Western Conference 2nd Half Preview

Probably the most dramatic sports landscape to watch this spring will be the Western Conference in the NBA. 9 teams have a legitimate shot at 50 wins, and any of them could reach the finals, or be going home after the first win. What lies ahead out west? GDB breaks it down.

Power Rankings (In order of Projected Finish)

1. Phoenix 37-16. Wednesday night Shaq will debut for the Suns against the Lake Show. Finally we will get a glimpse of what the most talented team in the west will be like when the greatest center of the last 15 years is added to the mix. Shaq obviously is not the same player, but he still knows how to play with other good players, and if he can provide a defensive presence and get 10 boards a game, Phoenix is championship material.

2. Dallas 35-18. Jason Kidd is finally a Maverick, thank god that drama is over. This team is going to become much more explosive and will probably play at a faster tempo, but its going to be hard to match up with the teams with big frontcourts when the only big guys on the whole roster are Erick Dampier, Brandon Bass and soft ass Dirk Nowitzki. Kidd is going to help them in the regular season and will push them to the division title, but the Mavs may still need to add a big body to match up in the playoffs.

3. Utah 34-19. No team has been hotter over the last month than the Jazz. While Kyle Korver is nowhere near the player that the other teams in the west have added, he has fit in perfectly with the Jazz system by providing an outside shooting presence who can play off of Boozer's inside game and Deron Williams penetration. With so many question marks surrounding the other teams in the west, the Jazz might be as close to a sure thing as there is. Look for them to keep up their run of good play and win the Northwest Division.

4. San Antonio 34-17. The Spurs have looked about as ordinary as a 34-17 team can, but it would be stupid to ignore them in the playoffs. Tim Duncan is still one of the best big men in the league, Manu Ginobili is a cold-blooded assassin, and if Tony Parker is healthy he can control the tempo which becomes so important in the playoffs. This is the time of the season where the Spurs always start their push and you can never count a team with championship experience.

5. New Orleans 36-15. One of the most exciting teams in the league has made huge strides this season. Thanks to Chris Paul playing like an MVP, the Hornets have raced to the best record in the west. The problem is, many of the players on this team have never played in games with as much pressure as they will over the next few months. While a drop from 1 to 5 may not look good, this team will still be a factor in the playoffs regardless of who they face thanks to the brilliance of CP3.

6. Los Angeles Lakers 35-17. No team improved themselves by giving up as little as the Lakers did. Pau Gasol provides Kobe with his best low post option since Shaq left and when healthy the Lake Show may be the prohibitive favorites to emerge from the west. Unfortunately, Andrew Bynum is having trouble recovering from his knee injury and now Kobe has a torn ligament in his hand which will have a big effect on his game. As tough as the west is the Lakers cannot make a deep push without all their pieces healthy, which does not appear likely for the rest of this year.

7. Golden State 32-20. Simply because of the way this team plays, the Warriors will continue to win games and make the playoffs. There is no guard combo in the league better than Baron Davis and Monta Ellis. They control tempo so well that every game they play turns into a track meet, in which Golden State can beat anyone.

8. Denver 32-20. Young Swole is choosing Denver over Houston for two reasons. First, it appears they have more to offer in the Andre Miller sweepstakes than Houston does, and if the Nugs get a pass first point guard to go with their finishers they will be extremely dangerous. Second of all, Denver plays in a much easier division than the Rockets. They will be playing games against the Sonics and T'Wolves, while the Rockets have to battle the Mavs, Spurs and Hornets. As close as the west is this year, this difference in opponents could be the edge the Nugs need.

9. Houston 32-20. The second hottest team in the league is on pace to win over 50 games, and yet may come in 4th in their division. It finally appears that Yao and T-Mac have figured out how to play with each other. Unfortunately, its pretty much a given that one of them will miss extended games down the stretch with injury. But if those two can stay healthy, or if the Rockets add a reliable third contributor to compliment the big two, they could sneak into the playoffs.

10. Portland 28-24. The Blazers have tailed off as of late, as many predicted they would do. If they manage to win 45 games this year, this season will still be a great success. Portland can look forward to having maybe the best inside/out duo in the NBA since Kobe and Shaq were in LA next year when Greg Oden joins Brandon Roy, but they will have to do without a playoff appearance this year.

11. Sacramento 23-28. It appears that the firesale has begun in Sac-Town. Odds are Ron Artest will be moved before the trading deadline, possibly to Denver or Phoenix. After that happens this will become Kevin Martin's team which will make the Kings much less volatile but also not as good.

12. LA Clippers 17-33. Its hard to believe the Clip Joint was in the 2nd round of the playoffs a mere 2 seasons ago. Now they are back to where we expect them to be, but Swole still feels there is talent on this team. If Elton Brand and Shaun Livingston can come back healthy next year, the Clippers could make a playoff push even in the rough and tumble west.

13. Minnesota 10-41. Don't look now but Al Jefferson may be turning into the best power forward in the whole NBA. Its sad he has such a garbage group of teammates around him, but if Kevin McHale can draft well this spring (thats a big if), the T'Wolves may be contending again in the near future.

14. Seattle 13-38. Fuck Clay Bennett, thats all Young Swole has to say about the Sonics.

15. Memphis 14-38. At this point I think its pretty safe to say that Uno the Beagle could run a team better than Chris Wallace. Young Swole would like to know what he sees in Kwame Brown that the rest of the world doesnt and adding Javaris Crittenton when he drafted Mike Conley 5th overall was a stroke of genius. At this pace, I'd expect the Memphis Tigers to beat the Grizzlies in a few years.

3 Players to watch in the 2nd half

1. Kobe Bryant. The best player in the NBA west of Cleveland is going to have to play the rest of the season with a torn ligament in his pinky. Nobody doubts his competitive nature, but this injury could seriously affect his shooting, and if Andrew Bynum doesn't come back as quick as scheduled its going to be hard for him to carry the offensive load with this injury.

2. Shaquille O'Neal. The biggest X factor, literally and metaphorically, in the whole league. If he stays on the court and controls the paint, Phoenix could finally make the finals. If he wears expensive suits more often than his jersey, the Suns could be out in the first round.

3. Andre Miller. Young Swole is well aware that he is in the Eastern Conference, yet odds are he is going to be moved, and two of his biggest suitors appear to be the Nuggets and Rockets. Denver is offering Kleiza, JR Smith and Nene, the Rockets are dangling Rafer Alson, Bonzi Wells and Shane Battier. If Miller ends up on one of these squads, they instantly become a title contender and make the west even that much tougher.

Swole's Second Half Prediction

The western conference could go in about 20 different directions in the next two months, and every single direction will be exciting. Young Swole thinks when it all shakes out, the Suns will defeat the Jazz in the conference finals and finally make the NBA Finals. Shaq's intelligence on the court is vastly underrated, and his presence alone will make Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire that much more dangerous. The Jazz have been playing the best basketball in the NBA lately, and Deron Williams keeps maturing into one of the best players in the entire league. They have the talent and the experience to get through the gauntlet and make the WC Finals. The Suns will win in 6 though and match up with Detroit in the finals.

This Is Awesome!

Check this out. You will not be sorry!

NBA Eastern Conference 2nd Half Preview

All-Star Weekend is over and with that begins the start of the 2nd half of the season. Lets preview what lies ahead in the East and see which teams will make the playoffs, and who's going fishing

Eastern Conference Power Rankings

1. Boston 41-9. Basketball is back in the Hub City, thanks to The Big Ticket and Jesus Shuttlesworth arriving in town. The Celtics had an amazing start to the season and are the only team left with less than ten losses. The Big 3 have done their job, but what has made this team formidable is the development of young guns like Rajon Rondo and Big Baby Davis as well as the veteran presence of Eddie House and James Posey. Questions remain however. Can the 3 big veterans stay healthy and have enough energy for a big postseason push? And will Rondo be good enough to carry the Celtics to the finals?

2. Detroit 39-13. Probably the most underrated team of the season so far. While Boston has gotten all the recognition, the Pistons are knocking on their doorstep while primed for a 60 win season. By integrating a much more solid bench along with the usual suspects in the starting lineups, Detroit will not only be fresher heading into the playoffs but have more matchups to exploit against the other teams in the east thanks to the larger and better rotation.

3. Orlando 33-21. Nobody better doubt Stan Van Gundy's coaching prowess after this season. After unfairly getting run out of Miami, and being the Magic's 2nd choice behind Billy Donovan, Stan the Man has only led the Magic to the division lead while helping develop players like Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu into all-star level contributors. They probably don't have enough to knock off the big 2, but they are set up to be one of the premier teams in the east for the next decade.

4. Cleveland 29-23. Want to know the difference between Lebron James and Dwyane Wade? Its being able to win 20 more games with little or no support behind you. While James has been the MVP of the league so far, he is going to need help from someone else on the squad to get this team anywhere near the playoffs. The Cavs either need to start Daniel Gibson, trade for Andre Miller, or hope that Varejao learned a jump shot while being hurt to have any chance of knocking off the top three teams in the east.

5. Toronto 28-23. The Raptors haven't been bad this year, but they have been dissapointing. After last year's breakthrough season, people were expecting them to be more than 5 games over .500 in the weak EC. The Rap Show does have the talent to make a push in the second half, but their just doesnt seem to be the same energy with the squad this year compared to last.

6. Washington 25-27. The Wizards limped into the All-Star Break, losing 8 of their last 10 games, but to be only 2 games under .500 with as many injuries as they've had is still impressive. If Agent Zero can assimilate in with the other guys when he comes back healthy, the Wiz may be the only team capable of pulling an upset in the first round of the playoffs.

7. Atlanta 21-28. The bottom of the Eastern Conference is so bad, that one trade could push any team into the playoffs. It looks like the Hawks got the jump by adding Mike Bibby who will help give a young team some leadership and some much improved point guard play.

8. Philadelphia 23-30. The Sixers are only going here because they finished the first half on a 5 game winning streak. But if they end up holding onto Andre Miller for the whole season, is there really anyone with the talent below them to pass them?

9. Chicago 21-31. The Bulls have been one of the biggest dissapointments in the entire league so far and yet they are only a game and a half out of the 8th spot. Maybe if Luol Deng can get healthy and Gordon and Hinrich make some jump shots they can salvage a lost season.

10. New Jersey 23-30. Nobody knows what this team will look like a week from now if Jason Kidd and Vince Carter get traded. What we do know is that they were a monumental dissapointment this season and blowing this team up and starting over is definitely the right move to make.

11. Indiana 21-32. Jermaine O'Neal continues to be a bitch, but the Pacers have actually been better than most thought. Mike Dunleavy and Danny Granger have thrived in Jim O'Brien's 3-point system, but there isnt much else to inspire fan support in Indy.

12. Milwaukee 19-34. For the talent they have, this team should be better. If Michael Redd and Mo Williams can stay healthy, this could be the team to go on a run in the 2nd half and sneak into the 8th seed in the east.

13. Charlotte 19-34. Drafting Emeka Okafor over Dwight Howard sure does look bad in hindsight doesn't it. As does drafting Sean May, Adam Morrison and re-signing Matt Carroll. This team should have never been created in the first place.

14. New York 15-37. One of the biggest disgraces in the league. They have some decent players, but none of them have the motivation to be any good. The best the Knicks fans can do is look forward to Lebron possibly joining their team in three years.

15. Miami 9-42. A flat out embarassment. I don't care how bad your teammates are, if you are as good as Dwyane Wade is, shouldn't your team have more than 9 wins? They'll probably just pack it in from here and hope for Michael Beasley in the draft.

3 Key Players in the 2nd half to watch

1. Kevin Garnett. KG has made a huge difference in Boston this year, bringing a winning attitude and unmatched intensity to a team that desperately needed it. The problem is that he has an abdominal injury that takes a long time to heal. While he did the right thing and rested it, there's no guarantee the injury won't flare up again. With KG in the lineup, the Celts can win the east. Without him, there's no way they're beating Detroit in a 7 game series.

2. Dwight Howard. The star of the all-star game now has the pressure to carry his team into the playoffs for the first time. While the tempest with his coach over playing defense seems to have passed, its a lot to ask of such a young player to lead his team on a deep run into the playoffs. But after seeing him this weekend, don't you feel that its at least possible?

3. Gilbert Arenas. Thanks to the weakness of the conference, the Wizards are still in good shape to make the playoffs even though Hibachi has missed the last 40 games. If he can come back healthy, the Wizards are going to have as much talent as any team in the east besides the top two, and could possibly make a run in the soft eastern conference.

Young Swole's 2nd half prediction

Its pretty safe to say that the Celtics and Pistons aren't going anywhere. What is to be seen though is what teams below them are going to step up. Can Lebron get any help in Cleveland? Can the Raptors make a 2nd half push, and can any on the bottom teams make a push to become a solid team? While Swole looks for the Wizards, Raptors and Hawks to have good 2nd halfs, there's no way the Conference final isn't going to be Celtics and Pistons. There's no other team remotely close to these two and this will be evident until they finally clash late in May.

San Diego Padres Preview

Sorry for the 24-hour delay in getting this out, but an absolutely brutal weekend in Bloomington forced me to push this back until my body had forgiven me.

So, without further delay, here are your 2008 San Diego Padres...

2007 Finish: 89-74, 3rd Place in the NL West

Key Acquisitions: Mark Prior, Randy Wolf, Jim Edmonds, Tadahito Iguchi

Key Losses: Mike Cameron, Milton Bradley

Probable Opening Day Lineup:
1) Brian Giles - RF
2) Tadahito Iguchi - 2B
3) Kevin Kouzmanoff - 3B
4) Adrian Gonzalez - 1B
5) Khalil Greene - SS
6) Jim Edmonds - CF
7) Josh Bard - C
8) Scott Hairston - LF
9) Pitcher

Lineup Grade: C-...The Padres' lineup is representative of the offense in general, many serviceable middle-tier players, but they don't have any real superstars for the other hitters to fill in around or to compliment. None of these guys hits for average or has great speed, and none of them get on base terribly often. And other than Adrian Gonzalez, there isn't any power there to generate the type of instant offense a team like this needs to succeed. On the Padre's website, in response to a poll question about the teams greatest needs going into '08, well over half (63%) think the most pressing issue finding a more suitable left fielder.

Probable Rotation:
1) Jake Peavy
2) Chris Young
3) Greg Maddux
4) Randy Wolf
5) Mark Prior

Rotation Grade: A-...Any team with the 1-2 punch of Peavy and Young demands attention. Peavy is the reigning Cy Young winner, and probably would have defeated Johan Santana if Santana was with the Mets last year. He has four plus pitches and isn't afraid to throw any of them at any time. Chris Young has emerged during the last two seasons as one of baseballs best young pitchers. The Padres have surrounded these two guys with some great role-player/back of the rotation type of guys: the ageless Maddux, Wolf, and Prior. Prior and Wolf are coming off injuries, so there are question marks around them, but the potential is there for this to be the NL's best rotation. However, they also sport one of the best bullpens in the leauge, so they have the added security of being able to go to the pen early and often if they need to, and when they take leads into the later innings, have a very good chance of maintaining it.

2008 Outlook: The Padres will go as their offense goes. The pitching is good enough to hold their opponents to few runs, but their offense might still not be good enough to put them ahead in low-scoring games. This, coupled with the fact that they play in the NL's best division, doesn't bode well for their '08 playoff hopes. A mid-season trade for a big bat, or waiting to sign an impact hitter during free agency next year could allow the Pads to contend in the not-too-distant future.
Predicted 2008 Finish: 75-87, Third/Fourth Place in NL West
Offensive woes means the Pads and Dodgers will finish well behind the D-Backs and Rockies, but still ahead of the irrelevant Giants.

Dick Vitale's Throat Sounds Like He's Been Sucking Too Much D

Dick Vitale is always a man of emotion, but he needs to leave the analysis to the experts. He covered play by play for the IU/MSU game tonight (which the Hoosiers dominated) and sounded like a hoarse retard. I realize he just got throat surgery, but that doesn't excuse his outlandish and ridiculous comments all game long. No joke, 90 percent of the time he was talking was about how Kelvin Sampson is an embarrassment and needs to be fired tommorow. Whether that's true or not, he sounded like a broken record and refused to acknowledge the outstanding performance by IU and Sampson in the game. With all the distractions surrounding the contest with Sampson's recruiting violations, why did we need to hear about it the entire game. I realize that it's important, but wasn't there a fucking game going on? It made it nearly impossible to watch. Shut the fuck up old man river before I break your hip. Go HOOSIERS. Boiler Up Yours.

San Francisco Giants Preview

2007 Season Finish: 71-91, Last Place in NL West

Key Acquisitions: Aaron Rowand

Key Losses: Barry Bonds, Pedro Feliz, Ryan Klesko

Probable Opening Day Lineup

1) Dave Roberts- LF

2) Kevin Frandsen- 3B

3) Randy Winn- RF

4) Bengie Molina- C

5) Aaron Rowand- CF

6) Ray Durham- 2B

7) Dan Ortmeier- 1B

8) Omar Vizquel- SS

9) Pitcher

Lineup Grade: F....You will very seldom see me give out a failing grade in these previews, but the fact is, this is probably the worst lineup in all of baseball. The Barry Bonds show is gone and so is any resemblance of power in this lineup. It's a pretty disgusting mix of babies and dinosaurs. The best hitter on the Giants is Aaron Rowand by a landslide. This guy was the 5th or 6th best hitter on Philadelphia last year. Rowand should have a solid season, but he's really the only bright spot. Winn is the best of a bunch of worn down vets that include Durham, Vizquel, Molina, and Roberts and the other members of the lineup have no more than 2 years of Major League experience. I can't even talk about this anymore, it makes me sick.

Probable Rotation

1) Matt Cain

2) Barry Zito

3) Tim Lincecum

4) Noah Lowry

5) Kevin Correia

Closer) Brian Wilson

Rotation Grade: B...It's a good thing this rotation is solid, because otherwise there'd really be no reason for anyone to go to AT&T Park. Zito was massively overpaid last year and the Giants are already regretting their investment in him. He can still pitch at a mediocre rate, so right now it's not a total waste, but two years from now this is going to start looking like the Rockies signing of Mike Hampton a couple of years ago. Cain ran into some tough luck in the first half of last year starting 2-9, but put together a nice run after the all-star break and finished at 7-16 (still good for the second most losses in the NL). He still didn't get any run support, but he was able to shut down opposing offenses enough to where he could pull out close wins. It appears that he will be able to carry some momentum in 2008 and he'll need to for the Giants to not embarrass themselves. We can't forget about young Timmy Lincecum. One of the most hyped pitching prospects in baseball last year had an up and down 2007. The kid looks no older than 18, but he showed maturity in many games and it's evident that he has a nasty array of pitches in his arsenal. If he can control his wicked fastball, he could be in for a breakout year.

2008 Season Outlook

Not only will the Giants most likely finish in the cellar of the National League West Division, they should contend for one of the worst records in baseball. Management in San Francisco left the cupboard completely bare and it looks like this team is going to suck large amounts of nuts for the next couple of years. Without Barry Bonds home run chase, there's really no reason to watch this team at all. The above average pitching staff should be able to carry this team to many wins, but without any legit hitters, it's going to be a long season by the bay.

Predicted Finish: 62-100, Last Place in NL West

MLB Team Previews

And so it begins.  The Brew Barons of Gimme Dat Brew have decided to break down the 2008 MLB Season with an inside look at all 30 teams.  We will give you the low down on Key Acquisitions and Losses, grade the lineup and rotation, and predict the fates of each squad.  Check in with GDB every day to see a new preview, all the way up until the beginning of the season.  The Countdown begins to the first game between the Red Sox and Athletics in Japan on March 25 and the Brew Barons will be with you every step of the way.  Our first week will feature teams from the NL West and from there we will lock in on every division in baseball.  Enjoy!

Congress is the opposite of Progress

I'm fucking sick of the government getting involved in sports.  These are games of entertainment.  While I realize the NBA, MLB, NFL, and other sports associations are businesses, what makes the US government think that they can get involved?   They are ruining the sports that I love and live for.  I want to watch my favorite players blast homers, pull off ridiculous dunks, and make crazy helmet catches.  Today was one of the most depressing days of sports that I can ever remember.  Forget the fact that the IU basketball team took a miserable home loss to Wisconsin.  The major story was the recruiting violations that Kelvin Sampson is experiencing outside of the court.  This makes me sick to my stomach and I wish we could focus on the basketball games and not the bullshit that goes on outside of the game.  After watching Sportscenter, I wanted to throw my TV out the window.  The three stories that I saw in a 30 minute viewing period were the Hoosier Recruiting Scandel, the Roger Clemens Steroid Incident, and the Spygate saga.  Now, I realize steroids are illegal in baseball, but why the fuck does this need to involve US Senators?  Stop wasting our tax dollars on this shit and focus on things that really matter, like crime, immigration, and war.  I saw Roger Clemens and some spectacled jamoke named McNamee blab on my screen for 20 minutes too long.  I can't wait for the games to begin.  This is already a weak time of the year for sports, so why does ESPN have to bog it down with bullshit that doesn't have anything to do with the games being played.  Even more absurd than the Roger Clemens trial is the Spygate shit.  Ok, we had to be subjected to this enough in September, but now it should be in the same place as the 2007 Patriots...history.  Why does some douchebag named Arlen Spector think that this tired old story need to be brought up again.  Does he have an election coming up?  Or does he just want his 15 minutes.  Clearly, he just doesn't want to do real work...like make our country better.  Stop wasting out time and money and do your job you worthless piece of shit.  Fuck you, and fuck the government for getting involved in the sports I love.

Interesting

http://thebiglead.com/?p=4613

"I shall return..."

I know many people are against this, and it has been suggested so many times in the last half-decade that this would otherwise be considered beating a dead horse, but in light of the actions of Kelvin Sampson, it almost seems to me like Divine Intervention has created the perfect scenario for the return of Robert Montgomery Knight.

When Sampson was hired, his resume of Final Four appearances, numerous 20-win seasons, Big 12 winning history, and Coach of the Year awards, not to mention taking us to the tournament, led many to believe that the possibility of Knight's return was dead.

However, this has turned into yet another example of why you should never say never. I truly believe rehiring Knight is the best, and possibly the only, way for IU to avert a serious crisis.

Sampson would never be fired or dismissed for anything other than breaking rules. He is simply too good a coach and gets too good of results. But now he is really, really in deep. Even if he is innocent of the alleged violations, trying to finish out the season under this cloud of doubt is futile.

And because the source of all of these problems is the one thing that Knight had a sterling reputation on: following the rules, dismissing Sampson and bringing in the most untouchable coach in NCAA history in terms of NCAA rules violations would be a step in the right direction.

Not to mention The General isn't coaching anymore, thanks to a well-timed mid-season exit. And he already knows there is some excellent fishing in Southern Indiana. Plus I hear the HPER is looking for some extra people to teach H105: Bass Fishing next fall.

He could come in to replace both Greenspan and Sampson, a la Tom Osborne.

In the immortal words of Princess Leia: "Help us Bobby Knight, you're our only hope!"

UPDATE

There will be a 5p.m. (eastern time) press conference where IU Athletic Director Rick Greenspan will address the controversy of the day.

Blood in the Water

Right now events surrounding the Kelvin Sampson/Oklahoma/Indiana violations are unfolding too quickly for anything I write to be relovant even twenty minutes from now, but I will quote two very cogent posts from different websites that I have seen today. These are posts from random IU fans and bloggers:

"Alan" in the idsnews.com basketblog says:

"People are overreacting. Let’s put this into perspective. A prestigious football school with a tradition similar to that of IU’s in basketball, Florida State, had a massive cheating scandal in which 30 of the players were ineligible for the bowl game. This was messing with grades; it wasn’t phone calls. Phone calls, a t-shirt, and a backpack are minor compared to messing with grades. Also, let’s look at the Ohio State scandal in 2002. Ohio State got in trouble for a player receiving benefits and commiting academic fraud. The NCAA came down hard, but when you compare academic fraud and benefits to phone calls of POTENTIAL players, it is minor. People are also being too critical of Sampson. He isn’t Bobby Knight; he will never be Bobby Kinght. To paraphrase Rick Pitino, Coach Knight ain’t walking through that door people. Also, if Coach Knight did this, the same people calling for Sampson’s head would be defending the General. Let’s actually unite around our players and team and beat the hell out of Wisconsin tonight.

Also for those interested, there is a handful of successful programs that have been put on probation recently, such as Oklahoma football, Kansas basketball, and Ohio State football. All these probations occured during the current coach’s tenure. Bob Stoops, Jim Tressel, and Bill Self all still have their jobs. People need to relax and chill out."

And "Rikki-tikka-tava" on peegs.com says:

Allegation analysis: Emphasis on "Allegations".

1. That Sampson, Meyer and Senderoff failed to comply with sanctions imposed on Sampson for impermissible recruiting calls he made while he was a coach at Oklahoma. Those sanctions followed Sampson to IU when he came here in May of 2006. Sampson and Senderoff are alleged to have jointly participated in telephone calls at a time when Sampson was prohibited from being present or taking part when staff members made recruiting calls. Senderoff and Meyer are alleged to have made about 100 calls that exceeded the sanction limits. Senderoff resigned his position Oct. 30.

- We knew all this already, yes? Nothing new here.

2. That Senderoff and Meyer placed "at least 25 telephone calls" to nine potential recruits that exceeded NCAA limits even if no sanctions had been in place.

- Senderoff & Meyer, not Sampson for what that's worth.

3. That Sampson "acted contrary to the NCAA principles of ethical conduct when he knowingly violated recruiting restrictions imposed by the NCAA Committee on Infractions," and that he "failed to deport himself in accordance with the generally recognized high standard of honesty normally associated with the conduct and administration of intercollegiate athletics by providing the institution and the NCAA enforcement staff false or misleading information," and that he "failed to promote an atmosphere for compliance within the men's basketball program and failed to monitor the activities regarding compliance of one or more of his assistant coaches."

- Absent any specificity it seems like this is a reiteration of Allegation #1.

4. That Senderoff "acted contrary to the NCAA principles of ethical conduct when he knowingly violated recruiting restrictions imposed by the NCAA Committee on Infractions," and that he "failed to deport himself in accordance with the generally recognized high standard of honesty normally associated with the conduct and administration of intercollegiate athletics by providing the institution false or misleading information."

Senderoff again, not Sampson.

5. That Sampson and Meyer engaged in an impermissible recruiting contact during a two-day sports camp held at Assembly Hall on June 30 and July 1, 2007, and that Meyer provided the potential recruit with an impermissible benefit at least one T-shirt and drawstring backpack.

Big whoop. Sounds like if he'd been given the backpack and T-shirt 24 or 48 hours later no violation would have in fact occurred. yawn...

Sorry boys and girls but I can't see what the fuss is all about other than the fact that the NCAA has alleged 5 major violations against IU for the first in 47 years. This is to say that there doesn't seem to be anything in said allegation that represents new evidence of misconduct beyond what was revealed six months ago. There is language about "false and misleading" which can be variously interpreted to indicate willful and malicious prevarication or imperfect memory depending on one's bent (or the available evidence of which we have none), as well as an allegation that at least some of these improprieties took place "knowingly". Aside from that, and in the absence of any specific detail, hardly earth-shaking news.

I'm sticking with Coach Sampson and IU at least until such time as they indicate they're not sticking with each other and/or I see something that reveals more than a formal rehash of what we already knew, and I've had a chance to hear what Coach and the University have to say about it. And I happen to think that most of you calling for Coach's immediate firing are pathetic...sure many of you will say the same or worse about me, but much as I am disappointed by Coach's problems with staying within the lines regarding phone contacts, to characterize his and his staff's transgression's as "major" violations as compared to paying/bribing players, their families or buying them cars and such, forget it. Condone it, no way, but cashier Sampson over it while bewailing the irreparable harm done to the University - no chance, at least not until Coach and the University respond.

Most important three games of the season this week beginning tonight. IU hasn't abandoned Sampson and neither will I. Go Hoosiers, Go IU!

Down with the Sickness

Well Young Swole went to an Atlanta Hawks game, and in the process drank a little too much lean and has been sick ever since. Thankfully this happened on one of the slowest sports weekends of the year, but enough went on that The Swole One still has some observations to make:

1. Nothing is more annoying than the MC guy at basketball games who is in charge of running the contests during timeouts. The guy at the Hawks game was rude and insulting to the contestants all while basically screaming into the microphone, so that people in East Point could probably hear him. Seriously, if the furthest you got in life is a dude in charge of a promotion at a basketball game, don't you think you'd have a little better attitude. The Hawks need to ship him to the NBDL.

2. The highlight of the Hawks game by far was when Harry the Hawk threw a giant cake in some bitches face. While this sort of hijinks has been going on at sporting events for years, what made it priceless was the hoe's reaction to getting lit up by Harry. Since it was her birthday, she was all dressed up and ready to get freaky in Buckhead later that night, and yet now she was covered in various colors of frosting and cake spackle. Too bad for her, too good for the rest of us.

3. Congratulations NHL, you are the new soccer. Swole says this because it seems that the only highlights of hockey that people see anymore are when there is a giant fight, or something disturbing or gruesome happens. We saw this with Richard Zednik having his jugular cut in a game on Sunday. Swole would guess that this is probably the most played highlight from the entire NHL season, at the expense of a great play by someone like Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin. Usually soccer is only treated like this in the states. If there is a hooligan brawl or some other negative event at a soccer game, you best believe it will be shown all across America, yet stellar play is hardly ever shown. Now at least soccer has a friend in the "forgotten and misrepresented" sports discussion.

4. Speaking of US Soccer, it was awesome seeing our future ballers stepping up to play Mexico to a 2-2 tie. In his first start with the national team, phenom Jozy Altidore scored a beautiful goal, and repeatedly torched Mexican Captain and FC Barcelona mainstay Rafa Marquez. Along with Altidore, we also got to see players like Michael Bradley, Maurice Edu, Benny Feilhaber and yes Freddy Adu earn valuable experience. Young Swole hopes that these guys will be the foundation for the US World Cup team in 2010 instead of the same old retreads that simply do not have the talent to bother the world's best squads.

5. Young Swole is worried that this ridiculous Roger Clemens story is going to spill into spring training and the start of the regular season. It was one thing to put up with this dickhead while he was playing, but now he's even more insufferable in trying to claim his innocence. Memo to the Rocket, we all know you did the juice so shut the fuck up and let us move on from hearing about you.

6. For my friends in the midwest, Young Swole feels your pain. It has been a brutal winter season across the midwest and it may get worse for 2 reasons. First, that shot of cold air that you've been feeling since Saturday is not even the main thrust of arctic air sitting north of us. Sooner or later that is going to come south, and it could last even longer than this cold blast did. Second of all, with all the cold and snow, the chances for extensive flooding this spring are high. While everyone wants a warmup, you should hope for a gradual one, so that snowmelt does not occur all at once. If it does, you may see ice-jammed rivers block the flow of all that snowmelt, creating severe flooding all across the midwest.

7. You know an event is worthless when it involves superstar NFL players and still nobody gives a crap about it. The Pro Bowl is nothing but a waste of space on the sports landscape.

8. Thank god the writers strike is over. Hopefully this means that shows like "Temptation Island 2" and "Dance War: Team Bruno versus Team Carrie Ann" (a Cicero favorite) will be soon replaced by 24 and the like.

Look for a first-half NBA Recap on Thursday, and then the start of GDB's baseball team previews this weekend, plus more college hoops analysis as the road to March Madness switches into the fast lane. Back to the meds for Swole.

Basketball Power Ranks: Shit Gets Wierd

Memphis vs. The Field? Maybe.

1. Memphis, 22-0. Are they the best team? Until someone beats them, yes. They are the only squad with a big fat zero in the loss column, but could they sustain that without Dorsey? I say no, but Dorsey isn't going anywhere yet. And neither is Memphis from the #1 spot. However, I retain my suspicions about a team whose conference schedule consists of teams like SMU, Rice, and UA-B. Putting the hurt on a Mike Davis team doesn't say much.

2. Duke, 21-1. Any questions I had about this team being a legit contender were answered when the went into the Dean Dome and dominated. Pardon my alliteration. But seriously, it looks like Greg Paulus has decided to play during Duke's conference schedule, something he barely did for the first part of the season. Shrewed coaching, multiple threats on the floor, the demeanor that comes from having the DUKE target on your back and STILL continuing to win...this team has it all.

3. Kansas, 23-1. Much like Duke, this team has weapons at all positions. Any one (or more) of their players can have career nights during any given game. They Gayhawks sit atop what is arguably the nation's toughest conference this season, and as a result are highly-battle tested and will be formidable deep into march. If they can emerge from their remaining schedule (plenty of road games and three games against Top 25 teams) unscathed they will be tough to beat or to pick against.

4. North Carolina, 21-2. Yeah yeah, they lost at home to Duke. Guess what? So has every other team that has played basketball over the last twenty years. Two things suggest that the Duke victory is no reason to drop this team out of the top five: the TarHeels' floor general Ty Lawson didn't play in the Duke game, and they still have Tyler Hansbrough. He's knarsty.

5. Tennessee, 21-2. A close win against a reeling LSU program gives me more reason to doubt the Vols as a serious contender. That they only scored 47 points against an LSU team which allows an average of 76 points to its opponents is cause for concern, but with the wide open pack of teams trailing the top four, I'm calling the Vols the best of the rest.

6. UCLA, 20-2. Sure they are a great team. Yes Love and Collison are spectacular. But I have watched several of the Bruins' games this season and don't see them as an intense, inspired team that can make the tourney their playground and win the damn thing. Call me a hater. You will be right.

7. Xavier, 18-4. The Musketeers are emerging as the cream of a legit A-10 crop. They have a half-dozen players averaging double-figures per game, and Drew Lavender is a special talent on this very dangerous team. However, great wins over Indiana and K-State are tainted by losses to teams like Miami(OH), Temple, and Arizona St.

8. Texas, 19-4. The Horns continue to roll through the Big 12, as Augustin and Abrams are as good as advertised. A mild scare at Iowa State today is no cause for concern, as road wins in BCS conferences are never easy to come by. Back-to-back losses to quality Big Ten teams Michigan St. and Wisconsin raise questions about how they would fare during the long road to the Final Four, but the most serious concern is the lack of a post presence to compliment Connor Atchley.

9. Indiana, 19-3. Yeah, I said it. So what? Their game at Illinois proves the Hoosiers can win in the most hostile of environments, and no one can deny that they have all the pieces: prolific scorer(Gordon), post presence (DJ White), speedy point guard (Bassett) and a whole host of dangerous, quality supporting cast members (Crawford, Ellis, Stemler, Thomas). Can they put the pieces together to play their best b-ball in the spring? Only time will tell. But upcoming games against Purdue and Michigan State will be very telling.

10. Butler, 21-2. A.J. Graves is the shit. Today's win against Wisconsin-Green Bay isn't. Much like Xavier, Butler has shown they can dominate their lesser-than-worthy competition, but can they do it against the name-brands they are sure to face in the tourney?

Also receiving votes: Georgetown, Stanford, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Purdue

Spam Poetry

I keep getting these bizarre spam emails that have totally ridiculous non-sequiturs all over the place. this is the exact text as it appeared in my inbox

On by sheep, and with the largest and reddest on my knees
with a dustpan and brush?' cherry a she. There's a she somewhere
dodging about in only, but from our very hearts. Allow us
then set in a small oval pale face. With such coloring,
and an elevation of sentiment and mind extremely pretty
little smile, and he, having returned to going into this
with my eyes closed. I am not by the want of it. Judge men
by what they do, of protection, and gave him just sufficient
courage pebble, which had been used for grinding it, the
shoulders but did not answer. He 'there is one so you will
have to stir your precious self, responded that made sydney
cry, you are not hurt? That snag hat with solemnity and
moved away. And joe's never.

Signing Day Wrap-up

Yesterday was one of the biggest days on the college football schedule. So much happened on signing day that its time to catch up on the course of events, and look at what it means for the future of college football. Here's 5 important observations from Signing Day.

1. Southern football keeps getting stronger and stronger. With 3 teams from the ACC and 4 teams from the SEC in the top 12 of both the Scouts.Inc and Rivals.com ratings, the southern teams just keep on reloading at the expense of the rest of the nation. SEC lynchpins Florida, Georgia and LSU are joined by Nick Saban's Alabama, and Clemson joins FSU and Miami among the best recruiting classes in the nation. Half of the SEC teams were in the Top 25 recruiting classes, and that doesn't even count a Tennesee team who had a top-3 class last year and an Arkansas squad who went through a tough coaching change.

2. The usual suspects stay near the top. While in some years there will be a shock team that rises to near the top of the standings, this year reads like a who's who of recent college powerhouses. Successful teams like USC, Texas and Ohio State are proving that they aren't going to just be good this year, but will still have the foundation to be consistently excellent for years down the line.

3. The big coaching changes did not affect recruiting as much as some believed. Look around the country and you'll see that Michigan still put together a solid class under Rich Rodriguez including stealing some big time players away from fellow Big 10 members Penn State and Purdue on signing day. UCLA under Rick Neuheisel also maintained their solid class and look like they could start challenging USC for the prime-time SoCal talent. Even Bobby Petrino at Arkansas put together a good class in spite of his damaged reputation, including getting 4-star recruit Joe Adams to switch from USC to Arkansas. Along with Ryan Mallett next year, the Hogs may have the scariest offense in the SEC west.

4. Terrelle Pryor is full of himself. By postponing his decision it makes him look like an extremely selfish player. If he was so distracted by basketball, why didnt he tell the schools recruiting him to back off a little more and let him worry about his decision after the season. While Pryor may in fact be the real deal, he's doing a great job of supplanting Jimmy Clausen as recruiting douchebag of the year. Swole's prediction? He'll still end up at Ohio State whenever he makes up his mind.

5. The Big 12 is possibly on its way back to its glory days in the mid to late 1990's. We all know Texas and Oklahoma are going nowhere, but now some of the other schools are catching up. Missouri added the heir apparent to Chase Daniel in Blaine Gabbert, Colorado added top running back Darrell Scott, and Kansas State and Nebraska and Kansas all put together solid recruiting efforts. With all these schools on the upswing, and Big 12 South schools Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and OK State also appearing more competitive, this could be the toughest the conference has been from top to bottom in over a decade.


While Signing Day is mostly a prospective event, it is important to note that you do need the best players to win. While some top prospects won't pan out and diamonds in the rough will emerge, the teams with the deepest classes from top to bottom will be the ones that continue to stay near the top of the polls. Here are 5 early predictions based on yesterday's outcome:

1. Miami's defense will be stifling in a very short time. By locking up that Miami area talent, Randy Shannon will have the players needed to turn The U into the intimidating team it was under Butch Davis. And if either Robert Marve or Jacory Harris can be a solid QB, Miami is going to be top-5 very soon.

2. The Big 10 and Pac 10 will remain very top heavy. Both conferences certainly have their share of teams near the top of the recruiting standings, but the lesser teams are not even close to matching the top squads like USC and Oregon in the Pac-10 and UM, Illinois and Ohio State in the Big 10. This means the talent gap between these teams and the rest is only getting wider which will make their road to the BCS title even easier.

3. Look for the wide receivers to have the most immediate impact out of any position. Julio Jones will give Alabama a perfect replacement for DJ Hall and AJ Green is stepping into a loaded offense at UGA. Other immediate contributors could include Josh Jarboe at Oklahoma and Carl Moore at Florida who will both have experienced signal callers to get them the ball.

4. Terrelle Pryor will do nothing next year. Even the best of the freshmen qb's take a while to adjust to college ball. Tim Tebow didn't throw it hardly at all his freshmen year. Jimmy Clausen was ass on a sandwich. Its simply too much to ask of any QB recruit to come in their freshmen year and be successful.

5. Charlie Weis will continue to get the least out of his talented players because he spends too much time eating and thinking about how great he thinks he is.

Matters of the Heart

Well here it is Hoosier Nation. The date that has been circled on our calendars since, oh...the summer of 2006. It's Indiana @ Illinois, in what promises to be one of the most emotionally-charged, hostile, hyped games of the decade in NCAA basketball. And it's all thanks to Rivals 150's #1 Ranked shooting guard from Indianapolis, IN, and current Big Ten scoring leader: Eric Gordon, Jr.

This game is much more critical than the football meeting between these two rivals. A random fan's quote to the IU Live news broadcast summed that Illini victory up best: "We don't really care if we lose to them in football. We were never really that good at it anyway...However, we still have Eric Gordon. Boo Yah. (Long pause)." -Anonymous IU tailgater, woken up in the Woodlawn Fields.

EJ and the Indiana Hoosiers (#13) march into Champaign/Urbana with a 7-1 Big Ten record, and the top-two active scorers in the leauge (not to mention top rebounder). After dropping two of their last three, the Hoosiers need a win here against a very weak, vulnerable Illinois team. But as is often the case when marquee teams with All-American talent come to town, Illinois will be giving it a little something extra tomorrow night. Actually they will be giving a lot extra something, as Young Gordon has been the subject of the most fierce and bitter recruiting battle of the decade in college sports. The bad feelings resulting from Gordon breaching his original agreement with U of I to play for IU place this new rivalry right up there with any other in terms of raw hostility.


Illinois' campus paper has posted this article about how the vaunted "Orange Krush" are preparing to give Gordon a special welcome. He probably won't really give a shit. Have you ever heard the guy talk? Probably not. When he gives a quote, his comments make Bill Belichick sound like Shakespeare.

ILLINOIS WILL WIN IF:
Gordon gets fazed on the road.
The crowd throws the Hoosiers out of balance.
The Illini can figure out a solution to D.J. White.
Jessica Simpson starts dating Gordon, and sits in the front row.

INDIANA WILL WIN IF:
They play within themselves.
Gordon drives to the basket with authority, regularly.
They can take the crowd out of the game, either with an early lead or dictating the pace of play.
A disgruntled UofI fan runs onto the floor & assaults Gordon or Sampson for a disqualification.
There is any sense of justice or fairness in this world.

As an added bonus watch this semi-motivational IU video. Be sure to note Young Knuckleballer at the 1:32 mark, where he is (not suprisingly) posing with a flock of fattys. I'll bet he had NO CLUE he was in this.

This is why Duke Sucks

The Recruit That Never Was

If you haven't heard about the Kevin Hart story, then you've got to read this article. Hart is a rivals.com 2 star Offensive lineman from a small Nevada town that had never produced a Division 1 College Athlete. At a press conference last week, Hart announced that he was committing to the University of California over a number of other big schools including Oregon. Hart said that he had talked to Cal Coach Jeff Tedford many times and that he would accept their scholarship offer to play football for the Golden Bears. Only one problem, there was no scholarship offer...in fact, Hart never actually talked to Tedford. The High Schooler claims that he through a mysterious recruiter he was contacted by numerous school including Cal. Now it turns out this whole thing could be one of the biggest scams in Sports History. Read the article from the Reno-Gazette Journal to learn more.

http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080206/PREPSPORTS/802060440/1018/SPORTS

UPDATE: Turns out that the kid is a lying bastard and this whole thing was blown out of proportion. Have fun working in a Nevada Gas Station next year buddy.

Diesal Drivin' to the Desert

The Worldwide leader says that the Big Fella is heading out West. ESPN reports that the Miami Heat have agreed in principle to trade Shaq O'Neal to the Phoenix Suns for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. This would have been a blockbuster...2 years ago. It's still a pretty big deal in today's terms, but it doesn't have the luster that it would have had when the Shaq Daddy was the most dominant center in the league. Thank God NBA fans have finally woken up and smelled the napalm and realized that Shaq doesn't deserve to be an all-star anymore. This trade is very interesting in terms of the parties involved. Normally, you would never see the Suns making this move, but it seems like Steve Kerr has decided to get risky and hope that O'Neal can become healthy and re-ignite his career. Shaq must be sick of the Heat. I don't blame him, they are pathetic and going to a winner could be just what he needs to round back into monster form. Personally though, I don't really see what the Suns are thinking here. If Big Poppa can become as good as he was during the Heat's championship run, then it could pay off. Anything less though would make this move like a major mistake for Phoenix. Clearly the Suns think that this is their year to win the Title. There is no team in the West that running away with anything. The parity has actually propelled the Suns into the best current record in the West. It's no secret that Phoenix is weak inside. Outside of Amare, there is no looming presence in the middle. But Shaq is old as balls. He has a maximum of one good season left in him and I wouldn't be shocked to see him golfing in the winter of 2010. Miami still blows, but they just got better. I think this team could actually be a playoff team next year if they can have a good draft. Remember, the East is still weak sauce and the Heat will have a high pick in the draft. They still have D Wade and they definitely got the better side of this deal in my opinion. Shawn Marion is one of the best all-around contributers in the NBA. He's an elite defender, an great rebounder, and an above average 3 point shooter. He also turns the ball over very infrequently. This kind of player will be a big bonus in Miami, considering Wade is a TO machine. The Matrix is unselfish and a great team player. It's not wonder he always is near the top of the fantasy leaderboards. Marcus Banks has been pretty Boo-urns with the Suns, but 2 years ago, he was productive in Minnesota averaging 12 points, 5 assists, and over a steal a game. I'm not saying he's going to blow up in Miami, but it appears that a change of scenery was key for him as a player, since he was getting no PT in Phoenix. The big factor in this trade is age. Shaq is only a couple years away from going to a nursing home (age 35...which is dinosaur age for a big man), while the two UNLV alums Banks and Marion are 26 and 29 respectively. Don't even get me started on Shaq Fu's Gigantic Salary that is now off the Heat's hands. If Miami can somehow get the Matrix to re-sign with them next year and draft a quality Big Man (Michael Beasly perhaps) next year, they could be a solid team in 2008-09. On the flip side, the Suns made this trade with this season only in mind.

National Media drops the ball again

As Young Swole went to sleep last night, he feared the news that would follow once daybreak came to the southeast. After last nights vicious rounds of severe storms throughout the south, death was a certainty. And now as the death toll from the storms rises to near 50 across 4 states, the scope of the situation sadly becomes even more impressive. This storm outbreak will be one of the worst in recorded history in terms of casualty of life regardless of time of year. Usually February is a calm severe weather month, with only 29 tornadoes on average across the entire country for the whole month which is much less than the spring and summer months, and yet last night that monthly averaged was at least three times as great with near 100 tornadoes being reported.

So in the wake of one of the worst severe weather outbreaks in recent years, Young Swole was expecting extensive coverage on the situation, (one he may add that has not ended yet, there will be more storms, more tornadoes and possibly more loss of life today) but instead he got the same old bullshit from the news media as he always does. His Swoleness is well aware that Super Tuesday was yesterday, an important marker on the path towards presidential elections. He also knows that after yesterday's results, the situation in both parties is still undecided, with many more months of primaries to come before each party selects its presidential candidate. Therefore, don't you think the focus of news coverage should focus on an event occurring in the present instead of an event that will not be concluded for months and months? By continuing their mission to overwhelm the American public with blind speculation and unfounded predictions, the news media in our country not only ignored a tragic event, not only insulted the victims of the storms, but also ignored the one thing that is constant in all our lives: the weather in the skies above us.

Young Swole can guarantee that the presidential election psycho-babble will still be ongoing tomorrow afternoon. Young Swole can also sadly guarantee that thousands of people's lives will be altered by yesterday's storms and also possibly today's. You can choose for yourself which story you think is more important, but if you think the greed and corruption-filled election process is more important than the events taking place across the southeast today, then you need to take a step back and once again come to grip with reality. Well, either that or go apply for a job at CNN or NBC.

Local Flavor

One thing I always like to do before a game I'm very interested in is to read the local news from the two teams' home towns. I do this by browsing the school newspaper of whichever team IU happens to be playing, or by reading the home papers of other NL Central teams to see how they feel about my Redbirds.

Today there are two articles you should definitely check out soon:

An absolutely ruthless article by St. Louis favorite Bernie Miklasz, basically demanding the 2002 Lombardi Trophy for the Rams.






And




A horrible narrative by "Around the Horn" also-ran Jackie MacMullen, lamenting the tragic ending to the Patriots' pursuit of 19-0.















Both pretty much embody the arguments on opposing sides of the Patriots legacy from this decade.

Say It Ain't So!

Reports are that Bob Knight, the winningest coach in men's D1 history, has resigned from his head coaching position at Texas Tech, with his protege (and son), Pat, taking over effective immediately.

There has been no reason given as of yet for the resignition.

Say it ain't so Bobby! It would be a damn shame if this Hall of Fame career ended in such an unexpected and random way. All I can hope for is that at some point, the two sides of Robert Montgomery Knight and Indiana University can set aside their differences and give The General the recognition that he deserves for taking this program to the elite level it is today. Assembly Hall should be renamed to the Robert Montgomery Knight Center from this point forward.

If not, I intend to start a petition to fire Kelvin Sampson and rehire Mr. Knight and bring back IU to national dominace!

(Had to throw out the old school, retro Bobby Knight picture with the extra short shorts)

College Basketball Power 10

The upsets keep pouring on in college sports. The victims this past week include Kansas, Indiana and Michigan State. Duke-UNC Round 1 coming on Wed. and if that isn't enough to get your juices flowing, yo boy Dickey-V is making his return to broadcasting after surgery JUST to watch the Dookies play BABY! (No one saw that coming right, no one).

1.) Memphis Tigers

Can this team go undefeated? The regular season schedule says yes. Come tourney time? Ehhh, not so sure.

2.) Duke Blue Devils

Quietly crept up to number 2 in the polls. Time to seperate the men from the boys this week in a huge matchup at UNC.

3.) Kansas Jayhawks

What I CAN accept - losing to an underrated and (at the time) on fire KSU squad led by the one man show Michael Beasley...

4.) UNC Tarheels

... What I CAN'T accept (still) is losing to Maryland at home then getting by FSU in OT. Put up or shut up this Wed for the 'Heels (Stuart Scott must be pissing down his leg as we speak).

5.) Tennessee Volunteers

I just don't understand why Tennessee isn't taking as much shit as other teams (like those in the Big 10) when they play in an equally bad conference (if not worse) and have one (maybe two) quality wins and a blowout loss to Texas. Someone explain to me the difference between UT and say... Indiana? MSU?

6.) UCLA Bruins

Easily the most dangerous team. So much depth will make them a favorite to make it to their 3rd straight Final Four.

7.) Georgetown Hoyas

Was that goaltending? Probably. It's too late to change that though. They win (which is important), but can you show me a solid team they have beaten?

8.) Wisconsin Badgers

A not-so-bad loss coupled with a good win at home keeps the Badgers in the Big Ten race (for what seems like the 15th straight year).

9.) Stanford Cardinals

This team has been playing as hot as anyone over the past few weeks. Still in the Pac 10 title hunt.

10.) Butler Bulldogs

Could it be because they play in an inferior conference, or could it be that they really are that good (like last year's Sweet 16 run proved)? All I know is that this team is making a strong case for being the best team in Indiana right now.

Also receiving votes: Indiana Hoosiers, Texas Longhorns, Kansas State Wildcats (regardless of that Mizzou let down), and Michigan State Spartans

NBA Weekly Preview

After seeing how great this week's slate of games is, we're going to do the preview a little differently. The Power 16 will be abbreviated, and we'll focus on a whopping 10 games to keep an eye on this week.

The Power 16

1. Boston 36-8. Surviving without KG while the young guys learn how to win on their own.

Opponents this week: @Cleveland, LA Clippers, @ Minnesota, San Antonio

2. Detroit 34-13. Yesterday sure did look like vintage Detroit Basketball.

Opponents this week: Miami, Portland, Charlotte

3. New Orleans 32-14. Two game losing streak could reach 4 by Wednesday.

Opponents this week: @Utah, @Phoenix, Memphis

4. Phoenix 33-14. If they couldn't beat the Spurs on Thursday, will they ever?

Opponents this week: Charlotte, New Orleans, Seattle, Washington

5. Utah 30-18. The hottest team in the NBA since acquiring Kyle Korver

Opponents this week: New Orleans, @Denver, @Sacramento, Chicago

6. Orlando 31-18. The frisky Magic just keep on winning.

Opponents this week: Dallas, New Jersey, LA Lakers

7. Dallas 31-15. Losing at Boston and Detroit proved they still aren't championship level.

Opponents this week: @Orlando, Milwaukee, Memphis, @New Jersey

8. LA Lakers 30-16. Kobe is playing like MJ and acquiring Gasol was a total steal.

Opponents this week: @New Jersey, @Atlanta, @Orlando, @Miami

9. San Antonio 29-16. Despite the injuries, the Spurs still know how to win big games.

Opponents this week: @Indiana, @Washington, @NY Knicks, @Boston

10. Denver 28-18. Melo is back just in time for 2 huge division games

Opponents this week: @Portland, Utah, Washington, @Cleveland

11. Golden State 29-19. Leaving Baron Davis off the All-Star team may be a bad mistake for the rest of the western conference.

Opponents this week: Chicago, Sacramento

12. Cleveland 26-20. Donyell Marshall should be cut for not having his jersey on.

Opponents this week: Boston, @Houston, @Atlanta, Denver

13. Portland 27-19. Congrats on making the All-Star team B Roy, now can you carry your team to the playoffs?

Opponents this week: Denver, Chicago, @Detroit, @Indiana

14. Houston 27-20. Rock Show could easily have an 8 game winning streak heading into the ASB.

Opponents this week: @Minnesota, Cleveland, Atlanta

15. Toronto 25-21. Continuing their pattern of following up a good game with an awful effort.

Opponents this week: @Miami, LA Clippers @Minnesota

16. Washington 24-22. The schedule gets no easier for the worn-down Wizards.

Opponents this week: @Philadelphia, San Antonio, @Denver, @Phoenix

Young Swole's Baller of the Week

Thanks to the efforts of Kobe Bryant, the Lakers are off to a 2-1 start on their road trip. And if it wasn't for Tayshaun Prince three-pointer at the buzzer they'd be 3-0. Kobe has been totally unstoppable this week, and now is going to have Pau Gasol to help him out. With the way the Mamba is playing, the Lake Show is a scary scary team.

Young Swole's Jackass of the week

For the second straight week, an NBA bench warmer demanded a trade. This week it was J.J. Redick, the guy you may be remember as the most overrated player in the history of college basketball. He could get away with shooting jump shots in college, but in the NBA this asshole has yet to realize that his defensive deficiencies cannot be hidden like they were at Duke. Since he can't guard a statue, he'll probably have plenty of time to write his poetry while riding a bus in the NBDL.

10 games to watch this week (In order of Swoleness)

10. Cleveland @ Atlanta, Friday. Young Swole will be a witness to the special brand of sickness sauce that is King James. This means the game has to make the list.

9. Washington @ Denver, Friday. Wizards start a brutal road trip in the Mile High City.

8. Dallas @ Orlando, Monday. Dallas tries to beat one good eastern conference team. Orlando looks to continue the positive streak of recent play.

7. Boston @ Cleveland, Tuesday. KG may be back for this epic battle. Can Lebron somehow pull off a victory against the best team in the league on his own?

6. Denver @ Portland, Monday. A huge battle for playoff survival and divisional bragging rights.

5. LA Lakers @ Orlando, Friday. The new-look Lakers head to Orlando to take on one of the most entertaining teams in the league. First to 120 wins.

4. Utah @ Denver, Wednesday. With the way the Jazz are playing, if the Nugs lose this game they may never catch them again in the standings.

3. New Orleans @ Utah, Monday. Two of the sickest point guards in the league battle in a wild west shootout. Can the Hornets post a big road win or will the Jazz keep rolling?

2. San Antonio @ Boston, Sunday. Both teams posted huge victories without key players the last week. Now we get a possible finals preview, though neither team will be at 100 percent at game time.

1. New Orleans @ Phoenix, Wednesday. The Hornets have been the big surprise so far this year in the West. The Suns have a gaudy record but fell apart against the Spurs and appear to be mentally weak. Not only is the best record in the West on the line, so are bragging rights. If CP3 outplays Nash and the Hornets can win in the Valley of the Sun, Young Swole thinks its time to anoint him the best point guard in the league.

A Giant Upset

Un-fuckin'-believable. I can't describe to you the emotions going on in this town right now. I'm in Binghamton, New York...a couple hours west of NYC, but the this city is still overflowing with Giants Fans. I had to put together my sportscast while the game was going on, but it was just too damn difficult. In the 4th quarter, I completely stopped everything I was doing and watched with the other 8 people working in the station as the New York Football Giants pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl History. Who honestly thought they could do it. Even in Giant country, most of the fans gave them little chance. When Brady hit Moss in the end zone to put the Pats up with 2 minutes to go, who really thought Eli was going to lead his team to a game winning touchdown? Eli Manning has hopefully silenced most of the doubters and solidified himself as the franchise quarterback in New York. He's no Peyton, but he's still a pretty damn good QB. He totally deserved that MVP trophy. I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty bored through the first three quarters, but I gotta say that the 4th quarter made the game one of the best in the history of the league. I know that's saying a lot considering it was so low scoring, but there have been few moments in my sports viewing life that I have been so on the edge of my seat (or in this case, clawing the edge of my sports desk). You could have cut the tension with a knife in that room. You couldn't have written a better ending. Sure, plenty of Pats fans out there wanted to see the Perfect season, and man are they ready to kill themselves right now. Speaking of Depression, how about Bill Bellichek. In his post game interview, he looked like he was about to have a break down. You gotta feel bad for the guy, right? Nahh. It's pretty crazy for me though. I'm not a bandwagon fan. I've always rooted for my pathetic Lions. Watching the Giants incredible run through the playoffs though, it was hard not to get swept up in the hysteria of Big Blue. For a game that had blowout potential written all over it, this turned out to be one for the ages. Oh, and Plaxico Burress looks like a genius now for predicting the 23-17 win for New York. Smug Tom Brady probably feels pretty foolish for scoffing at that one. Well, I need to go to bed, I've got an 11 hour car ride to Bloomington, Indiana tommorrow. So this will be my last post for the week unless I feel extra motivated.

Vindication is Spelled E-L-I

As a Colts fan, naturally I would rather have seen Peyton and Co. take out the Pats en route to another Super Bowl victory. But one Manning is as good as another. We have officially seem the Eli Manning coming out party.

I guess all the talk about Spygate and the asterisks are unnecssary now. Was THAT the greatest team in NFL history? Just curious.

There is still absolute shock at that amazing scramble by Eli... Eli-FREAKING-Manning, to avoid the sack and then that amazing catch by David Tyree to keep the game going.

Good night Patriots! There is always next year.

Greatest upset in NFL history? I think so...

Yawn... its Super Bowl time

Well here we are, finally a few hours away from the big game. Young Swole remembers the days when he'd be all amped up for this game, even if he didn't care about the teams. But this year, things are so uninteresting that he's bringing along climate homework, which actually means he cares about school-related matters on Super Bowl Sunday. Why is this game so wack and boring? Lets count a few ways:

1. Everyone hates the Pats. Not only do they always win, but they cheat to win and are referred to as deities all the while.

2. The team facing the Pats, who would usually inspire a great support for the underdog, are the New York Giants. Everyone hates New York fans. Between the Pats and Giants, choosing one to root for is like selecting between a Turd Sandwich or a Puke Reuben for your last meal.

3. These teams have already played each other. Maybe if we hadn't seen the Pats beat the Giants already we'd have more hope in Big Blue.

4. Even if the Giants do win the game, there will still be much more attention payed to how the Pats blew it. The excuses will be more numerous that the falling raindrops in a hurricane. So even if the Evil Pats win, you'll still have to hear all about them at the expense of the Giants

5. Do you realize that in the last football game to be played in 6 months, that we'll have to listen to Joe Buck give us opinion on the Pats greatness and spygate once again? Swole guarantees that this fucker will get on his soapbox long and hard about all the controversy swirling around the Pats, while at the same time forgetting to tell us important things actually happening in the game like player injuries or yards gained on a certain play.


So what do you do to make a terrible super bowl a little more enjoyable? We here at GDB have identified 5 possible events that could make this game much more exciting:

1. Randy Moss scores a touchdown and proceeds to moon Joe Buck, who will hopefully have a heart attack out of pure shock and disgust. In fact, as we remember, for 10's G's Randy Moss might even pull his dick out. This gets a no homo for sure, but if he whipped it out in Joe Buck's face then it would be totally acceptable.

2. Tom Brady gets hurt.

3. If the Pats lose, time how long it takes blowhards like Chris Berman or Shaun Salisbury to jump off the "Pats are the greatest team of all time" bandwagon.

4. Tom Petty lights up a giant spliff during his halftime performance, tells George Bush to go to fuck himself, and then rocks out "Last Dance with Mary Jane"

5. Hope against hope that somehow Fox split-screens the game with hard core nudity!


Well its about time for the Swole One to bounce out. Lets try to survive this game as best we can.

Star of the Super Bowl

With the kickoff of the Super Bowl just a few hours away, the biggest story in AZ right now has to do with the new "other" Manning. His name is Peyton and if my memory serves me correctly, I think he plays for some team called the Colts? Although some people might believe that Eli has finally emerged from the long shadow cast by his older, more accomplished brother, the fact is that P-Diddy's new look is generating more hype than Bill Belichick's home movie collection.
This has to be frustrating for our colleague the Young Knuckleball-thrower, who has yet to reach the stage in his life where growing facial hair becomes possible. But what do the rest of our hundreds of thousands of readers think about this new addition to Peyton's arsenal?

Q: Do you like Peyton's goatee?

(circle one)
A. Yes
B. No
C. Maybe
D. Only if given the opportunity to run my fingers through it.

straight off myspace

thanks to SJ for lurking so hard. click to enlarge

Radiohead - Arpeggi/Weird Fishes @ Jools Holland 2008

Radiohead on the BBC

last night Radiohead, Cat Power, and Feist graced the 200th episode of the Jools Holland show on the BBC, which is a late night show that is far edgier than anything we've got over here. And I say that with full knowledge of how dickish it is to be one of those elitists who say they only enjoy "foreign films" and listen to a victrola instead of "CDs". whatever, fuck those pricks. but this show is cool and it brings me to my point, which is that I think Radiohead is the greatest band of my generation.

Now this sort of thing is obviously purely subjective and arguing about who the greatest band of all time is is about as fun as finishing a dump and realizing that you have nothing to wipe with (the other day I seriously considered taking my sock off and using it). But for me, growing up listening to music during my formative years (90's thru today), Radiohead stands out in my mind. They came along during the grunge years with "Creep", a song i certainly could identify with as a gangly youngster ("i want you to notice/when im not around/you're so fucking special/i wish i was special").

Some bands got stuck in that era and never evolved (where are you now Bush....o yeah, fucking Gwen Stefani...respect), but Radiohead, like any great band made the music that they wanted to and didn't follow trends. They set them. And they have always been a thorn in the side of major record labels. Their recent release of In Rainbows online, for free, is a testament to their commitment to music itself. It also doesn't hurt that they're already super rich and didn't exactly need the money. However, every one of their albums sounds like Radiohead and no other band, and thats why I think they're great. Look at it like this - when you're old and someone asks you what music was like when you were growing up, what are you going to say? I'm proud to say that I was/am around to experience a band like Radiohead in their peak years and I can only hope that I get to see them live at some point in my life.

Above is them performing "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" on the Jools Holland show last night. Notice they pan to Cat Power in the audience. Shes amazing both as a physical specimen and as a singer, but thats for another blog. Cheers, and if you dont care about Radiohead and/or think they suck, tough titties.

The Degeneration of Leadership

A few minutes ago on ESPN the cameras caught the legendary John Wooden entering Pauley Pavilion to watch tonights game between Arizona and UCLA. As one of the most iconic figures in all of sports, it is easy to singularly define Wooden by his unparalled winning success as a college coach. What struck Young Swole tonight though as he watched Wooden enter the arena were some of the more subtle character traits that the man stands for. Not only did Wooden win at a level never seen, but he stood for everything good in college sports. He not only coached solid players, he also helped develop solid citizens. He didn't merely teach a motion offense, he also taught the life lessons that are needed to be successful on and off the basketball court. And finally, John Wooden coached with a loyalty to his school and his players that is sadly dissapeared from the college game.

It is becoming all too common in college sports to hear of a coach deserting his team for more money or for selfish reasons. Think about college football, with guys like Rich Rodriguez, June Jones or Nick Saban abandoning their teams for their own selfish reasons. Then think of college basketball coaches like Bob Huggins and John Beilein who do the same exact practice. Even in professional sports, coaches ignore loyalty on an almost universal level. The leaders of our sports teams seem in ever increasing numbers not to use their position as an opportunity to create a championship team or to have an impact on their players lives, but only as a leverage point in becoming more famous and making more money.

We hear all the time about how the character of our players has declined over the last couple decades. Today's athlete is considered a greedy thug to most members of society. They don't have a will to win, they only have a will to make money. Players are bemoaned when they switch teams or speak out against their organizations, yet coaches get away with the same crime while inflicting great consequences on their players as well. Think for a second about Ryan Mallett, the freshmen quarterback at Michigan. He went to UM to play for Lloyd Carr, but when Rich Rodriguez took over for Carr, Mallett was basically told he had no future at the school. So in 2007, while Rodriguez will make over 4 million dollars at his new job, Mallett will be forced to sit out an entire season after transferring to Arkansas. Is this really the players fault, or is he simply being punished for the greed and selfishness of a coach we can all agree looks out for no one but himself? Players get the bad rap for being disloyal, but they are merely doing what all players are taught to do, follow their coach and his example.

So here we see John Wooden, the ultimate coach and teacher in college sports. Do you think some of his success may have to do with the fact that he never switched schools to earn a greater paycheck? Or maybe can his success be attributed to the fact that he cared enough for his players to put their self-interest ahead of his own? It could even have been that despite all of his success, he realized that no title is won alone, and that to truly achieve success a team has to trust each other and know that his fellow teammates will be there for him in the difficult times. Young Swole has never spoken to John Wooden and probably never will, but he can still learn from him simply by observing what the man stands for. There may be richer coaches out there, and their may be more famous coaches out there, but there will never be a more successful coach than John Wooden, a man who has always stood for every ideal in sports.

Another Asterisk*?

Young Brew Drinkers:

Like Cicero delivering his Philippics against Mark Antony, Young Cicero has been moved to speak (or write).

The issue of the New England Patriots seems to be coming into focus. The details becoming clear. I won't rehash the facts, since Dan Wetzel's fine article does so here.

Everyone who understands that multiple Super Bowl titles and marquee wins by the Pats are now in question must also realize how tragic this is for the game. The issue of "Spygate" looks poised to rival MLB's Barry Bonds/Steroids issue in terms of potential embarrassment. Already, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) has called for Congressional hearings. Sound familiar?

The funny thing is this: The New England Patriots are the NFL's Barry Bonds. Entities with a track record not only of incredible, undeniable talent, but also a general disregard for public opinion, even to the point of being perceived as rude and caustic. This has a strange effect on fans: they love to watch because of the way the team/player plays, but justifiably dislike off-the-field behaviors. There is little difference between the types of post-game interviews given by Barry Bonds and Bill Belichick. And it creates serious love/hate feelings. For all the people rooting for the Patriots on Sunday, there will be just as many people rooting not really for the Giants, but against the Patriots.

So after the steroids era of baseball, a crippling strike in hockey, and this new football scandal called Spygate, anyone up for a game of Baseketball??