Duke @ Wake Forest, 1-28-09

It took a while for me to write this because I had to get all of my crying out first. Duke went into Lawrence Joel and they were facing an uphill battle against a good Wake Forest Deamon Deacon's team. The Deacons rode the crowd, Jeff Teague and Ishmael Smith to a win over the #1 ranked Blue Devils. Neither team shot well, but Wake held Duke to 28% fg shooting in the first half. Al-Farouq Aminu led the Deacons with 15 pts and Kyle Singler led the Blue Devils with 22 pts (but took 19 shots to get there).

All in all a good win for the Deacons. A not so bad loss for the Blue Devils except for how they lost the game. Duke was down 11 in the second half and started making a comeback. They ended up tying the score and Jeff Teague took the ball coast to coast but had his layup partially blocked by Gerald Henderson. Henderson was also able to collect the rebound, but when he landed he slipped and was called for a travel. From the subsequent inbound, James Johnson comes of a stagger and gets a WIDE OPEN layup with .8 seconds on the clock. Coach K was crying on the inside at this point.

So, Wake showed everyone that if you have size and athleticism, you can bother Duke. Duke showed that Jeff Teague is a baller. He can get to anywhere he wants on the floor and he can hit shots. It's early in conference play, so it's not time to worry about either of these teams. Congrats to Wake and I'm sure going to want to see them come to Durham.

Note: The highlight of the game was Gerald Henderson's Jerry Stackhouse-esque reverse dunk from the baseline on Chas McFarland. Gerald Henderson. Jerry Stackhouse.

Superbowl Matchup

Well, everyone has been hitting me up about my predictions for the Superbowl and so finally I have some time to put it all down on paper. This should be a very interesting game between two teams that are polar opposites (until the playoffs). The Mike Tomlin led Pittsburgh Steelers against the Ken Whisenhunt led Arizona Cardinals. Let's get to the tale of the tape.

Offense:

Steelers - A good dose of fast Willie Parker should be on the plate for the Steelers. Parker has the speed to get outside and run against a Cardinals front that hasn't been good at stopping the run for most of the year. Roethlisberger has got to make his reads quick and get the ball out of his hands. Hines Ward will play but will probably be limited (a small bit), so Santonio Holmes and Heath Miller will have to have big games in the air for the Steelers. Note to Nate Washington and Limas Sweed, CATCH the ball. I imagine that the Cards will leaving a lot of the Steelers WRs in single coverage and those WRs will have to make plays.

Cardinals - A good dose of Edge. He doesn't have to get over 100 yards, but he has to be a threat in the ground game. The Cardinals have done well when Edge is a part of their game plan. The offensive line will have to protect Kurt Warner. The Steelers have a dominant front 4 and when they blitz, ooooh lawtey. Warner will have to make the right quick reads when the Steelers do blitz and their receiver core is the best left standing (Fitzgerald, Boldin, and Breaston).

Defense:

Steelers - The #1 Defense in the NFL. Do I need to say more? They have a front 3 that can stop the run, starting with big Casey Hampton. Add Bret Keisel and Aaron Smith and you wonder why the Steelers even blitz. The linebackers are led by James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley. I expect one of these guys to have a great game. In the secondary You have Deshea Townsend, Ike Taylor, and Troy Polamalu. If the Steelers are able to get to Kurt Warner and hurt him, the game is over.

Cardinals - I'm not really sure. These guys are almost like the Bad News Bears. You have studs like Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Adrian Wilson, Bertrand Berry, and Darnell Dockett. But even these guys haven't put a season together that will make us just want to believe in them. So now they have the opportunity to face a Steelers team that isn't multifaceted, just a regular running team with an above average QB, and one good/great receiver.

Coaches:

Steelers - Mike Tomlin got this job out of nowhere, according to some. At least Whisenhunt was told that he wasn't going to get the job, but Russ Grimm thought he had the job in the bag the night before and when he woke up Mike Tomlin was the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tomlin has led the Steelers back to the old days of running the ball and playing great defense. As one of the youngest head coaches in the league he has proven that he knows what he's doing and the team has bought in to him.

Cardinals - Whisenhunt wanted the Steelers job, but when told he wasn't going to get it he west west. Whisenhunt signed to be the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, a team that hasn't been to the playoffs, ever!!!!! You could see the change in the team as the Cardinals got a little tougher than they had been in the past. After Grimm wasn't given the head coaching job, he came out to Arizona to join his pal. You have to know that beating the Steelers would be the best medicine for the Cardinals and two of their coaches in particular.

Special Teams:

Normally one of the special teams makes a big play to turn the tide in a Superbowl, but I just don't think that it'll happen this year. This will all come down to defense.


Prediction:

I'm taking some time with this one. I'll post it in a few days. What do you think will happen? Who's going to win? Who will be the MVP? It's your turn to take a shot at predicting.

NYSTOM MVP Race™

I've seen this so I took the time necessary to breathe and not go over the edge, but NYSTOM has taken an opportunity to look at the MVP race in the NBA. Based on his predictions, this is what it looks like. (Don't say I didn't warm you).

NYSTOM, you have got to be kidding me? You have a lot of explaining to do. Rajon Rondo?!?!?

NYSTOM Top Ranked Player Index™

Well, we're at the midway point of the season and NYSTOM has his updated rankings. Let's take a look and see if he's closer to the truth or is he still way out in left field.


What do you have to say to NYSTOM? Is he back on track yet?

NBA Round Up 1-23-09

Lot's going on in the NBA and it's time to catch up. It's getting near the NBA Trading (February 19th) deadline so you know that there are a lot of rumors running around.

Miami Heat - Shawn Marion is on the block. We all knew this was coming with his demands for a long term contract and at or near his present salary of $18M per year. If it's Kobe, yes, but Shawn Marion, ummmm no. Marion's name has been rumored involving Josh Howard and Jermaine O'Neal (since Alonzo retired). Marion is upset with all of the talk, but with Pat Riley as his GM, he better keep his bags packed.

Chicago Bulls - When will Paxson get it right? Just a few years ago, they had a good up and coming team and now they have a team going nowhere. Ben Gordon isn't happy (note his cussing out of his coach over a fine for being late to a meeting), Larry Hughes is on the block, they have no big men that can score, and (gulp) Luol Deng looks more like Scottie Pippen (well, not even that good) than anything close to Jordan. Sad situation in Chicago.

Golden State Warriors - Monta Ellis will make his debut tonight against the Cavs at home. More interesting is the fact that the Warriors seem intent on holding Ellis' incident over the summer over his head a little longer. They claim that they can still void the $66M deal that Ellis signed, even though Ellis' agent is fighting that. We understand the kid did something stupid, but I don't think that the organization is served by holding this over his head. If you don't think he can play because of the accident, void the contract. If you think he can, live with it.

Milwaukee Bucks - Seems newly minted Olympic gold medalist, Michael Redd, is on the block. Redd started the season off hurt, but right now the Bucks seem to be listening to offers for Redd. Big mistake if you ask me. He's the only person on that team that can consistently score from range.

Philadelphia 76ers - Talk about karma. You leave your old team at the alter (Clippers) and run off with a bride who offered you the world (Sixers) but things haven't been right for you since. Elton Brand will get back on the floor against the Knicks on Saturday, but this team has definitely got some ground to make up since they have started this season off terribly. Only in the East can they still be in line for the playoffs, but something good has got to happen for them soon.

Good-Bye Herm

The Kansas City Chiefs have fired Herm Edwards. Herm has led the Chiefs over the last few years but problems at QB, RB (Larry Johnson's issues), and the lack of defense made the Chiefs a laughing stock. Herm's a good man and a good coach and shouldn't be unemployed for a long time.

With that said, the Chiefs are close to signing former Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan. So, a said day for Herm, but a lot of upside there for the Chiefs.

Virginia Tech @ Wake Forest 1-21-09

Wow, this wasn't what anyone expected, right? Wake Forest, presently the #1 team in the nation was upset by a very aggressive Virginia Tech team. This was a very chippy game with both teams taking shots at each other. Al-Farouq Aminu took a nice shot (inadvertent) to the head and had his forehead swell up like Will Smith in Hitch.

Virginia Tech was able to play aggressively and get a few early calls at Wake. Malcolm Delaney led the Hokies with 21 pts and 7 rebs along with big games from both A.D. Vassallo (16 pts, 5 rebs, and 6 asts) and Jeff Allen (16pts and 7 rebs). They were able to get Johnson, Williams, and McFarland in foul trouble.

The Deamon Deacons showed us that they still have a ways to go to be a solid #1 team in the nation. They were at home and got whupped. Jeff Teague did his best with 23 pts, but foul trouble and missed opportunities down the stretch really killed the Deacons. They should learn from this loss, and make more noise as the season goes on. Congrats to the Hokies.

North Carolina State @ Duke 1-20-09

It took the Duke Blue Devils an entire half to finally wake up. The Wolfpack came in and jumped on the #2 ranked Blue Devils from the begining and ended up leading at halftime 26 to 22. Singler had 3 points in the first half and Henderson had 4 points.

After the half Gerald Henderson and Kyle Singler decided that they better play some basketball. Henderson (21 pts, 7 reb, 4 asts, and 5 stls) started hitting jumpers and finally ended up taking the ball to the hole with authority on a few occassions. Singler (17 pts, 4 rebs, and 3 asts) started showing us that he can shoot and still hustle against a Wolfpack team that was thinking upset.

Duke ended up winning this game, but the score was not indicative of how bad they played in the first half. It's ok (well, no it's not) to do this against NC State, but they can't have this kind of lapse with big games coming up. Duke escaped this one with a W, but at least they can say that they are seeing a leader grow on their team. Henderson is going to have to be a intricate part of the offense if the Dukies are going to cut down nets this year in the NCAA Tournament.

54 Point Explosion

Not Kobe, not Dwayne Wade, not Carmelo, not LeBron. A young man set a record tonight in Tennessee by scoring 54 points against the Tennessee Vols. Jodie Meeks, presently a Kentucky Wildcat, went out and played the perfect college basketball game. He was 14-14 from the free throw line, 15-22 from the floor, and 10-15 from 3 land. He broke Dan Issel's scoring record at Kentucky (1969-1970). The kid is a normal 25 point per game scorer, but tonight he didn't take a bad shot. He had 8 boards, 4 assists, and played good defense. All I can say is WOW!!!! I hope you get a chance to watch this on ESPN Classic.

Tony Dungy Retires

This is truly a sad day(for fans). Tony Dungy has been so much to the Indianapolis Colts, but he has also touched the lives of many different people during his career (playing and coaching). He only played in the NFL for 3 years, but then he coached for 31 years. You can only wish this guy good luck. I'll probably do a piece on this later, but congrats to Tony Dungy for going on to the next part of his life.