Tuesday, March 12, 2013

TOURNAMENT TIME

Silly me, I didn't know that some tournaments actually started yesterday. I watched the first round of the The Big East tournament tonight, which should have been called the "Inept Round." Seton Hall versus Univ. of South Florida. Some the unforced errors and turnovers for both teams were almost comical. I say 'almost' just to be kind. Seton Hall won the game in overtime, 46-42. That is the record for the fewest total points by both teams in the Big East Tournament. Seton Hall took 66 shots the whole game and missed 50 of them. That's about 24%. With that kind of terrible shooting, they're going to feel right at home playing Syracuse tomorrow afternoon. Just to give you a better understanding of bad it was, paste the following link into your browser.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpHjX0OyrX0
Okay, USF and Seton Hall weren't quite that good.

With all the hullabaloo about Mariano Rivera's return,  Goose Gossage has surfaced with his rant about today's closers as opposed to the closers of his era. There is no denying Rivera's talent and numbers, but Gossage's point has some merit, too. Goose's job was different from Mo's. Gossage was a reliever, that is, he came into the game when the starter ran out of gas, be it the 7th, 8th or 9th inning, and was expected to finish off the game. Rivera's job was very specific: get three outs in the ninth. He also had two or three set-up men to set the stage for him. 
It seems to me, the  best way to resolved this issue, is by separating the two situations. Gossage was the best reliever, Rivera the best closer.  Works for me.

Joe Lunardi, ESPN's "Bracketologist," has predicted Syracuse as the dreaded #5 seed in the NCAA tourny. Now that may change, depending on the conference tournaments this week, but if it doesn't, the Orange will find themselves in the first game of the tournament in the seeding that has produced the most upsets in the history of the tournament: the 12-5 game.

***THEY SAID IT***
"Oklahoma Thunder forward Serge Ibaka karate chopped the Clippers' Blake Griffin in the crotch. Is that a low-post shot?"  -- RJ Currie
"The Alabama football program unveiled its new $9 million weight room. It's similar to the International Space Station, only more high tech"  -- Brad Dickson
" Southern California just experienced a 4.7 magnitude earthquake. The ground was shaking so hard one of Dwight Howard's free throw attempts rolled into the basket"  -- Brad Dickson
" One week until Selection Sunday for March Madness. Meaning in many American offices, these upcoming five work days will be the last productive ones for some time."  -- Janice Hough
"Dateline New York: The Brooklyn Nets have reportedly put Kris Humphries on the trading block, just 17 months after Kim Kardashian did."  -- Dwight Perry
" Beginning in the year 2020, the sport of Wrestling, a major part of the Olympics since the first games, will no longer be an Olympic event. But have no fear athletic supporters, both Synchronized Swimming and Ribbon Twirling will continue to be the extreme sporting events that they are today."  -- Jerry W.
"Danica Patrick made history as a woman at the Daytona 500 by finishing 10th. Jimmie Johnson tied the record for best finish by a man."  -- Reggie Hayes
"Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco signed a six-year contract worth more than $120 million. Apparently Joe went to McDonald's drive thru for his first meal after the signing. Let me guess, he ordered a Happy Meal."  -- TC Chong

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