Happy Wednesday, everyone. Hope you’re all ready for a quick jaunt around the sports world, because there’s lots to mention, playoffs or no playoffs. Without further ado:
-As of this morning, three University of Kentucky players declared for the NBA draft. They are Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones, and DeAndre Liggins. UK has become somewhat known for one and dones recently, but this year may be slightly different. Knight and Jones are not the only rising Sophomores at Kentucky (Liggins is a rising senior), so Kentucky may have some stellar second years still around when next year’s once again excellent recruiting class comes in. However, Kentucky could look even better next year- because Knight, Jones, and Liggins did not hire agents as of this morning, they still have the option of pulling their names back out of the draft and returning to college basketball. If they do hire an agent, or they do not pull themselves out before the May deadline, they will be forced to proceed in the NBA direction.
-If you haven’t been watching the Boston-New York NBA playoff series, you probably only know that Boston is up 2-0 and that’s it. The reality is that New York could pretty easily have stolen at least one game if they just could have closed. The Knicks held leads within the final minute of both games, but watched each game slip through their fingers like magical Celtic sand. In game 1, the knicks were up 1 when the refs called an extremely bad offensive foul away from the ball as Carmelo Anthony and Paul Pierce were grappling for position. Bad call or not, the Knicks watched the Celtics go down the court and hit an extremely clutch three via (who else?) Ray Allen. Down two and with about twelve seconds to go, Carmelo Anthony calls for the ball and… drives to the lane? Of course not, that would be the smart thing to do! Instead, he jacks up a Jimmer Fredette- like three-pointer which doesn’t go for him. In game two, a late forecast of raining threes kept the Knicks in the game and eventually up 1 point once more. Doc drew up a play for the C’s that involved a Kevin Garnett hook shot over a decidedly smaller lineup for the Amare-less, Chauncey-less Knicks. When the hook shot went, Carmelo was inbounded the ball and immediately double teamed. He threw the ball into the post for the winning shot as time all but expired (.6 left on the clock), but the Knicks managed to lose the ball. Garnett immediately jumped on it, and the Celtics win. Talk about luck of the Irish. The knicks better get it in gear, or they could be out of the playoffs pretty fast.
-I recently talked about the Tim Tebow statue that was erected in honor of the Heisman winner at the University of Florida. Evidently other SEC schools caught the statue-erecting fevor, because Alabama has recently unveiled a statue of their own of head coach Nick Saban. Uhh… why? Nick Saban has spent all of three or four years at Alabama. Sure, he won a national championship, but we’re not exactly talking about a nobody school here. Alabama is a significantly historic program that has claimed 13 national championships over the years, the last of which (before the 2009-2010 season) was in the 90’s. Why build a statue of Saban? I could understand if, say, Virginia Tech finally won their first national championship under longtime head coach Frank Beamer. A statue seems like an appropriate way to pay homage to the legacy of Beamer, who has given much of his life to the betterment of the Virginia Tech football program. But Nick Saban? We’re talking about a guy that, not even five years ago, coached an NFL team! Come on, Alabama. Let’s just admitted you built a statue of Nick Saban because he likes to look at shiny things.
-Has anyone noticed the Rockies this year so far? The pitching has been quite pretty good, especially when you consider the fact that Jimenez is on the DL, but the Rockies have quietly outperformed opponents and acquired one of the best records in the Majors. Colorado is 13-5 with a notable sweep of a four-game series against Mets. They hold a three game lead in the NL West. We’re not even 20 games into the season, but if Jimenez can regain his form along with continued strong outings from Chacin and De La Rosa, it’s not hard to imagine the Rockies once again contenders for the World Series.
-The Tostito’s Fiesta Bowl is an absolute mess. In fact, because of some corporate controversy on whether to keep or drop sponsorship of the bowl, it might even lose its BCS status as one of the five most important bowl games in college football (Nat. Championship, Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, Orange). This is less of a concluded story, and more of an ongoing saga. Follow the latest here.
-Former CAA football member UMass has made the decision to officially move up to FBS level football and join the MAC conference. This makes them the second team this year that has been on the record for at least formally showing interest in moving up out of the CAA. Villanova has also been offered a spot by the Big East. Unlike the MAC, the Big East conference offers an autobid to a BCS conference that Villanova (and also new transfer TCU) may claim by as soon as 2012 by winning the league’s regular season championship, which is not decided by a championship game. UMass is an interesting case study- the northeast has very few BCS level teams, the most notable of which are UConn (BE) and Boston College (ACC). Both teams are on UMass’ schedule in 2011. Their home games will be played at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots, until the University’s own stadium has completed the renovations currently in progress.
-The Red Sox really need to hurry up and decide if they want to suck or not this year. They start by being swept by Texas AND Cleveland. Then, they turn around and win a series against the Yankees. They turn around and get swept by the putrid Rays. They take three games out of four against AL East rival Toronto. Then they split two games in Oakland? This Bosox team is a bookie’s dream and a betters’ nightmare. Boston is in the middle of a nine-game road trip, and since they’ve won exactly one game on the road so far this year, it could be a long stay in LA and Baltimore. Here’s to hoping the Orioles sweep them.
-Despite the lockout, both the NFL draft and the Fall schedules are still set to take place. The NFL recently released the projected schedules for the season, and the notable early games involve some tragically involved cities. The New York Giants will travel to play against the Redskins while the Jets will host the Cowboys in the Meadowlands on September 11, 2011 on the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Expect lots of media coverage and a pregame tribute to those that lost their lives in the two cities most severely affected by the attacks, Washington and New York. I think that Rex Ryan, the Jets coach who is normally outspoken to the point that I kind of want to stab him on some days for causing pointless media arguments, said it best (for once): That stadium is going to be full of emotion, not only the people from the area but in the entire country. The fact that it’s the tenth anniversary of 9/11, that’s where the focus should be, not be playing against my brother [assistant coach for the Dallas Cowboys].”
-Hockey Update: The Red Wings have officially swept the Coyotes, and Vancouver owns a 3-1 series lead as the next game returns to western Canada. Head on collision? Just remember who predicted it first, readers. It’s all I ask.
In the east, The Caps and Penguins are also hurdling toward a showdown, this one in the second round. Both teams own 3-1 leads over the Rangers and Lightning, respectively, and both teams would love to hate to have to play each other. The Habs are up a game on the Bruins and could take Boston to the brink tonight in Montreal. The Philly-Buffalo series has gone back and forth as each team struggles to define the series. High scoring games have favored the Flyers, but Miller has posted two shutouts now. When he’s hot, all Buffalo really needs is one goal to win…
That’s your comprehensive update ladies and gentlemen. I’ve got a good piece coming up about Jay-Z, so look forward to that!
No comments:
Post a Comment