Bigger Than The School??

NCAA Division 1 Mens Football is an extremely interesting entity, there are countless issues that come to mind when that topic is brought up. The issue today is self explanatory after reading the title of this blog entry, can a coach be bigger than the Univiersity it's employed at?? NCAA Rules are very strict and are taken to the letter on many accounts when the players are the violators, coaches on the other hand?? There is an extremely large GRAY area as to which they operate, especially when it pertains to major programs. The example I would like to use from the player standpoint is Dez Bryant, Dez visited Deion Sanders home one weekend and got questioned about it. Bryant than lied to the NCAA, got caught and the punishment doled out was Bryant being suspended for the remainder of the season!! THE Ohio State Buckyes had some problems this past season with some of it's players selling their merchandise and received free tattoos from a nearby parlor , that is against NCAA policy and the 5 players were suspended for the first 5 games of this upcoming season yet they were allowed to play in last year's Bowl Game. Allegedly Tressel was AWARE of it all from the start, he chose not to alert the Athletic Director, and kept it all to himself. As more information is coming out, it is starting to look even worse for both Tressel and the University. Please keep in mind that the last few sentences were written under the guise of "ALLEGEDLY," I am in no way indicting Tressel myself I am simply trying to show the difference between players and coaches when it comes to NCAA Violations. To get back to the point, Tressel allegedly got caught withholding information from the NCAA and didn't truly get punished for it. The longer he remains employed the worse the University looks, so who's more important.....a University's reputation or a Football Coach who broke the rules?? What makes that question depressing is that it's even being asked in the first place, had this been a player this would have long been dealt with!!

How bout those Grizzlies??

The Memphis Grizzles aren't even at full strength, yet they're up 3-1 over the Spurs in the First Round of the NBA Playoffs!! Memphis best move this season was aquiring Shane Battier when they found out Rudy Gay was out for the year. Battier is the piece that has allowed the Grizzlies to continue to function without their best player. He doesn't NEED touches offensively to be effective and that allows both Mike Conley and OJ Mayo to be aggressive offensively. Memphis frontline is definitely stronger when Gay is in the lineup because the trio of Gay, Randolph, and Gasol is one of the best in the league. Battier should get more credit for what he's brought to this young team, I also want to give credit to Coach Lionel Hollins. I haven't been a huge fan of the Grizzlies back court whether it's Mayo or Conely, yet in the playoffs they both seem to be playing up to their potential and not overstepping their boundaries. There have been times past when they choose to forgo the option of getting the ball inside for trying to get their own numbers, in this year's playoffs that hasn't been the case. Secondly, they have both been extremely engaged on defense and if they can keep it up I may come to respect both of their games. Zach Randolph should have been an All-Star this year and now that Memphis is on a bigger stage he's showing the nation why!! Z-Bo is one of the best Power Forwards in the NBA and has been for some time at least in terms of talent, what's changed for him is his level of maturity. He truly deserves his recent contract extension and I hope he continues his dominance. I haven't like Pau Gasol for some time now and it's not because of his talent level, it's his lack of strenth in the post. He has all the footwork in the world, but can't be counted on to bang on the block and that is why the Grizzlies are so strong in the paint. Pau's brother Marc is the exact opposite, he loves to contact and has a rugged playing style that's sprinkled with beautiful footwork when needed. As I said earleir the pairing of Z-Bo and Marc will give the Grizzlies an advantage against most teams, just think about how much more dangerous the Grizzlies would be if Rudy was playing??? The Spurs series may have already been over, look at what the Grizzlies are doing and just think...they are missing 20 points and 8 rebounds a game, seriously let that sink in??? The Memphis Grizzlies might be the team that messes up the Western Conference Bracket in this year's playoffs and I am not surprised in the least bit!! What do you think of the Grizzlies, is it just this series or could they really contend this year??

2011 NFL Mock Draft Round 1

Caps Complete Crazy Comeback

I wasn't going to write about any 1st round action until it was completed so I could do a First Round Recap, but one of my followers who doesn't have any problem contacting me urged me to do otherwise. Josh, here is your write up of last night!!

The Washington Capitals showed us something last night, they showed us that they aren't last year's team and that this year's team learned from it's past. If this were last year the Caps would have hung their heads when they found themselves down 3-0 against the New York Rangers and arguably one of the best goaltenders in the league in Henrik Lundqvist. This year, they did the opposite by raising their level of intensity and showed a true will to win. The Caps gave up 3 goals in the 2nd period, the Garden was rocking and the Rangers had full control. Then the 3rd period started and the Capitals showed the WORLD the difference a year makes, this mentally tough team began one heck of a rally. Just 2:47 seconds into the 3rd period Alexander Semin scored for the Capitals, what stood out to me was the type of goal it was. It wasn't an exciting or awe inspiring play that resulted in the goal being scored, rather it was a blue collar type goal that ignited his team and let the Rangers know that they weren't going down without a fight. Only a minute passed before the Caps scored again, this time it was Marcus Johansson who redirected Brook Laich's attempt into the net!! The Caps were now only down one after being shut out for 2 periods, they scored 2 within 57 seconds of each other!! The Rangers could sense the change in the Caps, they tried to tighten up on D and hold on for the win. It didn't work that way, Sean Avery got called for slashing and the Caps were on the power play. The Rangers successfully killed the power play, but Johannson struck again almost as soon as the Rangers returned to even strength. It was again by redirection that Johannson scored, at 3-3 it remained that way until regulation was over. The first overtime period resulted in no score from either team, in the playoffs that means that another period will be played rather than a shootout which is regular season format. The 2nd overtime and the 5th period played of the evening went much like the 1st overtime period with solid play and few chances. 12 mintues and 36 seconds into the period is when the game was decided, many people will say that the Rangers gave this win away by giving up cheap opportunities. To that school of thought, I would like to share this quote from Sean Carter: "When you play with skills, good luck will happen" That is exactly what happened on the game winning goal, Jason Chimera fired a shot from the right circle that was blocked by Ludnqvist who tried to cover it up and freeze the puck, Rangers forward Marian Gaborik was trying to help by clearing the puck, but he poked it from Lundqvist and cleared it straight to Chimera who put the puck in the back of the net!! The Caps won the game 4-3 and are now up 3-1 in the series, the Caps have the chance to end it at home this Saturday at the Verizon Center at 3 pm.

Josh, I hope you enjoyed it and I will not have any more hockey posts until the first round is completed!!

NBA Playoff Preview

NHL Playoffs

NCAA Mens Title Game

We are only a few hours away from tip-off, the title game features two mentally tough teams. Both teams have upperclassmen point guards, both teams have 2 very good coaches, and an unbelievably strong will to win. Butler didn't get here easily, nor did Uconn. Butler got back to this game after being in this very game last year when they lost to Duke, they lost their best player in Gordon Hayward to the NBA Draft and found a new identity for THIS year's team. As for Uconn, not much was expected out of this bunch. The only name that was known outside of Storrs, was that of Kemba Walker the Junior point guard. This young team was picked to finish 10th in the Big East and they almost did that, they finished 9th with a 9-9 Conference Record. Few people, including their own fan base thought this team was capable of a run like this when the season started. Each of these teams reflect their Coaches, Butler is sound and prepared. Uconn is tough and extremely fiesty, each team has also showed us that they don't like to lose. Both teams have won some nail biters on route to this Championship game, neither team cares about the margin of victory only the fact that they won. This will be an extremely competitive game between 2 schools who don't care how it gets done, as long as they reach the desired result. Butler has the experience, but Uconn has the better athletes, which one will be the reason this game is decided?? Will Kemba Walker be able to lead this young team one more time, or will Shelvin Mack be able to lead his veteran team to the victory that eluded them last year at this time?? Can Matt Howard keep Butler in the game on the boards or will Alex Oriahki and company be able to lock down the paint and control the boards?? Only 40 minutes will decide it, who do you have?? Brad Stevens and Butler, or Jim Calhoun and Connecticut......