What did I miss?

Sorry fans, thatguysports went on a brief hiatus. I think I blacked out for a full week.

What did I miss?

I think the Final Four was meant to end. Can somebody let me know what powerhouse from the Big-10 won? I'm sure the top conference in the land must have had a winner in some sport this year.


What's going on with the NBA? The Celtics obviously keep losing right? I mean there's no way they'd string together a .500 record to make sure they don't sniff Greg Oden in any manner, right?

The Bears traded Lance Briggs by now I'm sure. The last I heard, the Redskins were ready to mortgage their draft and trade them the 6th pick in a loaded draft. I'm sure they took that deal. No way they'd hold on to a guy who legitimately doesn't want to play for them. Especially with that sweet of a trade offer on the table.


Anything else I miss??

Farewell to the ACC

What a weekend in college hoops. What a day yesterday for games.

Kudos to Georgetown. MAJOR kudos. They beat 8 guys yesterday. Between the 5 they were playing in white and Carolina blue, and the 3 they were playing in black and white stripes.

34 fouls shots to 18. And anybody who watched that game yesterday knew that the physicality of the game was the same for both sides. Just an embarrassing example of officiating.

That said, is Roy Williams able to look himself in the mirror today? I can't figure out if he just thought his team was supremely talented compared to Georgetown, or if he thought that they'd just stop the bleeding themselves, but to the best of my observation yesterday, he just watched the game slip away.


The ACC has to be the biggest disappointment in collegiate athletics this year.

Can't Get Enough of This

The "Great Greg Paulus Flop."

March Madness: Reaction to the First Two Rounds

Some are calling the first weekend of the NCAA tournament boring. Here at thatguysports, we're not quite as outraged. The weekend went a lot like we thought it would.

There seemed to be quite a difference between the top 4-6 seeds in a bracket and the bottom seeds in the bracket. More-so than ever.

No 5/12 upsets. No 14/3 upsets. 2 6/11 upsets (both very "popular" upset picks). Even the 10/7 games went the way of the seeding.

Now the fun starts in my opinion. Look at today's games - many spreads under 5 points. Here is where the cream will rise to the top.


Some knee-jerk reactions to the weekend:

- Tough tournament for the ACC. Many had Georgia Tech as an upset but they didn't last day 1. Maryland doesn't get to the sweet 16 either, and Va Tech takes the pipe as well. What an overrated conference.

- Great tournament for the SEC so far. Vanderbilt with an upset to get into the Sweet 16, beating a very good, "hot" Pac-10 team in Washington State. Tennessee overwhelming Virginia. Florida surviving a scare. 3 teams in the Sweet-16.

- Kudos to Butler who came under fire for not winning their own conference tournament. Clearly their schedule throughout the year and winning the pre-season NIT helped them tremendously en route to their Sweet 16 birth.

- Ohio State should become the independent and Notre Dame should join the Big-10 instead of the Big-East as an "also-ran" with the rest of the losers. Every major sport is Ohio State and everybody else.

- Looks like I was wrong about the Pac-10. 3 teams in the Sweet-16 if the USC score holds up. Solid showing thus-far.

- Does Billy Packer talk to everybody as if he's permanently annoyed, or just during times that he broadcasts games. I feel like he announces as if he's a perpetually annoyed senior citizen. Wait, I think he actually is that. Can't CBS make Raftery their #1 color guy? He just called a horrendous travel call by the officials in the Nevada game with a very dry "Where?"

- How does Gus Johnson not become CBS's #2 play-by-play guy for every sport? Take over for Dick Enberg and his senility in football PLEASE.

- Its nice to watch a series of games on CBS and not hear Randy Cross or any sort of "Cross Talk."

- Right now I'm hanging in there on my bracket pool. Riding Kansas for all I can, Texas A&M and Georgetown are my keys. Florida is almost a lock for everybody - G'Town and KU are fairly split. A&M is a 2nd top choice out of that bracket.

Need Nevada to pull off an upset right now - that would be HUGE.

More to sometime on Monday, but for now this is it.

The Real Bracketology: How to Run a Successful March Madness Pool

Trust me when I tell you this....Running your March Madness pool can be one of the classic examples of "No good deed goes unpunished." That is, if you don't run it correctly. Follow my rules and guidance, and you'll be in the clear.

Lesson 1: Know your Audience

You want to re-create slamming your head against a brick wall? Try to explain to a 50-60 year old how to create a Yahoo or CBS Sportsline ID, find a private password protected league, and join it. Then make it worse by trying to teach him how to pick his teams, and make damn sure he doesn't forget to hit "Submit" (Multiple the frustration by 100 if you're talking about a FEMALE in this situation).

The moral of the story, know you audience and make it easier for the toughest entrants to deal with. Let the young population bitch rather than alienate the older generation. Participation is key for these, and you don't want to drive people away.

Young population? CBS/Yahoo/other Internet pool is a-ok.


Lesson 2: Don't require a PhD to determine points

a.k.a. KEEP IT SIMPLE. Escalate points by round (I feel as though they have to be doubled, but that's just me) but 1 point per right answer regardless of round is not the way to go.

Other possibilities:
"Upset pool:" 1 point per correct answer, bonus points for the difference between the seeds for an upset. 12 seed beats the 5 seed, 7 bonus points.

"Takeover pool:" 16 or 32 entrants, 2 or 4 teams, if the losing team covers the spread, the loser takes over the winning team. Winning team wins and covers, that player moves on. Its enjoyable to make fun of the person who has the 1 seed when the 1 seed beats the 16 seed by 30, but the spread was 30.5.

"Auction:" This is a wonderful pool for a bar. Promote the shit out of it, get people to show up, and auction off teams. You'll see some #1 seeds go for upwards of $500. Pay off something for each win to give a 10 seed some value, and have at it. Great way to watch the tournament.

"Fantasy Basketball:" Draft a team, 5 players, 10 players, whatever you want. Standard scoring system, and there you go.

Lesson 3: No such thing as too much information

Communicate, communicate, communicate. Give standings as often as possible, and invest a little time in telling people who has what team from the Sweet 16 on. Trust me, you'll do the work eventually, so why not do it when you're sitting down watching games a few beers deep.

Make sure to tell the pool what your picks are ahead of time. If/when you win, it'll be less questionable.

Lesson 4: Be a prick collecting money

Because if you don't, you'll be paying the winner out of your own pocket.


And there you have it. Do it well, and you'll be the hit of your office. Screw it up, and you're all done.

March Madness: How to Fix the System

One of my 10 (up from the prior # of 9) readers brought up the idea of this ridiculous "play-in game," and why are legitimate tournament qualifiers playing against each other rather than at-large bids. It got me thinking.

Here's how you fix the idea of teams getting "snubbed" year in and year out.

For the most part, you're talking about 4-5 teams that have legitimate gripes. This year, I'll give you Florida State, Syracuse, West Virginia, K-State, and Drexel. Last year you had Maryland, Notre Dame, Indiana, and Miami of Ohio. Don't give me the crap that Appalachian State got hosed this year. That's crap.

Anyway, why only have one play-in game? And why have it be the winner gets a 16 seed and becomes fodder for the #1 team?


Who would be opposed to this:

Florida State vs. Texas Tech - winner is the 10 seed to play Boston College

Syracuse vs. Old Dominion - winner is the 12 seed to play Butler.

West Virginia vs. Arkansas - winner is the 12 to play USC.

You get my point.

Why not take the bottom 8 teams, and have 4 play-in games. Or the bottom 7 and have 3 play-in games.

Go to Dayton on Tuesday, and make them worth something. 4 games on the first Tuesday just like normal NCAA sites on Thursday and Friday.

Obviously its not going to happen - its just makes too much friggin sense.

March Madness: Keys to the 2007 Men's NCAA Tournament

Thatguysports had a fairly decent NCAA Bowl Season if you ignore the mid point of the season (which I obviously am) so stick with me and I'll teach you how to win your NCAA March Madness pool.

I'll try to channel horrendous color commentator Randy Cross for a little thatguysportsblog version of Cross-Talk.

1. Avoid the ACC.

I know some of my 7 readers truly think the ACC walks on water, but I'm here to tell you that you should view the ACC this tournament season as the Big-10 during football. Over rated. Avoid them and you'll be in much better shape in this year's tournament than those that believe in the blatantly average mid-Atlantics (Maryland, UVA, Va Tech.)

2. Ride the Big-12.

Its entirely possible that 3/8 of the Elite 8 is from the Big-12. Nobody would be surprised if 3/4 of the Final Four is from the Big-12.

3. Forget about George Mason.

I'm here to tell you that there will be no George Mason this year. George Mason can't even be George Mason. No mid-major this year will threaten the Final Four. The parody that the country is seeing is not on the elite level. You hear far more discussion this year about mediocre teams that got left out than seedings for the teams that made it. Because this year there' s a clear-cut iron to the tournament. And the parody that you see, is at the "also-ran" level.

4. Get lucky.

If my calculations are correct, you're going to win your tournament pool this year by "guessing right" when it comes down to the Elite 8. I think there will be a lot of similar brackets from the 3rd round and on.

5. Remember that the Big-10 is extremely overrated.

In everything that it does.

6. The Big-East can't score.

Almost every team in the Big East would fall under the category of "can struggle scoring" at times. That is KILLER for the NCAA tournament. Granted the 6 fouls vs 5 fouls issue is long gone, but the style of play is the same. Oh and for along the same lines, please see: Ten, The Big.

So there you have it. 6 keys to your tournament.

You can thank me later.

Look for my complete brackets on Thursday.

News and Notes

Some NFL Signings from the last couple days:

Joe Horn to the Falcons. He'll be a great weapon for Matt Schaub next year. Vick doesn't last week 4. They also signed a DB, Lewis Sanders. I've legitimately never heard of him. He played for Houston and didn't even start. Great signing.

Denver signs "Coveted backup quarterback Patrick Ramsey." I'm not joking. That's how ESPN described him. What is coveted about Patrick Ramsey? That he has a pulse? Is Sage Rosenfels also "coveted" if he becomes a free agent tomorrow?

Backup QB's are like NFL Coaches. Why have a retread behind your starter? Just get a young guy who has a good arm and works hard and mold him into what you want him to be. It worked out well for the Patriots with Brady didn't it?

Farewell to Daniel Graham. I hate the Broncos. Now I have to hate Graham. NFL = Not For Long.

Some early winners and losers from CBS Sportsline. They should have the Patriots first.


Here's a roundup of other moves...including one of my all-avoid team, Patrick Kearney.


Random Thoughts

• ESPN's lead article right now is called "Pacmans Choice." I'm going to go out on a limb and say he chooses the "wrong one."

• Can somebody explain to me how the Big-Televen even threatens the Final 4?

• Why guys could never be good house-wives: I was home all afternoon because we had babysitter issues and instead of the many things I was supposed to do today, I realized when I got home that its March 7th and the Big East tournament was on. Tremendous turn of events.

• Isn't it about time Kobe Bryant stopped slapping people? Who does that? He slaps. Jason Kidd didn't even slap when he knocked the $hit out of his wife. Kobe is the A-Rod of the NBA.

• Can somebody tell Sports Illustrated that I don't need them to comment on social issues? I'd prefer reading about sports. I don't need Peter King to talk about movies, and I certainly don't need SI to have an article about the affect on sports that Global Warming has. Oh wow....in 90 years 4 stadiums in California may be swamped. If those stadiums are still being used in 90 years, anybody going to them should kill themselves.

• Obviously the brackets need to be determined, but right now: Kansas, Texas A&M, Florida, and UCLA are my final 4.
  
  

LINKS

Check out The Big Lead's college hoop awards.

New barstoolsports edition came out today. The cover model is just KIND OF hot. No girls like that at Notre Dame, that's for sure.

This is the Real Duke Blue Devils

Its just as simple as that. That basketball program is the biggest bunch of pussies on the planet, and Coach K is one of the biggest closet scumbags around.

I'm just mad that Dickie V wasn't able to do the game yesterday so I could hear what excuses he could make for Coach K's boy Gerald Henderson taking out Tyler Hansbrough in the late moments of yesterday's Duke vs UNC contest.

Listen to some of the shit coming out of Coach K's mouth:

"We'll take all responsibility, but if there's any way Gerald Henderson did
that intentionally, that's crazy," Krzyzewski said. "That's not the way he plays
and not the way we play. ... I feel badly for Tyler and what happened, but there
was no intent."

"The game was over before that," he said. "I mean the outcome of the game,
let's put it that way. That's unfortunate, too, that those people were in the
game in that play. Maybe this wouldn't have happened."

Thank god for Pat Forde who points out that Coach K called a timeout down 13 with under a minute left. Clearly he didn't think it was THAT over now did he?

This just sums up my thoughts on Duke Basketball for my whole life. They care so much about their image - that they're a bunch of clean cut golden boys. My contention this entire time is that there isn't a single clean program in division 1 male sports...the dumb ones get caught, and the smart ones don't. Coach K has been a smart one. Nothing more, nothing less.

I love this quote from Forde:

(There was only so much falling upon the sword Coach K could tolerate, right
there in the Dean Dome after getting his head handed to him. Taking the high
road is always easier when you're beating Carolina on a regular basis, which
Duke isn't doing anymore.)

Great point. At least the real Duke is coming out this year.

Nightly Links

The Big Lead gives us their College Hoop top 20.

Dickie V doesn't realize he's on the air rips University of Florida - Awful Announcing.

Tommy Lasorda loves girl on girl porn. - Sports By Brooks.

March Madness

Its official. With Ohio State winning the Big 10 regular season title, and with next weekend being the start to championship week, its officially March Madness time.

Thatguysports has a few questions that need to be answered as we head into one of the best times of the year.


Will Duke continue its ACC tournament dominance with clearly a sub-par team?

If Dick Vitale has his way, yes. Fortunately for us Duke haters, Dickie V doesn't have much say in the matter. Of course he'll throw his .02 on the matter during the tournament and make it completely unwatchable, but I don't think he can help a clearly limited team this year. ACC semi-finals at best for the Dukies.


Will anybody in the Northeast have a vested interest in the tourney after the first weekend?

No. Not even close. They may not even make it to the first weekend. In the northeast we have Boston College who's probably in, but will be fodder for a mid-major, or disappointing big time conference team. The Eagles would piss themselves if they drew as an 8 seed, an Alabama as a 9. UConn is still questionable to make the Big East Tournament if I'm not mistaken, and Syracuse, and UMass are still a year or two away.


What's wrong with Florida?

Nothing. The SEC is talented from top to bottom, and they just happened to lose two league games in a row. They'll still be there near the end of the tournament with an Elite 8, Final 4 appearance.


Is the Big-10 for Real?

I still say no, but that's just b/c I hate the Big-10 with a passion. Ohio State is being run by a very very young backcourt, which usually spells doom for a team in the tournament. Wisconsin is the best bet for the Big-10, but what happens when they hit an elite team with speed that also has the depth to run non-stop for 40 minutes?

What conference will show the best in the tournament?

The SEC. It shouldn't surprise anybody if Florida, Vanderbilt, and one other SEC team find themselves in the Elite 8 depending upon where they are seeded.

Gun to head National Champ?

North Carolina.


________________________________________________________________

Nightly Links

I'm sure people have heard about Ryan Freel on craigslist...it should be known that thatguysports friend The Big Lead had the story first.

Stephen A. Smith to Sportscenter? - Awful Announcing.



Last but not least, check out this cheapshot on thatguysportsblog, and alternate Bustonian Teammate (b/c I'm an alternate, not full-time player) Keith Aucoin in an AHL hockey game this weekend.

The hit happens at 6 seconds.

Nightly Links

Wrong mascot on the wrong campus - AwfulAnnouncing

Shaq owns Lebron and Dwight Howard - We Are the Postmen

The Big Lead's College Hoops Top 20

A bunch of soccer stuff I don't understand - Thats on Point

Dick Vitale is Awful

Heading into last night's BC vs Duke game on ACC Wednesday on ESPN I knew I wasn't going to see an unbiased telecast. Certainly not with Duke supporter Dick Vitale court side.

But I really didn't think it would be half as bad as it was.

For starters, did ESPN have to show us 17 replays of Coack K doing his "white mans pump up" to his team after BC took a timeout with 5 min left in the first half? One replay, sure, I can live with that. But in excess of 10 of them? All of which Vitale screaming "Coach K is fired up!" "That's intensity baby" "Look at that man coach" "I can't wait to give Coach K his Valentines Day gift!" (I made that last one up). It was aggravating.

But usually you could expect some unbiased play-by-play out of Mike Patrick. Nope, not last night. He must have lauded the Official that Jared Dudley bumped for not giving him a Technical Foul what, 5 times? How about you point out that IT WAS A HORRIBLE CALL IN THE FIRST PLACE??? BC got jobbed in the first half - as most teams do that play Duke - but not one mention of it. None.

I've seen Vitale numerous times suck off Duke and all things Coach K time and time again, but I didn't see it as bad as it was last night. It legitimately made me throw up a little.

Turn the Page: College Hoops Season

Its official here at thatguysports. Football season is behind us and takes a back burner until draft coverage starts, and its college basketball season for now. UNC and Texas A&M were shocked again last night by Virginia Tech and Texas Tech respectively, and it begs the question of is it Florida and everybody else at this point in the season?

I just can't get sold on Wisconsin and Ohio State because 1) they're in the Big-10 and my 8 readers know that I hate the Big 10, and 2) they typically aren't great tournament teams (Neither is most of the Big 10 for that matter).

Boston College has an opportunity to put a scare into people this week. Home tilts against Duke and North Carolina could send a message that maybe they're the undermanned Alpha-dog in the ACC.

Is the ACC that bad, by the way? That a BC team that lost a Defensive Player of the Year candidate and who is completely outclassed at the guard position can make a legitimate run at the ACC title, and what, a 3 seed? 2 seed? Wow. That's as bad as Wake Forest winning the football championship.

Big night tonight with the top 3 teams in action and two on the road. Its doubtful that any of those top 3 lose, but would anybody be shocked if an Alabama team comes in and gives Florida a run for its money tonight?


In other news:

Pat Forde at ESPN.com has a cute little Valentines Day article today.

This video isn't graphic b/c you don't see anything, but we all know what she must've looked like. - Barstoolsports


More to come today as I'm home w/ the kiddo.

NIghtly Links

The Big Lead's updated College top 20. - The Big Lead

Steroid talk is fun. - We are the Postmen

Cold Hard Football Fact's Dominant Dozen - CHFF.com

Nightly Links

Anytime anybody is making fun of Duke, I am on board with it. - Saved by the Blog.

Cold Hard Football Facts has a blog now.

This just blows your mind. Such huge money. For Bronson frickin' Arroyo. Unreal. Espn.com

Notre Dame has decided to tell everybody what they're doing next year, so teams can already start to scheme against them. Brilliant. Oh and they lost every major defensive recruit they had committed. Looks like Weiss is going to try to outscore people again. It worked last year.....no wait.

This website is awesome

Another credit to shoota for this site.


http://drunkathletes.synergyofsports.com/



The pictures won't post here, but take a look at Steve Nash