Black Ball Sports

…but everything in LA ain’t always what it seems, you might get fooled if you come from outta town…

Los Angelos is the city of sports news today.  The Lakers are showing some testosterone and Manny Ramirez is being banned for it.  What gives?

The Lakers apparently took to heart all the talk about their toughness and took it to the Houston Rockets in game two.  Clearly, they played on edge and with more spirit in the game.  I’m not surprised that Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant were at the center of it.  They are championship winning players, they know how to win in the playoffs, the mental and physical toughness that is necessary.  Fisher absolutely did something the Lakers needed.  If this was hockey, he’d have been dropping the gloves and squaring off with an opposing team’s enforcer.  He sent a message that the Rockets weren’t going to be able to push them around all series.  Bryant sent another message of sorts, one that I think will play out differently.  He basically told Ron Artest, “Go ahead and mess with me, you’ll get kicked out of games, and if you hit me, you’re out”.  Kobe reminded Artest, and more imporantly the refs and the NBA that he’s been a repeat thug.

Game two will be pivotal in deciding this series.  The blood has been drawn.  The Lakers need to make sure this wasn’t a one-time thing.  They don’t need any more suspensions or technicals, they just need to make sure the Rockets know they won’t get win by force.  For the Rockets, they need to keep up the physical play, but avoid the antics.  They need Artest, he’s been quiet and effective all year long.  He’s a very good defender who’s going to make the Lakers work on offense.  They can’t have him melt down.

So, Ramirez is the latest MLB player caught.  I’m not totally surprised.  I’m a Manny fan, I think he’s a unique player and one of the all time greats.  But nonetheless, he also played in the era of performance enhancing.  Regardless of what all the self-righteous players and writers say, the fact is the era was littered with far more players who used these enhancers than those who have been exposed thus far.  Barry Bonds, Raphael Palmeiro, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemons, the list goes on and on.  Continue Reading »

The NBA is the most physical “non-contact” sport in the world.  Technically speaking, much of the contact is illegal and should draw fouls.  Yet, especially as the playoffs roll on much of this contact is just part of the game.

Last season, the Boston Celtics won the championship because they were physically and mentally tougher than the Lakers.   To be more specific, outside of Kobe Bryant, the Lakers are a team of punks.  I’m tired of hearing about Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum.  Take Kobe and Phil Jackson away from this team, and these three would make the core of one of the worst teams in the league.  They have no toughness, little heart and the minute an opponent jabs them, they back down.

Conversely, I think Dirk Nowitski is the punk on Dallas. Don’t get me wrong, Nowitski is a great player, he’s everything that GMs look for in the European player. He’s tall, is a lights out shooter, skilled passer and ball handler, but he’s also a punk.  In game one of the Denver series, as long as he was 15 feet away from the basket he was effective ( and as I write this, he failed to capitalize on a size mismatch against Dahntay Jones in the post).  Nowitski doesn’t have a great team around him, so I doubt he could win a title with this team.  Still, until he’s able to man up to the inevitable elbows to the chest by his defenders, he’ll always fade as the playoffs go deeper.  Yao Ming has adjusted to the physical nature of the NBA, and he gets beat on much more.

I love the effect Chauncey Billups has had on Denver.  Allen Iverson has always been my boy, and I still believe that if he’d one other “star” type player next to him during the Larry Brown years in Philly he might have stole a championship.  That being said, Billups turned this soft, non defensive team into a physical contender.  At some point though, Carmelo Anthony needs to make the transition into the definitive superstar.  I still look at him and see Glenn Robinson.  Supremely skilled, but lacking that “it” factor which makes Kobe, Lebron, Dwayne Wade champions.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see this team win a championship, but in the end it’s going to have to be Melo carrying them there.

Lebron James…enough said.  New York Knicks fans, get that thought of him coming to NYC out of your heads.  The more I watch him play with his team of castoffs, the more I have the feeling the King will finally deliver.  His cast is very underrated.  They were making a point in the broadcast of game one against Atlanta about how many former NBA starters were on their bench.  And this isn’t unproductive, old veterans playing for the minimal.  Some of these guys were key figures in their Finals run just two years ago.  Perhaps most imporantly, these guys are tough enough to know their roles, accept them, and yet take the shots rather than watching Lebron.

Jay Cutler thankfully is a Chicago Bear.  I say thankfully because MY Washington Redskins were in the running.  And instead of using the few drafts pick we have to rebuild our poor offensive and defensive lines we were going to trade it all for Cutler.  So I for one say congratulations to the Chicago Bears.

But to Josh McDaniels and the Denver Broncos I say I hope your correct.  Yes, Cutler did act like a baby when it came out they were trying to trade him.  But McDaniels made it worse by lying about the fact that he attempted to trade him.  But the Broncos organization made a mistake by rushing to trade Jay Cutler.  What was the rush to trade him?  I would’ve given it a couple more weeks until we got closer to the draft.  What was the hurry to deal him?  He was coming off of a 4000+ yards season and a pro bowl.  The market for him wasn’t going to change that much between now and the draft.

The Broncos did get a lot of draft picks and a serviceable quarterback in Kyle Orton.  But whenever u trade a top 10 quarterback you always come out behind.  Those draft picks may or may not turn out to be good to great NFL players. We all know the draft is a crap shoot.  So when you strike gold with a big time QB that is the face of your franchise you have to do everything in your power to keep him.  Especially, when like Cutler he is just coming into his prime.

This is why I hope Josh McDaniels is correct in his decision.  He is a new head coach and already before his first game he has made a decision that has changed his franchise.  Not many teams have franchise quarterbacks under the age of 27.  There are only about 10 teams in the league right now that are happy and secure in their starting QB.  Every time Cutler has a good game or goes to a pro bowl he is going to be compared to the current quarterback of the Denver Broncos.  And Cutler is so young that comparison is probably going to go on for the next 10 years or so.  I hope for Josh McDaniels sake that his legacy was not decided in the first 3 months of his head coaching career.

I hope some day to see the excitement of the Final Four in College Football.

The best part of this weekend in my opinion is that the teams earned their way here.  With the lack of major upsets, all four teams had to make it here on the merits of playing the best competition.  Of course to most observers, Michigan State and Villanova are the “surprises”.  Not as glamorous as their opponents, both of these teams have track records which would indicate this is legit, and not all that much a suprise.

Jay Wright has had this Villanova program heading in the right direction for years, and this is the end result of that hard work.  It is good to see a team from the Philly area represent, as it has been a notoriously good college and high school basketball city.  Is it just me or is it so strange that New York City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago and DC really haven’t had good, consistent programs for seemingly decades?

Tom Izzo leads the Spartans back to the Final Four, and I am willing to admit that I don’t give them enough credit.  I’ve always respected Izzo, but at the same time, year after year I look at his no name teams from the generally weak-average Big Ten, and just bypass them.  But here they are again, something like the 5th Final Four in about 10 years?

UConn and UNC are the glorious teams here.  They have the big time future NBAers, All-Americans, coaches with reps bigger than their states.  Thabeet, Price, Adrien, Lawson, Hansborogh, Green etc, all top tier players.  They are the elite of the elite, the teams kids dream of playing for the first time they pick up a basketball.  Even UNC’s color, Carolina Blue, is legendary.  But they also represent the difficulty to win a championship.  Jim Calhoun has two championships despite being the dominate programs coach for 20+ years.  Roy Williams has had great team after great team at Kansas and now UNC, and yet has just one title.  We often forget how difficult it is to get a team of teenagers and early 20 somethings to focus and bring their A game for six straight games against top competition.

Who do I like?  I want UConn and UNC to meet up for the ultimate showdown.  And the reality is, there is no reason it shouldn’t happen, except that Nova and MSU are not intimidate, have played teams of this caliber this season and know and relish in their underdog status.  Unfortunately, I’m thinking it is a year for the bigs, the elites, to make it happen.  UConn and UNC will meet for the championship Monday night.

North Carolina will win it all.

Although these don’t necessarily reflect my pre-tourney bracket, these picks are my gut feeling based on the way the teams are playing.

Midwest

• #1 Louisville vs. #12 Arizona - Louisville…no question.  Just a better team.
• #3 Kansas vs. #2 Michigan State - MSU, I just think the Spartans and Izzo need this more.
• Louisville over MSU - I’m not sure they really are the best team in the country, but they play like it.

West

• #1 UConn vs. #5 Purdue - UConn will deal with the off the court problems, but focusing on playing.
• #2 Memphis vs. #3 Missouri - Memphis, although if they struggle early, Mizzou won’t let them off the hook.
• UConn over Memphis - Both teams appear on a mission, but give me the old grizzly coach in perhaps his last big tournament (I wouldn’t be surprised to see Calhoun retire).

East

• #1 Pittsburgh vs. #4 Xavier - Pitt is a yearly disappointment, but they are going to pull this one out.
• #2 Duke vs. #3 Villanova - I hate this game.  These teams mirror each other too much.  But give me the Philly boys.
• Pittsburgh over Villanova - I love a guy like Fields in a tournament.  He’ll make some big plays for them late.

South

• #1 UNC vs. #4 Gonzaga - UNC, hands down.  Just too good for Gonzaga, they’ll pull away late.
• #2 Oklahoma vs #3 Syracuse - My heart says Syracuse, but my head says Oklahoma.  My guess is despite backcourt heroics, Blake Griffin will be too much inside for Syracuse.
• Oklahoma over UNC - Often in the NCAA singular stars don’t carry teams deep.  But Griffin does seem special, and they play as a team together.

So I’m thinking Louisville, UConn, Pittsburgh and Oklahoma will be the Final Four.  If the Big East doesn’t have at least two make it through this weekend, it is a disasppointment.

Now down to 16 teams, a few quick thoughts on round one.

Sorry Cinderella…Midnight came and went, and Cinderella is gone.  Yes, Arizona is a 12 seed, so technically they are a low seed playing above their heads.  But the reality is this is one of the country’s elite programs (the last time they failed to make the tournament was 1984).

The reality is we are left with a fantastic sweet 16, where every matchup is prime time and there are dozens of highlights.  The Big East sends a record five teams, so all those who thought the league was overrated should maybe apologize.  All the top 12 seeds are still alive (way to go selection committee, seemed to nail that one).

Midwest

• #1 Louisville vs. #12 Arizona - Louisville gets the only “break” in this round.  But they need to be cautious of Arizona.  They aren’t a fluke, they’ve got 3 quality players.
• #3 Kansas vs. #2 Michigan State - Two historically relevant teams, from big conferences, and one is the defending national championship (and both coaches have rings).

West

• #1 UConn vs. #5 Purdue - Connecticut has had nothing but “trouble” in theory.  A big injury, a stupid controversy around Jim Calhoun, then his dehydration problem and this just in recruiting issues.  So what does that mean?  They went out and trashed two straight opponents.  Watch out Purdue.
• #2 Memphis vs. #3 Missouri - Upstart Missouri is perhaps the least glorious Sweet 16 (even Gonzaga is more accomplished recently).  So they perhaps more than any team get to raise their national basketball profile.  Only one problem, Memphis, a been there done that team, with a coach who doesn’t seem to let them waiver.

East

• #1 Pittsburgh vs. #4 Xavier - I could be wrong on this, but I heard somewhere that Pitt has never beaten a team higher than a #6 seed.  Amazing, considering they’ve been a really good program the past few years, and now they get Xavier, one of those lesser conference but highly successful “outsiders”.  Pitt needs a Final Four trip in the worst way.
• #2 Duke vs. #3 Villanova - Could the biggest matchup between “white” schools ever.  Is there any way this game doesn’t stay close to the end?  I see this as one of the more exciting games, which should remain close.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see a buzzer beater at the end of this one.

South

• #1 UNC vs. #4 Gonzaga - Think about how successful Gonzaga has been over the recent years.  Successful enough that no one considers them a real mid-major or an underdog.  They should be the model program for all the non-elite programs from mid-major schools.  However, I think UNC is just too talented, and Ty Lawson is likely to play.
• #2 Oklahoma vs #3 Syracuse - ‘Cuse seemed to gather themselves together late, and are rolling.  Meanwhile Oklahoma has been very good all season long, and touts the likely player of the year in Blake Griffin.  This is another matchup which has the potential for late game heroics.  Syracuse while not very deep, and will have problems containing Griffin, has three clutch type players in Johnny Flynn, Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins.

I’ll think about these and make my picks tomorrow.

The games were more exciting than the final scores dictated.  In the end, there were no real surprises or upsets.  Gonzaga got past WKU after a full court final seconds push for a layup.  The Zags are an interesting model for mid-majors and small teams.  If you want the respect of the national media, non-local fans and more importantly the selection committee, you have to win big games in the regular season and in the NCAA tournament.  The Zags have been doing this for a few years now, and they get the respect due to their accomplishments.  No longer do they have to sweat out making the tournament, as long as they have their typical regular season, they will get in.  In order to pull this off, Gonzaga had to continue for years to dominate it’s conference, and then started pulling off upsets in the tournament.  Could WKU do the same thing?  After last years’ sweet 16 trip, a first round win this year and close loss to Gonzaga, they might be able to build that case.  But next year, they have to again duplicate the success.  I don’t think the selection committee has as part its criteria a “past success” bonus, but even the name recognition of success has to go a long way.  Build on it WKU!

Cleveland State, Arizona and Wisconsin were the big day 2 winners.  Arizona and Wisconsin really weren’t that surprising, seeing as they come from major conferences and have played teams like Florida State and Utah.  But little Cleveland State was the big story.  This is why the NCAA needs to keep the automatic bids.  I’m completely against the idea of eliminating the auto bids in favor of the 64 “best” only.  The reality is there are no more then about 16 true potential champs, the rest just represent chances at history and excitement.  I’d much rather have a Cleveland State in there, then say another SEC chump.

Now the real question is, can any of the double digit seeds pull off another upset and make it to the Sweet 16.  I don’t know, but one thing I noticed in the first round is that the physical difference between the big boys and the lesser seeds doesn’t seem as dramatic as in the past.  Perhaps in a sign of the parity now in sports, the small schools appear as big and fast as the BCS schools, with the major difference seemingly in star power and depth.  It seems to me that from players say 2-6 the teams are quite similar.

Mostly an upset free day.  Even the so called underdog winners, Western Kentucky, seemed to have quite a bit of support from “experts” leading up to the game.  I was going to pick them, but I had already decided on Mississippi State and VCU.  Which of course meant, I lost those two.  No worries, I didn’t pick them to go any further than one round.  By the way, although I think I’ve never won a tournament, I still believe the number one rule is to avoid picking one of these low seeds to go far.  Yes, every year some team from the middle of nowhere takes down a few giants and goes on a run (Davidson, George Mason etc).  But do you really have any solid reason for picking any of them going into the tournament?  It is often too random, and depends much on the team they are playing.

Will there be any upsets today?  I doubt it amongst the top 3 in each bracket, but watch out for Cleveland State.  They’ve played several tournament teams (Butler, at Syracuse, at West Virginia and at Washington).  Beating Syracuse and Butler (twice).  So I highly doubt they will be intimidated by Wake Forest on a neutral court.