Comeback or Collapse

I haven't wrote in a while and I have been wanting to express some issues I had with the NCAA Final on Monday night. I don't know who was favored nor do I really give a damn, but Memphis after one half of basketball should have won this game going into the second half. They were the better team for 38 minutes in my opinion, not taking anything away from Kansas because they played great, had a tremendous comeback for the ages, and are a very good "team". Memphis played incredible basketball even without a strong first half from freshman standout Derrick Rose. The question that I heard on Tuesday was, "Was it a comeback or a collapse?". Well guess what, it was a collapse! All year long coach John Calipari refused to look at the problems that the team had instead of trying to correct them. He did such a terrible job coaching this season it makes me sick. "We don't have a free throw problem!", "Let's take a look at how good we were off the boards!", "My team will make them when they count down the stretch!". Right! Not only did you continue to play that card, your coaching in the final 5 minutes was terrible. Free throws is a reflection of how disciplined a team is, and as you could tell throughout the game this team was far from disciplined. Even before the Championship game, they had a back up point guard getting suspended from the Final Four. Joey Dorsey committed 2 fouls above the three point arch, one that disqualified him from the game with minutes remaining with his fifth foul. FIFTH FOUL FROM YOUR BIG MAN BEYOND THE THREE POINT LINE!!!! Unreal. While I was waiting for an explanation from Calipari for why they didn't foul either Sherron Collins or Mario Chalmers, Calipari showed his true colors by explaining after the fact to the officials that he wanted a foul. Something tells me that though he wanted a foul, he forgot to mention that to his kids. He probably would have had a chance to mention that to his kids if he called a god-damn timeout after the made foul shot from Rose, which is something that he also didn't do. When Kansas was coming back, Calipari had such a great offensive set in line for the Jayhawks...a one on one offense that was hardly the offense that got them that far. I am beginning to wonder if Calipari is just an incredible recruiter and just get the right kids to his school, so when his practice starts he just sits on a chair and rolls a ball out for them. But, since this is a "try to stay positive" blog, I would like to congratulate Bill Self, Mario Chalmers and the Jayhawks for making such a great game of the championship by coming back with a sense of will, confidence, and discipline!

Hottest Women in Sports

TENNIS

Ana Ivanovic

Maria Sharapova

Greatest Season of All-Time

Today after a couple of days layoff, I am going to get back into my favorite greatest seasons of all-time before the turn of the century. This week's installment is my 9th overall season which isn't getting any easier to decide on. Baseball is the sport, a godly pitcher is the player.

In 1968, the Year of the Pitcher, Bob Gibson, of the St. Louis Cardinals, dominated with a 1.12 ERA, the fourth-best all time, over 304 2/3 innings. He threw 13 shutouts, tied for the third most. During one ridiculous stretch of 10 starts in the middle of the summer, Gibson allowed two runs in 90 innings. His 22-9 record is quite misleading: Gibson had a 2.14 ERA in his nine losses, games in which the Cardinals scored only 12 total runs. His brilliance continued in the World Series against the Tigers. He gave up just one run in winning Games 1 and 4. Even after being touched up for four runs in a Game 7 loss, he wound up with a 1.67 ERA. I always wished I got to see him pitch live, but watching his highlights on the tube, you can get the gist of just how good he really was.

Trip to the Gulf Coast.

This past week I had the opportunity to visit Gulf Coast two and a half years after Hurricane Katrina. Although, most of my time was spent at the Stennis NASA space center in the area I got to tour most of the region during they week. The area I was stay was in Bay St. Louis, the city were the eye of the storm directly passed over and I was able to make a trip down to New Orleans which is about 45 minutes away. The wreckage that still remains amazed me. I was amazing to see how depressed the overall attitude of the people was down there, everyone smoked. I was amazed to see the many trees snapped right in half from the wind. I do suggest going down there and checking it out yourself. The area may not be too exciting, but you can still view the wreckage that occurred. Also, if you've never been to New Orleans (Bourbon St.) I suggest you do at least once. My suggestion is do some research before you go just so your not in the wrong part of the city and don't book it for a week because you will get into some trouble. A weekend will do and you'll definitely be entertained by how outrageous Bourbon St. can be. The pictures I am posting obviously aren't ones I took, but places I passed by during my journey.




This is a picture of a McDonald's in Bay St. Louis that I passed by. It's still there along with a brand new one adjacent to it. The boat is gone though.



This is a picture of I-10 which travels along the coast. It connects Jacksoville and New Orleans. The divider where the Deer is lay is acutally at least 5 times that size you see there the rest is under water.




This is a picture of one of the houses that used to be about 200 yards from the beach which was on elevated ground. This is in Gulfport, MS just before Bay St. Louis.



Bourbon St. in New Orleans. Good times and 3 for $1 Miller Lites!!!!! Oh yeah...and beads.

Final Four

You know that the Final Four is here because we are listening to talks about Tiger and the Masters, the baseball season is starting to get going, and the sun is out...wait that's only in Florida! I am very, very excited for tonight's Final Four games with all #1 seeds still in it and you ask ask for anything better when it comes to the programs, the coaches, and the marque players taking the floor tonight. Drama galour, let's get right to my previews!

MEMPHIS/UCLA, 6:07 - Let's get right into the first game. Two of the very best freshmen in the country will be on the floor for maybe their final collegiate weekend in Derrick Rose of Memphis and Kevin Love of UCLA. I have heard talks all week for who would you pick of the two? You'd have to go with Rose even though I have some love for Love. Rose is a playmaking point guard that you only can enjoy having bring the ball up on each possession. This goes without saying whoever dictates the flow of the game should win in my book, but I think that UCLA can handle scoring in the 70s, it just will be more difficult to keep up down the stretch. The marque matchup that I am really looking forward to watch is Joey Dorsey and Love battling it out under the boards, should be really fun to watch. My only concern will the referees get too involved and keep one or both off the floor, like when UCONN's run to the title in 2004 when they kept the country's best big men at that time in Omeka Okafor and Sheldon Williams off the floor for most of their game. The Memphis Tigers out of all four teams has to be the scariest with UCLA the most experienced. I like UCLA to get the aggressive Tigers in foul trouble early which will allow them to set the pace of the offense and defensively slow down the dangerous Rose. Like i said in Thursday blog, any of the four teams can win this thing just a matter of who makes fewer mistakes and this game is the game that the team with the fewer mistakes wins.

UNC/KANSAS, 8:47 - Everybody's matchup of the night, hence the game time. Roy Williams playing the program he once took to the Final Four on a few occasions with no success. Now with the Tarheels and a NCAA title under his belt I am sure that his emotions will be running crazy before gametime. The Tarheels road to San Antonio was much more difficult than the Jayhawks, with the 'hawks facing no lower than an 8 seed to the Final Four. While, the 'heels have had to go through a 4 and 3 seed. This up and down game is going to come down to the Jayhawks bigmen stopping AP Player of the Year, Tyler Hansbourgh, in the paint. On the UNC side of it they are going to have to cut down on their force shots and turnovers, other than that I think this game is going to be all about what Kansas can do, and some, to win this game. If I was betting on the games this weekend I would put the house on the Tarheels to win this game today. I just don't think that Kansas doesn't have enough threats in the paint to slow down a great Tarheel front court. The Tarheels are too good, though I do like Kansas I would be surprised if they have the lead at any point under 10 minutes to go in the second half.

Pic(s) of the Week

My father and mother brought my brother and I all of our baseball, basketball, football, and yes even hockey cards to us down here. We have been going through them just looking at all of the once studs that we hoped would make us millions by having their rookie card. But, Brien Taylor, Kevin Maas, Phil Plantier, and others never made it for us, so thanks guys....alot! But, I did come across a couple of rookie cards that are bound to be worth something.

Future girls softball coach

Future singer for 98 degrees and ex hubby for Jessica Simpson

Future basketball star for Sweet Sixteen bound Creighton U

Future Japanese homerun king

Random Thoughts Today

This has been a pretty tiring week for me this week and I have had no urge to write at all. But, today my silence will go no further. Here's just a couple of things that I was thinking about today.

Chris Henry...HAHAHA! Enjoy your year off buddy! not only that but you just got released by a team that really showed you a ton of faith and you just slapped them right in the face. I think that it is time for you to start hanging out with people your own age. First giving minors alcohol, then hitting an eighteen year old, what's next...I don't even want to write what I am thinking!

The new NFL rules have been set for next year and honestly am I pretty happy with all of them. First and probably the most controversial is the elimination of force out decisions on sideline catches. As much as this will hurt our fantasy wide receivers, I really like the rule change. Not only does this give the sideline referee less of a change to blow a game decision, but finally defensive players in the secondary get a rule in their favor. And I am all for that. Instant replay for field goals has been implemented which I really had no idea that you couldn't take a look at before. Also, the five yard facemask penalty has been banished which I am also fine with, my only concern though is the unintentional grab...so you mean that that won't be a 15 yard penalty, I doubt it! Another rule that not many people on the news today were talking about was the direct snap from the center that goes backward will now be treated as a fumble, which was a false start before. So, all in all I am in total favor for what the NFL did with it's rule changing. The only thing I thought was weird was that there was no proposal for the icing the kicker rule that was totally out of hand on numerous occasions.

Memphis back up point guard, Andre Allen, will be missing the Final Four for violating team rules. Some reports I have heard that were leaked was that he failed a drug test. Nice going Allen, your a senior, and you have lost in the Elite Eight twice in two years. I'm sure that this won't bother you the rest of your life. Idiot!

With two weeks left in the NBA season, not a single Western Conference team has clinched a playoff spot yet. Unbelievable! I still haven't really gotten into the NBA season yet, but next week I should probably stay tuned for it cause it looks like this is going to be one if not the best finish to a NBA regular season ever. I did see T.J. Ford and the Toronto Raptors get absolutely jobbed by the shumk at the time clock in Atlanta though.

Major League Baseball investigators cornered Jose Canseco in a NY bookstore bathroom, enough said there.

The Final Four is going to be one of the highest watched Final Fours in the history of the game. Even though my sheet went to pieces I am thoroughly excited for Saturday night, with any of the four teams having a serious chance of the NCAA title.

Why are people in the press being so down on Matt Leinart for partying it up with hot chicks at his house? If I was a Heisman winning quarterback at USC, was drafted in the 1st round in the NFL Draft, am a 24 year old, 6'5'', good looking man living in mansion in Arizona. I will party and bring any piece of tail I want to at my house for a party during the off season. Don't be jealous of my skills!!!

Finally, a student from a Middle School in Bristol, CT was struck in the head by a red-tailed hawk while she was with classmates touring Fenway Park. Obviously she had a Coco Crisp t-shirt on, and somebody (or something) from Boston finally stepped up and showed their opinion of Crisp...in a violent sort of way!

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.