I keep an eye on what’s going on in spring training, but I don’t have much desire to watch any of the games unless I happen to be in Arizona and I’m in the ballpark with a beer in my hand. I do wish, though, that I could have seen some of the Yankees’ game yesterday. Pitcher Pat Venditte threw a inning and a third for the team in a split squad contest against the the Braves. What makes him stand out in a relatively dull matchup is that he is ambidextrous. He wears a six finger glove so that he can switch hands between batters. He can’t switch arms for one batter, but he’s like a manager’s wet dream when it comes to matching up to righties and lefties – especially in tight games down the stretch when a manager would likely run through the bullpen quickly to get the matchups he wants. He allowed two hits and a walk while recording four outs in the game. He put up decent numbers in Class A ball last year, and is due to start in Class A again next year. That means we aren’t likely to see him in the majors for a long time – if ever – but that doesn’t make him any less interesting or intriguing. Very cool.
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Month: March 2010
There were a couple of bizarre, unconventional hires in college basketball today – both signs of what teams will do when they are desperate. First, UTEP. After Tony Barbee left to coach Auburn after a very good season, the team had a chance to hire someone who could continue on the momentum they had build and help the team become a regular C-USA power before Memphis can fully re-establish themselves in that role. Instead, they hired Tim Floyd. Floyd was an assistant for a lot of years, so boosters are familiar with him and he is a popular choice among them. He’s a terrible choice, though. He underachieved with ridiculous talent at USC, then threatened the program for the long term with violations that he left behind when he left. Floyd is one of those guys who keep getting jobs for some reason, yet never has the results to back up that decision, or really to warrant getting another premier job. In the dictionary under overrated there is a picture of Floyd. On top of that, Floyd has little loyalty and is always looking for brighter lights, so if he doesn’t have some quick success he’ll just ride that to a bigger and better job. He’s just not what UTEP needs.
A couple of solid if not overwhelming games to finish the path to the Final Four today. Michigan State squeaked out a close one, though for much of the game they looked like the better team – though not by much. The edge here, if you want to oversimplify things, came down to coaching. By that measure, a narrow Michigan State win was appropriate. Coach K and Tom Izzo have a unique ability to get the absolute most out of their team – and more – in March regardless of what has happened before then. Amazing. Speaking of Coach K, he benefited from playing a team that wasn’t as deep or nearly as experienced as his. Baylor played well enough, and for moments they looked brilliant, but they just couldn’t pull it off in the end. It never ceases to amaze me how the tournament works – teams can look brilliant and all but unbeatable for a game or two or three, but sooner or later they meet a team who is too much for them and they look mortal again. The tournament does an amazingly good job of sorting out the best teams from the rest – even if it doesn’t look like it.
It has been a strange, surprising, and at times frustrating couple of days of basketball. As they were played:
1. As I said yesterday, I didn’t see this Tennessee win coming. It’s not that I had counted out Tennessee or didn’t like anything in particular coming. It’s just that I couldn’t find a single reason to care about them. They won, though, and they earned it. They played very good defense, and were able to shut down and frustrate everyone not named Evan Turner in the second half. Now they are in their first Elite Eight in team history, and I still don’t feel any affection for them or give them the due they are probably deserved.
1. The adoration of Northern Iowa makes me uneasy. I get all the reasons we are supposed to count out the Spartans – inconsistency, the Kalin Lucas injury, and so on. I also get why Northern Iowa is worthy of praise – woefully under-seeded, stunning upset of best team in the tournament, and so on. I just don’t feel great about the degree to which the action is on the Panthers – the game opened at MSU -1.5 but can now be found at pick ’em after almost 60 percent of bets have gone on the No. 9 seed. I do believe that that Northern Iowa can win this one. I just don’t think that this line movement reflects Michigan State’s superior talent even without Lucas, or the fact that Tom Izzo, one of the true kings of the tournament, has had five days to dissect this contest and spot what Northern Iowa does well and how to deal with it. I’m not even sure that I am picking the Spartans, though I am definitely leaning that way, but I just don’t think that this line or this movement is appropriate to the situation.
Continue reading “Four Thoughts About Tonight’s Sweet Sixteen Games”
What a freaking game!!! That’s why college basketball is such an incredibly great sport. I’m crushed that Xavier, I team I couldn’t respect more, lost that game, but it’s easier to deal with given that the game was an instant classic. That was seriously as good as basketball can be. Jordan Crawford is such an incredible, incredible player. Unreal.
This whole Zydrunas Ilgauskas situation, now that it has officially come to pass, make me want to shower. It’s slimy. Just one day after he became eligible to rejoin the Cavs he has a new deal in place for the rest of the year. He joins Antawn Jamison – the guy that he was traded for. The only real cost to the Cavs in this whole deal was that they had to live without Ilgauskas for 30 days, but that’s hardly a big deal for the team because they were already extremely secure in a playoff spot. They could have used a backup center as it turned out, but they still went 16-4 without him, and now they have a rested veteran to join them for the playoffs, and they get him at a very low cost. This absolutely should not be allowed in the NBA. It’s a total joke.
Wow. Just wow. What a day of basketball. What a weekend of basketball. Friday was just okay, but the other three days were all but perfect.
I have to start with Cornell. I have had several hours to think about what I saw in that game, and I’m still not sure that I believe it. Cornell was up against a Wisconsin team that was among the most efficient in the country with and without the ball. They don’t mess up often, they score when they have the ball, and they perform very well on defense. Cornell never freaking trailed in the game! They jumped out of the gate like they knew they were going to win, and by halftime they had made a mockery of the thing. There have been many, many impressive performances this weekend, but there wasn’t one better than that. Cornell just knew that they were going to win, and it really wasn’t in doubt. Truly awe inspiring. If that team can carry that game on to next weekend then there is no limit to what they can do. Unfortunately, their next matchup is as bad as it can be. The two teams they have beaten have been thrown onto their heels early and never recovered. Kentucky is dramatically more skilled and explosive than either of those teams, though, so it should be much harder for Cornell to impose their will and stay on top. I have Kentucky in the finals in my bracket, and I still feel pretty good about that, but my heart will be cheering for the Big Red. How can you not love what they are doing?
There is still one more day of games to play this weekend, so there is a chance that this can change. As of right now, though, the image that is going to stick in my mind for years to come when I think about the first weekend of this tournament is the late three pointer by Northern Iowa’s Ali Farokhmanesh. You know exactly the one I’m talking about. Kansas was looking like they were going to pull off a win that they really didn’t deserve when Farokhmanesh found himself oddly uncovered during a break. You could see the moment of thought crossing his eyes – he knew that he should dribble off some time, or pass the ball away because he was ice cold in the second half, but he was so wide open that he just pulled up and sank a dagger into the hearts of every Kansas fan on the planet. It was ruthlessly brilliant and totally unforgettable.
Thoughts and opinions added throughout Friday’s first round action:
– I love Xavier. This is a program that deserves more credit than they have received. This is their ninth tournament berth in the last 10 years, and in the last six years they made the Sweet Sixteen twice and the Elite Eight once. No matter what changes – personnel, coaches and so on – the team just keeps pluggiing along and doing their business. Their second half against Minnesota today has been incredibly impressive. Jordan Crawford has been a killer, and they have played with confidence and effectiveness. I can’t say enough good things about this team. Look out Pittsburgh.
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