Greatest Interview Ever!!!

Now, I could have sworn that I scheduled this one to post the day after I wrote it.  Apparently I didn't.  So, here you go now.

Here's former NFL coach Jim Mora appearing as a guest on the Doug Gottlieb Show on ESPN radio.  This has to be the best interview I have ever heard.



"You were a real joy."  That's fantastic.

P.S. - In case you were wondering, no I didn't post this during a worship service.  I scheduled it last night!

My Thoughts on Lebron... Because You Care

Last week, LeBron James took part in one of the most self-aggrandizing, egotistical television "specials" of all time.  I think it was absolutely ridiculous the way things went down last week.  I can't necessarily blame ESPN because they did it for the ratings, and they were approached by LeBron's people to do the show.  I'm fairly certain the people involved felt used... I know I did, and I only watched 15 minutes of it.  However, after saying all of that, there are a few things that have been on my mind, and I just want to throw them out there.

1. This is the first time in his career that LeBron has really been able to decide where he wanted to play.  Yes, he did sign an extension with the Cavs that kept him there a couple more years, but this is really the first time he was courted by other teams and able to really take in what his options were.
2. LeBron played seven season in Cleveland.  He didn't bail at the first opportunity.  He was the best player on the best regular season team for the last two years, and each year, the team failed miserably in the postseason.  Did he fail the team?  I don't think so, he just came up against better teams.  An individual doesn't make a team.
3. LeBron didn't owe Cleveland anything.  Cleveland was not entitled to have LeBron for his entire career.  Cleveland was entitled to have him from the time he was drafted until now, but beyond that, there was no obligation on either side of the relationship.
4. People are saying that LeBron will hurt his legacy by playing with Wade and Bosh.  What will hurt his legacy more - winning 4 championships in Miami, or not winning any championships in Cleveland?  If it is about winning championships, then LeBron made the move that gives him the best chance to win multiple championships, and you can't fault him for that decision.  
5. The first thing people talk about when discussing the best of the best is the number of championships they've won; fair or not.  How many championships did Jordan win without Pippen?  None.  How many championships has Kobe won without either Shaq or Gasol?  None.  You don't win championships without a top-tier #2 guy.  One guy alone cannot win a championship in the NBA.  LeBron's decision was about winning a championship.
6. He simply took good advice.  Kevin Garnett, who played for the Timberwolves for a number of years, picked Minnesota over free agency and spent his best seasons in frustration.  Then he was traded to Boston and won a championship with Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.  After Boston beat Cleveland in the playoffs, Garnett basically said that there's a lot to be said for loyalty, but if it holds you back from winning the championship, then maybe you need to rethink what you are doing.

All right.  That's all I have to say about that.

Friday Five Retires

I'm sorry to say that the Friday Five has gone into retirement... in case you haven't figured that out by it not being around the past couple of weeks.  I have been spending more time focusing on my newest sports/baseball blogging journey, Bases Loaded Balk.  Take a few minutes to check it out!  And, let's face it, the Friday Five was all about the baseball anyway.  The other sports, well, they just don't matter as much.

Friday Five, 6/11/2010

Welcome to this week's edition of the Friday Five! Busy week in the sports world, so... here we go!

5) World Cup begins
Think about it, this is huge. It is a cup that contain the entire world. Awesome. Honestly, I'm not much of a soccer fan, but even I realize that this is one of the largest sporting events in the world. It certainly merits mention in my Friday Five for the week. That is all.

4) Chicago Blackhawks win Stanley Cup
Giving the city of Chicago something to cheer about is no small feat. This city had a brief celebration when the White Sox won the World Series in 2005, and that was it's first celebration since the Jordan era. The Blackhawks beat the Philadelphia Flyers in 6 games to take home another large cup. What is it with uninteresting sports and their cups?

3) Nadal continues clay court dominance
Did you know that Rafael Nadal won the doubles title all by himself? That's just how dominant he is on clay courts. Nadal won the singles title with 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 sets against the only guy to have beaten him in the tournament since the dawn of time.

2) Big 12 sinking faster than the Titanic
There has been a mass exodus out of the Big 12 this week.  Nebraska has left for the Big Ten (which now has 12 teams.  Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Colorado and Oklahoma State are all jumping ship for the Pac-10 (which will now have 16 teams).  Apparently Texas A&M is torn between the Pac-10 and the SEC.  I'm not too sure what just happened.  The middle of the country has somehow exploded, and the conference apocalypse is taking place.  What does all this mean?  Missouri and Kansas are suddenly going to be on top of a non-BCS conference from the looks of it.

1) Tom Izzo considering leaving Michigan State to coach the Cavaliers
In other words, Tom Izzo is about to commit career mistakes made by Calipari & Pitino.  Here's a little unsolicited (and probably unread) advice, Tommy, if you are a great college coach.... stay in college.  You don't get to recruit the way to do for college.  Many players are more concerned about their contracts than winning a championship (not that they'll say that out loud).  Now, all the commentators are really going to talk about how much the Big Ten (twelve) sucks.

Bases Loaded Balk

I decided yesterday that I would love to start reading a baseball humor blog. So, I tried to find one... key word: tried. I didn't really see anything along those lines, and the more I thought about it, the more I decided to give it a go myself.

I'm sticking with the Blogspot platform for now. We'll see how it goes. You can find the new website, Bases Loaded Balk, by clicking on the link.

I'm certainly open to new ideas at this point, so if you have 'em, let me hear 'em!

Friday Five, 6/4/2010

Welcome to this week's edition of the Friday Five. It's been a big baseball week... oh, and there's a couple other things going on as well.

5) Stanley Cup Finals

This begins a stretch of things that are pretty important in the sports world, but I don't care too much about. Last on the list because I'm pretty sure it is less important than Olympic hockey is the Stanley Cup Finals between the Blackhawks and Flyers. How ignored is it? I had to click 3 pages into ESPN.com to find out who even won Game 3 the other night. It drew the highest Stanley Cup Finals rating in 8 years... on Versus. Wow, people, just wow.

4) NBA Finals

The NBA Finals opened up in Los Angeles last night with the Lakers taking Game 1, 102-89. The big question coming into the Finals is whether or not the Lakers can be physical enough to handle Boston's physicality. Of course, with Ron Artest on the Lakers, Maria Menounos may want to watch her trash talking. He has not qualms about going into the stands after unruly fans.

3) French Open

France is currently peeing its pants with excitement. There are only two reasons why I will mention France - the Open and the Maginot Line. The ironic thing is that both were set up as defenses against the Germans, and neither one of them kept the Germans out because they simply ignored both. The women's final is going to be a thrilling match between Schiavone and Stosur.... wait, who? The men's final is yet to be determined, but let's face it, Nadal is going to win.

2) Ken Griffey Jr. retires

Things are going so bad in Seattle that they finally beat down one of baseball's greatest players. In an interview with Tim Kurkjan, put him as the #5 centerfielder of all time behind Mays, Cobb, DiMaggio and Mantle. I'd say that's pretty good company. Griffey hasn't been playing well this season and was benched, then two teammates went to the papers saying that he fell asleep during a game. After that, apparently, he became withdrawn and wasn't the fun-loving guy that we came to love in the '90's. In a seriousness, good-bye to one of the game's greats.

1) Armando Galarraga gets the shaft.

Unbelievable. Armando Galarraga, pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, lost a perfect game on the final out because the umpire thought the runner beat the throw to first. After seeing the replay, Jim Joyce realized that he got the call wrong, and has been a fire hydrant of tears ever since. Commissioner Bud Selig came out yesterday to say that he wasn't going to overturn the call and give Galarraga a perfect game, even though that probably would be the right thing to do. You can't have the Commish overturning every bad call, he apparently has other things to do... like make the All Star game "count."

Friday Five, 5/22/2010

It's been a busy week in the Swisher household, so, once again, we have a special edition of the Friday Five. It's special because it's on Saturday, not Friday. See, if I tell you it's a special edition, then you forget that I'm a day late in doing it... except now you're on to me. Oh, LOOK!!! A SQUIRREL!!!!

5) The Washington Wizards beat the odds and get the #1 pick in the NBA draft

With a 10.3% chance of doing so, the Washington Wizards defied the odds and showed the New Jersey Nets that you can't throw away a season and guarantee yourself the #1 pick. Everybody is now thinking that Kentucky guard John Wall will be the top overall pick. I'm not too sure if Wall has the appropriate criminal record to play alongside Gilbert Arenas and Jarvaris Crittendon... is Wall even old enough to have a gun permit? I'm not sure if he's going to fit in. When asked about possible team chemistry, Wall replied, "Nah, I didn't go to chemistry. I just had some guy take notes for me."

4) Floyd Landis admits to doping.

Floyd Landis, the disgraced cyclist (yes, I realize that is redundant), has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs during his cycling "career." Floyd, now wanting to be referred to as Flose Landseco (stay with it... work it out in your head... there you go...), also implicated other cyclists, including Lance Armstrong, who is denying the claims (duh...). Yet another reason not to trust the Mennonites.

3) LeBron watch begins.

With an embarrassing whimper, the Cleveland Cavaliers were ousted from the playoffs by the Boston Celtics (who are currently up 2-0 on the Magic). The following day all the sports talk guys were talking about was where Lebron was going to end up - New York, New Jersey, Cleveland, Los Angeles (Clippers, that is... hilarious!), Chicago. I don't know why nobody mentioned Charlotte or Memphis, since we're just throwing out random destinations.

2) Favre has surgery on ankle.

Brett Favre had surgery on his ankle, which leaves the door open to his return for the 2010 season. Let me just go ahead and predict what everyone is going to say when it comes to this story over the next 3 months: Favre, Favre, Favre, Favre, Favre, Favre, Favre, Favre, Favre, Favre, Favre. Man, that is a crazy spelling last name... Honestly, I really don't care what he does. Colin Cowherd will say that I really do because the NFL is more interesting with Favre in it, but I don't take what Colin says seriously most of the time because he is in love with Tom Brady. Seriously, it's a bad man crush, the likes of which I haven't seen since I had one on Scott Speizio during the 2006 playoffs.

1) Brad Penny hits grand slam, leaves game.

This week's top story is about the Cardinals because I'm a huge Cardinal fan. Cardinal pitcher Brad Penny hasn't been given a lot of run support so far this year. In fact, he'd probably be 7-1 if the Cards could just give him 4 runs per game. In the game against Cincinnati last week, he gave up 7 runs, and that has been his worst outing of the year, in spite of his 3-4 record. Apparently frustrated by a lack of run support, and angered by the fact the Angels issued an IBB to get to him, Penny took former Cardinal Joel Pineiro deep for a grand slam and a 8-4 lead in what was ultimately a 9-5 Cardinal victory. Unfortunately, Penny also pulled a muscle and came out of the game following his warm up tosses prior to the 4th inning. So, the one time he gets plenty of run support, he doesn't even qualify for the win. Go figure.

Friday Five, 5/15/2010

It's Friday Five on a Saturday! After a two week and a day hiatus, we're back with the Friday Five, the top 5 sports stories of the week... well, as I see it, anyway.

5) Philadelphia Flyers just try to make things difficult.

In the second round of the NHL playoffs, the Philadelphia Flyers found themselves down 3-0 in a best of 7 series. Then, they won the fourth game, and the fifth, and the sixth. You guessed it, they came roaring back to make it a series again. It looked like all the magic had finally worn out though, as the Bruins jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Of course, when you've already come back from a 3-0 series deficit, what's 3 goals in one game? Obviously nothing, because the Flyers came back and beat the Bruins 4-3, setting up an even more boring conference finals as the #7 and #8 seeds are meeting for an opportunity to play for the Stanley Cup.

4) The Cleve goes on suicide watch

The Cleveland Lebrons lost in the conference semi-finals to the Boston Celtics. Lebron can opt out of his contract and become a free agent this offseason. Most of the talk has Lebron going to the Knicks... because apparently, the Knicks can win a championship? Yeah, right, and I have some ocean front property in Kansas to sell you, Lebron. If he does jump ship (and who could blame him), Cleveland will be in the familiar territory of becoming irrelevant in the world of sports once again.

3) NBA Playoffs are really bad

Apart from the aforementioned Cavs-Celts series, the other 3 conference semifinals were sweeps, with Phoenix, the Lakers, and the Magic (who still haven't lost in this postseason) sitting at home for the last week wondering what in the world they are supposed to do with a week off. Oh, in similar news, we are still TWO ROUNDS away from crowning the next NBA champ... and people complain about the MLB playoffs taking too long.

2) Tiger Woods withdraws from Players Championships

I have avoided the Tiger Woods talk so far on the Friday Five because none of it has been relevant to what has been going on. Plus, everyone else has been talking about it. However, this is fertile soil for a few good jokes. Tiger pulled out of the Players Championships because: a) he has already established the fact that he is quite a "playa," b) he had a "bulging disk," and c) as one doctor on Mike & Mike in the Morning said, "It could be a case of cervical ridiculitis." I'm just going to leave the jokes for you.

1) Dallas Braden throws perfect game.

Oakland A's pitcher Dallas Braden, mostly known for yelling at A-Rod earlier this season, went out and threw the 19th perfect game in major league history on Mother's Day. It is a compelling story because Braden's mother passed away several years ago, and he was raised by his grandmother, who (allegedly) told A-Rod to "stick it." Dallas Braden is now know as the guy who yelled at A-Rod AND threw a perfect game. Also, apparently Oakland doesn't give a crap about the A's because there were only 12,000 in attendance for the historic occasion.

Friday Five, 4/23/2010

Much to the enjoyment or disappointment of a handful of individuals out there, next week will not feature a Friday Five. I'll be in New Orleans for the week, and doubt that I'll have the time to post it. If you are really missing it, then you can just come back and read this one again.... or maybe I'll put together a "Best of Friday Five" for next week.... Congratulations, you have just been privy to my thinking process.

5) Ubaldo Jimenez pitches a no-hitter

Rockies pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez threw the first no-no in Colorado history when the Rockies played the Braves on Saturday night. Of course, it was lost in the fact that the Cardinals-Mets played a semi-marathon that same day (see below).

4) NCAA Tournament expands field, but not as much as originally thought

The NCAA has decided to expand the tournament field to 68 teams for next year, instead of th 65 that currently play. Most likely, all 16 seeds will have a play-in game now, which will allow for more sub-par teams from the major conferences to enter the field and quit their whining.

3) NFL Draft produced some unexpected results for its 1st round

The NFL Draft had its first round in prime-time on Thursday night because the NFL hasn't done enough damage to America's love for baseball. Sam Bradford went #1 overall to the St. Louis Rams. A couple other notable notes: Tebow was drafted by the Broncos, which led to all sorts of "a mile closer to heaven" jokes, and Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen wasn't drafted at all in the first round, which was quite the surprise.

2) Cards-Mets play a marathon... well, almost.

The Cardinals and Mets hooked up on Saturday afternoon for an epic game. This game was scoreless after 18 innings. You didn't read that incorrectly, 18 innings of scoreless baseball. In the end, it can't be called a marathon because it didn't go the required 26.2 innings; however, after 20 innings of baseball, the Mets pulled out a 2-1 win. Congratulations, Met fans, you just had your highlight of the season - a win in a game where 2 position players pitched 3 innings. How bad is it that the Mets had to score twice of an outfielder in order to win a game? Almost as bad as the Cardinals not scoring on the Mets bullpen.

1) Cardinals begin their season by winning first 5 series.

You have to know that if there's anything remotely interesting in the Cardinals' season, it automatically jumps to #1 on my Friday Five. However, this actually is historic. For the first time in their entire history, the Cardinals have taken 2 of 3 in all five of their series to start the season. It's not like the Cardinals are the Rays or Rockies here, they've been around literally for over a century. That's awesome. They are sitting atop the standing in the National League right now with some great pitching, and some good hitting.

Friday Five, 4/16/2010

I totally forgot that today was Friday, and I don't really have time to pull together an all out Friday Five this week, so here's the quick headlines:

5) Look up your favorite sports story of the week and fill in the gap here.

No, seriously, the top 4 are all I can think of right now. Put it in the comments section!

4) NBA Playoffs are set

It came down to the final game for a couple of teams, but the NBA playoffs are ready to get underway. Now, for those who say the baseball playoff system is broken, why aren't you complaining about the NBA? It's April 16th, the playoffs are going to start soon, and the NBA won't have a champion until June. Tell me again how the baseball playoffs are too long.

3) Gordon Hayward declares for the NBA Draft

Butler sophomore, you know, the guy who almost won the National Championship... twice... in the closing seconds, Gordon Hayward has decided to test the pro waters as well. He did not sign with an agent, so when people realize that he's not as good as he thinks, he can jump back on board the Butler bandwagon.

2) Half of the state of Kentucky declared itself eligible for the NBA Draft.

UK is going to be losing, I believe, 4 of their top 5 scorers to the NBA this year. That's what you get with Calipari - great players who only stick around for a year or two at best. Enjoy your small window of opportunity at the Tourney each year Kentucky fans. And, true to form, Kentucky already has commitments from two of the top high school players in the nation.

1) Cardinals win!

Really, are you surprised that this is on here? Since last Friday, the Cardinals have humiliated Trevor Hoffman on two occasions, once when Stavinoha knocked one out to put the Cards ahead and eventually win, and once when Pujols & Holliday went back-to-back to tie up the game in the 9th inning (only to lose in the bottom of the 9th). They have also won a couple of great games against the Astros, and, staying true to form, dropped the final game of the series. The Cardinals are sitting pretty at 6-3 right now after winning the first two and dropping the finale in all three of their match-ups this year.

Friday Five, 4/9/2010

Welcome to this week's edition of the Friday Five in what is quite possibly one of the busiest weeks in sports.

5) The Frozen Four

Okay, I have no real reason to include this in my Friday Five because I don't care about hockey, and I care about college hockey even less. However, before bed last night, I turned the TV on and the BC/Miami(OH) game was on. This final is being played at Forbes Field. That's right, they turned a football stadium into a hockey arena in a town where there is already a hockey arena. I don't know if they were expecting a big crowd, and that's why they had it here, but there couldn't have been more than 4,000 people scattered around that stadium last night. Anyhoo, Wisconsin and Boston College are going to face off for the title game.

4) The Masters gets underway

The first major is underway. Of course, the big story is that Tiger Woods is making his return to the PGA Tour with this event. It's apparently a big story because he cheated on his wife multiple times. I guess that's what it takes to be big stuff in the golf world. Personally, I'm rooting for my childhood favorite Freddie Couples, who is leading after the first day.

3) Women's Tourney Finale

UCONN has continued it's winning ways, but for the first time in their 4,367 game winning streak, they won by less than 10 points. Their second consecutive undefeated season and national championship came on the 2 year anniversary of their last lost, and they beat the last team to win against them in the process. And apparently, since there's not enough hype on the WNBA, they had their draft two days after the championship, and one of UCONN's players was the #1 overall pick - shocking.

2) Men's Tourney Finale

Now that all of the David & Goliath, and Hoosiers references have been used up, I just want to say that this really was a fantastic game. It was back and forth for the majority of the game, and the final shot that would've given Butler the win just barely misses, which is quite an accomplishment for a half-court heave. Congratulations go out to Duke for winning the championship, and to Butler for one heck of a season/tourney.

1) Baseball Opening Day

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Baseball began Sunday night with, guess who, the Yankees-Red Sox. But we all know that it really began on Monday afternoon when the Cardinals beat down the Reds. I have a great feeling about this season, but I have a great feeling about every season. Go Cards!

2010 Baseball Predictions

Because, based on my brackets in the NCAA Tournament this year, I'm so good at prognostication, here are my picks for division, playoff and major awards this year:

AL East - Yankees

AL Central - Twins

AL West - Seattle

AL Wildcard - Tigers

AL MVP - Joe Mauer

AL Cy Young - Jake Peavy

NL East - Phillies

NL Central - Cardinals

NL West - Rockies

NL Wildcard - Braves

NL MVP - Albert Pujols

NL Cy Young - Chris Carpenter

All Star Game - NL wins a close one

Divisional Round

Yankees def. Tigers in 4

Twins def. Mariners in 5

Phillies def. Rockies in 4

Cardinals def. Braves in 4

Championship Round

Yankees def. Twins in 6

Cardinals def. Phillies in 7

World Series

Cardinals def. Yankees in 7

This, my friends, is the perfect baseball season.

Friday Five, 4/2/2010

Welcome to this week's edition of the Friday Five! It's been another fun week in sports, let's get to it!

5) NCAA might expand Tourney field

The rumor out there is that there is a lot of talk about the NCAA expanding the current tournament field from 64 (okay, really 65 if you count the play-in game) to a whopping 96 teams. Basically, the top 32 teams would receive a first round bye in the new format. That's right, the 1-8 seeds in each region would get a free pass in the first game. Of course, now the bubble teams are going to be the ones who are somewhere around the 100 ranking. It's all about the money, folks. Let's just be honest. Good-bye 12-5 upsets! Hello infinitely more complicated NCAA office pool!

4) Dayton Flyers spare UNC from historic embarrassment

The Dayton Flyers ended UNC's historic run to become the first team to have ever won the NCAA Tourney one year, followed by the NIT the next. Of course, I wouldn't really call that an accomplishment. I wouldn't want to be on a National Championship team one year and then be the butt of jokes from goof-balls such as myself the next by winning the #66 spot in the nation. I really think the 96-team expansion in the NCAA tourney is just a way to make the NIT more irrelevant, if that's even possible.

3) Donovan McNabb trade rumors

I've heard a lot of talk this week about possible trades that the Eagles are looking into concerning their "bum" of a QB. After all, he's only led them to five NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl. What a loser! The biggest rumor that got everyone all worked up would have sent McNabb to the Black Hole... literally, Oakland. It's almost like McNabb is a giant fire hydrant, and the Eagles are the local great dane that eats children and pees where it wants.

2) The Denard Span Incident

I caught this one live. I was watching the Twins-Yankees on ESPN (hey, I'm really ready for baseball), when the game's lead-off hitter, Twins OF Denard Span fouled a ball off into the stands. The ball hit a fan that was watching the game, and that person needed medical attention. Span felt so bad that he ran over to make sure the person was okay. Turns out, the person was wearing a Span jersey. Turns out, the person was there because Span gave her the ticket. Turns out, it was Span's mother. That's right, Mrs. Span was smacked with a foul ball hit by her son. (Just a tip, Mrs. Span, you may not want to let him pick out your nursing home.) What's even better, Span was so rattled that he came out of the game to make sure she was all right, and she was mad at him for coming out of the game. That, folks, is what happens to overly competitive Little League parents.

1) Final Four Field Filled Out

My wife is a flippin' genius. I'm not kidding. Her Final Four, which I laughed at: Michigan State, Butler, Duke, Kentucky (who ended up losing to West Virginia, the final entrant). Wow. 3 out of 4 in this year's crazy tournament is pretty darn good if you ask me. I'm still undecided as to who I am rooting for. Should I go with the local team, Butler, whose campus is just 10-15 minutes from Lucas Oil, and 30 minutes away from where I grew up. Or should I go with Duke, the United Methodist institution that was my second choice for seminary? Eh, maybe I'll pull for both to win, and then meet in an epic final game.

Friday Five, 3/26/2010

The Tourney once again takes center stage on this week's Friday Five, but let's be honest most of us stopped watching just before 8 on Saturday night.

5) Milton Bradley continues to be... well, Milton Bradley

Guess Who? That's right, in a span of three games this week, Milton Bradley managed to get Ants in the Pants and in Aggravation, the umpires ejected him from two of the games. It really just Boggles the mind that Bradley is still playing the game. You'd figure the league would Connect Four dots together and just send him away on a Battleship somewhere to be somebody else's problem. You'd think he'd get a Clue and just say Sorry, but it just seems like he's trying to get the Monopoly on crazy in baseball. Okay, that was fun.

4) Eagles listening to trade offers on their QB's

The Eagles have been listening to trade offers for McNabb, Kolb or Vick this offseason. I think a lot of people were wondering what they were thinking in signing Vick in the first place. It wasn't exactly going to be a dogfight to figure out who was going to be the starting QB in Philly... oh wait, did I just say "dogfight"... oops.

3) Bizarre Opening Day starter announced

Okay, usually, when I have baseball news to report, it is usually in reference to a big story or the Cardinals; however, I couldn't help but talk about this. Mike & Mike in the Morning occasionally has a segment called "News of the Weird," and I think this qualifies in that segment. Vincente Padilla was named the Opening Day Starter for the LA Dodgers. That's right, Dodger fans, the man who has a lifetime ERA of "I suck" is going to be your Opening Day starter. Now, the only reason I figure Torre is doing this is because it would put Kershaw as the starter for their home opener. Either way, it's weird, and doesn't project a lot of hope for the 2010 Dodgers.

2) Butler knocks off the second #1 seed

Syracuse became the second #1 seed to disappoint an eager nation. And by "eager nation," I don't mean my lovely wife, who has Butler losing to Kentucky in the National Championship Game. I've already lost the Swisher Family Bracket Challenge for 2010.

1) Northern Iowa caused 60% of America to stop caring about their office pool

We had guests over on Saturday night. We were getting ready to sit down for a nice supper of spaghetti and meatballs (awesome ones at that!), when I decided to check in on the tournament. And then watched all my assumptions melt away with one critical 3-point shot. Now, I went to the University of Evansville, which is in the same conference as Northern Iowa. Therefore, as a matter of the transitive property, I have defeated Kansas, and thus killed my bracket. I don't really know where I was going with that one.

Quest for 66, Quaterfinals

Well, sadly, the quest has come to an end. A poor start put the Illini in a 14 point hole early, and they never fully recovered as their season ended with a 77-71 loss against Dayton on Wednesday night. The Illini did make a frantic comeback, closing to 4 point with 18 seconds left, but couldn't keep the momentum going. So, the book is closed on a season that is somewhat a disappointment, but sometimes, that's just how it goes.

NFL Overtime Rule Change

Big news came out regarding the NFL today. First, an explanation, then, a rant. NFL owners voted by a 28-4 margin to change the overtime rules, at least in the playoffs to begin with. Currently, when an NFL game is tied at the end of regulation, there is a coin toss to determine possession, and it begins just like any other football game. First team to score in overtime, wins. It's pretty simple.

However, there have been a lot of rumblings in the last couple of years that this is an unfair way to do overtime. In nearly 60% of the games, the team that wins the toss wins the game. The most dramatic instance in recent memory happened in the NFC Championship Game when the Saints won the toss and ended up defeating the Vikings with a field goal to go on to the Super Bowl.

The new rule states that the team that gets the ball first can win on the opening possession by scoring a touchdown, but if they kick a field goal, the opposing team has an opportunity to extend the game with a field goal of their own, or win it by scoring a touchdown.

Rich McKay, the Competition Committee Co-chair said in a press conference, "[Sudden death] wasn't producing the fairest results based on field goal accuracy, field goal distance and drive start."

Okay, there's your explanation. Now, here's my rant.

Are we placing so much of an emphasis on offense that we are forgetting that defense and special teams have to be an integral part of the game as well? This isn't some kind of playground basketball game where you have to win by two. This is the NFL. In implementing this rule, I'm seeing two unspoken assumptions: 1) you can't expect your defense to win games late, and 2) kickers aren't really that important after all.

If you don't win the coin toss, then you need to 1) rely on your special teams to not give the opponent good field possession on the kick off, and 2) not allow your opponent to drive the ball into field goal range in the first place. Let's say the overtime kickoff results in a touchback, the offense still needs to drive roughly 40 yards just to attempt a 55 yard field goal. If you can't trust your defense to hold an offense to less than 40 yards on a drive, then maybe you don't deserve to win in the first place.

And I'm sorry, but making this rule because kickers have gotten better? Really? Isn't the job of a kicker to place the ball through the uprights? Shouldn't his team be rewarded if he can do that? Just ask any number of kickers that have missed critical field goals late in games.

When I was watching the Colts-Chargers playoff game a couple years ago, and the Chargers ran all over the Colts defense in overtime to win it, I didn't think, "Man, it's totally unfair that the Colts didn't get a chance to score." I thought, "Why can't that defense make a stop?" Your defense is a critical part of the game through four quarters, why does it suddenly become less important in overtime?

And, what's next? If a kicker hits a field goal as time expires to give his team a 2 point lead, should the other team get an opportunity to win the game? After all, it wasn't a touchdown that won it. A win is a win, and it doesn't matter if it is by 1 or 43. This new rule is not going to guarantee that 60% of the time the team to win the toss won't still win the game.

Well, bottom line: it is what it is... regardless of how stupid it is. Congratulations, NFL, you just fixed what wasn't broken.

Quest for 66, Round 2

With a second half ignited by an 18-7 run out of the gates, the Fighting Illini continued their quest to become the 66th greatest team in college basketball by tearing through the Kent State Golden Flashes like they were my club-footed turtle's AAU team. Okay, so I don't really have a club-footed turtle, but you get the point. The final in this one Illinois 75, Kent State 58.

Illinois is now in the Elite Eight of the Not Invited Tournament (NIT) with powerhouses such as: Dayton (their opponent on Wednesday), Texas Tech, Mississippi, Virginia Tech, Rhode Island, UAB and North Carolina. Could we have a rematch of the 2004/2005 National Championship game? It would be sweet, sweet revenge to take down those Tar Heels on the Maundy Thursday Championship game.

Friday Five, 3/19/2010

Welcome to this week's edition of the Friday Five! It's a big week in college sports with the Tournament field announced and games starting Thursday. Let's not forget the NIT as well!

5) Pujols for Howard rumor gets unnecessary hand-wringing going

Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard were at the center of some major rumors earlier this week. The story, originally reported by Buster Olney, was that there had been talks in the Phillies front office about a possible blockbuster trade involving the two stars. My initial reaction: Well, duh, what front office hasn't had conversations about what it would take to get Pujols. Unfortunately, for some teams, it would involve trading the entire major league roster, 4 prospects and promoting the entire Triple A squad (yeah, I'm talking to you Orioles and Pirates). On paper, does this trade make sense? Yeah, for the Phillies, but I'd give it a 0.007% chance of ever happening.

4) Joe Nathan injures arm and is possibly done for the season

The Twins had high expectations of seriously competing in the AL Central this season, but Nathan's injury just made it a little harder. If you don't think it's important to have a solid closer like Nathan in your bullpen, take a look at the 2008 Cardinals, who blew 30-odd saves and ended up just 11.5 games behind the Cubs.

3) Texas Rangers coach Ron Washington admitted to using cocaine

It came out this week that the manager of the Texas Rangers tested positive for cocaine use during the 2009 season. Washington was very apologetic and has been enrolled in the MLB's drug rehab program. Even though he has finished the program, he has asked the MLB to continue testing him on a regular basis for accountability. Of course, if you were managing the Texas Rangers, wouldn't you want some crack?

2) Illinois gets the shaft

In spite of playing well against some of the best teams in the Big Ten (including being the only team to beat Wisconsin in Wisconsin), Illinois got left out of the Big Dance. Meanwhile, the team that finished behind them in the Big Ten standings and was blown out by Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game is currently a #11 seed in the Tourney. Don't worry, folks, you can follow Illinois' quest on this blog to become the 66th best team in the country as they attack the NIT (Not Invited Tournament) as a #1 seed!

1) NCAA Tournament field is set and the upsets have begun

Thanks to teams such as Murray State, Ohio and Old Dominion, people all over the country have already lost interest in the Big Dance. However, for geniuses like myself, who still have 15 Sweet Sixteen teams alive, it wasn't all that bad.

Quest for 66

Much to my disappointment, Illinois did not get their ticket punched to the Big Dance this year. Instead the were a #1 seed in the NIT (a.k.a. Not Invited Tournament), and began their quest to be the 66th best team in the nation.

Unfortunately, in spite of the fact they are a #1 seed, Illinois had to hit the road and head to New York to take on the Stony Brook Seawolves, who have played the likes of Hartford, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire this season. A big thanks to Cirque du Soleil for forcing Illinois to go on the road for this one.

Stony Brook jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first minute of the game, but couldn't hold off the Big Ten powerhouse known as Illinois. It was back and forth for a while, but Illinois took the lead for good with less than a minute left in the first half and never looked back.

Next up on the Quest for 66: Kent State on Monday.

Friday Five, 3/12/2010

This week's Friday Five might be missing something important. That's because it's being written on Thursday morning. In case you didn't know, I'm a very busy and important person, and I have places to be on Friday... right....

#5 - Athlete's foot is more than a fungus

Okay, probably not the best headline I've come up with. But there has been a trend this week of athlete's sticking their foot/feet in their mouth/mouths. The winners for dumbest things said - Milton Bradley (go figure), Torii Hunter (actual surprise) and Derek Anderson (who wouldn't want to get out of Cleveland?).

#4 - Nomar retires

After a 12 year career, Nomar Garciaparra (just a side note, I wrote that last name without looking it up) retired from baseball. He signed a one-day contract with the Red Sox so he could retire with the team that brought him to the Bigs. Nomar started off his career in a very promising manner, but was held back by injuries. The debate now is whether or not he is a Hall of Fame player, and quite frankly, I don't see it. Good player, great guy, but not a HOF'er. But don't worry, he's going to work at ESPN now... and he's still married to Mia Hamm.

#3 - Wofford makes first appearance in the Big Dance

It's championship week across college basketball, and Wofford won its conference so that it can have the honor of being slaughtered by either a #1 or a #2 seed in the tournament. Congratulations, Wofford!

#2 - First Tourney bid goes to an Ivy League school

In keeping with the same line as #3, Cornell (perhaps you've heard of it) was the first team to clinch a spot in the Big Dance. I have no reason to include this in this week's Friday Five other than to make the "perhaps you've heard of it" comment. Don't know why? Click on the link.

#1 - UCONN women's basketball continues ridiculously long winning streak

The women of the University of Connecticut defeated Notre Dame to win it's 71st straight game, and then proceeded to win their 72nd straight by beating West Virginia in the Big East championship game. Their last loss came on April 6, 2008 against Stanford in the Final Four, and their closest game in that stretch was a 10 point win over Rutgers on March 2, 2009. I'm fairly certain they could beat the New Jersey Nets right now.