Rankings: Week of 2-7-11

Another week and another eight Big East schools in the AP Top 25.  That has become very common.  What stuck out to me was how five of them were all bunched up together.  I've never seen that before this week.

Pitt is still the highest ranked team at #4.  Louisville shows up at #16 while WVU is hanging tough at #25.  And then we have the back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back bff's from the Big East.

8. ND

9. Villanova

10. Connecticut

11. Georgetown

12. Syracuse

There should be some shuffling of this Big East deck in next week's poll since a few of those schools play each other this week.

Peace brah

Monday Feb 7

Well the Christmas Tree is down.  (I'm not counting the mini one at WTR's)

I have an idea for this year.  I'm going to put it up on Halloween and take it down in early February again.  If I do that I will have it up during parts of 5 months - Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, & Feb.  I just can't think of a "normal" way to make it touch 6 months.  That's a problem for a different year I suppose.

I sent my mom flowers awhile ago.  I got them from Pro Flowers.  That was a really big mistake.  They email me like 8 times a day.  Unsubscribing doesn't work.  I probably have to enter the witness protection program or get a new email address.  I'm not sure which one is easier.

I used to watch How I Met Your Mother.  My dvr still records it but I usually just delete it.  I gave it another chance tonight.  I'm still bored with it.  The narration makes me want to fight Bob Saget. 

Last night I eavesdropped on a couple arguing about which dvd to purchase at 7-11. Hey it's not my fault that the movies are in the candy aisle.

I don't know what her side of the argument was but his big selling point was that while they already owned a copy of the movie, the particular version at 7-11 had special features.  Normally I wouldn't advocate buying a movie at 7-11 that you already own but who can argue with special features?  I suspect that the female lost that debate. Weird.

Speaking of movies I'm trying to watch Jennifer's Body right now.  It's not going that well.  I don't get why she is trying to eat people all of a sudden after getting in the van with the band after that fire.    Rocky is doing a really good job of snoring while Meghan Fox is killing high school kids.  Amazing really.

Peace brah

Rivalry Week...ESPN said so

Jay Bilas just referred to the Pitt - WVU game as an old fashioned Big East rock right.  I don't even know what that means but I really like it.  I like it a lot.

Seriously how lucky is WVU?  They get to face Pitt without Ashton Gibbs - one of the few players currently in the running for player of the year in the conference.

The refs have completely lost control of this game.  Dante Taylor just bumped into Tim Higgins (official) and Truck Bryant was just hammered (no call) on a fast break lay-up attempt.

A bunch of students at WVU are wearing cheese heads and Packer jerseys.  Normally I would find that odd but I'm guessing they are doing it to get under the skin of Steelers fans.  I fully endorse such a move. 

I have a hard time watching Kansas.  Ok that's not entirely fair.  I have a hard time watching B12 basketball in general.  Luckily Bobby Knight is doing the color so it's bearable tonight.

Hey maybe playing all "crazy" isn't the best move for Missouri.  Saw a fan with a Mizzerable sign in the crowd.  Not bad.

Tigers just gave up triple digits on the road.  Pitt managed to survive without Gibbs.  I was rooting for Pitt because I have come to grips with them winning the BE Regular Season title.  It bothers me that ND fans think they can still win it.  Oh how I want to see them in MSG next month.

Hey do you know who Maryland plays during Rivalry Week?  Hint:  they are from Virginia and currently ranked 333 in the RPI.  Give up?  It's Longwood.  Apparently Gary is in the let's-get-as-many-wins-as-possible camp come Selection Sunday.

Peace brah

Wednesday Feb 3 - Hoya version

Last weekend I took the Casual Hoya bus trip up to Philadelphia for the Villanova game.  The Hoyas led for most of the game but had to hold on for dear life during the final 2 minutes.  I have now seen Georgetown win at Villanova 4 times by some of the smallest margins possible.  Unfortunately I did see them lose last year but let's not talk about it.  Here are the results:

2011 - Hoyas 69 - Villanova 66
2009 -  Hoyas 56 - Villanova 54
2007 -  Hoyas 58 - Villanova 55
2005 -  Hoyas  66 - Villanova 64

I will never, ever get tired of seeing Georgetown win in Philadelphia against Villanova.  I promise.  Now that I look at the list above, maybe I should only go during the odd numbered years. 

What do Utah State and Coastal Carolina have in common?  Well they both lost to Georgetown early in the season and neither has lost a game since then.

Utah State is riding a 16 game winning streak since visiting the Verizon Center on Dec 4th.  They Aggies are currently ranked in both the AP and Coaches Polls.

Since losing to the Hoyas on Nov 18th, Coastal Carolina has won 18 straight including their first win at a BCS school when they defeated LSU in Baton Rouge.

Now I'm not saying that Coastal Carolina and Utah State are world beaters but if you are going to play mid majors, play the good ones.

I'm going to have a mid-season look at the race to MSG and the BE POY competition tomorrow.

Peace brah

Tuesday Feb 1

Our Christmas Tree is still up.  It's February.

I really gave a lot of thought to taking it down a few weeks ago but then I saw an opportunity for seasonal immortality.  I mean anybody can keep their tree up for a few extra weeks in January but it takes a special kind of effort to have your bubble lights still bubbling during the month of Cupid's birthday.  That's what Valentine's Day is right?

I'm giving a show on National Geographic about life in prisons a chance.  It's called Hard Time.  I had a hard time getting through my first episode.  I'll be here all week.  One of the worst parts is that all of the inmates are dressed up like Syracuse fans.  No wonder they are so upset and pissed off. 

Arsenal had a nice comeback win against Everton this afternoon to save their season for at least another weekend.  Arshavin and Diaby made a difference upon entering the game.  I hate looking at Fellaini.  I wish Howard was on Arsenal.  Van Persie had one of the best corner kicks I've ever seen.  I think I could have scored on it.  That's about all I have for that game.

There aren't any Big East games on tonight so I've been slumming it.

Kentucky at Ole Miss was fairly entertaining.  I know most of the players on Kentucky but only 2 players on Ole Miss so that adds some serious unknown for me.  The game went back and forth a little bit with Ole Miss winning at the end on a ridiculous shot.  I was already bitching about the lack of quality on the last play coming out of a timeout but then it went in.  Kentucky got a decent look 2 seconds later but missed.

Kansas at Texas Tech was a train wreck.  I think it's time to say goodbye to Pat Knight in Lubbock.

UNC at BC was pretty awful as well.  BC had two walk-ons in the game at one point.  That's not so great for them or the viewer.  You know how you know you are watching an ACC game?  You see Food Lion commercials for the first time in forever.

Vanderbilt at Florida was decided by a horrible non-call on a three point attempt.  I don't think Vernon Macklin has made much progress since leaving Georgetown.  Bummer because they could have really used him the last two seasons.  At least he hasn't regressed like his PIC (partner in crime) - Jeremiah Rivers.

Rumors are swirling about a point shaving scandal at Syracuse.  I'd love for it to be true but I doubt it.  I think the rumor got started by some Orange fans that are having a hard time dealing with the current 4 game losing streak.  As if that's the most logical explanation as to why they are struggling.

The Wizards lost on the road again.  I think that's 25 in a row.  That's impressive.

Ok I'm out.

Peace brah

Saturday Jan 22

Cold without snow is like the movies without popcorn.  What's the point?  As I type this my phone says its 16 degrees outside.  Yikes.

Every time I see one of these commercials with a "message" from the Foundation for a Better Life, I swear it's going to be fake.  I keep waiting for it to be a spoof for some terrible beer like Miller Lite, but it seems to be a real foundation.  Maybe it's just a really elaborate setup, with the punch line coming during the Super Bowl.  *fingers crossed*

So tonight's US National Game is on a Telefutra (spanish), in standard definition, and features lesser known (upstarts if you will) players.  Wow.  What's not to love?

Around 30,000 morons dressed up in orange had their weekends ruined today by about 2pm today.  That makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

I mean at least when Georgetown loses a home game you can walk outside the arena and, you know, do stuff.  And by "do stuff" I mean go from bar to bar arguing about the Princeton Offense and Vee Sanford's lack of playing time.  Look I've been to games in the Carrier Dome and that's not the case.  You have to wait in a Kings Dominion type line to board a shuttle bus back to where your car is parked.  Then you have to drive for awhile before you see a person as opposed to a polar bear.

There was a basketball game from JMU on one of the ESPN channels today for the first time since Lefty was the coach.  They lost but it was kind of cool to flip to it and see the Electric Zoo on TV.  Of course it would have been a lot cooler if it were in HD.  I wonder if one day I will complain that stuff isn't always in 3D?  I doubt it.

Ok there is a graphic in the bottom right corner with the Telefutra logo and the letters "HD" next to it.  I'm not sure what else that could be trying to say other than High Definition.  The problem is that it's not in High Definition.

Look it's always a big deal to be in HD but even more so when all of the players are new to most of us.  I mean I'm familiar with their names but not with their faces.  It's almost as if US Soccer doesn't want me as a fan.  It's hard to think of a worse way to present your product than on a Saturday night in SD on a Spanish channel.

When does Roddick come on anyway?  I'm out.

Peace brah

Tuesday Jan 18

I joked about the Christmas Tree still being up today.  Twice actually. 

Look who's kidding who here?  Is anybody really dying for the room to go back to the way it uses to be pre-tree?  I don't think so.  It's not as if the couch lights up.  The only plus is that Rocky can actually sleep on the couch.  Not so much sleeping on the tree.  At least I don't think he sleeps on the tree.

I made some tacos but I bought the wrong seasoning and they were terrible.  If I wanted bad tacos I could have gone to Carlos O'Kelley's.  They looked so good yet tasted like bad.  What a cruel dining experience.

I've been up to my neck in the tennis over these first three days of the 2011 Australian Open and I love it.  Nobody does sports like DirecTV.  NOBODY.

I'm pretty jealous of Chris Fowler.  He goes from covering college football to Grand Slam Tennis.  

You know I bet I've watched more tennis in the last three days then I will watch of baseball and hockey for the rest of the year.  COMBINED.  And it won't even be close. 

My NHL and MLB knowledge is really stuck in the 80's and 90's.  I was questioning my hockey knowledge earlier tonight and, as I suspected, it has really slipped.  So I tried to name as many players in the NHL as possible.  I got 9 Capitals and 12 guys on other teams.  That's it.

By comparison I was able to rattle off 40 high school seniors before I got tired of doing it.  The pathetic part is that it that doesn't include juniors or sophomores.  Hey high school basketball recruiting is kind of important to the future of the Hoyas program.  Why wouldn't I be up to date on it?

Australian Open Day 3

Roddick:  He got into the 3rd round without any real problems.  Straight sets.  He aced out the last game to kill it off.  That was pretty fun to watch.

Venus:  She was up 4-1 in the first and blew it to go down a set.  Even worse is that on the last point during the tiebreaker she looked to have torn her groin.  I really can't believe that she came back out to play, let a lone win the last 2 sets.  Well she did both.  She was in obvious pain but played smart and just got it done.  I can't imagine she gets past the 4th round.

Future:   Oh where oh where have the young American tennis players gone?  Venus, Serena, and Andy are all on their last legs.  Are we just waiting for the offspring of Agassi and Graf to grow up?  I guess that's not the worst plan I've ever heard.  It just seems kind of lazy.

Peace brah