Tuesday, November 30, 2010

3-1 on the weekend

I follow a few teams in this great sporting world of ours and it's a rare bird for them to all find themselves victorious on the same weekend. Georgetown and Arsenal pulled out nice wins early on Saturday. That left me with two teams left to play - ND and the Redskins.

ND vs USC has been one of the worst days on my sporting calendar for nearly a decade. It's usually a complete domination. USC had 8 straight W's in the series, with 6 being complete humiliations. But something funny happened Saturday night. The Irish, after trying their best to give this bad USC team a win, decided enough was enough and grabbed victory from the jaws of defeat.

I knew the 'Skins were in trouble on Sunday after the ND game ended. And I knew I was in trouble because I was going to make it to FedEx. I feel like I should apologize to everybody. Their loss to the Vikings was kinda my fault. Well that and the fact that they just can't score points. I guess both of those things went into the loss.

Back at FedEx: I haven't been going that much the past 3 seasons but every time I get back there (I have to go at least once a season to keep my streak alive) I remember how much I just love being there. It's not even the wins or the losses really, it's live sporting events. They are the best.

I didn't see anybody at Orange A54 but that used to be the spot. I was at a pretty good spot in the Green Lot. Lots of new friends, ran into an old friend and more importantly I found an old love inside the stadium. I would have never thought to buy the cotton candy myself, but it was incredible. It put me in the mood for a funnel cake.

The 'Skins: They just don't score enough points. It's really that simple. Their inability to score basically requires them to play mistake free football to get wins. When you score a decent amount of points, you can overcome dropped balls, turnovers, bad calls, whatever. They don't do that.

I can't believe Favre came in here and didn't do something stupid on the field. I watch the Vikings every week and he's always good for AT LEAST one huge, horrible mistake per half, let alone an entire game. Unbelievable.

Random: I see a lot of bad cornhole sets out there but I did see some nice ones on Sunday. I need to make another one before the next DC United season. And by me I men I'll help Terry make it. I love Celebreation Ale. I better go and buy a bunch of it before it goes the way of Dogfish Pumkin Ale . Some old guy cut in front of me leaving the stadium and I nicked his SUV. It was nothing worse than a kiss on the cheek. Of course 4 golden oldies had to get out and inspect the non-incident. I would have pretended to only speak German if they wanted to exchange information.

Game 6: Finally back at Home

Well it had been awhile but the Hoyas finally made their way back to Verizon. I didn't know much about UNC-Asheville besides the fact that they had given UNC a good game. Who knows what that really means.

So the game was 7-7 about 4 or 5 minutes in when Austin Freeman decided he wanted a break. He drained three 3's in about a minute and it was 30-7 before I could finish my nachos.

The rout was on and it enabled JT3 to play with a bunch of different lineups. I really like the press they are using at times this season. It seems to get everybody's energy level up. It really raises the intensity of the defense. I'd use it anytime I felt the guys were slacking in their half court defense.

Random: I'm still not used to the new look in the Acela Club. You can't see the court from the bar. That's bad news now matter how you try and rationalize it.

**The new parking situation isn't as cool as it used to be but I finally figured out the best route to get to where I need to be.

**There were way more people at the game than I would have guessed. The student turnout was pathetic but I guess I can't really throw stones. I wasted a ticket. I need to do a better job of advertising.

**It's amazing what adults will do for a free burrito. People go out of their mind trying to get free food.

**They don't do the dress like a Hoya competition anymore. For me the highlight of that TV timeout contest was seeing which old jerseys they would use.

Here are some of my quick thoughts on the players:

Freeman: Dirty. 7-9 from three is ridiculous.

Wright: Playing like he wants to be in the NBA. He was able to get Freeman lots of good looks. He also had a few more turnovers than you would like but that falls on some of his teammates not being ready for the pass.

Clark: Not much to write home about. It was a weird game with all of the different lineups being thrown out there.

Vaughn: Another solid game in the middle. I can't believe the rate at which he is blocking shots.

Hollis: Didn't go to the basket like last game. Seems to have found his stroke and notched a double double. That has to be his first.

Sims: They weren't running the offense through him as much as the State game but he was alright. I thought the refs were kind of harsh on some of his fouls. He looks like he belongs.

Sanford: Everybody has their favorite player off the bench that they think should get more time. Sanford is mine.

Benimon: Had some nice passes for easy buckets. Good to see him get in the scoring column.

Starks: I want to look up some of Wright's stats from his frosh season to see how they compare.

Bowen: Man he was good in the summer :)

Lubick: Sims is getting some of his minutes. I get the feeling that Nate is frustrated a bit that it's not coming easier to him. 7 points has to be his career high.

My advice? Learn to live with it

Ok this is the last time that I complain about my shoulder. I promise. Look I'm 14 months from the cut date and it's not exactly where I want it to be. Where I need it to be. C'mon man!

So I was feeling like I needed to do something Sunday night. I decided working out was a good idea. Strike One.

I tweaked my shoulder and then I couldn't fall asleep for hours. Strike Two.

Well we all know that you can't strike out unless you come up with a third dumbass idea in a short amount of time. Taking some old pain medicine? Yeah that did the trick. Strike Three my man.

Was the medicine too old and expired? Was my body not ready for it? Was there alcohol in my system? Did I have an empty stomach? Ah what's the difference really? Either way it completely crushed my Monday and put me right into today.

So my shoulder is what it is. I'm just going to grit my teeth and take it from now on. Talking about your problems is a waste of time. If I can paraphrase from Lou Holtz - 80% of the people don't care and the other 20% are glad that you have them.

The one thing that keeps me thinking that it's going to turn out alright? Before surgery, if I did something to cause it pain, it would hurt for weeks. Now? Just days. So there's that.

Sometimes the small victories add up.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Surfs up brah

I've watched a bit of the Maui Invitational today and all I can do, besides root against UCONN, is think about how I'll be there next year. I don't know who is coming with me, but I'm going. I mean I can't think of one legitimate reason to miss the 2011 Maui Invitational. A school is only eligible to go every 4 years yet the last time Georgetown went over there was in 1999. I'd rather not wait another 12 years for the next one. Thanks.

Here is your field for 2011: Duke, Georgetown, Kansas, UCLA, Michigan, Memphis, Tennessee, and the host school - Division 2 Chaminade. Sick.

I've already got the whole thing planned out. Get there on a Saturday. Chill, do whatever. Same thing on Sunday. Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday go to Georgetown wins at some point and kick it on the beach when they aren't playing. The gym is only 1,000 yards from the Pacific Ocean. Thursday eat turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie on the beach. Friday do whatever. Saturday do whatever. Sunday either go home or send for our stuff and never leave. I'll make sure to have Rocky's bags packed so he's able to get there ASAP should we find suitable housing.

So the new rankings came out today. The Hoyas are #16 in both the AP and the Coaches Polls. I think they should be closer to 10 than 20 but it's early. I think it's a joke that UNC is #25 in both. I also think it's insane that Feinstein has VMI as #25 on his ballot. He's easily the worst voter with no peers in sight.

You know what always makes me laugh? When you are out and somebody has a really annoying song as their ring tone. It's not enough that the song is annoying, it's that that person decided to make it their ring tone and keep it at an insane volume level in public. Somebody at Target had Poker Face set at an obscene level. The offender of course had to struggle to find her cell phone in her purse. I wouldn't have expected anything less.

If you had told me before that season started that the Redskins would be 5-5 after 10 games I would have taken it. If you had told me that 2 of their 5 losses would be to Detroit and St. Louis I would have wanted to fight you.

I was kinda worried that Bret Favre might have retired after yesterday's embarrassment. I'd like to see him in person one last time before he permanently trades football pants for Wrangler jeans.

Random Maui Notes: It wasn't so long ago that Oklahoma was really good at basketball. They really suck now. Jeff Capel, their head coach, can't even find a good Hawaiian shirt to rock on the sidelines.

UCONN escaped with a close win over the Shockers today. I'd like to think that the Hoyas will be able to figure out how to contain Kemba Walker. I'm thinking Jason Clark and Vee Sanford will do the trick.

Kentucky fans seem really annoying on TV. I hope they lose at least once while they are out in paradise.

Game 5: Charleston Championship Day

I have to believe that the brackets were set up in hopes of a Georgetown - NC State final. Well the organizers of the Charleston Classic got their wish as the two teams from the power conferences advanced to the championship game. I was mildly surprised that George Mason didn't give NC State a better game.

In what is becoming typical fashion, Georgetown wore down NC State in the second half to capture what is hopefully the first of many titles this season. The Hoyas turned a halftime tie into a 82-67 victory that might be forever known as the Henry Sims coming out party.

Sims, a highly regarded freshmen 2 years ago, has yet to consistently contribute on the collegiate level. I hope that is all changing as he looked the most comfortable I have ever seen him yesterday, especially as the Hoyas ran their offense through him during the game's most critical stretch. In just 15 minutes Sims was able to contribute 5 assists and 9 rebounds. He also had 4 points but that wasn't the important part. The important part was his vision and feel for the game in the high post of the Princeton offense. I can't say enough about his play so I'll just stop and pray that it continues.

I've been waiting for Hollis Thompson to have a game like yesterday all season (5 games). Not only did Hollis lead the team in scoring but he hit shots and went to the hoop. Oh and he had 9 rebounds. It's funny how those three pointers become easier to hit once you start going to the basket a few times.

Lubick seems to be going through some growing pains as a freshmen right now. He's got a great motor but it's not clicking for him right now. I hope he turns his frustration into hard work and pushes through this. You can tell he will be a player.

The only disappointment for me was the lack of meaningful time for Sanford. I know there is a log jam at the guard position but he has to get minutes. I'm hoping that yesterday's lack of time was due to the fact that State is a rather tall team. There are going to be a lot of available minutes next season and Sanford is going to get a lot of them.

Chris Wright really has picked up where he left off from last season. He had 24 assists in the three games to earn MVP of the tournament. Clark was also named to the All-Tournament team. I'm still scratching my head as to who Julian didn't find himself on that team. 13 blocks in 3 games is pretty sick the last time I checked. Especially when you weren't even supposed to play after being ill.


Random: I know it's early to look at RPI and SOS but Georgetown's three opponents in this tournament went 2-1. That's the best possible scenario. Basically you want to beat all of your non-conference opponents and then root for them the rest of the way to make you look good. So far that has been happening for the Hoyas.

That was the last time I watch a game with sound when Jason Williams is doing the color. He's beyond awful. I'd rather list to Vitale. There. I said it.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Game 4: Charleston Day 2

All I really knew about Wofford was that they gave Wisconsin a real scare in the first round of last season's NCAA Tournament. After witnessing some of the most ridiculous upsets over the last few seasons in person, I'll never take an opponent for granted. I hope the guys actually playing in the games have the same attitude since that probably matters just a little bit more than what I think.

Let's fast forward to midway through the 2nd half when Wofford cut the Hoyas lead to 50-45. Now at the time I didn't think it was so great but looking back, and objectively at the time, it was perfect. All you can ask for in these early season games is to be put in uncomfortable spots away from home and see what happens. Having veteran leadership at the guard spot is really going to give this team an excellent chance at going deep into March.

So Wright took over and the Hoyas won easily, 74-59. Vaughn has a double-double with 4 blocks on the side. Benimon played great defense on their best big guy. Sims had one of his best games as a Hoya. Hollis didn't just settle for 3's. In fact he didn't even attempt one. 24 hours after taking 30 three pointers, they only attempted 8. Basically there was a lot of good to come out of this game against a team picked to win their conference.

Favorite quote: Julian Vaughn after notching his first ever double-double: “We didn’t come here just to play well,” he said. “We want to win it all.”

Second favorite quote: Wofford coach Mike Young: “They’re a little bit better than I thought they were.”

Random: The game was delayed on ESPNU because the WVU - Vanderbilt game went longer than the time slot. That was kind of a bummer since I was watching it on DVR. Jason Williams is a horrible announcer. It's almost as if he's being bad on purpose just to see how much he can get away with on the air.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Daily Wrap Up

I've seen a lot of college basketball today and most of it has been below average. UNC looked good but I suspect that it had more to do with Hofstra being hot trash than the Tar Heels being money.

Pitt is not the #4 team in the country. They will be lucky to finish 4th in the Big East. You can take that to the bank.

Robert Montgomery Knight is so much better at providing color commentary than Dick Vitale. What separates Bob from Dick is that Bob actually spends time talking about the game that we are all actually watching. Dick is more interested in talking about Austin Rivers - a high school senior that is going to Duke. Weird.

Hey remember when I said that all of the games were bad? Well that's not entirely true. Illinois - Texas is pretty good. It's got the feel of a 4-5 game in the Sweet 16.

Dining Out - I haven't been to Carlos O'Kelly's in awhile and I probably won't be going back anytime soon - unless of course I'm looking to butcher some of my favorite songs on Karaoke some random Thursday night. The tacos take forever to "make" and they aren't that great once you get them. I think everybody involved was in the mood for soup, but Pho in Fairfax closes earlier than you think. Most likely 9pm. Lesson learned.

Dining In - Brendan picked up a new addition for our kitchen in an odd place - The Bass Pro Shop. On the appliance it says that it is part of the "Sportsmen Kitchen". So this new edition makes Beef Jerky and is in absolutely no rush to do so. 14 hours is what the instructions claim as the cooking time. I think it's fair to call that "taking your sweet ass time". I'm not really into beef jerky but I'll have to at least try it. If you turn the TV down at WTR, you can hear it "working" in the kitchen. Rocky is dying to try the final product. I think he might sleep down there tonight.

OMG Vitale is talking about Duke again.

The more I watch of Texas, the less I think that Rick Barnes knows how to coach. It's obvious that he knows how to recruit, but coaching, I'm not convinced. There isn't enough evidence to support such a claim.

We are headed to overtime at the Garden. I love Madison Square Garden. I wish Georgetown played there more often. When you see a game at MSG, either in person or on TV, you know that it's big time. The only problem with MSG right now is the gigantic Reese's Peanut Butter Cup signage right near the foul line. Talk about an eye sore. Is nothing sacred???

You know a lot of people are talking about Georgetown both taking and making 3 pointers at an alarming rate through 3 games. Well my rebuttal to that is that they are seeing a lot of zone and they are taking GOOD 3 pointers. They are open shots and they have good shooters. I suspect Wofford to play more man to man defense tomorrow which will result in more back door cuts for the Hoyas. I doubt we see more than 18 attempted 3's tomorrow from the mighty Hoya Saxa.

I'm not sure how scientific this is, but I'm willing to say that headaches are contagious. I wonder if a bag of skittles would solve mine. Well either way I'm going to go watch the rest of this game from my room.

Until next time....

Home Opener - Green Wave

Well this was was a series for New Orleans native Greg Monroe. So while Tulane is still on the schedule, Monroe is long gone.

Most of the teams from the power conference like to play schools like Tulane in their opener because it's an opportunity to play some of the younger guys and fool around with lineups before the conference season starts. Well the Hoyas didn't really get that chance at ODU as they held on for dear life for a W.

The big question mark all season will be who can play alongside Julian Vaughn down low. After about 2 minutes inside the Acela Club before the game the new question became who can play in place of Julian Vaughn. Yeah that's not a question that I ever want to answer again this season. Apparently Vaughn was out with an illness so it was up to Henry Sims to hold down the fort.

Ironically enough the Hoya Hoop Club had placed magnets with the schedule on everybody's seat. Unfortunately that magnet would be the only place to see Julian's smiling face against Tulane.

After ending the ODU game by hitting 7 of their last 10 three pointers, the Hoyas continued their torrid shooting to start their home opener. They went through a little bit of a dry spell late in the first half as they tried different lineups but had no real problems in getting the 69-53 win.

Freeman and Clark did what they need to do all season long - hit shots. Wright's scoring dipped a little bit but his assists were up. Sanford was the one player off the bench to really look good. He didn't play at ODU because of an illness. He was stroking it from deep just like he did all summer.

Look one of the big guys needs to be more assertive offensively. Lubick is playing alright but hardly ever looks to score. Same with Benimon and Sims. I'm not advocating the taking of bad shots. Instead I'm looking for them to have a little confidence in a low post move or two. This team really needs Julian.

Charleston Day 1

I gave a decent amount of consideration to going down to the Charleston Classic but determined that it was just too early in the season to make that sort of trip. The lineup of teams wasn't exactly forcing my hand either.

Well the big news last night was that starting center Julian Vaughn made the trip after initially being ruled out for the weekend. Whatever it was that was ailing him, he got over it and was cleared to play.

So the Hoyas took on Coastal Carolina this afternoon in the first of four games at Carolina First Arena, home of the College of Charleston Cougars.

I wasn't sure if Vaughn would start, but he did. He also started the game with a nice dunk. It was great to see him do that after he struggled with his inside game at ODU.

I've been waiting for a few things to start clicking. I got to see one of them today. Chris Wright was passing the ball around like last season's Big East Tournament. The other thing I'm looking for still hasn't happened yet. Hollis Thompson still can't find his outside shot. I have him at 6-22 for the season. Not so good.

The Hoyas won 80-61 thanks in large part to the 3 pointer. At one point they had 20 points and only one 2 point bucket - a dunk. They finished 14-30 from deep.

For the 2nd game in a row they had a stretch late in the first where they couldn't score. Some of that has to do with JT3 tinkering with lineups. Some of it had to do with horrible turnovers that made me want to break my TV.

Play of the Game: After spending what seemed like forever trying to get his contact lenses back on his eye, Chris Wright came down the court and found Austin Freeman for a nice reverse lay-up. I bet the trainer for Coastal Carolina wishes he didn't help him out.

My favorite Stat: The first thing I look at during the game and immediately after the game is the assist to made field goal ratio. Today it was 26 to 32. That's sick.

My least favorite Stat: Turnovers. 16 of them is atrocious. Lubick and Vaughn combined for half of them. Nate couldn't get anything done out on the wing against the zone. I think that was a really bad spot for him.

Player run-down:

Freeman - Picked up some early fouls but was really impressive. He was a model of offensive efficiency as he was able to score from deep, on drives, and on some cuts.

Wright - 12 assists was easily his career high. He has 20 assists in his last 2 games. That will do.

Clark - he is shooting out of his mind since the 2nd half at ODU. People wondered how Freeman would get good looks with Monroe gone. Well if Clark is also torching the nets, that will do the job.

Vaughn - besides the turnovers, he looked good after missing a game with an undisclosed illness. He had some nice post moves and came up with 5 blocks.

Thompson - Wright said his in post game interview that he can't wait for Hollis to start hitting his shots. Me neither.

Lubick - Looked like a freshmen. That's not a compliment.

Sims - I can't remember ever thinking that Henry should have gotten more minutes but he should have today. He looked good out there today. He made some nice passes and didn't force anything. He also had a block and a steal (that he immediately gave back).

Sanford - Back to back nice games by Vee. He hit a 3, had some boards, and some dimes during his 11 minutes. Oh and a block. He is taking minutes that I thought would go to Starks.

Benimon - I'm not sure how he played 10 minutes without a rebound but he did. He got in the score book for he 10-11 season this afternoon. He gets in good spots but doesn't look to make moves. That needs to change.

Starks - I'm guessing that he is still recovering from being sick. Had 2 nice assists.

Bowen - Probably deserved more time but Thompson kept Freeman out there too long late in the game. He's had chances to score his first points from the line but just hasn't found the nylon. Doesn't seem strong enough yet.

It looks like tomorrow's game should be at 230pm against Wofford. The Terriers are playing something called USC-Upstate and it's ugly. I can't believe I'm watching it. Oh wait. I can.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Something I've missed...

I've missed the sweet, sweet sound of the Vuvuzela. I doubt that's a widely held opinion but whatever, it's mine. It just reminds of watching the World Cup and the weather being warm. I think most reasonable people would agree that those two things are pretty good.

I'm watching South Africa - USA delayed right now. I spent too much time outside today in the yard to catch it live. 8617 had to say good bye to the mums in the front of the house this afternoon. I think that's the first time I've had to do that. I should have just had Rocky dig them up if he wasn't so focused on making sure that the couch doesn't fly away. He's doing a really good job by always laying on it. Now way that thing floats on his watch.

I also got rid of the remaining stump in my neighbors yard that was getting on my nerves. I just couldn't stand looking at it anymore. It was a "gots to go" situation.

Yesterday I missed the FedEx guy with my new phone. Today I did not. Now I need to figure out how to backup my contacts. There's no chance I re enter everybody's number into my new phone. Of course I'm no expert but I think my phone's problem is the battery and not the actual phone. I smell another trip to the Verizon store in my future. I need it start working like a real phone, ie one that holds a charge longer than 3 hours at a time. I also need to be the Mayor of my basement before eRic.

Let's see what else? Oh right I cleaned out the back of my truck and decided that some of my baseball hats were kind of dirty. And by dirty I, of course, mean gross. My USA Soccer hat and DC United hat turned out great. A similar fate was not waiting for my, at least 10 years old, Georgetown hat. I guess 2 out of 3 ain't that bad but I'm not that thrilled with how it looks. Maybe I'll just bury it in the backyard or something.

So I decided to run around Accotink this afternoon in a race against the Sun going down. Everything was going well until I got to the bottom of the dam. I could have used a row boat to get across the path at that point. Next time I'm going to just run back the way I came instead of through the water. Running with soaked shoes and socks isn't as rad as it sounds.

So during meditation today, raking leaves (in the wind no less), I realized something that most people have probably known for a long time - I need full time job ASAP. The amount of free time I have is causing me to go crazy and it's going to start ruining stuff if I'm not careful.

A recap of what's going on with the Hoyas will be out later tonight for the dozens of people that care :)

Saturday, November 13, 2010

It Takes a Thief - GU @ ODU wrap up

When you don't protect something well enough, you might just have it taken away. That's what happened yesterday to ODU in front of a sell-out crowd on opening night. The Monarchs couldn't protect a late 8 point lead as the subsequently lost not only the game, but their 23 game home winning streak, the 4th longest current streak in the country.

Better luck with your scheduling next time guys.

Last night's game was never going to win a beauty contest. Georgetown games almost never do this early in the season. Last season's opening game ended up at something like 46-45 Georgetown over Temple. So 62-59 was an old fashioned shoot out.

I wasn't surprised with the starting line-up. I also wasn't surprised that ODU attacked Hollis and got him in foul trouble immediately. That is going to happen every game. I expect Lubick to eventually start at the 4 spot.

I hate to admit it but I threw in the towel when Wright got his 4th foul at 49-41 with about 5 minutes left. They couldn't get a rebound, couldn't get a loose ball, couldn't hit a close look, Freeman was off, it was horrible.

Austin decided he didn't want to lose in Norfolk as he hit back to back 3's in less than a minute. Did I mention one of them was a 4 point play? Well it was. Chris decided to follow his lead and that was all she wrote.

With three really good guards, they can't all be off at the same time. Jason was the only one who looked interested in the first half. In fact at one point early in the 2nd half the Hoyas had 21 points with Clark responsible for 11 of them.

Wright tried to take the game over early in the 2nd which resulted in some poor decisions as he was trying to get the game back all in one play. JT3 recognized this and sat him for a few minutes. It worked. Nobody wants to win more than Chris but there is a right and wrong way to go about it. His 3 point heave with less than 1 on the shot clock was as big as they get.

Vaughn played about as poorly offensively as I have seen him play. I've seen conflicting box scores but it seems as if he was about 2-10. At least 7 of those misses were right around the rim. Hollis had similar problems. I don't expect their horrible shooting to be the norm. They will make shots. Especially the good looks they got.

Lubick can play. I liked what I saw but he needs to be a threat on offense to shoot the ball. He took a 3 early and that was it. But what I liked was how he was involved on both sides. He is a little small to guard true centers but that's ok.

We didn't get to see too much of Bennimon or Starks. I have heard that they were a little under the weather. Sims was alright but the game seems to move a little too fast for him. I want to see more of Bennimon.

Just like the Temple win last season, this win will look really good by the end of the season.

Random: I'm now 2-0 in games at the TED.

The ODU student section decided that they needed a bunch of signs with OHIO written on them. Did they think that we forgot about that one? I'm fairly confident that nobody has successfully erased that one from their memory banks just yet. Thanks though.

As I was leaving a fan kept talking to me from a suite. He wanted to make sure that I knew that "ODU still owned Georgetown." I didn't really know what else to say other than, "Congratulations. You must be so proud. Can I buy you another beer?"

I don't have too many solo road trips left in me where I got up and back in the same day. My days are numbered. Especially when nobody is looking to talk on the phone late night.

Austin doesn't show much emotion which is why it was so bad ass when he turned to the visiting fans after his 4 point play and went nuts.

I saw my fat ass on the Jumbotron late in the game. I'm a great dancer once I've got an audience.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Game 1 - Blink and it's going to be March 2011

Last season is over.

It was over before I got to my truck outside the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, RI. It was basically over by halftime of the Ohio game but I can't help but think about all of the nonsense that was the 2009-2010 Georgetown Hoyas.

What happened? What was real? What was a joke? Did I really drive to DC in a blizzard for a behind the woodshed type beating of Villanova? Did they really blow the doors off the eventual National Champs AND lose to Rutgers?

The last time I think about any of that will be tomorrow on the drive down to Norfolk. Looking backwards never gets you anywhere in life. Especially since the faces and names are always changing.

What I do know is that life goes on and it goes on without Greg Monroe. That's OK because the pieces are there to do something special. Every hand is a winner and every hand is a loser. I can't wait to see how this hand wins. It doesn't have to be tomorrow, but it would be a lot cooler if it was tomorrow down in the 757.

I don't know how everybody is going to get minutes on this team with the logjam of depth and experience at the 1 - 3 spots. How do Vee, Aaron, and Markel get enough time?

Will they ever go big? And by big I mean having Hollis at the 3 and not the 4.

What will Bennimon's improvement be like? Will Lubick or Sims be able to provide enough off the bench? Will they start. I think Henry could really benefit from starting. I think it would put him in the right frame of mind to accomplish a lot over the next two years.

Can Clark be the Kris Joseph of the 10-11 Hoyas? I think he could and it would be sick.

The smart money is on a lineup of Wright, Clark, Freeman, Thompson, Vaughn.

I'm cool with whatever. All I ask from the coaches of the teams that I follow is that they don't fall in love with a system at the expense of personnel. Do what's best for the team to win games and not what's best for your system to work.

See you tomorrow.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

11/8/2010 KPI Rankings

Well the college football season is winding down and I couldn't be happier. Notre Dame is yet again a complete disaster thanks in large part due to the continued practice of hiring piss poor coaches that simply aren't ready for the big stage.

Ok so it's been awhile but here is the latest edition of the KPI Top 5

KPI Top 5 - 11/8/2010

1. Oregon - (1 Last Week) I don't want to toot my own horn or anything but the KPI was well ahead of the curve with putting the Ducks at the top spot.

2. TCU - (4) The Horned Frogs made a pretty big leap thanks to their annihilation of previously undefeated Utah in Salt Lake City.

3. Auburn - (3) No matter how hard Urban Meyer tries to ruin Cam Newton's season, it just won't work.

4. Boise State - (2) The Broncos have to be loving the fact that Alabama lost again. Now they can root for the Crimson Tide again Auburn.

5. LSU - (NR) Making their 2nd appearance of the season in the KPI, the Tigers hope to last longer than a week this time. Playing Louisiana-Monroe is a good start.