Answer to guess the Athlete

Tar Heel great Serge Zwikker. For more information on this great go to this site.

Here's an excerpt:

The man, of course, is Serge Zwikker. He was different, and therefore special. A stupid name, a stupid grin, and a stupid demeanor set him apart from mere mortals. The ferociously timid center played for the Heels from 1993-1997 and was part of the '93 Championship team. According to one scout, Zwikk the Quick's greatest strength was understanding his own limitations.

Big Cat retires

Andres Galarraga decided to retire rather than play for the mighty Mets.

He started his career as an average player for the Expos. He then became a great hitter for Colorado, but, unlike others who then leave Colorado, he continued to be a good hitter with the Braves.

Besides having a pretty good career, Galarraga made successful comebacks from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma twice. He was also a good diplomat for the game.

What if they didn't go pro?

This was a fun article about how college basketball would be different if the best players actually went to college and stayed in college. Writer, David Schoenfield imagines which teams would have done well if they still had certain players. Here's some of the rosters that could have been:

Syracuse: Carmelo Anthony, Josh Pace. Gerry McNamara, Hakim Warrick, Craig Forth

UCONN: Ben Gordon, Marcus Williams, Charlie Villanueva, Josh Boone, Emeka Okafor

Georgia Tech: Will Bynum, BJ Elder, Jarrett Jack, Chris Bosh, Luke Schenscher

UNC: Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants, J.R. Smith, Jawad Williams, Sean May

Memphis: Darius Washington, Dajuan Wagner, Rodney Carney, Kendrick Perkins, Amare Stoudemire

Duke: Shaun Livingston, J.J. Redick, Luol Deng , Shelden Williams, Dwight Howard

I think I'd take Duke to beat UCONN although Memphis's front court would be tough to stop.

This Week's Guess the Athlete

Answer on Friday

No commented needed

...Atkins, sitting in front of his locker that used to belong to Shaquille O'Neal, was asked by a reporter before the game what moves he would make during the off-season to improve the Lakers.

"I ain't the GM of this team," he said. "Kobe's the GM of this team. Ask Kobe. You've been watching this [stuff] all year. You've been watching it and I've been playing in it."...

By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer, LA Times

Best weekend of college basketball

I can't remember a better weekend of basketball. Not only were the games exciting, but there was an incredible display of talent. I already commented on Saturday's games, missed the Carolina game (damn Easter Bunny), and saw the second half of the Michigan State game.

I don't think I have much to say that hasn't already been said, but here's a few thoughts:

• Izzo might be the best coach in college basketball. If he coached the Tar Heels, they'd be undefeated.
• Not often do I see really intelligent college defenders. Rajon Rondo is one of them. He always seems to be in the right place at the right time.
• College teams need to learn a better way to kill the clock. Having the point guard burn thirty seconds before rushing an offensive play is just stupid.
  
• It ruins the offensive momentum your team had while building the lead.
• It allows your opponents to rest on defense so they have more energy for offense.
• It's tougher to score when you give yourself less time to run a play.
• Points are usually more valuable than an extra ten seconds burned.
• This is what teams should do when they have the lead: continue to run your same offense, but be more selective with your shots.
• Do they still teach boxing out? Michigan State and Louisville would not have come back without all their offensive rebounds.

Finally, I know everyone's concerned about how my bracket is doing. After the strongest start I've ever had, I'm now experiencing a Yankeesque collapse. I'm down three points to Patriotsy2k, but I think I can retake the lead if Carolina does well. Hopefully Sean May and Raymond Felton perform better than Kevin Brown and A-Rod.

Another Great Game

Arizona and Illinois both played well, impressive talent on the court, and both teams giving great effort. Throw in an incredible comeback and overtime; there's nothing else I could ask for. Some quick thoughts:

• After that game Stoudamire will be lucky to be drafted in the second round.
• Give me Deron Williams over Raymond Felton any day. Felton might be quicker, but Williams is smarter and tougher.
• Hassan Adams reminds me of the great Stevie Douglas of the poor free throw shooting Cuse teams.
• Don't know about Channing Fryes's pro prospects, but it was enjoyable to watch his well rounded game.
• Is there a classier college than Lute Olson?
• Two more games tomorrow, but I'm stuck with being with my family. Of all the times Jesus decides to rise from the dead, he chooses March Madness. Why not the weekend after the Super Bowl?
  

Pittsnoglemania!

It's too bad the wrong team won, but it was great game.

Credit should be given to Pitino and Louisville. When your opponent is breaking records shooting threes, your best player fouls out with five minutes to go, and another important player can barely play because injuries, you usually lose.

The idea that West Virginia came this close to the Final Four is what makes this tournament so interesting. Today's game is the reason I keep watching the NCAA despite Billy Packer and bad games like the UNC/Nova game.

One more thing: no complaints about the announcers or refs. I don't believe I just wrote that.

Pedro Injury Watch

Pedro's complaining about lower back stiffness.

How good are the Celtics?

E-mailer Brian asked me how good the Celtics are now that they have Walker and is it safe to compare them to Miami and Detroit.

It's amazing how much better the Celts are with Walker, but I'm not expecting them to do much in the playoffs. Here's why:

• Point guard. Gary Payton cannot stop good point guards. Marcus Banks can play defense, but he can't run an offense.
• 4th Quarter Half Court Offense. Whenever the Celtics need a basket at the end of a game, four guys stand around as Paul Pierce either ends up forcing a shot against five defender or takes a bad fall away jumper. Playoff basketball comes down to these last possessions and I don't have confidence that the Celtics will covert in these situations.
• Blount and LaFrentz. They need to play well to beat Detroit, Miami, and even Chicago. Sometimes they have good games, usually they don't.

Despite these negatives, the Celtics do have a good collection of talent. Ricky Davis deserves the 6th man award, Walker and Pierce have the talent to matchup with anyone, and the young players on the Celtics often seem to come up big plays.

I like the future of the Celtics, but to even think about a championship they need to have a better point guard, more consistency with their big men, and an improved half court offense.

Not impressed with Carolina

The Villanova Carolina game is exhibit number one explaining why I'm not a big college basketball fan. That was just a painful game to watch. I just don't know who to blame: the Carolina players, Roy Williams, the flopping Nova players, or the refs (they're always part of it).

I've been reading about how Carolina is full of lottery picks and future pro's. I think the Carolina players have been reading this too because they acted like NBA players last night: they slept walked through most of the game, showing no effort on defense and not moving without the ball on offense.

I'm not an NBA scout, but I saw nothing last night that would get me excited about any of the Carolina players entering the NBA. May has good hands and understands how to rebound, but I don't know how effective he'll be when facing bigger and quicker NBA players.

Anyway, experts are saying there's a bunch of pro prospects on the Tar Heels, so maybe I should be more critical of Roy Williams, who was clearly outcoached last night. He seems to be coaching the Tar Heels like they were a McDonalds' All Star Team.

Now for the Villanova flopping. I could devote an entire web page on the topic of how flopping ruins the game of basketball. In what other game is a player rewarded for falling down? 95% of the time it's not defense, it's acting. Maybe I'll write more about this later, but needless to say, Villanova players were falling down a lot.

And the refs were falling for the act almost every time. It was just a badly officiated game (although I am kind of guessing since CBS tends not to show replays of controversial foul calls). Too many college games are determined by foul trouble, and it's frustrating when a few of the calls are dubious.

Finally, I was rooting for Carolina, but the Nova player did not travel (at least by today's standards of traveling).

What's better?

Watching Duke lose or watching Kobe lose?

Guess this guy Jeff Gordon's a writer. Here's some words of wisdom he had about Tedy Bruschi:

"Shouldn't Tedy Bruschi just tape up his heart next season and play hurt? Isn't he supposed to be a tough guy?"

Learned about the story, and got the picture from the BostonSportsMedia Message Board. Also got Jeff Gordon's e-mail address: jgordon@post-dispatch.com

UPDATE: Gordon's witty remark about Bruschi has been mysteriously removed.

Answer to guess the Athlete

It is Jennifer Jones, member of the Canadian curling team. So, this week's challenge was answered within hours of when I posted the question. Last week when I asked people to name Washington's starting five no one answered.

I guess the lesson is I need to post more about women's curling and less about college basketball.

Something positive for a change

"Michigan State fifth-year senior Tim Bograkos kisses the court before leaving his final game in the Breslin Center during a game against Penn State Saturday, March 5, 2005, in East Lansing, Mich. A leukemia survivor and former walk-on, Bograkos has defied the odds to make an impact on the Michigan State program that can't be measured through traditional statistics." (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

I know they only beat Vermont, but I was impressed with how Michigan State played, and I'm always impressed by Izzo's coaching. Wish I didn't have them losing to Syracuse this round.

UMASS hires Eastern Kentucky coach

I don't know if Travis Ford will be able to concentrate on basketball. Coming from Eastern Kentucky, he might be too distracted by the wonders of electricity and indoor plumbing.

What the "experts" said

Peter King on the 2000 Draft:

New England. J.R. Redmond will be the every-down back by Oct. 1. Not bad for the 76th overall pick

Former Auburn QB, Jason Campbell shows NFL scouts how high he can jump. Campbell was the most impressive college QB I saw this year (I didn't see too many USC games). By the way, what does someone's vertical leap have to do with how well they can play QB? If Tom Brady could have increased his vertical leap by two inches maybe he could have been drafted in the fifth round instead of the sixth. 

Thursday Night Football: Pats vs. Raiders

Great. Now we get to listen to Raider fans whine about the officials enforcing the tuck rule. It will be interesting to see Moss in his first real game as a Raider though.

Paul Silas fired

My guess is Cleveland's trying to copy Michael Jordan's Bulls. Doug Collins helped get Jordan established, and Phil Jackson came in to turn the Bulls into a championship team. So now Cleveland's hoping the same will happen with LeBron's next coach.

There's a couple problems with doing this though. One, Silas is a good coach. As evidence, look what happened to the Hornets after he was fired from that team. Two, even if they get Phil Jackson, the Cav's still need more talent. Without Scottie Pippen, Jackson doesn't become a Zen Master genius. LeBron and Cleveland have nothing close to a Pippen, so they'll continue to be an average team (which isn't bad for the East).

Don't forget Q!

Most of the credit for the Phoenix Suns' great season has gone to Steve Nash, and he deserves a lot of credit. However, there's another newcomer on the Suns who is a large part of his team's success: Quentin Richardson. Free from Clipperland, he has been a reliable scorer and a clutch three point shooter. He and Joe Johnson are perfect compliments to Shawn Marion's and Amare Stoudamire inside games. Of course it doesn't hurt having Steve Nash orchestrate the bunch.

Guess the Athlete!

Answer on Friday

Roberto Alomar retires

This should be a big story. He's the best second basemen I've ever seen, and I might even argue he was the best all around player in the 90's. Some interesting things about Alomar.

• A member of one of the greatest overlooked teams in baseball history. The 1992 and 1993 World Champion Blue Jays had Alomar, John Olerud, Tony Fernandez, Joe Carter, Devon White, Ricky Henderson, Juan Guzman, Pat Hentgen, Jack Morris, Dave Stewart, Mike Timlin, Al Leiter, Woody Williams, Paul Molitor, Dave Winfield, Jimmy Key, David Wells, and David Cone along with youngsters Jeff Kent, Derek Bell, Shawn Green, and Carlos Delgado. I'm amazed at this list of talent and they didn't have a payroll like the Yanks and Sox of recent years.
• Alomar did all the things the casual fan ignores. Great fielding, great bunting (either for a hit or sacrifice), hit behind the runner, and stole bases when it mattered.
• Lived in the Sky Dome hotel during his years in Toronto. Talk about a good commute.
• For a great player, played for way too many different teams. (Padres, Blue Jays, Orioles, Indians, Mets, White Sox, and Diamondbacks). People would look at his career differently if he most of his time with one team.
• Part of one of the most talent-laden trades I can think of: Padres trade Joe Carter and Alomar to Blue Jays for Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez.
• At 34 his career just plummeted when he signed with the Mets. Pedro Martinez turns 34 this year. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

BC loses to Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Okay, I admit it. I'm just looking for excuses to post pics of these coins. Someone please give me a story about Maryland or Arkansas.

Iowamania!!!

Iowa State, Northern Iowa, and Iowa all in the tournament. Am I the only person perplexed that this state actually got three teams into March Madness? The state of Indiana better look out.

UCONN loses

Not a good year for the Big East, unless Nova or West Virginia can pull off some upsets.

Answer to guess the Athlete

Washington's starting five:

Nate Robinson
Tre Simmons
Mike Jenson
Will Conroy
Bobby Jones

Keep sharp objects away from Patsy2k

Gonzaga loses, so there goes half of Patsy2k's Final Four. UNC and Illinois fans might need to be worried; those are the rest of his Final Four.

Boca Raton police respond to loud screams of horror

The crying wasn't caused by Matlock or Golden Girls being cancelled in the retirement village.

No, the cries all of Boca is hearing is Patsy2k as he looks at his bracket with Syracuse winning it all. Even the Godfather didn't predict Syracuse would win the championship.

Kansas loses

Watch out for the Patriot League. First Holy Cross beats Notre Dame in the NIT. Now Bucknell beats Kansas.

A good day for Phish, Howard Dean, and Ben & Jerry's

Vermont beats Syracuse.

Someone needs to tells the Syracuse players not to eat the brownies offered by all those friendly Phish fans before the game.

Dick Radatz passes away

....Newspaper reports say Mr. Radatz faced Mantle, a Hall of Famer, 63 times, and struck him out 47 times. (Gordon Edes, Boston Globe)

If you don't live in Boston, you probably never heard of Dick Radatz. The only reason I know about him was he was on sports radio a lot, and he was one of my favorite personalities to listen to. He loved baseball, but wasn't afraid to challenge the way the game is played today. He especially hated pitch counts. Hearing former players like Radatz talk about baseball is one reason why I'm such a big fan of the game.

People over the age of fifty probably remember him more for being a great pitcher on a bad Red Sox team.

Here's a nice article about him

Excerpts for lazy readers:

''He was the best," said former Sox teammate Bill Monbouquette, reached last night by phone in Lakeland, Fla., where he is a minor league pitching coach for the Detroit Tigers. ''How would I say the best? When you compare him to other guys, they couldn't do what he did. Three innings one day, maybe four the next, one the next day, and three more the next. 'Relievers today throw one inning. Dick almost never pitched just an inning."

''The Monster" nickname was born in 1963, after a game against the Yankees in Fenway Park in which Mr. Radatz entered with the bases loaded and struck out Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, and Elston Howard -- all American League MVPs at one time -- on a total of 10 pitches."

Chickens

Either my site has 2 visitors, or we have a lot of people who are afraid to mess with Patsy2k, Bryan, and me. Kris from Key West and the Godfather are probably afraid of losing to uninformed and naive people.

As an incentive, I will write a week's worth of posts about the winner's favorite professional team.

To play, do this:

"In order to join the group, just go to the game front page and click on the "Sign Up" button to create a team. After completing registration, or if you already have a team, click the "Create or Join Group" button and follow the path to join an existing private group. Then, when prompted, enter the following information...Group ID#: 28604 Password: bartcop

An article that infuriated Bryan

Please take some time to read this article, Disgruntled Chicagoans just don't get Dusty

Lovie Smith, Dusty Baker, Don Baylor, Bill Cartwright, Jerry Manuel, Ozzie Smith. All of these recently coached, or still are coaching, in Chicago and all are either black or a minority. Jimmy Collins and Dave Leito are both black coaches at universities in Chicago that coach right now as well.

Oh yeah, the White Sox GM Kenny Williams....he's black too. How many major league teams have black GM's?? BJ Armstrong, one of the top executives who is in charge of scouting for the chicago bulls....black.

I dare anybody to find a city whose professional sports teams and local college teams that has a better reputation at hirering minorities than chicago. Our record is unmatched. What also gets me is that this guy quotes a friend of Dusty Baker, a white friend, that says people in Chicago do not want blacks to be in responsible positions.

Has this friend ever heard of Barak Obama? Third black senator elected since Reconstruction. Harold Washington, a black man that was elected mayor of the city. This is ridiculous. Invoking race does nothing to help anybody. People don't like Baker because he is a tool. He is a horrible manager of a pitching staff. He got out-managed by Old Jack in Florida. Anytime anybody presses him with a tough question he shields himself behind his young son. He can't do no wrong in the eyes of one specific paper in this town. Thank god his deal is over in two years.

Bracket Advice

I was gonna hold off on doing this because I didn't wanted anyone stealing the secret to my success, but then I realized I never do well in these things. Maybe if everyone listens to me, I have a better chance to win. By the way, follow the link two posts below to sign up. Here's some things I think about and advice for doing the bracket:

• The faster I do the bracket, the better off I am. I believe I completed this years bracket in less than a minute. I once knew a lot about college basketball and did plenty of research before filling the bracket out. That year I came in last place out of a group of about fifty. No more thinking.
• The time you save by not thinking about the bracket should be spent on thinking of a creative team name. I did not follow this advice this year. I'm looking into changing the name of my team, but I'm afraid that's bad luck.
• A good choice for an upset is a team that plays a unique defense or offense. It throws the other team off. Unfortunately, Temple and Princeton aren't in, but Syracuse and it's zone defense is.
• The Pac 10 and SEC kill me every year. They're either overrated or underrated and always sure to screw up my bracket. Arizona should have a lifetime ban for what they've done to me.
• Lucky me, LSU may play Arizona.
• Respect teams you don't see on ESPN all the time. With so many stars leaving school early or skipping it all together, major conferences just aren't as strong. These teams I know nothing about are usually loaded with seniors who really know their teammates and system.
• Try to pick teams that you like. Sure you might not do as well, but do you really want to root for Bobby Knight?
• This brings me to the Duke Dilemma: I despise everything about Duke and pray that they lose in the first round. But they make it to the Final Four so often, so how do you make your picks? If you have an answer let me know.
• If you picked Tennessee to win, you're filling out the Women's Bracket.
• If you picked Maryland to win, you're filling out the NIT Bracket.
• If you picked Manchester United to win, you live in Key West.
• Don't try to fill out your brackets after the games start. My friend did try to do this.
• Avoid good teams with poor free throw shooting. If you know of any, let me know.
• Pick teams with good backcourts.
• When Billy Packer speaks, press mute.
• Only a few teams in each major conference deserve respect. If a team ended up in the middle of the pack in its conference, it probably won't do anything, unless its best player has returned from a long injury (hint, hint).
• So Washington's a number one seed? Before yesterday, I didn't even know they had a winning record.
• Is it still bold to pick Gonzaga?

Guess that's it for now.

Guess the Athlete(s)

No photo software again this week, so you're just gonna have to read:

Name the Washington Huskies starting five (without looking).

Bartcop Bracket!

Bryan was kind enough to set up a Yahoo! NCAA tournament bracket for Bartcop. I've done this through Yahoo! before and it's VERY easy. Just do this...

"In order to join the group, just go to the game front page and click on the "Sign Up" button to create a team. After completing registration, or if you already have a team, click the "Create or Join Group" button and follow the path to join an existing private group. Then, when prompted, enter the following information...

Group ID#: 28604 Password: bartcop

Let me know if you have any questions or if you have any grand prize ideas for when I win this thing.

Can we reconsider Larry Brown's Hall of Fame induction?

The Celtics Pistons double overtime game was outstanding. I should be writing about Ricky Davis's continued improvement or how refreshing it was to see both teams play with so much enthusiasm. But that wouldn't be me; I'm thinking about the officiating and Larry Brown.

I won't dwell on the refs since I've already done that a lot except I'll ask two questions: Did you know a team can be called for defensive three seconds even when the offensive team hasn't had the ball for three seconds yet? Did you also know that instead of just hand-checking by holding a guys jersey, now you can hand-check by placing your hand on the forehead of your opponent? Rip Hamilton knew that.

Back to Larry Brown. I actually remember his Hall of Fame speech because he made a big deal about how his fellow inductees had such respect for the game and more of today's players need that. I agreed with him, but after last night it seems Brown is guilty of telling people to "do as I say, not as I do."

Brown was simply working the refs, but there should be a limit to this if someone respects the game. One aspect of Detroit's strong defense is to aggressively push, grab, and hinder people moving without the ball. It's basically the same thing Daly's Pistons and Riley' s Knicks did. These fouls should be strictly called, but when you have coaches like the ones I mentioned working (actually let's call it bullying) the refs, more and more is allowed. As a result, the game becomes virtually unwatchable.

I understand they're just trying to win, but does it make it okay to just try to win when it means you're ruining the game in the process? This is where I'm connecting Brown's pleas for respect and his actions as a coach.

His behavior towards the officiating last night was disgraceful. He actually got called for a technical in overtime, which I never remember seeing. I usually blame the officials when a coach or player gets a technical. I want to know what it actually was that made the person so irate. So what was it that got Brown so upset? Maybe it was that his team only shot 45 free throws.

Kids, practice your free throws

Memphis Darius Washington Jr. got fouled shooting a three pointer at the buzzer. So here he was at the free throw line with three shots. He hit the first shot. If he hits one more, the game goes to overtime; if he hits both, Memphis wins and gets an automatic bid to the tournament.

He missed both.

Answer to guess the Athlete

Diego Armondo Maradona. Some say the greatest player in the history of soccer, even better than Pele. I think he may have eaten Pele.

Congress and Steroids

This whole thing about Congress having baseball players testify is a joke. They're not going to accomplish anything (politicians not accomplishing something. Amazing). They think the public cares about this MLB steroid issue so they want to act like they care about it for good publicity.

Congressmen are claiming they're doing this because some steroid using kids killed themselves. Wouldn't it make more sense to have teen athletes who have used steroids to testify? How about people convicted of selling steroids to high school kids? These people will give us a better understanding of the problem of steroids and young athletes, not some pampered athletes who live in a world isolated from the rest of everyday citizens.

Many people are asking why Barry Bonds isn't being asked to testify. Here's another one for you: when will the poster boy of steroid use, Arnold Schwarzenegger, be asked to testify? I'm sure politics has nothing to do with that.

Favre is coming back

That's good news because:

• Favre games are always good to watch. There's a good chance of seeing an incredible pass, comeback, or a horrible interception.
• He seems like a good guy who loves the game of football and has fun on the field. The NFL needs as many of these people as possible.
• I get another season of complaining about announcer over-worshipping him.
• Another season of Brett Favre jokes!
  

What the "experts" said

On a day when they could have had impact players David Terrell or Koren Robinson or the second-best tackle in the draft in Kenyatta Walker, they took Georgia defensive tackle Richard Seymour, who had 1 sacks last season in the pass-happy SEC and is too tall to play tackle at 6-6 and too slow to play defensive end. This genius move was followed by trading out of a spot where they could have gotten the last decent receiver in Robert Ferguson and settled for tackle Matt Light, who will not help any time soon. - Ron Borges, MSNBC after 2001 Draft.


I stole, I mean borrowed this from www.bostonsportsmedia.com.
They have a bunch of revolving quotes on their front page, and this quote inspired me to do this "expert" thing. I would have started off with this quote, but I started this feature during the dark days of my "No-Boston" Week.

Less than a month away from opening day! 

Something to read on ESPN's Page 2 Besides Bill Simmons

I believe that was my longest headline yet!

Anyway, ESPN's Page 2 has a new writer, Scoop Jackson, and I was impressed with his column. Most writers pretty much say the same things and this guy is clearly different. In his first article he writes stuff I disagree with and agree with, but he keeps it interesting. I was actually able to read the whole article!

Some excerpts with my comments in parenthesis:

• I believe Muhammad Ali is more significant than Jackie Robinson.
• I believe fans are oftentimes more arrogant than the players. (Hello Yankee Fans)
• I believe Eva Longoria should have been in the MNF skit. (That was the true controversy)
• I believe you should not have to stand for the national anthem if you do not want to.
• I believe the New England Patriots stopped believing in themselves and won their last Super Bowl. (Wait a second! This guy's an idiot!)
• I believe there will be another Michael Jordan, but there will never be another Larry Bird. (Maybe he knows a thing or two)
  

Brushback and SportsPickle

God, I love these sites.

From Sportspickle.com

• J.J. Reddick glad hecklers don't know about his tiny penis
• ESPN scrolling ticker operator under the impression someone cares about the Villanova-Boston College women's game
• Bill Belichick tells Tom Brady he has to have Sex with Bridget Moynahan for Salary Cap Reasons

From The Brushback

• Gary Barnett Vows to 'Get Tough' on Rape Victims
• Retarded Person Overcomes Adversity to Become NBA Referee
  

Ready for some BC Basketball

Before you read this, read the post below about those damn Florida people.

Something I forgot to mention about my wonderful drive home was what was on sports radio. I try not to write too much about local sports personalities, but tonight I'll make an exception. On the most popular sports radio station in Boston (they claim America), Ted Sarandis is on every night from seven to midnight. Now what do you suppose a Boston Sports Radio host would talk about: the Red Sox making the most incredible comeback in baseball history to beat their longtime rivals to end sports' most celebrated championship drought? How 'bout the Pats, coming off their third Super Bowl victory and facing the challenge of what popular players to keep and who to let go? How bout the streaking Celtics who just brought back a love-him-or-hate-him athlete that's been the topic of billions of Boston arguments? How 'bout the Revolution?

Nope. This great sports personality wants to talk about BC basketball all of the time. BC basketball and nothing more. This is what I learned from him during my commute.

• I should be ashamed of myself because while BC sold out most of its Big East games, few people showed up to watch them play powerhouses Maine, New Hampshire, and LIU Brooklyn . How dare I not show up to those games?
  
• BC runs a flex offense. Interesting.
• They don't have strong guard play which could hurt them in the tournament.
• The only reason why UCONN has had more success than BC is that the Connecticut legislature pours tons of money into UCONN basketball (I'm not saying this; this is what I have to listen to on sports radio).
• BC would have more athletic success if they didn't have such high academic standards. (Two criticisms about this: One, I've met several BC grads, and let's just say there's no way their academic standards can be that high. Two, I don't hear Stanford and Duke making this excuse.)
• BC sports would be much more popular if the local media gave them more respect. (Guess he's ignoring the fact that Boston's number one sports columnist, Bob Ryan, a BC graduate, writes several articles a year praising BC athletics.
• Junior Craig Smith will stay for his senior year because he promised to his family that he'd graduate. (I'm sure that the fact he has no chance of being drafted in the first round has nothing to do with him staying in school).

I have no idea where this post is going and I don't even know if it's coherent. I guess I'll end it with a few words on why BC sports isn't that popular in Massachusetts.

One, there's usually something better going on. Sorry, but the professional teams are more interesting than a college team that is usually average, sometimes above average.

Two, BC is a small private school that most Boston citizens have no connection to. Compare that to Ohio State where it seems like most of Ohio's voting population are Buckeye alums.

Three, Boston University. BU versus BC is similar to Sox versus the Yanks. BU is a bigger school, so that's a lot of BU alumni and children of alumni who are taught to hate BC.

Four, many Boston people don't like BC. You knows those real loud obnoxious meatheads in bars. Those are usually BC students and grads.

Five, sports radio fans listen to a fanatical dj who chastises Bostonians for not supporting "their" team.

So I am not a big BC fan! I don't hate them like the Yankees, and when there is an enjoyable team to watch like this year's basketball team I'll watch and even route for them. I'm just tired of being criticized by the likes of Ted Sarandis and the Godfather for not being "loyal BC fans."

When I'm sober, I'll try to connect this with Soccer and Nascar fans interpreting other people's disinterest as some type of character flaw.

Here's a picture of my commute home. 

I hate all Florida people

This is what I just did while Kris from Key West was playing with his soccer balls on the beach and Patriotsy2k was swimming at a retirement village in Boca:

Got out of work at 7. Couldn't open my door because it was frozen shut. After about five minutes of trying, I got the passenger door open. Crawled to the driver's seat, started the car, and crawled back out of the passenger door. Scraped my car for about ten minutes and I was ready to go home for my usual 20 minute commute.

By the way, here's the weather I'm dealing with. If you don't want to follow the link. It was about 40 degrees and pouring all mourning. The temperature dropped about 30 degrees so all the rain water turned to ice, and now on top of that ice there's about four inches of snow. Are you Florida people jealous yet?

As a kid, I hated the fact that my town was so good at plowing. Snow cancellations were rare. So I got a little worried when my car wouldn't stop fish-tailing on my old town's busiest road. As I'm going down the main road, I needed to make a decision: backroads or the highway.

The fun thing about highways in snow storms is that there's no lanes. Usually the road is better, however, because of volume and frequent salting and plowing. The fun thing about backroads are the narrow New England roads, unplowed roads, steep hills, and sharp turns. I guess the one benefit is there's not as much traffic on the backroads.

I chose the highway. It wasn't plowed well. Nothing beats the feeling of your car slipping from side to side uncontrollably as there are Mack Trucks on either side of you.

So I'm speeding uncontrollably along the highway at ten miles per hour in the right lane and I notice a couple jerks in SUV's pass by me in the breakdown lane. Later, car after car after car is passing me on the right. That's when I noticed I was in the second lane. Not sure how I got there. For the rest of the trip, without my knowledge, I had switched from the right lane, to the second lane, to the middle lane, and sometimes in between lanes. Such fun.

An hour later I'm off the highway. Only one mile to go! First there was the challenge of stopping at a red light. Have you Florida people ever struggled to bring your car from ten miles per hour to zero on a bed of snow covered ice?

Now for the windy road. Visibility -- just about zero, high beams or no high beams. Maybe that had something to do with it snowing sideways. Also the roads weren't really plowed so there was no way of telling the difference between pavement and someone's front lawn. So I used my pathetic memory to remember the curves and turns of the road until I made it to the unplowed parking lot.

Luckily, this story has a happy ending. I made it home safe. Actually it wasn't that happy because my door was frozen shut. So now I'm inside with a few shots of Vodka so if my posts make less sense than usual, you'll know what to blame.

As a punishment to you Florida people who are fretting over what type of sun block to buy, I'm going to subject you to a long post about BC basketball. By the way I think I just saw lightening and heard thunder.

Brought to you by the Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce.

Catching up...

Now that my one week exile from Boston sports is over, here are some thoughts about last week:

• Maybe I was wrong about Walker. He looks like a different player (in better shape, doesn't shoot the three as much) and his presence has revitalized the Celtics. People in Boston actually talk about them (in between discussion of Wade Miller and David Wells).
• The Bruins didn't lose a game last week.
• BC did. UCONN will win the Big East Tornament.
• I believe the Revolution still play soccer.
• Sox spring training is still boring. No good stories at all. Here's a television show idea I just had: Trading Sports. Have an MLB player go through the 1st week of NFL training camp and have an NFL player go through the first week of spring training. Then put the two guys in the same room and ask them to compare salaries. I know there's some very athletic baseball players, but it's tough to call them athletes when you watch their "workouts."
• Patriots. I've been putting this off and here goes nothing. I will miss Troy Brown, Joe Andruzzi, David Patten, and Joe Andruzzi. These guys were good players and really good "character" guys. They helped create the Pats' winning personality. That being said, I agree with the moves. The downfall of Super Bowl Champs is usually age and salary cap issues, and that's what these moves were about.

The Pats have let go popular and good players before, and they've been able to replace them. I remember in the beginning of this season people were wondering how the Pats would do without Damien Woody and Ted Washington. They did okay because personnel did a good job replacing them.

Hopefully, Pioli and Belichick will continue their success in finding good replacements

Will the Bengals actually be good?

I remember someone said that we'll find out in the offseason if the Bengals' improvement will continue. Usually they let their players go away as free agents. So far they've re-signed Rudi Johnson and TJ Houshmandzadeh, who had a very good season last year. The Bengals are signing players and the Browns look like they have a good coach and a good GM. Who knows, maybe the Steelers will actually have some competition next season.

This Week's Guess the Athlete

Answer on Friday.

Why trade Moss? Because Coles will help the Jets

Written by Guest Writer Patriotsy2k

Being Patriotsy2k, it is really not my business to 2nd guess or to analyze other teams, especially their biggest rival. I do not agree with some of the things the Pats are doing so far in this free agency period - Troy Brown being at the front of that list after everything he's done for the Pats. So in looking at this Coles-Moss trade, my first reaction was why the Jets would give up on a player so explosive as him, who can also return a punt the distance.

Moss was injury plagued through his Jets days, and also is a free agent coming up. Coles will go back to the Jets where he thrived and is finally out of Washington, where he didn't agree with Joe Gibbs. The Jets just have to pay 8 million in guaranteed $ to the cap, while The Redskins get nothing back for the 13 million they gave him in 2003.

If Coles is not affected by his much discussed toe injury that apparently has affected him the past 2 seasons, this trade will be a success for the Jets. Even last year with this problem he had 90 catches.

Finally, I am sure the Godfather will rip this article, even though I am not criticizing the Jets, simply because he'll argue with anything I say...

Answer to guess the Athlete

Left winger Rick Nash had 41 goals last season.

Patriotsy2k got the team correct (Blue Jackets), but he was misinformed with his Bryan Smolinski answer. Smolinski has never played for the Blue Jackets. I believe he played outdoor hockey for the University of Hawaii.

What the "experts" said

Mel Kiper before the 2001 Draft:

"[Freddie] Mitchell is a sure-handed, big-play option who really enjoys the spotlight and has the ability to take his game to a new level during crunch time. "

It's all the union's fault

Some MLB GM's and coaches are now publicly saying how they suspected players of using steroids, but their hands were tied because there was no testing and the union would have killed them if they tried to do anything.

There is plenty of blame to throw at the union, but coaches, GM's, and owners deserve some blame too. No, Larussa or Towers could not suspend a player or force a drug test, but they could have gone to their owners and stress how bad of a problem there might be. They could have leaked their concerns to the press so public pressure could change the situation, or they could have talked to other clean players who could possibly influence the union.

What's interesting is when public pressure forced baseball to address steroids, most players quickly backed a tougher testing program. This could have happened ten years ago.

Management did not mind players cheating because they were making them money and giving them wins. In the back of their minds, they must have known this was all bad for baseball. They chose cash and success over the character of the game. I guess that's not surprising, but it is frustrating when you hear the same people go on and on worshipping baseball calling it more than just a sport but a national pastime

Raiders spend a lot of money on a backup

The Raiders are giving LaMont Jordan $27.5 million, including a $7 million signing bonus. Jordan always looked good when filling in for Curtis Martin, but it's a different a story when you have to be the main guy. Maybe it's worth the risk for the Raiders because they don't have a first round pick, and Jordan is a better bet than anyone taken later in the draft.

Mo Cheeks fired

The Blazers fired Maurice Cheeks. I don't think it matters who coaches them. Just think, if not for some horrible officiating, this generation's Blazers would have had at least had one championship.

Also, Mo Cheeks was a good player on one of the most underrated teams I remember. That 83 team was very good and in the other years they were unfortunate to be around a good Lakers team and some other Eastern powerhouse I can't quite think of.

2 more things about Chaney

• Whenever there's cases of coaches or players doing stupid things, they never show what led up to it. I've seen Chaney madly point to the guy at the end of the bench and then the hard fouls, but I've yet to see what pissed off Chaney so much. Here's another example: what made Bobby Knight throw a chair? We can't always use what happened before a bad behavior as an excuse, but we shouldn't ignore it either.
• Enough about calling college coaches, "teachers" or "educators." It's an insult to real teachers. Chaney hasn't been a fine "teacher" for all these years. He's been a pretty good basketball coach. His primary job is to win games, not to help students develop. Sure he's probably helped some kids in life, but that was secondary to him putting a winning team on the floor.
  

New Feature: What the "experts" said

The NFL draft is less than two months away, which means a lot of us will be reading previews and then reading the report cards after the draft. Just to remind you not to take everything written too seriously, I'm planning on sharing some things that were written about previous drafts.

Peter King gets the honor of leading off:

After the 2000 draft:

" Buffalo. Pick 89 overall, Corey Moore, will be one of those classic Bills picks (they always get a very good player after the first round, every year), the kind of player GMs will regret passing on."

Heat release one has-been, sign another

Looks like Alonzo Mourning is trying the Karl Malone strategy of winning a ring. Wesley person was an incredible college shooter. He's available!

In honor of March

I do prefer watching the NBA, but one thing I like about the college game is the strategy involved in college's offensive and defensive systems. My question is, if you could choose any team to watch play defense, who would it be? How about offense? I don't want to hear what people think are the best systems, just the best to watch.

My answers:
Offense: Princeton: lots of moving without the ball, give and goes, high-low post plays, and those great back-door passes.

Defense: Temple's matchup zone. It always screws up an offense in the tournament. I'm not a fan of defense, but I find Temple's D entertaining.