The Possible Drop Off

Posted on April 17, 2012 by | Leave a comment

By Raymon Thomson – Lead Contributor

Here is a list of 3 NCAA college football teams whose 2012 season is up in the air.

Baylor Bears (Big 12 – 10-3):   There is no doubt that Baylor coach Art Briles will have a problem filling the shoes of Heisman trophy winner QB Robert Griffin III, but that’s not the whole story.  Leading running back Terrence Ganaway is gone too, as the defense was #113 last year.  QB Nick Florence was 75% in completion and had two TDs against Texas Tech in the second half, but that was all the playing time he had all last year.  Baylor has a rough run during their upcoming schedule starting at West Virginia on Sept. 29 and continuing against TCU (10/13), at Texas (10/20), at Iowa State (10/27), at Oklahoma (11/10), against Kansas State (11/17), and against Oklahoma State (12/01).  Soft spots are against Kansas (11/10) and Texas Tech on (11/24).  QB Florence will need major help from the defense and the backfield is they are going to avoid a huge drop off.

Penn State Nittany Lions (Big Ten – 9-4):  Rest in peace, Joe Paterno.  New Penn State coach Bill O’Brien has some huge shoes to fill with no experience in that position.  He had a 7 year stint as positions coach at Georgia Tech, as well some time at Brown, Maryland, and Duke, but has never has a head coach position.  And Penn State has headaches that other teams with similar situations (Arkansas) don’t have – finely tuned teams who can still have a decent season despite a head coach change (as long as the other coaches stay in their positions).  The Nittany Lions defense was key last year with the offense having a variety of issues – poor QB play being among them (#96 in passing last year).  Penn State’s saving grace is the schedule with Ohio State (10/27) and Wisconsin (11/24) coming to Beaver Stadium and other opponents, Nebraska and Iowa, spread out.

Oklahoma State Cowboys (Big 12 – 12-1):  The Cowboys were a monster last year that was #2 in passing offense last year, averaging 387.2 yards a game.  Losing one player of the most potent passing combo in 2011 college football (QB Brandon Weeden and WR Justin Blackmon) would be bad enough, but losing both has left the team with 2 holes that are impossible to fill.  The 12-1 season wasn’t because the defense (#51 last year) or the rushing game (#58) and the chance of a major drop off is inevitable unless Oklahoma State can become more balanced.

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The Lamar Odom in Dallas Debacle

Posted on April 16, 2012 by | Leave a comment

by Raymon Thomson, Lead Contributor

I’m not especially fond of Charles Barkley, but I have to agree with him on something he recently said.

On a recent ESPN radio show appearance, Barkley stated “I like Lamar as a person, but I’m disappointed about everything that happened in Dallas. And it’s a shame that the Mavs got to pay him, to be honest with you, because he doesn’t deserve to get paid for what he put out there this year. He doesn’t deserve it, plain and simple.”

Just to let you know, Lamar Odom will make almost $1 million for the rest of the season to watch the Dallas Mavericks play – while sitting at his house in L.A. On top of that, he will receive $2.4 million in a buyout this summer. And this is for not doing his job. What is this world coming to?

Dallas Maverick’s owner Mark Cuban could fight the payment, but stated that he won’t, showing that he is by far the bigger man than Odom – for honoring a contract that Odom basically spit on by his half assed play and effort during his short tenure at Dallas.

I don’t mean to get personal about Odom, but I will. There are a couple of reasons that Odom decided to pout and act like a 5-year old since he got traded to Dallas from the L.A. Lakers – either he got his feelings hurt because the Lakers traded him or his wife Kloe Kardashian didn’t get the royal treatment in Dallas she is used to in L.A. (the reality television contract regarding Lamar and Kloe might have been a factor).

Either way, this reminds me of the famous Latrell Sprewell line “I can’t feed my kids on $3 million a year” – in the sense that I’m sure that Odom is telling himself that other teams will be clamoring to pick him up once Dallas washes their hands of him. He might be right, but for the good of the sport and to teach a lesson to future pro sports stars not to buy into their own B.S. – I hope he is wrong.

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Further Commentary on Lamar Odom
by Brandon Halsey

I haven’t seen as serious of a fall in recent memory as what has transpired with Lamar Odom. But with that being said, how high was Lamar in the very first place? In Los Angeles, Odom was always the guy who was supposed to step up. Odom was always the next “soon to be great” player on the roster. And it just never happened, and eventually the Lakers moved him out of town because they realized he wasn’t that guy. It’s not a knock on him as a person, but there’s something to be said about his production (or lack thereof), and there’s something even stronger to be said about the Mavericks making a very poor financial decision for investing in Odom.

As someone who watches 90% of the Lakers’ games in a season, I have never been impressed with Odom since he joined the team in 2004. I’ve never been impressed with the supposed “next big thing” scoring 13.8ppg as a 6″10 guy with Shaq out of the picture, three years before Pau Gasol and barely out performing Chris Mihm.

I blame his horrendous season on Dallas for being stupid. The Mavericks must’ve somehow forgot about the Phil Jackson factor. Phil Jackson and his ‘triangle’ offense has always been the great magic trick of coaching philosophies in the NBA. The triangle offense makes players look good who usually aren’t as good. The triangle offense automatically creates shots for players who are incapable of creating their own shots. It automatically allows for offensive production from all contributing players, even guys who generally don’t score a lot. Odom was never meant to be a great scorer. He averaged just enough to appear on the cusp of becoming a great scorer. Phil Jackson instigated the illusion that Odom was ready to become a good scorer when Odom was really always and only supposed to be a defensive juggernaut which obviously never happened. Odom was a soft, half-hearted run of the mill player who was more driven by bright lights, paparazzi and tabloids. Maybe if L.A. would’ve kept him around, his true calling for the game of basketball would’ve flourished under new head coach Mike Brown with his defensive-minded philosophy.

Odom never wanted Kloe, he always wanted Kim but his mediocre on the court approach never aligned with his preconceived notions that hard work is the catalyst for true success. That truth was a pill Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks had to swallow to understand.

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Should Olympians Be Paid?

Posted on April 13, 2012 by | Leave a comment

The Olympics, just like anything else is in the business of making money. Screw off with all that unifying, spirit of competition garbage chatter. Things that don’t receive profits rarely survive and the Olympics are not a non-profit organization. Someone is making money from the Olympics, however the athletes are not. Which begs the question – should they be compensated? And I’m not talking archery or badminton competitors – no one cares about 40-year old men who look like pedophiles that haven’t laid since the bicentinial age. I’m talking about actual athletes who look like athletes.

Boston Celtics guard Ray Allen recently spoke up about this matter saying that he thinks NBA players should be paid for playing in the Olympics. Of course a statement such as this invites instant backlash and criticism from people who believe the Olympics is an honor. It’s the same kind of people who like college sports more because they think student-athletes play for the love of the game. This is an outmoded idea that needs to be dropped. They might play for the love of the game but they ultimately want to be paid in the future, and they want to be paid millions. I’m sure you went to college in order to gain the current set of skills you have to hopefully one day get paid for your career. Would you work your career job for the love of the job without receiving any compensation? I seriously doubt it! That’s basically what you’re asking NBA players to do.

Let’s just be consistent with this argument. Michael Phelps doesn’t get paid from the actual act of swimming because fish are meant to be killed and consumed. However, I’m sure Phelps gets handsomely rewarded for shooting Subway commercials eating sandwiches with Jared. The Olympics and the NBA will be generating some sort of revenue for Olympic jersey sales and all types of other memorabilia over the course of the next five months. Where does the money go? I know it doesn’t go to the people who are providing the entertainment. Michael Phelps is the best swimmer in the world, and Phelps might be alright with simply being the best and winning gold medals, but Phelps should probably be paid for being the best.

The Olympics might be an honor, but these guys are professionals, and the U.S. Wants to win. If Americans didn’t care about winning in the Olympics, we would’ve kept college athletes playing basketball against the rest of the world. The 1992 Dream Team really screwed that up. Although it was memorable with Jordan, Magic and Bird playing together, now there’s no going back. We want to win. We not only want to win, we want to decimate the entire world at the game of basketball. It’s the only Olympic sport where simply competing isn’t acceptable. A bronze medal in Men’s basketball is shunned upon. A bronze medal in gymnastics is considered alright. A bronze medal in track is celebrated. But a bronze in hoops is pretty laughable by our standards.

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Arkansas Fires Petrino

Posted on April 10, 2012 by | Leave a comment

by Raymon Thomson, Lead Contributor

The Arkansas Razorbacks NCAA football program fired Bobby Petrino this afternoon.

With the firing, I surmise they will lose the following:
1. Any shot at a National Championship
2. Respect and fear from the other SEC West teams
3. Millions of dollars to the local economy due to people coming to the home games because of their 21-5 record over the last two years.

And this is what they gained:
1. The right to say “We did the moral thing”
2. A quick ride back to NCAA football mediocrity
3. A vacancy at head coach that can’t possibly be adequately filled in time for the 2012 season.
4. A good chance at being beaten by Texas A&M in their first season in the SEC West (which is pretty darn embarrassing).

So good for you, Razorbacks. In a country where you can get fired for making a poor moral judgement, such as Paterno and Petrino, you can keep your job for illegal activity (Tuberville for defrauding investors and Dennis O’Leary at UCF and the death of Ereck Plancher). Go NCAA football!

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Ozzie Loves Fidel

Posted on April 10, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Evidently Ozzie Guillen is a big Fidel Castro fan.

That’s pretty much how he worded it in a recent Time Magazine article that quoted Guillen saying “I love Fidel Castro” with more words expressing admiration for the Cuban dictator’s ability to remain in power so long.

The Marlins suspended Guillen for next five games as a result of the situation. And people everywhere are in an uproar.

Two things: Ozzie – Just shut up! Just shut up! It’s not cool anymore and it’s not cute either. Your mouth is only a liability. I have never been impressed with anything you’ve ever said. I’ve never been impressed with your ego, your outspoken tendencies don’t do anything for me and I could care less about what you think. You’re a baseball coach, so go be a baseball coach. Call some double shifts, and signal for a few suicide squeezes or sacrifice bunts or even better, maybe you could suicide sacrifice yourself so I don’t have to see your face, or hear your annoying and half-broken attempted English speaking voice anymore.

Secondly, Miami has just changed a lot and this is how you start off the new era of the Marlins. They just built a 37,000 seat first-class stadium with a retractable roof in Little Havana with aquariums, swimming pools, dancers and DJ’s for high-end fans from the same guys that run the Clevelander on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach. What’s lost in the description I just gave you, is the fact that the stadium is in Little Havana, a place immersed into the Cuban culture with Latin roots firmly attached. Little Havana is named ‘little’ because it’s obviously not as big as the Havana, the capital and largest city that’s in Cuba. So it’s not like Guillen said this in Minneapolis or Kansas City. This wasn’t Guillen getting loose after a few cold ones in Milwaukee and trying to be funny to some reporter. This was Guillen as serious as can be, saying something that’s not socially acceptable ANYWHERE! It wouldn’t have mattered if he was anywhere else not Miami, this is still an absurd statement to say. And the fact that he said this in Miami, with an infrastructure of such magnitude set in place in Little Havana – is beyond fathomable.

And this wasn’t the first time he’s said such a thing. In 2008, he had very similar pro-Castro remarks to a reporter in Chicago. In the 2008 instance, he didn’t say he loves Castro, but a similar respect was indeed documented. The comments weren’t funny then and they’re not funny now. But what is funny is that Miami put stock into this guy and not even five days removed from Opening Day, Guillen is swimming with the sharks.

And the worst part about it, is apologizing. Since when did it become normal and obsessively appropriate and politically correct for public figures, to release apologies after they said something wrong. You see this kind of thing all the time. It’s called “damage control.” It’s hoping that the grease fire doesn’t burn the entire restaurant down. I’ve about had it with people apologizing for things they said the day before, when that person clearly said and meant what he said the day before. Ozzie Guillen has now said this Castro thing twice in four years, so I would argue he truly does have a profound respect for Castro. Yet, he’s forced into damage control in which a presser is issued and he apologizes for half an hour and hopes to the high Heavens that he doesn’t get fired. Apologizing doesn’t change the fact that it was originally said. Sitting at a microphone saying he’s been unable to sleep for days doesn’t invite sympathy from anyone, I just wonder if Fidel is now a Miami Marlins fan?

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Irresponsibility at it’s Finest; ESPN as the Sports TMZ

Posted on April 6, 2012 by | 1 Comment

by Raymon Thomson
CollegeFootballScene.com

It seems that even ESPN can’t resist the “sleaze” angle.

ESPN recently reported that Bobby Petrino had a female, a 25 year old former Arkansas volleyball player and alumni, on the back of his motorcycle when he recently crashed. My question to ESPN is – so what?

I find the article from ESPN disturbing because I don’t classify it as “sports news”. With all the drama that has gone on in NCAA football over past year, to me this is just a smear piece by a coach that (on the surface at least) seems to run a pretty clean program. He has built the Arkansas Razorbacks to a competitor in the SEC West – no small feat considering the talent of the conference, and seems like a pretty level headed guy.

When you compare Bobby Petrino to Texas Tech Red Raiders coach Tommy Tuberville, Petrino looks like a saint. Tuberville (who is my current pet peeve) is being investigated for defrauding people out of over $1million in a phony investment scheme and his wife will possibly be indicted for manslaughter due to the death of a man in a traffic accident where she ran a red light. And to make matters worse, the Lubbock police haven’t indicted her yet on any charges, which has alienated Tuberville and the Lubbock police from the citizens around Texas Tech.

The difference between the two coaches? If it is true that Petrino was taking a woman for a ride on his motorcycle, it is none of our business and it is an issue between him and his wife (if there is any issue at all). On the other hand, what Tuberville and his wife are being investigated for is illegal and affects the Texas Tech college football program.

So, shame on the ESPN for reporting like the National Enquirer. Sports reporting is ugly enough without a sports network trying to throw some dirt on a man that already has his hands full recovering from his accident while trying to get the Razorbacks ready for the 2012 season.

As the writer William Burroughs stated in his piece, A Thanksgiving Day Prayer, “Thank God for a country where no one is allowed to mind their own business”.


 
Further Commentary
by Brandon Halsey

Isn’t this just another example of how 24/7 news access is a brutal concept? The evil 4-letter word no longer celebrates when a team wins. It’s all about “what can you do for me now?” It’s all about Brett Favre “sexting” and Rex Ryan’s “footgate.” Tim Tebow’s play on the field is scrutinized only because they feel compelled to kick the good man down. Winning is now an afterthought. They choose who they consider winners and losers and half-minded sports fans follow. So what that a guy like Tebow helped lead his team to a playoff win. Forget about Alex Smith helping his team go 13-3 within a Kyle Williams blunder of a Super Bowl appearance. The evil 4-letter will tell you they’re two of the worst quarterbacks in the game, meanwhile they celebrate achievements such as wins and stats therefore Aaron Rodgers is “MVP” and LeBron James’ “decision” is deemed acceptable. Think about how long it took for them to accept Eli Manning as a formidable quarterback. He has two rings, and they still support his older brother Peyton more who has won one Super Bowl win against a largely inefficient and fluke Chicago Bears team. And at the same token, in the defense of a guy like Rex Grossman – he played in a Super Bowl which is more than what a lot of quarterbacks can say. Phillip Rivers, Joe Flacco, Matt Ryan, Tony Romo, Mark Sanchez, Matt Schaub, Michael Vick, Matt Stafford, Matt Cassel and Carson Palmer all have NOT played in a Super Bowl yet most every sports fan in America would rank these guys as better than Rex Grossman. Sometimes it’s just easier to step on people instead of praise them. Thanks ESPN.

You can’t even watch a decent highlight anymore. If I miss a Clippers game, the highlight shown on the 4-letter is a Blake Griffin dunk, a CP3 juke with an assist and then they flash the box score. Based on a Blake Griffin dunk, sports fans get duped into thinking Griffin is a great player and then he gets voted into the all-star game when all he is, is Shawn Kemp version 2.0. A baseball highlight is a homerun and a pitch from the winning teams’ pitcher. Baseball Tonight only covers 4 teams just like NFL Live covers the same 4 stories that are sexy that week, and they run them into the ground. Ninety-percent of the network’s coverage is talk. It’s opinions from overpaid people with agenda-driven opinions. Thanks ESPN.

It’s time to wake up. Garbage in, garbage out folks. If I want to watch the ‘sleaze’ I’ll tune into TMZ and waste thirty minutes of my life. I agree that sports are a form of entertainment, but the minute we go into some guys bedroom looking for answers, we have crossed the line. What matters is what goes down on the field of play. And yes, championships mean more than statistics. Stats are useful for gambling and backing up arguments. Go ask Dan Marino how he feels about all his stats.

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The Kentucky Riots

Posted on April 5, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Raymon Thomson
CollegeFootballScene.com

What is it about winning a championship that makes fans lose their God given minds?

During the celebration of University of Kentucky’s 8th NCAA Basketball title fans set 40 fires, sent 20 people to the hospital, shot off one guy’s foot, sent several dozen fans to jail, and handed out a large amount of citations for such offenses as intoxication and disorderly conduct. And the sad thing is that the riot wasn’t as bad as the one the weekend before when UK beat their in state rivals, Louisville in the semifinals, where they burned mattresses and turned over cars. What is wrong with you people?

I mean this with all due respect, but just because the rest of the U.S. thinks that it is a state law for Kentucky residents to date their first cousin at least once doesn’t mean you have to act like it. What the hell was it that made you idiots lose your damn minds? Was it a bad batch of moonshine? Jeez. I could maybe understand it if this had happened at Billy Bob’s college who never won a championship, but Kentucky has won 7 previous titles! And what about the people running that asylum? The fans already trashed the place the week before, and it doesn’t seem that they had the foresight to put measures in place to prevent the patients from taking over – again.

ABC news wrote that UK president Eli Capilouto encouraged students to celebrate respectfully – stating that “rowdy” behavior detracted from the success of the players. Word of advice, Eli. In the future do your freaking job and put a collar on that puppy before someone gets killed.


 
Brandon Halsey

C’mon Raymon, this is perfectly normal and acceptable behavior.

There’s nothing else in the state of Kentucky to celebrate. So when something worthy of celebration happens, it’s time to capitalize. The only other thing Kentucky has is bourbon, bluegrass and horse racing and the derby is only open to a selective few. The Wildcats win was a win for the common man, for the average Joe, and for all the good kids attending the university worshiping guys like Anthony Davis as they drive around town in $100,000 cars. It’s a “basketball” state (although the game was really created by James Naismith in Kansas) and delusional fans believe the championship is back in their home state. Let’s just let them have a good time. They’re just a bunch of kids looking to get laid.

I have no problem with rioting because I always hope that at the very least, someone will get seriously hurt and maybe even die. Stupidity is a disease, and there’s nothing better than to weed out the weak and ignorant with a lot of bad behavior. Unfortunately, only twenty or so people went to the hospital which is completely unacceptable. It’s unacceptable that only twenty people were injured and not more. The only issue I have with this riot is that it wasn’t worse. These guys aren’t even that good at rioting. If you’re going to be good at basketball, bourbon and line-dancing – you should probably start practicing your rioting skills. People everywhere else around the world know how to stage a good damn riot after a soccer match. Maybe next time Kentucky fans can take a few notes. We need to take rioting a little bit more seriously on the domestic side. Maybe we could have start having riots like that one in Egypt, or the Ghana riot of 2001 where 120 people died.

And by the way, UK President Eli Capilouto is a terrible motivator.

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The Wonderlic Test

Posted on April 4, 2012 by | Leave a comment

by Raymon Thomson
CollegeFootballScene.com

Should NFL’s Wonderlic test be “retired”?

The NFL uses the 50 question/12 minutes written Wonderlic exam to roughly determine how adept NFL prospects are to learning and problem solving, with a score of 20 being average. Here is an example of questions (from Wikipedia.org):

When a rope is selling 20 cents per 2 feet, how many feet can you buy for for 30 dollars?

Which of numbers in this group represents the smallest amount? a) 0.3 b) 0.08 c) 1 d) 0.33

This year former LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne scored the lowest result in NFL Combine history – scoring 4 out of 50, and there were some on the internet that made some very degrading remarks about Claiborne’s score. And I might have too, but fortunately I read Peter Schrager’s story about the situation on Foxsports.com.

We are so easy to look at a headline and pass judgement before finding out the “whole story”. Claiborne’s low score doesn’t tell his miraculous journey from a child with a severe learning disability to being one of the premier cornerbacks in toughest conference in college football. He didn’t hide his disability when he was courted by LSU, he told them flat out that he would need additional help with his education, which he used to remain academically elgible to play during his time in college. He never slacked on or off the field which took determination and dedication that many wish his former teammates had (maybe they wouldn’t have been embarrassed in the National Championship).

The point is that the Wonderlic test is meaningless in a situation such as Claiborne’s, and shame on the NFL for letting his score out, much less making him take the test in the first place. And this shows that there is much more to a football player than some silly written test.

Further Commentary by Brandon Halsey

The Wonderlic test is a joke.

However, it was funny to see a guy like Vince Young fail the test. I think the test should only be relevant for quarterbacks, only because it’s such an important position. A good quarterback has to be smart. You can’t just roll out of bed, eat a bowl of Wheaties and expect great things, i.e. JaMarcus Russell. As Raymon mentioned, some of the questions are ridiculous, but isn’t it necessary for a quarterback to score well? Forget about how a lineman or a cornerback scores, but if I’m a GM and a potential quarterback does really bad on the Wonderlc – chances are I’m not going to draft him. I can understand if a twelve year old screws up some of these questions, but we’re talking about guys who have spent time in college. Just a little food for thought.

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The Azaleas Of Augusta

Posted on April 3, 2012 by | Leave a comment

The weather might be getting warmer in mid-March as the trees start coming back to life and flowers begin to blossom. However, there’s no better sign that Spring is here than the first major of the year in Augusta. It’s Masters week and the excitement is palpable. It’s the one event in all of sports where the venue is almost celebrated more than the players. Augusta National is magical, it’s like something from a Robert Frost poem. It’s not fair that a place could be so strikingly beautiful. The plushness of the greens against the contrast of jasmine and camellia azaleas in the background is a sports fans’ right of passage, yet this year, those azaleas will be missing.

The 13th hole at Augusta has an estimated 1,600 azaleas which is why it’s called “Azalea” – yet there are only a dozen or so bushes behind the green that still have blooms. Fans on the course Monday for a practice round posed for pictures in front of one azalea bush with its pink flowers having fallen onto the pine needles. Spring came just a little too early this year. A week ago as many golfers missed the Shell Houston Open to begin practice at Augusta, the colors were in full force. One of the guys, defending Masters champion Charl Schwartzel said “I saw them but it was last week. I was a here a week ago last Thursday, and they were beautiful. But the first thing I thought was, ‘They’re all going to be gone.’ I thought Augusta would be able to do something – get the fans on them or something. It’s weird”

Despite the devastating news, there is still a tournament to be played. The Masters could be considered the best of the four majors, or the most prestigious of the majors. Every professional that holds a golf club dreams of standing over a putt on 18 with a chance to win. The ghost of a legend watches and looms in the shadows of those who dream to wear the green jacket. They guard the mystique of ‘Rae’s Creek’ and whisper with the wind around ‘Amen Corner.’ You can picture Ben Hogan staring down the pin on the tee at the par-3 number 12, and you can feel the presence of Gene Sarazen as the players walk the fifteenth fairway just wishing they could repeat the ‘shot heard around the world.’ Every year during this time I wake up. I think of the sweet tea and three dollar pimento cheese sandwiches. The weather is always perfect. God doesn’t allow rain, only provides enough wind for confusion and dramatic appeal.

SO the question is – who will win?

Tiger Woods is the odds on favorite at 4/1. Phil Mickelson breaks at 9/1 with Rory McIlroy at 4/1. I like Adam Scott at 28/1. Remember, Stevie Williams is Scott’s caddie. The same Stevie that once was Tiger’s caddie as Tiger won three of his four times with him holding the bag. What about Matt Kuchar at 55/1 odds? You want a good value bet take Ricky Barnes or or Martin Laird at 125/1.

Would I dare to pick Tiger against the field? Probably not, however I do think Woods will be around on Sunday afternoon. I can’t imagine Woods without a chance to win. Augusta National is Tiger’s favorite course. Even when Woods was playing horrible over the previous three years, he’s finished no worse than 6th at the Masters. Let’s just hope we can have some memorable excitement. Let’s root for Woods and McIlroy down the stretch, with McIlroy two ahead with four holes to go. Talk about theater, that would be the ultimate.


 
In Memory, Greg Tibbs 3/2/81 – 4/2/12

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The Certainty of Kentucky Amid the Final Four

Posted on March 30, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Certainty is never certain. Kentucky fans like to believe in certainty and “experts” like to believe in the certainty of Kentucky winning. However, my odds are slightly against the Wildcats. I’ll always take the odds on any of three other teams over just one. Anytime everyone always leans to a certain direction, I try to find a way to stand on the other side.

I know Kentucky has the best talent. I know they have future NBA players all over the floor. And I know John Calipari has been on one of the best NCAA basketball coaching runs of all-time. But, John Calipari doesn’t have anything to show for it. Who cares about a few Final Four appearances with a championship game appearance and no actual titles. Who cares about a handful of Sweet Sixteens and Elite Eight’s when his accolades in Memphis were all stripped away. All we can really say is he’s an above average coach who’s an extraordinary recruiter. All we can really do is praise something close to mediocrity. All we can really say “Those Kentucky Wildcats sure look good,” or “Man, Kentucky sure has a whole lot of awesome talent on their roster.” And they do, and there’s no denying they’re a good team. But you know as well as I know this is college basketball and anything can happen.

Louisville can easily make a bunch of 3-pointers and Kentucky have an off night and goodbye Calipari. Since when did we suddenly forget about Louisville’s coach, you know, that guy Rick Pitino. When did he become chopped liver? Unlike Calipari, Rick Pitino has a National Championship with exceedingly less talent than most of Calipari’s recent teams.

And have you seen the pressers this week? Pitino is loose, laughing and joking around with people whereas Calipari looks a little tight. All the Kentucky players are visibly tighter than Louisville’s players. Kentucky knows the pressure is on. Louisville is loose as a goose and the play on the court will reflect so. On New Years Eve, Kentucky only beat Louisville by 7 on their home floor. Wouldn’t you take Louisville +8.5 all day? Louisville at +8.5 is as sure of a thing as my ex-girlfriend is a raging whore. Louisville +8.5 is absolute money in the bank. If you’re a level-headed guy who’s NOT a Kentucky fan and you don’t take Louisville +8.5 then you might as well be a Kentucky fan. I’m telling you people, this game reeks of “upset.” This game has Kentucky fans crying in an uproar written all over it.

Isn’t it interesting how we just kind of forgot about the 2nd game? Kentucky seems to be such a favorite that they’re going to blow past Louisville and the winner of Ohio State and Kansas is just going to play Monday night as the runner-up? Kansas and Ohio State are obviously in the Final Four for a reason. Ohio State is incredible. And it could be argued that Kansas played in a more difficult Big 12 than Kentucky in the SEC. Ohio State was 13-5 in a little better than above average yet overachieving Big Ten, Kansas went 16-2 losing to Missouri, Baylor and a head-scratcher to Iowa State. I’m actually surprised Ohio State vs. Kansas was scheduled as the 2nd game. Wouldn’t you think with all the Kentucky bullshit they would’ve had them play the late game? They might as well have told all three other schools not to bother with making the trip to New Orleans.

I have never seen a more “certain” team that’s supposed to win than what has been talked about with Kentucky. Oh wait, who am I kidding? Actually, I remember when the “experts” were thinking Green Bay Packers or bust. What about the Miami Heat last year and this year? How about the Philadelphia Phillies winning with that world-class pitching rotation? Haven’t we had about enough with these scenarios? What ever happened to the idea of the human factor? It’s not a bunch of robots. It’s not like Kentucky is a collection of IPads against a bunch of Atari’s.

On the National Championship 4/2/12
Louisville covered and I laughed all the way to the bank. Kansas also covered +3 as I expected and both games went under, it was a beautiful Saturday Night for me.

The Wildcats are -6.5 favorites over the Jayhawks for tonight’s championship game. This line makes me nervous. The spread for Kentucky and Louisville was 8.5. I prefer those remedial two points in late-game situations. Whereas you would have to hope for a made three point attempt under an eleven point deficit gives you the cover, now you got to hope Kansas is within nine points with under a minute to go. Such a thing is possible.

What’s even more likely however, is the absurdity of the fan presense that will be attending New Orleans’ Superdome tonight. Two of the most ridiculous and senile fan bases I’ve ever seen. I thought Duke was bad, ten Kentucky fans are worse than 100 Duke fans. Kansas fans have a better reason to be goofy, at least the game of basketball was created in that sorry excuse of a state. Kansas hoops is the only exciting thing in Kansas. Kentucky doesn’t have much more, but they do have horse racing and beautiful girls getting housed on mint juleps.

Let’s just hope for everybody’s fortune Kentucky burns down in flames. Let’s hope Anthony “Unibrow” Davis breaks a leg and Calipari gets arrested for fraud at halftime. So with that being said, I am taking Kansas to cover, and hoping they can win.

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