2008 Baseball Preview

After correctly picking the Boston Red Sox to win the World Series in my preview a year ago, I figure to keep the streak alive this year. This is a very big year for baseball lieu of the Mitchell Report. Right now there is a black eye in baseball and this year is the start of it's rehabilitation. I am more excited that baseball is really kicking off today, on my day off, more than I was two weeks earlier. But, after seeing the Red Sox and Oakland A's last week, and seeing the Atlanta Braves play a team I saw this Spring Training in the Washington Nationals, I'm really starting to get pumped. I don't know if any of you still get Sports Illustrated, I really have no choice, but they had a great cover on it this week in it's baseball preview with the draft class of 2005. Amazing! Ryan Braun, Justin Upton, Troy Tulowitzki, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Ryan Zimmerman just to name a few. They are calling it the best draft class in the history of the MLB Draft drawing comparisons to the 1985 Draft which had Barry Bonds, Barry Larkin, Rafael Palmeiro, Will Clark, and B.J. Surhoff. There is a ton of amazing young talent in the Majors and it is up to them to get baseball to ice down their eye. Enjoy the picks and the upcoming season.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
east
1. Boston Red Sox -
2. New York Yankees 3
3. Tampa Bay Rays 9
4. Toronto Blue Jays 11
5. Baltimore Orioles 30

central
1. Detroit Tiger -
2. Cleveland Indians 1
3. Chicago White Sox 12
4. Kansas City Royals 19
5. Minnesota Twins 25

west
1. Seattle Mariners -
2. Los Angeles Angels 2
3. Oakland Athletics 10
4. Texas Rangers 15

NATIONAL LEAGUE
east

1. New York Mets -

2. Philadephia Phillies 3

3. Atlanta Braves 5

4. Washington Nationals 16

5. Florida Marlins 19

central

1. Chicago Cubs -

2. Cincinnati Reds 4

3. Milwaukee Brewers 6

4. Houston Astros 9

5. St. Louis Cardinals 15

6. Pittsburgh Pirates 19

west

1. Arizona Diamondbacks -

2. Colorado Rockies 2

3. Los Angeles Dodgers 5

4. San Diego Padres 8

5. San Francisco Giants 17

Boston vs. Seattle

Detroit vs. New York

New York vs. Chicago

Arizona vs. Philadelphia

Boston vs. Detroit

Chicago vs. Arizona

Boston vs. Chicago

World Series Champ

Boston Red Sox

Friday's Sweet Sixteen Games

Before I get into tonight's games I would like to comment on what I learned watching the games til 1 o'clock from my couch. Number 1, I really think that Bruce Pearl might be one of the most overrated coaches in the college game today. As much as I dislike Jim Calhoun, and think that he is a great strategy pre game coach, but a bad game coach, at least he makes adjustments at halftime during games. Pearl did not do anything different in the second half of his game with Louisville last night to get his team back. Louisville's defense was causing them to take stupid shots and there really looked to be no offensive sets verses their matchup zone defense, and Pearl did nothing change it. Not taking anything away from the way the Cardinals played, cuz they played great, but Tennessee is one of if not the most talented team in the nation and there is no way that they should have lost last night. Yes, Bruce Pearl did start off with nothing when he began his coaching career at Tennessee, and since then he has been able to recruit a group of great players to win with now. But, coach Pearl has been outcoached in every single game of this tournament in my opinion, I SAID EVERY GAME! Yes, the players are the ones who turn the ball over or miss shots, but my biggest gripe of Pearl is that he does nothing different, no adjustments, no changes, nothin! This team got back in the game last night late in the 1st half and early in the 2nd on what they have done all year, score on their athleticism. It wasn't because of Pearl, it was because he has 8 kids that he can throw out there and try to score, that is the only reason!

2nd...After talking about an overrated coach now I will give some props to a coach that I think is very underrated. Sean Miller, of Xavier has done such a tremendous job with his ballclub the last 2 seasons and he really has gone highly unnoticed, like his team has all year. You don't see this guy embarrassing himself or his players on the floor. He stays calm and when you look at him talk to his team during timeouts they give him their complete attention. He has got his team to a position to get to the Final Four for the first time in school history Saturday night. On a personal note, I got a chance to eat dinner with him, when he was an assistant under Herb Sendek at N.C. State following a game in Waterbury while he was recruiting Ryan Gomes, and was really a great and standup guy that loved to teach us young coaches. The way he handles in game situations is really something to watch. I am sure that he rips his kids in practice, but he must be doing something right with the way the kids look and play for him. Miller, in his 4th season at Xavier, I am positive will be getting calls soon from major conference teams in the as soon as April 8th!

On to the Sweet Sixteen Preview...

#3 WISCONSIN/#10 DAVIDSON 7:10 The obvious question for this game is will the Badgers be able to stop Davidson's super soph Stephen Curry? But, my question is how is Davidson going to handle the size of Wisconsin? This could be the best game or the worst game of the night. If Wisconsin's annoying defense shuts down Curry, Davidson is really going to be in for a long night, but I think Curry will be Curry and his teammates will do the job to keep it tight. This preview is pretty simple in my book so I'm going to keep this short, I like Wisconsin to advance even after Curry puts up another 30, how 'bout that!!!

#2 TEXAS/#3 STANFORD 7:25 I think in an earlier post I mentioned that in my bracket I put Texas to win but after I thought about it I really don't like this matchup for the Longhorns. Stanford's size in the frontcourt and speed in the backcourt is very, very dangerous. Just as dangerous though is the duo of D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams from Texas. Abrams has really been unconscious during this tournament from the outside having scored 26 in both games. This game is a real toss up for me and since my Tennessee Volunteers just killed my bracket and I really need some help with Texas, I think I really like Stanford to win this one. This is going to be a faster than normal game for the Cardinals but I think that they will prevail. Texas will win though if they get rebound help, and Abrams stays hot from the outside...oh and I almost forgot, the game is in Houston!

#1 KANSAS/#12 VILLANOVA 9:40 If you haven't noticed in the boxscore of both of these teams tournament games, they both send their opponent to the line way to often. Kansas along with UNC are the most talented deep teams left in the tourney. It is obvious that I like Kansas to roll in this one but if Villanova stay hot shooting the basketball which they haven't until the tourney started they could run with the Jayhawks for 40 minutes. Nova has shot over 50 percent in both their games, while Kansas is shooting a stellar 56 percent from the floor. Granted both of these teams haven't faced great defensive teams yet but I really think that it doesn't matter. Foul shooting and whos in foul trouble will be key to Nova's success tonight. But, like I said I like the Jayhawks to roll, but I think I'll be routing for the Wildcats.

#1 MEMPHIS/#5 MICH ST. 9:55 Of course the game I most want to watch for the 2nd consecutive night is the last game. I can write all night how I think that foul shooting is the key to a teams success because I believe that it is. But, if Drew Neitzel comes out shooting like he did in the first game verses Temple the Spartans are doomed! Memphis' key is obviously their foul shooting and inside the paint. Joey Dorsey was Conference USA's Defensive Player of the Year and he really needs to be that guy tonight. He must own the boards, alter shots, and most importantly stay out of foul trouble. If he can do all of this and Derrick Rose plays a great floor game at the point(When does he not), Memphis will be victorious. I wouldn't feel right if I didn't pick the Spartans to win this game tonight. A number 1 seed has to fall and tonight it is going to be Memphis! I gotta got with my favorite "white boy" this year in senior Neitzel to pull off the upset and send Tom Izzo to the Elite Eight with a chance at another Final Four.

Another Retirement

I wasn't going to do any blogging today but some of my friends up north I think would be disappointed if I didn't. One of my favorite players growing up retired today and that was 35 year old Chris Webber. His infamous timeout (which is reminded to me on the regular even being out of state now) has to be the worst sports moment in my life.

Webber was part of the famous Michigan Fab 5. Five freshman starting on a college team that really became immensely popular as they were seen as bringing a hip hop flavor to the game with showtime, baggy shorts, black socks, and white nikes with Michigan blue and gold. It was easy for the rest of the country to fall in love with the Fab 5, and when they went all the way to the National Championship game that season everyone knew who they were. The most famous game during that run was beating Jimmy Jackson and the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Elite Eight game, with Webber absolutely dominant (that game can be seen usually this month on ESPN Classic). As freshman in the National Championship and playing a very good Duke team, coming off a National Championship a year ago, really got blown out of the water, but I really didn't mind because I knew that they weren't going to be done. They were instant favorites to go back to the Championship the following season and that they did. This game actually still makes me cringe! I was a freshman in high school and during basketball season I rocked my Michigan Webber jersey on the regular during basketball season. Webber was playing well throughout, but on a missed foul shot down 73-71, Webber grab the rebound and took the ball up the floor toward the Michigan bench and called the timeout. All I could do was scream, for I knew that they were all out of timeouts. To this day I still have no idea why Jalen Rose, who would have been Tournament MVP had they won the game, didn't go and get the ball and be the playmaker that he was and take the final seconds in his own hands. But, this is what happen and like I tell my friends I have to deal with it.

C-Webb obviously wasn't ready psychologically for a return trip to college so he entered the NBA Draft and became the 1st sophomore since Magic Johnson to be selected number 1 overall. He was selected by the Orlando Magic, who already had Shaquille O'Neal, and the Magic traded him to the Golden State Warriors for Anfernee Hardaway and 3 future 1st round picks. He wasn't with Golden State very long but you could see early that this kid was ready for the NBA. I still can see his around-the-back dunk on Charles Barkley as a rookie. His greatest successes were realized though in Sacramento, as he took them to within 1 game of the NBA Finals. In Sacramento, before injuries robbed him of his spring and speed he was one if not the best all around big man in the game. Webber bounced around the league a lot with having played in Golden State, then Washington, Sacramento, then Philadelphia, then with Detroit, and back to Golden State. Chris had another chance at the Finals with the Detroit Pistons a year ago but was denied by Lebron James and the Cavs. Webber is just one of six players in the history of the game to average at least 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists for a career. Others include Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Larry Bird, and Billy Cunningham as well as active star Kevin Garnett. All the talks all day on if Webber is a Hall of Famer got me to realize he is not. Granted the Basketball Hall of Fame is for college as well as pro, but with Webber's problem with taking money in college which led to Michigan taking down their banners hurt his chances and not even getting to the NBA Finals with his career stats has to hurt a little more. Webber will always be remembered for his timeout, but I will more remember him for him and the cocky Fab 5 teammates taking college basketball by storm and his street ballin ways to the nationally televised games. His unbelievable dunking and passing ability, and the way he talked trash without even opening his mouth. You were one of the good guys Chris, just luck was never on your side!

SOME OF WEBBER'S CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS:

1991 National High School Player of the Year

1st Team NCAA All-American 1993

1994 NBA Rookie of the Year

5 time NBA All-Star

1 time All-NBA 1st Team

3 time All-NBA 2nd Team

Thursday's Sweet Sixteen Games

With a ton of time on my hands today I have been making up from time away from my blog all day. Today I will be giving you my preview and some keys points to the Sweet Sixteen matchups for Thursday night. It should be a good night!

#1 UNC/#4 WASHINGTON ST 7:25 - Like most people I do believe that the Tarheels should have no problem winning this game, but I think that it might be closer than many think. What is weird to me is that the Cougars usually play close games but through the first two rounds they have outscored their opponents 103-52. If they want any chance to keep this game close they will have to make the Tarheels play their type of game and their defense, which has been great, has to be better if that is possible. The Tarheels are playing the best ball right now with Ty Lawson looking like himself at the point. I like the Tarheels to win and move on in the East Region but the Cougars will keep it within 8 throughout.

#3 XAVIER/#7 WEST VIRGINIA 7:10 - There is no question that the Xavier Musketeers have been the class of the Atlantic 10 and have been in the AP top 25 all year, but I still see some question marks and if there is anyone that will exploit the questions with smart players it's a Bob Huggins squad. He has never had many "smart" kids on his team, so with a team like this one I really like their chances. Their rebounding is absolutely incredible to go along with a great perimeter defense. On top of that the Mountaineers have had a different kid along side of Joe Alexander every night step up. Xavier needs a great floor game from Drew Lavender and my key to the game will be Xavier shooting vs. WV's defense. I like West Virginia in this game, I just like the way they have been playing and it is not at all like other Huggins' squads. This team is pretty special and with Alexander shooting well this will be a tough team to stop.

#1 UCLA/#12 W. KENTUCKY 9:40 - I really don't think that the Bruins will be looking past anyone the rest of the tournament run, so don't expect them to even be watching the Xavier/WV game before theirs. The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers have given us the best drama thus far with them being a 12 seed and beating 5 seeded Drake at the buzzer in overtime. There is no question that the Hilltoppers can shoot the rock, and if it wasn't for a guy named Curry from Davidson, Tyrone Brazelton would be the talk of the tournament. He is the key to keep them close, but after the the Bruins close call verses Texas A&M I don't believe this one will be close. UCLA will beat the Hilltoppers and unfortunately I think that it won't be close at all.

#2 TENNESSEE/#3 LOUISVILLE 9:57 - The game of the night features two schools who really love to run. I am definitely going to take a nap after work to stay up for this one. I really don't know why this was given the last game of the night but oh well I am going to have to suck it up. While the Cardinals have been really impressive against Boise St. and Oklahoma, Tennessee has had a tough time dealing with American and Butler. This revolving point guard situation for the Volunteers is not looking good and something is going to need to be done by Thursday night. I would just have Chris Lofton run the point and use a motion offense to keep the ball moving as well as him. My key to the game is will David Padgett stay out of foul trouble with the physical Volunteer big men as well as the point guard situation. If Tennessee can get these two things done they will win big. But, if they continue to play undisciplined basketball and allow Louisville to get easy baskets it will be a early season for Tennessee. This is a tough game to pick because either one can win this in a blow out, but since I need Tennessee to keep winning for my bracket I am going to pick the Vols to win in another overtime game and go on to face UNC.

Pic(s) of the Week

I really don't want to know what I am looking at here but in the inscription for the picture it says that it is a pic of a passenger waiting for a flight in London. Poor chair!

This photo I found pretty interesting because recently in Central Florida a Cougar was found which is very rare this far north. The picture above was taken back in 2006, it is a photo of a rare wild Jaguar found by a hunter and surrounded by his hound dogs in New Mexico. How rare is it to find a Jaguar in the United States? Warner Glenn, the hunter, is believe to be the only person ever to see and photograph one of these amazing creatures ever.

Hottest Women in Sports

Ashley Force

Danica Patrick

Today's hottest women in sports come from the sport(s) of race car. If only they could look like this while they race, then this sport would get more of my attention.

Greatest Season of All-Time

We are back this week with my favorite greatest season before the turn of the century. This weeks installment is great because we are finally at the top 10. It wasn't very hard to determine the bottom 5 of this final 10. Without waiting, here's #10 the sport, college basketball.

It didn't take Lou Alcindor aka Kareem Abdul Jabbar long to prove his dominance. In his first varsity game, the sophomore center scored a school-record 56 points against rival USC. He went on to finish second in the nation in scoring (29.0), the best single-season average in UCLA history. Alcindor also set an NCAA record at the time in field-goal percentage (66.7). He led UCLA to a 30-0 record and the NCAA championship. Alcindor was named AP Player of the Year and the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. This was as dominant a season as you'll find. In a win over Washington State, Alcindor scored 61 points and made 26 baskets.

NCAA 1st and 2nd Round Recap

I only missed the 12 o'clock games on Thursday, that was all. To say that I have been stuck to my couch for three straight days is a great assumption. I haven't done a thing since I got home on Thursday except watch great basketball and ton of drama that I am glad we can get a break until this Thursday so that I can be filled with more awesome NCAA basketball drama. Of course the young man that has really stitched his name in NCAA tournament history has been Stephen Curry of Davidson. Most players that score 30 and 25 in two games would be given great publicity, Curry has done that in two second halves of basketball. Scoring a total of 40 and 30 in the upsets over Gonzaga and Georgetown has really put the Curry name back on the map, since his father Del a NBA journeyman. The elder Curry use to be one of the great pure shooters in the NBA during his time and you can see that his shooting talents has transferred over to his son. All the number one seeds have moved on to the Sweet Sixteen which is really of no one's surprise, but I really haven't found too many teams that have really showed us pure dominance. North Carolina, Kansas, Texas, Wisconsin, and Louisville in my opinion have been playing the best ball for the two games that the teams have played. The most surprising teams thus far in the '08 tourney have been of course Davidson, as well as Western Kentucky, Villanova, and West Virginia. The most disappointing teams that I have seen have been UCONN, Duke, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, and Clemson. A couple of things have bothered me during and after the fun filled weekend. One is the talks this Monday morning about the whistle happy referees. Having played the game of basketball at the high school level and played in rivalry and tournament games the whistles must be blown! While your playing the intensity level is very, very high and I believe that if the refs don't keep the game in check, that will lose control of a very important game. I think what referees should do is call the fouls early in the game to let the players adjust to your calls so they can play at a physical level that is under control. The games overall have been called fine. I admit though that some of the games have been terribly officiated with ticky tak fouls late in the game that has fouled out key players and have changed the flow late. Also, another point that I was thinking about was how in the world in this day in college basketball can you say that one conference is better than another when it comes to the big time conferences. The ACC and SEC have only one team left of the overall 16 while both conferences were in the top 4 in RPI this season. While the Big East and the PAC-10, the top 2 RPI conferences, who has the most in 3 left, but the Big East put in 8 teams this season. I really don't think that you can ever really say that one conference is ever better than the others when it comes to the big time conferences. I mean the Big Ten, who has two left out of 4 has been down played all season as the weaker of the major conferences and the conference champ during the regular season and conference tourney in Wisconsin ended up being a 3 seed! While Duke was given a 2 seed and they didn't even reach their conference championship. Is it that there is just too much parity in college basketball that we really can't determine which is the top conference of the year? Or is it that we just tend to overlook the conferences that we really don't get a chance to see enough? Either way this season I have watched more college basketball than ever, and I don't think that parity is the word that I would use to describe why I have watched so much of different conference games. The word I would probably use is...balance. Coming up later this week I'll be giving you my matchup reviews for the weekend games. Enjoy!

Final Four

After yesterday's games I wasn't too surprised with the outcomes besides of course Duke's game. What really pissed me off was that I had no intentions of watching that game because I wanted to see the Kansas St./USC game. The more and more that I had to watch the game with my brother (huge Duke fan), the more I was praying that they would lose. I also wasn't expecting Kent State to play the way they played verses UNLV, that wasn't the same team I saw earlier in the year. And can somebody please tell me why in the world is their a game at 5:00, Stanford/Cornell, and body on the east coast can watch? Granted it was a lousy game but when I want to watch all the games that's exactly what I want to do. Well, since I was so caught up in the games, and fantasy baseball, and drinking I forgot to give you my Final Four predictions. In case you forgot I have Tennessee playing Wisconsin and Texas facing UCLA. This was a tough one to choose, on one hand I could take both defensive teams to move on or I could go with the offensive juggernauts. Instead, I am going with one and one. Tennessee is and has been my sexy pick all year long and I am going to stick with them against a great, not great to look at, but great Badger team that people tend to sleep on. As far as UCLA, they are the team! Texas, would really struggle with Kevin Love, like every other team does! My champion after the statement I just gave is not surprisingly the Bruins. I just think that they really can't be denied a title after 3 straight shots. Can they? They are the better team and have been all year. Hail to the Bruins another championship banner to be hung!!!

South Bracket

It's early and the day couldn't start off any worse, with the NCAA Tournament starting today I am going to have to miss the games starting at noon for the first time in a few years but I guess it could be a good day after 3:23 since I have the day off tomorrow. Like my buddy over at Badchoicemilk, I agree that this could be a very boring bracket, but this also could be a very interesting bracket with no clear cut favorite at all in my opinion. Memphis who is the top seed should have a chip on their shoulders throughout the tournament and should have a nice easy ride to the sweet sixteen. Again, I like the 4 and 5 seeds to advance without a problem with my favorite team to watch at this moment Pittsburgh, to beat Michigan State and move on. In the lower part of the bracket I like all the tops seeds to advance through the first round as well as the next round with the top seeds in Stanford and Texas. On both of the sheets I did I have the safe Sweet Sixteen matchups with different outcomes on both, this is how tossed up I am in this region. So, with my main bracket that I sent in to Shorty, I have Pitt upseting Memphis and Texas moving past Stanford. After I already did the bracket I thought about it a little more but I really didn't want to change it. But, if it comes up Texas vs. Stanford really comes up, how can I honestly pick Texas to beat them. Stanford is so tough in the front court with the Lopez twins so if I screwed up my bracket in any way that I might regret it this is where it is. That being said I put Texas through to the Final Four. Haha! Man, you can only imagine how good this team would be with Kevin Durant on this team. So to recap, I have UCLA and Texas, and Tennessee and Wisconsin in the Final Four. I have to get ready for work but I am sure that not much will get down with Madness on my mind. Final Four predictions coming later this afternoon, don't worried I already made them.

Pic of the Week

Is the picture above the future 1st pick of next month's NFL Draft...possibly?! This photo was taken on March 18th, as Matt Ryan threw 52 passes in front of pro scouts at Boston College's Pro Day in Boston. Experts are saying that Ryan was very, very impressive on Tuesday and some are saying that they would be shocked if he goes passed the 3rd pick overall.

Midwest Bracket

Today we get right into the Midwest Region where the first round matchups are the talks of the tournament, and we haven't even started yet. Everyone and their mothers are talking about the big game between two freshman phenoms in O.J. Mayo and the 6th seeded USC Trojans squaring off against Michael Beasley and eleven seeded Kansas State. This is really a must see tv game that has all the makings of a barn burner. Another game in the region that people including myself are saying is a must see is 7th seeded Gonzaga and 10th seed Davidson. Davidson and Drake are probably the best shooting teams in this tournament. In both of these games I am picking the upset, if you can call it that. You also have a game where in my opinion the seeds are thrown out the window with the Clemson/Villanova game. I am picking Clemson in this game for their physicality but I honestly wouldn't be shocked in the least if all the teams thus far I picked to lose go to the Sweet Sixteen, that's right I said Sweet Sixteen! The rest of my sweet sixteen teams are Kansas beating Kent State, Vanderbilt advancing against Clemson, and 3 seed Wisconsin and 2 seeded Georgetown to face off in the round of 16. Kansas and Wisconsin are playing the best ball right now and I like both of them to go at for the Final Four birth. As much as I think that Kansas has been the more dominating team in the nation for the past month, something tells me that Wisconsin's defense and offensive style is going to really frustrate every team they play, so I am going out on a limb and picking the Badgers to be Final Four bound.

West Bracket

Today I attempt to dive right in to the West Region where I consider as the most competitive region of the tournament. The seeds from 1 to 14 are so good in their own sort of way, there are teams that are very hot at the right time, and some teams that can get really hot at any time. The lower part of this bracket any one can win in my opinion. I really breezed through the first round with my picks but the most intriguing games in my book are the ones that are in my home state in which I have been trying to get tickets for. And wouldn't you know it that UCONN has to be in Tampa when I want to finally to see a NCAA Tournament game, so that means I will wait til next year to see a first round game because I will not waste my time to see the Huskies. I really do like their match up with San Diego and the Drake/Western Kentucky game has a nice battle of mid-major schools. I chose to pick Drake and UCONN to advance but I really wouldn't be shocked if the 12 and 13 seeds advanced instead. The match ups to get to the Sweet Sixteen was my favorite to pick. Every year I always pick a upset bracket, and this years was the West. I got Purdue and West Virginia advancing against Xavier and Duke with disciplined Drake team beating an undisciplined UCONN team. As far as UCLA is concerned they will be tested against Drake (or UCONN) but other than that they are in my opinion the best "team" in the field and will go on to the Final Four without a problem.

Hottest Women in Sports

Swin Cash

Sue Bird

Today's sport for hottest women in sports is fittingly basketball and the two that I have always thought were hot are the two UCONN womens basketball stars Bird and Cash.

Greatest Season of All-Time

This week's new installment of my favorite greatest season of all-time brings us to number 11 on my board with a sport that has yet to be mentioned and if it wasn't for me not being fan of this sport this achievement might be higher on the list. Number 11....

The great Bobby Orr playing for the Boston Bruins in the 1969-1970 season at the tender age of 21 he really revolutionized the defensive position on the ice. At that time his 87 assists set an NHL record and his 120 points were six shy of the record and became the only defenseman to lead the NHL in points. The Hall of Famer also became the only player to win all four major awards...the Hart (MVP), the Ross (scoring), the Norris (top defenseman), and the Conn Smythe (playoff MVP). Orr also led the Bruins to their first Stanley Cup in 29 years with his season ending with perhaps the most famous goal in league history with the game-winning goal in game 4 of the Finals when he was sent airborne after (pictured below). Orr statistically is one of the best hockey players in the history of the game.

East Bracket

With St. Patrick's Day today, I get to enjoy a nice day off from work and sit around the house drinking Irish beer all day and doing some random picks on my NCAA Bracket sheet. Like my fellow blogger over at Badchoicemilk I will be doing my regional picks online since most of the people that I work with don't even follow college basketball so someone running a Bracket Pool is totally out of the question. With the East Bracket I am hearing and reading more and more experts saying this is the most competitive bracket, I am not seeing it. The East was the easiest to fill out for me the only problem I had was when I got to the Elite Eight game. I gotta say this I am really not thrilled with the committee putting Washington State as a 4 seed, as well as screwing Tennessee over and putting Butler at a 7 seed. Since you can barely see my picks above here is the rundown. I really don't feel the UNC will have any problems this first weekend. Arkansas is all done after their run in the SEC tournament so I got Indiana beating them pretty convincingly. George Mason will not be a Cinderella this year playing Notre Dame, and I really like Winthrop to beat Washington St, both teams matchup very well. Louisville will get by Boise St. then St. Josephs to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. It would be easy for me to put my upset special during the Butler/Tennesse matchup in the second round but I will stay with the favorite. Three out of the 4 teams I picked to go to the Final Four before the season started are in the East bracket with UNC, Tennessee, and Washington St. While I like the way the Tarheels have been playing I am going to go with my sexy pick at the beginning of the year and put Tennessee having the toughest road and get to the Final Four by beating Louisville then UNC in one weekend!

Sports News From Connecticut

This past week there has been some very interesting news locally for my hometown of Meriden, CT. The pictures say it all!

Unbelievably, my close friends from my hometown are squaring off in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as the Georgetown Hoyas and their coach Pablo Valentin face Chris Garland and the UMBC Retrievers. I can't even express the joy I have to see these two buddies of mine getting the opportunity to advance in the Tournament against one another. Today is a great day for the cities of Wallingford and Meriden to have another battle for bragging rights this coming weekend.

As for the first battle from the neighboring towns of Meriden and Wallingford, the Maloney Spartans won the Basketballl Class L state title over the Lyman Hall Trojans. Both teams with great stories going into the game with the Spartans looking for state title redemption after the championship loss a year ago, and the Trojans turning around after a 1-19 season just a year ago. From what I understand from the people in attendance it was a very great game to watch. One thing that I can honestly say is that many people I have been around have mixed feeling for coach Howie Hewitt both in basketball and baseball. But, finally with so many chances with so many great teams that he has coached in both sports, he can finally say that he has won a state championship. So I say congrats Howie, now would you finally retire!!!

Finally, yes folks the picture above is your next football Assistant coach at Wilcox Tech. My alma mater which has had it's first football program for the past few years is bringing in a kid who really knows his football, if you don't believe me just ask him he'll tell you. His name is Maynard Lumbra aka Mif, who has been coaching Meriden Raiders for what seems like a lifetime and will continue to do so while coaching the Indians of Wilcox. All I know is that this Mif kid has been putting down the playing calling of coaches on Thanksgiving Day games since I knew him, now finally he is that much closer to having other "know it alls" do the same to him. So congrats Mif on the job, good luck and bring my Indians to dominance, well at least to a couple of victories.

Fantasy Baseball Preview

Well it's that time of year and even though I am a little early, I figure that I would be the nice guy that I am and help out my fellow fantasy baseball general managers and give my little preview. I do have a draft this Sunday night so this week I really have been crunching the numbers and talking to my Dad about the possible top prospects that we might see this year. I will not be giving all of my secrets so to say that this is going to be simple is an understatement. Basically I will be giving you my Studs/Duds/and Sleepers for each position with the outfielders getting 3 each. For those of you that are in the same fantasy leagues as me well, your welcome! And by some chance you finish ahead of me this year, I don't want money nor do I want your respect...all I want is a thank you and that is all! On to the fantasy baseball preview!!!

catcher
STUD- Victor Martinez...Will be listed as a catcher but will play first which will help his numbers.

DUD- Paul Lo Duca...Has been missing almost the whole spring training, this guy is all done.
SLEEPER- Geovany Soto...This kid is really a star in the making. All-Star in a year or less.

1st base
STUD- Ryan Howard...The best young kid in the game and plays in HR friendly Philly.
DUD- Dmitri Young...Depth on the Nationals roster hurts, but so does his box this offseason.
SLEEPER- Nick Swisher...New team with a better lineup, not much better but better.

2nd base
STUD- Chase Utley...not really that difficult to figure this out, best keeper in all FBLs.
DUD- Jeff Kent...Never liked him, but this year I really feel his stats falling to the basement.
SLEEPER- Howie Kendrick...With a year under his belt this kid has way to much potential.

3rd base
STUD- Alex Rodriguez...Not hard. Also really love Miguel Cabrera and David Wright this year.
DUD- Chipper Jones...So he might have a descent year, but I think it will be a huge injury year.
SLEEPER- Troy Glaus...Batting behind Pujols will help. Mitchell report redemption year!

shortstop
STUD- Jose Reyes...He does everything statistically except helping in the WHIP category.
DUD- Julio Lugo...I can't stand this guy and his stats won't be better this season either.
SLEEPER- Edgar Renteria...No matter where he hits in this lineup this year, the numbers will be there.

outfield
STUD- Matt Holliday...Best outfielder in the game, good thing that defense doesn't count.
STUD- Carl Crawford...The nation will really get to know this kid once he leaves Tampa.
STUD- Alfonso Soriano...Is a consistent 30/20 man with the potential for 40/40.
DUD- Hideki Matsui...Trust me the guy only hits doubles, and I think the 162 GS is taking its toll.
DUD- Jose Guillen...Leaves a good thing in Seattle to go to Kansas City, not buying him.
DUD- Mike Cameron...You might think that he can regenerate his career now in MIL, you are wrong.
SLEEPER- Adam Dunn...Power hitting with a nice lineup in front of him in a contract year.
SLEEPER- Delmon Young...Will prove to everyone that he is going to be a stud in the making.
SLEEPER- Manny Ramirez...Ok, hear me out. Hasn't been the same guy the last 2 years, but this year he'll finish as a top 5 outfielder.

starting pitcher

STUD- Jake Peavy...You know what your going to get out of this guy year after year.

DUD- Rich Harden...As the ace of the staff will have a frustrating year with no run support.

SLEEPER- Francisco Liriano...You'll be taking a chance if you pick him early, but he worth it late.

closer

STUD- Jonathan Papelbon...Will be out there for the 9th at least 3 times a week no matter the score.

DUD- Rafael Soriano...The Braves will give him two weeks, if he not there yet he'll be demoted.

SLEEPER- B.J. Ryan...Back throwing gas this spring training, faster recovery then once thought.

Deez' College Basketball Power Rankings

As of this moment we are 27 hours til Selection Sunday, where the smaller schools will know who they get their shot at against RPI's top conference teams, and hopes of bubble schools entering the dance either fade or are granted. Usually by about this time the past couple of weeks I have been giving you my top 20 teams in college basketball, but today I am going to try something different. Since it is way to hard or easy to figure out what bubble teams will be getting in or not, I'll be giving you my fearless prediction of whos going to be the top seeds in each region. Remember this is as of 3:00 pm Saturday afternoon with still conference games still to be finished. By the way I welcome all of you to my poll on the right hand side for this years Player of the Year.

EAST REGION

1. North Carolina

2. Wisconsin

3. Xavier

4. UCONN

WEST REGION

1. UCLA

2. Georgetown

3. Texas

4. Butler

SOUTH REGION

1. Memphis

2. Duke

3. Louisville

4. Michigan St.

MIDWEST

1. Tennessee

2. Kansas

3. Stanford

4. Notre Dame

Hottest Women in Sports

I came across this girl about 2 weeks ago from another blogger. Her name is Allison Stokke and she is a member of the University of California Track and Field team. A pole vaulter, Stokke's team photos are being sold by the university but are now found on the internet when you search her. This got me to thinking who are the hottest female athletes in their respected sports. Over the next couple of weeks I'll give you the hottest females in their sports. This weeks lone recipient is Stokke for Track and Field.

The Big East Tournament

I took the day off today because I wanted to get in some me time and watch some more Championship week basketball with the bigger conferences in full swing in their own conference tournaments. Yesterday I got to see three great Big East games with 3 top seeded teams all going down. Being from New England, and not a fan of a Big East team I got a chance to just enjoy this great and traditional tournament over the years. So many memories I have of this tournament from either great games, to great performances, to watching rising stars before my eyes, to almost being arrested after coming home from Madison Square Garden after watching the entire first round games. Here's just a sample of my memories of the Big East Tournament:


GERRY MCNAMARA LEADS CUSE IN 2006
In the '06 tourney Gerry McNamara led the underdog Syracuse Orangemen to win the Big East Tournament as a 9 seed. McNamara was absolutely incredible, hitting the game winning three pointer in the first round to beat Cincinnati, tied the game in regulation with a three in the closing seconds verses top seeded UCONN and beat them in overtime, hit 5 threes in the second half including one with less than a minute left to beat Georgetown, and finally gave 'cuse the championship by scoring 14 and dishing out 6 assists verse Pittsburgh. All four victories for the Orangemen were decided by less than 4 points. This was one of if not the best single performance I have ever seen in a single tournament.

UCONN/GEORGETOWN CHAMPIONSHIP IN 1996
My senior year of high school. Not a Georgetown fan, not even close to being a UCONN fan but I can remember who I was with and where I was watching this Big East Championship game. Ray Allen verses Allen Iverson. This great rivalry was a must see matchup of two teams not just competing for bragging rights but for a conference title and a number one seed in the NCAA tournament. Iverson was held in check for most of the game and was stuck in foul trouble but the tournament MVP Victor Page picked up the slack and kept the Hoyas in the game throughout. But, it wasn't enough when Ray Allen's double-clutching shot driving in the lane went in for the game winner with seconds left.

KERRY KITTLES TOURNAMENT IN 1995
Kerry Kittles was a star for the Villanova Wildcats but nobody knew about him or the Cats until the tail end to the Big East regular season. Kittles, a junior that year, put on a show for the ages in the Big East Tournament averages more than 20 points in each game blowing out the opposition. In the championship verses UCONN, though the stats were unavailable for me, I remember him leaving the game with about a minute left to a standing ovation from the Madison Square Garden crowd. He was really an incredible college basketball player that most people tend to forget about.

FITTING THE DESCRIPTION IN DARIEN IN 2000
How we ended up in Darien was one thing that I would rather not talk about. Leaving Darien would be something that I will remember forever, for I think of this moment every time the 1st round begins in the Big East Tournament. 7 of us made the trip to Madison Square Garden to watch all of the 1st round games. By the time we finally got to the Garden, we not only were a mess from a certain thing that I'll never do again, but I really vaguely remember any of the action during all the games. We didn't finally somber up until the very last game of the day and when we finally got the balls to ask someone at the subway how the hell to get to back to Darien we were in for a very long night. It took us what seemed forever to finally get to our cars from the train station and when we finally got out of the parking lot and driving around to find route 15 we got lost again. This time I was alittle more coherent, so I saw a cop on the side of the road and ask him where route 15 was. Before we knew it our two cars were surrounded by the police and we were held their for at least 2 hours with what the Darien police called fitting the description of men in the parking lot of the train station, breaking into the cars. I remember being an absolute prick to one of the officers that I really thought that they were going to arrest us on being punk ass Meriden kids in Darien. I must have repeated myself about why we were there and where we were that day at least a dozen times. What finally happened was that they found that no cars were broken into at the station and they wanted to just check my trunk and then they would let us leave. I told the lead officer that I didn't have to open my trunk, but I knew that I had nothing to hide but 3 empty thirty packs inside. So I went ahead and opened the trunk and began to laugh and said to the officer, "Oh my! Is it illegal to have empty cans of beer in my trunk?". The officer was so pissed that he just said, "Dennis, get the hell out of my town!" We didn't get home until at least 2 in the morning and to this day I really believe that they kept us there that night because we were from Meriden. Little did the officer know that we did have something illegal that night...in our left over brownies!

Arrested

Dawn Wells, 69, who was the actress that played Mary Ann on the sit-com "Gilligan's Island" was arrested after police pulled her over after a surprise birthday party, and allegedly found marijuana in her car. Police recovered 4 half-smoked joints inside the car during the investigation. The actress pleaded guilty to one count of reckless driving and was sentenced a month ago to 5 days in jail and fined $410. I was a big fan of the show as a kid and even though Tina Louise's character of "Ginger" was the always the girl everyone wanted. "Mary Ann" had the girl next door look working in her favor, and for that reason I was a bigger fan of hers than Gingers.

Could Connecticut Take 3??!

Yes, that head line is correct. Yes, it is possible. And yes we all know UCONN is one of the teams, but there are two teams Connecticut may start dancing about and they're not Yale or CCSU or any other Blue colored school in CT. No, they both bare the color Red...The Sacred Heart Pioneers and the Hartford Hawks both earned births to their respective conference championship games on Sunday while in the process of having the opportunity to make their first Division 1 Men's Basketball Tournament birth.

The Pioneers will pack their home gym, The William Pitt gymnasium (the place where I dry heaved many mornings during footballl conditioning practice) on Wednesday Night at 7pm to be shown on ESPN2. Don't be confused with what ESPN says....they game will be in Fairfield. Look for Drew Shubik to play a huge role for the Pioneers after scoring 13 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and dishing out six assists to lead the #3 seeded Sacred Heart University men's basketball team to a 55-49 win over #2 seed Wagner College in the Northeast Conference semifinals. Sacred Heart also features 4 state of Connecticut players in sophomore Ryan Litke (Windsor, CT/Windsor)9.2 ppg., sophmore Chauncey Hardy (Middletown, CT/Xavier)10.2 ppg, red-shirt senior Luke Granato (Rocky Hill, CT/Northwest Catholic)6.2 ppg, and senior Gene Pettway (Bridgeport, CT/Harding)4.6 ppg. Among the notables not in attendence, SHU football's all-time leading scorer Tim Redican.

The Hartford Hawks look to capture the America East Championship and earn the automatic bid on Saturday 12:00 at UMBC. The Hawks escaped Boston University on Sunday to advance to the finals, their first ever. Hartford features New Britian, Ct. standout Brian Glowiak, 4.5 ppg. and Clint Kuban from Bethel. The game will be played at UMBC, which is the University of Maryland in Baltimore County.

Deez' College Basketball Power Rankings

The snow is starting to fade, the wind is picking up, small Division 1 schools are starting to get televised, and the drama is building. It really must be March. With Cornell being the only school to capture a NCAA birth winning the Ivy League title the other night and three more conference titles games today, we are really starting to move along to build a field of 65. This will be my final power ranking of the college basketball season as next week I give you my field. On to the final rankings going into the final regular season weekend.

1. UNC - Ty Lawson will play this time vs. Duke. Will it matter? Regular season ACC title on the line tonight.

2. UCLA - Won their 3rd straight conference title last night with some help from the referees.

3. Memphis - Shouldn't lose another game until the NCAAs, don't bother trying to check them out before hand television hates C-USA.

4. Tennessee - They haven't looked to good since the Memphis game. Shooting 36% since then doesn't help.

5. Kansas - I think that Bill Self forgot that there isn't a BCS system in college basketball after the killing of Texas Tech.

6. Duke - Their shooting woes are starting to disappear. Will see tonite if UNC can make them adjust their offense.

7. Texas - Still have the regular season title chance with a win vs. Bryron Eaton and Oklahoma St. Saturday.

8. Stanford - Still a very dangerous team that could easily get a 2 seed. The lopez brothers are for real.

9. Louisville - Like I said last week, the Cardinals are primed for the post season. Winners of 9 straight.

10. GTown - Roy Hibbert must play huge to get after Louisville and win the reg. season conference title.

11. Xavier - Loss at St. Joe's was hurtful, especially since if they won out they would have locked a top seed in tourney.

12. Wisconsin - One of the best executing teams in the nation on both sides of the ball.

13. Butler - Advanced to the Horizon semi's last Wednesday. Just want to keep momentum for the bigger tourney.

14. Notre Dame - I changed my mind, Luke Harangody is the Big East Player of the Year.

15. UCONN - Being swept by Providence for the year hurts their confidence. They still have time to make it up.

16. Michigan St. - The routing of Indiana was ridiculous. Neitzel is the key to their success the remainder of the year.

17. Vanderbilt - Winners of 8 of their last 9 with Alabama left on the schedule. Don't be surprised if they win their league tourney.

18. Indiana - Nice bounce back game against Minnesota Wednesday after the thrashing from Michigan State.

19. Gonzaga - Winners of 7 straight going into postseason play. Be ready for another showdown with St. Marys soon.

20. Purdue - With an easy game verses Michigan on Sunday. They really need to prep for the Big Ten tourney to prove their a top seed.

Tobacco Road Rivalry

Even though the game is just a preparation for the ACC Tournament, and the NCAA tourney it's still the best rivalry in sports. I am a Michigan fan, and as much as the Ohio State rivalry is huge for all sports, football more so; this basketball rivalry is legendary and I really can't remember the last time I miss one of these special games. 9:00 p.m. Saturday night, don't miss it!

Greatest Season of All-Time

It's been a while but I am back with my top 20 favorite greatest season of all-time before the turn of the century. Baseball is our nation's past time so I will keep it with baseball this week and get right to it.

The man I am going to write about today didn't win the League MVP award that season, nor did his team even make the playoffs. What he did do is something that still hasn't been done since he did it in 1941. At the age of 22, Ted Williams did something that to this day is so remarkable that I really don't think that this could ever be done again. He was the last player to hit the elusive .400! In fact it was .406! For those of you that never heard the story, going into the last day of the regular season Williams' average was sitting at .39955, which of course rounds up to .400. He was asked if he wanted to sit the doubleheader and get his name stitched with the .400 mark but he said, "No, I want to play!". Well anyhow, he went 6 for 8 for the day and finished with a .406 average. As I mentioned earlier he didn't win the AL MVP Award that season which went to Joe DiMaggio, though it is hard to see how. Williams led the league also in homeruns, runs scored, and slugging percentage; missing the Triple Crown by 5 RBI to Joe D. DiMaggio and the New York Yankees did win the Pennant that year while the Red Sox finished in second, but Williams was unstoppable against the Bronx Bombers that year hitting .471 in 22 games. Also, his .553 on-base-percentage was the best ever until Barry Bonds broke it in 2004. This in my opinion is such a great season that it was difficult for me to keep this out of the top 10. There will never ever be a hitter like Williams, that's what made him so special!

Another One Retires

When I finally got word today on ESPN radio that Warren Sapp was announcing his retirement the same day of Brett Favre's retirement press conference I really thought that that was odd, even for Sapp. Throughout his 13 year career Sapp was always in front of the microphone and getting some type of attention for something and he chose to do this quietly was shocking. I won't spend much time with this but Sapp certainly had his ups and downs in the NFL. The downs which more people tend to remember are his bumping of an official in 2003, 3 personal fouls that led to an ejection this past season, and of course the never forgetting late hit on Green Bay's Chad Clifton in 2002. I always thought of Sapp as the most dominating player at the Defensive Tackle position I have ever seen. Sapp finished with 96 1/2 sacks at a position that usually puts you on your butt being in the trenches of the middle. Though, he sure needs to repair his image during his retirement from the game, Sapp in my opinion will be joining Favre on the potium of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 5 years.

Bubble Watchin'

I won't say I told you so about the Maryland/Clemson game on Sunday night, but...I TOLD YOU SO!!! What a great game! And, after Clemson's dramatic 20 point comeback in College Park they, in my opinion, are a lock now to get into the NCAA tourney. While other teams like West Virginia (beat Pittsburgh) and Ohio State (beat Purdue) are doing their job by winning big games late in the year to impress the committee, others aren't doing such a good job. As of today, March 6th, I am giving you my bubble watch of some popular teams that I believe are in or out. Don't be shy to voice your opinion on these teams.

SYRACUSE - Well, the committee can't say that the Orangemen didn't have a tough enough schedule this year. But, they will say that their quality of wins have gone south as they have only won 2 of their last 7 games. Cuse will have to beat Marquette at home Saturday as well as I believe at least 2 wins in the Big East Tournament. As of right now Cuse is out in my book, but you never know with ranking 12th in strength of schedule in the nation and a couple of wins in their conference tourney...well, the committee has done some crazier things in the past.

OHIO STATE - The Buckeyes finally got a quality win verses Purdue the other night but was that enough. They are 1-9 verses the RPI's top 50. 1-9!!! Their quality non-conference wins are against Syracuse and Florida both who might not even get in. As much as I want to see the Big Ten get more teams in, it's not going to happen for the Buckeyes. They have Michigan State at home and could possibly face them again in the quarters of the Big Ten tourney. Sorry Ohio State fans not going to happen.

KANSAS STATE - Finally stopped their losing streak at 4 against Colorado Tuesday. Of the big non-conference games ND, Oregon, George Mason, Xavier, and Cal; Cal was the only team that they beat. It never hurts beating Kansas and with a win verses Iowa State Saturday they will finish third in the Big 12 and a first round bye in the Big 12 tourney. Today I would say no, but I think that they will win Saturday and their first game in the conference tourney and if they do that they are sure to get in.

USC - With Cal tonight and Stanford on Saturday both at home, all they need to do is win one of these games to get in. One of the RPI's best conference is the Pac-10 and to not invite the league's 4th place team would be a crime. The Trojans don't have to may quality wins but playing in this conference is not easy. Their best non-conference wins come against Oklahoma, Miami (OH), and Southern Illinois. If they could have pulled out the four point losses to Kansas or Memphis we wouldn't be having any conversation. Today the Trojans are in and it won't hurt pulling out a game or two before the season is over.

ARIZONA - The toughest team to talk about at this moment in time. Only 16-12 with the nation's #1 strength of schedule. 7-9 in the Pac-10 and 10-10 against the RPI's top 100 as of today. With Oregon and Oregon State still left on the regular season schedule they must, must win both games to seal a spot. One loss to either of these teams and the Wildcats are done. Their best non-conference wins are against Texas A&M, Houston, and UNLV. And A&M isn't really helping them out with that right now. Zona is in today but like I said 1 loss before the conference tourney and their on to the NITs.

KENTUCKY - Unfortunately I was telling the Pitbull that I hate Kentucky more and more everyday. I even went as far as saying at this point in time I hate Kentucky more than UCONN. I was reading their resume and I gotta say that they still have a chance but I really don't know how. Their side is that they are 11-4 in the SEC that is currently third place overall in the conference. Winners of five of their last six and could of pulled off the Tennessee game if it was for them folding in the end. Now my side, they have no quality wins on their non-conference schedule, unless of course you want to say that Stony Brook and Florida International were good wins. That's it they lost to UAB at home, San Diego at home, and let's not forget the great Gardner-Webb team that embarrassed them at home. They also lost to Houston, Indiana, and Louisville when Louisville wasn't that healthy yet. Sorry I am kicking them to the curb will have to impress me in their conference tourney but I doubt I will be impressed.

This Day in Sports

For the next thirty years of my life I will never ever forget the day of March 4th. This day marks the day that the great Brett Favre after 17 years will be retiring from the game of football after one of the greatest seasons of his career. All season Favre reminded us of how special he truly was in his younger years and made us all believers again of his talents. My brother Billy, who is a Green Bay Packers fan, but a Brett Favre fan first will sorely miss the future Hall of Famer and I really don't know how he can cope with continuing to be a Packers fan. Favre was always a true American hero in the eyes of many. He was always looked as a hard working blue-collar guy with faults like the rest of us and over coming those negatives. I really had no thought that he would retire after this season, but that is Favre. He left on his terms when people thought that he was done he proved us wrong by coming back and when we thought that he had a couple more seasons left in him he packs it in. Now I believe that the Green Bay Packers have a long road ahead of them, it's never the next guy or the second guy that comes in to replace a legend that works, it's usually like the third. Aaron Rodgers is certainly not the guy in my eyes but he showed some signs last year when he came in for Favre in the Dallas Cowboys game. Favre you were one in a million and certainly will be missed on the field.

Another reason to remember this today is that this is the day 18 years ago when the late great Hank Gathers, of Loyola Marymount University, died on the basketball court verses the University of Portland in the West Coast Conference Tournament semi-finals. Subsequently, the remainder of the tournament was canceled and the NCAA rewarded Loyola Marymount with a tournament birth for winning the regular season conference title, they ended up being an 11th seed. On a positive note for that season for the Lions the rest of that season, the team came together with Bo Kimble and made a run to the Elite Eight and lost to the eventual national champ in UNLV. Kimble, a close friend of Gathers, tributed to him during the tournament by shooting his first foul shot in each game left handed. Gathers who was a right handed shooter, could not make his foul shots righty so he started to try doing it lefty and was more successful at it so he stuck to it. Kimble, also a righty, made all his left handed free throws that he shot in the tourney. Even at the age of 12 at the time of his death, I still remember watching the game on television when he collapsed, watching LMU's magically ride to the Elite Eight, and I still get goose bumps to this day when I see clips of Kimble shooting lefty in the NCAAs. Dying at the young age of 23, Gathers was considered at the time as one of the more dominating players in college basketball during his tenure.