Very few athletes have made such an impact on their respective sport in such a short period of time as did Brock Lesnar. Some people feel that Brock was good for MMA, while others thought he damaged the creditability of a sport that was (at the time) on the verge of mainstream legitimacy.
Understanding whether Brock was good or bad for the sport first warrants a look back at his record. Brock came into the UFC as a well-known WWE superstar, but very few thought of him as a legitimate contender against any true MMA fighter; people looked past his NCAA wrestling record and only saw the entertainer.
His first fight would go on to define the rest of his career. Yes, he lost the fight – but he fought top division competition, and up until he was submitted, he showed speed and power that was unexpected from the former paper-fighting champ. His next fight against Heath Herring was no less impressive with an opening punch that was heard around the world, and his first victory in the UFC. From there the legend of Lesnar started to grow.
Apparently, this first win warranted a title shot against estranged title holder Randy Couture. Lesnar looked like Oxen in the ring with a goat against Couture, and had little difficulty dispatching Couture. However, it wasn’t until he avenged his victory against Mir and captured the interim championship to unite the UFC HW title that people started to really see him as a legitimate fighter. His defeat of Shane Carwin sealed his position as the top HW in the world. Dana White had his golden boy at the top of the division.
Very few felt that anyone would have a chance at dethroning Lesnar anytime soon, let alone a much smaller HW in Cain Velasquez. Unfortunately, Velasquez put short work to Lesnar and with the loss so went a lot of his mystique. After being out for over a year Lesnar had his chance for redemption against Alistair Overeem – unfortunately, the fight would be Lesnar’s swan song.
the first question is: Was Lesnar’s time in the UFC good or bad for the sport? In my opinion, I think he was good for the sport and I am sad to see him retire (from MMA). Lesnar was a big name prior to coming into the UFC, and he helped to build visibility for the sport at a crucial time in its development.
More importantly, I really do feel that Lesnar put his money where his mouth was and backed up his words in the octagon. While he exits with a 5-3 record, he did fight no less than the top competition in all of his fights. I am sure he could have padded his record by fighting a few cans here or there, but Lesnar would only fight the best. Financially, he had nothing to gain by fighting the best, Dana White let him command the highest salary in the UFC no matter who he fought – but, Lesnar wanted to prove that he truly had the heart of a champion.
I’ll admit that I was furiously against Lesnar coming into the UFC at first, but as I saw him and prove that he was serious about the sport I came around to him. Part of the current state of UFC, and MMA in general, can be credited to the marketing of Lesnar – so, even if you hate his guts to this day, thank him for that.
After all that talk about powerhouse teams, how can I seriously analyze this match-up? I can’t, so let’s just state our best case for each team and see if we can find any areas where Denver could gain some ground:
Why Denver will win:
Tebow coasted into the playoffs after securing the top spot in the division. He wasn’t at his best because he didn’t have to be, just like in individual games.
The KC from week 17 (7-3 loss) game may look bad but Romeo Crennell is really good at devising defensive plans to hold down certain teams. And KC, having played Denver once already (and watching the Patriots play them) had their number.
Pittsburgh is a banged up offense. They aren’t the same without Roethilisberger (Burger) running around outside the pocket, he is what makes the Pitt offense go. Now their lead back is out. With Hines Ward not contributing much it is basically Wallace and Brown for the Steelers and thats it. If Champ can limit one of them then they should be able to live with just the other guy beating them.
Denver is @ home where they wear defenses down with the running attack and the Steelers are an old defense primed to wear down. The Mile High air will get to them, it has already gotten to Ryan Clark who won’t play in the game because of health concerns. Clark is the Steelers surest tackler in the secondary, without him they could have some troubles against the run.
Chuck Norris is a Bronco fan.
The Denver pass rush is going to eat the Steelers oline for lunch. Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil are hard to block for anyone, no way the Steelers line and a banged up Burger are going to escape them.
Playoff time is Tebow Time.
Why Pittsburgh will win:
This is child’s play for Pittsburgh. Denver is not even good, just look at who they beat: Miami, Oakland, KC, Jets, San Diego, Minnesota, Chicago – these 7 wins coming in an 8-week stretch.
Burger will be four weeks removed from his injury by game time. Practically an eternity for the indestructible man.
Pittsburgh made the Super Bowl last year and lost to far and away the best team in the league. Plus if you remove the two Baltimore losses, Pittsburgh only lost to Houston(with Schaub) and San Fran, both playoff teams. Denver had to rely on six straight comeback wins to just go 8-8.
Losing Mendenhall isn’t good, but it’s not like it is a massive drop off to Dwyer or Redman. Pittsburgh is a passing team now anyways.
There is just no way any Steelers defense is going to lose a game to a run-only offense helmed by a QB that can’t throw.
The Denver D looked good for a couple of weeks but where has it been lately? They are just frauds who got lucky against some bad QB’s.
Hines Ward decaying, or um, retiring, will provide inspiration for another road warrior Superbowl run, like in 2005 with the Bus.
John Fox has been way too conservative in his decision-making down the stretch. He has punted on 4th and short and in opponent territory several times. Isn’t this team uniquely designed to be able to pick up 1 yard when they need to?
The final verdict? The only way I can see the Steelers losing this game is if Burger is really a shell of the player he actually is. Pittsburgh is a veteran team that can win lots of ways. Without the QB injury they are probably best team in the AFC. The Broncos on the other hand just aren’t good. They never beat anyone good and couldn’t win when they needed to down the stretch. Steelers win. But the spread is another story.
Check out these results: 23-20 Colts, 32-30 Cards, 24-17 Bengals, 13-9 Chiefs, 13-9 Browns. Those are the scores of the Steelers road victories. They only went 5-3 all year on the road, losing to every good team they faced. Out of all those games they won by more than 9 points just once, early in the season is pass friendly Arizona. All those good points for Denver were not enough to convince me that they could win but can they keep this one close? I think so. Pittsburgh rarely blows teams off the field and they are the master of letting teams hang around and yet still feeling totally in control of the game. With the injury to Burger I don’t see the Steelers scoring many points and despite what some people think Denver will get a few. For the sake of the playoffs I am going to get hyper specific on you:
Steelers 17, Broncos 9 – With the likely highlight being Denver settling for a 4th quarter FG in Steelers territory despite everyone in the world knowing they are cooked if they don’t finish that drive with a TD, John Fox will be unwavering.
Happy New Year to all of the soccer lovers out there! Now that the Holiday season has come to an end, it’s back to business as usual in the Serie A. A quick rundown of the standings will give the impression how tight and interesting the second half of the season will be. AC Milan and Juventus FC ended 2011 tied for first place with 34 points. It seems that these two teams will be renewing their championship battle as it was in the 1990s. Udinese Calcio sits closely behind the joint leaders in third place with 32 points which is surprising considering the club sold key players (Inler and Sanchez) and fell short of Champions League action losing to Arsenal in the qualifying round. SS Lazio are following the bianconeri of Udine with 30 points, while Internazionale FC seem to be making an astonishing climb up the table currently placed fifth with 26 points.
PREVIEW OF WEEK 17
This week, Parma FC travels to Milan to face the Nerazzurri. The Inter players will be eager to show their optimism about 2012. Captain Javier Zanetti claims this year will be the year of Inter. Personally, I think he has to give his head a shake. US Città di Palermo is at home against SSC Napoli. The rosaneri Sicilians have two new weapons to release today: firstly, Swedish striker Agon Mehemti, who many are comparing to Zlatan Ibrahimovic; lastly, Argentine playmaker Franco Vasquez. Palermo is hoping these two players can help turn their season around. Napoli was also active on the transfer market acquiring the services of Chilean Forward Eduardo Vargas. The bianconeri of Udine will host the bianconeri seahorses Cesena. Udinese will aim to do what no small organization has ever done before and that is keep pace with the GIANTS of Italy: Juventus FC and AC Milan. The Friulani are the favourites for the 3 points. US Lecce will take on The Old Lady of Italian Football at the Stadio Del Mare in Lecce. Bianconeri Boss Antonio Conte returns to his place of birth and will strive to maintain the Juve’s first place status. The derby of Lombardia will take place this weekend with the nerazzurri of Atalanta hosting AC Milan this weekend in Bergamo. This will be a tough matchup for both teams. The Rossoneri ended 2011 on a high beating Cagliari 2-0 on their travels. The Diavoli are currently one of the hottest teams in the Italian Championship. Atalanta is still undefeated at home and will provide a battle as the Bergamaschi are no push-overs. Milan has a history of struggle against their cross-region rivals Atalanta. Rossoneri coach Massimiliano Allegri planned to rest Kevin Prince Boateng ahead of the week 18 clash in the Derby della Madonnina with Inter, but may now opt to field the Ghanian international due to injury concerns to the midfield. Alberto Aquliani is out with an ankle injury. Speaking of next week’s derby showdown between the 2 Giants of Milan, there also seems to be a derby taking place in the transfer market as both clubs have targeted Carlos Tevez as reinforcement. The Argentine striker has agreed to personal terms with AC Milan and prefers to play for the Rossoneri who has offered to take the player on loan with an option to buy at the end of the season. However, Inter has established an agreement with Manchester City in order to buy the player outright in the January transfer window. Manchester prefers to sell Tevez as quickly as possible. What a battle this will be!
Before the playoffs begin I think it helps to remind ourselves about the basic ideas we had heading into this season. This was the abbreviated season, short camps, less hitting, less recruiting time, and maybe most importantly less time to evaluate your own team and find out what your needs were (which made it really hard for some teams to improve). There were three popular thoughts heading into the season and like most things in the NFL the general consensus was wrong. The first was that moving the kickoffs up 5 yards was going to ruin the return game. Clearly this had an impact on touchbacks, but early on the impact on returns themselves was minimal – still plenty going for long distance. The changes have mostly gone unnoticed, I hadn’t even thought about the kick-off rule for 8 weeks until I sat down to write this. The second thought was that because of the shortened practice time offenses were going to struggle. Yes, that is actually what we thought. Instead it was the defenses who suffered because the rules make it easy to play pitch and catch with a receiver and hard to cover anyone on the field. Offense is easy, it is the defenses that need to be precise and complex just to stop anybody. While passing numbers in general are rising I don’t think we will see the extreme numbers put up by several QB’s this year again for a few seasons – offenses did cool somewhat after he unbelievable start. The one thing that was bang on was the prediction that the veteran teams with the most continuity would be the teams best prepared for the season. This couldn’t have been more correct. The #1 seed in the AFC last year and last years Super Bowl Champion Packers grabbed to the two #1 seeds this year. Playoff mainstays Baltimore and Pittsburgh dueled it out all season for the #2 spot. The two division winners in the AFC not to make the playoffs this season were ravaged by injuries. The Colts lost Peyton, Manning, and Peyton Manning – these multiple losses were too much to overcome. The Chiefs we’re probably headed for a decline anyways, but they still lost their 2 of their best players in the first few weeks of the season (Jamall Charles, Eric Berry) and saw a host of other important injuries including losing their starting QB. This is what led to the rise of the Texans who battled it out all year with New England, Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
In the NFC the Packers, Falcons and Saints picked up where they left off last year. Even Detroit who made an impressive leap to the playoffs did so with more or less the same core of stars from the season before. The Giants may seem like a fresh face but remember they only lost the division title on a tie-breaker last year, and the NFC East is always tough to win.
This means the only surprise teams of the season are the Bengals and 49ers. The Bengals added a real QB for the first time in several seasons(since 2004?) and a sensational rookie wide receiver in AJ Green. But most of the rest of the team remained intact and the Bengals hardly blew anyone away this year (more to come).
That leaves the 49ers. All of this continuity makes what Jim Harbaugh was able to accomplish seem even more impressive. Either that or make us question Mike Singletary’s stint as a head coach even more, because San Fran made this incredible leap with the same core of players and a few free agent additions.
Enough with the details, what does it all mean? For the most part the teams that were the best teams last year stayed the best this year. How does this impact the NFL playoffs? Don’t get too cute. There is no need to over-analyze these match-ups, for he most part we are seeing the true power teams facing off against glorified also rans. The good teams are the good teams and you don’t need to do too much more digging than that. If a team looks like a powerhouse then they probably are, and if you think a team has looked shaky lately, that is probably right too. We know who is here every year: Green Bay, New Orleans, New England, Baltimore, Pittsburgh. Lean on those teams and everyone will end up OK. Really we already know that either Green Bay (last years SB winner) or New Orleans (the SB winner from 2 years ago) is making the bowl this year. There is no need to think up fantastic scenarios where these teams choke the season away, it isn’t going to happen.
With that in mind, let’s move on to the picks. Saturday’s games and Sunday’s games to follow:
SATURDAY 4:30pm
HOUSTON -4 over CINCY
This is the ugliest game of the weekend, which we always get as a treat to start off the playoffs, and it might be the toughest game of the weekend to call too. Because of that I wont spend too much time on it.
I don’t even need to spend any time recapping the Texans. We know what they are. They were a good team who lost their QB, now they are somewhere around average and everyone is left wondering is that still enough to beat the Bengals. Here are all the reasons you can’t take Cincy in this one:
Cincy had five chances to step up and grab a big win down the stretch of the season (2 Baltimore, 2 Pittsburgh, Houston). They came up short in every game. Maybe they made some of the games close but they were never able to pull off a victory. They essentially lost their season away, like the Broncos, but still ended up making it. Does this team really deserve it and is there any reason to think they can suddenly change and pick up a big win on the road now when the stakes are higher?
There isn’t, know why? because the only win they got all year against a team with a winning record was against Tennessee who only made it there because the last team they faced wasn’t totally trying. They are in the playoffs because of luck and schedule, which you will see is sort of a trend this year. One other impact of the shortened camp was that the mid-level teams were really poor this year. If you weren’t a top tier team you kind of sucked. And I know this happens every year but usually some mid-level team will play really well down the stretch and get people believing in them. Never happened this year. Cincy was just the most lucky.
Andy Dalton clearly has some talent to do what he did in his rookie season, but the ride may be over for him. No one is talking about it (maybe because it is the Bengals) but he just is not playing good anymore. He is lucky to have AJ Green and in future seasons we may learn that his success this year had more to do with the phenomenal Green than we thought. But when comparing the situation of Texans QB TJ Yates and Dalton I think Yates has it alot easier this week and if anyone is going to melt down it will be Dalton.
So how is the defense? It must be really good right? Not really. Statistically they are average. When you watch them they do have a feel about them that they are very physical and strong against the run but the numbers don’t bear it out. And their played such and ugly roster of QB’s this year you can’t really tell. The best QB they beat all year was Matt Hasselbeck, after that it is either Tavaris Jackson or John Skelton (sorry Ryan Fitzpatrick). I will let that one speak for itself.
I believe in what I just said but all of it doesn’t amount to anything compared to this. The real reason I can’t take Cincy here is for that moment on Saturday at about 2:14 PM when I am sitting on my couch and the Bengals are punting on 4th and 2 from the Houston 37 to make sure they play the field position game to perfection and suddenly I realize what I have done: I bet on Marvin Lewis. And not just any Marvin Lewis. Marvin Lewis in a road playoff game with the expectations of a tattered franchise resting on his shoulders against a Texans team in the playoffs for the first time ever in a dome in front of a raving mad fan base. And then I will never forgive myself.
So I don’t love laying the 4 points, but I have to do it. Hyper specific score alert:
Houston 23, Bengals 7
SATURDAY 8:30PM
NEW ORLEANS -11 over DETROIT
Despite my earlier ramblings about the power teams I think this is actually a very tough opening round to call. I am going to try to stick to my theory as close as possible and see how it works out. I just covered Cincy-Houston, but I also think the Giants game and possibly the Broncos game will be close. This game will not. Disregard what I said about the last game, totally ignore what I am going to write about Sunday’s games, I don’t care. Just listen to me on this one. New Orleans is going to spank Detroit today. Here are way too many reasons why:
Detroit is not a good team. Wait, I have to say it again, Detroit is not a good team. Look at them lately, or all season really. They have been good at late game comebacks, mostly coming against less than playoff calibre teams. They have never been able to stop any good offense or even hold them under 30 points. The best team they beat all year was either Dallas (8-8) who they trailed by 3 TD’s and came back (impressively) to beat, or San Diego, who are really a fraud themselves and Detroit laid the smack down on them. Other than that their best game against a good team has to be the thanksgiving game against Green Bay where their D looked good early. But even this game was a no doubter for Green Bay and it had every advantage tilted in Detroit’s favour. Detroit looked like they had a good defense early in the season but it hasn’t been the same lately. Giving up that many points to Matt Flynn in a game they needed to win has to be a red flag. Plus the cornerstone of their defense is their Dline. Just ask the Giants how Drew Brees can neutralize a defensive line. On offense they look like a really good team when throwing to Calvin Johnson and they look like a poor team throwing to anyone else. They are in Shot Gun all the time which puts pressure on Matt Stafford to make every throw perfect. Outside of a few individuals there is nothing good about this team.
New Orleans on the other hand is laying the smack down on everyone lately. Their offense is clicking, run game and pass game. Brees looks like the best QB in the league at the moment. They already beat Detroit 31-17 earlier this season. Detroit was coming off extra long rest after thanksgiving and New Orleans had leads in that game of 17-0 and 24-7 – those late game comebacks again. New Orleans has Drew Brees and the baddest offense on the planet at the moment, the one team you do not want to face is New Orleans in the Superdome. And Detroit is quite likely just a one year wonder.
The only reason to not love New Orleans is fear. Fear that New Orleans had a playoff let down last year. Fear that New Orleans has shown themselves capable of having really bad games (St. Louis) or bad offensive performances (Tennessee). Fear that New Orleans defense just isn’t that good and even if New Orleans scores 35 Detroit can score 31. Well that’s true. The Fear is real. That’s why this game isn’t a lock. New Orleans could give up 40 and lose, or they could give up 35 and not cover. But that fear shouldn’t stop anyone from grabbing this great value. New Orleans is at home and it is playoff time, when they grab that lead (which they will) they are not going to stop scoring.
More Detroit because I know you aren’t convinced yet – The only good performance they had on D against a good offense was the week 16 game against SD, holding them to 10 points. I don’t know how it happened. Remember, this Detroit team started the season 5-0, since then they are a 5-6 teams. Let’s break down all of their wins. Playing the AFC West is the only reason they are in the playoffs. They went 4-0 against KC-OAK-DEN-SD. In their division they went 3-3 (while beating MIN twice), against the NFC South they went 2-2 (beating, you guessed it, CAR-TBAY) their strength of schedule games we’re @ DAL (win) and home for SF (loss).
Final tally: 0 teams with a winning record beaten (0-5). Three wins in three try’s versus 8-8 teams. Beat every bad team they faced, while there is something to be said for that, they were rarely impressive in doing so. Two massive blow-out victories (KC and @DEN). 0 heartbreaking losses. 2 close losses – SF and @ GB second string. Three very late, very large comeback victories @MIN week 3, @DAL week 4, @OAK week 15. So they have shown the ability to rally on the road, but those are not good teams.
If you throw out week 17’s 45-41 loss @ GB than Detroit failed to score 20 points in each of their losses. Which is also their only games against good teams(the non-winning record team they lost to was CHI, won first time 24-13, lost second time @CHI 37-13). They put up 30 or more in 6 of their 10 wins. This is how they pad the stats.
They picked on the weak teams all year and even the weak teams almost knocked them off a couple of times. Only their offense is prolific when playing weak teams so they were able to rally. You know who Detroit is? A poor man’s version of the early 2000 KC Chiefs. They put up all the points in the world and look so great but when it comes time to get down to business against a real team they are nowhere to be found. And like the Chiefs they are propped up by too many games against bad teams.
New Orleans is a great team, Detroit is an average team. Think about this, Detroit is probably not even a playoff team next year, they are only in because of that 5-0 start. You are going to take this team to hang with New Orleans? They are the hottest team in the league right now. They have an all-time QB playing in a great offense. This is the foundation of the Super Bowl champion in 2009. When looking at the spreads you always have to double-check the QB when needing to cover points. No one is more consistent than Brees, who is playing at the peak of his powers. So the only thing left to worry about is Detroit’s late game comebacks. Thankfully, this is the playoffs. New Orleans is out for blood and they are not going to let this game slip away on them. As I said when they get the lead they are going to extend the lead.
Still not convinced? Ok, let’s go the more conventional route just to make sure we include everyone in this money making fiasco. 3 more points.
New Orleans won the Bowl in 09, last year they made the playoffs as a wild card but had to go on the road to a notoriously tough stadium (Seattle) and had no run game because they were using their 27th string running back. Without that string of injuries maybe New Orleans is the back to back defending champ right now. Now Detroit is supposed to go on the road to a notoriously tough stadium with no run game because they are using their 4th? 5th? string running back and beat a vastly superior team than the Seahawks? For some reason I don’t see it. Even if these were even teams the fact Detroit is travelling to a loud dome with no running game would be cause for concern.
Detroit offense starts game really slow and is also very streaky. You just can’t do this again New Orleans. They scored 3 TD’s and a FG on their first 5 possessions against Detroit the first time they played. If you give New Orleans the ball back you have to assume they are scoring. Their offensive consistency is ridiculous.
New Orleans doesn’t have a good defense, I know this. But they do have a creative co-ordinator. And when he knows a team he is usually able to piece a game-plan together to limit that team’s success. New Orleans never gives up that many points in division games because they know those teams. Now that they have seen what Detroit has got I think they will be able to hold their own against the Detroit defense.
I say again, New Orleans doesn’t have to beat Detroit, but they really should. And you get to side with Drew Brees, possibly the surest thing going right now. Like my buddy likes to say, a bargain at any price.
The NHLPA player reps have unanimously voted to refuse to provide their consent to allow the realignment plan proposed by the NHL Board of Governors earlier this year to be implemented in time for next season
This begs the question of why? This plan seemed to be one that fans for the most part liked. It led to less overall travel for players, while also giving players the opportunity for every player to visit every city each season. It seemed like a win/win/win for players. So whats the hold up.
Three letters. C. B. A.
There is a lot of cost savings in this planned re-alignment for owners and some of the most powerful teams in the league were pushing it strongly. Its definitely something the owners want to happen.
It appears to me, that as an educated guess the players want this to be their C.B.A. leverage. Its their answer to the issue the owners have held for the last few years, participation in the Winter Olympics which the players overwhelmingly support.
The public battle on the new CBA has begun, and one can infer from this decision that behind the scenes negotiations aren’t going well.
As hockey fans lets all hope that we can get this all settled in time for training camp next year, but this has to be seen as an ominous start to these talks.
The Olympic participation and the Re-alignment plan may seem like minor bargaining chips in the bigger war which will involve the dynamics of the salary cap, guaranteed contracts, and the percentages of revenues the players are entitled too… but even minor bargaining chips are still bargaining chips.
Seems that the PA wanted to add one more chip on their side of table today.
On New Years Eve, 2011 the Montreal Canadiens visited the Florida Panthers in what was, for the most part a typical NHL game. However one ugly incident marred the whole affair.
At the end of the first period there was a scrum in the Florida end. After the referees broke things up, they announced that Kris Barch (who was on the Florida Bench and not the ice) was being given a game misconduct.
After the game the linesman stated that Barch made a racial slur at Canadiens Defender PK Subban, and was given the game misconduct for his actions. His conduct was reported to the league. His exact comment was, “Subban, Did you slip on a (bleep) banana peel?”
Today the league gave Barch a one game suspension and Barch has stated that it was not racially motivated and that this is all a misunderstanding.
What a crock… Does Barch really expect us to believe this? We all remember the incident in London early this year involving Wayne Simmonds and a banana being thrown at him. This was huge news in the hockey world. The racial undertones of a black player and a banana were talked about throughout the media and could not be ignored in the hockey media.
And now Barch is saying that just three months later he didn’t realize that a comment about a banana made to another black player would be seen as being racially motivated? Puh-lease.
That the NHL accepted Barch’s explanation and limited the suspension to merely one game is a joke.
There is quite simply no place for this in the league and the NHL had the opportunity to send a real message here.
How this is only 1 game when Sean Avery and James Wisniewski got much harsher punishments for sexual innuendo, actions, and comments that were misogynistic in nature seems very odd to me. The NHL really should have taken a much harsher stand against something that should be unacceptable in the sport. 5 games at minimum was required here.
All 68 teams that enter the March Madness Tournament want this photo.
With a new year comes the half-way mark of the college basketball season. It marks the start of the conference season, which is always where the men are separated from the boys. With that in mind, it’s time to nut-up and make some predictions for the greatest tournament on the planet: March Madness.
The Winners Let’s start us off with the conference winners. In alphabetical order (based on conference), here is what I am calling:
Conference
Projected Winner
ACC
North Carolina
America East
Albany
Atlantic Sun
Belmont
Atlantic 10
Xavier
Big East
Syracuse
Big Sky
Weber St.
Big South
VMI
Big Ten
Ohio St
Big West
Long Beach St
Big 12
Baylor
Conference USA
Southern Miss
Colonial
VCU
Horizon
Valpo
Ivy
Harvard
MAAC
Iona
Mid-American
Kent State
MEAC
Norfolk St
Missouri Valley
Creighton
Mountain West
UNLV
Northeast
Robert Morris
Ohio Valley
Murray State
PAC 12
California
Patriot
Lehigh
Southeastern
Kentucky
Southern
Charleston
Southland
Lamar
Summit League
Oral Roberts
Sun Belt
Middle Tennessee
SWAC
Alabama State
West Coast
Gonzaga
Western Atlantic
Nevada
A few notes to go with these calls: ACC: Talent (UNC) should beat coaching (Duke). Atlantic 10: I think they rebound from early-season losses; they’re still a good team. Big East: I don’t think the Orangemen can be touched. A tough conference, yes, but they are the class. Big Ten: With potential Player of the Year on the floor with the Buckeyes (Sullinger), they should almost run the table in the Big Ten. Big West: At the time of writing, Long Beach State’s RPI is 16. This is a dark-horse team, capable of beating the tranitional powerhouses; just ask Xavier or Pitt. Big 12: I like Baylor, but if Missouri wins the Big 12, I wouldn’t be surprised. C-USA: At the time of writing, Southern Miss’ RPI is 17. I believe they are a better team than Memphis. Colonial: Don’t expect a repeat of their Cinderella run from 2011, but VCU will be back at the dance. Missouri Valley: The Jays are just too good to write them off. Mountain West: UNLV is another dark horse; just ask UNC or Illinois. PAC 12: As much as I want to put Arizona on that line, the Wildcats have shown they will fail under pressure, unlike Baylor. Southeastern: Sorry Florida, Missippi State and Alabama; Kentucky is just too good. West Coast: Gonzaga, for the tenth time in thirteen years.
The At-Larges
After the 31 automatic bids are handed out to the conference champions, the rest of the field is completed using the Rating Percentage Index (RPI), as well as some other tools employed by the NCAA Division I Basketball Selection Committee. With the strength of the “power conferences” consolidated to only a couple this year, I think we see a resurgence of the mid-majors and a lot of them given tickets to the dance. Here are my projections for at-large bids:
This projection gives the Big Ten a total of eight slots in March Madness; the Big East, Big 12 and SEC get seven each; Missouri Valley gets four; Mountain West, PAC 12 and the WCC earn three each; the ACC, Colonial and Mid-American only have two total, including their automatic bid; and everyone else gets only their automatic.
The conference season has begun and we are a mere two months away from Selection Sunday. Two months of “should they be in”, “has ____ done enough?”, or “should we favour the Power Conferences?”. Two months of buzzer-beating, heart-pounding, rim-rattling, fan-screaming conference play. (I present Exhibit A.)
And then the Madness begins. Sweet, sweet Madness.
TSN reported yesterday that the Calgary Stampeders have traded veteran quarterback Henry Burris to the Hamilton Tiger Cats in exchange for quarterback Kevin Glenn, Mark Dewit and a conditional pick.
Burris and his large contract became expendable after struggling early this season and with the emergence of Drew Tate. After 3 seasons in Hamilton, Glenn was not able to lead Hamilton to a winning season and advance to the Grey Cup. The Tiger Cat offence did not show up in the Eastern Final against the Bombers. In fact, that has been the knock on Glenn for years – he can’t win the big game.
I think this trade works out for both teams. The Cats get a proven Grey Cup winning quarterback that knows what it takes to win. The Stamps get to put Burris’ $400,000 salary towards upgrading other parts of the team. Glenn, although he hasn’t won when the pressure is on, is still a great veteran quarterback that Tate can learn from. He also won’t cost as much as Burris.
After driving to Raleigh North Carolina and seeing the Leafs blow a late 3-1 third period lead and lose to the lowly Hurricanes in over-time, my opinion that Ron Wilson needs to be fired was once again reaffirmed.
A large reason why the Leafs recent slide continues is because of their poor penalty kill. Lately anytime, they take a penalty, a goal is pretty much guaranteed for their opponent.
Now the Leafs canned both of their assistant coaches at the end of last season, and spared Wilson. Their play has marginally improved this season, but still is not great. They still are in danger of missing the playoffs again, for the seventh straight season, if they don’t pick up their socks. The team roster has been completely overhauled, assistant coaches replaced, and a new general manager has been installed. The only hockey operations person who hasn’t been replaced is the head coach. What other team do you know of besides my Toronto Maple Leafs that hang on to a coach that hasn’t made the playoffs for 3 consecutive years with one team? Wilson’s record barely is over .500. At the end of the day, he can’t hide behind smoke screens and mirrors forever and he has to be held responsible. He’s got to go!!!!!!
I don’t know what Leaf General Manager Brian Burke was thinking extending his contract on Christmas. As far as I’m concerned, Wilson’s record with the Leafs doesn’t warrant a contract extension. As much as I hate the Habs, I give them credit for giving Jacques Martin a chance to coach the team. It didn’t work out, and so they turfed him. Look for current Canadien Head Coach Randy Cunneyworth to be canned at season’s end, if not before.
After driving to Raleigh North Carolina and seeing the Leafs blow a late 3-1 third period lead and lose to the lowly Hurricanes in over-time, my opinion that Ron Wilson needs to be fired was once again reaffirmed.