The Madness of Officiating

          Thanks to Liam McWade I must address the horrific officiating in the UNC Asheville-Syracuse game. I didn't even write a note about this game because I figured that the number 1 seed Orange would roll Asheville but that was not the case. UNC lead at halftime and was up for the most of the second half until Syracuse took a lead with under 10 minutes to go in the game. The NCAA is a complete joke to begin with. How many different issues have all of us had with NCAA, how they operate and the lack of common sense when making key decisions? The officiating thus far can be added to that list.

          All the NCAA wants to do is make money. How many blown calls were there late in the Syracuse game? Some can say bad officiating but I would say that is exactly what they were the officials were told before the game started. If Syracuse is eliminated in the first round the revenue that the NCAA would make from Syracuse fans would be lost. The TV revenue and viewing would decrease because as great of a story as UNC Asheville would be, realistically their run would not last long. Everything the NCAA does is driven by profit and ratings. The kids from UNC were absolutely robbed from making history this afternoon by being the first 16 seed to advance past the first round and the NCAA is completely okay with. I guess seeing the tears of all of the Asheville players on the bench as the clock wound down to 0 was worth it for the NCAA.

The Madness Continues

          The morning and early afternoon sessions of the tournament have gone as planned with all of the favourites prevailing. We have not experienced a buzzer beater or a game that went down to the wire but I think we will see all of those things all in one game, starting at 4:10pm.

Long Beach State (12) vs. New Mexico (5)

The Lobos are the #5 seed and the winner of the Mountain West come into the tournament on a roll. They have been playing great basketball, beating than #18 ranked San Diego State in the Mountain West conference tournament to take home the title. Unfortunately for them they draw one of the toughest first round tests in Long Beach State. Long Beach State comes in with great guard play and a balanced attack. They went on the road for the entire month of December and played powerhouses across America. They traveled to Kansas and played a true road game and put a valiant effort. Because of their tough schedule and their willingness to test themselves, they have prepared themselves for this moment and I look for them to come out on top in a thrilling nail-biter.

Keep it posted. More to come. And if you are reading this, you need to find a way to get Syracuse on your television. They are currently down 5 to 16th seeded UNC Asheville and they do not look very strong.

March Madness...

Time for the second wave of games.

Davidson (13) vs. Louisville (4)

This is a battle of contrasting styles. Louisville wants to pressure you, turn you over and increase the number of possessions. Davidson wants to limit possessions, grind it out in the half court, spread the floor and shoot the 3. Louisville got hot and won the Big East tournament and comes in heavily favored but the line was dropping heavily this morning with all the big money coming in on Louisville which usually means UPSET ALERT! I think that Louisville pulls it out, not wanting to re-live last years horrific loss to Morehead St. but this one should come down to the wire.

Montana (13) vs. Wisconsin (4)

This will be a 'pull your teeth out' type of a game. Limited number of possessions, walk it up, late shot clock situations and physical. I'm not too familiar with Montana but I have seen Wisconsin play this season. They have been inconsistent and they struggle to score at times but they are experienced, are well coached with Bo Ryan and they have All Big 10 performer Jordan Taylor at the point and I think that serves them well to get by the Grizzlies and potentially make a deep run into the tournament. This game could be close and I look for Montana to keep it within single digits but Wisconsin gets the win and advances to the round of 32.

D-J-O! D-J-O!

BYU (14) vs. Marquette (3)

I have nothing much to say here except this one should be a complete blowout. BYU was down by 25 to Iona before a miraculous comeback where they held Iona to 15 points in the last 25 minutes of the game. Mark my word, this will not happen again. The Golden Eagles can score with the best of em and I look for this one to be the first true blowout of the day. Marquette in a complete rout!

March Madness BABY!

          Today is the best day of the year folks! Even better than Christmas. The first day of March Madness queues the best 3 weeks on the calender each year and I'm jacked up for what the next 3 weeks have to offer. Today will be a day where I spend the day posting blogs and getting fired up as my I soar to the top of my bracket pool!

All-American Draymond Green looking to lead Sparty to NO

          To start off the day I will give you all my final 4 picks. Michigan State, Baylor, Ohio State and North Carolina will all advance through their regions with some potential tough matchups but these teams are all battle tested and ready to make some noise and build a legacy for themselves. I believe that Tom Izzo's Michigan State Spartans are the most battle tested team this season in college basketball and the strength of schedule agrees with me. They had the #1 strength of schedule this season and that will prepare them for the next 3 weeks as they cut down the nets in New Orleans taking down North Carolina in an entertaining and up-tempo finals. As for today, here are my picks for each individual game.

Colorado State (11) vs. Murray State (6)
This will be a game of mid-majors looking to get out of the first round and set themselves up for a potential upset in round 2. I except the tempo to change throughout the course of the game but I see the more consistent, experienced and battle tested Murray State Racers to come out on top.

Murray State, 30-1, looking to make a deep run in 2012.

Southern Mississippi (9) vs. Kansas State (8)
How Southern Mississippi got into the field, especially as a number 9 seed is beyond me but it doesn't mean that the Wildcats can overlook them here. I believe that K-State has more talent, depth, experience and is the better coached team but they have been inconsistent at times this year. They play in the tougher conference, the Big 12, and I see that as being a big part of the outcome here. A nice story for Southern Miss to make the tourney but their run ends here. The Wildcats advanced handily.

As the next wave of games continue I will break them down so keep it posted and your eyes glued to the television. Enjoy the weekend and gamble safely!

Boston ... Where are you!?

Where in the world are the Boston Celtics? I turn my television on every morning to watch highlights and I can never find any Celtics highlights. I check the NBA schedule from the night before and it says that they played but I don’t see it. That’s because they are not the Boston Celtics anymore. They are a small fraction of what they used to be. With the increase in age of the roster comes an increase in the loss column, most recently a 103-71 drubbing at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers. The age has a big affect on their performance but I think the grueling schedule in this shortened season has doomed this Celtics teams. Playing 4 games in 5 nights, numerous back to backs and even some back-to-back-to-back games is not something the likes of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and even Jermaine O’Neal can handle anymore. The Celtics are 0-7 in the second game of a back to back this season and it doesn’t look like that stat is going to improve.

Allen is the guy that needs to go

I attended a Celtics-Pistons game in February at the Palace and I was fortunate enough to sit courtside. It was ugly let me tell you. The game had nothing to do with the Celtics backcourt vs. the Pistons backcourt. It was all about the old vs. the new. The Piston guards are young and exuberant and the Celtics guards are old and play in slow motion, even with Rajon Rondo as the point guard. They play slow, they struggled to defend pick and rolls and the Pistons put on a fast break clinic.  The Celtics settled for jump shots because they couldn’t get to the rim while the Pistons attacked the rim relentlessly. At this point, Danny Ainge needs to make a change and blow this thing up because they have no chance of making a playoff run. They are reeling right now, spiraling down quickly and could potentially even miss the playoffs if something doesn’t change.

Ainge has many options with this current roster. I think the only player who is off the market is Paul Pierce and that has everything to do with loyalty and nothing to do with his performance. Obviously the most valuable piece is Rondo but if the reports keep coming out that he is a cancer in the locker room, his is difficult to coach and he is selfish than his value is going to diminish. With that said, I have a piece of advice for Doc Rivers: QUIT FIGHTING WITH YOUR PLAYERS! If you didn’t realize or maybe have forgotten, it’s a player’s league. The league has nothing to do with you anymore Doc. You make subs, you call timeouts and you draw up concepts but the guys on the floor will freelance and play pick and roll or iso basketball. Learn from one of the greatest coaches in sport ever, Phil Jackson, and sit down Doc!

Take a seat Doc!

It’s time for the Celtics to turn up the dial and start playing every single night. They can’t afford to take nights off anymore because if they don’t get out of the 7 or 8 seed it is going to be a quick playoff exit. They don’t stand a chance against the Heat or the Bulls and if they want to get out of the first round they are going to need to forget about their bodies and start playing 100% every night. I think that if they are healthy, they can challenge Orlando and Philadelphia in a 7 game series with their current roster but if they want to improve their situation for both this year and the next 5-10 years than its time to make a move. Let’s see what Danny Ainge is truly made up of now.

Derrick Rose... CAAMMOOON MAN!

Hello all. My first ever video blog can be found below. I hope you all enjoy it. Talking a little bit about a few issues that I found interesting about the All-Star game that did not necessarily involve the game itself. Feel free to comment on the actual YouTube comments page or at the bottom of the page on the blog page but lets hear what my loyal fans think. Look out for a new blog piece coming out early next week. Have a good weekend folks and we will fire it up again next week. Check me out on Twitter @Jelturk09!

Kid Canada vs. Father Time

            Father time is catching up. The minutes are piling up. The clock is getting closer and closer to striking zero. The “7 seconds or less” era is gone. Now it feels like 7 months or less for Steve Nash. Arguably one of the greatest offensive point guards of all time has done it all. MVPs., All-Star performances, #1 seeds and league leader in assists. But he has never made an NBA Finals. He has come close on several different occasions but has never been able to compete for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. This season has been very difficult to watch for the Phoenix Suns. A roster filled with role players and unproven guys. Their best offensive option outside of Nash is Marcin Gortat and that’s not a very good start. Grant Hill is the starter at small forward and at this point in his career, Hill is a role player at best. The Suns don’t stand a chance at making the playoffs and Steve Nash is too nice of a guy to demand a trade. It must be the Canadian in him.

            When is Steve going to realize that time is running out and that the clock is soon to strike midnight on his career? When is he going to realize that although he has back-to-back league MVPs and 8 all-star game appearances that his legacy will be defined by the number of rings he collects. If his career were to end today, undoubtedly he is a Hall of Famer. The only problem with that is he will be remembered as one of the greats who couldn’t win when it mattered. So many great players have had their careers defined by their inability to win in crunch time. Look at John Stockton, Karl Malone and Charles Barkley to name a few. Look at how badly LeBron James gets harassed on a daily basis because of his inability to buckle down in crunch time and get the job done? Why is Steve Nash any different? He isn’t. Nash needs to pipe up to upper management and demand out.

2 HOFs that never got a ring. Thanks Jordan!

There are 2 problems when looking at trading Steve Nash.

Problem #1: Trading him to a non contender would make him upset with the city even if the franchise was getting young pieces out of it. (I.e., trading Nash to Indiana or Toronto. Teams who have a chance of making playoffs but have no chance of legitimately contending for an NBA title)

Problem #2: Trading him to a contender is tough because all of the true contenders are either set at point guard because of the importance of the position or they are over the salary cap and they can’t make a deal for Nash.

            The list of contenders in the NBA is pretty short. Miami, Chicago and OKC are the top 3 dogs in this race. If I had to add 3 more teams to this list they would be the Clippers, the Lakers and Dallas in that order although I don’t think any of those teams have a realistic chance at taking the title this season. Looking at those 6 teams, 4 of them are set at point guard (Chicago, OKC, Clippers and Dallas) and Miami and the Lakers have their hands tied due to the salary cap. Of that group of teams, Dallas needs to make a change and add something. If I were Mark Cuban I would seriously consider trading Jason Kidd before the deadline and would possibly eye bringing back Nash and reuniting him with Nowitzki for another run at the title. Dallas needs scoring, 3 point shooting and a floor general. So far this year, Kidd has been non-existent and Nash is known for being all 3 of those things.

The only guy who could trade for Nash. Do it Mark! Do it!!!

            If Nash ends up finishing the season with Phoenix, he needs to seriously consider his legacy. What does he want to be remembered as? I know nothing about Steve Nash but I would guess that his long lasting legacy as an NBA player may not be at the top of his bucket list but he may need to reconsider. He could go down as one of the top 3 or 4 point guards to ever play the game if he can capture a ring. Would he consider playing for a veteran’s minimum on a contender? Would he consider coming off the bench behind an up and coming young point guard? Or does that ruin his legacy because he wasn’t the main piece behind a championship ring? There will be no asterisk next to his ring if he wins one because there are asterisks in this life. There are only scoreboards and right now Steve Nash’s scoreboard reads ‘0’.