Sporots

[scamboogah]

I understand that Maryland has done well in the sporot of basketball against one of its traditional rivals, Duke University.

[TomHicks]

Yahoo! Sports is reporting that New Orleans residents, still on their post-Super Bowl win high, have agreed to refer to gumbo henceforth as Darren Collison, in honor of the Hornets' rookie point guard.

In related news, the NBA is opening an investigation into the score keepers who track the numbers for league franchises, as the stats being entered for Collison since moving into the starting the lineup for the injured Chris Paul are clearly make-believe sums being broadcast from the fuckin' moon.

He averaged 21.6 points and 8.3 assists in February while shooting .496. In March, four games, he's 18.8 points and 12.8 assists while shooting .569. (He turns the ball over like crazy, but, still, eight games with double-digit assists: 11, 18, 14, 12, 10, 15, 14, 20.

Obviously he benefited from not having to play the full season as a starter, but I can't remember the last time a rookie has come in this late in the season and made such a splash. I've already seen two Why didn't we draft Collison instead of so-and-so? stories from sports bloggers.

[Teaflax]

I doubt anyone here cares, but just in case: F1 pre-season BBC expert discussions.

[bao]

Obviously he benefited from not having to play the full season as a starter, but I can't remember the last time a rookie has come in this late in the season and made such a splash. I've already seen two Why didn't we draft Collison instead of so-and-so? stories from sports bloggers.

By "splash" do you mean leading his 25-21 team to a 7-14 record since Paul went down? There's a reason really good point guards barely ever average 20+ points -- their teams generally are not successful. Paul is pretty much the only exception I can think of.

I know thats not totally fair. I, too, am generally surprised at how good Collison is. I think he has proven that he has the chops to start in the NBA, I just don't think we should get carried away with his stats when the team has played itself out of the playoffs since he took over.

On a more general note ... these are definitely the dog days in the NBA. The Lakers and the Cavs are officially in "lets not get anyone hurt, but lets also not lose the #1 seed" mode. The Cavs are safe -- they just need to bide time until Shaq comes back, and try to get Jamison to fit in (he looks like shit so far). The Lakers are really struggling (even their wins are arduous), but they are obviously playing with three left in the chamber.

I would be more anxious about the Lakers if they had to play both Denver and Dallas on the way to the finals, but they'll only get the winner (presumably). That'll be a hell of a series, but I think Orlando could also potentially give Cleveland hell. I'm getting excited, either way. A Cavs-Lakers series could be transcendental. I can smell David Stern's flop sweat just thinking about this possibility.

Any opinions about the tourney? I would bet Kansas against the field. I think they'd be playing Ohio State in the championship if they weren't in the same bracket.

[John?]

So I just ordered "America's Game", a book by Michael MacCambridge on Pro Football, for research on a paper I'm writing, and I was wondering if any other folks out there read the book and had an opinion on it. How well does it cover the history? I'm slightly more interested in how he recaps the NFL player strikes in the 80's and the Collective Bargaining Agreement that resulted, but I'm really just interested to see how many people genuinely dug it (or didn't).

[darrylduffy]

created a March Madness Pick 'Em Tournament group on Yahoo. Posted in the Fantasy Sports Leagues Thread as well in case people don't check both. here's the info:

AST Fantasy League with Password
Group ID = 140852
Password = newgamesthread

[MAACP]

Any opinions about the tourney? I would bet Kansas against the field. I think they'd be playing Ohio State in the championship if they weren't in the same bracket.

Also going with Kansas. I'm going chalk pretty much the whole way, with three no. 1's and Baylor in my Final Four. Kansas vs. Kentucky in the final. Sounds boring, but all I've been hearing is how top-heavy this field is.

[funkyrhino]

Also going with Kansas. I'm going chalk pretty much the whole way, with three no. 1's and Baylor in my Final Four. Kansas vs. Kentucky in the final. Sounds boring, but all I've been hearing is how top-heavy this field is.

I see Kentucky slipping in the 2nd or 3rd round. I've watched them struggle 5-6 times this year with teams that aren't even in the tournament. Kansas is the favorite. If Duke can make it past the Sweet 16 they may end up in the Final Four. The West region is the most difficult to pick.

[Adult Ed]

I've thrown a bunch of darts against the wall. Even the darts picked Kansas.

[Me!]

Anyone watching any spring training baseball?

Saw Stephen Strasburg pitch and he is pretty insane. Has no fastball below 96 and has a nasty curve ball. The nationals have some decent offense but they've always suffered with pitching, looks like they're fixing that real quick.

[Itslikeimsayin]

Brody Stevens posted some cool videos on his Twitter over the last couple days of Aroldis Chapman throwing 100 mph. Check it out.

[isoS]

Saw some highlights of the play-in game last night. This is the talent level at 65/64, and they want to go to 96? Jeezus.

[Adult Ed]

Saw some highlights of the play-in game last night. This is the talent level at 65/64, and they want to go to 96? Jeezus.

I know I'm not saying anything you don't know, but the teams at 64/65 are probably about the 200th best teams in the country - bad teams that won from bad conferences. The teams added to the pool would be teams in the 40-80 range (plus, probably, regular season champs from mid- and bottom-tier conferences that lost in their tournaments).

That said, going to 96 teams is a joke. Beyond adding a round that people won't care about, the pretense is that it will get more mid-major teams in the tournament but the real goal is to drag the 12th team from the Big East in and give all of the top teams from the top conferences a bye and a tired opponent. What little chance another George Mason has of making a final four run will be all but eliminated.

[bao]

A few happy thoughts during my favorite month of the year ... the air is warm, spirits are high, and my tv is about to be aglow with basketball for 96 straight hours ...

First of all, I don't even want to talk about expanding to 96 teams. Everybody who has ever watched sports in their life agrees that the one thing that college basketball has over all other sports is the tournament. So why fuck with it? Its perfect. Of course, I know why fuck with it -- more teams in means more money for the networks and the schools and more job security for the coaches. But from a fan's perspective this is the equivalent of the Spanish Inquisition, the Holocaust, and Rick Fox rolled into one. Seriously, this is the worst idea I have ever heard of.

Secondly, the selection committee fucked this bracket worse than any other in my lifetime. The overall #1 seed will play three tough games to get to the finals, and Duke and Kentucky will need meltdowns of Kanye West proportions to keep them from the Final Four (with the possible exception of WVU). I defy you to not put Duke in the Final Four. How did Villanova get a 2-seed? Just mind-boggling, really. The whole thing. I don't remember the last time so many bubble teams ended up with 3s and 6s. What the fuck? I'm dropping out of the bracket biz for the year.

[Adult Ed]

Presenting: The NIT!
[youtube]DzZww2AkGyE[/youtube]

[Berliner]

Fuck Duke...and Osama*

*Inexplicable 2002 University of Maryland Chant.

[bao]

Presenting: The NIT!
[youtube]DzZww2AkGyE[/youtube]

In all fairness to Herb Pope, if I had a nickel for every time I did that or that happened to me in my high school basketball career, I'd have ... about 60 cents. Tapping a guy's nuts (or forearm-shivering them, in this case) is basketball's answer to holding -- its generally accepted in the trenches, but if you do it on the outside, you'll get whistled.

An addendum to that rule of thumb: don't do it to a foreigner -- he may crumple to get a call.

(Which raises the question: can you flop on a nut shot? Would this be a "nut flop"?)

My personal least-favorite scenario: when a guy "checks" you cutting through the lane (away from the ball) with a slap to the nuts. Also, I once had guy squeeze both of my balls (hard) while posting me up. It would have been impossible for the ref to see it.

[Me!]

I think nut shots should easily be floppable. Every guy has been there, it's pretty hard to get your head in the game when it feels like your sack has shot up into your stomach.

[Umlaut]

[hockey talk for five seconds]

The Ovechkin two-game suspension is total BS, and the NHL's attempt to make an example out of one of their highest profile players, and do to him what Jesse Jackson once confessed to wanting to do to Obama. Luckily, the rest of the Caps have proven they are more than their one star player, and honestly Ovie was going a little hard on himself and will probably benefit from the break. But still, I worry about the precedent.

[end hockey talk]

[John?]

Whoa Murray State. Good game.