NBA Picks

My god, i've been waiting for the NBA Playoffs since November when the season started. Actually, that's not correct. I've been waiting for this year's playoffs since the Suns were eliminated in that travesty of a second round series against the Spurs (Sterns) last year. I could not be more excited that they're finally here...

In lieu of an actual preview, today i'm just going to be posting my picks for the first round games. I will have analysis after each of the Suns' games. Off we go!

Eastern Conference:
Boston over Atlanta in 4 (No chance for Atlanta)
Detroit over Philly in 5 (Pistons will be focused)
Orlando over Toronto in 6 (Orlando tends to not be focused at times)
Cleveland over Washington in 6 (The Wiz will push the Cavs, but LeBron still plays for Cleveland)

Western Conference:
Los Angeles over Denver in 5 (I almost made this 4 games...)
New Orleans over Dallas in 6 (Don't care about youth or inexperience. The Hornets are the better team)
Utah over Houston in 5 (Houston has no chance)
Phoenix over San Antonio in 7 (I just don't see how this series goes less than the distance)

Weekly Press Conference

Welcome back to your weekly press conference feature. This week's video is a special. Anytime a coach can interrupt another coach's press conference and proceed to threaten him... Well, it gets special mention. Without further adu, i present to you legendary coach John Chaney...

And I'm Back

Sorry for the extended delay. I was out sick for a while, then out of town for a wedding. Both bad excuses, but i'm back. And with Baseball season in full swing and the NBA playoffs about to start, expect a lot of writing coming up...

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Leading the league in runs scored. Leading the league in home runs. Second in total bases. Leading the league in RBI's. Second in batting average. First in On Base Percentage. First in Slugging Percentage.

Chris Young is first in the league in runs scored. CY tied for 2nd in home runs. Mark Reynolds tied for second in RBI's. Justin Upton 4th in Slugging Percentage.

Sounds like the Dbacks might be off to a pretty good start right?

Oh yeah, i forgot: They also have the second lowest ERA in the majors and third lowest batting average against.

All of this sounds like a recipe for a 10-4 start to the season for the red-hot Diamondbacks.

Hey NL West, the NL, and baseball in general: Better watch out, these Diamondbacks are on fire.

Coming into the season, everyone figured the pitching would be there. With last year's AL All-star starting pitcher Dan Haren combining with Cy Young winner Brandon Webb at the top of the rotation, that figured to be a strength for the Dbacks. It was hard to tell what you would get from Randy Johnson and Micah Owings, who was coming off a terrible spring (0-2, ERA north of 9.5), but at least at the top you had stability. The bullpen figured to be strong, with the lone question mark being the closer.

Well, Randy made his first start yesterday and looked pretty good, all things considered. If the defense had shown up at all, he would have had the win. Owings has been spectacular, going 3-0 so far. The bullpen, with the exception of the closer spot (get to that later), has been solid as well.

What people weren't sure about coming into the season was the Diamondbacks offense. Everyone knows about the offensive woes last season, getting outscored over the course of the season, struggling to score runs, batting averages 4o points or more south of where they should be, etc.

This year that has seemed to turn around. Drew is batting near .300. Upton is hitting .388. Conor Jackson is at .313. Byrnes is at .291.

I realize the season is still young, but if nothing else the start will give confidence to all our young guns for the rest of the season. That's all these young guys need, a little confidence and the knowledge that they belong here and can hit at this level.

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I mentioned that the Dbacks were 10-4 on the season, but what i didn't mention is who they've beat. In the middle of a 22-game stretch against NL West Division foes, the Dbacks have gone 9-2 against the likes of Colorado, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Besides the great overall start, they are off to a great start in their own division, which is always big.

I realize seasons are not won in April, but they can be lost. The Dbacks have done the work and put themselves in a great position to start a season in which they have high expectations. Up to this point, they have shown why those expectations were so high to begin with.

Big Ten Coaches

The Big Ten Conference just got a whole lot tougher in Men's Basketball with the hiring of Tom Crean at Indiana. With this hire, the Big Ten has what has to be considered the top conference coaches from top to bottom anywhere in the land. For a quick recap, let's look at the numbers:

Todd Lickliter, Iowa: Granted this year was rough, but i could pick up four homeless guys and myself and field a team as 'talented' as Iowa was this year. Anyway, it was Lick's first year at Iowa, but he took his Butler team to two Sweet Sixteen's in the last 6 years and was last year's NABC Coach of The Year. He also was under current Ohio State coach Thad Matta at Butler.

Tom Crean, Indiana: Just named coach of Indiana, Crean has been at Marquette the last 9 years, averaging 20 wins a year. He's been to the Tourney each of the last 3 years and advanced to the Final Four in 2003. He was also named Conference Coach of The Year twice.

Bruce Weber, Illinois: Coach at Illinois for last 5 years, Weber had led the Illini to four straight Tourney appearances before this year. In 2005 they were runner-up, losing to UNC in the Championship game, and Weber was named the Naismith Coach of The Year.

John Beilein, Michigan: His first year at Michigan was a struggle, but like Lickliter at Iowa was left with almost nothing. Look only at his last three years at W. Virginia, where he made the Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tourney, and won the NIT Tourney last year.

Tom Izzo, Michigan State: Known for having teams that hit the boards hard, Izzo's Spartans haven't missed the Tourney in ten years. He has four final fours and one Championship, plus another Elite Eight and two more Sweet Sixteen appearances. He also served as head coach of the US Basketball team at the 2003 Pan American Games.

Tubby Smith, Minnesota: Another first year coach in the Big Ten, all Smith did was take a team that finished 9-22 last year and made them a 20-13 team this year. Previously at Kentucky, Smith had not missed the Tourney in 14 previous seasons to this one with three different teams, winning the Championship once, making the Sweet Sixteen 5 times, and the Elite Eight 3 additional times.

Bill Carmody, Northwestern: While Northwestern will never be confused for a basketball powerhouse, Carmody has done a nice job in the 8 years he has been there. He has a particular knack for beating the Hawkeyes EVERY SINGLE YEAR. Not that i'm bitter or anything.

Thad Matta, Ohio State: Previous coach at Butler and Xavier, Matta has been in control at Ohio State for four years. This year was his first in 7 years he did not make the Tourney in which his team was eligible (Ohio State was not eligible for postseason play his first year there). He finished runner-up to Florida last season, and made one additional Elite Eight.

Ed DeChellis, Penn State: Well, they can't all be winners. In his fifth year at Penn State, he has never finished better than 7th (this year). Though he did finish in first or tied for first each of his last three years at E. Tennessee State before coming to State College.

Matt Painter, Purdue: Took over the coaching job at Southern Illinois when Weber left for Illinois, and guided that team to a 25-5 record and first in the conference. Was named the MVC Coach of The Year. Left after one year for Purdue to take over for Gene Keady. In three seasons there he has improved the team each year, leading to 2nd place Big Ten finish this year and back to back years in the 2nd round of the Tourney. Was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year this year.

Bo Ryan, Wisconsin: In his 7th season at Wisconsin, Ryan guides the Badgers to 1st in the conference and the Sweet Sixteen. He has not missed the Tourney since becoming coach of the Badgers. Has been to one other Sweet Sixteen, and an additional Elite Eight in that time. Additionally, he coached his UW-Platteville teams to the NCAA D-III Championship three times in nine years in the '90s.

So there you have it. From top to bottom, i challenge any conference in the country to trot out a more formidable and accomplished group of coaches. I don't think this one can be matched.

Where You Came From

This week we've got visitors from: Canada, Australia, Mexico, and of course the US. My international audience is lacking this week...

Search Terms that brought you here: As always, each search term is copied directly and not fixed for spelling or grammatical errors. I've added my own commentary in the parentheses...

1) Dennis green 8th grade basketball (huh?)
2) Louisville Post Game Press Conference North Carolina
3) mEMPHIS PRESS CONFERENCE mARCH 30 (Twice)
4) celtics march 30 postgame interview
5) shaqtus t-shirts (Twice)
6) A Day in the life of Denny Green
7) hawkeye football (Now we're talking)
8) marwan williams (I didn't know this guy was so popular)
9) shaqtus (Thrice)
10) fuck brett favre (Ha ha ha, that one never gets old...)
11) Kansas vs. Davidson Press Conference (There was seriously about 30 variations of this search term. Did i miss something in this press conference?)

There you go. Thanks for cruising by, and while you're here take some time to look around, leave a comment or two, and visit my sponsors and friends to the right. Thanks!

Weekly Press Conference

Sorry for the lack of posts this week; My family was in town and i've been under the weather so this website got pushed to the back burner. Anyway, here's you bi-weekly press conference, this one an old school flashback to baseball and Hal McRae. The phone he tosses and his pirouette as he does it is classic...

Elite Eight Picks

10-12 in the Tourney. I suck at this.

Texas +3.5 vs. Memphis
I have a feeling Memphis is getting a little too confidant in themselves because their free shooting hasn't cost them yet. I think that will end this game, as Texas is playing some good ball and just crushed a good Stanford team.

Kansas -10 vs. Davidson
Davidson has had a great run through the Tourney, but have not faced a team with the horses like Kansas. Despite Stephan Curry probably going for 30+ again in the game, the rest of Davidson's team just won't be able to hang with Kansas.