So as some of my more astute readers may remember, I recently purchased a 10 dollar CD player. This is quickly climbing the charts as one of my best purchases ever. I bought this CD player so that I could ignore the outside world, seeing how I live in Illinois and they recently beat my team in game which I’m trying to convince myself never happened. Anywho, the CD player has been a life saver. I’ve successfully ignored the outside for most of the week, and what a week. This has been one of the better weeks I’ve had at school, I’m just going around with this huge portable cd player, which is shaped like a an Easter egg. People will come and start talking to me, and I’ll just ignore them and then point to my cd player and then my head phones, good times. To make things better, this weekend is my school’s ‘sneak peak’ for perspective students. So while they’re being shown around campus they eventually see me. And here I am walking around with this oblong cd player looking like I’ve either been crying, sleeping, heavily drinking or some combination of all three. Most of these students have come to the conclusion that I’m autistic. I’ve also alienated most of my friends, but at least now I don’t have to deal with their petty bull sh*t. And soon I will have seen Sin City, woot. I may bring my CD player to the movie just in case anyone there tries to talk to me.
Until Next Time.
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
I’m Looking Through You
Well it’s Wednesday, so I guess it’s time for my Hot List:
Things I’m hot on: Arrested Development, The demands of the ideal, Sin City Trailer, ELO- Sweet Talking Woman, My 10 Dollar CD Player, Matt Pond PA’s cover of In Aeroplanes over the Sea, You, My new gel ‘Surf Hair’, Mr. Bright Side, The warm weather, Re-watching the Real Cancun, T.C. Boyle and Sunsets.
Things I’m not hot on: Ludicrous, home work, soft core, My horribly obese roommate who’s nick name is Billy Bob, mornings, asthma, Asians, the fact that dapping(a.k.a. the fist pound) is becoming more and more popular, Goo Goo Dolls (I bring this up because while randomly checking out other people’s blogs, some tool had the video of Iris playing on his blog. Awful.), intercourse, Hot Topic (the store) and Keira Knightley’s butch hair cut.
Things I’m hot on, but really wish I wasn’t (a.k.a Guilty Pleasures): Paul Oakenfold – Starry Eyed Surprise, the movie Hitch, Gavin Degraw, Bend it Like Beckham, Kelly Clarkson’s song Breakaway + Since U Been Gone, Shopping, The fact that the U of A loss has allowed me to use the phrase “I feel just like I did when I was 6 and my Uncle molested me.”(Note: I wasn’t molested), Tums, Fables and Cream Soda.
________________________________________________
So true story, my friend and I were driving to pick someone up at Midway Airport when we saw a sign that read “Mexican Art Museum”. We immediately took the exit but all we found was a steaming pile of shit. Truthfully and Poignant.
(Note: This is not a true story, outside of the Midway part, and we really did see a sign that read “Mexican Art Museum”, but the rest was made up or exaggerated upon for entertainment purposes.)
Until We Meet Again
Things I’m hot on: Arrested Development, The demands of the ideal, Sin City Trailer, ELO- Sweet Talking Woman, My 10 Dollar CD Player, Matt Pond PA’s cover of In Aeroplanes over the Sea, You, My new gel ‘Surf Hair’, Mr. Bright Side, The warm weather, Re-watching the Real Cancun, T.C. Boyle and Sunsets.
Things I’m not hot on: Ludicrous, home work, soft core, My horribly obese roommate who’s nick name is Billy Bob, mornings, asthma, Asians, the fact that dapping(a.k.a. the fist pound) is becoming more and more popular, Goo Goo Dolls (I bring this up because while randomly checking out other people’s blogs, some tool had the video of Iris playing on his blog. Awful.), intercourse, Hot Topic (the store) and Keira Knightley’s butch hair cut.
Things I’m hot on, but really wish I wasn’t (a.k.a Guilty Pleasures): Paul Oakenfold – Starry Eyed Surprise, the movie Hitch, Gavin Degraw, Bend it Like Beckham, Kelly Clarkson’s song Breakaway + Since U Been Gone, Shopping, The fact that the U of A loss has allowed me to use the phrase “I feel just like I did when I was 6 and my Uncle molested me.”(Note: I wasn’t molested), Tums, Fables and Cream Soda.
________________________________________________
So true story, my friend and I were driving to pick someone up at Midway Airport when we saw a sign that read “Mexican Art Museum”. We immediately took the exit but all we found was a steaming pile of shit. Truthfully and Poignant.
(Note: This is not a true story, outside of the Midway part, and we really did see a sign that read “Mexican Art Museum”, but the rest was made up or exaggerated upon for entertainment purposes.)
Until We Meet Again
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Sugar Free Jazz
Here’s another series of my unedited, generally incoherent thoughts (Note: I’m looking for a name for this thingy, suggestions are welcome.)
- Something I’ve always wondered, does the night really belong to lovers?
- While listening to Jimmy Eat World’s new album Futures I had a life long query that I never wanted answered, answered for me. The query was: what would it sound like if U2 was an emo band.
- I find it a little depressing that some of my fondest childhood memories are those in which I was playing Tecmo Super Bowl.
- After weighing the options and doing some serious soul searching, I still can’t decide which I’d be more disappointed in: If my daughter became a stripper or a goth kid.
- Would anyone really miss New Mexico it was captured by some foreign country? Would the U.S. even mount a counter strike, or would they send out a thank you note?
- If someone tells you that you look like the lead singer of Maroon 5, is that a complement?
- Is there any board game out there that’s more underwhelming then Clue?
- Do people really think they’re being clever when they say “Is the hokey pokey really what it’s all about?” God I hope not.
- If a note says ‘Do Not Open Until xxxx’ has anyone ever waited till the appointed time to open it?
- Looking back at it, the 25 dollars I spent on that beard and mustache trimmer was probably the best 25 dollars I’ve ever spent.
- Denny’s should change it’s slogan to: ‘The late night hang out where no one wants to go, but everyone ends up.’
- Isn’t about time that Paul McCartney apologizes for his song Vanilla Sky.
- My vote for biggest a-hole ever: The prick who first decided to call retarded people ‘a breath of fresh air’.
- My biggest disappointment of March: The fact that I’ve yet to see Vin Diesel’s The Pacifier.
- Speaking of which, has anyone figured out whether or not Vin Diesel is a stage name or not. I’m mean, is his last name really Diesel?
- All things end badly or else it wouldn't end…
- Something I’ve always wondered, does the night really belong to lovers?
- While listening to Jimmy Eat World’s new album Futures I had a life long query that I never wanted answered, answered for me. The query was: what would it sound like if U2 was an emo band.
- I find it a little depressing that some of my fondest childhood memories are those in which I was playing Tecmo Super Bowl.
- After weighing the options and doing some serious soul searching, I still can’t decide which I’d be more disappointed in: If my daughter became a stripper or a goth kid.
- Would anyone really miss New Mexico it was captured by some foreign country? Would the U.S. even mount a counter strike, or would they send out a thank you note?
- If someone tells you that you look like the lead singer of Maroon 5, is that a complement?
- Is there any board game out there that’s more underwhelming then Clue?
- Do people really think they’re being clever when they say “Is the hokey pokey really what it’s all about?” God I hope not.
- If a note says ‘Do Not Open Until xxxx’ has anyone ever waited till the appointed time to open it?
- Looking back at it, the 25 dollars I spent on that beard and mustache trimmer was probably the best 25 dollars I’ve ever spent.
- Denny’s should change it’s slogan to: ‘The late night hang out where no one wants to go, but everyone ends up.’
- Isn’t about time that Paul McCartney apologizes for his song Vanilla Sky.
- My vote for biggest a-hole ever: The prick who first decided to call retarded people ‘a breath of fresh air’.
- My biggest disappointment of March: The fact that I’ve yet to see Vin Diesel’s The Pacifier.
- Speaking of which, has anyone figured out whether or not Vin Diesel is a stage name or not. I’m mean, is his last name really Diesel?
- All things end badly or else it wouldn't end…
Monday, March 28, 2005
I hurt myself today to see if I still feel
Have you ever seen Boogie Nights? That’s a great movie. My favorite part of that movie is William H. Macy’s character, Little Bill (Or LB for). LB is part of the technical crew that makes the, um ‘adult’ movies. LB has a problem on his hands; it’s that his wife is a cheating whore. Through out the movie LB finds his wife screwing some other guy, generally in public places. Once at his friend’s party, where she’s having sex with another man in the driveway, while a crowd of people stand around and watch. Each time he finds her she says something demeaning to him, he goes away and she continues to rail this other guy. To put it simply, Bill’s life sucks. The only thing in his life he cares about is constantly cheating on him and breaking his heart. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, she does it in public for everyone to see. Why would I bring this up, because this is the exact same relationship I share my Arizona Wildcats. I love them, with all my heart, but they’re always out there, in public, breaking my heart. Loosing, usually in the worst of fashions, in the NCAA Tournament. This is my version of LB’s wife f*cking around. And I don’t know what to do about it.
First things first, this will be the last time I ever talk about this debacle, the Arizona-Illinois game. After this entry all of this will be nothing more then a reference point, a reference point known as “That f***ing Game”. As in ‘Yeh my grandpa died, but it’s still not as bad as ‘That f***ing game’ (TFG for short.)’. In this type of game it’s foolish to rehash any of the final 5+ minutes and overtime, b/c there were too many factors that went into this epic collapse. If Arizona gets a single break everything changes. So do yourself a favor and don’t bring up this game and don’t go over it in your head, you’ll just end up making yourself insane; trust me it’s not worth it. TFG changed the way I watched Arizona basketball forever. I probably never be able to see another big U of A game with out thinking of this one, or waiting for the other shoe to drop. We just became the Boston Red Sox of college basketball. TFG will be a date/game that lives on in infamy. This is the official “where were you when JFK got shot” game for a generation of, or maybe every, Arizona fan. This loss will probably stick out and people’s minds more then our ’97 NC. And to make matters worse, TFG won’t go away. It will become Arizona’s calling card; it’ll be reference that will be brought up in every tournament game for years to come. Announcers will mention it in the same breath as the Red Sox miraculous comeback from down 0-3. Every time a team is down late in a game, the announcers will say “Well it looks bad for team A, but remember what happened in TFG”. This will only change, at least the pain of it for Cat fans when, if ever, Arizona wins another Championship. Now I’d like to be an optimist and say something like, well we’ll win it next year and this will just make it sweeter. But truth be told, Arizona probably won’t sniff another final four until Nic Wise shows up on campus. So what now?
Like Little Bill, we’re stuck in a rut. Here we have this beautiful, majestic wife, or in our case team, and she keeps screwing around on us. Things maybe going ok with us for awhile, but in the end where just going to end up watching her get screwed by another guy where everyone can see. And it comes back to the same question of what should I do? If you’re like me after the loss you re-examined your life. You asked yourself why and how you could get so upset and hurt over something that you had no effect on. A simple game that you, no matter what you do/did, could in no way effect. So what then, should we pull a LB and eventually shoot our wife, her lover(s) and then ourselves (which is what happened in the movie)? No, I don’t think that’s the answer. But late at night when I stay awake thinking about TFG, mulling over every agonizing detail, and my heart feels as if it’s going to explode inside of me, LB’s way seems like a viable option.
But, we have to get back up and get back on the horse from whence we were thrown off. Why, because as fans that’s what we do. We keep believing, even when it seems we’ve lost all faith and every reason to believe. Because all in all, we'll eventually get over this, and it will just make everything better for when our team succeeds (have faith.). The sweet is never as sweet with out the sour, or something like that. So get right back on that horse. Although it will be tough, you can do it, but it’ll take awhile. Like going back into the woods after seeing Blair Witch Project. It will take awhile, and it will be scary as hell, but in the end it will be worth it.
Why go with the horse over the analogy of the boxer, several reasons. For one I like the horse analogy better then the boxer one. While the boxer analogy may fit better, you get up and keep taking those punches, it ends poorly. Because as the boxer, you keep getting up and getting whaled on, you eventually retire around 35 and then you live the rest of your life with brain damage. You can’t even remember your greatest fights, so why the hell didn’t you just stay down the first time. Yeh, the horse analogy works better. So, you get back on that horse, even though he threw you bad, and probably will again, because deep down you know that life won’t be the same with out that horse. And regardless of how many times you get throw off that horse, you’ll still keep getting back on. Unless of course you thrown off ala Christopher Reeves. That said, I still like the horse analogy better then the boxer one.
So now you’re back on the horse, just ride carefully. I leave you with some optimism, with some hope. I leave you now with a monologue from Swingers that I believe relates perfectly to TFG: “You know how it is man. You wake up everyday and it hurts a little less, then you wake up one day and it doesn’t hurt at all. And the funny thing is, you almost miss that pain.”
In hindsight, that’s not really optimistic at all, but it’s good advise. Really there’s nothing optimistic I can think of right now. But I’m really starting to like my new haircut. So I guess things aren’t as bleak as they seem.
First things first, this will be the last time I ever talk about this debacle, the Arizona-Illinois game. After this entry all of this will be nothing more then a reference point, a reference point known as “That f***ing Game”. As in ‘Yeh my grandpa died, but it’s still not as bad as ‘That f***ing game’ (TFG for short.)’. In this type of game it’s foolish to rehash any of the final 5+ minutes and overtime, b/c there were too many factors that went into this epic collapse. If Arizona gets a single break everything changes. So do yourself a favor and don’t bring up this game and don’t go over it in your head, you’ll just end up making yourself insane; trust me it’s not worth it. TFG changed the way I watched Arizona basketball forever. I probably never be able to see another big U of A game with out thinking of this one, or waiting for the other shoe to drop. We just became the Boston Red Sox of college basketball. TFG will be a date/game that lives on in infamy. This is the official “where were you when JFK got shot” game for a generation of, or maybe every, Arizona fan. This loss will probably stick out and people’s minds more then our ’97 NC. And to make matters worse, TFG won’t go away. It will become Arizona’s calling card; it’ll be reference that will be brought up in every tournament game for years to come. Announcers will mention it in the same breath as the Red Sox miraculous comeback from down 0-3. Every time a team is down late in a game, the announcers will say “Well it looks bad for team A, but remember what happened in TFG”. This will only change, at least the pain of it for Cat fans when, if ever, Arizona wins another Championship. Now I’d like to be an optimist and say something like, well we’ll win it next year and this will just make it sweeter. But truth be told, Arizona probably won’t sniff another final four until Nic Wise shows up on campus. So what now?
Like Little Bill, we’re stuck in a rut. Here we have this beautiful, majestic wife, or in our case team, and she keeps screwing around on us. Things maybe going ok with us for awhile, but in the end where just going to end up watching her get screwed by another guy where everyone can see. And it comes back to the same question of what should I do? If you’re like me after the loss you re-examined your life. You asked yourself why and how you could get so upset and hurt over something that you had no effect on. A simple game that you, no matter what you do/did, could in no way effect. So what then, should we pull a LB and eventually shoot our wife, her lover(s) and then ourselves (which is what happened in the movie)? No, I don’t think that’s the answer. But late at night when I stay awake thinking about TFG, mulling over every agonizing detail, and my heart feels as if it’s going to explode inside of me, LB’s way seems like a viable option.
But, we have to get back up and get back on the horse from whence we were thrown off. Why, because as fans that’s what we do. We keep believing, even when it seems we’ve lost all faith and every reason to believe. Because all in all, we'll eventually get over this, and it will just make everything better for when our team succeeds (have faith.). The sweet is never as sweet with out the sour, or something like that. So get right back on that horse. Although it will be tough, you can do it, but it’ll take awhile. Like going back into the woods after seeing Blair Witch Project. It will take awhile, and it will be scary as hell, but in the end it will be worth it.
Why go with the horse over the analogy of the boxer, several reasons. For one I like the horse analogy better then the boxer one. While the boxer analogy may fit better, you get up and keep taking those punches, it ends poorly. Because as the boxer, you keep getting up and getting whaled on, you eventually retire around 35 and then you live the rest of your life with brain damage. You can’t even remember your greatest fights, so why the hell didn’t you just stay down the first time. Yeh, the horse analogy works better. So, you get back on that horse, even though he threw you bad, and probably will again, because deep down you know that life won’t be the same with out that horse. And regardless of how many times you get throw off that horse, you’ll still keep getting back on. Unless of course you thrown off ala Christopher Reeves. That said, I still like the horse analogy better then the boxer one.
So now you’re back on the horse, just ride carefully. I leave you with some optimism, with some hope. I leave you now with a monologue from Swingers that I believe relates perfectly to TFG: “You know how it is man. You wake up everyday and it hurts a little less, then you wake up one day and it doesn’t hurt at all. And the funny thing is, you almost miss that pain.”
In hindsight, that’s not really optimistic at all, but it’s good advise. Really there’s nothing optimistic I can think of right now. But I’m really starting to like my new haircut. So I guess things aren’t as bleak as they seem.
Friday, March 25, 2005
HOLY F*CKING SH*T
Salim Stoudamire. Charles Salim Stoudamire. Congratulations. You leap frogged ‘em all. You’re now number 1 on my list of people I’d be gay for. Seriously though, what an unbelievable game. Salim scored 11 of our final 15 points, while his fellow Senior Channing Frye had the other 4. And while it’s the cliché thing to say, it’s a damn shame that one of these two teams had to loose. This is the best March Madness Game I’ve seen this that Duke-Kentucky classic. Both teams best players stepped up when they needed to, both teams made runs and counter runs at the right times. This game should have been for something much bigger then an Elite Eight berth. I’ll pause here to give everyone a chance to give the selection committee a big F U.
Anyhow, this game was unreal. I can’t really come up with a coherent thought at the moment, but I felt obligated to post something other wise Bbass would have been all over my arse. I may post something later, something more constructive, but right now I’m going to the gym to try and emulate Slim’s late game heroics. Word.
Anyhow, this game was unreal. I can’t really come up with a coherent thought at the moment, but I felt obligated to post something other wise Bbass would have been all over my arse. I may post something later, something more constructive, but right now I’m going to the gym to try and emulate Slim’s late game heroics. Word.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
I’m going no where but I’m guaranteed to be late
I’m too tired/lazy/nervous to do a a full blow breakdown of the of the Arizona – Oklahoma State game. So here’s my quickie break down, position by position of the game (via request):
Starting 5:
PG – John Lucas vs. Mustafa Shakur: Lucas is a tough defender, good floor general, and one hell of clutch player. He hit practically every big shot for OSU during their FF run last year. Mustufa, although he has tons of upside, has been inconsistent at best this year. EDGE: OSU
SG – JamesOn Curry vs. Salim (Charles) Stoudamire: As it turns out, Salim is just his middle name, his first name is actually Charles. Anyhow, while Curry has great potential, Chuck is one of the best scores in America, as well as the best 3pt shooter. Curry won’t guard Salim, which should be noted. EDGE: AZ
SF - Daniel Bobik vs. Hassan Adams: Bobik is OSU’s lock down defender, he’ll get the first shot at guarding Stoudamire. Hassan has become the garbage man for AZ this year, filling out the stat sheet and doing whatever’s needed. Both these 2 are absolutely crucial to both teams chances to win. EDGE: Even.
PF – Joey Grahm vs. Ivan Radenovic: While Ivan has become arguably the Cats best rebounder and a very good defender, Grahm is an All-American when he’s on. And even though Grahm has played terrible as of late, he’s still the better player. EDGE: OSU
C - Ivan McFarlin vs. Channing Frye: IMac had a breakout game against Southern Illinois, pouring in 31 points. Channing has had a great Senior year and is a tough match up because of his ability to go inside and pull the defense outside by hitting the 15+ jumper with consistentcy. Frye’s the tougher match up and better player, but IMac could really cause some problems for the U of A. EDGE: AZ
Bench:
Stephen Grahm + Terrence Crawford vs. Chris Rodgers, Jawann McClellan, and Kirk Walters: Stephen is Joey’s brother, and while he’s not as good or skilled or as athletic as his bro, he is still a solid player. Crawford is a versatile reserve wing who ESPN called “the John Franco of college basketball”, if that helps. Chris Rodgers is playing his best basketball of the season as he’s finally bought in to this role. He’s dribbling and forcing shots less and he’s given the Cats a huge boost of the bench on both ends of the court. J-Mac has played great as of late and has give AZ some much needed scoring of the bench. Kirk had a great game against UAB, don’t expect a repeat performance. Kirk will help the Cats out though with rebounding, defense and spelling Channing. While OSU has a solid bench, AZ’s is playing it’s best ball of the season at the right time. When Rodgers and J-Mac come, there’s little to know drop off in play, and Kirk is great at stealing minutes so Ivan and Channing can rest. And while OSU has a good bench, when Lucas is out of the game they’re ball handling struggles. EDGE: AZ
Coaching: Eddie Sutton vs. Lute Olson: Olson has turned in his best coaching job in recent memory and has his team peaking at the right time. Sutton is just as good as a coach and has his players playing with the motivation of getting him his first National Title and the thought that he may retire after this year. EDGE: Even, although Lute is better looking.
X-Factor: Joey Grahm vs. Hassan Adams; Defensive Match ups: If Grahm comes to play, Arizona is in some serious trouble because he’s one of the best player in the Nation. The guess here is Grahm blows up for 20+. Just like Hinrich in ’03, who played poorly leading up to his game against the Cats, I think Grahm will come to play in a big way against the Cats. With Bobik slated to guard Salim, Hassan will have either Curry (6’3, and most likely) or Lucas (5’11) guarding him. Hassan should be able to exploit either match up in the post, forcing OSU to have Bobik guard him, freeing up Salim to be guarded by a smaller player. On defense, if Bobik can slow Salim, and Curry and Lucas can contain Adams, then the U of A will have a very, very tough time winning this game. On the other end, Arizona is most likely to play a 1-3-1 against the Pokes. Despite shooting a national best 42% behind the arc, OSU has struggled with zones this year. If Lucas isn’t hitting, then the Pokes could be done. Both if the Cowboys are hitting then AZ will have to play Man 2 Man, where OSU can utilize there miss-matches.
Prediction: I have none. This is the ultimate pick ‘em game. It should be played in the Final Four or National Title, but thanks to the selection committee it’s in the Sweet 16. Plus there are some many different factors that this game is almost impossible to predict. It should be a great game and frankly I’m ready for it. I’ve nearly killed myself going over every possible scenario and I still may. I’m ready for this game to be played so I can move on with my life.
_____________________________________________________________
Other Random Notes and Thoughts:
- I got my hair cut today and I realized something. Is it possible to do anything but make a bad ass, tough guy face when getting your hair cut? Seriously, I feel like a black man posing for a driver’s license picture every time I get a trim.
- Upon further review, Josh Rouse’s latest album Nashville, while not as good as 1972, is pretty darn good. The big winner (the best song) is definitely Sad Eyes. Just trust me on this.
- I went to the mall today, and I don’t know why. The only places that depress me more are the Plasma Donation Center and Las Vegas Airport’s smoking lounge.
- As much as I’d like to blame it on the Midwest, there’s no good reason why I should get this upset at losing to the Detroit Tigers in extra innings in a regular season game of my MVP Baseball 2005 Dynasty.
Until We Meet Again
Starting 5:
PG – John Lucas vs. Mustafa Shakur: Lucas is a tough defender, good floor general, and one hell of clutch player. He hit practically every big shot for OSU during their FF run last year. Mustufa, although he has tons of upside, has been inconsistent at best this year. EDGE: OSU
SG – JamesOn Curry vs. Salim (Charles) Stoudamire: As it turns out, Salim is just his middle name, his first name is actually Charles. Anyhow, while Curry has great potential, Chuck is one of the best scores in America, as well as the best 3pt shooter. Curry won’t guard Salim, which should be noted. EDGE: AZ
SF - Daniel Bobik vs. Hassan Adams: Bobik is OSU’s lock down defender, he’ll get the first shot at guarding Stoudamire. Hassan has become the garbage man for AZ this year, filling out the stat sheet and doing whatever’s needed. Both these 2 are absolutely crucial to both teams chances to win. EDGE: Even.
PF – Joey Grahm vs. Ivan Radenovic: While Ivan has become arguably the Cats best rebounder and a very good defender, Grahm is an All-American when he’s on. And even though Grahm has played terrible as of late, he’s still the better player. EDGE: OSU
C - Ivan McFarlin vs. Channing Frye: IMac had a breakout game against Southern Illinois, pouring in 31 points. Channing has had a great Senior year and is a tough match up because of his ability to go inside and pull the defense outside by hitting the 15+ jumper with consistentcy. Frye’s the tougher match up and better player, but IMac could really cause some problems for the U of A. EDGE: AZ
Bench:
Stephen Grahm + Terrence Crawford vs. Chris Rodgers, Jawann McClellan, and Kirk Walters: Stephen is Joey’s brother, and while he’s not as good or skilled or as athletic as his bro, he is still a solid player. Crawford is a versatile reserve wing who ESPN called “the John Franco of college basketball”, if that helps. Chris Rodgers is playing his best basketball of the season as he’s finally bought in to this role. He’s dribbling and forcing shots less and he’s given the Cats a huge boost of the bench on both ends of the court. J-Mac has played great as of late and has give AZ some much needed scoring of the bench. Kirk had a great game against UAB, don’t expect a repeat performance. Kirk will help the Cats out though with rebounding, defense and spelling Channing. While OSU has a solid bench, AZ’s is playing it’s best ball of the season at the right time. When Rodgers and J-Mac come, there’s little to know drop off in play, and Kirk is great at stealing minutes so Ivan and Channing can rest. And while OSU has a good bench, when Lucas is out of the game they’re ball handling struggles. EDGE: AZ
Coaching: Eddie Sutton vs. Lute Olson: Olson has turned in his best coaching job in recent memory and has his team peaking at the right time. Sutton is just as good as a coach and has his players playing with the motivation of getting him his first National Title and the thought that he may retire after this year. EDGE: Even, although Lute is better looking.
X-Factor: Joey Grahm vs. Hassan Adams; Defensive Match ups: If Grahm comes to play, Arizona is in some serious trouble because he’s one of the best player in the Nation. The guess here is Grahm blows up for 20+. Just like Hinrich in ’03, who played poorly leading up to his game against the Cats, I think Grahm will come to play in a big way against the Cats. With Bobik slated to guard Salim, Hassan will have either Curry (6’3, and most likely) or Lucas (5’11) guarding him. Hassan should be able to exploit either match up in the post, forcing OSU to have Bobik guard him, freeing up Salim to be guarded by a smaller player. On defense, if Bobik can slow Salim, and Curry and Lucas can contain Adams, then the U of A will have a very, very tough time winning this game. On the other end, Arizona is most likely to play a 1-3-1 against the Pokes. Despite shooting a national best 42% behind the arc, OSU has struggled with zones this year. If Lucas isn’t hitting, then the Pokes could be done. Both if the Cowboys are hitting then AZ will have to play Man 2 Man, where OSU can utilize there miss-matches.
Prediction: I have none. This is the ultimate pick ‘em game. It should be played in the Final Four or National Title, but thanks to the selection committee it’s in the Sweet 16. Plus there are some many different factors that this game is almost impossible to predict. It should be a great game and frankly I’m ready for it. I’ve nearly killed myself going over every possible scenario and I still may. I’m ready for this game to be played so I can move on with my life.
_____________________________________________________________
Other Random Notes and Thoughts:
- I got my hair cut today and I realized something. Is it possible to do anything but make a bad ass, tough guy face when getting your hair cut? Seriously, I feel like a black man posing for a driver’s license picture every time I get a trim.
- Upon further review, Josh Rouse’s latest album Nashville, while not as good as 1972, is pretty darn good. The big winner (the best song) is definitely Sad Eyes. Just trust me on this.
- I went to the mall today, and I don’t know why. The only places that depress me more are the Plasma Donation Center and Las Vegas Airport’s smoking lounge.
- As much as I’d like to blame it on the Midwest, there’s no good reason why I should get this upset at losing to the Detroit Tigers in extra innings in a regular season game of my MVP Baseball 2005 Dynasty.
Until We Meet Again
Monday, March 21, 2005
I’m not living, I’m just killing time.
The following are thoughts and questions that I’ve had and wanted to get out to all of you, but didn’t feel like expanding on them anymore then a few sentences. So here ya go, here’s what I like to call side notes:
- Two biggest disappointments of my weekend: I was in the Midwest, and I missed Spring Break Shark Attack.
- If you’re attracted to some one, would ever tell a friend, or anyone for that matter, that you “dig” that person?
- Why’s everybody always act so tough when all they want is to find a friend?
- If you’ve ever wanted to do hardcore hallucinogenic drugs, don’t. Just watch the Triplets of Belleville instead.
- Can AXE body spray sue Tag body spray for plagiarism, seriously, how are there ads any different?
- Is there a better porn name then Rob Boner?
- I just found out about a week ago that the song ‘Since you’ve been gone’ wasn’t by Avril Lavine.
- Is what n*gga is to black people, the same as what dude is to white guys? Outside of the fact that anyone can say dude with out fearing for their own life of course.
- Is Saddle Creek Records trying to earn recognition as the label with the worst “protest songs of all-time”?
- Wouldn’t everyone drink Diet Coke if bubbles were constantly flowinf out of the can like they do in those commercials.
- Could there be a bigger minority then a black, gay Eskimo?
- Does “Mr. Bright Side” redeem the Killers for “Somebody Told Me”, which sucked a$$.
- If you had the last name Purify, would your first name even matter, or would you just be the biggest bad ass to ever live irregardless?
- Why aren’t more bands named after states? Am I the only one that things Minnesota and Dakota would be kick ass band names?
- By posting on my blog about the upcoming Harry Potter book would I give myself away as a former home schooler who’s a virgin? Or would you just assume I was a 10 year-old boy who lived in Cambridge?
- Am I the only one who would watch if they actually made that Tiny House reality show from the Geico Commercial into a real show?
- Does Morrissey pleasure himself by thinking and/or listening to his own albums?
- When a white guard playing for an underdog or low seed in the NCAA tournament isn’t a great shooter, am I the only one who feels let down and/or betrayed?
- Does anyone else think Ashton Kutcher’s last name sounds like a euphemism for part of the female anatomy.
- On a similar note, doesn’t Kenosha (a town in Wisconsin) sound like a dirty word. As in "Yeah bro, I got a bit of Kenosha last night."
- Thought you should hear this. Shaq on what he and Kobe said before the start of their March 17th game: “I didn't say anything. Got nothing to say. I'm a married man; I don't need a relationship with another man.”
- Is there any doubt that Mr. and Mrs. Quaid love Dennis far more then Randy.
Until we meet again.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
March Madness Day 1 Recap.
Here's my recap. To be honest most of the day has kinda blurred together, so if everything's not coherent I apologize. Here goes:
- Worst Idea since White Chicks: Spring Break Shark Attack. Seriously who green lighted this?
- Best Idea: Miller Light's Taste Loss ads.
- Best Commercial: The one with the cute blond girl skating and drinking diet coke. Great girl, great song, good commercial. I’d be ok with seeing this commercial another 100 times, seriously that's how much I enjoy it.
- Worst Commercial: The trailer for Guess Who.
- Best Set of Games: 3RD Set, 1st night games. Chattanooga, Utah St. and Winthrop, a 15 and 14 seed all 3 leading at the half, with 2 of them making legit games out of it. Throw in the Texas-Nevada thriller (even though the ending was anti-climatic) and you had a spectacular set of games. To make things better I was at Champs Restaurant and Bar, which had 4 games on at once. Combine that with the St. Patty’s day atmosphere and some girl wailing away on the bag pipes and I was in heaven.
- Player of the Day: Adam Morrison, Gonzaga. This kid made about every big play imaginable for the Zags. He kept then in it in the first half with several hard drives where he finished his shots despite a whole lot of contact and no fouls called. Then with the game on the line in the closing minutes he buries a back breaking 3 to put Gonzaga up 6 and killing Winthrop’s momentum. Runner up: This goes to Utah’s Andrew Bogut, who was triple teamed the entire day, even when he didn’t have the ball. This guy is the best college big man I’ve seen since Tim Duncan, if he gets on the right NBA team he could really go places.
- Game of the Day: Thanks to Chicago’s CBS affiliate, I was stuck watching the Illinois-FDU, all of it. Even though it was clearly over with 10 minutes left. I got to see a whopping 40 seconds of the West Virginia-Creighton duel. Thanks you CBS, you ruined my day. Runner Up: Utah vs. UTEP.
- Worst Moment: Me, being stuck in class as the tourney started, even so I didn’t miss any of the games (aside from the first half’s of the first set of games.) I swear I’ve never seen a clock move slower, it was like I was at a funeral, time itself seemed to stop. Just an awful moment.
- Highlights of the Day: After Dee Brown (of Illinois) was called for a charge, instead of complaining about the terrible call, he went and helped up the player who he knocked over. If you didn’t see it just trust me, it was a great moment. Hassan Adams’ alley oop dunk. Anyone of Cincinnati’s big man (Maxielle is his last name, don’t remember his first name.) blocks against Iowa. West Virginia’s game winning dunk. Tonight’s episode of TILT. Two attractive brunets coming by at Champs handing out St. Patty day hats and clovers. Anytime you see a girl in Illinois baring midriff before May it’s cause for celebration, yowza. I’m sure there were others, but right now my head is starting to hurt, maybe too much basketball!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
- Day’s Lowlights: Being stuck in class(see above), Arizona making Utah St. look like they were running the Princeton offense on steroids in the 1st half, my school holding their thurs. worship service in the student center, where are big screen TV is (side note: the service is called FAT, I’m not sure if it’s an acronym or not. I’m looking into). Despite there being loads of attractive women who were actually working at Champs , my table got stuck with so dumpy chick who was mildly pissed at the world.
- My Record on the Day: 13-3. My losses were: Iowa, Texas, UCLA. I still have all my Sweet 16 teams in, although I expect that to change. Anyhow all in all a good day, but tomorrow better will be better. Peace.
Note: Everyone be sure to visit my boy sam’s,::pounds fists into forehead ala Q andD-Miles::, blog - thesoulsasylum.blogspot.com. And for those of you who I know who also have blogs be patient, your shout out is coming.
- Worst Idea since White Chicks: Spring Break Shark Attack. Seriously who green lighted this?
- Best Idea: Miller Light's Taste Loss ads.
- Best Commercial: The one with the cute blond girl skating and drinking diet coke. Great girl, great song, good commercial. I’d be ok with seeing this commercial another 100 times, seriously that's how much I enjoy it.
- Worst Commercial: The trailer for Guess Who.
- Best Set of Games: 3RD Set, 1st night games. Chattanooga, Utah St. and Winthrop, a 15 and 14 seed all 3 leading at the half, with 2 of them making legit games out of it. Throw in the Texas-Nevada thriller (even though the ending was anti-climatic) and you had a spectacular set of games. To make things better I was at Champs Restaurant and Bar, which had 4 games on at once. Combine that with the St. Patty’s day atmosphere and some girl wailing away on the bag pipes and I was in heaven.
- Player of the Day: Adam Morrison, Gonzaga. This kid made about every big play imaginable for the Zags. He kept then in it in the first half with several hard drives where he finished his shots despite a whole lot of contact and no fouls called. Then with the game on the line in the closing minutes he buries a back breaking 3 to put Gonzaga up 6 and killing Winthrop’s momentum. Runner up: This goes to Utah’s Andrew Bogut, who was triple teamed the entire day, even when he didn’t have the ball. This guy is the best college big man I’ve seen since Tim Duncan, if he gets on the right NBA team he could really go places.
- Game of the Day: Thanks to Chicago’s CBS affiliate, I was stuck watching the Illinois-FDU, all of it. Even though it was clearly over with 10 minutes left. I got to see a whopping 40 seconds of the West Virginia-Creighton duel. Thanks you CBS, you ruined my day. Runner Up: Utah vs. UTEP.
- Worst Moment: Me, being stuck in class as the tourney started, even so I didn’t miss any of the games (aside from the first half’s of the first set of games.) I swear I’ve never seen a clock move slower, it was like I was at a funeral, time itself seemed to stop. Just an awful moment.
- Highlights of the Day: After Dee Brown (of Illinois) was called for a charge, instead of complaining about the terrible call, he went and helped up the player who he knocked over. If you didn’t see it just trust me, it was a great moment. Hassan Adams’ alley oop dunk. Anyone of Cincinnati’s big man (Maxielle is his last name, don’t remember his first name.) blocks against Iowa. West Virginia’s game winning dunk. Tonight’s episode of TILT. Two attractive brunets coming by at Champs handing out St. Patty day hats and clovers. Anytime you see a girl in Illinois baring midriff before May it’s cause for celebration, yowza. I’m sure there were others, but right now my head is starting to hurt, maybe too much basketball!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
- Day’s Lowlights: Being stuck in class(see above), Arizona making Utah St. look like they were running the Princeton offense on steroids in the 1st half, my school holding their thurs. worship service in the student center, where are big screen TV is (side note: the service is called FAT, I’m not sure if it’s an acronym or not. I’m looking into). Despite there being loads of attractive women who were actually working at Champs , my table got stuck with so dumpy chick who was mildly pissed at the world.
- My Record on the Day: 13-3. My losses were: Iowa, Texas, UCLA. I still have all my Sweet 16 teams in, although I expect that to change. Anyhow all in all a good day, but tomorrow better will be better. Peace.
Note: Everyone be sure to visit my boy sam’s,::pounds fists into forehead ala Q andD-Miles::, blog - thesoulsasylum.blogspot.com. And for those of you who I know who also have blogs be patient, your shout out is coming.
This Night has Opened My Eyes (Story of an Artist)
So today as I was reading my blog, for the comments that my numerous readers make, I clicked on the next blog button in the upper right corner, and what I found was astonishing. I was transported to someone named Josh’s blog, and there in his latest post, was this beauty staring right back at me:
you cut and weep because u believe no1 cares,
not true,
there is someone that cares,
but u wont realize it,
you'll deny to see the truth,
but i care,
and by hurting urself,
u hurt me as well,
but u dont care,
even though i care.
Now I’ve never been a fan of poetry, it’s something I just didn’t “get”, but this was just unbefuckinglievable. This I get! It’s as if this man was able to look into the souls of men and capture the essence of beauty in 10 short lines. This poet reminds me why I wake up in the morning. Why I feel. Why I live. And the terrible punctuation and purposely misspelled words just add to this piece’s mystique. After reading some other post by Josh I found out that he’s in his high school’s musical theatre group and loves ‘emo music’. Talk about an all around artist!!! I think the part that gets me the most is the fifth line where he says “you’ll deny to see the truth,”. All I can do is sit, awestruck at my computer and recall all the times that I myself have ‘deny to see the truth’. Seriously though, who the f*ck is this kid. This is some of the worst poetry I’ve ever seen. This kid in high school and is writing poetry that any 9 year-old handicap kid can see is a huge pile of sh*t. I just picture Josh as one of those musical theatre types who’s overly flamboyant. He’s skinny and lanky and stays in character all day, regardless of how uncomfortable it makes everyone around him. His life revolves around the plays that he’s in, and somewhere along the way he discovered Bright Eyes and their never ending bravado. Now he loves emo music and gets the shit kicked of him by jocks, all the while his parents’ are certain he’s gay. Here’s this kid living a terrible life, feeling like some sort of unappreciated artist, listening to god awful emo music, then he falls in love with a cutter, talk about shit luck. And as if things weren’t bad enough, he writes the worst poetry imaginable. Honestly, how did this kid get the idea that this was a good poem and that he should share it with the world. But give the man credit, he cares, even if you don’t think he does.
you cut and weep because u believe no1 cares,
not true,
there is someone that cares,
but u wont realize it,
you'll deny to see the truth,
but i care,
and by hurting urself,
u hurt me as well,
but u dont care,
even though i care.
Now I’ve never been a fan of poetry, it’s something I just didn’t “get”, but this was just unbefuckinglievable. This I get! It’s as if this man was able to look into the souls of men and capture the essence of beauty in 10 short lines. This poet reminds me why I wake up in the morning. Why I feel. Why I live. And the terrible punctuation and purposely misspelled words just add to this piece’s mystique. After reading some other post by Josh I found out that he’s in his high school’s musical theatre group and loves ‘emo music’. Talk about an all around artist!!! I think the part that gets me the most is the fifth line where he says “you’ll deny to see the truth,”. All I can do is sit, awestruck at my computer and recall all the times that I myself have ‘deny to see the truth’. Seriously though, who the f*ck is this kid. This is some of the worst poetry I’ve ever seen. This kid in high school and is writing poetry that any 9 year-old handicap kid can see is a huge pile of sh*t. I just picture Josh as one of those musical theatre types who’s overly flamboyant. He’s skinny and lanky and stays in character all day, regardless of how uncomfortable it makes everyone around him. His life revolves around the plays that he’s in, and somewhere along the way he discovered Bright Eyes and their never ending bravado. Now he loves emo music and gets the shit kicked of him by jocks, all the while his parents’ are certain he’s gay. Here’s this kid living a terrible life, feeling like some sort of unappreciated artist, listening to god awful emo music, then he falls in love with a cutter, talk about shit luck. And as if things weren’t bad enough, he writes the worst poetry imaginable. Honestly, how did this kid get the idea that this was a good poem and that he should share it with the world. But give the man credit, he cares, even if you don’t think he does.
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
My NCAA Tournament Manifesto
If you’re living in the United States and have a pulse there’s a good chance you know that tomorrow March Madness starts. And whether or not you’re a fan of college basketball or not, you will get drawn in to the tournament somehow. And regardless of how many tournaments you’ve seen or how much insider information obtained over the last few day, there are rules and guidelines which you may have forgotten about. But don’t worry, My NCAA Tournament Manifesto is here to here to help you, to guide you. So with out further ado, here it is. I recommend you either print this out or take vigorous notes, it can’t hurt.
First and for most the brackets. And quick side note, who’s the tool box who came up with the idea to rename the brackets after where the regional final is being played? What was wrong with calling the brackets by their geographical location? Seriously is this bugging anyone else, or am I the only? Anyway, here’s all you need to know about each bracket to get by in water cooler conversation.
Albuquerque (West): Easily the toughest bracket. At least seven teams could conceivably get to the final four from this region. Washington’s the surprise #1 in this region; they’re pretty much a bunch of athletic guards. No one expects them to live up there billing as a #1 seed. Tell your co-workers this and they’ll agree with you then go off on some rant about Wake Forest and Louisville, just maintain eye contact and nod your head, every now in then interject with a nice “yep” and “uh huh, I agree.”
Chicago (Midwest): This bracket is more top heavy then Jennifer Tilly. Seriously, you have the overall number 1 in Illinois, then you have the best #2 IMHO in Oklahoma State. Arizona is the best number 3 seed, and Boston Colllege won it’s first 20 games of the season, and they’re a 4 seed. Yikes. Throw in Alabama, which went to the elite eight last year, and you’ve got a bracket load with top seeds that could all make a run deep in the tourney.
Syracuse (East): The most overrated bracket, by a long shot. Everyone is raving about how great this bracket is, and that it maybe the toughest bracket ever. Obviously these people are forgetting an important thing or two about the teams in this bracket, lets take a look. North Carolina: The most talented group of players in Division I, but they don’t always play like a team. Connecticut: Maybe the best front line in the country, but there guards are yound and inconsistent, and guard play is what wins tournament games. Kansas: Lost 4 of their last 6. Florida: Always chokes in the tournament (minus 2000), I have half a mind to pick Ohio, a team I know nothing about, over them in the first round. There’s your top 4 seeds in the East, all flawed as hell and none of them are that scary.
Austin(Southeast?): They actually should rename this bracket the bracket everyone would give their left nut to be in. Just look at the top teams. Duke: As tough as the Blue Devils are, the first game after the 1st round that Redick and Ewing both don’t drop 20 the Duke’s screwed. Kentucky: They can D up and rebound, but they’d struggle to score against most WNBA teams. Oklahoma: Young and has yet to win a big game away from home. Syracuse: Overratted and they can’t shoot outside of McNamara. Michigan State: Overrated, I’m pretty sure they’ve hit 5 jumpers all year. Every team in this bracket is just as capable of beating themselves as they are of beating their opponent.
And now for some notes, thoughts, hints, and rules to help you out while you fill out your bracket.
- A 12 seed will beat a 5 seed, happens every year, just trust me on this: Most likely this year is Wisconsin-Milwaukee over Alabama. and Old Dominion over Michigan St.
-One team that made a deep run last year and everyone is picking again for another deep run will flop this year: Put your money on Alabama here, although Georgia Tech is another option.
-At least on of your Final Four picks will not make it past the first weekend: Maybe I’m just bad at picking teams, but this almost always happens to me.
-One potential match up will get over hyped by the media so much that you can be certain it won’t happen: This year it will be Duke and Kentucky, which the media will over-hype, they could meet in the Elite Eight, but trust me, one or both of them won’t make it.
-One white player will go off and garner comparisons to Larry Bird and Jimmy Chitwood: My pick is Taylor Coppenrath(Maybe the best scorer in the nation) and T.J. Sorrentine (Hits almost 4 threes per game) of Vermont.
-You’ll talk yourself into a team that you shouldn’t: Maybe you’ve seen them play or heard great things about them, or both. Then you’ll end picking them to go way to far: For me that team is Vermont, whom I penciled into the Sweet 16.
-A woman who couldn’t tell the difference between curling and basketball will win you office pool: She picks the winners based on team colors, an ingenious move on her part.
-You’ll make a list of things you’d give up to be the 12th Man on a Cinderella team: Could anything be better then that? Seriously, you get to lead the bench in locking arms in a close game, you get to over react to every made basket and get some TV time in the process. Just way to much fun being had by these guys, oh and they also get to rush the court after the game is over. Man that’s the life. My list includes my Television, blog, stepfather, and one or both of my kidneys.
-Beware of the team that made a deep run in their conference tourney, they may have used up all their luck: This rule usually holds true, but I’m pretty sold on all of this years list which includes Georgia Tech, West Virginia, Iowa and NC State. While none of these teams will go past the Sweet 16, they’ll all get past the first round and put the fear of god into whomever they play.
-Sleeper Teams: Always important to have a least a couple sleeper teams, just to spice up conversation if nothing else. My sleeper teams this year are: Utah, Villanova, NC State, West Virginia, Vermont and UCLA.
A couple of top seeds will be pick to fail by must everyone, expect these teams to make it at least to the Sweet 16: This year everyone is picking Kentucky and Kansas to go down early, and while both teams have multiple flaws, both will see the second week of the tourney just because people are picking against them. Now I can’t explain this, but it will happen.
-Line I most want to here in the coming weeks: Jim Nantz – We’re here in the studio with Miles Simon. Miles explain exactly what Arizona did to get into the Final Four. Miles: Well ya know everyone had Illinois cutting down the nets already but no, the Arizona Road Block got in the way.
And now here’s my breakdown of each round, as I give you the possible upsets in which game you should make sure to catch.
1ST Round –
· Most likely Upsets: Now I don’t have all of theses, I’m just trying to help you out and point out potential put holes along the way. Wisconsin-Milwaukee over Alabama(Just a gut feeling), Vermont over Syracuse(Vermont is a very good team, ‘Cuse is overrated, just another gut feeling. That and I’m way to into Vermont), UAB over LSU (40 minutes of hell is enough to disrupt any team.), UCLA over Texas Tech(Has all the makings of an upset, UCLA has great guard play and a hungry senior in Dijion Thompson. That and B. Knight has struggled mightly in the tourney.), Old Dominion over MSU(See above, the part about MSU's inability to make a jumper).
· Scary teams, the tough outs: These are the teams that will stick with a better team before fading down the stretch, if you’re team is playing one of these teams be afraid: Northern Iowa (Fear the MVC), Utah St. (Patient, tough team that leads the nation in fg%), Niagara (shots the 3 real well), Penn (Ivy league always plays teams tough, the fades late), George Washington (I just like this team).
· Best games: For my money the best first round game is Pacific vs Pittsburg, followed closely by Vermont vs. Syracuse(Note: I’m way to in to Vermont, if they lose by 50 on Friday I’m sure that I’ll be to blame.).
2nd Round –
· If there aren’t a lot of upsets in the first round, expect there to be quite a few in the second round, that’s usually how the tourney works.
· Upset Specials: Again I may not have these on my bracket, but these are the most likely upsets: West Virginia over Wake Forest(WV can slow it down and force Wake to play D for a long time, and defense is not one of Wake’s strong suits), LSU over Arizona (The tigers have quick guards and a big frontline, two things which have really troubled AZ this year) Iowa State over North Carolina (Won’t happen, but ISU will make a game out of it, I have no doubt in that.), Utah over Oklahoma (The Sooners have yet to win a big game away from home, they’re young and Utah is a very good team),
· Tough Outs: These are the teams that will do better then you think, and keep the game close before ultimately loosing. Stanford (Will give Duke fits), Iowa (Scrappy team that will push Kentucky to the brink of elimination), St Mary’s (Will test Oklahoma State.)
· Best Game: Ga. Tech vs. Louisville, maybe the game of the tournament, at least it’s the best of the first two rounds.
Sweet 16 –
· The underdog/Cinderella team magic begins to fade: Maybe it’s the time off or the fact that other teams have a chance to scout them more and won’t over look them, but this is where the Cinderella teams come to die, the Sweet 16.
· Upset Specials: Probably won’t be any, but… Villanova over UNC (Nova’s a tough team and just have the feeling the UNC is just waiting to shoot itself in the foot.) Vermont over Duke (in case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m way into Vermont), Utah over Kentucky(I’m also way into Utah, I think they beat Kentucky before falling in the elite eight.)
· Best Game: Oklahoma State vs Arizona (The game of the tournament, two great teams battle it out for the right to play Illinois), Georgia Tech vs Washington (First to 100 wins it, both these teams can flat out score and both like to run.)
· Fearless Prediction: Whoever wins the Oklahoma State-Arizona match up will end Illinois’s season.
· My Final Four: Elite Eight is to short to have it’s own spot, so I’ll just give you my Final Four now. Oklahoma State (Great Senior led team which is very similar to Maryland in ’02, look for the Cowboys to take it all as Eddie Sutton goes out on top) Washington (I could picture any team coming out of the West, but I think Washington will do) UNC (Even though I think they’re just waiting to cut there own head off, they’re talented enough and I’m not sold on anyone in their region taking them down.) Duke (This how unsold I am on the entire Austin region. Duke is good, but by no means great, there the only team I feel good about making it out of that region.)
· Final Game: Oklahoma State over Duke (Oklahoma State will upend Washington in great game, while Duke continues to show that it’s in North Carolina’s head by taking them out on a neutral court. Oklahoma State will then take it to Duke, winning by about ten. The game will be close until the final 8 minutes.)
So there you have it, enjoy the next 3 week, there’s nothing better. And remember, the majority of my picks and suggests will be wrong. I apologize ahead of time.
I'll never be free, if I'm not free now
Well it's 2:00 in the morning, I can't sleep, I've got class in a few hours and I'm tired of doing home work, so I'm wondering what to do. And then it hits me like a ton of bricks. There's a small voice in my head that says "Hey dipsh*t, you have a blog, go post". So here I am. Posting. On my blog. Now let's get one thing straight, I don't want this blog to turn into one of those pedantic, self-indulgent "I write this blog to prove how great I am while dulling the pain of lost love and life gone astray" blogs' (Yeah Asdell, that's a shot at you!). No I want this blog to be an escape for you, my readers. I want you to be able to come here, to laugh, mingle, learn something, all while you forget how harsh and cold the world truly is. This isn't a place where you'll come to read anti-semetic stories (that's two.) or some egotistical rambling about why I have a blog. No dear readers, this is where you'll come to feel at home, a place where you belong. This is your Graceland. Say it once, just in your head silently. Now say it aloud, feel the power in it, embrace the power in it. This is your Graceland.
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
15 Reasons Arizona will Win it all and 5 Reasons why they won't
Note: I wrote this on my red eye flight from Tucson to Vegas and then to Chicago, so it may seem a little off. Also for those of you not into sports, don’t worry, we have several no sport items coming up for you. Woot.
15 Reasons Arizona Will Win It All:
1. Wide Open Tourney – This year’s field of 65 is the most wide open I’ve seen in recent memory. Everyone of the top seeds has more then a few glaring weaknesses. This year it there are about 15-20 that can win it all, which ever one of those teams gets hot and catches the right breaks will end up as this years Champion, Arizona has just as good a chance as anyone else.
2. Senior Leadership – Our two Seniors, Channing Frye and Salim Stoudamire, both have been close to the Final Four before. They both know what it will take to get over the hump and win it all. They also know that they’ll be the first ever four year starters in the Lute Olson era not to reach the Final Four if they fall short, I don’t think they want that distinction.
3. Salim – He proved last Saturday that he can be the most dominant scorer in the nation when he’s on. If Salim stays hot through out the tourney, then Arizona will be very, very tough to bring down.
4. Under Dog – This team has been at its best this year when everyone expects them to fail. As the 3 seed in the same region as the best 2 and 1 seed the U of A is the ultimate underdog as far as top seeds are considered. Also factor in that Washington beat them then got a number 1 seed, and this team should have a huge chip on their shoulder and be ready to prove that they are an elite team.
5. Hassan Adams – Even though he’s been inconsistent all year, Hassan has all the tools to carry the Cats deep into the tourney. He played awful against Washington on Saturday and is ready to bounce back in the tourney. He could use an impressive tourney run as a spring board into the NBA Draft.
6. Lute Olson – While the silver haired fox has a reputation for early tourney exits, he also has a knack for deep tourney runs. He’s played in 5 FF, 2 NC, and countless Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games. The man knows how to get it done in March (and early April).
7 Depth – This team will run at least 8 deep with the usual bench being J-Mac, Rodgers and Kirk. However, thanks to Jawann and Hassan’s versatility, our depths is even deeper then it first appears(whatever the hell that means). Hassan can fill in at the 4 and the U of A won’t miss a beat. Add Jesus and Daniel Dillion to the mix as well as Fox and Brelimier (sp?) and the Cats have the ability to go 12 deep.
8. Oklahoma State and Illinois – For a team that routinely plays to its opponent’s level, it may work in our favor to play against two of the best teams in the country.
9. Channing Frye – Channing is one of the best big man in the nation, his ability to play the inside-out game makes him an incredibly tough match up for opposing teams. He can drag shot blocking big man out to the perimeter and can take smaller big man inside. He’s also a good rebounder when he wants to be and is an excellent defense presence and he’ll constantly alter opponent’s shots.
10. Combination of Youth and Experience – There’s an old proverb that says: ‘Genius is wisdom and youth’. This proverb could turn true for Arizona. We start 2 Seniors, a Junior, and 2 Sophomores. Off the bench we bring our 6th Man Freshman, and another Junior and Sophomore.
11. Big Shots – Almost everyone in the U of A’s 8-man rotation has come up big at least once in there colligate career, just take a look. Salim: UCLA, ASU, Washington (hit the game clinching shot at Mckale, was the only reason we were in the game last Sat.) Channing: WSU (hit every big shot in regulation while keeping us in the game), Notre Dame (Hit his first 6 or 7 shots as a Soph, while we pounced on the Irish early). Hassan: Utah, Washington (carried us in Seattle.) Ivan: Washington State. Mustafa: ASU, Washington (@ Mckale he hit huge shots all night), USC (As a frosh he hit a buzzer beater in the Pac-10 touney.) Jawaan: MSG, 1st Washington Game, Pac-10 Tourney.
Rodgers: Marquette. While Kirk has yet to hit a huge shot or make a game altering play, odds are he won’t have to this year, but his future looks real bright.
12. Defense – When they want to be, the U of A is an excellent defensive team. Add that to the fact that we can keep teams guessing by switching from Man to Man to the 1-3-1 and we’re a very tough team on the defensive side of the court.
13. Rebounding – With the exception of when we play Washington, the Cats are an excellent rebounding team, now that Channing has set his mind to rebounding. All 8 of our major players rebound very well for there position; this team can be a force on the offensive and defensive glass.
14. Ready for Any Style of Play – Arizona has seen just about every style of play this year. Teams have run all sorts of zones and trick defenses against us and we’ve seen teams that play multiple styles on offense. We’ve had shoot outs(Washington, Wake Forest) Defensive battles(Marquette, Michigan) Slow Down(Bennet, Dick) and every style in between. Nothing should catch the U of A off guard this year. (Famous Last Words, I know.)
15. Coming in off a loss – Despite the plethora of Red Flags that were raised by Saturday’s game, I think the loss helped Arizona more then it hurt them. For one, a multitude of lessons should be learned from the game, i.e. 4 other guys watching Salim doesn’t constitute as an offense, Channing must get touches, we need to want it more then the other teams, ect. ect. The loss will also help to refocus the team that probably we have gotten to full of itself had it won. It also should make the entire team hungry, and they should be real pissed off the Washington snagged a 1 seed by beating them. All in all, it’s anyone’s Tournament, let’s just hope Arizona decides to make it theirs.
5 Reasons they won’t Win It All:
1. Inconsistency – All year long this team has shown flashes of brilliance, followed by flopping against an inferior opponent. Arizona has ha d a tendency to play down to it’s opponents level and lacks a consistent scorer after Frye and Stoudamire.
2. 2ND Shooter – After Salim, no one on this team can hit the three with much consistency. Rodgers and J-Mac both can shoot, but both have been streaky at best this year. Mustafa, Hassan and Ivan all have the ability to hit the 3 Ball, but is any opponent really afraid of them taking that shot?
3. Lack of the Next Level – Away for home, Arizona has yet to find that Next Level that all Championship teams have. On the road the U of A does enough to not loose, in a big game this year they’ve yet to get over the hump and outplay an opposing team when it mattered most.
4. Lack of a Lock-Down Defender – The Cats last National Title run had a lot to do with Richard Jefferson shutting down any opposing player he came against. Whether it was Frank Williams, Casey Jacobsen or Jason Richardson, RJ could be counted on to contain the opposing teams best player. This years team lacks a lock down defender, Salim needs to save his energy for scoring, Mustafa doesn’t have the mental part of being a lock down defender, same with Hassan. Rodgers may have it, but lately his been a train wreck on the court. The best thing that has been said about J-Mac’s defense is that he’s no longer a liability, ugh.
5. Dynamic Rebounder – Rebound is the key factor most people forget about in NCAA Tourney game. While Frye, Ivan and Hassan all rebound well, neither of them have yet to show the ability of a dynamic rebounder. With the game on the line, no one of this team has yet to show that they will let no one but them get the game’s most important rebound. This could easily be the Wildcats undoing.
Coming Soon: My Ncaa Tournament Manifesto (and things of that nature), Man’s stupidity personified on Airplanes, Side Notes.
15 Reasons Arizona Will Win It All:
1. Wide Open Tourney – This year’s field of 65 is the most wide open I’ve seen in recent memory. Everyone of the top seeds has more then a few glaring weaknesses. This year it there are about 15-20 that can win it all, which ever one of those teams gets hot and catches the right breaks will end up as this years Champion, Arizona has just as good a chance as anyone else.
2. Senior Leadership – Our two Seniors, Channing Frye and Salim Stoudamire, both have been close to the Final Four before. They both know what it will take to get over the hump and win it all. They also know that they’ll be the first ever four year starters in the Lute Olson era not to reach the Final Four if they fall short, I don’t think they want that distinction.
3. Salim – He proved last Saturday that he can be the most dominant scorer in the nation when he’s on. If Salim stays hot through out the tourney, then Arizona will be very, very tough to bring down.
4. Under Dog – This team has been at its best this year when everyone expects them to fail. As the 3 seed in the same region as the best 2 and 1 seed the U of A is the ultimate underdog as far as top seeds are considered. Also factor in that Washington beat them then got a number 1 seed, and this team should have a huge chip on their shoulder and be ready to prove that they are an elite team.
5. Hassan Adams – Even though he’s been inconsistent all year, Hassan has all the tools to carry the Cats deep into the tourney. He played awful against Washington on Saturday and is ready to bounce back in the tourney. He could use an impressive tourney run as a spring board into the NBA Draft.
6. Lute Olson – While the silver haired fox has a reputation for early tourney exits, he also has a knack for deep tourney runs. He’s played in 5 FF, 2 NC, and countless Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games. The man knows how to get it done in March (and early April).
7 Depth – This team will run at least 8 deep with the usual bench being J-Mac, Rodgers and Kirk. However, thanks to Jawann and Hassan’s versatility, our depths is even deeper then it first appears(whatever the hell that means). Hassan can fill in at the 4 and the U of A won’t miss a beat. Add Jesus and Daniel Dillion to the mix as well as Fox and Brelimier (sp?) and the Cats have the ability to go 12 deep.
8. Oklahoma State and Illinois – For a team that routinely plays to its opponent’s level, it may work in our favor to play against two of the best teams in the country.
9. Channing Frye – Channing is one of the best big man in the nation, his ability to play the inside-out game makes him an incredibly tough match up for opposing teams. He can drag shot blocking big man out to the perimeter and can take smaller big man inside. He’s also a good rebounder when he wants to be and is an excellent defense presence and he’ll constantly alter opponent’s shots.
10. Combination of Youth and Experience – There’s an old proverb that says: ‘Genius is wisdom and youth’. This proverb could turn true for Arizona. We start 2 Seniors, a Junior, and 2 Sophomores. Off the bench we bring our 6th Man Freshman, and another Junior and Sophomore.
11. Big Shots – Almost everyone in the U of A’s 8-man rotation has come up big at least once in there colligate career, just take a look. Salim: UCLA, ASU, Washington (hit the game clinching shot at Mckale, was the only reason we were in the game last Sat.) Channing: WSU (hit every big shot in regulation while keeping us in the game), Notre Dame (Hit his first 6 or 7 shots as a Soph, while we pounced on the Irish early). Hassan: Utah, Washington (carried us in Seattle.) Ivan: Washington State. Mustafa: ASU, Washington (@ Mckale he hit huge shots all night), USC (As a frosh he hit a buzzer beater in the Pac-10 touney.) Jawaan: MSG, 1st Washington Game, Pac-10 Tourney.
Rodgers: Marquette. While Kirk has yet to hit a huge shot or make a game altering play, odds are he won’t have to this year, but his future looks real bright.
12. Defense – When they want to be, the U of A is an excellent defensive team. Add that to the fact that we can keep teams guessing by switching from Man to Man to the 1-3-1 and we’re a very tough team on the defensive side of the court.
13. Rebounding – With the exception of when we play Washington, the Cats are an excellent rebounding team, now that Channing has set his mind to rebounding. All 8 of our major players rebound very well for there position; this team can be a force on the offensive and defensive glass.
14. Ready for Any Style of Play – Arizona has seen just about every style of play this year. Teams have run all sorts of zones and trick defenses against us and we’ve seen teams that play multiple styles on offense. We’ve had shoot outs(Washington, Wake Forest) Defensive battles(Marquette, Michigan) Slow Down(Bennet, Dick) and every style in between. Nothing should catch the U of A off guard this year. (Famous Last Words, I know.)
15. Coming in off a loss – Despite the plethora of Red Flags that were raised by Saturday’s game, I think the loss helped Arizona more then it hurt them. For one, a multitude of lessons should be learned from the game, i.e. 4 other guys watching Salim doesn’t constitute as an offense, Channing must get touches, we need to want it more then the other teams, ect. ect. The loss will also help to refocus the team that probably we have gotten to full of itself had it won. It also should make the entire team hungry, and they should be real pissed off the Washington snagged a 1 seed by beating them. All in all, it’s anyone’s Tournament, let’s just hope Arizona decides to make it theirs.
5 Reasons they won’t Win It All:
1. Inconsistency – All year long this team has shown flashes of brilliance, followed by flopping against an inferior opponent. Arizona has ha d a tendency to play down to it’s opponents level and lacks a consistent scorer after Frye and Stoudamire.
2. 2ND Shooter – After Salim, no one on this team can hit the three with much consistency. Rodgers and J-Mac both can shoot, but both have been streaky at best this year. Mustafa, Hassan and Ivan all have the ability to hit the 3 Ball, but is any opponent really afraid of them taking that shot?
3. Lack of the Next Level – Away for home, Arizona has yet to find that Next Level that all Championship teams have. On the road the U of A does enough to not loose, in a big game this year they’ve yet to get over the hump and outplay an opposing team when it mattered most.
4. Lack of a Lock-Down Defender – The Cats last National Title run had a lot to do with Richard Jefferson shutting down any opposing player he came against. Whether it was Frank Williams, Casey Jacobsen or Jason Richardson, RJ could be counted on to contain the opposing teams best player. This years team lacks a lock down defender, Salim needs to save his energy for scoring, Mustafa doesn’t have the mental part of being a lock down defender, same with Hassan. Rodgers may have it, but lately his been a train wreck on the court. The best thing that has been said about J-Mac’s defense is that he’s no longer a liability, ugh.
5. Dynamic Rebounder – Rebound is the key factor most people forget about in NCAA Tourney game. While Frye, Ivan and Hassan all rebound well, neither of them have yet to show the ability of a dynamic rebounder. With the game on the line, no one of this team has yet to show that they will let no one but them get the game’s most important rebound. This could easily be the Wildcats undoing.
Coming Soon: My Ncaa Tournament Manifesto (and things of that nature), Man’s stupidity personified on Airplanes, Side Notes.
From Me to You
I'll be honest, I really don't know where I see this blog going. I could use it to try and hone my writing skills or to share my amazing stories and opinions with the world. But here's where I run into a delima, I haven't had an original opinion in 7+ years, my stories are more of inside jokes then they are funny stories and lastly I can't spell worth, ya know, sh*t. Throw in the fact that I'm absent minded and I'll probably forget that I have a blog right after I post this, and this blog seems destined for failure. Yet, like the handicap professional golfer who gets to ride in a cart while all the other golfers walk, I'm pretty certian I can get this done and somehow succeed while putting in the minium effort. Because in the end, isn't that what we all want, succees with as little effort as possible, I know that's what I'm gunning for. So I figure a blog is the most likely place for me to succeed with this goal. Here I'll post sports stories (expect a lot of those at first b/c of March Madness), stories, reviews of random shite, and updates of my life, becuase odds are that I'm far more interesting then any of you dear readers. So let's launch this vessel and be ready to have your life transformed just by reading the work of a beautiful, charasmatic genius. I will help all of you that I can.
Next: 15 Reasons Arizona (My hometown and favorite College Basketball Team) will win the Men's NCAA Tournament, and 5 Reasons they won't.
Next: 15 Reasons Arizona (My hometown and favorite College Basketball Team) will win the Men's NCAA Tournament, and 5 Reasons they won't.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
