1 Sports Fan

While Kansas swept through the Men’s NCAA Basketball tourney they were rarely mentioned on major sports news media.

In what was one of the most remarkable Championship Games of all time Kansas proved to be resilient and showed incredible heart.

My thoughts were that Self outcoached himself a bit in the second half with the zone defenses.  I seriously thought he’d have them running more and attacking the basket coming out of the break with the early foul troubles that Memphis’ frontcourt was in.

It worked out well for a nail biting finish (regulation anyway) and a storybook game.  Down 9 pts. with 2 minutes to go?  I’ll confess I thought it was pretty much over.

After reading posts on forums referring to the luck, and that Memphis lost it more than Kansas won sort of rhetoric…. bah humbug.

First,  Kansas got very little respect going into the game even though they totally dismantled a better than average North Carolina squad on Saturday (UNC was #1 for a good part of the year too and the overall #1 seed for a reason).  Yet somehow Memphis was supposed to win against these lowly Jayhawks…(note KU was #1 in the country for a portion of the year as well, Big 12 champs, ….).   If Kansas wouldn’t have been as careless with the ball (unforced errors) likely overtime wouldn’t have been necessary to dispatch Memphis.

No disrespect intended towards Memphis, just that throughout the tourney Memphis, UNC, and UCLA (outside of the cinderella Davidson stories) received much of the press while Kansas steadly steamrolled towards San Antonio.  Granted their path wasn’t overly taxing, but I’m not convinced that it mattered much.

The close game against Davidson I believe helped in terms of timing.  Coming just before the final four gave them a fresh reminder:  Bring your A game or go home without hardware.

Bottom line is the muss about the missed free throws and Memphis gave it away…. Pressure free throws are part of the game.  Kansas’ strategy with 2 to go was sound for a club that had demonstrated poor technique all year (save some non pressure free throws in the tourney).  Sure Memphis’ 2 ptper’s had made their free throws in the tourney but they were rarely in a situation where it mattered, i.e. no pressure…when up 12 not that big of a deal…relax hit your shot…

What a great storyline tho…  The real difference in my mind is this:  Kansas dug themselves a hole with their play (and the great play of Memphis) and dug their way out.  Chalmers only TIED the game with his 3 and Memphis collapsed….any questions on who the real champion is?  Not in my mind.  Certainly Kansas got the hardware and the debates will go on about how Memphis was really the better team or whatever….

Better teams usually find a way to win in those situations…sure they should have fouled someone.  Notice how Kansas didn’t  bother to find the person with the ball when they were fouling?  Awareness….coaching….etc….

Two teams were pretty close in my mind and I think Bill Self was right after the game when he said if they played 10 times probably go 5 and 5…though I think that might be interesting.  Kansas is a pretty good ball club and I suspect that they might improve their turnover situation but Memphis was unlikely to improve their depth or free throw shooting….

Rock!!! Chalk!!!!! Jayhawks!!!!!

I find the very fact that Kelly Tilghman drew a suspension and plenty of fire from the news media over her comment concerning Tiger Woods as plenty of proof that we are a long way from righteousness.

Tiger has a firm understanding of his place in the golf world, his place as a man. Fact is Tiger doesn’t need anyone to tell him when to be outraged. I think he has a good head on his shoulders and apparently is capable of making informed intelligent decisions all on his own. Suggesting that he should go on a rampage on camera with a furious rebuttal over something that was obviously a joke is insane. Tiger is well spoken and this isn’t his first rodeo if you get my drift.

If we are ever, as a people, going to heal the scars of the past we need to find a way to get over this chip on the shoulder instant reaction to the slightest implication of something to be upset about.   Clearly there is a line that should never be crossed, and we as a people should treat others with respect, especially if we desire that same respect in return.

Given that that Ms. Tilghman and Tiger are known to be friends I think also puts her comments in the light of a friend busting on a friend.  To punish someone for expressing her freedom of speech, because some people can make a distant connection with possible racial undertones is ridiculous.  Let’s not pretend that any race of people have been left out of the wrongs in the past.  To infer that whites, Asians, or any other race or nationality haven’t suffered lynchings is insulting and ignorant.    No one race or nationality has the monopoly on suffering.  Many people have suffered wrongs in the past and continue to do so.  No amount of posturing over obviously innocently intended comments can erase that.

Only when we truly view each other as equals and can forgive each other when we step afoul, when we in our hearts care for our fellow man will we make true progress.    This certainly doesn’t mean that there isn’t a line which once passed must be dealt with.  I don’t believe in free passes to clear racist or hateful comments in the media.  This in my humble opinion doesn’t qualify.

Tiger appears to have the correct line here while the media runs again with a story that isn’t a story.

Michael Vick was sentenced to spend the next 23 months in prison today.

While the debate will rage on about the duration of the sentence one thing is certain.  The message is out:  Stay clear of bad decisions or it will cost you your career, reputation, and millions of dollars.

Personally I don’t believe Michael Vick may have been a choir boy, but I don’t believe for a second he woke up one morning and said  “Hey Mike why don’t I start a dog fighting ring”.  More likely he made poor choices when confronted by those he chose to associate with and payed a much larger price for his inability to say no to his “friends”.

Other professional athletes have nearly paid more severe penalties for the same issue:  Decisions.  Life is about choices we make.  We benefit, sometimes, from the good ones, and almost always pay for the poor ones.  Part of that is who they choose to associate with.  Surrounding ones self with successful people that keep their nose clean is the best choice any of us can make, especially when there is so much to lose.

Clearly the difference between cruelty to animals and assaulting/murder of a human being is light years apart.  My personal view is somewhat clouded by the seemingly overwhelming number of people clamoring over ridiculous supposed violations of animal rights.  Now dogfighting is a despicable thing, make no mistake in my mind that is way wrong…but who are we to say.  We kill deer, elk, antelope, and other animals for sport.   Yes many are used also for food, but that doesn’t make bambi any less dead….

I believe the severity of Michael Vick’s sentence is meant more as a message to people of notoriety:  No more free passes.

Not this time.

I do believe that Micheal Vick should have been arrested, indicted, and sentenced to some prison time.  I do think that it is his misfortune in terms of timing.  To be the example, unfortunately not the example that many parents, myself included, had hoped he would be.

With essentially another 2 missed seasons in the NFL his career is basically shot.  Even if, after his release in Oct. 2009 he is in “football condition”, what team will take a chance on a quarterback that was already having football issues and add a federal conviction and prison time?  I can’t believe any team will be willing to take that chance, but I could be wrong.

With any good fortune Mike will spend his time in prison figuring out what went wrong and correct those issues, the sad thing is he won’t be surrounded by choir boys now either.  It will be a tough road for a young man who not so long ago had the world by the tail.

Just a thought.

The news of Sean Taylor’s death today as a result of the gunshot wound suffered Monday hit me like a ton of bricks. While I’m not a Washington Redskins fan, anytime a 24 yr old man, father, husband, son dies, at the hands of violence especially, it is a tragic and horrific thing regardless of their chosen profession.

While his teammates must deal with the death of a friend and cope emotionally with this, his family must find a way to continue into what is surely a rough Holiday season without the son, father, husband, brother they knew and loved. My heartfelt thoughts and prayers to his family. The Redskins team will have football as an outlet, something to think about, that ultimately will remind them of their friend and teamate.

A growing and concerning trend in violence towards athlete’s including several armed invasions of their homes seems less than coincidence and more a pattern. While the specifics of the break in at Sean Taylor’s home are being pieced together hopefully the authorities will find leads to the identities of the people responsible. I’d hope that other athletes and people in the spotlight take a serious look at their personal security. While we admire their talent and lament the rising salaries of these superstars (only in the price we pay to get into the events, and a degree of jealousy) I don’t believe we, the general public, can truly appreciate the additional challenges, and threats to their well being that these people face.

For Titan’s and Bronco’s fans alike Monday Night brought a sense of definition to a season.

While Jay Cutler and Vince Young put up decent numbers (Young with the obvious yardage advantage) Denver’s defense appears to be coming together while Tennessee’s had an uncharacteristic bad night.

It would appear that both teams need to work on some defense in different areas. Denver looked pretty solid against the run, but they bent a bunch against the pass despite a consistent pass rush. Only timely turnovers, a very nice kickoff return, and a productive offense saved the day for Denver @ Invesco Field.

I was impressed with Vince Young for most of the night. The two hiccups were the 2 interceptions. Both were under heavy rush and Dre Bly’s interception was simply a great play by a cornerback. Not much a Quarterback can do about those sometimes. Stuff happens.

Likewise Jay Cutler seems more and more in command of the offense and is showing his leadership well. The only bad play that I would grade down was the first pass of the last drive that he should have thrown to the stands.

Again the Bronco’s appear to be able to just plug anyone in at tailback and do just fine.

Still no sign either of these teams are ready to challenge the Patriots, but I think they have a significant amount of company in that category.

Just a thought.

Happy Thanksgiving

Monday Night Football this week features 2 teams that are trying to keep their playoff chances alive. Both teams have issues that need to be addressed. While Denver continues to get solid play from Jay Cutler the injury bug and run defense continue to be an issue, though last week they stiffened up against the run. For Tennessee can they get more from Vince Young? Now I for one am a big Vince Young fan. I hope he gets it turned around, just not against my Broncos.

With the rest of the AFC West losing today the door is open for Denver to sneak in there to tie for the division lead.

At this point in the season I don’t see either of these teams beating the Patriots or the Colts in the AFC, but with a strong run in the last half of the season I might be convinced otherwise… It starts tomorrow night for one team…

What a great end to a great season of NASCAR!!!!!!!!!

Holding on to a 86 point lead with one race to go is probably not very nerve wracking, except when the driver chasing you is your teammate, car owner, and friend, Jeff Gordon. The outcome was rarely in doubt today as they ran the 247 laps at Homestead. Only a few tense moments for Jimmy and Chad and the crew. As usual they handled the pressure great and capped off a championship year.

I’ll tip my hat to Jeff Gordon. Never did he beat the drums of “robbed by points system again!!”.  Under the old system he would have coasted to his 6th Championship to move within one of Petty and Earnhart. While I do think the system needs some tweaks, I don’t believe anyone can complain about the outcome. They didn’t change the rules in the middle of the season, everyone knew how this was going to play out….

Now the sad part is waiting until February and the start of the first full schedule with the Car of Tomorrow (COT) now the Car of Today. With the points resetting and starting again at zero every Nascar fan has only a couple of months to get their story straight for the next season. The teams will get to spend the holiday’s with their friends and families and get back to work for another grueling 36 race season.

For Jimmy and the 48 team they will concentrate on how to run the same for the COT, for Jeff and the 24 how do we get and stay ahead of the 48, for the rest of the teams How do we catch up to the Hendrick Teams?

Congratulations Jimmy on the Championship!! and Jeff small consolation in a record 30 top 10’s for the year!! Great job to two of Nascar’s best drivers and teams!!!!

For an award meant to depict the best pitcher for the American League I find it personally amusing that C.C. Sebathia wins the Cy Young over Josh Beckett.  Given the domination that Beckett displayed in the playoffs especially head to head vs. Sebathia in the ALCS this award might be less meaningful.  I am sure Beckett would rather have the ring, not the point…

Interesting that my first post to this blog is concerning the season finale of what to myself and the rest of the 24 team fans can only be described as Heartbreak Hotel.

Hats off to the 48 team on a fantastic season and a brilliant Championship run.

Hopefully NASCAR will fix this broken system that punishes points racing more than it promotes Winning. I know I know runaway championships are boring (that is what they say).

My vote would be either go back to the original recipe or tweak the tracks run on the last 10 races, limit # of laps that non Chase qualified cars run (i.e. non playoff teams impacting the outcome of playoffs). Would love to see Sonoma on the Chase schedule.

Just a thought.