A Great 24 Hours of Sports (and the bad officiating that went with it)

Thursday night and Friday morning were what being a sports fan is all about.  Two huge games that were battled to the very end by teams that left everything they had on the court (or pitch).  Since it came first, lets talk about the NBA Finals Game 7 first.  I haven't written about this series at all, so let me go ahead and say I desperately wanted the Celtics to win.  Not because I really like the Celtics, but because I just really don't like the Lakers.  But regardless, this game was exactly what defensive basketball is all about.   That is why it pained me as a sports fan to see the horrendous officiating in the 4th quarter.  The Celtics couldn't help but foul the Lakers with the way the refs were calling the game.  Towards the end there was a possession where Garnett "fouled" Gasol even though he had his hands tucked into his chest to avoid fouling at all costs. And this was far from an isolated incident.  I'm not saying the Lakers didn't deserve the title, I'm just not happy with the way it happened.  I've got a couple other observations from the game as well.  Even though he played well, the Celtics did the smart thing by putting the ball is Artest's hands in the 4th quarter.  If you watch him for any length of time, it becomes clear that he is not fundamentally good at the game of basketball.  Yes, he is a great defender and very athletic, but when it comes to shooting, passing, and dribbling, Artest is a gamble every time he touches the ball.  Also, even though he is an awful shooter, Rondo's 3-pointer at the very end of the game was absolutely incredible.  He got the rebound about halfway between the basket and the 3-point line, dribbled out, and immediately turned around and drilled a huge shot without really squaring himself up.  If he can ever develop a jump shot, he could entire the Lebron-Kobe-Wade level of superstardom

I was going to make this post all about the NBA Finals, but then I watched the USA soccer game today.  That game serves as a perfect example of how our team operates.  We always play to the level of our opponent.  And we can only play well when no one believes in us.  During the first half, when we were supposed to be doing well, our team was just short of terrible.  Slovenia easily had the game in hand.  But in the second half, with the game already out of reach, we came out and absolutely dominated.  That was a second half for the ages.  Donovan's goal was exactly the type of performance we need from our best player if we are going to be serious contenders.  And Altidore's header to Bradley's foot for the second score was one of the prettiest goals I've seen since I started really watching soccer.  And then there was the third goal.  The goal that was going to cap off one of the greatest comebacks in World Cup history.  The goal that would have propelled us into the knockout rounds.  The goal that got absolutely robbed from our boys.  I totally agree with the referee that there was holding on that play (I really don't think play is the right term, so if someone know better, please let me know).  And it was on Slovenia.  Bob Bradley says he saw three separate US players being held by Slovenian players.  I don't know enough about soccer to recognize that many, but I know what the Slovenian player was doing to Michael Bradley stopped just short of assault.  And much like in football where holding happens on every block during every player, in soccer holding happens on every player during every set piece.  The rule for the refs is you only make the call if the penalty is blatant.  And there is no blatant USA holding on that play.  Regardless of the fact that it should of been a win, we should still be proud of our team's comeback in the second half.  We are still in a great position to advance and make it to the knockout rounds, where anything can happen.  Go USA!

Best and Worst of the World Cup So Far

This year's Cup has more up and down then most cups. So naturally, there have been a lot of high and low points.  Here are a few:

Best- South Africa scoring the first goal of the Cup- Since they are probably the weakest host country in Cup history, everyone was very concerned with how the Bafana Bafana would fare. They quieted their critics by jumping out to a lead versus Mexico.

Worst- South Africa losing 3-0 to Uruguay: It seems as if their critics were right after all, as Bafana Bafana got rocked in today's and will need a miracle to have any shot at making it out of group play.

Best - Drogba coming into the game for Ivory Coast in the 65th minute- This is easily my favorite moment so far. When Drogba came on the pitch, it wasn't just Ivory Coast who was picked up. It was like he was carrying the hopes of an entire continent.  The noise level of the vuvuzelas was simply incredible.  He represents their best chance at earning a title and I really hope he can fulfill this goal.  Plus, Drogba is an absolutely incredible human being and my favorite soccer player (and I have a small man-crush on him).

Worst- Cristiano Ronaldo flopping-  As much as I like Drogba, I dislike Cristiano Ronaldo.  He is easily the most gifted player in the world and yet he resorts to blatant flopping to try and draw calls.  He reminds me of a young A-Rod, supremely talented but too immature to handle competing as the best in the world.  I just wish Drogba could have been at full strength so he could have led Ivory Coast to the win over Portugal.

Best- USA soccer being for real-   If you remove the whole African hosting story from the Cup, then the biggest story is that this is the time when America is really giving soccer a chance.  And if this Cup doesn't succeed in securing America's interest, it will probably be quite some time before soccer has another opportunity.  Our play versus England went a long way towards securing soccer's status as a mainstream sport in America.  I only hope this trend can continue.

Worst- Robert Green's flubbed save- As great as it was that the USA tied England, this blown save is still the worst on the field moment this tournament.  There are very moments in sports where we as normal people know that we really could have done better than the athlete.  This is one of those moments.  Robert Green is a better goalie than any of my readers or myself (all 4 of you) could dream of being.  But on this play, we could have all made the save that he could not.

Best- The vuvuzelas-  There has been an incredible amount of complaining about these African trumpet-like instruments.  But let me say as an uneducated soccer fan (read: average American) I love them!  Instruments like the vuvuzela are exactly what home field advantage is all about.  Worried about ear damage?  Then don't go to the game!  80,000 screaming African fans will still be there.  When we signed on for an African World Cup, we got all of Africa, not just the parts we like.  

Worst - The strike that almost stopped the Brazil - North Korea match- I'm not sure how many people have heard this story, but apparently some of the stadium workers refused to work because they were paid less than they were promised.  I'm not offering an opinion about whether the workers or management were wrong. All I am saying is get the damn issue worked out behind the scenes.  The entire globe is focused on South Africa right now and a story like this one is just stupid.

And since the World Cup is awesome, I will include one more Best (with no Worst to go with it):

Best- North Korea holding its own versus Brazil- I know they are our enemy, but the Boise State (and Butler bandwagon) fan in me has to cheer for the little guy.  And there is no guy littler in this Cup than North Korea.  Plus, by avoiding a blowout, we can feel comfortable knowing that no North Korean players or their families are going to be punished in anyway.  And finally, since North Korea didn't provide them with much of a budget, they had to train in a public gym in South Africa (http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2010/06/kim-jong-il-and-the-north-korean-world-cup-squad/58171/).  This team can't help but warm your heart to one of the great evils of our world.

And the dust settles on the NCAA

It appears that the Big 12 apocalypse has passed and the conference will survive. At least that is what Andy Staples and SI are reporting (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/ncaa/06/14/texas.big.12.ap/index.html?eref=sihp). Let me start out by saying how truly surprised I am by this result. When I wrote my blog Friday night about how I expected this all to play out, I didn't expect things to work out exactly as I said. But I expected that the Pac-16 would happen. It appears that political pressure in Texas and some last minute deal making by Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe saved the day. The real question is: what does this latest development mean for the rest of the conference realignment game? First and most obvious, the Pac-16 is not going to happen (which means the era of the superconference is not upon us yet). However, the Pac-10 currently has 11 members. They can stay at this number [and even still call themselves the Pac-10, I am looking at you Big 10] or they can bring in one more team and gain the all powerful (read: $$) conference title game. They will almost certainly bring in one more team since 11 is a size with no real benefit. And this team will almost certainly be Utah. The Utes are the best pick for a whole host of reasons and would jump at this opportunity in an instant. The second change from tonight's news is now the Big 10 will most likely hold strong at 12 members [maybe they could trade names with the now 10 member Big 12]. The only exception to this is if Notre Dame suddenly changes its mind and decides to join the Big 10. However, this won't happen because the Big East is somehow going to live to fight another die again! [Big East = the Little Conference that Could] The reason the Big East will survive is that Texas A&M has also decided to stay in the Big 12. Therefore the SEC has no need to steal from the ACC, meaning the ACC has no reason to steal from the Big East. [Wow this stuff is complicated!] So in effect, after all this talk, all that has really happened is Colorado and Utah (most likely) have moved to the Pac-10, Boise State has replaced Utah in the MWC, and Nebraska has defected to the Big 10. Surprising, but definitely not the ground breaking change we were expecting all weekend. And unless Notre Dame decides to shock the world, what has happened so far is likely to be the end result of this round of conference realignment.

Welcome to My Blog!

After a month of writing to just myself, I have finally decided today is the day to take my blog public. Let me start off by saying welcome. I have a very specific model planned for this blog and I only hope I can fulfill it. The internet is full of sports blogs that simply report the news and sports blogs that simply give opinions on the news. This blog is neither of those things [although it is kind of both of them]. Rather this blog should read like a sports conversation/ debate among friends [although I get to do all of the talking unless you comment back]. It will be some information, some opinion, and a whole lot of personal bias. But hopefully it will also be fun to read and attract at least a couple followers. I'll save writing about my biases for another so for now just know that they exist. I have never written a blog before so let me know if you have any advice. Check out the posts I have written up to this point. Two of my favorites are my post yesterday (June 11) about the madness that is conference realignment and my post from last Sunday (June 6th) predicting the first round of the World Cup. So please check out some of my old posts, stay tuned for the new ones, and comment on any and everything you like. Welcome to The Reason They Play the Game [TRTPtG?]!

One other note: In my realignment post, I only put 15 teams in the new Pac-16. Therefore, Utah will jump to the Pac-16 and the Big Mountain East will fill their spot with any of the other leftover teams from the Mountain West (possibly Colorado State).

A Total Different NCAA

I have been postponing writing about the crazy stuff going on in college football, but since the dominoes have started to fall now is the time. Before I go into my predictions of how the whole system will shake out, lt me say a quick word about the status quo. Obviously the teams could care less, but the conferences are nearly perfect as they are. Granted, they were small changes that needed to be made. Boise State moving to the Mountain West was a move that needed to be made. But overall, the system was good as it stood. Without further ado, here are my predictions for the new conferences when the dust settles (Note: These predictions are neither what I expect to happen nor what I want to happen. Rather, they are a combination of both of these things. )

The New Pac-10 [Pac-16]

Arizona

Arizona State

Cal

Oregon

Oregon State

Stanford

UCLA

USC

Washington

Washington State

Texas

Oklahoma

Texas Tech

Oklahoma State

Colorado

This conference set-up is almost a forgone conclusion. Unless something crazy happens in Texas this weekend, come Tuesday the Pac-10 will become the Pac-16 [Can they really call themselves Pac if they stretch all the way to Texas?].

The New Big 10 [Big 16]

Ohio State

Iowa

Penn State

Michigan

Michigan State

Northwestern

Nebraska

Wisconsin

Purdue

Minnesota

Illinois

Indiana

Missouri

Notre Dame

Syracuse

Rutgers

The first part of the new Big 10 is also already decided. Nebraska joined today and even though they haven't been offered yet, Missouri can't be far behind. With Nebraska on board, the Big 10 then has two main goals left, capture Notre Dame and the New York City market. The NYC problem comes first and will help bring in Notre Dame. By bringing on Rutgers and Syracuse (both of which are AAU schools), the Big 10 gets Gotham and brings down the Big East simaltaneously. And Notre Dame has said they will remain independent as long as the Big East is viable. However, with the Big East failing, Notre Dame will be forced to align itself with the Big 10 [which may very well keep the name Big 10 post-expansion since they have actually have had 11 members for 20 years].

The New SEC

Alabama

Arkansas

Auburn

Florida

Georgia

Kentucky

LSU

Ole Miss

Mississippi State

South Carolina

Tennessee

Vanderbilt

Texas A&M

Florida State

Miami

Clempsun [Clemson]

This is the first of my really speculative picks. It seems fairly likely that Texas A&M will join the SEC, leaving the conference at 13 members. Since conferences work better with even numbers and the Big 10 and Pac-10 will have 16 members, the SEC will forced to expand as well. And with the exception of the North Carolina schools, they will have their pick of the ACC. I picked FSU, Miami, and Clemson to go because they have a larger national audience and are more SEC -like than Georgia Tech.

The New ACC

Boston College

Duke

Georgia Tech

Maryland

North Carolina

NC State

Virginia

Virginia Tech

Wake Forest

Connecticut

Pittsburgh

South Florida

Poor, poor ACC. Under this scenario, they've had three of their flagship programs robbed. Luckily, the dead Big East had some members available for the taking. Connecticut is the best fit because they have a great basketball team and even though the ACC is a second rate football conference, no amount of expansion will kill their dominance of basketball. Pitt and South Florida round out the ACC because they are a better fit than any of the other Big East teams. Plus, USF makes up for some of the Florida market the ACC lost when FSU and Miami bolted for greener (as in $) pastures.

The New Big 12/ Mountain West/ Big East [The Big Mountain East Conference]

Baylor

Iowa State

Kansas

Kansas State

Cincinnati

Louisville

West Virginia

TCU

BYU

Utah

Memphis

Boise State

Of all my picks, this conference is the least likely. There is no unifying geographical area or type of school. In fact, the only thing these schools have in common is they are the losers of the conference realignment [except for Memphis who will sieze this opportunity to jump into the BCS]. Still, all of these teams joining forces is the surest way to guarantee they all stay athletically relevant. If they don't, some of these teams will surely end up on the outside looking in.

Obviously, the BCS will need to evolve to accomodate these conference changes [The best part of the move to 16 team conferences is that they make a playoff that much easier]. Since one automatic bid over 16 teams is too little, the new BCS will feature 2 automatic bids for the SEC, Pac-16, and Big-16. Because they are smaller (and weaker), the ACC and Big Mountain East will have 1 automatic bid. The other two bids will be decided through the same rules currently employed by the BCS.

Its a great week in sports!

A couple times a year their is a sports week that makes us all happy to be fans. Usually, these weeks happen during the fall or winter and revolve around college and pro football. But this week is one of those weeks! The World Cup is beginning. The baseball draft is going on. The College World Series is mid-swing. The most classic NBA finals is happening. Baseball is reaching its pre-All Star break height. And as an added bonus, their is a massive re-alignment going on the college conference landscape [more on this topic coming soon]. But the biggest story of the week (and possibly history) happened tonight. Super-ultra-mega phenom Stephen Strasburg made his major league debut. And he exceed expectations! With 14 strikeouts in 7 inning (including his last 7 batters faced) Strasburg showed he is every bit as good as advertised. As a Yankees fan I only have one more comment to make about Stephen. I can not wait to see him dominate Game 1 of the World Series in a couple years, in pinstripes of course!

So Excited for the World Cup!

What a week! The reason I haven't posted in over a week is I have been moving to DC for my summer internship. I figure since I have yet to have a follower its not that big of a deal. Going forward I'll try and be more consistent.

Even though I played soccer growing (or at least until the 3rd grade) like most Americans I have never really followed the game. However, my admiration for the game has been steadily growing lately (largely due my watching the masterpiece that was the Argentina-Germany match from the 06 Cup). With that being said, here are my totally uneducated picks for who will make the Round of 16 (Sweet Sixteen?) in South Africa.

Group A- France, South Africa- Both these picks will probably turn out to be wrong, still I love picking against the grain (that is why I am awful at picking NCAA brackets). France is going to be driven by a desire to prove that they, and not Ireland, belong in South Africa. Plus, I really like Thierry Henry. And South Africa is going to ride the home crowd to upsets of Mexico and Uruguay (Probably not, but its a fun pick to make).

Group B- Argentina, Nigeria- Despite their struggles in qualifying, Argentina should dominate this group based on superior talent alone. Plus they have mega-star Lionel Messi to carry them over the top. I'm picking Nigeria over South Korea or Greece for no real reason other than that I really would like to see the African teams do well.

Group C- USA, England- This pick was pretty easy as both of these teams should make the Round of 16 fairly easily. However, my shocker is that I'm picking America to upset England in the opening game. Why? England has a lot of in-house problems and it would be awesome to see us win that game.

Group D- Germany, Ghana- Germany always make the Round of 16, so that pick was easy. Beyond that, it was a toss-up between Ghana and Serbia. I'm picking Ghana because they are African and they won the U-20 Cup in 2009. I always like young teams in the NCAA tourney, so I might as well do it in the Cup too.

Group E- Netherlands, Cameroon- There is no reason for either of these picks, so I just went with my gut. It just seems logical that the Netherlands would have a good team. And Cameroon is African, so I might as well go with them. Plus, I can't imagine Japan being very good at soccer.

Group F- Italy, Slovakia- Italy is the defending champs and are better than any of their other group mates, so they should advance without too much trouble. Sports Illustrated says Slovakia should also make it out of their group, so thats why I picked them.

Group G- Brazil, Portugal- Even though this is the Group of Death, Brazil should make it through fairly easily. With the other pick, I was going to pick Ivory Coast (I was considering picking them to win overall) until they lost Drogba. If he plays, I still think they will advance. If he doesn't, superstar Cristiano Ronaldo should lead Portugal to the next round. Poor North Korea, if I didn't no better I would say they ended up in this group by conspiracy.

Group H- Spain, Switzerland- Spain has only last once since the last World Cup (America, F*** Yeah!) and they shouldn't start now. I have no real reason for picking Switzerland over Chile or Honduras, but its just a feeling.