Up All Night?

You know how sometimes your schedule gets all out of whack?  Well I'm right in the middle of that.  Like right now, as I type this.  When you read this, I hope to be in whack.  That's a term right?

So I'm sick.  

I feel asleep sometime around 5 PM.  I woke up a few minutes later and marched right up into my bedroom.  I just woke up.  It's almost midnight.  This puts me in an odd spot, particularly for tomorrow. 

It's not often that I fall ill so I wonder how this happened.  I'm a big fan of going back and retracing my steps to figure out where a problem, or change came from in the first place.

BTW, this is how I felt earlier.  Damn you Ferris!

OK so my best three guesses include:

1.  It was FREEZING in the media room at Verizon on Monday.  There was an arctic blast that everybody was complaining about.  I mean it was pretty nice outside and all but there was absolutely no reason for the AC to be crankin' like that.  NONE.

2.  My colleague from Comcast - Ben - was sick.  I sat next to him during the game.  This may have been a poor decision, for a variety of reasons.  I kid, I kid!

3.  Later in the night I was out in the rain for a bit, so it could have been that.  It actually felt pretty good so I'm not high on this guess.  

OK I'm out of ideas.  Like most things in life, it's probably a collection of all three added up.

So you know who is a great 'being sick' buddy?  Rocky.  He's always ready to take a nap.  I'm actually pretty jealous that he can fall asleep so quick.  It's a skill that I really wish I had full command over.

------------------------------------------

Anybody have any plans for the weekend of January 5th?  

Flights to Miami are pretty cheap ($200) and for the first time since 1988, Notre Dame is in the National Title game.  Plus, I'm anticipating the weather to be pretty awesome.  

I'll expand on this idea more next time.

Goodnight

Robert

Tis the Season....to blog :)

Hello, friends.

Look, I know.  I know.

I almost never post here anymore.  I could give you reason X and reason Y, but they're really nothing more than excuses and NOBODY likes those, so, we move on.

Actually this post will double - will double - my output for the year!  See what I did there?

Let me see if I can add some personal content between now and the end of the year, which is more commonly known, at least around my house, as my Birthday.

Tomorrow when we wake up it will be December 10th.  That's awesome!  Both the waking up part and the time of year part.

It's also scary.

It's scary because this is the absolute best time of the year and I'm a bit concerned - no I'm VERY concerned - that's it going by far too quickly.  I mean just today I was buying more Christmas lights.  I should already be done with that little chore.  Ah, Christmas lights.  More on this in a second.

Look, aside from the weather, and I actually enjoy the seasons, everything is better right now.  But like everything, it doesn't last for long.  We gotta get on this.  Well, I need to get on this.

Free advice, go out as much as possible.  Eat/drink, just some good ol' fashioned people watching at the mall, whatever.  As much time out and about enjoying those Christmas lights has to be the goal for the next two weeks.  You know what makes any restaurant better?  Well besides good company and an ugly sweater of course.  Its Christmas lights, inside.  It's a match made it heaven.

-----------------------------

Ha, so I just read my last post on here.

I was a bit off, or at least very generous, with Rocky's weight.  It was more like 130, not 118.  Well, no bother.  I'm going to take the big kid in to get weighed tomorrow but, at the time of his last check, he was 98 lbs.

But yeah, Rock-O is doing really well.  I'm really glad that the awesome staff at Village Vet didn't start referring to him as the 'Miracle Dog' until after he was basically well on his way towards a comeback.  I'd have been a bit freaked out had that moniker been tossed around so freely during times of complications.

You know it's funny, I consider myself to be fairly strong, even after one shoulder surgery and still in the need of another one, but that 30 lbs that he lost, makes a HUGE difference in picking him up.  Seriously, huge. ---

--------------------------------

OK, time to fall asleep.  In keeping with the spirit of the season, I'll leave you with one of my favorite Christmas Songs...

Until next time, I'm Robert, and it's been a pleasure...

No Dog Left Behind

It's been a hot summer.

You know it's hot when anything cooler than 90 degrees seems reasonable.  For the most part I can handle the heat. It's just something that you sorta get used to after awhile.  Especially with a little help from a great invention called air conditioning.

Well the same can't be said for my best friend, my second in command.  I am of course referring to Rocky, my 11-year old black lab that is weighing in the neighborhood of 118 lbs or so at the moment.  To put his current physique in perspective, he's been as high as 141 and as low as 105 during his 'adult' life.  I think it's also worth noting that the term adult applies to age only as his maturity level seems to rival mine at times.

OK let's just be honest, Rock-O wasn't built for this weather, nor will he ever get used to it.

All of this leads me to my main point which fascinates me.  Under no circumstances must Rocky be alone.  Heat be damned.  While I sit outside on my back deck in the sweltering July heat, Rocky has to be close by, even if it means a non-stop panting show.

I try my best to keep him inside under the cool watch of the AC, but the second I shut the door, he starts banging on it with his big paws to come back outside.  It makes no sense but it's a game we play.

Here's a picture of him waiting to come outside to experience, yet again, the horrifying heat -

This is where the line starts to get outside.

Well that's it for today.  Just thought I'd post a personal blog post.  It's been awhile.

Peach brah

Tuesday Oct 18

I bought a case of Dogfish Head Punkin Ale the other day.  No matter how many cases I buy per season, it's never enough.  I'm drinking one right now and watching the original Footloose.  Spoiler Alert: it's not making the movie any better.  I mean what dude gets mad and then speeds off to an abandoned factory to dance?  Honestly the plot for Transformers 3 seems more realistic.

So it just came out that Charlie Davies is suing somebody for his bad judgement.  I've been tired of CD9 since about May.  He needs to go rehab somewhere else.

Wait I just realized something.  I think Kevin Bacon's character is a gymnast who got cut.  Of course he is.

Speaking of seasonal treats, I went grocery shopping today and I didn't see any Pumpkin Delights at Giant.  PDs have been scarce this year and I'm worried that Little Debbie might put an end to my favorite snack of all time.  I don't care if some of my friends think that it tastes like tree bark.  They are just jealous.

If you aren't watching Workaholics, you don't like yourself.

Peace brah

Virginia Tech Hokies Preview 2011

Coach:  Frank Beamer - at Virginia Tech; 198-95-2 in 24 years
Overall:  240-118-4 in 30 years
Last Season:  11-3 (8-0 ACC, Champions)
Last Bowl Game:  2011 Orange Bowl (12-40 L vs Stanford)
Returning Starters:  11; 6 offense, 5 defense
Preseason Ranking:  13th AP, 13th Coaches

Virginia Tech had one of the strangest seasons in all of college football last year as they experienced some of the lowest lows and highest highs possible in a five month span.

After opening up with a tough 33-30 loss to Boise State at FedEx Field in Landover, MD, the Hokies seemed to hit rock bottom with a loss to James Madison the following weekend.  Virginia Tech promptly responded by rolling off eleven straight victories, including a 44-33 ACC Championship Game win over Florida State, in the process of securing yet another spot in the BCS.  Just another average year in Blacksburg right?

Coach Frank Beamer enters his 25th year at his alma mater with a well oiled machine primed to make another run at the ACC Championship.  In the six years since the ACC began holding Conference Title games, Virginia Tech has played in four, while winning three of them.  In other words, they own the conference.


Offense: Gone is Tyrod Taylor who captured two ACC MVP awards in leading the Hokies to two ACC Titles.  That's the bad news.  The good news is that his replacement, sophomore Logan Thomas, grabbed great Spring Game reviews from Beamer.  Even better is the news that Thomas will have some of the most explosive play makers in the league at his disposal.

Junior David Wilson racked up 619 yards as the No.3 back on the depth chart last season so his transition to the starting spot should be seamless.  He's also considered to be one of the fastest players in college football.

Returning senior starters Jarrett Boykin and Danny Coale will provide Thomas with excellent options through the air thanks to Boykin's size and Coale's reliability.

While not always glamorous, one of the most important parts of any successful team is the play off their offensive line. The Hokies return four starters from last year's Orange Bowl.  Guard Jaymes Brooks and tackle Blake DeChristopher find themselves on just about every publication's All-ACC preseason teams.

Defense:  Over the years Virginia Tech has been defined by takeways, special teams, and the lunch pail that defensive coordinator Bud Foster awards to the team's best defensive players each week.  After having an entire off-season to remind his players of their lopsided defeat to Stanford in the Orange Bowl, in which the Cardinal ran all over the Hokies, it's a good bet that they will respond.

The secondary might just be one of the best in the nation.  Junior cornerback Jayron Hosley was a consensus All-American last year after picking off nine passes.  Sophomore Kyle Fuller will probably have more than enough opportunities at making big plays as most teams will likely throw away from Hosley.  Senior free safety Eddie Whitley is also one of the best in the ACC at making plays.  Sophomore rover Antone Exum, one of the team's best hitters, rounds out the group.

The linebacker corps is another position of strength led by junior Bruce Taylor and junior Jeron Gouveia-Winslow.  Barquell Rivers, the team's leading tackler from 2009 before missing last season with an injury, is currently on the outside looking in.

The biggest question mark on defense is the front four.  Defending the run was a problem all season but was never more evident than in the Orange Bowl loss.  Antoine Hopkins is the lone returning starter at tackle and looks to be joined by his brother Derrick.  The Hokies will be young at the end positions with sophomores James Gayle and J.R. Collins as well as red-shirt freshman Zack McCray getting a shot to play.

Biggest conference game:  October 1 vs Clemson

Clemson comes to Blacksburg for the first ACC game of the year for Virginia Tech.  It will also be the first chance for Thomas to really see a fast defense after playing lesser competition in the first four weeks of the season.  The Tigers are being tabbed by most to be neck-and-neck with Florida State in the Atlantic Division. Clemson brings back 15 starters from last year's disappointing 6-7 campaign.  Virginia Tech will need to slow down junior running back Andre Ellington who was easily one of the top backs last season before going out with a toe injury.  Working in the Hokies favor for this one will be the fact that it's a home game and that Clemson will be coming off of their biggest conference game of the season against Florida State the previous week.

Biggest non-conference game:  September 3 vs Appalachian State

Nobody will confuse Virgnia Tech's non-conference schedule with murderer's row this season as it includes three non-BCS schools (at East Carolina, Arkansas State, at Marshall) and one team from the lower subdivision of FCS (Appalachian State).  After opening up with a Top Ten opponent in Boise State last season, the Hokies have taken a serious step back in the scheduling department.  Believe it or not, the biggest non-conference test  for Virginia Tech in 2011 could be with FCS perennial power Appalachian State.  The Mountaineers begin the season as the #2 ranked team in the FCS Coaches Poll and will undoubtedly use Virginia Tech's loss to fellow FCS'er James Madison last season as inspiration.  For a program that has come away with a win in Michigan's Big House, being intimidated at Lane Stadium shouldn't be an issue.

Best Case Scenario: Sophomore quarterback Logan Thomas picks up right where Tyrod Taylor left off and the Hokies high scoring offense doesn't miss a beat with the first year signal caller.  Bud Foster works his magic along the defensive line and forces other teams to try and pass against his stellar secondary.  With a weak non-conference schedule it's not out of the question that the Hokies could find themselves with a chance to play for National Championship if other results work in their favor.

Worst Case Scenario: The Hokies stub their toe against a weak non-conference opponent and immediately eliminate themselves from any National Championship Game discussions before even getting into their ACC Schedule.  The only realistic chance a team from the ACC has of playing for the National Championship is to remain undefeated.

Prediction:  It's really hard to imagine anybody catching Virginia Tech in the Coastal Division after both Miami and North Carolina have seemingly taken themselves out of the race with off the field issues.  The Hokies should find themselves in Charlotte at the end of the season for the ACC Championship Game, most likely against Florida State.  A win against the Seminoles would once again put the Hokies in the BCS, something their fans have grown quite accustomed to over the years.

Echoes in April

Versus must be part of the NBC family.  I had never really thought about it before but after watching the Notre Dame Blue-Gold Spring game with all of the NBC graphics and announcers, it is readily apparent that they are related.  It makes even more sense when you think about how they both carry hockey.  Of course I try not to think about hockey that much.

Former Tulane and Tampa Bay Buccanneer quarterback Shaun King is doing some sideline stuff today.  I hope he's the back-up plan for the 2011 season.

OMG they just played an instrumental of Like a G6 going into the last commercial break.  Wow.  They are really looking to skew young today.  I didn't know Versus got down like that.  Now I'm feeling so fly like a G6.

Color Blind:  So it's called the Blue-Gold game right?  Well that doesn't make any sense.  Both teams are wearing gold pants and gold helmets.  One team is wearing blue jerseys.  The other is wearing white jerseys.  In fact both teams have guys wearing green (offensive lineman) and red (quarterbacks and others who aren't supposed to get hit).  Blue-Gold game my ass.

What to look for:  How do the early entry freshman look?  Who changed positions?  Who left?  Does Crist look healthy?

Everett Golson is manning up for the Irish today.  He's the only quarterback not wearing red.  He is "live" fellas.  The freshman from Myrtle Beach is not messing around.  I didn't know people were actually from Myrtle Beach.

Yeah it's 6-3 midway through the 2nd quarter.  Offense sucks so far.  Defense doesn't suck as much.  Or do they?

Look I can't keep watching this.  It was cool for about about 10 minutes.

Biggest difference that I saw?  Collinsworth was switched from WR to SS. I wonder if he will still be doing kickoffs.  Quite the question to ponder.  Until next time.

Peace brah

FSU vs ND - In game thread - 2nd Half

Hansbrough is really getting after it on defense.  It doesn't seem to matter right now though as the 'Noles have already scored 9 points in the first 4 minutes.

FSU scored 57 against A&M on Friday.  They already have 43 with 15:50 remaining.

The guys from the WarChant.com are telling me that FSU never shoots like this.  I believe them.  50% from three is a pretty good number.  The lower seeded team has done very well from that distance this weekend.

Abromaitis is noticeably frustrated.  We are well on our way for both of the "home" schools to lose tonight.

ND is down 19  at 47 - 28 and for the first time tonight, I think they are going to lose.  They need Hansbrough to take over because he's the only one not playing tentative out there right now.

Notre Dame has 6 losses this year.  Five are by double digits.

It's 52-29 at the under 12 minute TV timeout.  FSU is shooting better than 50% from the field and from deep.  ND is stuck at 28% and 13% respectively.  OUCH.

Brey is really working the sidelines.  He's going to be exhausted after tonight.  He's like a 6th defender as ND has none gone to a press.

Hansbrough just hit a three and Snaer picked up a technical.

It's an 11-0 run for the Irish and the pro-Irish crowd has come to life.

There are some pretty witty FSU fans behind me.  Sounds like they enjoyed themselves well before coming into this dry arena.

It's 54-40 at the under 8 minute TV Timeout.  That's 11-2 since the last one.  ND needs a similar type run to really give themeslves a chance to win.

Abromaitis is 0-5 from deep and a couple of them have been wide open.  He's killing them.

FSU should go right after Hansbrough.  He's got 4 fouls  and this game would be put to bed if he fouled out

It's 62-47 at the under 4 minute TV Timetout.  This one is over.  I'm gonna ask Mike Brey about the Big East.  I asked Thompson the other day what he thought.

ND is 4 for 25 from three.  Georgetown had the same problem.  I wouldn't say that either are flawed.  Given their roster's, what strategy would have been better.  Neither have good big man.  You can blame the coach for recruiting and that's valid.  But that's how both of these teams had to play to win.

Hansbrough just fouled out and the crowd is killing him.  He's taking it pretty well.  The house stat channel has the name HANSBROUGH written in just like that.

FSU barely got by A&M the other day.  I figured they had a better chance at beating ND.  I was right.

Abromaitis has hit a couple of meaningless 3's.  His box score won't look as bad now.  They had no impact on the game.

Final FSU 71 ND 57

United Center Observations 3/20 - Third Round

There is a steady drip from the ceiling a few rows behind me.  Some ND fans are complaining about it.  I'd love to know what the usher is supposed to do about it.  I bet they wish it was raining 3's.

Well this is now the only game on TV right now.  They delay is about 7 seconds.  I like it.

The FSU dance team is ridiculous.  I mean that in a good way.

The FSU radio play-by-play guy reminds me of Jim Ross.

ND fans left way too early.  I'll never understand that move.  It's not just their fans.  It's fans of every team in every sport.  They spend a lot of time/effort/money to get to games and then they leave early.

The drum that starts the Tomahawk Chop is insane.  It puts the ones at DC United games to shame.  Sorry fellas.

FSU vs ND - In game thread

Florida State is up early but it's Fool's Gold so far.  ND is off to a horrible shooting start (4-15) but FSU has already has 8 turnovers and is only up 5.  The Irish will at some point start hitting shots.  Won't they?

So I just found out Syracuse lost.  That's awesome.

Notre Dame guard Scott Martin is really laboring around the court.  I'm not sure what's wrong with him but something is definitely not right.

Hansbrough is having a hard time getting to the hoop.  Micahel Snaer is doing a great job of staying all over him without fouling.

Florida State's length is really bothering ND.  That's the bad news.  FSU struggles to score at times and goes through long droughts.  That's the good news.

Halftime FSU 34 ND 23

That is a low half for the Irish.  1-10 from deep isn't going to get it done for them.  They are about to pull a Georgetown if they don't watch out.  I think they will get back in this.  Abromaitis won't stay cold all night.

ND is actually outscoring FSU in the paint while FSU holds the advantage from long distance.  It's the exact opposite of what you would expect.  Up is down and black is white here in Chicago.

Getting back to Abromaitis - he has thrown up a couple of bricks.  Not like him at all.  Dude can't flat out shoot.



United Center Observations 3/20 - Third Round

27 minutes sounds like a long time.  It's not.  It's impossible to catch both press conferences of the previous teams and hit the locker rooms without missing a considerable amount of the next game.  I missed about 8 minutes of game time.

There's more FSU fans here than you would think.  Well at least more than I would think.

The FSU radio guys do the tomahawk chop with the rest of the crowd.  I like it.  I'm sure I would hate it if this were a football game though.

Just got the notes from the Purdue and VCU press conferences.  I did not know that Purdue was the Old Gold and Black.  So who's the Young Gold and Black?

VCU vs Purdue - In Game Thread 2nd Half

Up 11 on Friday against the Hoyas, the Rams came out and put the game away early.  Purdue has already show more life shooting the ball than Georgetown ever did on Friday so I expect them to make VCU earn it a bit more.

Purdue needs to go down low more and they have on both of their opening possessions to start the half.  And now they hit a three and it feels like the entire arena is rooting for the Boilers.

VCU has withstood the first attempt by Purdue to cut into the lead and has actually increased it to 15 with 14:15 remaining.

After watching VCU torch Georgetown from behind the arc, Purdue is really up on the shooters.  This is leading to some nice penetration and assists for VCU.  You can't guard both.  VCU is doing a good job of making one have to guard 2.

I really think Purdue is panicking.  They aren't using their inside advantage at all.  They have already hoisted up 19 shots from deep, making only 6.

We are halfway through the 2nd half and its VCU 65 Purdue 48.  I'm calling this one right now.

Purdue had given up 70 or more four times in 33 games this season.  VCU has 82 with 3:30 left.

I hope the AD at VCU has a list of coaching candidates for men's basketball because Shaka Smart won't be in Richmond much longer.  I dare Oklahoma to hire him.  I wonder if Jeff Capel is watching

Final VCU 94 Purdue 76

Ok I need to go get some quotes for a real story.

United Center Observations 3/20 - Third Round

Does anybody not know the words to Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer?

Their is a VCU cheerleader that walks up and back the length of the court on her hands.  I wasn't in the mood to appreciate it on Friday.  Tonight I am.

VCU vs Purdue - In Game Thread

If VCU beats Purdue tonight they will become the second team from the Richmond area to end up in the San Antonio regional later this week joining the Spiders of Richmond.  That's crazy if you think about it.

VCU has been able to make this an up tempo game so far.  Their 3 point shots haven't been falling and as a result the lead has gone back and forth.  They are pressing on their makes and it's causing some trouble for Purdue.

Uh oh Boilermaker fans, the Rams are on a 13-0 run.  The 3's are starting to drop and the lead is up to 12.

Rodriguez has been making good decisions for the most part.  The few bad passes he has thrown have been on breaks and his teammates have bailed him out by saving the would-be turnover.

Halftime VCU 42 Purdue 32

The Rams were up 11 on Georgetown.  It's a little bit more of a high scoring game at this point.  VCU has made 18 field goals at the break.  By comparison they made 18 field goals against Georgetown in the entire game.  They just haven't hit as many 3's or free throws (yet).

United Center Observations 3/20 - Third Round


I hope the Florida State radio guy is getting paid a lot because he has been working his tail off to get his operation ready for the next game.

I love how they announce scores that have been a final for hours inside to the public as if it's the 1960's and everybody is lost without a paper the next morning in their driveway.

The VCU band is tremendous.  They have been the musical class of the Chicago site and it's not even close.

Well John Thompson Jr. is still here.  Unfortunately that's about the only familiar face today.

The guys from something called WarChant.com are sitting next to me.

It's almost halftime and the FSU radio guy is still trying to connect all of the cables and wires that he needs to get on the air.  It's exhuasting to watch.

It's really hard to turn the channel on the TV down here.  TNT HD is on ch 61.6 and it takes forever to get there.  I went with SD for awhile.  So, yeah, that's how hard it is.

Just got my one minute "conversation" out of the way with JT2.  If he didn't favor one of his legs and he could walk faster, they would be more 15 second "conversations".

Peace brah

Purdue 65 - St. Peter's 42 - Final

Nothing like a nice little 7-0 to start the half for the Boilermakers to push their lead to 40-17.  The St. Peter's fans behind me are really into their team.  I'm glad somebody is.

I've never heard fans cheer so hard for a team getting totally destroyed.  It's nice.  I think.

St. Peter's is starting to get some stuff from their press and has cut the lead to 16 at 50-34.

In other news the Georgetown section is starting to fill up.  I know that the Hoyas had to request more than their original allotment of 550 tickets.  But as expected ND and Purdue fans are the big fan bases at this event.

St. Peter's is constantly looking for the back door cut.  They aren't getting it and have thrown a couple of bad passes trying to open it.

One more media timeout and this baby is over.  53-36 in favor of Purdue.

This one looks over.  I'm going to really miss the Peacock mascot.  That's one good looking bird.  I'm seriously considering getting a picture with him after this one is over.

St. Peter's did not give up but they just didn't have it.  I figured this would be the worst game of the day and it has been, so far.

Now it's time for the big time.

Game 3: Purdue (3) vs Saint Peter's (14)

Purdue (25-7)

Starters
E'Twaun Moore G
Lewis Jackson G
Ryne Smith G
JaJuan Johnson F
D.J. Byrd F

Saint Peter's (20-13)

Starters
Nick Leon G
Wesley Jenkins G
Steven Samuels G
Darius Conley F
Ryan Bacon F

I think this will be the one blowout of the day here in Chicago.  St. Peter's just doesn't have the height and they only decent team that beat this season was Alabama.  Purdue has two pros on their roster.  It's gonna take a lot from the Peakcocks tonight.

The arena is filling up better than I thought.  Everybody I talked with said the Purdue fan base wasn't rather apathetic toward their basketball team even thought it's been more successful than their football team.

It's 24-13 with under 5 minutes left in the first half.  I guess you could say that St. Peter's is hanging around.  I think it's more of Purdue just screwing around.

There are mismatches at all 5 positions on the court.  I'm sure it's been a great season for St. Peter's but it's about to end and end badly.

Halftime

Purdue 33
St. Peter's 17

It feels like 133 to 17.

There's not much to say about this one.  So I won't.

In between the doubleheaders 3-18

There was not much time in between the doubleheaders tonight.  

I went back and caught the last half of the Texas A&M press conference.  I can't imagine anything worse than having to interview the losing team - especially the seniors that know they aren't playing at the next level.

I was wondering what the Big Ten was going to do with the buffet today because of the whole "no meat on Friday's" thing during Lent.  They played it safe and went with grilled cheese and soup.  It was alright.  I've had worse.

The good thing about an A&M loss is that I think FSU can beat Notre Dame.  The bad thing is that the A&M media guys were very friendly and informative.  They are going home.  The second good thing is that a lot of space just opened up to my right.  I've not got total control of the HDTV at the end of my row.  It's about 30 seconds faster than the internet version of the game.

The guys from Richmond covering VCU are all wearing WRIC shirts.  I kinda want one.

It's starting to get real around these parts.  The Georgetown assistant coaches are sitting a few seats to my left.  I'm starting to see a few Hoya fans I recognize.  

I think today is a good day to start a winning streak.

Peace brah

Florida State 57 - Texas A&M 50 - Final

All that's between me and the buffet is 12:43 of ugly basketball.  This game has turned into a real rock fight.  Jay Bilas says that a lot and I've never been quite sure what it meant until just now.  Now I know.

Florida State has switched to a zone and it has slowed A&M down to a glacial pace.

A&M scored the first 5 points of this half.  FSU has  responded well by scoring the last 11.  Only 16 points in the first 8 minutes.  Riveting.

FSU has dominated points in the paint (16 to 4) and block shots (6 to 1).  A&M has been kept alive by three point shooting (6 for 14).

The guy from the 12th Man Magazine says today's performance is very much indicative of the way they play.  I'm starting to really wonder if either of these teams can impose their will on the Irish on Sunday.  I think ND fans can start booking their tickets for the River Walk in San Antonio.  Neither of these teams will be able to score enough to beat ND.

The fans of both of these teams are hard to distinguish.  They both wear a maroon type color.  A&M actually wears maroon while I believe FSU wears garnet.    It's hard to tell  which team the fans in the upper deck are rooting for during this game.

Speaking of fans, the A&M faithful are intense.  They are right across from me and pretty boisterous.  They obviously don't want to go back to College Station tonight.

Florida State is pulling away.  Some of those three pointers are starting to drop as their lead increases.

I'm going to be really impressed if either team finds 60 points today.

FSU is up 8 with 2:28 to go.  I'm calling it.

The FSU cheerleaders have changed outfits about 100 times during this game.  It's exhausting to watch them come out in something new every 5 minutes.

And we have a final here in the second game of the day.

FSU 57

A&M 50

The Seminoles just dominated the paint at both ends.  The Aggies came to Chicago and scored 50 points on 31% shooting.  That just isn't going to get a win in March.  

So we have one game set for Sunday.  Notre Dame (2) will take on Florida State (10) for a trip to San Antonio.  I think it will be a mistake for FSU to zone the Irish.  A big mistake

I have that war chant stuck in my head.  It's like I'm at a Braves game.

Ok I've got about an hour before the next game.  Buffet time!

St Peters's vs Purdue is next.

Game 2: Texas A&M (7) vs Florida State (10)

Texas A&M (24-8)

Starters
B.J. Holmes G
Dash Harris G
David Loubeau F
Nathan Walkup F
Khris Middleton F

Florida State (21-10)

Starters
Derwin Kitchen G
Michael Snaer G
Deividas Dulkys G
Bernard James F
Okaro White F

I'd like to see the winner of this game knock off the Irish on Sunday.  I think Florida State has the better shot at doing just that.  Just like Georgetown with Chris Wright, the big questions for FSU is whether or not F Chris Singleton will return.

You know what I've never seen?  I've never seen a team go 7:15 without scoring a point to start a game.  I had never seen it before Texas A&M did just that today.  This is going to be the quickest game of the tournament.

So the bad news is that A&M is in a scoring drought.  The good news is that so is FSU.  I mean it's 7-2 Seminoles at the under 12 minute media timeout.  That's insane.

A bunch of us were actually ignoring the game being played in front of us to watch the end of the Mason - Villanova game.  Talk about your epic collapses.  Jay Wright's boys lost 6 straight and 11 of their final 16 to end the season.  DePaul took them to overtime.  DEPAUL.

Ok back to the game in front of me.

We are at the under 8 minute TV timeout and its all knotted up at 12.  A&M is on a 9-0 scoring run.  FSU coach Leonard Hamilton has used 10 players so far but none of them wear a headband and by the name of Singleton.

And here comes Singleton right on cue.  Nice ovation from the Seminole faithful behind me and to the left.

Singleton hasn't played in awhile and is making up for lost time on fouls.  He picked up 3 in limited minutes.  He doesn't have his sea legs yet.

Both teams are shooting under 30% from the field.  FSU can't make a three pointer and A&M are struggling from the line.  A lot of this is good defense but not all of it.  Some of it is really bad offense.

We have mercifully reached the halfway point in this slug fest.

A&M 26
FSU 23

That's not a bad output from the Aggies considering they did all of their scoring in a little less than 13 minutes.

Live from Chicago

Ok well I'm here on press row for Hoyareport.com.  Georgetown doesn't play until the late game so I've got to get through 3 games before the Main Event.  I'm planning on blogging during other games while my Georgetown write ups will be on the rivals.com site.

It's nice to finally see some basketball after all of the interviews and practices yesterday. 

The media sit in the two rows around the court.  M1 is reserved for tv and radio types.  M2 is for the writers/bloggers/whatever.  That's where I am.  As far as my location on M2, I think I got lucky.  I'm facing the benches near mid-court.  John Thompson is to my left in M1.

The guys from HoyasHoops.com are sitting next to me but they haven't showed up yet which is great because we are really jammed in here.  Georgetown Voice is not here yet but Georgetown play-by-play guy Rich Chvotkin is and we have been talking the entire time.  He talks the same in person as he does on the air - FAST.

The guy to my right is from the 12th Man Magazine which is prefect because I don't know that much about A&M hoops other than the fact that Naji Hibbert plays there.

The halftimes (20 min) are longer than normal college basketball halftimes (15).  College basketball games normally run about 2 hours.  They have been averaging 2 and a half hours through the first day because of the longer commercial breaks.  I think the sponsors would be happier if everybody just ran an informercial.

Being able to watch the other games on my laptop while the game in front of me is going on is a dream come true.  The absolute worst thing about attending NCAA Tournament games is missing the other games around the country.  I don't have that problem.

I can also get up and hit the hospitality snack bar or just go back into the media room where there are TVs everywhere.  It's basically the best set-up a nerd like me could ask for during a game.  

The internal stat feed is incredible.  The Big Ten has a password protected website that provides instant stats. It's been great although I have some problems with the guy scoring blocks.  It's hard to get credit for a block today.

As a fan, there are a few things I would change about NCAA Tournament games.  Here is my list:

1.  Game Highlights on the Big Screen.  They don't show highlights of other games.  Why?
2.  Show games during the break.  They don't show other games during the 27 minute break between games.  Again, why?
3.  I'll have a Stella thanks.  They don't serve beer.  All off campus venues allow beer during the regular season.  Beer companies are a rather big sponsor of NCAA sports.  Seems kind of silly not to offer up the adult sodas for the fans.  Now I couldn't be drinking right now but in the past I have hated it.

Well that was my attempt to paint the picture of where I am and what I'm doing.

Peace brah

Notre Dame 69 - Akron 56 - Final

I don't want to keep beating a dead horse but Zeke Marshall is just either having a bad day or isn't quite that good.  He started the 2nd half just like he ended the first half - with a miss.  He's now 1-10.  That's criminal.

ND has pushed the lead to 9 and Akron wisely calls a timeout before the first media timeout.  This game is about to get away from them and Coach Dambrot feels it.

The Irish fans are a late arriving bunch.  The United Center know has the ND home game feeling that I expected.  I wonder what they were all doing that might have made them miss most off the first half.

Well we are almost 7 minutes into the 2nd half and Akron has put up 3 points on one made field goal.  ND might be lucky to get this kind of performance out of the way early because they are letting Akron get the shots they want.  They just can't make them.  It really is that simple.

We had a fast and furious couple of minutes where the refs were letting it go both ways.  I thought Akron was unfortunate not to get a goal tending call after cutting the lead to 5.  It's back up to 10 at the under 7 minute media timeout.

Zeke update:  Good news is that he has mad 1 of his last 2 shots.  Bad news is that he's 2-12 overall.

There's a new kid killing Akron.  His name is Brett McKnight and he doesn't pass.  He seems to be having a competition with Zeke as to who can miss more shots.  He's 3 for 12 so it's close.  Too early to call right now.  The problem with McKnight is that he started 3 for 4 so he was "feeling it".

We have our first final of the day from Chicago.

ND 69
Akron 56

Missed Shots Final

Zeke 11
McKnight 9

Every time Akron made a run, they seemed to lose Abromaitis for three pointer.  He was 3-3 from deep.

Final analysis:  It was my first time seeing Akron play and they don't play very well as a team.  They have their spurts but its not enough against a quality opponent like ND.  They played like individuals for long stretches.  Brett McKnight's play exemplified this point.  He came off the bench, hit a few shots, and became a black hole for the remainder of the game.  It's one thing to just miss good shots - that was Zeke's problem.  It's another thing to just force stuff.

I'm pretty familiar with Notre Dame and they were a bit off today.  You have to give some of the credit to Akron but some of it was them just missing open looks.  They had 16 assists on their 21 makes which is a great ratio.  They survived a scare today and that's what good teams do.  They pile up wins even when they aren't at their best.

Game 1: Notre Dame (2) vs Akron (15)

Akron has a tough job today with Notre Dame.  The Fighting Irish do an incredible job of spacing the court with shooters at all 5 spots.  Akron is going to need a lot of help from ND tonight in the form of missed shots.

The last 15 seed to beat a 2 was 10 years ago when Hampton knocked off Iowa State.  I watched that game (Georgetown played the winner).  I wouldn't mind seeing another one of those.

I really don't know what to expect from the Zips but if they shoot half as well as fell MAC member Ohio did in their first round game against Georgetown last year, they will give themselves a chance to win.  Ok I just looked it up and Ohio beat up on Akron twice this season.  That can't be good.

Akron is ice cold from the field.  That's a problem.  That's a big problem

Zeke Marshall is a 7 footer that is playing like you would expect a 7 footer from the MAC to play.  That's another problem.

So the Akron fans are right behind me and they have been standing most of the time.  I'm guessing that they are used to going to soccer games

We are at the half and Akron is only down 4 at 34-30.  

Ok I'm really distracted.  I'm trying to type while John Thompson is talking to one of the Florida State coaches two seats down from me.  Maybe I should go ask him about that time he took a picture with me in 10th grade.  That would be a good ice breaker.

2nd Half Adjustments for Akron:  Their big man is 1-9 from the field.  When he gets the ball down low he should be kicking it back out.  Akron has looked their best when they really share the ball.  I've count 5 horrible shots.  They need to go away from driving to the hoop.  That isn't working.  Credit to their coach for already using 9 players.  He's not going to leave anything on the court today.

Play of the Half:  Hansbrough showed why he won't be playing in the NBA on two late possessions.  He loves going to the hoop.  He isn't quick enough or big enough to do that in the league.  Zeke has sent his shot twice.  It's almost as if Ben couldn't believe it so he tried it again.  Same result.

Ok 2nd half tip is about to start.  I'll be back

United Center Media Day

Just a quick setting of my scene.

I'm sitting in the Media Room in the United Center.  There are huge life-like pictures of Bulls greats on the walls everywhere - Jordan, Pippen, Sloan, Rodman.  About 5 steps away is the interview room.  I just sat in on Mike Brey's press conference.  I've got the ODU - Butler came up on my screen from the Verizon Center.  I just heard the ND Fight Song as the Irish took the court for their practice session.  I'll probably get up in a few minutes to see if they are doing any real drills or just playing knock-out.

There's a lot going on and I could get used to this type of action.

Update:  Georgetown and VCU press conferences don't start until 4:30 CT.

Selection Sunday

Here are my predictions for the Sweet 16 Seeds:

1:  Kansas, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Duke

2:  Notre Dame, San Diego State, Connecticut, Texas

3:  UNC, Louisville, Kentucky, BYU

4:  Purdue, Syracuse, Florida, Wisconsin

I have the Hoyas as a 6 seed playing Gonzaga.  Three other teams I could see them playing are Penn State, Butler, or Colorado.

The Big East will shatter the record for teams from one conference making the Tournament with 11.  They are all deserving but I don't see any as a favorite to make it to Houston.

Off to St. Leo's.

Peace brah