicago's defense proved to be everything it's cracked up to be — athletic, fast, ferocious. Julius Peppers and Brian Urlacher give the Bears two players no one else has to help contain Michael Vick, and that's exactly what happened. The Eagles weren't able to get the big plays that they have relied on this season thanks to that Chicago cover 2 defense. Conversely, it was the Bears who flipped the script, killing the Birds with deflating big plays — the 61-yard run by Matt Forte, the 39-yard and 34-yard passes to Devin Hester, the 20-yard touchdown and 34-yard pass to Johnny Knox, the returns by Hester and Danieal Manning, the 30-yarder to Edgar Bennett.
But the most deflating play in this deflating loss came relatively early in the game. Trailing 14-13, the Eagles' defense forced a three-and-out that included two sacks following a 19-yard kickoff return by Manning. The Eagles took over at Chicago's 46 with 6:15 remaining in the first half, and methodically began to drive. Facing a 2nd-and-4 at the Chicago 4-yard line, 1:50 remained. At worst, the Eagles would kick a field goal before the half and take a 16-14 lead to the locker room, at best score a touchdown and go up 20-14. All they had to do was protect the ball and be smart, and they'd take the lead.
Instead, Michael Vick went for the end zone. The ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage and intercepted, and even it wasn't it looked to be quite a tight throw for Vick. It resulted in his first interception of the season, and it couldn't have come at a worse time.
The only thing couldn't do in that situation was fumble or throw a pick. If the sure throw wasn't there, all he had to do was toss it out of the back of the end zone. Instead, Tommy Harris got his hand in the throwing lane, Vick fired it into the big defensive tackle's mitt, and Chris Harris picked it up, then returned it 39 yards, which then led to a 63-yard touchdown drive orchestrated by Cutler in the final 1:50 of the half. Instead of being up 16-14 or 20-14, the Eagles trailed 21-13 at the half. That was the play that changed the entire complexion of the game.
The Birds battled back and made it close, but it wasn't to be. A deflating interception was the first act that got the ball rolling in the wrong direction for the Eagles. Chicago took advantage, made all the big plays and won the game, leaving the Eagles feeling fat and lazy like the rest of us after a long Thanksgiving weekend.
I'm sure you're all very much aware of that. Twenty-five percent is never really good, whether you're talking about shooting percentage, winning percentage, a test score or even a batting average. But it's even worse when that one out of four represents the number of Final Four teams I picked correctly … and that damn team was Duke.
I hate Duke. I hate Duke more than any college in the history of the world. Even more than Michigan. There are exactly zero redeeming qualities about Duke. Zero. Yet that's the only team I correctly picked to make it to Indianapolis. Talk about a kick in the balls.
For a while there, it looked like the entire weekend was going to be one giant kick in the balls. It began with silver fox and I heading to Center City to meet up with some friends. Focusing my attention on catching up and actually socializing, I was basically oblivious to what was happening with the early games. By the time I finally noticed what was going on, I saw Ohio State was trailing Tennessee with just a couple minutes to go. I watched J.P. Prince block that final shot by Evan Turner, watched Brian Williams tip it in, watched Turner do all he could but come up empty at the end. And I watched as Tennessee took away the chance for my roommate to win $10,000 in his insanely large pool. He had Ohio St. taking on West Virginia in the title game. If that had happened and OSU won, he'd take home 10 grand, sharing it with his roommates and showing us a great time. If WVU won, he'd still take home a couple thousand, still be able to throw an awesome party or live it up in AC. But no, Bruce Pearl and his undermanned Volunteers, even after dismissing their best player in Tyler Smith earlier in the season, delivered the first groin shot, nice and early.
It was going to be one of those weekends. Not surprisingly, Michigan State and Baylor also advanced to Elite Eight. Well, not surprisingly isn't 100 percent accurate. With no Kalin Lucas for the Spartans, plenty of people were envisioning Northern Iowa and Ali Farokhmanesh continuing their ride. But the victory for Michigan State wasn't surprising to me, even without its star point guard. Tom Izzo truly is a great coach. Not good. Not very good. But great. As great as anyone in the country. I really believe that. He just knows how to win this time of year. And his players went through this before, getting all the way to final last year before running into a North Carolina team no one was going to beat. As far as Baylor is concerned, the Bears had too much size and athleticism for St. Mary's to handle, even with Omar Samhan. So no shockers there.
Neither was Duke's defeat of Purdue. Frankly, it was a miracle the Boilermakers were able to make it this far without Hummel, and they sure as shit weren't going to defeat the most complete Duke team of the past decade. We watched the end of that game at another bar, then called it a night.
I awoke around 1 p.m. on Saturday, finally catching up on the sleep I so desperately needed after last weekend. Stupid me forgot the Flyers were playing the Pens at 1. That's how out of it I've been all week. When I finally turned it on, I saw the Flyers were down 2-1, and then saw replays of the goal that was disallowed due to incidental contact (55 seconds in):
Now, that goal absolutely should have been disallowed. Ville Leino absolutely interfered with Marc-Andre Fleury. No question about it. What I have a problem with is the way the whole thing unfolded. Leino wasn't penalized, but the goal was taken away. The explanation? "The goal has been disallowed due to incidental contact with the goaltender. No goal, no penalty." Um, what? Hockey is a contact sport. There's no such thing as blowing a play dead for incidental contact. Doesn't exist. And contact with the goaltender by an opposing players, when he's not pushed into the goaltender by the opponent, is not legal. It's a penalty. So either it's incidental contact and a goal, or it's a penalty for goaltender interference and no goal, which in this case it should have been the latter. Yet instead we have no goal and no penalty. The fuck? I don't get it.
And from there, the referees went ape shit again. With the score still just 2-1 Pittsburgh early in the third, Scott Hartnell gathered a turnover and sprung Claude Giroux for a mini breakaway. On said breakaway, Fleury obviously, clearly, deliberately threw his stick at Giroux as Claude was making his move and was able to make a save:
No penalty was called. Are you fucking kidding me? As soon as the play happened, I was screaming, "HE THREW HIS STICK!!!! HE THREW HIS FUCKING STICK!!!!" Unreal. Kick in the balls No. 2, just in this game. And the refs went for the hat trick, when again with the score still just 2-1 Pens, Matt Cooke pulled Ryan Parent's stick from him, went to the front of the net and wound up marked by a stickless Parent, netting a slam-dunk goal to go up 3-1, when clearly it should have been a holding the stick penalty on Cooke, with the Flyers having a power play down just a goal. Instead, it was the play that broke the game open.
Let's face the facts, the Flyers have enough trouble beating the Penguins, and they've had trouble beating anyone of late. The Pens don't need the refs helping them out. Regardless, the Flyers probably weren't going to win, and they didn't, losing 4-1 to drop their fifth straight, spiraling dangerously close to out of the playoffs. And Johan Backlund, who got the start, had to leave after the second intermission due to injury and then was scratched from the lineup last night. And he was actually playing well. Nice. The foot just kept on getting buried in the groin.
Thankfully, the rest of the of the day went fairly well. Butler kept the good times rolling by upsetting Kansas State in an excellent contest, earning a trip to the Final Four in their home state. It's like a real-life Hoosiers moment, as we've been reminded and will be reminded about a million times this week. Nothing like overbearing story lines that get shoved down your throat. But still, pretty cool for Butler.
Then there was the West Virginia-Kentucky game, which was quite possibly the strangest game I ever watched in my entire life. Kentucky couldn't buy a bucket from beyond the arc. West Virginia seemed like it couldn't miss. And the most ridiculous thing of all is the Mountaineers didn't hit a single two-point field goal in the entire first half … yet were leading 28-26 at halftime. It was pure insanity. I have never seen anything like it. West Virginia made eight three-pointers and four foul shots in the first half. And 0 twos. It was insane. It was like watching us play at Second Street in high school. Bombs away. It was at the point where silver fox, Toonces and I were yelling at West Virginia when it took shots inside the arc. We wanted to see an entire game of nothing but threes. We did get to see an entire half, which was sweet.
Honestly, when Joe Mazzulla made a layup early in the second half, we were all disappointed. But it proved to be a smart tactic. Mazzulla was getting inside with ease in the second half. All those three-pointers opened up the lane, and West Virginia attacked. Meanwhile, the Wildcats couldn't get anything easy against the Mountaineers, who played their patented tough defense, and West Virginia was able to hold them off and earn a trip to Indianapolis.
Both teams shot poorly from the floor, with West Virginia hitting just 38.5 percent of its shots and Kentucky shooting 34.3 from the floor. The difference came at the lines — three-point and free throw lines. West Virginia made 10 of 23 threes (43.5 percent) while Kentucky made just 4 of 32 (12.5 percent). And the Mountaineers made 23-34 free throws, hardly awesome at 67.6 percent, but much better than Kentucky, who made just 16-29 at the line (55.2 percent). You would think that sooner or later John Calipari would realize free throws matter and start emphasizing it much more. I mean, his Memphis Tigers would have won the NCAA title two years ago if they could shoot free throws, you know, if that Derrick Rose-led team even existed. And this game would have been infinitely closer if the Wildcats could have made their foul shots. But apparently, foul shooting isn't important to Calipari. That's part of the reason he doesn't have a title yet.
We got a brief reprieve from the kicks to the balls Saturday night, but the foot returned with a vengeance yesterday. Not so much for me initially, but for my roommate once again. You see, with his bracket shot, he at least had two teams alive that he had bet on before the season to win it all: West Virginia and Tennessee. Unfortunately for him, he now only has one team, as Michigan State won its second straight game without Kalin Lucas, in dramatic fashion no less, to advance to the Final Four for the second straight year. Like I said before, never count out Tom Izzo, because he is truly a great coach.
Again, I wasn't surprised. I never am when it comes to Izzo and Michigan State, unless it is surprised that they struggled. I really thought that if this team got healthy, it had a chance to make a real run at the Final Four. After all, the entire team was essentially back from last year. In fact, the hardest game for me to pick in the entire bracket was the potential Kansas-Michigan State matchup that never happened. I mulled over that one forever, ultimately going with Kansas because I thought the Jayhawks were too talented and the Spartans too banged up. Shows what I know. Because the banged up Spartans, playing without their best player and last year's Big Ten Player of the Year, are right back in the Final Four. There's just something about these Izzo teams that never lets you count them out. As far as I'm concerned, that game yesterday validated that no one did any better of a job coaching this season than Izzo and Bruce Pearl. Both coaches faced a ton of adversity — Izzo with injuries and Pearl with his players, specifically Tyler Smith, getting into trouble and getting kicked off the team. Both were expected to be intriguing teams, but teams incapable of getting too far. Yet here they were, Tennessee and Michigan State, battling it out for a trip to the Final Four. True to both teams' personalities, personalities exemplified by their coaches, they fought to the end, with the Spartans coming out on top by the slimmest of margins, winning 70-69.
Truth be told, I wasn't upset about this, even though it hurt my roommate's chances of cashing in. I really like Izzo. A lot. And that's coming from a Penn State grad who is programmed to dislike every other Big Ten school in the land. But it's impossible for me to hate Izzo. He's just such a great coach, and he genuinely seems like a great guy. Kind of a Joe Paterno of basketball or something, be it much younger. He's the type of basketball coach my alma mater desperately needs to try and build some kind of reputation for its basketball program besides shitty. Ed DeChellis is not that kind of guy. But I digress.
Back to getting kicked in the balls. Of all the teams I picked to go to the Final Four, Duke was the only one I was openly rooted against from the start. I would have been happy as a clam to see them be the first No. 1 to lose to a 16 ever, content with losing a Final Four team in the first round. But of course, the Dukies get all the way to Indianapolis. Just great.
For a while, it looked as though that might not happen. Baylor was playing great, and held a late lead at 61-60. LaceDarius Dunn was killing it, Ekpe Udoh was everywhere, and Tweety Carter was coming up clutch. Then bang, a free throw followed by a three-pointer by Nolan Smith, a three by Jon Scheyer, and suddenly a 61-60 lead for Baylor turned into a 67-61 deficit. Basically, game over. Udoh, who had a tremendous game, couldn't buy a bucket down the stretch, and the Bears ran out of steam. The final three minutes were nothing more than a death march for Baylor, as Duke slowly but surely hit shot after shot, whether from the field or from the line, as Baylor imploded. Now the Blue Devils are the only No. 1 seed in Indianapolis, taking on West Virginia Saturday.
Unfortunately, as I said, it was the only Final Four team I got correct. I just sensed that with Duke actually having size up front for the first time in literally a decade, this team would be able to win come March. The Blue Devils have three excellent scorers in Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer, but this team is more than that. Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek give them a legitimate interior presence, while the Plumlee brothers provide the size and muscle Duke has lacked off the bench pretty much forever. Sadly, I was right. Now we're all forced to hear about Duke all week long. Hopefully West Virginia can save us all from further Duke exposure Saturday. Otherwise, just call it another kick in the balls.
Thankfully, the weekend ended on a high note. Finally, mercifully, the Flyers won a game, taking it to the Devils from the start in a 5-1 victory. Before you could blink, the Flyers held a 1-0 lead just 53 seconds in, as Matt Carle beat Martin Brodeur in Carle's first game back from injury. Ville Leino added another in the first, and Kimmo Timonen and Lukas Krajicek followed Carle's lead, as both defensemen tallied in the 2nd, giving the Flyers a 4-0 lead. Simon Gagne added one of his own after Ilya Kovalchuk scored, keeping his blazing hot pace alive, and the Flyers ended their 5-game losing streak.
In doing so, the Flyers again jumped a couple spots, moving up to sixth place, tied with Montreal at 82 points, with six games left to play. Should be interesting to see how it all shakes out. Considering the Flyers' success against the Devils this season — the Flyers are 5-1 against New Jersey this year, a pleasant change for once — it would be nice to catch Ottawa in the 5th spot to match up with Jersey. As it stands, taking on Buffalo or Jersey would be the best bet, while falling to 7th or 8th to take on Pittsburgh or Washington would be a tough road to go. Actually, all roads are tough given the Flyers' play of late, the loss of Carter and having no goalie, but still. You'd rather avoid Washington and Pittsburgh at all costs. Needless to say, dropping out of the playoffs would be disastrous.
The remaining schedule has some favorable matchups and some tough ones. They have off until Thursday, when they take on the Islanders in Long Island in a game they have to win. Then the Flyers play at home against Montreal, an important game in the standings, and follow that up with a dangerous game against Detroit at the Wachovia Center on Easter Sunday. Then they wrap up the season with another game they must win at Toronto next Tuesday, followed by a Friday-Sunday home and home with the Rangers, first in the Garden and then in Philadelphia.
The best case scenario is the fifth seed at this point. The worst case scenario is still missing the playoffs, which is certainly a possibility. And that would unquestionably be another kick square in the balls.
Remember back when Sportscenter was truly Sportscenter, doing nothing but showing awesome highlights for an hour instead of putting talking heads on to debate the most inane topics over and over again? I do, and that's when Sportscenter was the shit. Since then, it's become nearly impossible to watch a Sportscenter in its entirety because the highlights are few and far between, instead opting for talk, talk and more talk. Give me my highlights back!
Back then, not only were the highlights plentiful, but the anchors were awesome: Dan Patrick, Keith Olbermann, Craig Kilborn, Charley Steiner and, yes, Stuart Scott. Since those early years, as ESPN and Sportscenter have deteriorated, so too has Scott. Now, he seems like an aging man who is trying way too hard to be funny and hip and relate to the youth, instead of just being himself. But back in the heyday of Sportscenter, Scott was the man, and he had the greatest catch phrase of all time: as cool as the other side of the pillow.
I bring this all up because watching North Carolina defeat Michigan State again last night — 89-82 — and watching Ed Davis play for a year-plus now, UNC alum Stuart Scott's catch phrase describes the sophomore power forward's game to a tee. Ed Davis simply is as cool as the other side of the pillow.
Last night, seemingly without trying, Davis led all scorers with 22 points on a ridiculously efficient 8-10 from the floor and nabbed 6 rebounds … and he hit some clutch free throws down the stretch. The 6-10 super sophomore didn't even look like he broke a sweat, but make no mistake, he was putting in work. It's just the way he plays makes it look as though he's not even trying. That's how scary talented this kid is. He can dominate a game from start to finish and make it look like a walk in the park. His smooth stroke, silky touch, intimidating length — they all go hand in hand with a cool demeanor that makes it seem as though Davis is just gliding out there.
In a way, he is. Davis isn't a demanding presence, an aggressive, assertive beast. He's more of a relaxed superstar, never pressing the issue, happy to share the spotlight on a roster full of super talents. Perhaps that will come in time. After all, he's only 20 years old and coming off a season where he was the fourth or fifth option behind the likes of Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green. If he develops into a more domineering presence this season and beyond, his potential is limitless. As Dickie V. put it last night, he may not even realize how good he can be, and at times he can be a little too passive. My guess is he will assert himself in time. But in the meantime, we should all appreciate what he's doing right now and just how easy he's making it all look.
Against an admittedly undersized Michigan State squad last night, Davis was the best player on the floor, no question about it. He dominated both ends of the floor, altering shots on defense and creating offense with his insane efficiency down low and the opportunities he opened up on the perimeter. The Tar Heels shot the lights out of the basketball in large part due to the attention the Spartans had to pay to Davis and his fellow mates on the block. UNC finished the game shooting 57.9 percent from the floor and 50 percent from three.
The thing that makes Davis so fun to watch is how unselfish he is. For all the calls for him to be more aggressive, perhaps that isn't what the team actually needs right now. The Tar Heels run 12 players deep. Everyone who takes the court can score. Davis is the right kind of superstar to fit such a team. He's content to let his teammates get their shots, get their buckets. But when push comes to shove, when crunch time rolls around, Davis isn't shy to take over, which is exactly what he did last night. When Michigan State made their push and turned a 16-point halftime deficit into a tight contest late, Davis made sure his Tar Heels wouldn't let the game get away at home.
Not that Davis had to this all on his own. Make no mistake about it, this North Carolina team is nowhere near as good as last season's squad. How could it be? The Tar Heels lost their top four players to the NBA, four of the best players in the nation. They're young and for the most part inexperienced. But as Vitale said last night, this isn't the UNC squad that followed up the 2005 championship with a cupboard that was relatively bare. Far from it. This team has talent lining up next to talent. Sure, the guard play isn't the best the school's seen, but as the season wears on, the likes of Larry Drew II and Dexter Strickland look more and more comfortable, and less and less like liabilities.
Strickland and especially Drew were impressive last night, looking far better and more confident than they had in Madison Square Garden against the likes of Syracuse. Drew was poised and lethal with his shot all night. Next to Davis, he may have been the best player for the Tar Heels last night — no small feat considering he played much of the game matched up against reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Kalin Lucas. The biggest thing for Drew was how well he ran the team and took what was there. He finished with 6 assists, and more impressively, he consistently nailed his jumper, going 6-7 from the field for 18 points and 5-6 from the line. His foul shooting in final minutes iced the game for Carolina, when his teammates were struggling from the line.
Strickland also had a breakout game. For the first time in this young season, the freshman looked confident and was attacking the defense. He looked significantly faster with the ball in his hands than he had in previous games, and his confidence grew leaps and bounds in that game. In 14 impact minutes, he went 3-5 from the field and 2-3 from beyond for 9 points, and he even got some big-time minutes at the end of the game, which will no doubt serve him well down the road. He did miss three of his four free throws though, which was maddening considering he's supposed to be a pretty good shooter. But he was a pleasant surprise last night and played really well, as did his fellow freshman.
The star recruit for the Tar Heels was John Henson, the wiry 6'10 forward. His transition to the college game has clearly shown he has some work to do, most notably a need to get bigger and stronger. His slight frame makes it difficult for him to bang inside at the moment. But his freakish athleticism was on display on two insane blocks thanks to his length and a bad-ass putback slam. His minutes aren't that of a super-recruit just yet, but the potential dripping from this kid is off the charts. Add in the steady play of the Wear twins, who both do a little bit of everything, and this young front line will give teams fits all season long. They sure did last night.
And that's without even mentioning Deon Thompson, the senior who is leading UNC is scoring and got the Heels going last night with a very fast, very impressive start. UNC was able to jump out to a 19-point lead in the first half mainly due to Thompson, who was killing anyone Tom Izzo put on him.
But it wasn't all domination for Carolina. The ugly turnover head sprouted again, as Michigan State forced 17 from North Carolina. And that allowed the Spartans to climb back in it. Raymar Morgan was a force for Michigan State, and this team is no joke. They have a ton of talent and it wouldn't be a shocker to see them back in the national championship game, especially with Kalin Lucas running the show.
I'm not the biggest proponent of Big Ten basketball, but any time Lucas takes the floor, he's must-watch TV. As he showed last season, he's lightning quick, fearless going to the rim and is no slouch with his jumper. He's for sure an NBA guard, even with his short stature. He's strong, aggressive and unafraid of anyone. Late last night, he was just killing whoever Roy Williams assigned to defend him: Drew, Marcus Ginyard, Strickland. Didn't matter, Lucas was going to shake them. He didn't have a great game early on, but he nearly led Michigan State to an improbable comeback. He's definitely the real deal.
But it wasn't enough. The young Tar Heels used their size and strength (and surprising outside shooting) to get a big victory against a highly ranked opponent early in the season. That's a confidence booster that should frighten the rest of the country. Although North Carolina was ranked in the preseason top 10, and surely will be back in the top 10 after last night's victory, they are thought to be more vulnerable this year after losing so much from last season's championship team. But as the year wears on, they will undoubtedly get better as they mature and Roy Williams has more time to develop them. This was the time when the likes of Michigan State were supposed to feast on Carolina. If they're winning games like last night's this early on, image how tough they'll be to beat come February and March.
Forgive me for my lack of excitement over the weekend, but given Penn State's two home losses to Iowa and Ohio State, not to mention the Eagles continuing to make the same old mistakes, I just couldn't get myself too worked up over the games against Michigan State and the Bears, even though both had enormous implications for postseason play.
Penn State, despite its weaker than weak schedule, two home losses and overall underwhelming performance in 2009, was still in the BCS bowl discussion, and with a 42-14 victory, the Nittany Lions will probably (and wrongfully) be in one. And the Eagles, of course, sat at 5-4 heading into last night's game, just on the outskirts of the NFC playoff picture thanks to victories by the Cowboys and Giants earlier in the day. With the 24-20 victory, the Eagles moved back into the wild card lead, displacing the Giants, whom they already beat.
And yet, I really couldn't get into the games all that much. I watched, sure. And I watched with my usual critical eye, but I just couldn't put too much emotion into either game. These teams have broken me to the point of truly not allowing them to dictate my mood. Been that kind of season I guess. That approach seemed warranted after Penn State played a lackluster first half, putting up no points against a porous Michigan State defense in the first quarter and going into halftime tied 7-7.
However, the game turned on the first drive of the second half. Stephfon Green took the opening kickoff 37 yards to the Penn State 46, and three plays later, Philadelphia's own Curtis Drake made the play that put the Nittany Lions ahead for good. The freshman from West Catholic took a backward swing pass from Daryll Clark, and the high school quarterback faked as though he was going to run, stopped and fired one to the end zone. That's where Andrew Quarless, despite being double teamed, leaped up and snagged the pass for a touchdown, his second TD grab of the game. I love the Drake.
Between the last game against Indiana and then again yesterday, Drake has displayed his versatility and speed, proving he'll be a big asset to Penn State in the years to come. Against Indiana, he touched the ball three times, gaining 60 yards. That's 20 yards per touch. The highlight was his 26-yard gain on a reverse, where he really showcased his first-rate speed. And Saturday, he was at it again, gaining 18 yards on his only run of the game, hauling in two passes for 22 yards and posting a perfect quarterback rating, hitting Quarless in the end zone from 14 yards out.
From there, it was all Penn State. They rattled off four touchdowns in the third quarter and made it five in a row to go up 42-7 before the Spartans scored once more to end the game. After a subpar first half, Penn State came out and steamrolled Michigan State in the second, led by Evan Royster's 114 yards rushing and 8.8 yards per carry. In his three years at Penn State, the Nittany Lions are undefeated when Royster rushes for 100 yards or more. That's not a coincidence.
Daryll Clark and Graham Zug also had very nice games, though Clark was pretty bad in the first half and Zug inexplicably dropped an easy touchdown pass. Still, their numbers were impressive. Clark finished the game 19 of 27 passing for 310 yards and four touchdowns. Zug caught two of those TDs, nabbing four passes in all for 99 yards. And Quarless did the rest of the heavy lifting, scoring the first two TDs for Penn State and finishing with four catches for 62 yards.
Defensively, pretty much everyone played tremendously, with the exception of Josh Hull, who was burnt in coverage numerous times, because he sucks. But everyone else looked pretty good, especially Navorro Bowman, who was flying all over the field. And Nick Sukay even hauled in a pick, showing he's not useless back there.
But hey, at least Penn State wrapped up a disappointing 2009 season with a victory and a 10-2 record. I know there are a ton of programs that would be dying to finish 10-2.
Then there was last night's game in Chicago. From the start, it looked like the Eagles may be in for an easy night. On their first two drives, the Eagles went right down the field, doing a very nice job of balancing the pass and the run. On the opening possession, the Eagles went 68 yards in 8 plays to get to the Chicago 7. Of those eight plays, four of them were runs, an even 4:4 run/pass ratio. The Eagles stalled at the 7 and had to kick of field goal.
The defense followed up by stopping the Bears, and on the second drive, the Eagles took over on their own 24. They they proceeded to march 76 yards right down the field, capped by a 13-yard touchdown pass from Donovan to Jason Avant. The drive consisted of 8 plays and a penalty. The Eagles ran on four of those 8 plays again, for a 4:4 run/pass ratio. One was a McNabb scramble, so the Birds actually called 3 runs and 5 passes, but still, good ratio. They were up 10-0 and moving the ball at will, keeping Chicago off-balance by mixing up the play-calling.
Then the Eagles stopped running. Completely. And the Bears inched back into it behind the foot of Robbie Gould, better known as the player whose agent/lawyer sent me a cease and desist letter. Stupid Gould, who again could not hit a field goal if the goal posts were 50 yards apart at Penn State, made four field goals from 45, 28, 28 and 49 yards. I hate Robbie Gould.
But I hate Andy and Marty and their stupid play calling even more. After moving down the field with ease and putting up 10 points on their first two drives by balancing the run and pass evenly, the Eagles then went pass-happy again. On their third drive, the plays went like this: run, pass, penalty, pass, pass, pass, sack, punt. That's one run and five passes for 0 points. Following another Gould field goal, the Eagles went sack, pass, pass, run, run, interception. Four passes, two runs, 0 points. The next drive went just one play, when McNabb hit DeSean Jackson, who then fumbled and was recovered by Penn Stater Anthony Adams. After another Robbie Gould field goal made it 10-9 with 13 seconds left, LeSean McCoy did get a rush to end the half. That hardly counts.
So to recap, the Eagles ran the ball 8 times and passed the ball 8 times in the first two series and scored 10 points, building a 10-0 lead. Then they stopped running altogether, and a 10-0 lead turned into a 10-9 lead at halftime. Naturally, any smart coach would look at what worked and what didn't in that first half, then look at themselves in the mirror and conclude they had to get back to the run. But not Andy and Marty. No. Let's pass, pass, pass.
On their first possession of the 2nd half, the Eagles went incomplete pass, 5-yard penalty, pass, incomplete pass, punt. A three and out, no runs whatsoever. Sav Rocca, who should be cut today, punted the ball 16 yards, giving Chicago great field position. After another Gould field goal, the score was 12-10 Bears. The Eagles actually went back to the run, gaining 7 yards on first down with McCoy, then committing another dumb penalty, then gaining 10 yards on a swing pass that technically was a lateral to DeSean for a first down. They they gained 6 yards on a run by McCoy. That's three runs for 23 yards, over 7 yards per carry. Then McNabb got sacked, followed by a completion to Maclin short of the first down. Tough break, but they were running effectively and moved the ball a little bit before having to punt.
After the defense got a stop, the Eagles scored on the second play on a 48-yard bomb by McNabb to DeSean. Why? Because the Eagles got back to the run on the previous possession, forcing the Bears to respect the run and bring more guys in the box. That allowed DeSean to break free in the secondary, using his great speed, and McNabb hit him for the TD to regain the lead, 17-12.
Shocking how that works. On their only other scoring drive, the one that won the game, the drive breakdown went like this: run, pass, run, pass, run, pass, pass, run, pass, pass, run. That's 5 runs and 6 passes, resulting in a touchdown. What do you know? That final run was the 10-yard touchdown by LeSean McCoy that put the Eagles up 24-20 following a blocked field goal on a 48-yard attempt by Gould. That block felt so good for me. Nothing like seeing the dejected face of Robbie Gould. And then to punch it in the end zone to take the lead, well, that was the icing on the cake.
Of course, the game wasn't simply if you run the ball you will win. Jay Cutler was terrible yet again, helping out the Eagles by missing three completely wide open receivers for what surely would have been touchdowns. And the defense, despite getting the big stop at the end when it needed it, couldn't generate consistent pressure, even against a suspect Chicago line, Sean McDermott can't dial up a blitz that works to save his life, no one can tackle, and Chris Gocong completely sucks at football. Seriously, when Jeremiah Trotter has an infinitely better game than you at linebacker, that's a problem. For my money, Gocong was the worst player on the field for either team, getting beat badly for a touchdown, overrunning nearly every one of the few plays he actually was in position to make, and flat-out sucking. He's not a football player. Just isn't. At least not a linebacker. Stand-up defensive end, maybe. But linebacker, no.
Having said that, there were plenty of positives from this game too. For starters, they won, to improve to 6-4 on the season. Trent Cole was a beast, Sheldon played well despite being hurt and most of the D didn't make many mistakes. Even Dimitri Patterson played reasonably well, especially when that pussy Asante left the game. Seriously, Asante, you're getting paid huge bucks. Get out on the field. Hell, even Macho Harris did a decent job in coverage. It helps that the Bears don't really have any real wide receivers, but still.
Offensively, McNabb was sharp, completing 72 percent of his passes, and the Eagles proved they could run the ball, gaining 157 yards on the ground. The __Seans each had excellent games, as LeSean gained 99 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown while DeSean nabbed 8 catches for 107 and a score. Of course, it would help if these two secured the ball better, as both fumbled. Gotta hold on to that thing.
It was an important victory for the course of the season, and maybe after watching the game tape, Andy and Marty will realize just how scary good this offense can be when they stay balanced, though I doubt it. If they stick to running the ball, given how well LeSean has played this year, it will open things up even more for the explosive receivers. DeSean is a stud, Maclin looks more and more like the first-rounder he was each and every week, Celek is a bona-fide Pro Bowl candidate and Jason Avant is as reliable as slot receivers come. If you force teams to respect the run the way the Bears had to last night, the passing game will become even more efficient and explosive. It's not rocket science, though at times you'd think it was given the play-calling. If you run, the wins will come.
Oh, and Tim Shaw is on the Bears. He made two great special teams plays, one an enormous hit. Who knew he was still alive, let alone in the NFL? That makes for three Penn Staters on the Bears (Anthony Adams, Robbie Gould, Tim Shaw) and even a Temple Owl (Jason McKie). Good to see those guys are earning paychecks in the NFL. (Well, good for everyone except Robbie Gould. Fuck Robbie Gould. He doesn't deserve shit.)
After the final seconds had ticked away and North Carolina had cut down the nets in a dominant 89-72 championship victory, it was a player from the Philadelphia area that stood above the rest. Episcopal Academy graduate Wayne Ellington, fresh off a performance that ended Villanova's run, hit a barrage of shots in the first half, helping North Carolina build an insurmountable lead. And when it was all said and done, the kid who ventured down to Tobacco Road as a skinny freshman with nothing more than a sweet jump shot found himself as the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four in Detroit.
And boy did he earn it. In his first season at UNC, Ellington proved he could shoot it with the best of them, but honestly, he showed little more than that. Last season, as a sophomore, he upped his scoring, developed a bit more of a well-rounded game, but seemed to disappear in the big games. That was the knock on him, fading away in the spotlight.
Well, in his junior season, he put all those criticisms to rest. This year, Ellington became much more than a shooter. He became a legitimate slasher, a confident ball-handler, and, yeah, he still shot the lights out of the ball. He used his length to become a better defender, his wit to take better shots. And most important of all, when the season began to wind down, about a month left to go, Ellington took his game to another level. He became not just a reliable scorer, but a lethal one.
Heading into the NCAA tournament, he was playing as well as any shooting guard in the country, and he didn't slow down one bit. In the opener against Radnor, Wayne scored a game-high 25 points, efficiently shooting 11-16 from the floor, 3-5 from three and nabbing 8 rebounds. In the second-round battle with LSU, Ellington again scored with ease, dropping 23 on 9-16 shooting and 3-6 from beyond the arc, and he followed that up with 19 points against Gonzaga. He did have a quiet game against Oklahoma in the regional final, but turns out, Wayne was just saving his best for last.
There is no bigger stage in college sports than the Final Four. None. Naturally, given Ellington's past, it would have been no surprise to see him come up small. After all, before his torrid stretch heading into the tournament, that was his M.O. So all Ellington did was come out and hit 5 three-pointers against the Wildcats, crushing the hopes of Villanova right off the bat, finishing with 20 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists.
Last night, he simply did it again. From the start, Ellington was scorching hot, hitting virtually everything he put up, helping North Carolina jump out to a 22-7 lead. The Spartans didn't know what hit them. Ellington finished with 19 points on 7-12 from the field, nailing all three of this three-point attempts, and his breakaway dunk in the closing minutes was the capper on a tremendous season for Ellington and the Tar Heels.
When the season began, UNC was the unquestioned favorite to win the whole damn thing. After all, every major piece of last year's Final Four team was back: Ellington, Ty Lawson, Tyler Hansbrough, Danny Green, Marcus Ginyard, Deon Thompson. Plus, Carolina was adding talented freshmen Tyler Zeller, Ed Davis and Larry Drew, not to mention getting the versatile Bobby Frasor back in the fold. There was no reason to believe this team wouldn't get back, and most likely, win the whole thing this time around, using the embarrassing loss to Kansas as motivation.
Things started off swimmingly for UNC. They roared out of the gates, even without Ginyard, who was sidelined due to injury, destroying ranked opponents right from the start. Then, Zeller broke his wrist, and after a brief 3-game comeback, Ginyard was done for the year. The Tar Heels got knocked off by Wake Forest, dropped a few games they were expected to win, and suddenly people began to question just how good this team could be.
At times, North Carolina looked disinterested defensively, and there was a large crop of talented teams to challenge them. Then, Ty Lawson became the best point guard in the country, perhaps the best player this side of Blake Griffin. UNC regained its footing, won the ACC with ease, earned its No. 1 seed in the tournament. But again, with Lawson's toe ailing, people questioned just how far North Carolina could go, and really, no one trusted their defense.
Well, Roy Williams got his guys ready. Of course, the Tar Heels scored points at an alarming clip, but, after a 101-58 rout in the first game of the tournament over Radford, sans Lawson, the floor leader returned and solidified the Heels on defense. His quick hands and tough on-the-ball defense seemed to ignite the rest of the team, and North Carolina suddenly became not just a great scoring team, but a great defensive team too. And that gave no one else even a remote chance at beating them.
North Carolina put on one of the truly epic, dominating tournament performances off all time, winning all six games it took to cut down the nets by at least 12 points, winning by an average of 20 points. Ty Lawson was the best player period in the tournament, averaging more than 20 points, 6.8 assists and 3.2 steals in his five games, including an NCAA Final record 8 steals last night. He turned the ball over just 7 times in 5 games, putting up a ridiculous 4.8-to-1 assist to turnover ratio. I know he's small, but for the life of me, I can't figure out why he won't be a lottery pick. The guy is a flat-out star point guard.
Last night, in the culmination of a very decorated career, Tyler Hansbrough got his championship, scoring 18 points in the process. And really, everyone had a hand in it. Deon Thompson was owning the paint early on, Ed Davis snatched up every rebound near him, Bobby Frasor did all the little things Bobby Frasor always does, Larry Drew and Tyler Zeller had cameos, and Danny Green, Mr. do-it-all and my favorite player on the team, hit two big three pointers.
Coach Williams joined the illustrious ranks, winning his second national title since taking over in Chapel Hill, and I couldn't have been happier for the seniors, Green, Frasor and Hansbrough. Oh, and Marcus Ginyard too. It was really great to see Green and Tyler give Marcus big old hugs when they came to the bench, and even better to see Ginyard climb the ladder and take his piece of the net. Even though he played in just three games his senior year, he was as big of a part of this team climbing the ranks from freshmen to seniors as anyone. Although for him, it's not over yet. He'll be granted a redshirt and be back next season. For Green, Frasor and Hansbrough, most most likely Ellington and Lawson too, this was their last game, and they have come a long way.
The year after UNC won the title with Sean May, Rashad McCants, Raymond Felton, Jawad Williams and all the rest, North Carolina had to start all over again. All those players left, meaning it was rebuilding time. Well, Tyler Hansbrough and Bobby Frasor started for the young Tar Heels, and Danny Green and Marcus Ginyard quickly became the top two subs.
A year later, stud freshmen Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington joined the fold, along with a talented, if slightly overweight, power forward by the name of Deon Thompson. Hansbrough quickly became the best player in the ACC, Frasor accepted his fate and moved to the bench, and Danny Green became one of the best bench players in the country while Ginyard established himself as the best defender on the team.
Lawson and Ellington showed incredible promise, but both went through the natural growing pains. Ellington needed to develop into more than just a shooter, and Lawson, with his blazing speed, needed to learn to harness his talents. As a freshman, Tywan was very turnover-prone and simply tried to do everything too quickly.
That all changed last season, as finally, with Hansbrough in his third season at Chapel Hill, North Carolina looked to be the best team in the land. The Heels made it all the way to the Final Four, but were humiliated by the eventual champions, and there was a chance this crop could be disbanded before the ultimate goal was achieved. Green, Ellington and Lawson decided to test the NBA waters. Luckily for UNC, they eventually decided to come back to school, and the rest is history.
For Green, Frasor and Hansbrough (Ginyard too), they put together the best 4-year record in North Carolina history. And last night, they capped that most impressive run with a championship. Green, for all his efforts, became the winningest player ever to don a North Carolina jersey. And he's the player I was happiest for. The player I'll miss the most.
Honestly, I'll think he'll make a terrific sixth man in the NBA, with his versatility, size and athleticism. He can rebound, defend, shoot, block shots, pretty much give you anything you need.
While I'll be sad to see him and the rest of the NBA-bound group go, it was one hell of a fun a ride.
It was not a good weekend for Philadelphia. Sure, things started out well. The Flyers exploded for 8 goals Friday, beating the Leafs 8-5, and the Sixers clinched a playoff birth on Saturday with a 95-90 win against Detroit, but it was all downhill from there.
It began with the Flyers Saturday night. With a chance to clinch a playoff spot with a victory, the Flyers fell back into old habits, falling behind 2-0 to Ottawa and eventually losing in a shootout. They did get a point, meaning the magic number to clinch a playoff spot is down to one point with four games to go, but it would have been nice to get that out of the way.
I only saw bits and pieces of the game because I was focused on the Michigan State-UConn game. If you missed it, you missed one hell of a basketball game. Honestly, the Spartans looked damn good. Even with Goran Suton, the MOP for MSU in the tournament before getting to Detroit, struggling, Michigan State turned it on with about 6 minutes left to pull away and get to the final. It's a damn good team with a hell of a coach. And by the way, maybe Penn State should have been in the dance, seeing as they won the NIT AND defeated Michigan State earlier in the year in East Lansing.
For all the shit the Big Ten gets, Michigan State finds itself back in the championship game yet again. Maybe it's not so bad after all.
In the nightcap, the pride of the Main Line took on North Carolina, and right out of the gate, the Tar Heels asserted themselves, building a 17-point lead behind the three-point shooting of Wayne Ellington and the unstoppable speed of Ty Lawson.
Nova hung tough, made a nice run to end the half to get within 9, and even got it as close as 5 to begin the second half, but the Tar Heels were simply too much. Honestly, the Wildcats just didn't have enough depth or talent to hang with North Carolina. UNC was picked as the prohibitive favorite at the beginning of the year, and Saturday the Heels showed why. They simply had too many horses for Villanova to handle.
It was a great run for Nova, a team no one really thought would be able to get to the Final Four heading into the season. Dante Cunningham established himself as a legitimate NBA prospect, and with Scottie Reynolds, Reggie Redding, Anotnio Pena, Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes returning, and one of the nation's top recruiting classes coming in, it's no stretch to think Nova may have another run in them next year. But this year, they just lost to a better team.
I can't say I was upset with the outcome, seeing as I'm a UNC fan and desperately want Danny Green to get a title, but it was sad to see the careers of Dante Cunningham, Shane Clark and Dwayne Anderson end.
I've been a huge fan of Cunningham ever since he broke into the rotation, and I always had high hopes for Shane Clark. I guess you could say Clark was my guy on the Nova squad. And Anderson simply became one of the most underappreciated players this city has ever seen. They will be missed.
The disappointment didn't end there. A day after clinching a playoff spot, the Sixers got trounced by the Nets, 96-67. Wow, not a good way to follow up. I didn't watch much of the game, seeing as the Phillies began at 8, but it was brutal.
Speaking of the Phillies, I was all amped up to watch a professional team from Philadelphia, for the first time in my life, start the season as the defending champs. I got goosebumps when the banner was raised, and I was all set to go. Then Brett Myers decided to get the minor league speculation going early.
He started off all well and good, getting two quick outs, but then a bloop hip by Chipper Jones unraveled him. Myers hung a breaking ball to Brian McCann, and the Phillie killer sent one to the right field upper deck. The next inning, Jeff Francour hit a home run, and then a rookie, in his first major league at-bat, crushed one to the deepest part of the park. The funny thing is, Joe Morgan, Steve Phillips and Jon Miller were talking about how Myers should go after Jordan Schafer because it's his first Major League at-bat and he has no power. Nice scouting guys.
I know it's only one game and the Phils are defending champs and all, but honestly, this game simply reminded me of just how frustrating the Phillies are to watch. All night, they swung early in the count on Derek Lowe, hitting grounder after grounder. Then, after Eric Bruntlett finally gave the Phillies life in the 9th, the same old stupid hitting Phils showed up. Werth did drive in Bruntlett with an RBI single after Jimmy flied out, and Chase had a perfect at-bat, taking a 5-pitch walk to get the tying run to the plate in the form of Ryan Howard with one out.
And that's when I really lost it. Howard did his typical free swinging, chasing awful slider after awful slider, immediately after Chase just walked on 5 pitches mind you, to eventually strike out looking on a fastball right down the middle of the plate. Then, Raul Ibanez, supposedly a professional, smart hitter, worked the count to 3-1, a perfect hitter's count, and swung at a 3-1 slider way out of the zone, then striking out on the next pitch, instead of, you know, locking in to a fastball in his zone at 3-1. Seriously, for the millionth time, make the fucking pitcher throw strikes you fucking idiots! Fuck. Watching baseball is so frustrating.
Obviously, I know it's just one game and the Phils are a notoriously slow-starting team, but World Series be damned, start becoming smart hitters for once, please. Ugh. I may suffer a stroke and/or several heart attacks this season.
Oh, and just for shits and giggles, here's some messages I received from some friends/family during last night's game, beginning with my dad:
Dad: Myers is back to being the old Myers.
My cousin: [Re: Myers] He sucks. He should put the weight back on.
My arch nemesis: Myers refuses to throw a fastball and gives up homers, Howard refuses to lay off the low slider and k's. New season, same annoying crap.
A Red Sox fan: Wow - Myers looks really good tonight!
Arkansas Fred: Unreal. Just unreal.
Adam EatShit: [Re: Myers} He looks for shit.
Red Sox fan: Phillys will NOT even come close to the world series again buddy - sorry, and I have a feeling u know it 2.
The Charles: Send them all back!
Arkansas Fred: [Re: bottom of 3rd] Brett does not bunt. Jimmy pops up. This team is trash and idiots.
Arkansas Fred; Well brett is not getting a hit and carlos is not scoring on a single to right from second.
Arkansas Fred: In case you missed it, Jeff Francour now looks at the pitches with both eyes and his head is turned more. Im not sure anyone pointed that out yet.
Arkansas Fred: Im mad im going tuesday. What a waste.
Arkansas Fred: Thats true. Howard still is an idiot. He gets one pitch right down the middle and he never is ready for it.
Arkansas Fred: And he always looks completely horrible.
Well, that didn't take long.
Also, we really, really, really need FJM back. Last night's telecast was brutal. Morgan and Miller told us about 5 million times about Francour's new stance and the fact that Derek Lowe calls his slider a curveball, not a slider, so for the record, he throws a curveball, not a slider, even though his curveball looks like a slider and GAAHHHH I WANT TO BLUDGEON THOSE TWO TO DEATH WITH A PICK AX. And fucking Steve Phillips. Jesus Christ! Get someone who wasn't one of the worst GMs of all time to inform me on shit.
Oh, and another note to Miller and Morgan, no one cares about players from the 60s and 70s that no one heard of and what they called their pitches. Honestly, no one cares.
