Sometimes We DO Know Better

At this point picking on Isiah Thomas has almost lost its appeal. It's like beating on a retarded kid on crutches blindfolded.

But this Steve Francis deal is just BEGGING to be ripped apart.

How in the name of Scott Layden can anyone in their right mind trade a monstorous expiring contract and a small-ish contract for an overpaid perennial malcontent with a propensity to shoot too much and destroy locker room chemistry when they already have the exact same player on the roster?

For the past week this deal has been a tounge-in-cheek joke among NBA writers and analysts, no one actually thought that Isiah could be this stupid. Maybe sarcasm is lost on Thomas and when he heard everyone talking about it he thought, "Hey, Charles Barkley was talking about this deal, it must be a good one. Get the Magic on the phone!"

Or maybe Isiah locks himself in a closet in MSG and doesn't read the newspapers or watch television so he thought that this was the best deal he could come up with. Either way this is a shocking display of incompetence.

Looking at the Knicks right now they will be in the worst financial shape of any team until at least 2010. Their payroll right now is over 123 million. After this season the only contract that expires is Eddy Curry (who they will surely resign). Following the '07-'08 season (with a payroll of just over 125 million) they will finally get out from under Alan Houston's 20 million per year and will see the expiration/team option on a few others. That will bring them down to 65 million if they don't pick up options on Jerome Williams, Channing Frye, and Nate Robinson which add up to just under 11 million. Let's say they retain Frye (2.4 mil) and Robinson (1.2 mil) , now they'll be around 70 million (20 mil over the cap) and 36 million of that will be tied up in Marbury and Francis. In '08-'09 they will owe their backcourt ball hogs 39 million, with higher options for Frye and Robinson rounding their payroll out to around 68 million, that is of course assuming that they only have the seven players that I'm factoring into these numbers on their roster. In short, they're screwed.

Just for perspective the Knicks have 4 of the top 30 players in the league in terms of salary (Houston, Marbury, Rose, and Francis). The Pistons have none and the Spurs have one (Duncan). Kobe Bryant makes less money than both Houston and Marbury, as do Jason Kidd, Jermaine O'Neal, and Tim Duncan. Making less than the 2 mentioned above and Rose are: Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, Baron Davis, and Shawn Marion. Round out the foursome with Francis who makes more than Michael Redd, Ray Allen, and Elton Brand.

The only hope the Knicks had for the future was the development of Curry and Frye. Now playing in a lineup with three shot loving ego maniacs the young frontcourt duo will be lucky if they see six shots a game each. The upside is with all the shots being launched from outside they will have plenty of opportunity to hone their offensive rebounding skills.

What really capped this shocker off for me was Isiah's quote, "This is one of those things that seems so crazy that it just might work." (I shit you not he really said that.) Thank God I'm not a Knick fan. If the GM of a team I supported ever used that line of garbage to defend anything I would be forced to go back to watching hockey...(shiver) Yikes.

This just proves my theory that sometimes fans and media people DO know better. For example everyone knew that Chris Paul was a can't miss NBA point guard. Still three teams passed on him, two of which took guards. Marvin Williams and Deron Williams may both be great players but everybody knew that in both the short and long runs Paul will be better. Fans are wrong a lot of the time, but occassionally if something seems way to obvious there is a reason. Other examples: Shawn Bradley, Darko Milicic, Lebron James, Michael Olowokandi, Kent Benson, to name a few. Unfortunately this concept is totally lost on Isiah.

Nothing makes me happier than watching NY fans suffer, but this is sad even for me.

I wish the Yankees would implode like this.

Weekend Notes

At long last my wait is over. In a term of misery comparable to that of the Red Sox championship drought the United States had been without a medal in the noblest of sports for the past 25+ years. That sport of course is ice dancing. Take a deep breath America, we are vindicated. When the "Hot Girl" (Tanith Belbin) and "That Guy who 'Danced' With the Hot Girl" (Ben Agosto) walked off the ice on Monday evening, silver medals in hand, the collective psyche of ice dancing fans throughout the country was unburdened and for once we could revel in the simple joys of a man in rhinestones throwing an anorexic in the air while stylishly bobbing his head to a cliche beat.

No longer will we listen to the jibes of the Russians over a Stoli martini. "Stupid Americans, zu will never vin a medal in ze ice dance! Ve dominate your silly democracy with our floppy hair and albino skin!"

Nor will the taunts of the Norwegians echo in our heads for another four years. "Sure you vin ze snowboarding and ze speed skating but you don't have ze girly men it takes to win the ze ice dance...and our leotards look much better on us!"

(Yes I am spelling the Norwegian and Russian accents the same. Oh like you could do better?)

Indeed America this is one of those times of athletic greatness and accomplishment that we will look back upon and say, "Wow, people were actually interested in that limp-wristed Sally pants "NOT A SPORT" back then? Where's a little Cold War when you need one?"

Guys, unless the amount of skating you watch relates directly to the amount of sex you get from the missus don't ever let me catch you watching ice dancing...ever!

With that said, let's move on.

NBA All Star Weekend:
Good thing Kenny Smith wasn't judging the ice dancing competition in Torino because we would have another international scandal on our hands (see: '02 games).

The "other" A.I. (Andre Iguodala) got flat robbed in Saturday's dunk contest. To begin with two of his dunks (behind the backboard and behind the back) were better than any of Nate Robinson's, including the one that took the 5'9" Knick rookie 14 (not a typo) tries to complete. Furthermore A.I. actually won the contest until Kenny Smith got a message from TNT saying that he had to walk the party line and give the trophy to an undeserving (albeit game) Robinson whose stroke of genius in incorporating Spud Webb into his highest scoring dunk handed him the title based on sentiment rather than performance.

This may have been the death rattle for an already struggling contest that has not seen any legitimate star power since Vince Carter was hanging from the rim by his elbow.

The All-Star game itself was entertaining, with a big comeback and a few last second shots, but in the end it was a microcosm of the NBA as a whole. The 24 super stars involved in the game played it like a dramatized version of a regular season matchup. They walked through the motions for the majority and then turned it on for five minutes creating a memory of a furious finish and a vague sense of prior dissatisfaction. I don't mind that no one plays defense, in fact I prefer it that way. But if no one is going to guard you then you have to complete the alley-oop, hit the jump shot, and finish the break.

Lebron James took the MVP in a slightly contested decision. In my mind it should have gone to Tracy McGrady even in a loss. He put up 36 and he was playing in his home arena, give the people what they want. James was clearly the only guy on the floor putting out max effort from "go" which is why he went for 29 against defenders who had no interest in even trying to stop him. Still, I do give him credit for being the one guy who came to play.

The one aspect that made the price of admission worth ever penny was seeing Yao Ming talk and the rest of the players dance. You would think that at this point Gumby would have a working understanding of the English language but to me he still sounds like he did in that GPS commercial he did a few years ago where the yokel asks him if he needs directions and Yao in a moment of acting nirvana says, "NoIgotThhhem."

All in all I think that the NBA All-Star game is the best of the major pro-sports, based on the potential for incredible athletic displays, huge highlights, and star power. That being said in the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king.

The Olympics:
Two of the biggest stories of this weekend came from Torino, as should be expected, but the crux of what went on seemed to be more soap opera than international showcase.

First, we have the ongoing war of words between the American speed skaters Chad Hedrick and Shanie Davis. Hedrick is calling out Davis for refusing to take part in the team relay, an event in which the US could have taken a medal had Davis competed, and in response Davis is launching the proverbial fire hose at the entire American team and US Speed Skating in general claiming that he has been a victim of racism and unfair treatment.

Frankly, who gives a rats ass? In two weeks these guys will be nothing but a memory and a headline in the Olympic archives. In some respects I see both sides here. Hedrick wanted to mount a challenge on the all time record for speed skating gold medals in one games (5). To do so he would have needed a victory in the relay, so to say that his motives were entirely altruistic or team based is probably stretching the truth. In fact, these guys are not teammates. There is no doubt that Davis is an asshole, no one disputes that, but speed skating has always been (until these games, the first to feature a team event) an individual sport. Hedrick and Davis don't train together, they compete against each other in non-Olympic years, and in almost all respects the only thing that they have in common is the uniform on their back. Should we blame Davis for not wanting to jeopardize the chance to achieve his lifelong dream of being the first black athlete to win a Winter Olympics individual gold so that he could aid Hedrick's own selfish ambitions? I don't think so. This isn't football where you need to other 10 guys on the field to succeed in order for individual glory. In this sport it's always been every man for himself and while his demeanor and the invocation of the race card are patently offensive, Davis' decision not to compete in the relay is not.

The other story from this weekend was the continued failure of Bode Miller. It's a damn good thing that the enigmatic Miller gave himself an out before the games by saying that he doesn't care about the medals because he certainly has not skied like he deserves any. In his last legitimate shot at the podium Miller finished sixth in the Super G and once again triumphed the value of effort and fun in defeat. Maybe he actually buys this stuff, and if he does good for him. I don't put any stock in the criticism of Miller for drinking too much etc. he has always behaved that way and has consistently competed at a high level. I do believe however that he took himself out of a competitive mindset before the games even began with his repeated elocutions on the over-emphasis on medals and his disagreement with the gold-oriented view point of USA Skiing. Sometimes if you go into something thinking that you don't care about winning the actual effect on your psyche is the make you believe that you aren't going to win.

Perhaps an even bigger surprise is the utter failure of Daron Rahlves who's highest finish in these games was 9th. Coming into Torino the US team was touting itself as the best in the world. Now, after just one gold medal it seems that they are merely the best at giving the other competitors something to stew on before whooping their asses. I give joinbode.com 3 months before it's taken down and we never hear from him again. Single tear.

Ricky Williams:
Just let me trade places with this guy. Give me the body, the work ethic, and the skills to be an NFL running back and he can come be unemployed and smoke as much pot as he wants in my very drug friendly neighborhood.

Reports leaked (HUGE breach of the CBA with the Players Association) from the NFL offices this week that Williams had failed another drug test, his fourth leading to a possible year long suspension. Since that report surfaced information has been coming in suggesting that the positive test was for something other than marijuana. Williams' mother swore on her life (literally) that her son had not smoked pot and that he likely failed the test due to one of the supplements involved in his yoga regiment.

Yoga...8 million dollars...yoga...8 million dollars... Tough choice huh Ricky? At this point if I were Williams I wouldn't even be walking within 500 yards of GNC or a Snoop Dog concert. He probably doesn't have the 8 million in signing bonuses to pay back to the Dolphins and if he gets suspended for a year he can kiss any career he might have had left goodbye. I just can't imagine what goes on in his head as he contemplates doing things that could jeopardize the guaranteed financial stability for life that would be all but handed to him if he stays out of trouble. In all reality he probably on has 3 to 4 more years left in the league. If he could keep his nose clean for that long he could move to Jamaica or India or someplace where the weed flows like wine and live the rest of his days smoking joints rolled in 100 dollar bills. As is he'll be lucky if his appeal is accepted and his suspension reduced, either way he's taking a hit.

Manny Being Manny:
This season might not be getting off to such a hot start for the Sox and their oft-brain-soft left fielder. For some reason Ramirez has requested permission to report to camp on March 1st, six days late, reportedly the Red Sox have agreed. Here's the problem, why would he report on March 1st if he's going to be playing for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic (somewhere other than Fort Myers) on March 3rd? Is he literally going to show up for one day and then take off to their first round game? I understand the Red Sox agreeing to the request in an attempt to start the season off on a positive note in Manny's mind but the logistics of this indicate to me that Manny has no intention of reporting to camp at all, or at least not until after the WBC.

We all know that at least a part of Manny's very strange personality doesn't want to be here and that at some point he's going to make up that functioning part of his mind and decide that he's leaving whether we want him to or not. For the Red Sox that point cannot come this season. With the offensive losses already suffered by the club the last thing in the world they could afford to would be the removal of the best right handed hitter in the American League. They need to convince Ramirez that they made a "good faith" effort to trade him, point to his enormous salary as the reason they could not, pat him on the butt, and collect 140 RBIs from his spot in the 3 hole.

Daytona 500:
I don't watch NASCAR, I don't get NASCAR, and I don't really like NASCAR. That being said there is something undeniably impressive about guys racing each other at 190 mph six inches away from each other's bumper.

In watching the Great American Race on Sunday I did have a few questions however.

• I am not from the South and as such do not have a southern accent. Am I still allowed to participate in NASCAR in any way? Everyone they interviewed sounded like Jessica Simpson in The Dukes of Hazard.
• How can this legitimately be considered a fair competition if you are allowed to do something that so flagrantly breaks the rules like...oh I don't know...run Matt Kenseth off the road? What Tony Stewart did to Kenseth in forcing him onto the infield would have killed a family of four on the highway. How does that not warrant a disqualification?
• Wasn't Tony Stewart the one on his soap box screaming for SAFER driving this week? Was it all just an elaborate ruse to fool us, like when Kobe Bryant pretended to be a good guy for 5 years?
• Is there another situation in life where rear ending someone can be considered a helpful push?
• Was the amount of confetti dumped on Jimmy Johnson's car in the victory lane an assassination attempt?
• 200,000 people? Did I hear that right? So that's twice the number of that can fit into The Big House at Michigan? Further proof that...well...I don't know what the hell that proves.
• Can I get a pit crew to work on my car? They do the same amount of work in 15 seconds that it takes my dealership two weeks to accomplish. And can I pay by the hour?

Curt Gowdy

Read about Gowdy's life and death HERE. I frankly don't know enough about his career or his contributions to sports to speak knowledgeably and fairly about him. In reading about him yesterday and today however I did discover a few remarkable things. He is truly a legend of an era that has past.

Gowdy is the only person ever to be inducted into the baseball, football, and sportscaster's halls of fame. He called 13 World Series, 16 All Star Games and 6 Super Bowls. He was also in the booth during the infamous Heidi game when NBC cut away from the Jets at the Raiders late in the fourth quarter to televise the musical. That day changed the landscape of football broadcasting in America. In addition to his announcing accolades he also hosted the wildly popular "American Sportsman" for 20+ years.

As the Red Sox play by play announcer from 1951 to 1966 he most famously called Ted Williams' last major league at bat, where he homered into the right field bleachers.

In today's era of specialization there is no comparison to Gowdy. A qualified and knowledgeable announcer of multiple sports and events Gowdy's greatest difference from today's breed of announcer may have been opportunity. Never again will we see someone with the unprecedented access that Gowdy had to the biggest games regardless of venue or circumstance. A popular saying at the time, as quoted by Al Michaels to ESPN radio yesterday said, "If you turned on the TV and heard Curt Gowdy's voice you knew it was a big game."

Having learned all this I think I wouldn't mind trading places with Mr. Gowdy, not now of course, but maybe starting in 1944 when he broadcast his first game. I wish I had seen him in his day.

TV Ads

Maybe I watch too much TV, maybe commercials are over-run, maybe it's a little bit of both. On a slow-ish sports day here are some thoughts on some ads I've seen.

- I really wish Franklin would get his ass of the god-damned "EASY" button. Everyday, 12 times a day those poor office workers are deluged by ink cartridges while Franklin just sits by idly eating his yogurt. Get off your ass and do something!

- If I ever see Ernie Boch Jr. on the street I will mow him down like a diesel powered turbine. The only thing that he will be able to say "come on down" about will be my headlights barreling onto him at 80 MPH. The man gives me seizures every time he's on TV, which is often.

- Nike, are you committing commercial suicide? Has your ad department just had it? JoinBode.com? Kobe Bryant? The ad where all the athletes (including Tom Brady) are getting up at the crack of dawn to work out is awesome and makes me want to run laps around my living room, but don't align yourself with the underachiever and the rapist.

(Side note: Have you noticed the ridiculous quantity of commercial breaks in the Olympic coverage? I haven't timed it against a normal broadcast but it seems to me that they're going to break every 6 minutes or so. It has to be unprecedented because it's obscenely noticeable.)

- The King... No man can achieve that level of football greatness in a robe. Not to mention he reminds me more of a serial killer than a hamburger spokesperson. Young children everywhere are checking under the bed every night to make sure he's not there with a bacon egg and cheese and that freaky mask.

- Neither a Lexus nor a cell phone is a good/practical Valentine's Day gift. That is really pushing it. Thank you both very much for setting the bar way too high.

- Sonic, if you had spent a little more money on building stores in the northeast and a little less on advertising here maybe I would have seen one...ever! You don't operate up here, stop running commercials for an establishment we can never go to without leaving the region. Is this rocket science?

- The Mirak auto dealership ads with the two semi-manly daughters talking in dead pan monotone is just painful. You can tell that over 25+ years these poor girls have had every ounce of ambition and life sucked out of them by the painful reality that they will someday have to take over the Mirak legacy and sell used cars in New England. Maybe the tall one wanted to be an astronaut, maybe the short one wanted to be a teacher, nope they will have their asses pinched by mechanics everyday until they go postal and smack someone with a tire iron. Their eyes remind me of those dead stripper eyes, the ones that are pointed at you but really all they are seeing is an eternity of misery stretching out into the distance.

- Did you know that ESPN has started its own cell phone service? Yes. Did you also realize that the people in that ad are real athletes not actors? Me neither, thank you Sports Guy for introducing me to the hilarity that is the idea of trying to sell something using Houston Street and a tennis player that looks a little bit like Andy Roddick.

- One man works with a bunch of monkeys, one lady works with a bunch of jackasses. You're trying to tell me she doesn't feel like drinking at lunch? CareerBuilder.com I can feel myself getting stupider every time those monkeys turn the flow chart upside down.

(Just a general commercial idea here. If you can't afford a legitimate production company, actor, or narrator skip the idea all together. Nothing says "budget operation" like a grainy poorly narrated ad shot at short angles with lousy lighting.)

- With that said 33 Restaurant and Lounge - please read the above paragraph. Your ad is awful, and you refused to hire me. That's a double whammy.

I'm sure I missed a bunch of annoying ads; feel free to add your own in a comment.

First things first, you absolutely have to read this article/interview by Delonte West. It’s his ridiculous take on the perfect date including Popeye’s Chicken, shark attacks, and skinny dipping. If it weren’t for basketball it’s pretty clear that Delonte would be single…forever.

Last night I actually watched almost an entire Celtics game straight through, and even more shockingly I enjoyed it. The C’s ended up dropping the game to the Cavs in double overtime, but the match up of Paul Pierce against Lebron James was worth the investment. Pierce was absolutely in on fire for most of the second half, setting his own regular season scoring record with 50, including several crucial buckets down the stretch in regulation. King James, not to be outdone, put up 43 of his own and added 11 assists and 12 rebounds for his fourth triple double.

All along the Celtics had very little business hanging with the Cavaliers. They were without two of their most effective interior players (Perkins and Jefferson) and had no one capable of stopping the Cav’s goonish Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Drew Gooden. Not to mention that the C’s don’t have anyone who can even imagine (in some alternate universe) stopping Lebron. Regardless they stayed even with the Cavs on the boards and actually blocked more shots than their much larger opponents.

About halfway through the 3rd quarter it dawned on me that there was something going on in this game that was different from the usual Celtics debauchery. Star power. Lebron and Pierce were going at each other like Bird and Johnson in the ’80’s. The best part of the match up was that they primarily guarded each other. Most teams have a defensive stopper that they use on the other team’s best player; neither the Cavs nor the Celtics have a Gary Payton-esqe defender that they can use in that capacity so the two super stars faced each other on both ends. James is unquestionably a great player on the offensive end but Pierce abused him defensively for the majority of the game, so much so that the Cavs started making defensive switches on crucial possessions. The Celtics and Pierce on the other hand we able to contain James’ penetrations and forced him to shoot the jumper. Unfortunately Lebron had a hot night from the outside and burned their strategy repeatedly.

It was a classic match up between stars whose teams do not have a legitimate shot to win anything this year but who still play at an incredibly high level regardless. For Pierce this game was a chance to show what he can do head to head with one of the best in the league. He proved throughout that he is still on par with the class of the NBA and that on any given night he can out-duel even the most challenging opponent.

This game also highlighted one of the biggest problems I see in the NBA, skewed officiating. The super star culture is so strong in the league that the referees call each individual play based on who has the ball in his hands. While I was rooting for the Celtics, it was clear that Pierce was getting calls because he was playing so well and vice versa for James. The highlight off this unbalanced officiating came on the last play of regulation when Pierce got Lebron in air and then clearly leaned in and initiated contact before throwing up a wild shot that had no chance of going in. James had stopped himself far short of hitting Pierce and the foul was clearly forced by the shooter. Pierce got the call and hit two free throws to send the game into overtime. On James’ side there were several occasions where he took the ball to the basket with the intent of getting fouled and got the call primarily because of that intent. It would not have mattered if the Celtics defenders laid down on the floor, he was getting the call because he’s Lebron James and the super stars in the NBA (Pierce included) always get those calls. Had it been Delonte West or some red head like Scalabrine taking the ball to the hoop he would have had to actually be fouled for the call to be made. What a concept!

That point is a far reaching problem in the NBA and certainly pertains to the league as a whole and not just this game.

Overall what I’m trying to say here is that the NBA does sometimes provide a viable product to the casual viewer. If you flipped to last night’s game at any point you were going to be entertained. I don’t know if the conflux of stars allowed for that excitement or if the intensity of the game enhanced the experience but the contest at the Garden last night did not resemble the watered down “walk it up” NBA that I have been witnessing in the past. Maybe it just takes two scoring studs going back and forth to make an intriguing flow. How about changing the format to full court 1 on 1?

Snowed In

It took a blizzard and a comeback for me to get into the Winter Olympics. Yesterday, with nothing to do but listen to my neighbor's woefully overworked snowblower, I finally watched some of NBC's excessively commercially interrupted coverage.

The first event, cross country skiing, almost caused me to switch right back to Shark Tale on HBO. (Note: HBO should be aware of the weather and in a given region and amend their lineup accordingly. If there had been a Godfather marathon on HBO-E yesterday I would not have changed the channel once.) The race began just as I tuned in, and lo and behold I caught come excitemnent. There was a huge crash just 1 meter into the race (it's Europe, metric system) and defending champ Frode Estil went down. Not only did he go down but he also broke a ski. 100 meters later he stopped again, this time to have his ski repaired. At this point he was in dead last and over a minute behind the leaders.

Olympic dream dead right?

Wrong.

His teammates, after seeing their boy drop like a stone from the fourth starting position to last jumped to the front of the pack and set a slow pace, hoping to give Estil a shot to come back. Slowly but surely he did. Just moments later (due to NBC's creative coverage of the hour-plus event) The Nowegian hero (oh yeah they love him there) had passed 70 rivals and was in the top 10.

As the competitors neared the finish line in "Mile High Stadium" (I kid you not) the crowd roared as two Italians led the pack. Then in an improbable finish a virtually unknown Russian Eugeni Dementiev shot ahead to the gold while Estil followed taking a miraculous silver. Dementiev had not led for a single second before the last 300 yards.

I thought, maybe there is something to these Olympics.

For the rest of the day I watched as alleged medal contendors Bode Miller and Daron Rahlves stunk out the joint in the men's downhill competition, finishing 5th and 10th. They both planned to race on brand new skis, but after Miller failed to challenge the leaders Rahlves switched at the last second (literally) back to his old ones, and then finished 1.5 seconds (the equivalent of a week and a half in skiing) behind the eventual winner Antoine Deneriaz.

Then I watched as Shaun White (a red head, albeit a very ugly one) took gold in an American cream puff event, the halfpipe. White, the unanimous favorite before the games nearly missed the final, requiring a second run to qualify in the top 12. In the final however he exerted his dominance, winning by almost 5 points over fellow American Danny Kass. Quite possibly the highlight of the day was listening to the NBC field reporter interview White, who talks exactly like a stoned out snowboarding high schooler at Wachusett. He essentially says the same things as everyone else but his lilting stoner-tone makes for high comedy on national TV. I could hear republicans everywhere bemoaning the celebrity of someone so utterly unpolished.

What was the best part of the coverage you ask? It was NO FIGURE SKATING. Call me a chauvenist pig, call me an uneducated ape, call me a sexist bastard, I don't care. Dancing is not a sport, dancing on ice is not a sport, dancing on ice in a leotard and sparkles is defintely not a freaking sport. I am patently offended by the frequency with which Olympic coverage tries to force figure skating down our throats. Guess what NBC, not everyone is a 40 year old mom from the midwest.

And with that I declare I will not mention that Michelle Kwan is withdrawing from competition. I will however mention that maybe Karma had a little something to do with this one since she didn't earn her spot there to begin with.

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Aside from the Olympics I did catch 2 other interesting pieces of news yesterday, in my uninterrupted stay in apartment 7 (which is way too small to spend 17 straight concious sober hours in). This exchange actually took place between Joe Theisman and Paul McGuire during the Pro Bowl coverage on ESPN last night.

Joe: I asked Santana Moss yesterday, "Who is taller, you or Steve Smith?" And he told me that he is 5'10" while Smith is 5'9" and 3/4. He said that taking the measurement was the first thing they did when they arrived in Hawaii. So there you go, Moss has him by a 1/4 inch.

Paul: (after a long silence) That's fascinating information Joe. (sarcasm dripping from the screen of my television.)

I never had any respect for Paul McGuire until that moment. He will be missed on Monday nights...okay no he won't but it was still a great line. I think he was about one more scotch and soda away from telling Theisman what a moron he thinks he is.

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And finally Dick Cheney shot a guy.

Was it an Iraqi prisoner and some excessive torture gone wrong? Nope.

Was it W. after he refused to bomb Kansas City by 2008? Nope.

Was it some "flag waving sissy liberal" that got in the way of spreading democracy? Nope.

He shot a "friend" of his in a hunting accident. I blame the friend in this situation. It is common knowledge that you don't go anywhere near Dick Cheney when he has a gun, EVER. Come on, do we really need to explain the risks involved in accepting a hunting invitation from that wacko? I wonder what the accident was, that he shot him or that he left him alive to tell the tale. Maybe it was like one of those movies where a group of rich hunters rounds up a bunch of homeless guys and takes them out to the woods to hunt them. There are plenty of quial out there Dick, go to Afghanistan if you want to hunt people.

The Rocket

Roger Clemens is not coming back to Boston.

Please read that sentence carefully. Give it a minute to sink in...

It's a cute fantasy and believe me I would welcome the Rocket back with open arms, as should all Sox fans, but it is not going to happen.

Consider the following as reasons for Roger to return:
1. Eclipse Cy Young as the winningest pitcher in Red Sox history.
2. Rebuild his legacy in Boston.

That's it, there are only 2. Curt Schilling already took care of the biggie in '04. Other than the Hollywood-esque potential for "finishing where he began" there is little else that could compell a man who has accomplished so much to return to a city that until a few weeks ago considered him a bit of a traitor and a malcontent.

On the other hand, consider the following as reasons for Roger not to return:
1. The team will force him to be a regular player, i.e. travel etc.
2. Enormous expectations based on past performance (recent and beyond).
3. He pitched for the Yankees after the Red Sox, if he starts off poorly we will remind him of that.
4. It's much colder here than in Texas, old bodies + cold = stiff and sore.
5. His son is in the Astros organization. He will never see him play in Boston.
6. A murderous division, including frequent trips to the Bronx, where for right now they LOVE him.
7. A blinding spotlight.
8. Almost nothing to gain professionally.
9. The potential for a negative result is much higher than the potential for a positive.
10. The Red Sox probably are not going to be that good.

If he comes back and wins 18 games and has an ERA of under 3.0 he will be a legend unlike almost any other in Boston. He will return to the pedestal with Pedro and Schilling as the greatest and most beloved Red Sox pitchers ever. However, should he fall short of that this town will turn on him in an instant when we remember the way that he scorned us in his departure. He in turn will turn on the town, being a rather large ego maniac, and could potentially bury himself and the locker room in discontent for the remainder of the season. Roger may have mellowed in his old age, but he is by no means a lap dog. He has stayed out of the media eye in Houston largely because they don't care about baseball down there, but in Boston he will be front and center all the time.

That's my view of it from Rocket's standpoint. From the view of a Sox fan however I would absolutely love to see #21 on the mound at Fenway again. (Although I would have to throw away my #21 Yankees Suck shirt.) He along with a healthy Beckett and Schilling would make for the best top of the rotation in baseball. It would also add a tremendous amount of depth to the staff, giving them 7 or 8 potential starters (the 3 I mentioned, Arroyo, Wakefield, Wells, Papelbon, and eventually Lester) that could be used out of the bullpen or traded for a position player who sucks less than Alex Gonzalez. I think most of Red Sox nation would agree that giving Papelbon another year out in the bullpen would be the best course of action, especially since we saw what he could do in the set-up role last year. Not to mention that would be an ideal insurance policy behind Keith Foulke who at this point is a gigantic question mark.

WEEI reported today that a poll said that 70% of Sox fans would approve of bringing Clemens back. Who are these dissenting 30%? He had an 1.8 ERA last season and would have won 20 games if he were not 88th in the league in run support. Granted that was in the NL Central which is by no means the AL East, but an ERA of sub 3.0 and 17 wins would not be out of the question. Do the naysayers think the Sox are going to get that from Wells, Arroyo, or Wakefield? Further proof that Red Sox fans don't think with their brains, they think with an alternative part of the body, hidden away, that only knows how to hate ex-Yankees regardless of their value or lack of loyalty to the pin-stripes (not like Wells who was just dying to be a Yankee again...and was very fat, it's okay to hate him).

*********************************************************************************** Boston.com and NESN are reporting that BC is going to play an outdoor hockey game at Fenway park next season. That is absolutely incredible. As a BC grad I can't imagine anything that would make me go to a non-Beanpot non-Hockey East tournament game more than staging it at Fenway park. If all goes well in terms of liscencing the game will be played this December. An opponent has not been named yet, but there is talk of having a double-header with BU playing someone in the second game. I say forget the double header and have BU and BC play against each other. It's the best rivalry in college hockey and fans (like me) who are marginally apathetic during the regular season would line up to see that game at Fenway. I wonder if I could get a monster seat for that game...

*********************************************************************************** To polish off today's post I thought I'd talk a little bit about unemployment. For me the biggest problem, maybe even equal to the money is the boredom. Some people can sit on their ass all day and be happy with that. I can't. It drives me crazy to have nothing to do all day. There are a lot of waking hours to fill and when you can't afford to leave your house at all and after about a week it starts to get to you. On the plus side I know everything there is to know about the latest in internet pornography and also have plenty of time to spend at the gym. What a loser...

XL Wednesday

Well, well, well, look at what we have here...

Before we get to that however, a few words on the Super Bowl. As first reported by the B-Slant Jerome Bettis is from Detroit, he is also fat, he is also apparently much more full of himself than we thought. And thankfully, he is now gone. That is not to say that he wasn't a great player but like "Gold Digger" he was woefully overplayed for the last 3 weeks.

Speaking of fat men Mike Holmgren entered the Joey Porter School of Sour Grapes and graduated in the time for the Seahawks rally at QWest Field on Monday. (First of all, it says A LOT about your team and your city that you have a rally for coming in second. If you want to give everyone the impression that you were satisfied by getting to the Super Bowl just say so.) In a speech to the crowd (who went to this thing?) Holmgren said he expected a tough game from the Steelers but did not expect to have to compete against the officials as well. While I agree that Holmgren has an argument to some extent there is no way that his was the team most egregiously afflicted by the miserable officiating this post season.

Ironically, it is Holmgren's XL opponent that really has the most to complain about overall. The referees literally tried to take the game away from the Steelers in Indianapolis. Pittsburgh was outplaying the Colts on both sides of the ball until the zebras redefined a "football move" in a desperate attempt to push D-Caf and his MasterCard campaign through to the AFC Championship game. Even the Patriots have a larger complaint than the Seahawks for Asanti Samuel's phantom P.I. call.

Nothing like that happened here. Holmgren's team just didn't play well enough to win, and while 2 of the calls were just flat wrong (the holding penalty and Hasselbeck's personal foul) neither of those directly changed the score of the game. You can make an argument that Darrell Jackson's non-touchdown greatly affected the outcome, but he did push off. Regardless of whether that rule is always enforced, he clearly broke the letter of the law. On Roethlisberger's questionable touchdown I will concede that it seems a bit odd for an official to run in from the sideline pointing as though to spot the ball only to change his mind 6 steps in and rule it a touchdown. The replay however, was inconclusive, I think they got the call right and to have overturned it would have been the wrong decision based on the replay evidence.

So Mike, shut up. The Seahawks played in a crappy division in an even worse conference and beat two tired teams at home to reach the Super Bowl. It would have been wrong for the champion to come out of this year's NFC, it stunk. Not to mention that they then had a party for losing. I don't want to hear any complaints from a guy who lets his team celebrate a loss, even a Super Bowl loss.

The silver lining is that this mess will (hopefully) cast a serious light on the officiating problem in the NFL which will allow them to fix it by next year.

Sadly the officiating was easily the most exciting part of Super Bowl XL. Aretha Franklin can't even squeeze into one of the jerseys the Bus wears (congratulations to me I just made the 1 millionth Jerome Bettis / Aretha Franklin comparison since Sunday, I won a cruise), the Rolling Stones and the ageless wonder in a belly shirt have officially moved from cool to creepy, both sides tried to give the game away, both coaches botched late half/game decisions, Ben Roethlisberger choked, Jerramy Stevens has cement blocks for hands, Josh Brown can't kick inside, and while the Steelers covered they didn't even come close to hitting the over!

And the worst part is I just KNOW that the Patriots would have killed Seattle (or Pittsburgh for that matter). Brady should be polishing that 4th ring right now, not flipping coins.

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Moving on to the link that started the post, if you clicked on it you saw that Johnny Damon took out an ad (ala Drew Bledsoe) thanking the fans of Boston. He said, "It was an honor and a privilege."

Let's review. First he took the money and ran to New York. (No problem with him taking the money, big problem with him going to the Yankees.) Then after a haircut and shave he starts bashing the Red Sox, saying that the Yankees would love to have Manny etc. Follow that with last week's statements about how great it feels to be a Yankee, about the "Yankee way" tradition, and how special it all is. Now this?

How stupid does he think we are? Does he think we're all going to perk up now and say, "Well he did pretty much stab us in the back at the 11th hour and go to our biggest rival leaving us without a centerfielder or a leadoff hitter, and then he ripped us mercilessly in the press. But now, since he spent .0000000001 of one game check to take out a lip service ad in the paper I guess I'll just drink this beer instead of throwing it on him." Johnny, you could buy the Boston Globe and it won't matter. Everyone here hates you, just check out the Rants and Raves section on Craig's List Boston, people that don't even follow baseball and that live in their parents basements are saying that you suck. You're going to get booed, get used to it.

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-In other news, the Olympics start on Friday in Torino. The big question is will Bode Miller be drunk, on steroids, molesting little girls, killing puppies, kicking homeless vets, and willing gold medals all at the same time? 'Cause you know...Bode Miller hates puppies...

-Wayne Gretzsky's smoking hot wife Janet Jones (adult features?) is being implicated in the Rick Tocchet gambling scandal. Wayne claims to know nothing about it. Doesn't something sound a little fishy here? Bad boy assistant coach and attractive wife of often-working-late first year head coach involved in something illicit together. Want to bet what her "involvment" really was? This story has "E" juicy written all over it.

-Mike Tirico, Tony Kornheiser, and Joe Theisman (big dramatic sigh) will be the team for Monday Night football on ESPN. Going from Al Michaels and John Madden to this crew is like finding out that your wife who looks like Janet Jones was doing your best friend and assistant coach who is badly balding and a compulsive gambling addict while you coached a mediocre NHL team.

- Ultra-ugly West Virginia forward/mascot Kevn Pittsnoggle became a father a few days ago. Pittsnoggle is the poster child for birth control and B-Slant controlled conception rights. Who, I ask you had sex with this man on purpose!? Oh right...he goes to West Virginia, nevermind. Pittsnoggle!

- And finally J.J. Reddick hung 35 on UNC last night as Duke hung on to beat UNC in Chapel Hill. It was the highest point total ever by a Duke player in the Dean Dome. He might not be able to get his own shot very well but I can't remember a player who was as deadly when only marginally open. He'll be a lousy pro but for now he is one of the best college hoops players ever.

Johnny, Donovan, and a Football Game

Johnny Damon has lost his damn mind. I thought the bearded, long haired, book signing version of Damon that was floating around this time last year was setting himself up for failure. That was nothing compared to what he is doing now.

Johnny, in preparation for his first meeting with new boss George Steinbrenner had this to say. "We're just going to talk, kick back and crack some jokes...It's great to be on his side so now we can talk about the Yankee way."

Has Steinbrenner mellowed in his old age or is Johnny just that clueless? Does he really think that Steinbrenner is interested in cracking jokes and relaxing with his retard centerfielder?

I would love to be in the room for the first five minutes when Johnny saunters in petting his newly shortened coiffe and says, "Hey! Georgie! Did you hear the one about the priest, the rabbi, and the goat that walk into a bar?"

"No Johnny I didn't. Sit the fuck down and tell me that you're going to hit .300 for the next four years and that you won't choke against Boston."

"But...dude...I thought we were gonna kick back...talk about the Yankee way."

"You want to talk about the Yankee way, here you go, I hate you as a person. I think you're a moron, I brought you in half to make our team better half to stick it to Boston. You are a little weasel with an overblown ego that better perform here or I will make more public comments about your sexual orientation than Mike Piazza could dream about. Capiche?"

"So...we're not cracking jokes?"

Damon's comments about his impending "chill session" with Steinbrenner came on the heels of this gem a few days earlier. "Everything feels right about being a Yankee, about the tradition, about my new teammates. It feels pretty special."

What the hell does he know about Yankee tradition? He has literally not even played catch as a member of the organization and he's talking about the magic of pinstripes. I wonder what he'll think about the tradition of booing overpriced free-agents that start the year slowly. He is just such a moron that it hurts my brain. He has no idea that by invoking Yankee tradition and playing buddy-buddy with Steinbrenner before he ever makes a single play in New York that he is setting himself up for failure. If he doesn't play well, even for the first few weeks, all of this melodramatic, up-yours Boston, Yankee tradition is the only tradition crap is on the record. Everytime he strikes out some greasy New Yorker will point to this and say, "Hey oh! Johhhnny dat's not da Yankee tradition you mada-fuck!"

I actually think that Johnny is going to play well in New York but with all his moronic talk he is setting himself up to take a much harder fall than necessary should he start slowly or slump at some point. Maybe in hindsight I'm glad we don't have to deal with this garbage from him anymore.

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Speaking of people that probably should have kept their mouths shut, Donovan McNabb stole the Super Bowl week spotlight earlier this week with his comments about Terrell Owens and the collapse of the Eagles reign as the class of the NFC. Prior to this little explosion I thought that McNabb had handled the T.O. saga well. He essentially kept his mouth shut and let Owens make enough trouble that the problem eventually took care of itself when the Eagles shelved him for the year. Now this?

I don't understand two things about this. 1. Why now? Where was this 4 months ago, when two teams were not rightfully in the spotlight heading into the game of their lives? Don't make waves during Super Bowl week just because you aren't there this time. Allow the Steelers and Seahawks their time, then if you must make noise after the season when we'll all be fiending for football related stories. 2. What's the point? T.O. is gone, you won. The organization stood behind you and eliminated the problem. You didn't look bad coming out of this because you were quieter than T.O. you looked good because you had the class to keep your mouth shut and try to do your talking on the field. Sure that didn't work out so well, partly because of your injury, but now you have basically pulled a T.O. by firing back at him seemingly unprovoked. All that respect that people had for you for the way you handled the situation takes a step back now because you lowered yourself to his level.

Finally, and most importantly anytime an athlete injects race into a discussion regardless of the context that becomes the overriding factor in the resulting debate. By calling his issues with Owens and Mondshire (NAACP guy) "black on black crime" McNabb basically erased the validity and limited the publicity of the rest of his comments. All anyone heard is the race card being dropped from on high. His problem may have been a respect issue, an issue of leadership, or any one of a dozen other issues, but by phrasing it that way it has become just one thing, a race issue. Now it's become more difficult for white people to talk about because we don't want to look racist by being insensitive to something we don't understand and it's equally hard for black members of the media to discuss because they don't want to seem like they are pulling a similar race card. While I agrew with much of what he said he limited the effectiveness of his argument with this statement.

Bad timing, bad phrasing, little to gain. Way to think it through Donovan.

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Since it is Super Bowl week, and this will probably be my last post before the game, I guess I should talk a little bit about the game. A big part of me wants to say that there is no way Seattle can stop an apparent team of destiny like the Steelers. The 1,2, and 3 seeds in the AFC couldn't stop them, nor could the quasi-corrupt referees in Indy. Why should a team that padded it's win total in the worst division of the NFL's minor league be able to do so? At the same time the numbers look good for Seattle. They have won 13 of their last 14 games and put a pretty good hurt on everyone's trendy NFC pick Carolina (although they were playing a 4th string running back). Their defense is ranked in the top 10 in scoring in the league (a requisite for winning Super Bowls statistically) and their offense has been efficient if not explosive.

In the end I'm going with Pittsburgh. They are battle tested, having come out of a tougher division in a tougher conference, not to mention they survived 3 road playoff games with minimal difficulty (most of their difficulty was caused by lousy officiating against the Colts). I think they can hammer the quick but lightly built Seattle defense over the course of 60 minutes and I think Roethlisberger can make more plays and fewer mistakes than Hasselbeck. The running game will be a wash with Alexander and Parker hardly affecting the game until an official makes a bonehead P.I. call in the end zone giving someone the ball on the 1. And in terms of playmakers you have to give the edge to Pittsburgh with Ward and Randle-El over Jackson and a backup QB.

The only thing that worries me about picking Pittsburgh is that Skip Bayless has been picking them all week and launching an attack on Seattle. It is an undeniable fact in B-Slant land that Skip Bayless is the worst sports writer and commentator in the media today so to pick with him pains me deeply. He's probably only villifying himself in Seattle to create a stir, but his potential to jinx may yet be unfulfilled. I know that if the Pats were in this game and Skippy was blasting Seattle all over town I would be screaming for him to shut the (bleep) up.

That being said I don't think that even Bayless can ruin this for the Steelers, sometimes if picking a team seems too obvious there is a very good reason. Don't forget, this is going to be basically a home game for the Steelers. Detroit is only about 5 hours away by car, and these are the same fans that have showed up in droves at much further locales like Denver. They won't just show up either, they will be manical freaks with towels and mullets.

I just want to game to get here already, I can't listen to Joey Porter try to force a feud (and himself into the spotlight) with Jerramy Stevens anymore. There's nothing there.

"Yeah, then the towel boy for the Seahawks said, 'Good luck Joey' and I was like mother-f'er you talked out of turn. You'll learn not to do that on Sunday when you end up on your back, punk! You don't see enough towel laundry time to talk smack to me boy! Yeah that's right run back to your mom, yeah that's right go back to middle school, bitch!"

Oh, hold the phone. I didn't know Jerome Bettis was from Detroit...well that changes everything...

Duke at BC

I thought it was going to be ugly. For the last 3 minutes of the first half and the first 5 minutes of the second half it was ugly. Duke was just killing the Eagles, stretching a 10 point halftime lead to 17 in 57 seconds. Then something unthinkable happened. BC came back. The same team that laid down and died in front of NC State a few weeks ago took the #2 team in the country's best shot on the chin and got back up again. That may finally be the statement that I've been waiting all season for from this team. You can't ever relish a loss, especially not a home loss in conference, but to hang in there with (in my opinion) the best team in the country down to the last second is a positive step.

Don't get me wrong. There were glaring negatives in this game. Craig Smith once again completely disappeared on a big stage scoring only 8 points and fouling out with 3 minutes to play. He is without a doubt the most overrated player in college basketball, one who pads his stats in the first half of games and against weak competition. They also turned the ball over way too much in the first half, committing 11 turnovers that turned into 10 fast break points in the first 20 minutes. During Duke's end of half run BC looked lost and totally overwhelmed by the Blue Devil's defensive pressure, routinely throwing lolly-pop passes that were easily intercepted and sent the other way. The Eagles were also out-hustled for the majority of the contest. Duke seemed to get every crucial rebound (including Greg Paulus' missed free throw late that turned into 2 more free throw attempts for McRoberts) and they were even able to fast break on missed shots which is simply says that BC was not putting out the effort to get back. As the game progressed the ball handling got better but BC was never able to consistently get into their offense off the first pass as Rice and Hinnant were unable to make effective entry passes through the Duke defensive pressure that never relented.

All that being said BC somehow managed to stay in the game. I give a ton of credit to Sean Marshall for covering J.J. Redick and for not backing down an inch. I know he went for 28 but it was as quiet a 28 as I could have hoped for, with 9 of his points coming from the free-throw line, many of those in late game fouling situations. And what BC fan didn't love seeing Marshall get into Redick's face after the Eagles had forced Duke to take a timeout. Sure he should have gotten a technical foul for it but that kind of fearless cowboy attitude is what it takes to upset great teams. Not to mention the slightly scared, "Who the (bleep) is this kid, I'm the best player in the country," look on J.J.'s face afterwards was priceless. In addition to his great defense Marshall also scored 14 points and was the emotional catalyst, along with Jared Dudley, all night long.

Speaking of Dudley, he is everything that Smith is not. He comes to play on the biggest stage and relishes the pressure and the spotlight. His season high 28 points and fearless attitude were two of the main reasons BC was able to stay in the game. Everytime he would score one of his ridiculously ugly up and under wiggle layups the Duke players would look at each other like, "Okay, how the hell did that go in?" His passion for the game and cheerleader antics gave the record crowd at Conte Forum something to cheer about all night. He was clearly the MVP of the game in my book.

Another positive surprise was the crowd. At first I thought that Gene D. had finally gotten the idea and let the students fill the lower levels, then I realized he had just tricked us again by giving out yellow t-shirts to everyone. Regardless, Conte Forum resembled (I won't say rivaled) a big time college basketball venue last night, complete with taunts to Redick and Williams and a goofy new free-throw distraction that looks like a controlled spasm mixed with the "Hanging Tough" dance. Dick Vitale kept referencing the atmosphere and even the Duke players were surprised at how the BC fans affected the game. Sean Dockery said, "It was a great atmosphere and it gets better every game but this was one of the best ones we've had." (Sidenote: How well coached is Duke, they look at a hostile environment that wants blood and refer to it in positive terms. It's amazing how they relish playing on the road when they know it's the Super Bowl for every team they face.) The only critique I have for the Conte Forum faithful, please for the love of God stop making shadow puppet birds when BC is shooting free throws. Just put your hands up in the air like everyone else, shadow puppets suck, period. You don't see Duke fans miming out giant D's at Cameron do you?

Getting back to Smith for a second, he drives me crazy. Not only was he totally useless last night he also had this to say after the game. "There wasn't much I could do but sit there and be a cheerleader. That team was picked to be the national champions and you lose to them by two points. That says something." Yeah Craig it does say something, but what you just said says even more. It says that you are not a winner, that you don't have the killer instinct to want to win every game. It says that you are satisfied with coming in second place as long as the team that beat you was supposed to be better. It says that you think scoring only 8 points, 0 in the second half in your team's biggest game is good enough. It's not good enough Craig, you should have wanted to win that game, not just to stay close with a superior team. You never hear great athletes talk about almost winning games, you hear them talk about wins and losses, there is no grey area here. That is why Craig Smith is not a winner.

Anyway, a couple more things about this game. First, I liked the decision by Al Skinner and Jared Dudley to go for a quick 2 with 20 seconds left trailing by 3 rather than force a long range shot. BC is not a 3 point shooting team, it's not their game. Going for the 2 and hoping that Duke misses a free-throw was the right decision, because if you miss the 3 with 20 seconds left and Duke gets the rebound the game is over. The entire idea of fouling and hoping to play 2 for 1 or 3 for 2 is to extend the game. Scoring a 2 there extends it further and makes Duke hit free throws, which unfortunately they did.

However, on the next posession Tyrese Rice should have pulled up to try to tie the game with 10 seconds remaining. At that point even if he makes the layup they're down 1 with only 7 seconds to play. Assuming they can foul within 2 seconds and that they make the free throws that leaves only 5 seconds and no timeouts to get the ball all the way up the court to try to tie. That's not enough time. On the other hand, there is no way that Sheldon Williams did not foul Rice. He hit him with the body, in the face, and on the arm. In fact, I think he might have been trying to foul him hard enough so that he couldn't make the shot and would have to shoot free throws instead. That was a terrible no-call and was indicative of the way the whistles were going all night. Sheldon Williams shot and made more free throws than BC attempted, and Craig Smith did not attempt a single free throw in the game. I like the idea of letting the kids play, but you have to let them play on both ends. Give credit to the Blue Devils though, as usual they made almost 79% of their free throw attempts. Something is off however when one team shoots 37 free throws and the other shoots 13, especially when the team shooting 13 plays the more physical interior offense.

So what can we take from this game? First of all Al Skinner should try to use this game to teach his team about mistakes. They could have pulled the upset last night if they had been a bit more sure handed and if they had stayed out of foul trouble. Al needs to hammer that point home, but he shouldn't be too negative. They showed a lot of heart last night, and while no one should celebrate losses like Smith did, the team can grow for this experience and take confidence in the fact that they clearly have the capability to beat a top-tier team. Duke on the other hand can look at this game as one where they didn't play particularly well in the second half, and only shot 44% from the field and were able to pull out another tough victory in an incerdibly hostile environment. They were also able to handle the late game situation as well as anyone I've seen (excluding one bad pass) and that is an invaluable ability down the stretch and in the conference and NCAA tounaments. First and foremost for me was that last night's game was fun. It was great to hear Dickie V. say things like, "Here come the Eagles baby, this place is electric," about my school. When I was there Troy Bell was the only player anyone ever mentioned and we were never on TV until the tournaments. Now we're in the ACC, the big-time, and Conte Forum responded last night. Now they just need to keep it going, it should be like that in there every night guys. Lock it up.

Super-Yawn-Bowl

Post-publish Edit: I swear on a book holier than the Bible that I did not know that I had essentially copied this title and subject from one of my least favorite sports writers in the country, Skip Bayless. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I actually agree with the majority of his article. He wrote it for ESPN's Page 2 earlier in the week, and despite a few Skippy-isms he is not completely out to lunch on this one. How obvious is the boredom factor of this Super Bowl if Skippy can nail it? Yikes. On the brightside you can check out one of my favority writers DJGallo's piece from the same day while you're on Monday's Page 2 (or just click the link dummy). Sorry for once again signalling the apocalypse.

I can't get into this Super Bowl. I've tried, and am still trying but I'm getting nowhere. I just took a shot at reading Len Pasquerelli's ESPN.com article about Dick LeBeau and his defensive schemes, yawn. I wanted initially to follow media day, but who cares what Matt Hasselbeck has to say? Joey Porter and Jerramy (yup that's how you spell it...) Stevens going back and forth, nope, that doesn't even get me sitting up in my chair. It's boooorring to watch 2 teams talk back and forth about one fat veteran who happens to be playing in his hometown when you're used to watching your team out there dancing around loaded questions and hitting up the Bowl week parties. I'm sorry Pittsburgh and Seattle, but I just can't force myself. Of course I'll watch the game but unless I bet on it (which given my current employment status would be a bad idea) I won't have any more than a passing interest. Does that make me a bad sports fan?

That being said all is not lost in the world of sports. Tonight BC faces its biggest test of the season as #2 Duke and J.J. Reddick come to Conte Forum. I was shocked when I looked up the line on this game a few hours ago and it was at Duke -4. How are they only favored by 4? I know BC is at home but by all rights the Blue Devils should wallop the Eagles and then some, especially coming on the heels (not directly) of a loss at Georgetown.

The problem for BC as I see it is this. J.J. Reddick presents massive matchup disadvantages for everyone on their roster. Shawn Marshall will get the assignment of covering him but he might not be quick enough to stay with him around the 47 screens they run for him each possession. You have to cover him from 8 feet beyond the 3 point line and in, and he is still going to get his points even if you are in his shorts from that range. They can't put anyone else on him for the duration of the game because he's too big for Rice or Hinnant to shadow him around the court and too quick with the dribble for Dudley to try body him up.

Let's just assume they don't stop Reddick, no one has, but that they are able to hold him under 30. There is still another huge problem, the matchup of Craig Smith and Sheldon Williams. In short this is Smith's worst nightmare. Williams is taller, as are most interior players, but he also has the strength to bang Smith right off the box. Craig's main advantage is normally his bulk, Williams matches it and maybe surpasses it and is able to block a lot of shots with his height and incredibly long arms. On the defensive end you can reverse the problem, Williams is too tall for Smith, (although BC's Sean Williams could be effective on him if he sees some quality minutes) to stop him from going over the top and strong enough to make solid moves to the basket. As much as I harp on Smith not playing like a first team All-American (and he hasn't) his effectiveness against Williams on both ends of the floor will in great measure determine BC's ability to stay in the game.

To have a chance tonight BC needs to forget about ACC style basketball. They need to revert to the banging physcial style of the Big East and knock the Blue Devils around all night, regardless of foul trouble. Duke, aside from Williams, is a finesse team. Reddick doesn't like to get knocked down, nor do Melchionni, Paulus, or Dockery. Duke's offense runs in rhythm and physcially disrupting that rhythm is the best chance BC has of pulling the upset. They also have to limit the 3 point attempts on both ends of the floor. Everyone on Duke's roster including Williams can hit the 3. The Eagles on the other hand need to stay close enough so that they don't have to shoot the 3 because that is not their strength by any means. My strategy defensively would be to absolutely swarm the outside, leaving the interior up to Smith or Williams. Duke's shooting prowess can put you away so quickly, I would rather take that away and force them to beat me from the inside...which they can probably do anyway, but you have to try something.

Either way, this game should be a glimpse of what Conte Forum could be like if BC manages to create a big time basketball venue. It might even remind us of North Carolina or Maryland. Take notes Gene D.