Almost the Mouse that Roared Final 4

In the 50's there was a book called the Mouse that Roared. It was about a small country of a few thousand people that declared war on the USA because the USA undercut prices on their only source of economy, wine. The USA did not know about this war and with a few archers invading New York City...their army was quite primitive...they caught our Secretary of Defense asleep at the wheel and captured a weapon that could destroy the world thus winning supreme power.

The last few weeks have been a tale of the Mouse that Roared. Many name brand big schools have been upset. It almost happened again with Baylor, but alas, it was not to be boys and girls. Baylor, a team most Big 12 opponents used to count on for 2 wins a year is a legitimate power. However, it could not beat Duke, allowing 2 late offensive rebounds turn into 2 Three balls late in the game. Couple that with a very dubious tech, and for a minute the Madison Avenue boys at CBS can stop worrying. The basketball gods have delivered their ratings darling, the Duke Blue Devils.

I have to hand the rebounding battle to Duke at the end. What I viewed against Purdue was not a fluke, they do indeed go for the gusto on the backboards..

But lets give some praise for the little guy. There are the Saint Marys, Xavier, Northern Iowa, Cornell, BYU, Old Dominion and the Cinderella story that keeps on going..Butler. In fact Butler is keeping on the Mouse that Roared theme alive and well in Indianapolis. If they win, it would be so cool.....and I don't have a horse in this race, but that would be a story.
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When I saw Kentucky play against West Virginia I kept thinking, what would this team be like if Cousins and Wall stuck around for 4 years. Probably an all time great team with the players Calipari would surround them with. Hope they don't take too big a pay cut going to the NBA.
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I have had a pipe dream about a scenario that would be so cool. The most recruited player in the country opts for Northern New Mexico Institute of Agriculture, spurning the big boys like Kansas and UCLA. This player is Magic Johnson, Lebron James, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrapped into one total once in a lifetime package. NNMIA is a new D-1 school with a gym that holds all of 3000 people. This big time recruit allures a great supporting cast and start kicking butt against all comers. Our hero the superstar, is an altuistic sort that wants to start a new tradition. The NCAA is sniffing all areas of concern as the big schools are really mad about this new kid on the block. The coach is a sly dog who is having his last hurrah coaching at NNMIA and is able to bend the rules just enough to not get caught. In the middle is the town the school is located in, Gallup, New Mexico, inhabited primarily by Native Americans. I will let you know when Hollywood calls.

Courtside Houston Regional Semi-Finals

This tournament could be the ultimate breath of fresh air if something happens today, and that something is if Baylor beats the Dookies. Sorry for all you front runners and CBS execs on Madison Avenue that give us a dose of what we should like everyday in your subliminal messages, but a Final 4 without Duke, Carolina, and Kentucky would be a real breath of fresh air. Oh yeah, and no Ben Howland and UCLA. Hallelujah.

During the course of watching the Baylor-Saint Marys and Purdue-Duke games the ugly phenomena entered its head again. Here in Reliant with fourty five thousand of my closest friends, the disease, Front Runner Itis, reared its head again. Baylor-Saint Marys was a blowout. Afterwards, Purdue did everything to make every possession count and turn the night cap into an ugly affair. They succeeded until the final 6 minutes when size and talent took over. Now, I have every ounce of respect in the world for Coach K and his team. And also, Dickie V has given an awareness to college hoops like no other. HOWEVER, I thought during one timeout the Duke mascot would take his headpiece off and we would see Dickie V's chromedome smiling. This guy is unabashedly the frontrunning shill for Duke, Carolina and Kentucky. Why doesn't he just stand on the sideline in a blue and white cheerleader outfit?

There was a time boys and girls, when America got behind the underdog. Purdue was that underdog the other night. But ESPN has once again succeeded and made Duke the glamour team to root for. The fans, many of whom have maybe never been on the Duke campus and maybe never in North Carolina, were all gaga over the Blue Devils. I don't have a horse in this race so it's especially interesting to see. The fans who root for Duke do not seem as obnoxious as the Dallas Cowgirls fans.

And yes, the Duke team did get the easy regional because CBS wanted to pave the way to the final 4 this year as their media contract is up for bid and Duke sells. They were the number 4 rated number one seed and yet they got to open with the play-in game winner. What they did not count on is Baylor being good and playing them in Houston. Should be an exciting game.
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Colin Cowherd had a great show this week regarding New York vs. Los Angeles. It started where some myopic New Yorker called and said the Saint John basketball opening was the greatest. Cowherd countered saying that it was not, poor facilities, no income generated from a football program hurting it. Then he said something that most people from that area have never been able to comprehend...except the ones who have moved to LA. People in LA do not move to New York in droves, but people from New York move to LA in droves and stay if they can make it. You do the math...Brentwood or Brooklyn. An 8 foot mound of snow in a parking lot or a Pacific Sunset in February with the temp around 65? East Coasters, its' a big world out there...get hip and take that California trip. And visit the mecca of basketball while you are out there, the Staples Center. Alot more championships than the Gah-den, and it doens't smell like racoon urine.
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I see all these teams make March Madness and I have to ask myself one question. Why doesn't Arizona State make it more often? The only answer I can get is they don't pay enough money to the bigtime players. I have seen so many campuses and if I am 18, most don't compare to ASU. Sunshine, great facilities, entertainment right off campus no car needed, and beautiful, really beautiful women. 8 feet of snow in the parking lot in March, or coeds laying on the grass by the palm trees. This is a puzzle greater than Rubics Cube. Go underdogs and lets make this the un-brand name final 4!

That Was Madness

Finally for the first time in years we are back on the path of upset city in the madness that is the NCAA tournament. We are going to have a sweet 16 matchup of Kentucky- Cornell. This Cornell outfit is the first Ivy League team to make the sweet 16. Could there be a bigger contrast. Kentucky, an all-time basketball power that lives on the edge with coaches that push the envelope and fans that do not take kindly to second place and Cornell...Ivy League with a high percentage of graduation from the players. Oh yeah, Cornell hammered what has always been a tough Wisconsin team. The win was no fluke.

Earlier in the week I heard some announcer say that Vasquez from Maryland was considered the best Terp ever. Really? Over Len Bias, John Lucas, Bernard King and more. No way. Still in the Michigan State/Maryland thriller, you could see the isolation play forming and you just felt he was unstoppable...and he was. What a well coached thrilling game. The best part is that the coaches let the players play. My bone to pick with the college games is over coaching. This game was a great example where less was more.

West Virginia is really a hard playing team. Check out their interior passing. It is a thing of beauty.

The dagger shot by Northern Iowa against Kansas was just awesome. They could have run off 29 more seconds. It was a wide open look by a dead eye shooter. The shot put them over the top and don't you know the second guessing would have started had he missed. The beauty of the NCAA tourney is that with one and done, the best team doesn't always win. If you question this, see the University of Houston or Georgetown.

Syracuse looked like a machine with their wins. They just play in a higher gear. What passing and what a complete game when they are clicking. They are a force to be reckoned with. Kentucky looks really strong through the first 2 games as well.

If you were told a few years ago a team from Texas was in the sweet 16, you probably would not guess the Baylor Bears. Yet, coming back from massive probation just a few years ago, the Bears are in the Houston Regional. Don't count them out...they have 3 really good guards, size and a great shot blocker.

The step brother school from Kansas, Kansas State, is the one advancing in the tournament and they look like they belong as well.

Wrapping it up, if you like the unknown team and the mid major, this is the year for you. No North Carolina or UCLA. But an Ivy League, a Northern Iowa and a Saint Marys'. Who will be this years James Madison?

Len Bias Film..4 Months Later and I am STILL In Awe

Without Bias, an ESPN documentary about Len Bias has been on my recorder for almost 4 months now, and it still blows me away. There are so many elements to this film and on so many levels, that it still is hard to grasp them all. It's a very hard hitting and yet spiritual film on so many levels.

The first thing that hits me is how easy we forget. The start of the film, showing Len going against great competition still blows me away. What a talent. The ultimate inside outside player title probably does not do him justice. Just to make sure I wasn't reminiscing too much I even played the film to my son, who has played with many of the pros in the NBA. He was blown away as well. The one clip that stands out in the many is the one where he is about a foot above Michael Jordan on a 12 foot jump shot in a close game. Perfect elbow alignment, perfect arch and a poetry release. Oh yeah, ultra athletic as well. Could do it all.

What I also think about on the dawn of the 2010 NCAA tournament is how much the landscape has changed in college basketball since Len Bias graced the hardwood. Bias was not heavily recruited and developed under the college program for 3 years. This rarely happens in the modern day. Every year we have to put our hands around the college game because the elite freshmen bolt for the pros after one year. They do not even want to go to college. In the Bias era, a player could not go hardship until after his junior year. This process tended to weed out alot of the mistakes and built a better player in terms of fundamentals. In the Bias days you had a continuity to the program and some continuity with the star players. Now you really have to follow college basketball to know who is who. As a result, we have a sport that really is not relevant in the regular season unless you are rooting for a uniform. It only really matters in March. Now the players get the form that Len Bias had coming out of college after serving an apprenticeship in the pros. I am not going to deny a teenager the earning power that they get in tennis and other sports, but there is something to be said for playing under a Dean Smith or a Lefty Driesell for 3 or 4 years.

A couple of other mind blowers on this were the number of celebrities from every angle of life that were involved in the film. Politicians, Jesse Jackson, sports celebrities like Red Auerbach,

local leaders like Marion Berry...almost the entire Boston sporting press were in the story. The sheer mass of people attending the various memorial services will blow you away...it's as if a statesman died. Again, how easy we forget.

The time period also had some significance from a standpoint that this was right at the time period that crack cocaine posed a horrendous problem for many urban areas, particularly Washington, D.C.

Lastly, if you are a parent, you can especially appreciate the composure of Len Bias' parents. The way they have carry themselves has to be seen. Remember, they lost another son only a couple years later. Again, I don't want to ruin the film for you, but I strongly urge you to see Without Bias.

Belated Football Wrap

Like most football fans, I was able to observe a ton of games during the holiday season. Aside from the Alabama Texas National Championship game, I also watched the Orange Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl. In fact I was very fortunate to watch them from a small fishing village in Mexico...something I would highly recommend.

The first thought in my mind when I watched Boise State and TCU tee it up is "What in the hell happened to this game and where is Arizona State?" Why would anyone think that?

The Fiesta Bowl was originally created as a bowl game for Arizona State to play in because they were not getting invited. In those days it was a no win game for anyone playing the Sun Devils. If you beat them you were supposed to...but there was a very good chance you would not.

Arizona State played in and won the first 3 Fiesta Bowls beating Florida State, Pittsburgh with Tony Dorsett and Missouri. They also beat Nebraska to finish 2nd in the nation as well as Zero U-errr Oklahoma in the 80's when O-U had Marcus Dupree.

Now, when I see a good coach like Peterson at Boise doing well and Kirk LaFrenz at Iowa my thoughts are Why Cant ASU get this coach or a coach like him? Is ASU paying enough...I don't mean the coach, I mean the players. I mean, how hard would it be to recruit a kid when its Scottsdale, the 2nd best weight room in the country or a frozen corn field (Iowa)? How hard to recruit a kid at Sun Devil Stadium, on of the 5 prettiest sites in the country or Boise? How are they missing the boat? The school is literally a sleeping giant for the right coach. Last comparison...tanned girls in shorts, or frozen coeds eating bon bons in a freezing cold dorm room in the middle of nowhere. Maybe they get it right again someday in Tempe.

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With the coaching change at USC, maybe, just maybe, UCLA will awaken from a long nap. You could have two of he most NCAA violating coaches in the same city.

************************************************************************************ NCAA hoops is finally getting close to being relevant now that football season is winding down. If I have to watch on TV, I go with the pros all day long. Much more scoring, better players and coaches, and not some coach standing like a banty rooster prancing up and down the sidelines the whole game. However, going to a good college game live is great fun. At the start of the season I went to the Rice-South Alabama game in Houston. I had a great seat because nobody attends Rice games. South Alabama came from way back to almost pull off the game. They put on a press and Rice literally could not bring the ball up court. South Alabama has since beat Florida in Gainesville, which is always nice by me.

I was also fortunate to attend our annual game at Toyota Center. It was Texas A and M vs New Mexico. The Aggies' coach, Mark Turgeon, complained that they did not need to play a minor league team like the Lobos. New Mexico won. Go figure. The Lobos are coached by Bobby Knight protege Steve Alford. Again, a very entertaining game.

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At the start of the season the Houston Rockets were without Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady and would be without them the whole season. With that in mind, I didn't give them much chance of being much more than a lottery team. To date I have not seen an NBA team play much harder. Carl Landry is having a great season and Aaron Brooks while short is one of the 3 fastest players in the league. He put up 41 a couple nights back. While they will have some basic issues teams will have with a six foot five inch center (Chuck Hayes), I have to say I have not seen many better coaching jobs than the one Rick Adleman has done this year. In fact, you can also add Nate McMillan of Portland to the list as well. What he has done this year with all the injuries that have fallen on the TrailBlazers is nothing short of miraculous.

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Two blues artists that need to be checked our are Victor Wainwright and Barry Goldberg. Goldberg was Mike Bloomfields' keyboard artist for many years. Check out "Long Way to Go" by Victor Wainwright and "Middle of the Night" by Godlberg. Goldberg has a nice female vocalist from Kentucky. Both these groups just ooze with blues, rock, jazz and soul. Till next time.

Turning Back the Hands of Time

For the few who read this, sorry about the delay, but baseball season in Houston is borrring. In fact even though I love the game I am just not into it at this point in time. But football season is here and there have been some great games early on in the college scene.

The Houston Cougars had a landmark win yesterday over the Oklahoma State Cowboys. They went on the road to Stillwater and beat the Cowboys 45-35. What is even more remarkable is the journey to the win.

Houston had their athletic program gutted in the mid 90's. The powers that be did not include them in the Big 12 when Conferences realigned for the money grab that was up for Super BCS Conferences. Ann Richards, the Governor of Texas was a Baylor grad and would not sign off on Texas and Texas A and M joining the Big 12 unless they included Baylor. Thus Houston, who was a multiple Final 4 contestant in basketball and a power in football, got left in the cold. Shortly thereafter, Houston alumni could look forward to seeing Army and various teams that they would not walk across the street to view, play the Cougars in Houston. Bad coaching followed and some games had about 1,000 spectators in the stands...no matter what the ticket sales said...I had friends that played there and saw the pictures, it was dismal.

Add the fact that T. Boone Pickens has sunk billions into the athletic department at OSU and that makes yesterdays game even more of a David vs. Goliath victory.

When I first came to Houston, they had a big number of the better Houston athletes and routinely beat Texas and other teams that are now in the Big 12. It was fairly hilarious, because in most states the fans of the University of (name any state) feel they are entitled and a cut above the other state university's. In Texas every midget that got cut from high school truly thinks they scored the winning points whenever Texas plays and it gets old....even though I like and respect Texas and Coach Mac Brown.

Houston needs and deserves to be in the Big 12. It would give them one major league city in a league full of mostly small college towns. It will probably never happen, because most of the power teams in Texas and Oklahoma would lose a ton of their recruits being pulled out of Houston.

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Did anyone notice the QB for Michigan, Forcier yesterday? I may be daydreaming but he really reminded me of a young version of Joe Montana. A true freshman playing with poise in front of a huge crowd. Also, USC was led by a young freshman who was really outstanding on the road. These kids are incredible for freshmen.

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Oklahoma got pounded the first week by BYU at Cowboy Stadium. Knocking out Sam Bradford was key to their victory, but give them credit, they played really well. Oklahoma will still give Texas all it can handle when he comes back. I bet Bradford has some second thoughts about not going pro with this kind of injury. Speaking of Texas, they need a running game to justify their high ranking. At this point I would say both USC and Ohio State could beat them as well as Florida and Alabama. And what is with the weak schedule. That is pathetic. One thing is for sure.....all these teams will keep improving barring injury.

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One has to feel a little for Florida State and Miami. These are 2 teams that have to go into the fire the first game of the season. It was a nail biter with the Hurricanes coming on top. FSU is not ducking anyone this year as they play BYU in Provo soon...a very difficult stadium to win in and with the altitude...well you get the picture. Hats off to FSU. I wish Texas would try this approach...it was great when they played Ohio State early a few years back. Playing against teams like that early on only make you better.

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Some stat geek did a simulated game for all division one teams and gave them all ten thousand games round robin style. These games were played against all D-1 teams. Florida only lost 5 times. That is scary, because with technology these things can be fairly real. The Gators are loaded and they are getting the players Miami and FSU routinely captured. However, don't forget Alabama had good chances against the Gators and IF Oklahoma would have went for the field goal, they would not have only had a nice lead, but they would not have had to change their gameplan in the BCS Championship. I am impressed by Alabama's D line and their speed overall on defense, not to mention their size. Still, they may fall short at QB, we will see.

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Lastly, I would be remiss not to mention the very good non BCS teams like Utah, Boise State, and TCU. There are some really decent teams under the radar. Heck, Toledo smoked Colorado, a team that once upon a time was National Champs. These teams really do deserve a shot. It is the one cause government may be able to actually do something about.

NBA All Tattoo Team and 8th Grade Invitational Camp

This past few months is a great time to OD on basketball. With that being said, there are some players that have went over and above the call of duty for ink. So here it is, The NBA all Tattoo team, 2009:

J R Smith Denver Nuggets G

Carmelo Anthony Denver Nuggets F

Chris Anderson Denver Nuggets F

Kenyon Martin Denver Nuggets F

Delonte West Cleveland G

Stephon Marbury Boston G

Henry Bibby Atlanta G

Shaquille Oneal Phoenix C

Lebron James Cleveland F/G Captain

Cherokee Parks Retired Lifetime Achievement Award

Dennis Rodman Retired Naismith Hall of Fame Tattoo Wing for Ink of a Lifetime

Recruiting can be an inexact science. In basketball, it has been take to a crazy level and in some cases, 8th graders have verballed to colleges in recent years. The one that comes to mind in Houston is when Lute Olsen offered to Nic Wise when Nic was in 8th grade.

Last December, I went to a John Lucas 8th grade camp and immediately went to a court and noticed 2 young men, twins. My first thought was they cannot be 8th graders. They could shoot and handle like college players and could start for 99.9% of all high school teams. Let me put it another way...they would have started for my college team in 72, the University of Miami. Remember, this is an invitational camp for the top 100 players in the country.

Fast forward to today. I went back to the Coach Lucas camp. It has gained steam and has the top 100 players from 10 states, the majority being from Texas. Coach Lucas puts on this gig at University of Houston at the new Wellness Center. It is first class all the way. The players are 8th graders and they are very talented. There are compliance talks, talks to the parents, and the deal is very grounded and first class. John Lucas has helped so many people for so many things and knows the ins and outs of basketball. I know I speak for a ton of geezers my age that wish we were lucky enough to have a mentor of that caliber.

Miscellaneous

Pau Gasol is starting to define a new position from his play this year in the playoffs and from last year against Boston...Powerless Forward.

I met former NFL great Sean Jones today. Sean has a son at Lucas's camp and is doing investments, and yes, still doing them in this economy. Very nice guy.

It's been awhile since I wrote one of these and since that time the NCAA tourney has come and gone. UNC looked like the same team it did in early December when it beat Michigan State going away. Too much speed and depth.

Has anyone stayed up and seen Denver play? When they play at night and at Denver they look unbeatable. It is almost humorous. The Bird Man, Chris Anderson, comes in and blocks 6 shots in 15 minutes, J R Smith comes in and scores a ton, and by the 4th quarter, the opponents mouth is open from the altitude. They will be a tough opponent for the Lakers or the Rockets in the finals and will have the advantage at point guard no matter who they play. They are a double digits better team that they were 2 months ago.

Speaking of the Lakers....what an inconsistent team. Kobe yells he is the greatest when things are going good and yells at his team mates when they are not. I cannot ever recall any championship caliber team showing up in the playoffs with such a poor effort. Maybe in the regular season, but not the playoffs. Would a Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, Bad Boy Pistons, Larry Bird Celtics, or Tim Duncan led team tank like the Lakers have twice now against Houston. Who knows, they may win it all, but they seem to be missing something.