Now that the first series of the season is out of the way in baseball, we have our first chance to look at what we have seen so far and which players have done things that we like. On guy who really jumps out on that front is Vernon Wells. The Toronto slugger is talented – MVP talented – but there is a disconnect somewhere near where his brain meets his body, and he has never really been able to capitalize on what he is capable of. So far this year, though, he’s on fire – four home runs in three games, and in just 10 at-bats he has six hits and seven RBIs. With guys like Adam Lind and Travis Snyder in town Wells doesn’t have to be the only big bat for the Jays, and expectations aren’t very high for the team, so maybe he’s finally in a situation where he can have the massive year he is capable of. He’ll be worth watching.
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Month: April 2010
The Raptors just can’t catch a break. They are just barely hanging on to a playoff spot – one that is worthless anyway because it just means they’ll get crushed by the Cavs – and now they have to try to hold off the Bulls without Chris Bosh. Bosh tried to eat Antawn Jamison’s elbow last night. The hit wasn’t intentional, but it was so hard that he smashed his face, broke bones, and will be missing some time. The Raptors are lousy with Bosh, and without him they are impossibly bad. It’s possible that Bosh has played his last game for Toronto. What a pathetic organization the Raptors have turned into.
As I talked about after the game on Saturday I just don’t like Duke. They are justified favorites tonight, and the price isn’t unfair, but I just can’t stand the thought of backing them. I’ll be cheering (hard) for Butler, and over the last couple of days I have come up with five reasons to justify that, and to justify a bet against the evil empire.
1. Streak – This is a team that has won 25 games in a row. That’s really something – regardless of who they play. They haven’t done that with overwhelming athleticism or depth, but by attention to fundamentals, consistent effort, and excellent coaching. They are a very tough team to prepare for, and a tough team to exploit. It might be hard to see how they are going to win this one, or even keep it close enough to cover, but the same could be said before this, and they find a way.
2. Home court – The impact of the home court is going to be far more significant than it was last time. A lot of the fans who were around for the two eliminated teams will have sold their tickets to the finals, and Indy residents, and therefore Butler fans, are the most likely purchasers. Those who aren’t attached to one of these teams will be far more inclined to be cheering for lovable Butler than the devils from Duke. They handled the pressure of the situation well last game, and this time around it should be a boost – one worth a point or two in the outcome of the game.
3. Precedence – This is the 58th time since 1997 that Butler has been an underdog in a non-conference game. They have covered 41 of those games – 72 percent. Nothing wrong with that.
4. Rebounding – Duke is the better rebounding team by far. They are also very good at turning those rebounds into second chance points. Against Michigan State, though, the Bulldogs did a very good job of asserting themselves on defensive rebounds, and of limiting the second chance attempts the Spartans got. If they can do that again then they’ll be able to challenge Duke and keep it close.
5. Back to earth – Duke beat up on West Virginia because the Mountaineers did nothing well. Most glaring, though, was a total lack of three point defense – Duke shot 52 percent from beyond the arc. Butler just isn’t going to let them do that, and that will have an impact on everything else the Blue Devils will want to do.
I was fully intending to write about baseball tonight, but two things changed that – the opening night game between the Yankees and the Red Sox was a total dud with abysmal pitching on both sides, and the Eagles lost their minds. There really is only one story tonight, and it’s a good one.
As some of you know over the last year or so we have been doing various work with ESPN on their insider pages providing stats and historical data as well as some against the spread predictions on the games. After a spectacular NCAA tournament providing winner after winner for their readership Chad Millman asked me for my take on Monday’s national championship game between Duke and Butler.
Both of those basketball games were very interesting today, but in different ways – and only one was watchable.
First, the Butler game. I have a serious man-crush on Gordon Hayward. He had 19 points and nine boards, and was absolutely everywhere throughout that game. From start to finish he did everything for his team and is by far the biggest reason why this remarkable run continues. Most impressively, though, Hayward was able to play stifling, relentless defense all game while only drawing two fouls. I was convinced he was the best future pro heading into this Final Four. Now I am certain of it. As good as he was, though, what I’ll remember most about this game was the glaring absence of Kalin Lucas. Without their floor general Michigan State regularly looked confused and disorganized when they were moving the ball down the court, and they just weren’t effective enough when they needed to be. They did a good job of controlling the Bulldogs in the second half, but without Lucas they were unable to capitalize on it and grab the win that was there for the taking. This is a game that will haunt Izzo, Lucas, and everyone else for a long time.
Coach K is absolutely ridiculous. Did you catch his whining and ranting at his press conference today? What a baby. One of the papers in Indianapolis featured an article about the fact was a team that many, many people love to hate – a fact that is undeniably true. To illustrate the article, the coach was depicted with blue devil’s horns and a target on his forehead. Krzyzkewski spent far, far too long at the media gathering complaining about how juvenile the whole thing was, and how his grandkids are apparently horrified. Now, here’s the thing, Mike – you coach a team called the freaking Blue Devils. Therefore, depicting you as a devil with blue horns, while not necessarily the highest form of humor, just makes sense. The target makes sense, too – they are the only No. 1 seed remaining, and the team that everyone remaining would most like to beat. So, Coach K spending so much time complaining and being outraged was, well, juvenile. Man do I hope Duke loses.
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