2011: The Year of the Improbable Final Four

Butler's Matt Howard

Connecticut, Kentucky, Virginia Commonwealth, Butler. Not the Final Four most of us predicted, or would have even thought possible. Many said (myself included) that one of the teams, VCU, should not have even been selected into the tournament in the first place. And judging by their regular season resume, they indeed should not have. Butler returns as a Cinderella for the second consecutive year, being an inch or two from knocking Duke off in the championship game a year ago and becoming national champions. In order to do it this time around, they will have to knock off the suddenly surging Rams of VCU, then upset one of the big name schools, the winner of UConn and Kentucky, in the championship game.

By now your bracket may have already been through the paper shredder, possibly just after the first round. You're not alone. As you may already know, this was possibly the worst bracket year ever. Two Final Four teams probably wins you your pool. Some pool winners might only have one correctly picked Final Four team. After all, there is only ONE bracket of the almost six million on ESPN's Tournament Challenge that have all four selected correctly. The wild card causing this was VCU, who had no impressive victories in the regular season and had to begin their Road to the Final Four with a play-in game against USC. After knocking off the No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks this past weekend, Jamie Skeen and the VCU Rams are one of the last four standing, their improbable journey not yet completed.

Apart from the team, university and its fans, who has enjoyed this VCU run the most? Probably the selection committee's chairman, Ohio St. A.D. Gene Smith. Why? The bracket his committee unveiled was criticized to no end (see my post from March 10, Let the Madness Begin, where I was also critical of the committee's selections), because of the admittance of VCU and UAB in place of Colorado and Virginia Tech for the final at-large bids. ESPN's Jay Bilas called this "a joke", and college basketball analysts and fans across the country were in an uproar. But boy, has VCU ever proved them all wrong. Sure, UAB went on to haplessly fall in the play-in, and maybe Colorado should have made it in to the tourney instead of them, but VCU's admittance into the Dance was meant to be. The Rams have made Smith and the committee look like geniuses.

VCU seems to play better on short rest, when teams have less time to prepare. Lacking the athleticism and pure skill of the teams they have knocked out, they find ways to win in other ways, such as moving the ball around for open threes. Other teams have not had a chance to see them play much, and only a day or so to prepare, so they do not know what to expect. The only team that came close to beating VCU was the 10th-seeded Florida St. Seminoles, who had the multiple days in between the first two rounds and the Sweet Sixteen to prepare. Butler will have an entire week, and I am sure few will be taken aback if the Bulldogs advance one again to the finale.

National Player of the Year candidate Kemba Walker leads the charge for UConn as they face Brandon Knight and the young guns of Kentucky. Most people had Kentucky losing to Ohio State on their bracket (I boldly went with Kentucky in one of the few picks I got right). UConn, the Big East champ, was a favorite along with Duke out of the West region. While UConn is the favorite, based on the way Kentucky has played recently this game is essentially a toss-up, and an argument could be made for either squad.

Most of this country will be cheering loudly for the mid-major to knock of the big-name school on April 4 in Houston for the conclusion of *arguably* the greatest postseason all of sports has to offer. Does either VCU or Butler have enough left in the tank to pull out two more Ws? Or will this year be a repeat of the last, where Goliath gets the best of David? We'll know next week.

Barry Bonds Uses the Cam Newton Defense

No one gets that much bigger, except for a juicer.

"I didn't know" is the new approach Barry Bonds is taking at his perjury trial regarding his once alleged steroid use. He's changed his story from "I didn't take steroids" to "I've taken steroids but didn't know." According to the defense, Bonds' trainer misled him by saying the roids were flaxseed oil and arthritis cream. This is utterly ridiculous.

Bonds' position begs a few questions. How did he go from so surely denying that he took steroids to suddenly finding out his trainer gave them to him? He must have found out before this trial. Wouldn't he have noticed when his head started getting bigger (one of the effects of steroids)? All this claim does is make it blatantly obvious that Bonds lied to a grand jury back in 2003. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Parrella called the defenses' claims "ridiculous and unbelievable," which is what they are.

Maybe if Bonds had told the grand jury this in 2003, it might have sounded at least a tiny bit believable. But the fact that he changed his story just shows that he really did lie. I know he never said he didn't take steroids, just that he knowingly didn't. So, again, if he thought the steroids were flaxseed and arthritis, how did he not know in 2003, but know now? It's simple: this is all a made-up story to try to escape this dilemma without jail time. His baseball legacy is already tainted (or destroyed, for that matter), now he just wants to avoid time behind bars.

The thing is though, Bonds' strategy might just work. Look what happened only a few months ago with Heisman winner Cam Newton.Yes, his dad did illegally accept money, Newton claimed, but he didn't know. And the investigation closed, Newton wasn't even suspended, and went on to win the Heisman Trophy with no punishment at all. Everyone knows that this is bull, just as Bonds' position, but it worked. Which is just what Bonds is hoping for.

High Hopes and Heartbreak This March

March Madness never seems to disappoint. After just the first few hours of the actual tournament (those play-ins don't count), the upsets and down to the last shot finishes are already underway. I mean, Princeton is giving Kentucky a run for their money as I write this. It doesn't get any better than that.

As I mentioned it would be in my previous post, the Temple vs. Penn State matchup was one to watch. It was close throughout, and with just a second left, Juan Fernandez hit a leaner to give Temple a victory over their in-state foe. Fernandez and Ramone Moore both scored 23 to give the Owls their first tournament win since 2001. Highly praised coach Fran Dunphy had lost his previous eleven tourney games at Temple and Penn, an NCAA record, before today's win.

Last year's unexpected finalists, the Butler Bulldogs, needed a buzzer-beating tip-in by big man Matt Howard to advance past Old Dominion. Most people picked ODU in their brackets, but Butler got the bounce they needed this time as they were able to prevail. If they had gotten it last year, they would be the defending champs. Howard's last-second shot was over the 6'11" Frank Hassell, who led the Monarchs with 20 points.

The first upset came at the expense of the Louisville Cardinals, who fell to the Eagles of Morehead State. In a game tied at halftime and tightly contested throughout, it took a 3-pointer from Demonte Harper with 4.2 seconds left to seal the deal. Louisville's last desperation attempt was a Mike Marra three attempt that was rejected by Morehead star and NBA-bound center Kenneth Faried.

And it's now official. Kentucky was able to hold off Princeton 59-57. All of these games exemplify why March Madness is the greatest event all of organized sports has to offer.

Let the Madness Begin

It's arguably the most exciting event in sports. From the magical Cinderella runs of St. Joe's and George Mason to the heartbreak Kansas experienced last year when losing in the second round to mid-major Northern Iowa, college basketball's Big Dance is a six-step journey to the summit every coach and player yearns for. Yes, March Madness is upon us once again, with this year featuring an almost entirely unpredictable, somewhat flawed field. There is a lack of a "great team" this March, and a wide range of plausible champions for your 2011 bracket. So sit back starting tomorrow, and let the madness begin.

Everyone is aware of the fact that this year's Tournament Selection Committee didn't do such a fine job deciding on this year's bracket. It is tough to find a reason why Colorado, who beat a five seed Kansas State three times, a four seed Texas, and another tournament team in Missouri was left out of the Dance, while VCU and UAB were selected almost out of nowhere. UAB only played one ranked team in Duke, and got blown out. They are also coming off a loss against East Carolina, a team that only managed a .500 record in the weak C-USA. The only tournament team UAB has a win against is (wait for it) VCU, and it was only a three-point margin. VCU lost six games in the CAA, and only beat one tournament team in the automatic bid Wofford. They have some terrible losses against the likes of South Florida, Georgia State, Northeastern (yes, not Northwestern), Drexel, and James Madison. Virginia Tech is also headed to the NIT in order to make way for these teams, even though they have a win over the one seed Duke, and near wins against Purdue and North Carolina. It's a shame to see Malcolm Delaney and Jeff Allen be snubbed for the second straight year. It's just hard to believe that if UAB or VCU played either Virginia Tech or Colorado, they would win. The committee is supposed to select the 37 best teams for at-large bids, and they seemingly failed to do that in this situation.

Also a topic of discussion: Why are the Florida Gators a two seed? They fell to Kentucky the last two times the sides have seem each other, and Kentucky is two seeds below them, at a reasonable four seed. Florida should be a four as well. Florida is in the Southeast Division, which is supposedly the easiest and Pittsburgh's for the taking. There has been criticism of the fact that Pitt is the third number one seed but has a much easier road to the Final Four than overall number one Ohio State. The Buckeyes were treated as a fourth number one should be, being placed in the stacked East, which includes North Carolina, Syracuse, and Kentucky. All four of these teams are capable of going all the way. Pittsburgh's division includes an overseeded Florida at number two, a crippled BYU team as the three seed (having lost Brandon Davies), and a Wisconsin team coming off of a performance in which they scored just 33 points against Penn State. While the Southeast is indisputably weak, it does feature St. John's, who, led by Dwight Hardy and including eight other seniors, have proven they can beat any team in the country.

An intriguing first round (technically second round with this new play-in format) matchup is the in-state battle between Temple and Penn State. Temple, led by their backcourt of Ramone Moore and Juan Fernandez, and big man Lavoy Allen, try to advance against the Nittany Lions and under six foot, yet bighearted Talor Battle, who led his team to the Big Ten final. Another game to pay attention to is Belmont vs. Wisconsin, a matchup in which many have the mid-major and its high-powered offense prevailing over the fourth-seeded Badgers. Many believe that Texas has the roster to advance deep into the tourney, but getting past its first game will be tough: they have to go up against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies and star center Keith Benson, who has an NBA future. Picked by some to win the whole thing, Texas finds itself on Upset Alert.

The possible analysis on this tournament could be never-ending, but a guarantee is this: 2011's March Madness will be a fun ride. If there is to be a storybook ending like the one Butler came just a bounce away from only a year ago, this is the year. So fill out your bracket and try to win that $500 from your business pool, but the likely winner this year is the secretary picking teams to advance based on their mascots.

Devilishly Good

The New Jersey Devils are back; well, almost. In spite of starting the season colder than the ice they play on, the Devils are on a streak as torrid as Hell itself.

Under rookie head coach John MacLean, the Devils started the year with an unimpressive 9-22-2. Frustrated, Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello relieved MacLean and brought back former head coach Jacques Lemaire on an interim basis. Since Lemaire's return, the Devils are 21-10-2. Although they are still just 30-32-4, the Devils sit a mere 8 points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. However, time is their worst enemy as just 16 games remain on their schedule.

What can this turn-around be attributed to? Though the Devils have scored the fewest goals in the NHL this season thanks in part to their slow start, the offense has been firing on all cylinders. Ilya Kovalchuk has led the way by tallying 14 goals and 27 points over the recent stretch, a major departure from his early scoring funk. His 9 game-winning goals are tops in the league.

Flashes of "Brodeur's Brilliance" which were few and far in between prior to Jan. 1, are much more common now. Prior to Tuesday night's 2-1 loss against the Ottawa Senators, Brodeur was 12-1-1 with a minuscule 1.70 GAA in his last 14 starts. Backup Johan Hedberg started 8 games in February, winning 7 straight. New Jersey is 11th in the NHL with a 2.54 GAA.

Lamoriello also made a savvy front office move by trading captain Jamie Langenbrunner, supposedly a bad influence in the locker room, to the Dallas Stars for a conditional third-round pick in 2011, clearing some bad air. Recently, veteran power forward Jason Arnott was dealt to the Washington Capitals in exchange for David Steckel and Washington's second-round pick in the 2011 draft. Arnott, an impending unrestricted free agent, was not posting the offensive statistics he is normally capable of and the Devils wanted something in return for the center. Fresh faces have proved beneficial.

However, the Devils winning streak has come at a price. At one point, the Devils held the worst record in the NHL, good (or rather bad enough) for the first-overall pick in the upcoming draft if they maintained their position of mediocrity. As of Mar. 7, the Devils have the sixth-overall pick, but still a decent shot at selecting top prospects such as Drummondville's Sean Courturier and Niagara's Dougie Hamilton. Lemaire and the Devils will almost certainly take a shot at a playoff berth as opposed to an early draft pick.

The Devils schedule, though certainly not as leisurely as spring break for college students, is not overly taxing. Six of their remaining games are against Eastern Conference teams outside of the eight playoff spots. Lately, the Devils have gained a reputation as "dragon-slayers." They have fared well against the top eight teams in the Eastern Conference, especially the Tampa Bay Lightning, whom they have shocked three out of their four meetings this season. On the scale of things, the Devils are fortunate and their playoff dreams are alive indeed.

There is a renewed enthusiasm in the New Jersey Devils organization as the team sets its sights on a playoff berth and what would be a comeback of epic proportions.

Minus Melo, Nuggets Still Find a Way to Win

Recently I was reading the article in the latest edition of Sports Illustrated on the Denver Nuggets, titled Defiant in Denver. The author, Lee Jenkins, spoke about how the Nuggets have come together more as a team following Carmelo Anthony's departure, playing significantly better defense and passing the ball more often. This simple observation brought a few questions to mind: Isn't this how college teams play? Isn't this how basketball is supposed to be played? Did Carmelo actually make the Nuggets worse? This also reminded me of my hometown (and currently winning) team, the 76ers.

Many cynics of the NBA who prefer the college game have a justified argument. Criticism of the NBA is that many of the players don't hustle enough and lag back to play halfhearted defense. Watch a team like the Golden State Warriors and you'll see defense at its worst. It's not just them though, but much of the league. In college, while the players certainly don't possess the skills of those in the NBA, they actually look like they're playing for something. They routinely sprint back to find their man and dive for loose balls. In the NBA, whenever a player does this they are applauded; in college, it's expected. As Jenkins explains in the article, when Carmelo was on the Nuggets, coach George Karl couldn't bench him for jogging back on D because of his superstar status. Now he is able to have a guy ride the pine if he isn't winding himself (like college coaches do to their players), and as a result, the new-look Nuggets are allowing eleven fewer points a game.

Jenkins also mentioned a play in a 40-point Nuggets win over the Charlotte Bobcats in which numerous players passed up open shots in order to find a better one. That's one of the first things young kids learn when starting basketball, to find the best shot. Now that Anthony isn't there to clog up ball movement, this seems to be newly discovered for a team of professionals. Basketball was intended to be a team sport, not a two-man game like what the Nuggets had with Chauncey Billups and Melo. Since Anthony has left, the star-less Nuggets are averaging three more dimes a night.

So are the new-look Nuggets in fact a better team minus Anthony? It's too soon to tell whether they are better, but they are certainly more of a team then when he was there. Carmelo Anthony is an outstanding individual player, but his at times lackluster defense hurt the club. He does some amazing things on the court few others can do offensively, but is it simply at the expense of other players? We'll know this based on how the Nuggets and Anthony's New York Knicks perform in the long run.

The rosters of the Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers are uncharacteristically common, as both lack a superstar. The Nuggets currently have eight scorers averaging double figures, and the Sixers have six. Neither has a player averaging more than sixteen a night. (Danilo Gallinari leads the Nuggets in scoring with 16 ppg, while Elton Brand for the 76ers averages 15.2, and is not even in the top 50 in the league in scoring.) And both of these teams are winning games at an unexpected pace. The team aspect prevails for these two clubs, and there are a number of different guys who could come up big every night. Both play tough D and hustle more than the average pro team. While neither are contenders just yet, the future is bright for both.

Is a superstar needed in order to win an NBA championship, as the past has suggested? Possibly. But to win games? A team can most definitely do that without one. Can the Nuggets take the next step, which is becoming a contender? Only time will tell.

Lockout Looming

The day has come at last. At 11:59 PM tonight, the NFL's collective bargaining agreement with the Players' Association expires, and if nothing is done in the next few hours, the league heads into a lockout. The possibility of not having football for a prolonged period of time is realistic.

Four outcomes are possible as a result of today's negotiations:

1) The most unrealistic outcome, but certainly the best: The Players' Union and the NFL come to an new collective bargaining agreement by 11:59 PM, ending all possibility of a lockout. Negotiations come to a conclusion and there will be football this coming season. This will probably not happen today, but there is a small chance.

2) Negotiations are extended. This means the mediated talks between the players and the owners continue for a set period of time, and whether or not there will be a lockout would still be unknown today. Expiration of the CBA is delayed.

3) The Players' Association decertifies. They would lose their right to collectively bargain, but could file individual antitrust lawsuits against the league, and hopefully prevent a work stoppage. Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Drew Brees have agreed to be lead plaintiffs if this happens.

4) The worst outcome possible: The two sides come to a stalemate. When football is played again would become uncertain, and negotiations would be postponed for an unknown period of time. Sundays would likely not include football this year.

There are four core issues that the owners and players are split on:

1) How to split the nine billion dollars in revenue the league brings in every season: The owners, this past season, received the first billion dollars for various needs. They are demanding for another billion dollars, therefore slashing the amount received by the players.

2) The rookie wage scale: The owners want smaller contracts initially given to rookies, thus not wasting money on busts. A prime example of an overpaid rookie is JaMarcus Russell, who was taken by the Raiders with the first overall selection in the 2007 draft.

3) The 18-game regular season: The owners want 18 regular season games in order to bring in more revenue. The players would rather sustain the current 16-game season, claiming the added two games adds to injury risk.

4) Retirement benefits: The owners want player benefits to end five years after a player retires. The players say that since many of them have sustained long-term injuries and conditions from their playing days, the benefits should continue for a longer period of time.

All of this aside, all of the players and fans want football. Most likely the owners do as well. This conflict has been deemed the "Millionaires vs. Billionaires" by fans, saying both sides are greedy and that they should agree to something, so there are games to watch on Sunday. Which just so happens to be the best situation for everyone.