After an extended leave of absence from writing, due to finals,
college visits, and scholarship applications, I'm finally on Spring Break. So
much has happened since my last post on March 18th, both for me personally and
in the world of sports. I finally experienced world renound Chicago-style pizza
at Giordano's, was accepted to the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern
and had a great campus visit (followed by being notified in the mail that the
first year in Evanston would be upwards of $60,000 and I lost any interest I
had in the school), officially became a second semester senior, and most
importantly, decided on Indiana University for college and can not be happier
about it. A month's worth of sports headlines have taken place in the past
eighteen days; the Major League Baseball season officially kicked off in Asia,
the Kentucky Wildcats won their eighth national championship, Nike released the
new NFL uniforms, and Mohammed El Akkari, an International Basketball
Federation player for Moutahed of Tripoli, allegedly
scored 113 points in a single game.
March Madness
Going into the NCAA Tourney, UK was clearly the best team in the
country and I picked them to win the National Championship, yet it was so
difficult to choose the Wildcats because of the reservations I had about them.
Coach Cal had choked in his previous appearance in the title game as well as
Kentucky was relying on freshmen and sophomores to not crack under the pressure
riding on them to win it all. Not to mention that UK entered the NCAA
Tournament on a one-game losing streak after being defeated by Vanderbilt in
the SEC Championship.
Coach Calipari and the University of Kentucky needed the
National Championship to validate their one-and-done focused program. In each
of Cal's previous six seasons, going back to his tenure at Memphis, his worst
postseason finish was in the Sweet Sixteen. His teams were eliminated three
times in the Elite Eight, once in the Final Four, and once in the National
Championsip in 2008 (Memphis later had its entire 2007-2008 season vacated due
to Derrick Rose's misconduct regarding his false SAT score). If he had fallen
to Kansas, many of his critics would question his ability to close out a
season. No one can argue his greatness from November through February, but if
UK would have lost in the NCAA Tourney a part of Big Blue Nation would have
been ready to show him the door out of Lexington.
Overall, this was an ideal tournament for college basketball.
There were some major upsets, with #2 seeds Duke and Missouri exiting in the
first round, and three double-digit seeds advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, but no
"Cinderellas" made it to the Elite Eight. It was exciting to watch
the likes of Xavier, Ohio, and North Carolina State challenge major powers in
college basketball, but at the end of the day, the best matchups are between
the premier teams. The 2011 National Championship between UConn and Butler may
have been the ugliest college basketball game I've ever seen. Upset-minded
md-majors and Cinderellas can make the first two weekends of the NCAA
Tournament two of the best weeks of the year, but once the Final Four rolls
around, basketball powerhouses are the only teams who can guarantee
high-quality basketball that is enjoyable to watch.
Jared Sullinger to the NBA
I can't argue with his
decision to leave because there is a direct correlation between the number of
years of college and when a prospect is drafted. Sully has nothing left to
prove in college. He's averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds for his two years of
college, with a shooting percentage above 50%. He has lead Ohio State to the
Elite Eight and Final Four in consecutive years and the Buckeyes have
sixty-four wins in that time span. However, don't expect him to be dominant in
the NBA as he is in college. While he is physically big at 6'9" and 265
lbs., he lacks the height and the jumping ability to average a double-double
immediately at the next level. If he can develop a consistent outside jumper,
he can become a very nice role player. He shares the size and stature of
Indiana Pacers forward David West, who has career averages of sixteen points
per game and seven rebounds per game. The longer he stayed at OSU, the more NBA
teams would begin to see him plateau at the college level and it could only
hurt his draft prospects.
Joe
Flacco Thinks He's the Best QB in the NFL
On
WNST 1570 in Baltimore earlier this week, Joe Flacco said that he believes he
is the best quarterback in the NFL. I have no problem with him thinking this.
If I were an NFL owner or coach, I want a QB who thinks that he is the best
every single snap. However, his thoughts about how he stacks up compared to the
rest of the starting quarterbacks in the league should not leave a four inch
radius in his brain. He is only opening himself up to more criticism than he
already deserves and his resumé does not warrant him being a top five
quarterback, let alone the best one in the NFL. Last season he threw for 3,610
yards and 20 touchdowns while Aaron Rodgers threw for 4,643 and 45, Eli Manning
threw for 4,933 and 29, and Tom Brady threw for 5,235 and 39, to name a few of the
league's elite quarterbacks. Of course, statistics alone do not define a player
and Flacco's two AFC Championship Games help his case but still not enough. If
I rank all of the starting quarterbacks in the NFL, he is thirteenth on my
list. Eli Manning has two Super Bowl rings, Aaron Rodgers has one, Tom Brady
has three, Ben Roethlisberger has two, Peyton Manning has one, and Drew Brees
has one. Until Flacco gets some jewelry on his hand, he is not in the
conversation and should be careful about publicizing questionable statements.
Ubaldo
Jimenez Beans Troy Tulowiztki
The pitch was by all means
intentional, especially considering the bitter feelings Jimenez has towards
his former club. It's a shame that he was willing to plunk Tulo in the
preseason. He deserves his five-game suspension, but he still may be able to
make his scheduled start if the MLB hasn't responded to his appeal in time.
Hopefully Jimenez does not start for the Indians if they face the Rockies this
season because there is a high likelihood that Colorado would get revenge in
some form or fashion.
FIBA Player Drops 113?
It is highly unlikely that a story
like this could be completely fabricated but part of me is still skeptical.
Mohammad El Akkari averaged just under eight points per game heading into his
three-point shooting contest that happened to occur in the middle of the
Lebanese Division A League Final Eight game. Maybe it's that basketball
overseas is different than what we're accustomed to in the NBA and there were
314 total points in the game, but Akkari's performance is out of the ordinary
by all means. There are only three players in the modern era of the NBA who I
could rationalize their taking of sixty-nine shots in a game--Kobe Bryant,
Allen Iverson, and Monta Ellis. To make 40 of 69 shots from the floor and 32 of
59 from behind the arc is beyond comprehension. I'm not sure who his team was
playing that night, possibly a team of local nuns or fifth-grade rec basketball
team, but his performance goes down in history nontheless.
Joey Votto's Contract
It is
great to see that the Cincinnati Reds are committed to winning and have a
"World Series or Bust" mentality. However, the 10-year, $225 million
dollar contract should raise an eyebrow. The Reds have no idea how good Votto
will be in ten years, but if the first baseman can lead Cincy to a World
Series, then it won't matter as much. The 2010 N.L. MVP's price tag makes it
difficult to re-sign second baseman Brandon Phillips, which is very hard to
swallow since Phillips is one of the best Reds on and off of the field. The
contract extension tops off the biggest offseason in Cincinnati Reds history
and is a great way to kick off the season with their best player under contract
until 2023.
Mo Egger
Interview
I got the
chance to interview sports talk show host Mo Egger of ESPN 1530 tonight and it
was fascinating listening to him talk about his career and Cincinnati sports.
The interview will takes lots of editing but should be posted in the next week.
Matchup of
the Day
St. Louis
Cardinals @ Miami Marlins. Tonight's game is Opening Day in America since the
Oakland A's and Seattle Mariners played in Japan last week and also is the
first game played in Miami's new stadium. Two excellent pitchers in Kyle Lohse
and Josh Johnson face off in the National League matchup.
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