2/3: Signing Day, Hoops, etc.

Greetings all...

• National signing day was yesterday in college football... you'll notice I didn't go with the full-scale breakdown in preview lol... It's a bit overblown as a whole IMO... the usual suspects cleaned up (SEC upper-tiers, Florida State, Ohio State, etc.) and my general interest lies with who Michigan picks up... seems like Brady Hoke did a fantastic job closing, generating 11 commits since when he was hired... that's all I got here...
• College Hoops - Syracuse is back with the living after 4 straight L's... a 10-point road win @UConn will do that... they have to get Scoop Jardine sorted out to be a dangerous team down the stretch though... holding Kemba Walker to 8 points? That's nice... Duke cruises over Maryland by 18 in College Park... Singler and Smith combine for 43... Minnesota goes down to Indiana... man, the Big 10 is super-deep... and it might be over for Michigan State... Izzo and company don't have it this year... a 20-point drubbing to an underwhelming Iowa team last night.. yikes...
• An NBA note.... how is it national news when Lebron and Wade admit that they don't have the chemistry of LA and Boston?... Isn't that widely known?....
• NBA Box Score Check - Joe Johnson with a career-high 37 leading ATL to a win over Toronto... 13 straight losses for the Raps and they're glad Cleveland exists... speaking of the Cavs... they drop their 22nd in a row, this time in a winnable home game vs. Indiana... it's going to go until the 13th with the play Washington at home I think... Dirk dropped a 29 and 11 in Dallas' road win over New York by 16... they seem to be getting right again... Kevin Durant with an ultra-efficient 43 points on 14 of 19 shooting for OKC in their win over NO... and Blake Griffin & Derrick Rose shared the floor in LA last night and didn't disappoint, Griffin put up 32/13/7 and a ridiculous alley-oop over Korver... but Rose was the story, 32 points, 11 dimes and an 18-point road win...
  
• Bill Belichick named Coach of the Year in the NFL... no surprise here... generally don't get up in arms over this stuff, but it can't be discounted that he got rid of Randy Moss in the first quarter of the season, then rattled off 14-2 with a bunch of cast-off receivers and a one-legged Wes Welker...
  

What to watch for...

• Heat @ Magic - TNT 8:00 - Always a must-see when 2 of the top-tier East teams go at it... and the Howard vs. Miami pu pu platter matchup up front is entertaining... interested to see what the new-look Magic put together...
• Spurs @ Lakers - TNT 10:30 - The best team in the league (SA) on the road against the defending champs... uh... that's nice...
• Michigan @ Ohio State - ESPN 7:00 - This is of importance to... well... me... Ohio State is better in every phase... but these tend to be hotly contested for obvious reasons...
• Gonzaga @ Portland - ESPN2 11:00 - For those of you that don't want to watch Spurs/Lakers... may I interest you in high-level west coast hoops? Gonzaga needs to win out until the WCC final for any chance at an at-large and this is their toughest non-St. Mary's opponent...
  

2/1: Shortcuts...

Greetings... (very) short and sweet today due to lack of time...

• Troy Polamalu named defensive POY... don't necessarily agree, but he's an impact player of the highest order and you see his value even more when he's not out there... I would've gone with Matthews but alas...
• Cleveland and Washington are really bad NBA teams... the Cavs have lost 21 straight and 31 of 32... it's the worst 32-game run in NBA history and the 3rd longest losing streak... I maintain that they aren't THIS bad, but the Varejao injury murdered them, and Mo Williams is a corpse... for Washington? They're near .500 at home... but 0-24 now on the road, and my earlier 2-39 prediction stands... and it may be lofty...
• The Yankees are signing anyone with a right arm that used to be a good pitcher... already with Mark Prior and Bartolo Colon... now they ink Freddy Garcia... hmm...
• Texas hoops is legit... the Canadian freshman duo is scary, and anytime you can get a 20-point road win in conference against a legit opponent, that's noteworthy...

What to watch for...

• #10 Purdue @ #18 Wisconsin - 7:00 ESPN - I love Wisconsin here... always a scary good home team...
• #24 Vandy @ #23 Florida - 9:00 ESPN - The battle for the default #2 in the SEC... because I don't believe in Tennessee at all...

Enjoy it...

1/31: Finals Rematch, etc.

Greetings all... NBA first...

• Boston 109, LAL 96... well, Boston was impressive... 60% from the field, 6 guys in double-figures, 43-30 rebounding edge... all on the road... Pierce/Allen/Garnett were ultra-efficient... combining to shoot 28 of 42 (66.6%) for 73 points, and were generally awesome... oh yeah, and their best player these days (Rondo) had 15 assists in the 2nd half... 15!... but the biggest key hasn't been stated yet... yes, Kobe shot 16 of 29 for 41 points... cool... but Boston held the rest of the team to 55 points on 20 of 52 shooting (which is abysmal) and Kobe finished with 0 assists... really a clinic put on by Boston... oh yeah... and I'm officially putting out an APB for Ron Artest...
• Miami 108, OKC 103.... the Heat at full strength are still a pretty scary proposition... Wade/LBJ/Bosh combine for 75 points, 20 boards and 16 dimes... Lebron distributed beautifully (13 dimes) and they held OKC to 40% shooting... Durant was efficient despite his 7 of 20 shooting (because he shot 3-5 threes and 16-19 FTs), but Westbrook's 7 of 22 couldn't be overcome... an underrated subplot? OKC had to play Daequan Cook 31 minutes... read that again... and Ibaka only played 9 minutes, so this wasn't your typical OKC performance... that said, they aren't "there" yet...
• Elsewhere in the L... Dwight Howard had a 20-20 game... in 26 minutes played against Cleveland... Cleveland is woeful... we'll move on... 23 and 14 for... Timofey Mozgov?... it was a weird night in NY... Greg Monroe had the best game of his young career as well (15 and 17)... and Phoenix holds off CP3 and company behind Gortat's 25 and 11... in only 24 minutes... wow... Paul had a typical 26 and 12, but it wasn't enough on the road...
• The Pacers fire Jim O'Brien... not a huge surprise due to their record (17-27) and the bubbling chatter about some seeming incompetencies... he'll be replaced by an interim the rest of the year, but that could be a decent job opening in the summer....

Elsewhere...

• Duke gets lit up... by St. John's?... 93-78 and the Red Storm led by 20+ for long stretches... SJU shot 58% from the field, and Duke just couldn't get stops.. cause for concern? Maybe, but the box score reads pretty fluke-ish... at any rate, Duke (minus Irving) isn't playing like the juggernaut many thought they'd be (including me)
• Pac-10 Hoops!... Wazzu knocks off Washington thanks to some impressive offense... 87 points including 43 from their overshadowed backcourt while holding Isaiah Thomas to 3 of 13 shooting... nice win...
• The Eagles will franchise tag Mike Vick... no surprise here... if there is a season to be using that tag in...
• I got a few inquiries about the Pro Bowl... needless to say, I didn't see a second of it... or the NHL All-star game... the only all-star contest i'll watch ANY of it the NBA version... and that's just because it's basketball... no interest here...

What to watch for...

• Texas @ Texas A&M - ESPN 9:00 - A&M coming off a tough loss over the weekend, but these are 2 pretty strong teams playing an in-state rivalry game... and the always-entertaining Rick Barnes is coaching... let's see if he can parlay a significant talent edge into a loss here...
• Louisville @ Georgetown - ESPN 7:00 - It seems like there are about 17 ranked teams in the Big East, doesn't it?... here's 2 more...
• Nuggets @ Nets - NBA-TV 7:00 - Why are the Nets on TV?... anyway, it'll at least be a measuring stick for what's going on in NJ for those of us that don't see them much.... and throw in the Melo subplot...

Enjoy..

1/30: Wild College Hoops, etc.

Greetings... it was a big day on the hardwood especially in the collegiate ranks... so we'll stay on the court this morning... college first

• Ohio State narrowly avoids being bounced by NW thanks to some faulty execution late by the Wildcats... a typical road test and even the most experienced teams catch these...
• Louisville knocks off UConn in Storrs... Kemba Walker with an inefficient 7 of 23 for UConn, but the story for me was Peyton Siva for Louisville... played big-time with 19 and 7 dimes...
• Georgetown knocks off Villanova... this was a weird game simply because both teams were out of timeouts with about 3 minutes to go... it was mass chaos on both ends down the stretch... Austin Freeman had 30 for Georgetown and was everywhere, but the Hoyas won this game in spite of some laughable execution...
• Kansas blitzes K-State by 24... the purple and white are pretty bad right now... Frank Martin looks to be asleep at the wheel, and they had no chance in Lawrence last night... great story with Thomas Robinson 2 days after his mother's funeral keying the Jayhawks with 17 and 9... big-time performance by KU
• Texas is the real deal... Rick Barnes has them playing well right now, and they took it to Missouri... right now? I have to give them the frontrunner nod for the 4th #1 seed with Ohio State, Duke, and Kansas...
• Upsets abound... Texas A&M, BYU, Wisconsin, and Syracuse drop road games to unranked teams... A&M was actually a road underdog (Vegas-style), and none of the losses were shockers, but it just shows again and again how big home-court is in college hoops... especially in conference....

NBA Check...

• Dallas knocks off ATL with help from a 25-13 4th quarter... some abysmal offense from the Hawks in the 4th quarter (a recurring trend), and the Mavs took advantage... Jason Terry with 11 dimes to lead Dallas... and despite Joe Johnson putting up another huge stat game (27/8/6) it wasn't enough...
• Zach Randolph is so under-appreciated.... 24 and 20 for Memphis in their home win over the Wiz... yes, the Wizards are 0-23 on the road now... but Z-Bo needs more love... you can't argue with 20 and 13 on the season...
• Same old story for San Antonio.... 6 guys in double-digits and a 13 point win over Houston... the Spurs are rolling..

What to watch for on a football-less Sunday...

• Heat @ Thunder - 1:00 ABC - Sunday afternoon ABC games!... These 2 teams haven't played yet, and this matchup is really intriguing... 4 of the top 15-20 players in the league? Even without Bosh, That's enough for me...
• Celtics @ Lakers - 3:30 ABC - Oh... just the finals rematch and the 2 most storied franchises in the NBA on national tv.... that's all...
• Duke @ St. John's - 1:00 CBS - Remember when this game didn't suck?... Bootsie Thornton does...
• Washington @ Washington St. - 10:00 Fox Sports - Pac-10 hoops on a sunday night... always enjoy this matchup...

1/28: Jeff Fisher, OJ Mayo, etc.

Greetings...

• Jeff Fisher out as Titans Head Coach after 17 years... not a huge shock given the turmoil in Tennessee this year with him and Vince Young, but 17 years is a long, long time to be coaching a professional franchise... It seems like Tennessee has to go in-house because it is so late in the game already... interesting to see who's coaching (and playing QB) for them in 2011 if there's football....
• OJ Mayo suspended 10 games for steroid use... this has somehow flown under the radar because it's 1) not baseball, and 2) not in a major market... but I can't fathom how this isn't a huge story... Mayo is a top 50-75 guy in the league (off the top of my head) and has been a big story in the past for USC sanctions, etc... If this was baseball, this would lead every news outlet for days...
• The NBA all-star starters were announced last night... Rose/Wade/LBJ/Amare/Dwight for the East, and Paul/Kobe/Durant/Melo/Yao for the West.... obviously Yao is out for the West and David Stern gets to pick the replacement (hmm), but Melo getting the nod in the West (although not a surprise) is the only issue I have... check out my post from yesterday for my squads...
• Tiger Woods is 5 back at Torrey Pines... bogey-free round of 69 yesterday, but he couldn't make any headway on the Par 5's... looked good though.... I stand by my 7 win/2 major prediction...
• There's a report that Maurkice Pouncey has a broken ankle for the Steelers... that would end his season..... it's been widely reported that he'll "try" to play in the Super Bowl, but the all-pro center isn't playing if it's broken...
• NBA Check - New York knocks off the Heat 93-88 at MSG... they held Lebron to 7 of 24 shooting, and despite Dwyane Wade's 34/16 performance (wow), Amare and company get the win with much ado to Landry Fields (19/13/6)... Boston knocks off the Blazers at the Rose Garden by 10... typical grinding Boston/Portland game that saw 5 guys in double-figures for the C's.... Nic Batum exited early with an injury and that set back Portland a bit IMO... and finally, Dallas hangs on to beat Houston.... SEVEN guys in double-digits for Dallas led by Tyson Chandler's 21 and 15... and they 30 points combined from Pavlovic and Barea... that's like stealing... one note on Houston... Luis Scola is a man...
• College Hoops Look-in - Michigan hadn't beaten Michigan State in football or basketball in 1,181 days until last night... and then Zack Novak went crazy... 6 threes for the Junior to lead the victors... Gonzaga on the bubble? or even worse?... that's the story in Washington... they dropped (another) home game... this time to St. Mary's by 2... it's not the same type of talent base that they are use to having and preseason all-american Elias Harris has been a letdown... Indiana upsets Illinois at home... 52-49 is pretty ugly, but give credit to the Hoosiers for holding McCamey to 2 of 11 shooting...

What to watch for on Friday...

• Knicks @ Hawks - 7:30 SportSouth - I'll be in the building and it's apparently (gasp) close to a sell-out... that means 40% Knick fans... should be an entertaining game....
• Celtics @ Suns - 10:30 ESPN - Road back-to-back for Boston... but Phoenix is really scuffling right now and sit at a paltry 20-24...

NBA All-Star Selections

Greetings all... I'll be breaking down my version of the ASG picks here... I say this every year, but the G-G-F-F-C format kind of baffles me... simply because there aren't enough "centers" to fill the rosters accurately, and because there's too many situations where you end up with Carmelo/Durant as your forwards and 2 6'6 shooting guards in the backcourt... alas... let's get to it...

EAST

Starters

• C - Dwight Howard - The lock of all locks really... career high 22 ppg, 2nd in the league in boards, 2.2 blocks, over 1 steal, and the best defensive center alive... done...
  
• PF - Amare Stoudemire - Leading the East in scoring at 26 ppg leading a decent Knicks team to an above .500 in the first half... decent rebounding (9 rpg), and he's become the leader of the squad... the clear pick in a weak year for PFs...


• SF - Lebron James - Best player on earth... I can stop there but let me share his numbers... 26/7/7 averages on a team with a different elite scoring option... wait, why am I explaining this?...


• SG - Dwyane Wade - 25 a game, an efficient 49% FG, and even defending at a extremely high level... there's a big gap between him and the rest in the East...


• PG - Derrick Rose - This would've been tough a month ago, but Rose has been unbelievable... 25/8/5 averages leading Chicago to possible home-court in the first-round, and he's doing it without Noah right now... might be my MVP of league...

Bench

• PG - Rajon Rondo - the league's assist leader... 52% FG despite that horrendous jumper (lol), and maybe the best defensive PG in the league... pencil him in...


• PG - Raymond Felton - I wish Nash or Westbrook was in the East... but Felton gets the nod here... 18 and 9 a game and doing everything for that NY team... honestly, surpassing everyone's expectations upon his arrival there...


• SG - Joe Johnson - 27 a game in January, and the best offensive player on an upper-tier East team... I went back and forth with Ray Allen for this spot, but Joe continues to answer the bell (and Boston doesn't need 4 all-stars lol)...


• SF - Paul Pierce - ultra-efficient 19/5/5 shooting 51/43/85... the stalwart of that Boston team, and even with as ugly as his game can be, he's still quite effective...


• PF - Chris Bosh - Surprisingly, I find myself inserting Bosh without much thought... 19 and 8 as the 3rd option is pretty impressive, but he's turned it up recently on the defensive end, and gotta give him the nod over someone like Granger...


• PF - Kevin Garnett - 15 and 9 doesn't seem especially All-star worthy, huh?... If you think that, you haven't watched KG... he's still an elite defender, the most irreplaceable part on a team full of irreplaceable parts, and he makes them go... an automatic inclusion even before you consider his 54/82 FG/FT splits...


• C - Al Horford - 16 and 10 with 57% FG (top-5 in the league) and he's a fantastic/versatile defender even when the Hawks put him in impossible switches (like guarding Chris Paul for an entire half)... clearly the 2nd best center in the East....

Tough Omissions - Ray Allen (shooting unbelievably with 51/45/87 percentages), Danny Granger (21 a game for a playoff contender but an ugly 42% FG)

WEST

Starters

• C - Pau Gasol - "Bending" the center position a bit... but when Bynum misses games like it's going out of style, Pau plays center, and does so fantastically...


• PF - Dirk Nowitzki - Hear me out again... I know Dirk has missed 9 games... but listen to this... The Mavs went 2-7 without him, and 27-8 with him... he was a legit leading MVP candidate until the injury and may get back there if they win 55+... 52/39/87 percentages to go along with 23 a game on a team where everything runs through him.... I think it's clear


• SF - Kevin Durant - league's leading scorer... had a bit of a "slow" start (for him) but has picked it up in January, and you can't argue with a guy who shoots 90% FT taking 9 a game....


• SG - Kobe Bean Bryant - Best 2-guard alive (still), and still giving it to you on both ends... 25/5/5 averages, and he's adapted his game immensely to age more gracefully... pencil it in


• PG - Chris Paul - Still the #1 PG for me... 16 points, 10 dimes per with a league-leading 2.7 steals, and suddenly shooting 47% from three... leading NO to 30 wins at time of print here, and carrying them to the playoffs...

Bench

• PG - Deron Williams - Getting "best PG alive" buzz as usual and I can't necessarily hate on it... 22 and 9 and keeping them competitive if not slightly underachieving...


• PG - Steve Nash - Sorry Russell... I can't leave off Nash... not in a year where he's strapped Phoenix to his back... 53/40/92 percentages... wow... he might be the best shooter in the league, and he's still giving you 11 assists a game... Toughest call of the year, but Russ can wait a year...


• SG - Manu Ginobili - Elite crunch-time guy... 19 a game in only 31 minutes per... it's tough to leave off Monta Ellis & Eric Gordon, but can't ignore the "best" player on the best team in the league... And for my colleague, Ryan... Manu's PER? 22.9... Mr. Ellis? 19.6...


• SF - Carmelo Anthony - 24 points, 8 boards a game... and while I don't love his game by any stretch... you can't leave off an elite scorer who's currently got Denver in the playoffs with that roster simply because there isn't a better SF option even if there are guys (Westbrook, Ellis, Aldridge) who I feel are having better years


• PF - Blake Griffin - Probably the best rookie I've ever seen with my 2 eyes.... at least since Duncan... 23 points, a ridiculous 13 boards, and shooting 52% while attacking the rim with vigor that doesn't exist elsewhere...


• PF - Kevin Love - Best rebounder on Earth... and somehow putting up a 22/16 PPG/RPG in an effort to make my head explode... 44% 3-point as a power forward with 88% FT as well... can't leave him off...


• C - Tim Duncan - I can't be swayed... it helps that there isn't another real option and I feel that you have to have a backup C... Duncan isn't "DUNCAN!" anymore, but he's one of the smartest players in the league on both ends, still averaging a 14/10 in 29 minutes per, and if you want to put Nene ahead of him... good luck to you... I'll take the top-10 guy of all-time with a little left in the tank

Tough Omissions - Russell Westbrook (single most brutal leave-off... 23/8/5 on a team battling for home-court in the first-round... attacks and attacks...), Eric Gordon (24 a game and filling it up nightly, but now injured and can't have 2 Clips), LaMarcus Aldridge (brutal year for PFs, but 21 and 9 carrying Portland without Roy shouldn't be ignored), Monta Ellis (26 points, 6 dimes... plays 2 spots, and is unquestionably playing better than ever)

And there it is... feel free to argue with my in the comments... I love the banter...

1/27: Jimmer, Durant, etc.

Greetings all... let's get straight to it...

• Jimmer Fredette and BYU have captured the nation... I'm only a little bit kidding... as twitter/ESPN have exploded with news of the guard's play... Jimmer had 43 last night as 20-0 BYU knocked off previously unbeaten San Diego State... 43 of the team's 71 points and the buzz is semi-outrageous... first for SDSU, that's a talented team, and they shouldn't be written off... but back to BYU... they are a threat b/c they aren't a 1-man show (there are legit guys around him) and because they have a guy who can get his shot whenever he wants it.... alot of talk on his NBA stock though, and let's all agree to take a step back... he's a 6'2 (maybe) off-guard who can't guard anyone at the next level... he may be able to stick as an energy scorer off someone's bench, but this isn't JJ Redick (who has shown himself capable of defending opposing 2's and has more legit size) and Jimmer isn't a point guard... there it is....
• Roger Goodell will cut his salary to $1 in the event of a lockout... umm... ok?... I guess this means he "means business" on the negotiations... but I'm not sure how a guy who made $18 million last year and runs the freaking NFL can make any sort of plea declaration by cutting his own salary... forgive the cynicism...
• NBA Check - Kevin Durant is a man.... 47 points, a career 18 boards, and repeated daggers in their OT win over Minnesota... somehow managing to upstage another ludicrous game from Kevin Love (who had 31 and 21)... The Hawks took a beating in Milwaukee... the Bibby conundrum continues as Earl Boykins goes off for 20 off the bench... that's laughable... but the key? Josh Smith and his 6 for 20 including 1 of 5 threes... here's an idea... go to the rim... San Antonio holds off Utah by 7 in Salt Lake... Deron Williams did what he could with 39 and 9 (legit unguardable for T. Parker) but the Spurs are scary efficient... and 2 more crazy PG games... Steven Q. Nash throws up a 27/15/5 (in a loss somehow), and CP3 puts up an 18 point, 17 dime (on 7/9 FG) game in NO's win....
• Providence takes 'Nova to the woodshed... 83-68 victory for the Friars in a weird game... Providence shot only 38% but held Villanova to a paltry 32.5% from the field, and shot 31 of 38 from the free throw line... the 2 Corey's (lol) for Nova combined to shoot 4 of 26... yikes...
• Golf officially kicks off 2011 today... mostly because Tiger Woods is in the field at Torrey Pines... I have to get this on record... I think he wins 7 tournaments and 2 majors... he's coming...

What to watch for...

• Heat @ Knicks - TNT 8:00 - Miami may score 120 against that Knicks defense... and it's always a show when Lebron walks into MSG... he's capable of just about anything... but it'll be interesting to see how the dynamic has changed for him there since he balked at NY this summer...
• Celtics @ Blazers - TNT 10:30 - Portland is strong at home, but they'll need a 100% Aldridge to have a shot here, and I'm not sure they'll get it with his hip ailment...
• Michigan @ Michigan State - ESPN 7:00 - I'm the only one who will watch this... but it's always a good time when these 2 get together... oh... Michigan is 1-6 in the Big 10.. er....
• St. Mary's @ Gonzaga - ESPN2 11:00 - This is really a PSA for West Coast Hoops... this is the battle for WCC supremacy year in and year out, and while Gonzaga is "down" with 7 losses already, they've played a pretty brutal schedule for a small school (SDSU, K-State, Illinois, @ND)... STM is legit though...

Enjoy...