Kevin Ollie Continues To Defy The Odds
Showing posts with label uconn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label uconn. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Friday, March 25, 2011
Kemba Walker + Derrick Williams = 68, 16 and 5
Last night, I was on complete sensory overload. Uncle Jellyfish, Adam EatShit, two of my roommates and I went to the bar to get some wings and beer and watch the NCAA Tournament and the Flyers-Penguins game.
While the Flyers left more to be desired (as has been the case for a couple months now) in the shootout loss to the Penguins, Kemba Walker and Derrick Williams provided plenty to get excited about.
Everyone knows all about Kemba Walker. He's been in the Player of the Year discussions since day 1, and being a junior playing in the Big East, the nation has watched him develop at UConn these past three years. The man is fantastic, and he was yet again last night.
In a tight battle with San Diego State (should have been Temple!), the difference was simple: The Huskies had Kemba, the Aztecs didn't. Walker torched San Diego St. for 36 points, connecting on 4 of 8 threes and getting any damn where he wanted to on the court. Basically, he did what he's been doing all year long, and especially since the Big East tournament: Putting UConn on his back and carrying them to the team's 8th straight victory — a streak that began in the Big East Tournament.
Walker's performance last night was equally matched by Arizona's sophomore star Derrick Williams.
Now, people definitely are familiar with the name Derrick Williams — he was the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year last season and the most known player on conference champion Arizona this year — but there was hardly any publicity for the man prior to this NCAA Tournament. Honestly, I didn't take too much notice myself until early in this calendar year, when my roommate was singing his praises. Then I started to watch, and man was I impressed.
Last night, he and his Arizona Wildcats impressed the entire country by absolutely annihilating Duke. Zona ripped through the Blue Devils 93-77 by literally terrifying the daylights out of them. And it was Williams who led in the charge in writing Duke's obituary.
Williams wasn't just better than anyone else on that court last night — he was way better than anyone else. Way better than Nolan Smith. Way better than Kyle Singler. Way better than Kyrie Irving, who scored 28 points himself. Williams had 32 beastly points, hauled in 13 rebounds and added two steals and a block for good measure. He completely and utterly abused Singler or whatever Mason brother Coach K. threw his way, shooting 11-17 from the floor, 5-6 from three and 5-6 from the line.
But most impressive of all, he put on a performance so NBA-like that no other player in the nation besides Kemba Walker has been able pull something like that off this season.
All season long, I've thought that Kemba Walker may not be the Player of the Year in college basketball, but he's certainly looked the most like an NBA player. Well, Derrick Williams has entered that sphere, and he may have been there all along.
Now these two men will go toe to toe tomorrow night. Arizona vs. UConn for the right to play in the Final Four, a game that you just know will be decided by these two NBA-bound players.
Last night, Kemba Walker and Derrick Williams combined for 68 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists, four steals and a block. They shot a combined 55 percent from the field, went 9-14 (64 percent) from beyond the arc and made 13 of 16 free throws. And they led their respective teams to the brink of the Final Four.
I cannot wait to see what they have in store for us as they go up against one another tomorrow night.
While the Flyers left more to be desired (as has been the case for a couple months now) in the shootout loss to the Penguins, Kemba Walker and Derrick Williams provided plenty to get excited about.
Everyone knows all about Kemba Walker. He's been in the Player of the Year discussions since day 1, and being a junior playing in the Big East, the nation has watched him develop at UConn these past three years. The man is fantastic, and he was yet again last night.
In a tight battle with San Diego State (should have been Temple!), the difference was simple: The Huskies had Kemba, the Aztecs didn't. Walker torched San Diego St. for 36 points, connecting on 4 of 8 threes and getting any damn where he wanted to on the court. Basically, he did what he's been doing all year long, and especially since the Big East tournament: Putting UConn on his back and carrying them to the team's 8th straight victory — a streak that began in the Big East Tournament.
Walker's performance last night was equally matched by Arizona's sophomore star Derrick Williams.
Now, people definitely are familiar with the name Derrick Williams — he was the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year last season and the most known player on conference champion Arizona this year — but there was hardly any publicity for the man prior to this NCAA Tournament. Honestly, I didn't take too much notice myself until early in this calendar year, when my roommate was singing his praises. Then I started to watch, and man was I impressed.
Last night, he and his Arizona Wildcats impressed the entire country by absolutely annihilating Duke. Zona ripped through the Blue Devils 93-77 by literally terrifying the daylights out of them. And it was Williams who led in the charge in writing Duke's obituary.
Williams wasn't just better than anyone else on that court last night — he was way better than anyone else. Way better than Nolan Smith. Way better than Kyle Singler. Way better than Kyrie Irving, who scored 28 points himself. Williams had 32 beastly points, hauled in 13 rebounds and added two steals and a block for good measure. He completely and utterly abused Singler or whatever Mason brother Coach K. threw his way, shooting 11-17 from the floor, 5-6 from three and 5-6 from the line.
But most impressive of all, he put on a performance so NBA-like that no other player in the nation besides Kemba Walker has been able pull something like that off this season.
All season long, I've thought that Kemba Walker may not be the Player of the Year in college basketball, but he's certainly looked the most like an NBA player. Well, Derrick Williams has entered that sphere, and he may have been there all along.
Now these two men will go toe to toe tomorrow night. Arizona vs. UConn for the right to play in the Final Four, a game that you just know will be decided by these two NBA-bound players.
Last night, Kemba Walker and Derrick Williams combined for 68 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists, four steals and a block. They shot a combined 55 percent from the field, went 9-14 (64 percent) from beyond the arc and made 13 of 16 free throws. And they led their respective teams to the brink of the Final Four.
I cannot wait to see what they have in store for us as they go up against one another tomorrow night.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
So Kemba Walker Just Did This
Somebody wasn't too please with Ben Hansbrough being named Big East Player of the Year.
In case you weren't sure, March Madness has already begun.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Whitest Sequence in the World
If you watched the Villanova's 97-89 victory over St. Joe's last night in its entirety, you witnessed perhaps the whitest sequence in the history of basketball, performed by none other than everyone's favorite Duke transfer Taylor King.
With about 6 and half minutes left to play and Nova holding a comfortable 11-point lead, Corey Fisher stole the ball and passed ahead to a streaking Taylor King in the open floor. King took off and attempted to dunk … and I say attempted because it turned out a little something like this:
OK, not quite, but King took off from way too far out and got rejected by the rim, blowing an easy two points. Hasn't he ever heard that white men can't jump? To make matters worse — and more embarrassing — he hussled down the floor, stumbled, fell and committed a foul. It was, bar-none, the most unathletic, hilarious sequence of basketball I've ever seen. Never have I seen a player look more white. Call that racist if you want, but it makes sense. Taylor King is white, and the fact that he initially went to Duke and now goes to Villanova makes his whiteness even more emphatic. It was hilarity of the highest order. Too bad I can't find it on YouTube.
Truth be told, King actually had a tremendous game last night. He scored 20 points and nabbed nine boards, and he looks like a much more complete player than he did two seasons ago as a freshman at Duke. Back then, all he did was hover around the three-point line and bomb away, never getting dirty inside and not doing much else. But after sitting a year with his transfer, he looks like a completely different player. For starters, he's much more fit than he was as a baby-faced freshman playing for the worst team on earth. And he's shown an aggression and toughness inside that wasn't on display in his one season in Durham. He's banging inside, crashing the boards with reckless abandon, competing hard on defense and continuing to stroke it from anywhere on the court. On a team filled with talent, and more on its way next semester with the return of Reggie Redding, King is commanding more and more playing time with his game. Nova may not be nearly as good as their early-season ranking suggests just yet, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them get there by March.
With a rotation of Scottie Reynolds — who had a phenomenal game last night (22 points, 4-5 from the floor, 2-3 from three, 12-14 from the line, 6 boards, 5 assists … and 6 turnovers, which wasn't so good), Corey Fisher, Corey Stokes, Antonio Pena (also a really good game: 15 points, 5-8 shooting, 5-6 from the line, 7 boards, 2 steals, a block) and Reggie Redding playing big minutes last season and returning more seasoned and more confident joined by King, freshmen Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek, and Maurice Sutton, not to mention freshman Isaiah Armwood, this is another nightmare-inducing team manned by Jay Wright. They can get up and down the floor with just about anyone, and as long as Fisher and Reynolds play under control, this squad will be tough to beat.
Just don't ask Taylor King to dunk. The results are disastrous.
Speaking of disastrous, anyone catch the end of the Sixers game last night? Well if you didn't, let me lay out the end-of-game scenario for you. With 1:04 remaining, Allen Iverson made a jumper to tie the game at 86. The Sixers, by some miracle from God, were able to play good enough defense to force a shot clock violation on the ensuing possession. I know, I'm stunned too. I was expecting a layup by the Pistons to regain the lead. After making a great defensive stand, Andre Iguodala takes the ball hard to the rim, in line for a pretty makeable layup. He misses it. Samuel Dalembert then misses the putback, and on a third attempt chance, Iggy and Dalembert fight each other for the board and the ball goes out of bounds. Pathetic.
Iggy then plays great D on Rodney Stuckey, blocking his shot, only to have the ball go right back to Stuckey, who buries the shot to put the Pistons up two with 8.7 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, Allen Iverson gets the ball out of the timeout, just what everyone in Philadelphia wanted, and even with his poor shooting night and lack of game legs, we all wanted to see Al take the game-tying or game-winning shot. Instead, the Sixers ran a beautiful play, as Elton Brand set a devastating pick to free up Iggy all alone to the right of the top of the key. Iguodala, with absolutely no Detroit Piston around him, missed a wide open three-pointer that would have put the Sixers ahead.
That's two missed shots in the clutch from Iggy, shots you absolutely have to make if you want to be the man, especially considering the first was a layup and the second was literally a completely unguarded shot. You think Kobe misses that shot ever? Or Jordan? No, if they're uncovered, they're draining that 100 times out of 100. Hell, so is Iverson, probably even right now.
Andre Iguodala is a damn good basketball player. He really is. But he's not that guy, and he's certainly not someone I want taking the final shot. Yes, he's made a few big ones over the past year, but he's missed many more, and looked terrible doing it. Once Iverson's back in shape, I think it would be best for everyone if the Sixers let A.I. the first take those big shots he's accustomed to. Unless the Sixers are playing for John Wall. Then by all means, keep letting Iggy take horrible shots at crunch time and watching him miss them. I'm OK with that.
Why, you ask? Because John Wall is fucking amazing. He was amazing against UNC, and he was amazing again last night against UConn, scoring a game-high 25 points on 10-16 from the floor, 1-1 from three, 4-4 from the line, and swiping six steals in leading the undefeated Wildcats to a 64-61 victory. And he did it in spectacular fashion.
To start the game, Kentucky ripped off 12 straight points, highlighted by Wall and fellow freshman Eric Bledsoe running a picture-perfect fast break that ended in a nasty alley-oop:
At that point, up 12-0, it looked like the Huskies were dead in the water. But being a Jim Calhoun team, they didn't give up, went on an insane run of their own behind Gavin Edwards, Kemba Walker and Jerome Dyson, and went into the half with a 29-23 lead. The rest of the way it was tight, but in the end, John Wall was simply too much. He's just too good.
In a heated game, Wall scored 12 of Kentucky's final 15 points and iced the game with his three-point play on a drive to the hoop with 30 seconds left. He hit a dagger of a three, got out in the open court where he is impossible to guard, scored inside, outside, every which way. He was, just as he's been in every game so far this season, the best player on the floor, and whoever was second wasn't even close. Honestly, it's not fair what this kid is doing out there. No one should be this good this soon, especially as a point guard. But nothing fazes him. He looks in control of the moment just about every moment, especially in the big ones. And he's just a teenager. But make no mistake, John Wall, even if his age says he's a kid, is a man playing amongst boys right now.
And something tells me he'll never have a moment as embarrassing as Taylor King did last night. He's not white enough.
With about 6 and half minutes left to play and Nova holding a comfortable 11-point lead, Corey Fisher stole the ball and passed ahead to a streaking Taylor King in the open floor. King took off and attempted to dunk … and I say attempted because it turned out a little something like this:
OK, not quite, but King took off from way too far out and got rejected by the rim, blowing an easy two points. Hasn't he ever heard that white men can't jump? To make matters worse — and more embarrassing — he hussled down the floor, stumbled, fell and committed a foul. It was, bar-none, the most unathletic, hilarious sequence of basketball I've ever seen. Never have I seen a player look more white. Call that racist if you want, but it makes sense. Taylor King is white, and the fact that he initially went to Duke and now goes to Villanova makes his whiteness even more emphatic. It was hilarity of the highest order. Too bad I can't find it on YouTube.
Truth be told, King actually had a tremendous game last night. He scored 20 points and nabbed nine boards, and he looks like a much more complete player than he did two seasons ago as a freshman at Duke. Back then, all he did was hover around the three-point line and bomb away, never getting dirty inside and not doing much else. But after sitting a year with his transfer, he looks like a completely different player. For starters, he's much more fit than he was as a baby-faced freshman playing for the worst team on earth. And he's shown an aggression and toughness inside that wasn't on display in his one season in Durham. He's banging inside, crashing the boards with reckless abandon, competing hard on defense and continuing to stroke it from anywhere on the court. On a team filled with talent, and more on its way next semester with the return of Reggie Redding, King is commanding more and more playing time with his game. Nova may not be nearly as good as their early-season ranking suggests just yet, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them get there by March.
With a rotation of Scottie Reynolds — who had a phenomenal game last night (22 points, 4-5 from the floor, 2-3 from three, 12-14 from the line, 6 boards, 5 assists … and 6 turnovers, which wasn't so good), Corey Fisher, Corey Stokes, Antonio Pena (also a really good game: 15 points, 5-8 shooting, 5-6 from the line, 7 boards, 2 steals, a block) and Reggie Redding playing big minutes last season and returning more seasoned and more confident joined by King, freshmen Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek, and Maurice Sutton, not to mention freshman Isaiah Armwood, this is another nightmare-inducing team manned by Jay Wright. They can get up and down the floor with just about anyone, and as long as Fisher and Reynolds play under control, this squad will be tough to beat.
Just don't ask Taylor King to dunk. The results are disastrous.
Speaking of disastrous, anyone catch the end of the Sixers game last night? Well if you didn't, let me lay out the end-of-game scenario for you. With 1:04 remaining, Allen Iverson made a jumper to tie the game at 86. The Sixers, by some miracle from God, were able to play good enough defense to force a shot clock violation on the ensuing possession. I know, I'm stunned too. I was expecting a layup by the Pistons to regain the lead. After making a great defensive stand, Andre Iguodala takes the ball hard to the rim, in line for a pretty makeable layup. He misses it. Samuel Dalembert then misses the putback, and on a third attempt chance, Iggy and Dalembert fight each other for the board and the ball goes out of bounds. Pathetic.
Iggy then plays great D on Rodney Stuckey, blocking his shot, only to have the ball go right back to Stuckey, who buries the shot to put the Pistons up two with 8.7 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, Allen Iverson gets the ball out of the timeout, just what everyone in Philadelphia wanted, and even with his poor shooting night and lack of game legs, we all wanted to see Al take the game-tying or game-winning shot. Instead, the Sixers ran a beautiful play, as Elton Brand set a devastating pick to free up Iggy all alone to the right of the top of the key. Iguodala, with absolutely no Detroit Piston around him, missed a wide open three-pointer that would have put the Sixers ahead.
That's two missed shots in the clutch from Iggy, shots you absolutely have to make if you want to be the man, especially considering the first was a layup and the second was literally a completely unguarded shot. You think Kobe misses that shot ever? Or Jordan? No, if they're uncovered, they're draining that 100 times out of 100. Hell, so is Iverson, probably even right now.
Andre Iguodala is a damn good basketball player. He really is. But he's not that guy, and he's certainly not someone I want taking the final shot. Yes, he's made a few big ones over the past year, but he's missed many more, and looked terrible doing it. Once Iverson's back in shape, I think it would be best for everyone if the Sixers let A.I. the first take those big shots he's accustomed to. Unless the Sixers are playing for John Wall. Then by all means, keep letting Iggy take horrible shots at crunch time and watching him miss them. I'm OK with that.
Why, you ask? Because John Wall is fucking amazing. He was amazing against UNC, and he was amazing again last night against UConn, scoring a game-high 25 points on 10-16 from the floor, 1-1 from three, 4-4 from the line, and swiping six steals in leading the undefeated Wildcats to a 64-61 victory. And he did it in spectacular fashion.
To start the game, Kentucky ripped off 12 straight points, highlighted by Wall and fellow freshman Eric Bledsoe running a picture-perfect fast break that ended in a nasty alley-oop:
At that point, up 12-0, it looked like the Huskies were dead in the water. But being a Jim Calhoun team, they didn't give up, went on an insane run of their own behind Gavin Edwards, Kemba Walker and Jerome Dyson, and went into the half with a 29-23 lead. The rest of the way it was tight, but in the end, John Wall was simply too much. He's just too good.
In a heated game, Wall scored 12 of Kentucky's final 15 points and iced the game with his three-point play on a drive to the hoop with 30 seconds left. He hit a dagger of a three, got out in the open court where he is impossible to guard, scored inside, outside, every which way. He was, just as he's been in every game so far this season, the best player on the floor, and whoever was second wasn't even close. Honestly, it's not fair what this kid is doing out there. No one should be this good this soon, especially as a point guard. But nothing fazes him. He looks in control of the moment just about every moment, especially in the big ones. And he's just a teenager. But make no mistake, John Wall, even if his age says he's a kid, is a man playing amongst boys right now.
And something tells me he'll never have a moment as embarrassing as Taylor King did last night. He's not white enough.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Defending Champs on Pace for 0-162 Season
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.
Anyway, here were two incredible dunks from the game, the first by Durrell Summers and the second by Stanley Robinson:
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.
This should be a fun season defending the throne.
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.
Anyway, here were two incredible dunks from the game, the first by Durrell Summers and the second by Stanley Robinson:
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.
This should be a fun season defending the throne.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Broke Ankles
I hope Jerel McNeal purchased some of that ankle insurance Kobe is selling, because A.J. Price definitely broke them last night:
That is just filthy. Price is a beast.
That is just filthy. Price is a beast.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Two Out of Three Ain't Bad
Last night was not bad. Not bad at all. Two of the three teams I was rooting for won, with the Flyers topping Atlanta 5-3 and North Carolina rolling past Clemson 94-70.
Unfortunately, Villanova lost another close one to a good team, losing 89-83 up in Connecticut.
First off, I'd like to say just how soft my roommates are. I, being a man and all, was all set to watch the Flyers and Villanova at the same time, using the wonderful split screen action on our humongous TV. And I did just that for the first period of the Flyers and the first half of the Nova game. But then my roommates decided "Lost" was more important, forcing me upstairs to my bedroom, flipping back and forth like a caveman. Bullshit.
Well, seeing as the Flyers were up 3-0 thanks to a dominating first period-plus with goals by Scott Hartnell, Darroll Powe and Randy Jones—and some tremendous play by Scottie Upshall—I decided to settle in on the very close Nova-UConn game.
That was one hell of a game. Nova played a tremendous first half, going into the break with a 48-48 tie, even with leading scorer Dante Cunningham saddled on the bench with foul trouble. Corey Fisher and Antonio Pena lead the way in an up-and-down first half. And the game remained close for the first 10 minutes or so of the second half, but then Dante picked up another foul, and UConn made its run.
First off, I'd like to state, A.J. Price is scary good. Last night, he was hands down the best player on the floor. The senior point guard scored a career-high 29 points on a ridiculous 10 of 13 shooting, including 4-6 from three and 5-6 from the line. He and Jerome Dyson completely owned Nova, doing whatever they pleased.
The play that really seemed to turn things around was when Nova threw an ill-advised pass that Dyson intercepted with a clear path to the basket. He raced to the hoop with Corey Stokes trailing, thundered home a dunk and was pushed slightly in the back by Stokes for the intentional foul. Two points and two at the line. That's where the game turned.
Cunningham fouled out early, but his absence was negated by an ineffective Hasheem Thabeet, who also wound up fouling out. Nova looked like they were dead when suddenly, unexpectedly, they got a spark from Reggie Redding, who had a tremendous second half. Nova fought all the way back to make a game of it, but in the end, UConn was too much for Villanova.
So once again, Villanova played a good team, and once again, they lost. Nova is now 0-4 against the four good teams they've played. Not good. And speaking of not good, Scottie Reynolds again showed me he just isn't quite the player he should be by now. With Cunningham out, Villanova needed its junior point guard to be the guy. But he wasn't. Reynolds showed no aggression, no desire to take over, even as his counterpart, A.J. Price, was doing exactly that for UConn.
These are the kind of games that a three-year starter is supposed to rise to the challenge, take it upon his shoulders and carry his team. Reynolds did none of that, and he didn't look like he wanted to. At times, Scottie can be the best player on the court. When he's aggressive, assertive and demanding the ball. But too often, that Scottie is nowhere to be found. And again last night, he was absent when the Wildcats needed him the most. Now Villanova is 2-3 in Big East play with quite an uphill battle to climb. Hopefully the good Scottie will resurface before it's too late.
After Nova failed to get a statement win, I flipped back over to the Flyers. The Thrashers had scored while I was away, making it a 3-1 game in the third. And what I saw next was embarrassing. The Flyers seemingly quit playing, allowing Atlanta to score two more to tie it—3 unanswered goals in all—with 9 minutes left in regulation. And I was pissed.
I just watched Villanova lose another game, and now the Flyers were choking away a three-goal lead in their final game before the All-Star break. And just when it seemed like all the momentum was in Atlanta's favor, Mike Knuble came to the rescue.
Knuble stuck with his own shot, banging home the rebound just a little over a minute after the Thrashers tied it to give the Flyers the lead. Then he iced the game with an empty-netter after a few spectacular saves by Antero Niittymaki. The win brought the Flyers within a point of the Rangers and two points of the Devils in the Atlantic, with two games in hand on New York and a game in hand on New Jersey, thanks to the heroics of Knuble.
When the Flyers signed Knuble back in 2004, I thought it was a solid signing, but never thought he'd turn into a go-to type scorer. In his four years as a Flyer, Knuble has seemingly gotten better each and every season, and really, he's been a mainstay on the top line since coming. His presence with Simon Gagne has been a steady duo of speed and size, with Gagne doing the skating and Knuble playing the role of John LeClair, hovering around the net and pounding home rebounds. Say what you want about Bobby Clarke the GM, but the guy hit a home run by signing Knuble. I'm quite happy he's in Philadelphia, especially last night.
After the Flyers held on for dear life to get the win, I watched UNC dismantle No. 9 Clemson, who hasn't won in Chapel Hill ever. And that streak didn't change last night. Things are simple for the Tar Heels: When they play defense, they are nearly unbeatable; when they don't, they can be beaten. Simple as that.
Well last night, they played defense, and Clemson had no chance. None. And while Tyler Hansbrough was Tyler Hansbrough, two players really took this game over: Philly's own Wayne Ellington and speedy point guard Ty Lawson.
Wayne Ellington simply kills Clemson. Last night, Dickie V. said, I believe, that Ellington was averaging 29 points per game against the Tigers in his career. That's pretty insane, and he was on fire again last night, scoring a game-high 25. Somehow Roy Williams needs to find a way to convince Ellington he's playing against Clemson every game.
And as good as Ellington was, Lawson was the catalyst that got things going. His steal and cruise to the bucket for an easy layup early in the game set the tone and knocked the Tigers out. At that point, the game was close, but that got the Tar Heels out and running. They never looked back.
The victory showed once again that if this team defends, they can easily get to the Final Four and potentially win it all. Now they just have to commit to it each and every night.
All in all, not a bad night. Now if someone would just wake Scottie Reynolds up. And convince my roommates to watch "Lost" somewhere else. Then everything would be perfect.
Unfortunately, Villanova lost another close one to a good team, losing 89-83 up in Connecticut.
First off, I'd like to say just how soft my roommates are. I, being a man and all, was all set to watch the Flyers and Villanova at the same time, using the wonderful split screen action on our humongous TV. And I did just that for the first period of the Flyers and the first half of the Nova game. But then my roommates decided "Lost" was more important, forcing me upstairs to my bedroom, flipping back and forth like a caveman. Bullshit.
Well, seeing as the Flyers were up 3-0 thanks to a dominating first period-plus with goals by Scott Hartnell, Darroll Powe and Randy Jones—and some tremendous play by Scottie Upshall—I decided to settle in on the very close Nova-UConn game.
That was one hell of a game. Nova played a tremendous first half, going into the break with a 48-48 tie, even with leading scorer Dante Cunningham saddled on the bench with foul trouble. Corey Fisher and Antonio Pena lead the way in an up-and-down first half. And the game remained close for the first 10 minutes or so of the second half, but then Dante picked up another foul, and UConn made its run.
First off, I'd like to state, A.J. Price is scary good. Last night, he was hands down the best player on the floor. The senior point guard scored a career-high 29 points on a ridiculous 10 of 13 shooting, including 4-6 from three and 5-6 from the line. He and Jerome Dyson completely owned Nova, doing whatever they pleased.
The play that really seemed to turn things around was when Nova threw an ill-advised pass that Dyson intercepted with a clear path to the basket. He raced to the hoop with Corey Stokes trailing, thundered home a dunk and was pushed slightly in the back by Stokes for the intentional foul. Two points and two at the line. That's where the game turned.
Cunningham fouled out early, but his absence was negated by an ineffective Hasheem Thabeet, who also wound up fouling out. Nova looked like they were dead when suddenly, unexpectedly, they got a spark from Reggie Redding, who had a tremendous second half. Nova fought all the way back to make a game of it, but in the end, UConn was too much for Villanova.
So once again, Villanova played a good team, and once again, they lost. Nova is now 0-4 against the four good teams they've played. Not good. And speaking of not good, Scottie Reynolds again showed me he just isn't quite the player he should be by now. With Cunningham out, Villanova needed its junior point guard to be the guy. But he wasn't. Reynolds showed no aggression, no desire to take over, even as his counterpart, A.J. Price, was doing exactly that for UConn.
These are the kind of games that a three-year starter is supposed to rise to the challenge, take it upon his shoulders and carry his team. Reynolds did none of that, and he didn't look like he wanted to. At times, Scottie can be the best player on the court. When he's aggressive, assertive and demanding the ball. But too often, that Scottie is nowhere to be found. And again last night, he was absent when the Wildcats needed him the most. Now Villanova is 2-3 in Big East play with quite an uphill battle to climb. Hopefully the good Scottie will resurface before it's too late.
After Nova failed to get a statement win, I flipped back over to the Flyers. The Thrashers had scored while I was away, making it a 3-1 game in the third. And what I saw next was embarrassing. The Flyers seemingly quit playing, allowing Atlanta to score two more to tie it—3 unanswered goals in all—with 9 minutes left in regulation. And I was pissed.
I just watched Villanova lose another game, and now the Flyers were choking away a three-goal lead in their final game before the All-Star break. And just when it seemed like all the momentum was in Atlanta's favor, Mike Knuble came to the rescue.
Knuble stuck with his own shot, banging home the rebound just a little over a minute after the Thrashers tied it to give the Flyers the lead. Then he iced the game with an empty-netter after a few spectacular saves by Antero Niittymaki. The win brought the Flyers within a point of the Rangers and two points of the Devils in the Atlantic, with two games in hand on New York and a game in hand on New Jersey, thanks to the heroics of Knuble.
When the Flyers signed Knuble back in 2004, I thought it was a solid signing, but never thought he'd turn into a go-to type scorer. In his four years as a Flyer, Knuble has seemingly gotten better each and every season, and really, he's been a mainstay on the top line since coming. His presence with Simon Gagne has been a steady duo of speed and size, with Gagne doing the skating and Knuble playing the role of John LeClair, hovering around the net and pounding home rebounds. Say what you want about Bobby Clarke the GM, but the guy hit a home run by signing Knuble. I'm quite happy he's in Philadelphia, especially last night.
After the Flyers held on for dear life to get the win, I watched UNC dismantle No. 9 Clemson, who hasn't won in Chapel Hill ever. And that streak didn't change last night. Things are simple for the Tar Heels: When they play defense, they are nearly unbeatable; when they don't, they can be beaten. Simple as that.
Well last night, they played defense, and Clemson had no chance. None. And while Tyler Hansbrough was Tyler Hansbrough, two players really took this game over: Philly's own Wayne Ellington and speedy point guard Ty Lawson.
Wayne Ellington simply kills Clemson. Last night, Dickie V. said, I believe, that Ellington was averaging 29 points per game against the Tigers in his career. That's pretty insane, and he was on fire again last night, scoring a game-high 25. Somehow Roy Williams needs to find a way to convince Ellington he's playing against Clemson every game.
And as good as Ellington was, Lawson was the catalyst that got things going. His steal and cruise to the bucket for an easy layup early in the game set the tone and knocked the Tigers out. At that point, the game was close, but that got the Tar Heels out and running. They never looked back.
The victory showed once again that if this team defends, they can easily get to the Final Four and potentially win it all. Now they just have to commit to it each and every night.
All in all, not a bad night. Now if someone would just wake Scottie Reynolds up. And convince my roommates to watch "Lost" somewhere else. Then everything would be perfect.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The Lights Are Back On
After two nights of worthless sporting events regarding Philadelphians, tonight, Villanova takes on No. 3 UConn, and the Flyers play their final game before the All-Star break.
No, the Flyers won't have Danny Briere tonight, as the center still isn't fully recovered and the Flyers still need to clear some cap space.
As for the Wildcats, they've played three really good teams so far this season … and lost to all three of them. At 14-3, Villanova is ranked in the top 25, but the Cats lost to Texas on a neutral court, at Marquette and at the Wachovia Center against Louisville. And they've beat exactly nobody. A win tonight against 3rd-ranked UConn would go a long way in giving Nova a legit rep.
As the Big East has proven, Nova won't be getting anymore cupcakes to beat up on. A third league loss this early could make it tortuous for the Wildcats come Big East tourney time.
The Nova game will be broadcast on ESPN, and following, North Carolina will take on Clemson. So there's plenty to watch tonight. Enjoy.
No, the Flyers won't have Danny Briere tonight, as the center still isn't fully recovered and the Flyers still need to clear some cap space.
As for the Wildcats, they've played three really good teams so far this season … and lost to all three of them. At 14-3, Villanova is ranked in the top 25, but the Cats lost to Texas on a neutral court, at Marquette and at the Wachovia Center against Louisville. And they've beat exactly nobody. A win tonight against 3rd-ranked UConn would go a long way in giving Nova a legit rep.
As the Big East has proven, Nova won't be getting anymore cupcakes to beat up on. A third league loss this early could make it tortuous for the Wildcats come Big East tourney time.
The Nova game will be broadcast on ESPN, and following, North Carolina will take on Clemson. So there's plenty to watch tonight. Enjoy.
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