The last region I will look at has been by far the craziest and that is the Southwest. While #1 seed has held serve by pulling away from their two opponents in the 2nd half to make it to the Sweet sixteen the other three teams have shocked the world to get here. Richmond the 12 seed beat Vandy and Morehead State to get here for the first time in three decades. VCU, a team who many experts said should not have been selected, have beaten USC, Georgetown, and Purdue comfortably to get here and give Richmond, VA as many sweet sixteen teams as the Big East. Lastly, you have Florida State who has gone through Texas A&M and Notre Dame to get this far. I will look back at the first weekend in this region and look ahead in order to tell you who will represent this region in the final four.
First weekend review
As previously mentioned this region has been filled with upsets (Morehead St over Louisville, Richmond over Vandy, VCU over Purdue, and Florida State over Notre Dame). This region is historic in that it is the first time that one regional has 3 double digit seeds in its last four teams.
Sweet Sixteen
Kansas vs. Richmond
Kansas, led by the Morris Twins- Marcus and Markieff and a solid supporting cast, has struggled in the tournament against mid majors (See last year against Northern Iowa) and is now the clear favorite to come out of this region so it has a lot of pressure. Richmond is led by Justin Harper and Kevin Anderson. The key to this game is if Kansas can get out to a big lead early and not let the Spiders hang around which I see happening, Kansas wins 75-63.
Florida State vs. VCU
Two teams no one expected to be here meet with a spot in the elite 8 on the line. This game should be low scoring which plays right into the hands of the Seminoles, one of the nation's best defensive teams. VCU has gotten hot recently and are led by Jamie Skeen and Joey Rodriguez. Florida State has taken the next step this year thanks in large part to Chris Singleton, Derwin Kitchen and their coach Leonard Hamilton. I see the Seminoles winning this game 58-52.
Elite 8
Kansas vs. Florida State
I will keep this short and sweet Florida State needs to keep this game slow and low scoring and do what Villanova did to the Hoyas in 1985. In other words they will need to be perfect or near perfect to win this game as Kansas has just too much fire power for the Seminoles and will win 65-50 advancing to their 2nd final four in 4 years.
So the Final Four in my opinion will be UCONN vs. Ohio State and Kansas vs. BYU.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
East Regional Review and Preview
The next region I am going to take a look at is the East regional where you have two of the most historic schools in UNC and Kentucky, the team that is playing the best basketball in the country right now in Ohio State, and a suprise in Marquette. Before looking ahead I will look back at the first two rounds in this region. I will tell you how the sweet sixteen and elite eight will play out and who is going to Houston for the Final Four out of this region.
First weekend review
Like the rest of the regions there have been a lot of great games (Princeton-Kentucky, Washington-North Carolina, and Syracuse-Marquette) and some controversy especially in the Washington-North Carolina game. The story of this region has been the absolute dominance of the Overall #1 seed Ohio State who has crushed UTSA and George Mason.
Sweet Sixteen
Kentucky vs. Ohio State
This game matches two major conference tournament champions led by coaches with final four experience. Both teams have superstar freshmen in Jared Sullinger for Ohio State and Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones for the Wildcats. Ohio State also has experience in David Lighty and lights out shooting in Jon Diebler leading a great supporting cast. Kentucky's supporting cast include Josh Harrellson and DeAndre Liggins. In the end I see the Buckeyes having too much fire power and winning 75-67.
UNC vs. Marquette
If you look at the history of these two schools it is David vs. Goliath and it may be the same way on the court Friday. North Carolina is led by Freshman superstar Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller, and John Henson while Marquette is led by Darius Johnson Odom, Jimmy Butler, and Joe Crowder. The coaching matchup is also a mismatch as Roy Williams, who was won two national titles, faces Buzz Williams and the stands will be covered in Carolina Blue. When the buzzer sounds I see Carolina winning comfortably 70-56.
Elite 8
North Carolina vs. Ohio State
There are a lot of great matchups here with Barnes vs. Diebler and Zeller vs Sullinger. Both teams have been playing well as of late and are very well coached. Like the sweet sixteen the crowd will be mostly in Carolina Blue. The key to this matchup is will Carolina's supporting cast step up and matchup what guys like Lighty, Craft, and Dallas Lauderdale can do for Ohio State. I see Ohio State winning a great game 75-71 and advancing to their 2nd final four in four years.
First weekend review
Like the rest of the regions there have been a lot of great games (Princeton-Kentucky, Washington-North Carolina, and Syracuse-Marquette) and some controversy especially in the Washington-North Carolina game. The story of this region has been the absolute dominance of the Overall #1 seed Ohio State who has crushed UTSA and George Mason.
Sweet Sixteen
Kentucky vs. Ohio State
This game matches two major conference tournament champions led by coaches with final four experience. Both teams have superstar freshmen in Jared Sullinger for Ohio State and Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones for the Wildcats. Ohio State also has experience in David Lighty and lights out shooting in Jon Diebler leading a great supporting cast. Kentucky's supporting cast include Josh Harrellson and DeAndre Liggins. In the end I see the Buckeyes having too much fire power and winning 75-67.
UNC vs. Marquette
If you look at the history of these two schools it is David vs. Goliath and it may be the same way on the court Friday. North Carolina is led by Freshman superstar Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller, and John Henson while Marquette is led by Darius Johnson Odom, Jimmy Butler, and Joe Crowder. The coaching matchup is also a mismatch as Roy Williams, who was won two national titles, faces Buzz Williams and the stands will be covered in Carolina Blue. When the buzzer sounds I see Carolina winning comfortably 70-56.
Elite 8
North Carolina vs. Ohio State
There are a lot of great matchups here with Barnes vs. Diebler and Zeller vs Sullinger. Both teams have been playing well as of late and are very well coached. Like the sweet sixteen the crowd will be mostly in Carolina Blue. The key to this matchup is will Carolina's supporting cast step up and matchup what guys like Lighty, Craft, and Dallas Lauderdale can do for Ohio State. I see Ohio State winning a great game 75-71 and advancing to their 2nd final four in four years.
Monday, March 21, 2011
West Regional Preview
Now, I will look at the other regional that will take place on Thursday, the West Regional. The final four in this region are Duke, Arizona, San Diego St., and UCONN. However before taking a look ahead I will look back at the first two rounds in this region. I will tell you who I see making the elite 8 and the final 4 out of this region.
First weekend recap:
This region has seen some great games (Duke-Michigan, Arizona-Texas, and SDST-Temple) as well as some controversy in those great games specifically Arizona-Texas. Duke has gotten here with the help of a returning Kyree Irving and great inside play. Arizona has been led to this point by Derrick Williams and UCONN's player of the year candidate Kemba Walker has gotten his team two wins away from the final 4. San Diego State's team first mentality and great play by Kawhi Leonard has resulted in their 1st sweet sixteen appearance ever two hours from their campus.
Sweet Sixteen Preview
Duke vs. Arizona
The team that was happiest to see Texas' final shot fail was Duke as Arizona is a much better matchup for them, setting up a rematch of the 2001 title game won by Duke. Duke loves to run ball screens and Arizona is no where near as good as Texas when it comes to defending ball screens. Duke has many players who can beat you including the Plumlee brothers, Nolan Smith, Irving, and Kyle Singler as well as a great coach in Coach K. In order for Arizona to win other players besides Lamont Jones and Derrick Williams to step up and play great as Duke and Coach K are great at taking what you do the best away. I just don't see Arizona overcoming a talent deficit and the coaching mismatch, Duke wins 75-66.
UCONN vs. San Diego State
This could be the best game of the entire sweet 16 round as you get two great teams led by two national championship winning head coaches in San Diego State's Steve Fisher and Jim Calhoun of UCONN. The key to this game is can the Aztecs contain The Huskies player of the year candidate Kemba Walker and can players like Jeff Lamb and Alex Oriaki step up and help Kemba out. The aztecs are led by Malcom Thomas, Kawhi Leonard, and DJ Gay all of whom must have a great game for the aztecs to advance. In the end I see there being too muh Kemba and UCONN winning 65-60.
ELITE EIGHT
UCONN vs. Duke
A rematch of the 1999 National title game and 2003 National semifinal game both won by UCONN. That is a key story as Calhoun dominates Coach K in their prior matchups. Just like in the Sweet 16 players like Lamb and Oriaki need to step up and help Kemba carry the load. If I were Duke I let Kemba get his and shut everyone else down as you won't be able to stop Kemba you can only hope to limit his scoring. While Duke has their own player of the year candidate in Nolan Smith, more experience, and a better supporting cast I see Kemba and Calhoun leading UCONN to the final 4 74-70 as Calhoun continues his dominance over Coach K.
First weekend recap:
This region has seen some great games (Duke-Michigan, Arizona-Texas, and SDST-Temple) as well as some controversy in those great games specifically Arizona-Texas. Duke has gotten here with the help of a returning Kyree Irving and great inside play. Arizona has been led to this point by Derrick Williams and UCONN's player of the year candidate Kemba Walker has gotten his team two wins away from the final 4. San Diego State's team first mentality and great play by Kawhi Leonard has resulted in their 1st sweet sixteen appearance ever two hours from their campus.
Sweet Sixteen Preview
Duke vs. Arizona
The team that was happiest to see Texas' final shot fail was Duke as Arizona is a much better matchup for them, setting up a rematch of the 2001 title game won by Duke. Duke loves to run ball screens and Arizona is no where near as good as Texas when it comes to defending ball screens. Duke has many players who can beat you including the Plumlee brothers, Nolan Smith, Irving, and Kyle Singler as well as a great coach in Coach K. In order for Arizona to win other players besides Lamont Jones and Derrick Williams to step up and play great as Duke and Coach K are great at taking what you do the best away. I just don't see Arizona overcoming a talent deficit and the coaching mismatch, Duke wins 75-66.
UCONN vs. San Diego State
This could be the best game of the entire sweet 16 round as you get two great teams led by two national championship winning head coaches in San Diego State's Steve Fisher and Jim Calhoun of UCONN. The key to this game is can the Aztecs contain The Huskies player of the year candidate Kemba Walker and can players like Jeff Lamb and Alex Oriaki step up and help Kemba out. The aztecs are led by Malcom Thomas, Kawhi Leonard, and DJ Gay all of whom must have a great game for the aztecs to advance. In the end I see there being too muh Kemba and UCONN winning 65-60.
ELITE EIGHT
UCONN vs. Duke
A rematch of the 1999 National title game and 2003 National semifinal game both won by UCONN. That is a key story as Calhoun dominates Coach K in their prior matchups. Just like in the Sweet 16 players like Lamb and Oriaki need to step up and help Kemba carry the load. If I were Duke I let Kemba get his and shut everyone else down as you won't be able to stop Kemba you can only hope to limit his scoring. While Duke has their own player of the year candidate in Nolan Smith, more experience, and a better supporting cast I see Kemba and Calhoun leading UCONN to the final 4 74-70 as Calhoun continues his dominance over Coach K.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Southeast Regionals Review and Preview
Well After three days of the NCAA Tournament we have half the Sweet Sixteen set. Now over the next four days I will break down every regional by giving a review of what has happened and a preview of the sweet sixteen round and elite eight. I will begin with the only region that is set and that is the southeast.
REVIEW:
The first two rounds have been filled with close games (WISC-KSU, MSU-UCLA) but there have been two stories to dominate this region Jimmer and Butler. Jimmer has dominated Wofford and Gonzaga in leading BYU to their first sweet sixteen in 30 years without Brandon Davies. The other story is last year's darling Butler winning two games (against ODU and #1 seed Pitt) with late Matt Howard points. From a frantic tip in win against ODU to the craziest 1.4 seconds in tournament history against Pitt where the refs did everything correctly (a foul is a foul no matter when it occurs). However Pitt made a mistake in fouling Howard after the rebound but if Brown makes the 2nd foul shot they are advancing and Howard doesnt get the chance to win it at the line.
Preview:
The final four teams in the Southeast regional are Butler-Wisconsin, BYU-Florida.
Butler vs. Wisconsin:
This game is going to be a physical war with two teams that don't play a pretty game. Wisconsin is led by Jordan Taylor and Jon Leuer while Matt Howard and Sheldon Mack lead the Butler Bulldogs. Both teams are well coached by Bo Ryan (Wisconsin) and Brad Stevens (Butler) and have tons of tourney experience. The key to this game is going to be the inside play and can Matt Howard stay out of foul trouble. I see Butler somehow pulling out a victory against a Wisconsin team that can get suddenly cold for long periods of time (see their 33 point output in the Big 10 tournament against Penn State). Butler 69 Wisconsin 64
BYU vs. Florida
This game comes down to one question can Florida do what not many teams have done this year and stop Jimmer. The Gators, a team that many people felt were overseeded as a two seed, are led by Chandler Parsons, Kenny Boynton, and Erving Walker. Aside from Jimmer Freddette (the nations leading scorer) also have Jackson Emery and Noah Hartsock but are missing Brandon Davies who was suspended by the school earlier in the year for violating the honor code. Florida clearly has the coaching edge as two time national champion coach Billy Donovan (Florida) faces BYU's Dave Rose who is in his first sweet sixteen. However I think there is too much Jimmer and BYU will advance 73-69.
ELITE 8 BYU vs. Butler
Two non power conference teams will meet for a spot in the final four as Butler attempts to make it back to back years while Jimmer attempts to establish himself as a legend in college basketball. I think while BYU will miss Davies and Howard could dominate inside but Butler will have no answer for Jimmer and BYU will make their 1st ever final four by a score of 70-62.
REVIEW:
The first two rounds have been filled with close games (WISC-KSU, MSU-UCLA) but there have been two stories to dominate this region Jimmer and Butler. Jimmer has dominated Wofford and Gonzaga in leading BYU to their first sweet sixteen in 30 years without Brandon Davies. The other story is last year's darling Butler winning two games (against ODU and #1 seed Pitt) with late Matt Howard points. From a frantic tip in win against ODU to the craziest 1.4 seconds in tournament history against Pitt where the refs did everything correctly (a foul is a foul no matter when it occurs). However Pitt made a mistake in fouling Howard after the rebound but if Brown makes the 2nd foul shot they are advancing and Howard doesnt get the chance to win it at the line.
Preview:
The final four teams in the Southeast regional are Butler-Wisconsin, BYU-Florida.
Butler vs. Wisconsin:
This game is going to be a physical war with two teams that don't play a pretty game. Wisconsin is led by Jordan Taylor and Jon Leuer while Matt Howard and Sheldon Mack lead the Butler Bulldogs. Both teams are well coached by Bo Ryan (Wisconsin) and Brad Stevens (Butler) and have tons of tourney experience. The key to this game is going to be the inside play and can Matt Howard stay out of foul trouble. I see Butler somehow pulling out a victory against a Wisconsin team that can get suddenly cold for long periods of time (see their 33 point output in the Big 10 tournament against Penn State). Butler 69 Wisconsin 64
BYU vs. Florida
This game comes down to one question can Florida do what not many teams have done this year and stop Jimmer. The Gators, a team that many people felt were overseeded as a two seed, are led by Chandler Parsons, Kenny Boynton, and Erving Walker. Aside from Jimmer Freddette (the nations leading scorer) also have Jackson Emery and Noah Hartsock but are missing Brandon Davies who was suspended by the school earlier in the year for violating the honor code. Florida clearly has the coaching edge as two time national champion coach Billy Donovan (Florida) faces BYU's Dave Rose who is in his first sweet sixteen. However I think there is too much Jimmer and BYU will advance 73-69.
ELITE 8 BYU vs. Butler
Two non power conference teams will meet for a spot in the final four as Butler attempts to make it back to back years while Jimmer attempts to establish himself as a legend in college basketball. I think while BYU will miss Davies and Howard could dominate inside but Butler will have no answer for Jimmer and BYU will make their 1st ever final four by a score of 70-62.
Friday, March 18, 2011
NCAA Tournament Day 1 Recap
After the tournament really got started (Play in games not round 1 were on Tuesday and Wednesday) and got started with a bang. Upsets (Morehead st, Richmond) and Buzzer Beaters (Butler, Temple) and great games (UCLA-Michigan St) we are ready for the next two days of tournament action. I will look ahead today and tomorrow's games
Today's games:
While teams like Ohio State, Kansas, Duke, Notre Dame and UNC are expected to roll through their opponents today there are many games that will be a lot closer. From Nova-Mason, Tennessee-Michigan, Marquette-Xavier, and Florida State-A&M among others there are going to be many great games on the slate. We also have some interesting storylines with Memphis's Josh Pastner facing the team he was a long time assistant for in Arizona and UNLV's Lon Kruger facing the team he coached for a while in Illinois. But the matchup Im looking the most at is Oakland vs. Texas as Texas is a former #1 team in the nation that has slipped but many see going on a long run. They are facing Oakland led by 6-11 pro prospect Keith Benson so if they can play like a #1 team this month they can win it all but if they play like they have been in the past month they could get knocked off like Louisville.
Tomorrow's games:
Tomorrow's slate of games include two cinderellas meeting (richmond and morehead st), a national title rematch (UCLA-Florida), an interconference battle (Cincy-UCONN), and two matchups featuring non BCS-conference teams (San Diego St-Temple and BYU-Gonzaga). We also get to see BYU's Jimmer Freddette and UCONN's Kemba Walker display their mastery once again. The teams I see advancing are Kentucky, Florida, Richmond, San Diego St, Pittsburgh, BYU, Kansas State, and UCONN.
Today's games:
While teams like Ohio State, Kansas, Duke, Notre Dame and UNC are expected to roll through their opponents today there are many games that will be a lot closer. From Nova-Mason, Tennessee-Michigan, Marquette-Xavier, and Florida State-A&M among others there are going to be many great games on the slate. We also have some interesting storylines with Memphis's Josh Pastner facing the team he was a long time assistant for in Arizona and UNLV's Lon Kruger facing the team he coached for a while in Illinois. But the matchup Im looking the most at is Oakland vs. Texas as Texas is a former #1 team in the nation that has slipped but many see going on a long run. They are facing Oakland led by 6-11 pro prospect Keith Benson so if they can play like a #1 team this month they can win it all but if they play like they have been in the past month they could get knocked off like Louisville.
Tomorrow's games:
Tomorrow's slate of games include two cinderellas meeting (richmond and morehead st), a national title rematch (UCLA-Florida), an interconference battle (Cincy-UCONN), and two matchups featuring non BCS-conference teams (San Diego St-Temple and BYU-Gonzaga). We also get to see BYU's Jimmer Freddette and UCONN's Kemba Walker display their mastery once again. The teams I see advancing are Kentucky, Florida, Richmond, San Diego St, Pittsburgh, BYU, Kansas State, and UCONN.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
So there is a lockout...now what?
As of 5 pm yesterday the NFLPA has decertified and the owners have locked them out. I will look at what is going to happen next and what are the chances that the 2011-2012 season will be impacted by the lockout (in terms of lost games). I will also examine how my life and the lives of NFL fans would change if the seasons was impacted.
Now that the NFLPA has decertified they will sue the NFL and the owners for violating anti-trust laws. It is important to note that the lawsuit will take place in the same court room where two weeks ago the players won a huge legal victory when it was ruled the huge TV warchest the owners had in the case of a lockout was illegal and couldn't be built up. That being the case I expect the NFLPA to win this lawsuit and the owners to appeal. A final victory by the NFLPA would make a new CBA a foregone conclusion as the owners will lose their ability to bargain/negotiate effectivly. The key is how long the legal preceedings take if it goes into July or August then the season (at least the pre-season) could be shortened.
If the season is shortened or lost the lives of myself and many NFL fans would not be the same. First of all, sundays in the fall would lose a lot of their importance as their would be no more games. Also, Madden and Fantasy football which are major social activities for people would be gone. Furthermore, fans in cities like Green Bay and Jacksonville would have no pro teams to root for while fans in cities like DC, Baltimore, Indianapolis, and New Orleans would lose the number one team in their respective cities. The ratings for CBS, Fox, NBC, and ESPN would take a huge hit as a major ratings draw (NFL sunday) would not be available to them. College football would gain importance and if the NBA can get their CBA issues worked out they as well as the MLB can take advantage of the biggest sport in the nation being on hiatus. In general if the NFL season is shortened or lost then society and culture in this country would be completly different.
Now that the NFLPA has decertified they will sue the NFL and the owners for violating anti-trust laws. It is important to note that the lawsuit will take place in the same court room where two weeks ago the players won a huge legal victory when it was ruled the huge TV warchest the owners had in the case of a lockout was illegal and couldn't be built up. That being the case I expect the NFLPA to win this lawsuit and the owners to appeal. A final victory by the NFLPA would make a new CBA a foregone conclusion as the owners will lose their ability to bargain/negotiate effectivly. The key is how long the legal preceedings take if it goes into July or August then the season (at least the pre-season) could be shortened.
If the season is shortened or lost the lives of myself and many NFL fans would not be the same. First of all, sundays in the fall would lose a lot of their importance as their would be no more games. Also, Madden and Fantasy football which are major social activities for people would be gone. Furthermore, fans in cities like Green Bay and Jacksonville would have no pro teams to root for while fans in cities like DC, Baltimore, Indianapolis, and New Orleans would lose the number one team in their respective cities. The ratings for CBS, Fox, NBC, and ESPN would take a huge hit as a major ratings draw (NFL sunday) would not be available to them. College football would gain importance and if the NBA can get their CBA issues worked out they as well as the MLB can take advantage of the biggest sport in the nation being on hiatus. In general if the NFL season is shortened or lost then society and culture in this country would be completly different.
Monday, March 7, 2011
NFL Labor Discourse
Right now representatives from the NFL and the NFL players association are meeting to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement by the new deadline of Friday at 5. There are a lot of issues that will be discussed and I will give you a basic overview of the main issues at hand. Later this week I will discuss what I think needs to be done for a deal to be completed and the disaster scenario of no 2010-2011 season occuring or a shortened season
The first issue is the proposed 18 game schedule. The owners and commissioner Goodell really want the 18 game regular season which would also mean the preseason would now only be 2 games.
The players have a few problems with this and a few things they want for this to occur.
First of all, they are concerned that an extended regular season will shorten the players careers and increase the frequency of major injuries occuring. Also, they want some financial compensation for this increase in the number of regular season games. Going along with that they want expanded roster size as the increase in injuries will necessitate it.
Another issue is the desire for a rookie wage scale as currently top picks get around 50 million dollars up front (more then superstars like Big Ben, Brady, Chris Johnson, Clay Matthews) without ever playing a down. Not only does this cause cap issues and make it real difficult for teams with top picks to find a trading partner if they so desire. It also is slap in the face to 10 year vets who see rookies fresh out of college making more then them.
Then there is the compensation for retired players who made the NFL what it is today. A lot of retired players are suffering from crippling injuries and mental health problems that ruin their quality of life once they retire. This issue has come to the forefront after the recent focus on concussion and the concussion related suicides of former players. The players want this increased while owners are somewhat reluctant to do so.
Last but most certaintly not least is the division of the 9 billion dollars in revenue between the players and owners. This is one place that the owners were not happy with when it came to the last CBA and is a major reason why they opted out a few years ago and we are in this current situation. While I don't know how this problem will be resolved I do know that if the owners are not happy with the solution to this issue then no deal will be done.
The first issue is the proposed 18 game schedule. The owners and commissioner Goodell really want the 18 game regular season which would also mean the preseason would now only be 2 games.
The players have a few problems with this and a few things they want for this to occur.
First of all, they are concerned that an extended regular season will shorten the players careers and increase the frequency of major injuries occuring. Also, they want some financial compensation for this increase in the number of regular season games. Going along with that they want expanded roster size as the increase in injuries will necessitate it.
Another issue is the desire for a rookie wage scale as currently top picks get around 50 million dollars up front (more then superstars like Big Ben, Brady, Chris Johnson, Clay Matthews) without ever playing a down. Not only does this cause cap issues and make it real difficult for teams with top picks to find a trading partner if they so desire. It also is slap in the face to 10 year vets who see rookies fresh out of college making more then them.
Then there is the compensation for retired players who made the NFL what it is today. A lot of retired players are suffering from crippling injuries and mental health problems that ruin their quality of life once they retire. This issue has come to the forefront after the recent focus on concussion and the concussion related suicides of former players. The players want this increased while owners are somewhat reluctant to do so.
Last but most certaintly not least is the division of the 9 billion dollars in revenue between the players and owners. This is one place that the owners were not happy with when it came to the last CBA and is a major reason why they opted out a few years ago and we are in this current situation. While I don't know how this problem will be resolved I do know that if the owners are not happy with the solution to this issue then no deal will be done.
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