Bawls & Bats

Baseball Stars Shine

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Tue, 29 May 2007 16:29:00 +0000

Congratulations to Grand Island Islander baseball star Kash Kalkowski on being selected honorary captain of the Lincoln Journal Star’s All State baseball team. The junior and UNL recruit led the state in hitting and was one of its top pitchers. The Journal Star put him as a “utility” player in the all star lineup, I’m guessing because he does everything well on the field. The utility designation carries a less than all star connotation, but I can see that Kalkowski would present a dilemma. A player with his skills doesn’t come along very often. And we get to watch him as an Islander for another season and a Home Federal legion player this summer and next. You should make a point to do that.

Props, too, go to Islander catcher Josh Smith, who was named to the Journal Star’s All State second team, and Cody Raile, Matt Hilligis, and Ross Helleberg, who were named among the Honorable Mention crew.

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The Huskers punched their baseball tix to the desert Monday, being seeded third in Tempe and making a date with UC-Riverside for a Friday game. I like us in a short (two game) series because of pitchers Tony Watson, Johnny Dorn, and the hard charging Luke Wertz, who is throwing very well when it counts.

After a season of too many distractions and not enough base hits, the Huskers could leave a much sweeter taste in Husker Nation mouths with a win or two in Arizona. A salty schedule and high RPI put the team in a regional. Let’s hope the experience of a tough season will play well for the Huskers this week.

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I caught ESPN’s report on the NFL and other’s continuing investigation into Michael Vick’s role — if any — in dog fighting. The footage was gruesome and the accusations by an unidentified informant sensational. The informant, a law enforcement officer, and an official from the Humane Society said a number of NFL players are involved in dog fighting. Pay attention. This is a story that will be making noise as the summer wears on.

Losing Interest

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Mon, 21 May 2007 22:02:00 +0000

I’ve lost interest in two major sporting events. The first is the NBA playoffs, where the San Antonio Spurs’ Robert Horry’s forearm shiver to Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns has become the pivotal moment in the big money tourney. When Suns Boris Diaw and Amare Stoudemire left the bench after the assault, they were ticketed with one game suspensions. Horry got two games for his efforts. He claimed that it was simply, good hard basketball. Looked more like an angry player mad that his teams was losing at home to the Suns. Please, save me macho code crap. David Stern got this one wrong. In the last few years playoff basketball has been less game and more foul fest. NBA players somehow need to punch, undercut, smack, claw, and generally act like thugs to get to the top. Michael Jodan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird never shied from physical play, but when they took their game to another level, it wasn’t with forearms and elbows. Stern should have recognized the play for what it was. Give Horry a temporary hook and understand that the bench rule, while important to keep the game civil, has to have some flexibility and interpretation.

The upshot is that Stern, with a little too much arrogance for my taste, completely disrupted the flow of the series. Maybe the Suns would have lost anyway, but why did the suspensions — which had some mitigating circumstances — carry the game weight they did. The Commish needs to look at the rule when he and the owners get together this summer in the overpriced hotel of their choice for league meetings.

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Just break the record, Barry. Like millions I’m completely ambivalent. I’ve never been a Bonds fan, even when was slim and trim and had a normal sized head. And yes, I agree, he’s not the only juicer in the bigs — he’s never admitted to using performance enhancing drugs nor has it been proven in court or a lab.

But his creep toward 755 has the nation holding its nose. In my mind, it’s more than steroids, too. I think part of it is Bonds’ abrasive personality and unwillingness to be a team guy. Fans know the difference. He doesn’t have to be Sean Casey, but as Ty Cobb suffered the consequences of his sometimes brutal personality, so it is with Bonds. The day after 756 leaves the yard, chances are good that Barry Bonds will be both a headline in history books and a footnote for the rest of the season of his most historic season.

Wine and Weather

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Wed, 09 May 2007 14:49:00 +0000

MLB teams are trying to decide whether they should allow alcohol in club houses after Josh Hancock was killed while driving drunk. The question has come up that if you ban booze in clubhouse and sell it in the stands, you’re sending an odd message. It’s a good question. As many have pointed out, Hancock, a St. Louis Cardinal, played for a team owned by a beer company. The Rockies play in Coors field. Miller Park is in Milwaukee. I doubt beer sales at the old ball yard will come to a halt. Maybe baseball teams should determine if players have substance abuse problems and address those first. You can take alcohol out of the club house, but that will do nothing for somebody is struggling with the stuff. I’m not saying Hancock was. I’m saying many drunk drivers do a lot of things under the influence.

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The warm weather this week should scramble track charts. After a miserable 10 days of cold and rain, look for runners, jumpers, and throwers to pop some big marks as we approach the State Meet in Burke a week from Friday. Long, strong muscles react well to 85 degrees and no wind. It would be a fascinating research study to look at Nebraska marks the last month of the track season over the last 40 years. I can remember in 1968 running in the Big Ten Championship meet (two weeks before State) at UNK (then Kearney State). If you stepped off the track it was into three inches of snow. The next week at districts it was 80 in Scottsbluff and State returned to a cold, miserable 45 and cloudy. Make hay while the sun shines? Run fast when it’s hot.

48 Makes an Entire Game

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Wed, 02 May 2007 18:31:00 +0000

I’ll never get back the 90 minutes past my bed time I spent watching David go brain dead against Goliath Tuesday night.

I speak of the Golden State Warriors, an eight-seed leading the mighty Dallas Mavericks 3 games to 1 in an NBA opening round series. I tuned in as the Warriors were making a furious charge to make it a game in the second half. I thought I might see a little drama and history if they could win at Dallas and move on. They only made the playoffs on the last day of the season.

Leading 112-103 with a couple minutes until David’s rock found Goliath’s melon, the whole metaphor went south. The Warriors took four bad shots in a row, stood around like the last minutes of pick up game at the Y, and threw in a turnover for good measure. Meanwhile, Big Dirk hit a couple threes and scored a regular three-point play. It was a 15-0 run for Dallas.

What? I stayed up for this nonsense. How can gazillionaire athletes be in complete control and then lose it like a bunch of third graders in an after school league. They came, they stood, they blew a nine-point lead. They missed their last eight shots, winning the 46-minute game but not the real one. They handled Dallas’ double team like Superman handles a kryptonite clutch pedal.

Granted I’m a little grumpy but I gave up perfectly good rack time to watch Baron Davis et al dominate, then watch as Dallas smoked then for 15 straight points. My hunch is that David, even the friendly confines of the Bay Area, will melt like so many wicked witches, left to ponder what might have happened had they played the last two minutes like they did the first 46 in Game 5.

Drafty Days Now Over — Whew!

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 18:11:00 +0000

I think the draft has supplanted the Super Bowl as the NFL’s biggest event. How the ESPN panel kept talking for two days was a miracle … or something far less appealing. I enjoyed Mike Lupica’s take on the “Sports Reporters” Sunday morning. He basically said what most of us suspect: Nobody really knows anything. You and I could probably draft about the same as the big dogs and especially as well as the “experts” ESPN assembles every spring and unleashes them on us for five or six weeks. Lupica called the draft Tom Brady Day, in recognition of one the NFL’s enduring stars being drafted in the sixth round. Sure ESPN touts Mel’s expertise, but Lupica’s point is that we simply have no absolute sure things in a draft. Otherwise, Marcus Colston of the Saints by way of Hofstra would not be a league leader in receiving after missing the Mr. Irrelevant by only a few slots.

I’m not suggesting all the research teams do is all for naught. Nor am I interested in drafting a team (unless it’s a fantasy league). I am wondering aloud here about the inordinate play the draft gets, not only on ESPN but in other media outlets.

All of which makes the event’s enormous popularity even more dramatic and curious. It’s another example of the enhancing and expanding of sports’ periphery (think up close and personal on steroids). Where the games themselves used to be enough, we taken to spend more time and attention on other things. The games are still important, obviously, but they now fight for our attention with drafts, police reports, drug tests, combines, battles of stars, dancing, etc.

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Big week for the top-ranked Islander baseball team as they head to Millard Monday for a double header with second-ranked West. It should be a test, but I’ll take the Purple and Gold pitching in a twin-bill or later this month at State.

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Final thought: If you have watched Steve Nash and the Suns during the NBA playoffs, you are watching basketball, not a superstar sell sneakers and jerseys but a team playing game designed for five players. Throw the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons for good measure. NBA coaches and GMs should pay attention to the success of teams built to play together.

State Maybes, Evil Empire, Sidelines, Old School

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 21:42:00 +0000

Add a couple more Grand Island high school teams to your state championship watch list. Both of them wear black and gold and call North Road home. Northwest’s boys track and soccer teams are right in thick of excellence, a good spot to be this time of year. The soccer kids are 10th in points and flying below the radar. That puts them in a good position to go about their business and keep getting better. Don’t be surprised to see the Vikings boys right there at the end.

Dave Gee’s Northwest track team is smooth, strong, and fast. Paced by triple jumper and hurdler Tyler Wright (CNTC Outstanding Male Athlete) and sprinter Devon Johnson, the Vikings can put a bunch of points up on the board. With some warm weather and a few breaks, black and gold may be a dominant color among Class B hopefuls at Burke Stadium at the end of May.

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This just in from the Evil Empire: We have no pitching. Yankee fans everywhere surely share my concern (and BoSox fans everywhere are cheering) when the starting rotation for Joe Torre’s Bronx Bombers — a team hated in every corner of the earth save of few pockets of the Big Apple — looks like something out of an American Legion all star game. Props to A-Rod who is making baseball history (and on a pace to hit 126 home runs), but the Pinstripes may have to score a dozen a game if they expect to win before they gets their real rotation back from the DL. Meanwhile Boston is cruising behind a tremendous staff, purchased — if I may be so bold — in very Evil Empire fashion. Dice-K with his 19 different pitches is exhibit A, the Sox paying $50 million for the right to talk to him. Makes a George Steinbrenner proud.

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Did you catch the video of the four-year old on the sideline of the Colorado State spring game. He was leveled by a receiver catching a pass in the end zone. Check it out at http://deadspin.com/sports/college-football/ok-get-up-walk-it-off-254799.php

I have been on the sidelines of high school games for seven years. My son was a first grader when he stared ball boy duties. I was always leery and probably hyper-vigilant when the action came our way. He took a glancing blow once, but survived his ball boy career. Perhaps I was overly protective after taking a linebacker to the chest as a member of a chain gang myself. I was about 15 at the time and not paying attention, no surprise given my age. The surprise of the collision may have hurt more than the hit, but I was knocked into next week. I was lucky, too. Nothing broken and no stitches. The little Coloradoan wasn’t so lucky. He needed 30 stitches to close his melon.

Dads (moms would never take their kids to a football sideline), here’s a hint. If you are going to drag Junior or Sissy downstairs to see the game up close, make sure you pay attention. Always be between them and the strong young men hurtling toward them (It’s easier to explain to the wife that way). Perfect the scoop and dodge, too (See J.T. Snow in 2002 World Series), because it may save your kid.

Or, maybe, consider leaving the little one in their seats.

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Final thought, probably as close to sports heresy or a lack of patriotism as I’ll get, but I do not see the allure of this weekend’s NFL draft. ESPN’s promotion/programming-programming/promotion (when does one end and the other begin?) has been endless, matched only I’m sure by the months of analysis we’ll be subjected to after the fact. This is in keeping with the network’s upping the ante of NFL coverage, which conveniently coincided with its contract to cover the sport.

While professional football teams surely have much on the line at the draft this weekend, I’ll probably not rearrange my life around the event. I like what Wisconsin offensive lineman Joe Thomas plans to do for the draft. He is projected to go about fourth in the first round, but whoever picks him will have to send a boat to notify him (or perhaps cell phone). While most of his first round cohorts are in New York City this week buying expensive suits and posing for photo ops, Thomas stayed in Wisconsin to attend class (The 6’6”, 315-pound Thomas is pulling As and Bs.) and pack for a fishing trip with his father. That’s where he’ll be when his name is called Saturday.

How old school. How refreshing.

Game Time Blues

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 19:49:00 +0000

While the Dodgers did right when they honored Jack Roosevelt Robinson of Sunday, the affair was typical Los Angles Dodger fare. Or should I say Los Angeles Dodger fanfare. When the pre-game festivities started, the Dodger faithful had hundreds if not thousands of seats yet to fill. I lived in LA for 10 years and while I was an unrepentant and steadfast detractor of Dodger Blue, I loved Dodger Stadium. It was always curious, though, that the sellouts occurred sometime early in the third inning after everyone arrived and diminished in the seventh when a good number started to leave.

Neither score nor opponent affected this phenomenon. I remember a game against the Mets that went 12 innings. No more than 10,000 could have remained, most wearing hats the Orange and Blue of the Metropolitans Baseball Club.

So when music and Rachel Robinson and other festivities made the event baseball’s most important game of Sunday, not all the ticket holders were there.

No big deal but somehow I thought Dodger fans would pack the place for once before the game started.

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Don’t look now but the Grand Island Islander baseball team (representing three high schools) is undefeated and looking tougher than the Thursday special at bad diner. Does the term pitching rich mean anything? The Islanders have four very good arms, including Husker recruit Kash Kalkowski, submarine specialist Matt Hilligas, long and very tough lefty Eric Schwieger, and experienced senior Ross Helleberg. Combined with some power and speed, the guys with the Cleveland Indian I’s on their hats can go a long way in short tournament. Like … say … a state tournament.

So do yourself a favor baseball fans. Go have a look.

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Speaking of which, the best track meet of the year is next Monday at GISH. Oh, yeah, the newspaper sponsors it, but the Central Nebraska Track Championships pit all classes in our coverage area against each other. David vs. Goliath and slew of other storylines will be settling into the blocks at 3 p.m. on the 23rd. If you go to one meet a year, this should be it.

Imus the Teacher … Maybe, Big Maybe

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 18:31:00 +0000

Back from a five-day vacation including watching the Huskers on Sunday, the warmest of the three games, but by the 8th inning in section 302, if you weren’t wearing four layers, frostbite was a real possibility. That was mostly the shade and a little swirling wind, but cold is cold, pal.

Can’t remember a more miserable sports weather spring. If you’re trying to schedule, reschedule or simply watch a track meet or a baseball game or a tennis match, you might as well be in upper Saskatchewan. Unless you’re blessed with a field house, teams from Little League to high school track are sucking very cold and wet wind.

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Don Imus is taking a well-deserved pounding for his “nappy-headed hos” comment about the Rutgers women basketball team on his syndicated radio program. He’s been suspended for two weeks. Many are calling for a permanent hook for the long-time, cantankerous early morning talk radio host based in New York City. Imus has feathered his considerable nest by insulting people. We used to call that bad manners and boorish, but somehow it become edgy and hip. Of course, if Imus wants to continue to pass himself off as edgy, hip and intelligent (he routinely has political leaders, movie stars, writers, and other forms of glitterati on his show), calling black college women “hos” isn’t going to do it. He sounded like a second-rate rapper or a kid on a street corner. This wasn’t Richards or Gibson, but you can see it from there.

Now he’s on the mea culpa tour, appearing on Al Sharpton’s radio show and scheduled to meet with the Rutgers team. Sharpton? Please. Why him? Who does he speak for? Imus insults an entire gender and race, and Rev. Al is all over him. But where is Sharpton when Bill Cosby asks why young black men and now men and women of all races are wont to use such language as “ho?”
Imus is an equal-opportunity offender, too, dissing ethnicity, gender, religions, appearance — you name it and Imus has passed it off as humor.
None of which makes him edgier, hipper, or more intelligent.
He is an acquired taste, and some of his loyal following are queuing up to wonder what’s the big deal, arguing that he can say what he wants.
They are right, but also need to be reminded (Imus doesn’t) that what he says has consequences, one of which may be that he gets fired. Obviously that’s his employer’s call, not ours. But in a venue (talk radio) where the competition for listeners has led to coarser content, Imus’ latest diatribe neither surprises nor amuses me.
Nor in a competitive market do people have to listen to Imus. If his ratings go south, the market will do for his boss what his boss may not have the stomach (or financial standing) to do.
I doubt that will happen. Maybe Don Imus will only teach us that when we use contemptuous, crass, and hurtful language, it has a consequence.
Big maybe.

Gators, then Gators

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 18:36:00 +0000

I won a little money Monday night, (hypothetically speaking of course as I only play the brackets for entertainment purposes) when Florida toyed with then put away Ohio State. The Gators secured me a third place and some return on my entertainment investment.

I thought the basketball game had some similarities to the football game in that OSU’s weaknesses were exploited, downsides that few were willing to admit to before but were glaring in the big game. In football it was speed (or lack of it on OSU’s part). Monday night it was team — Florida shared the wealth and OSU depended almost exclusively on Oden, Lewis, and Conley.

In the BCS you could almost make a poser argument against OSU, but Monday night it was simply a matter of Florida being better and playing together better. I’m no fan of either team although I’ve always liked Billy Donovan from his playing days at Providence when Coach Rick Patino took them to a Final Four in 1987.

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Barry Bonds restarts his journey toward 755 Tuesday. ESPN reported that no one his age has hit more than 18 dingers in a season (Carleton Fisk). Bonds needs 22 to break Henry Aaron’s record, the portal to a legend, even though it may be saddled with an asterisk.

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I'm taking some vacation time for the next week. Talk with you then.

Price of Producing Profit

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 14:56:00 +0000

So Pacman Jones is a bad actor. This is not news. We can talk about it forever. The standards of behavior for professional athletes are unique, however. Anything short of homicide is often conditioned or deflected with on-field stats or championship rings. The fact remains that these studs are inventory, and their owners are not likely to want to give up a profit-producer over something as trite as assault or rape or carrying a concealed weapon.

Plenty of players are now concerned that late nights in certain clubs are bound to bring trouble. Well, yes. Sometimes the price of million dollar paydays and national fame is that they change your lifestyle. The fact that in almost every criminal instance from Jones to the Bengals starting lineup, a bodyguard has been involved would lead me to believe that these guys are at least anticipating trouble. Ergo, they know trouble is out there. Sure, any famous person is at some risk for knuckleheads and nimrods and those representing Thug Nation. But if Jones is provoking trouble and encouraging violence at a strip club at 2 a.m., I’m thinking geography also has a role here.

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It’s that time of year, when sportswriters start to speculate on coaching jobs. Doc Sadler has said he’s not interested in the Arkansas job and Dana Altman, per his own peccadilloes, had no comment about going to Iowa.

Coaching stories (hire, fire, replace) are well down my food chain, but then I’m not a sportswriter. The game, it’s ebbs, flows, and strategies, is of most interest to me.

The drama of who’s-the-coach (remember the soap opera replacing Frank Solich turned out to be) does little for me. While the whistle and clipboard fraternity has its well-known stars — Coach K, Mack Brown, Urban Meyer, Pete Carroll, Pat Summitt — hundreds of them change jobs like Kasey Kahne’s crew changes tires.

I’m glad Sadler is staying. A one-year gig dresses down the resume, even in the highly mobile coaching world.

Three of Four but No Chance

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 18:19:00 +0000

UCLA and Georgetown kept the last weekend of college hoops from being the Wal-Mart Final Four. Even so we still have two number ones and two number twos dancing. After a year when George Mason gave us a reason not to watch golf, the tournament went through a stretch where the favorites all acted like it. Geesh! What’s the fun in that. Add the seeds of the Elite Eight and you got 13, the lowest number ever. Cinderella was home doing floors while big corporate college America was at the fancy dress ball.

I have three of the four finalists, but no chance to win my pool. The leader has all four and the same winners I do. That means I’ll be rooting for UCLA (I’m Wooden through and through and my wife is an alum.) with a Georgetown kicker.

Left unanswered: I didn’t get to see the finish, but my sources tell me it was as if UNC had no legs when they missed nearly every shot down the stretch and in OT. That’s what was supposed to happen to GTown, the Hoyas playing three, four, or five players fewer North Carolina’s 12 plus a couple friends of Roy Williams from the filming of the Coke commercial.

Best matchup: Most would said Hibbert and Oden and that will be a monster, but I’m anxious to see UCLA defend inside against Noah and Horford. Jochim’s antics when he’s winning might also reverse themselves when somebody D’s up on him all game. If Oregon finds Humphries Sunday on half those shots from distance, they might be headed to Atlanta instead of the Gators. Letting somebody knock down seven threes — some from wide open — is curious.

Things to avoid: A rematch of the BCS championship with Florida and Ohio State. That turned out to be a yawner, the Buckeyes overmatched all over the field except in pre-game hype.

Punches and Questions and Stories, Oh, My

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 21:51:00 +0000

I see where Joey Porter is being charged for punching Cincinnati Bengals lineman Levi Jones at a Las Vegas casino. (Insert heavy sigh here.)

Porter is the star linebacker the Steelers traded to Miami in the off season. Pittsburgh probably couldn’t afford his legal fees. Apparently, Porter and Jones allowed a trash talking contest to become physical. I guess that sticks and stones deal wasn’t working.

Porter is a big man but Jones checks in at 300 pounds and stands 6 feet 5 inches. The size and weight of their brains was not subject to investigation. Besides, the news account I read sounded more like scouting report than a piece of the police blotter.

Porter, the aggressor and chief idiot in charge (and being charged), is the new (or flavor of the week) poster child for the reason I cringe when my kid tunes into professional sports. The entertainment and economic part of the formula has become so skewed that we now draft based on 40 yard dash times and rap sheets. None of this is new, but Porter’s outburst reminds us of the TO-is-our-role-model slow creep that threatens to turn sport into an opening act for a three-ring circus of attitude and felonies.

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From the stupid question, smart response department come a couple of jewels: The first thing we asked Kevin Durant after his Texas Longhorns were drilled by USC in March Madness was if he was going to turn pro. Durant, a freshman in college, demurred, saying the question was inappropriate at the time. Yes, it was. Could you wait a minute? A scoop this time of year? Well, my money is not on ya, Buddy.

I did wonder about Durant’s admission later in the news conference about not playing hard in the USC game.

Item dos: At a Little Rock chat up, Nebraska Basketball Coach Doc Sadler answered a few questions about the coaching job at Arkansas. Why is this interesting? Well, if he left UNL now, it would be serious news, redefining a cup of coffee and sending Big Red hoops fans into apoplexy.

Not going to happen. What is of interest to me is what kind of player is Sadler recruiting? What next year is going to hold in the Big 12? What’s his shoe size? Stuff like that. We spend a lot of time theorizing — chat rooming if you will — on coaches moving. A far better story is what do they do when they get there.

Dancing Through the Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 21:33:00 +0000

So it’s Monday after the Big Dance’s first whirl and we’re all licking our wounds. I’m in the upper half of my pool with 10 out of the Sweet 16 left, seven our of the Elite Eight left, and the whole quartet of my Final Four. But I’m famous for late rounds swoons. I’ll keep you posted. I have Florida over Georgetown in the final and 151 points for a tie-breaker.

A couple observations on the first two rounds: Although I had OSU, I wanted Xavier to win, wondering why they didn’t foul at the end to stop the three pointer. It’s risky but has been done.

Maybe I was seeing things through X colored glasses by then, but I also wondered how close Oden was to an intentional foul when he forearmed the Xavier player into the cheap seat. If you have the rule, you have to have to chops to call it in crunch time — when it is going to happen.

Grand Island Northwest knows: During its first round loss in OT to eventual Class B champ Omaha Skutt, a Skutt kid grabbed John ring’s jersey, an obvious and easy intentional foul by rule. He was trying to keep Ring from breaking to the basket.

Biggest surprise: USC’s easy handle of Texas. Wow! Is the Pac 10 that good. Three teams in the Sweet 16 and Wazu should be there. Oregon is looking good. I have UCLA beating Kansas in the Regional Final, but the Jayhawks look tough.

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Congrats to Heidi Foland and Jake Johnson for leading their respective All Heartland teams chosen by the Independent sports writers. Two great kids with lots of game and character. They represent their schools and all of us well.

Strategy and Aunt Millie

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 15:48:00 +0000

Brackets are due Thursday so let’s talk some final strategy and then I’ll tell you my Final Four, eventual winner and where I think my moorings may have come loose.

Here are four things you may want to try:
1) Simply choose the higher seed. This works early because while the upsets make headlines, numerically they are rare. Where you get in trouble is the Final Four where getting all four number one seeds to show up is rarer than sushi.

A corollary to the seed strategy is after the first round look for games where the seed spread is more than two. For example if Butler (5) beats ODU (12) and plays Maryland (4), pick ‘em. But if ODU gets the upset, I like their chances less in the second game because the seed spread would be eight against Maryland. Not everybody can be a George Mason. Two exceptions to this rule would be a.) anyone you believe can make the Sweet 16 for a low seed. This year I have picked two: Creighton and VCU (Please forgive me, oh, god of all that is Duke); and b.) If two low seeds win in upsets and face each other.

2) I use geography as a strategy most often in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games. It’s not an end all, but I believe it is a factor. One of the reason I like Texas A&M this year is that the regional finals for the South region is in San Antonio. Home game! It can’t hurt A&M’s chances. I used geography maybe a dozen times when filling out this years brackets.

3) Conferences can come into play. You have to do some research, but look who won games in interconference match-ups. For example, if Duke survives VCU and plays Pitt, look at ACC/Big East games. Might give you some insight.

4) Mascot madness might work, too. A co-worker finished very high in an office pool last year choosing the mascot most likely to win. For example, a Gator vs. a Terrapin, always goes to the Gator. Maybe it only worked last year when Florida (Gators) went all the way. Anyway, it is something.

So here’s my final four and what passes for rationale: Florida — playing well, defending champs, lots of tourney experience, good coach, fairly easy road to Atlanta. UCLA — defend well, experienced with good guards, better than the team that was runner up last year. Georgetown — playing great ball at end of the season, good coach, defend well, riding wave of confidence because millions have them in their bracket, good enough to beat UNC or Texas. Texas A&M —ferocious defenders, great at crunch time with Acie Law IV, playing regional in backyard, might be overlooked, has chops to beat Ohio State.

I have Florida over UCLA and Georgetown over A&M and Florida to win it all.

Final thought: Remember, it’s all just one man’s opinion. When it comes to March Madness, the knowledge level between Dickie V, the talking suits at ESPN or your Aunt Millie who doesn’t know a Hoya from a Zag is slight. Come to think of it, I don’t think I know a Hoya from a Zag.

Dogs Going Down and Cinderella

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 15:12:00 +0000

Yesterday we visited upset city in the Big Dance. Today it all about big dogs going down. Who is the most vulnerable top seed and who among the 1-4s could be a wallflower when the Hoop Hop is narrowed to 16 sweeties?

Among the top four seeds I think North Carolina in the East has the toughest road. The Heels could be looking at a physical team that can defend in Michigan State in the second round. After that, four-seed and Kevin Durant await although UNC may matchup better with the Horns than they do against Georgetown who I believe will beat North Carolina if that’s the game.

Ohio State is my other pick to stumble for no particular reason aside from freshman monster talent Greg Oden may not have to chops Carmelo Anthony did when he led Syracuse to title as a frosh.

Other high seeds that need to be on upset alert: Virginia (4), Maryland (4) and Pitt (3).

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I have two George Masons this year. Sure it’s a homer call but Creighton is playing well and it has a strong guard in Nate Funk. Altman is smart and focused. His kids play like it, too. If they get by Memphis in the second round in the South look out.

Virginia Commonwealth is my other Cinderella pick. Great guard play, few turnovers, good defenders, and seniors everywhere. If they beat Duke and the confidence goes up, look for them to play UCLA in the Elite Eight.

Let the Madness Begin

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 20:33:00 +0000

Get your brackets ready, sports fans. It’s time for millions to enter and few to win. It’s time for buzzer beaters, 13 v 4 upsets, and me wasting another few bucks to lose to women in the front office who don’t know a crossover from a turnover.

It’s good to be back after two weeks of high school championship hoops. Hell, it’s good to be anywhere after two weeks of high school hoops.

This week we’ll talk all NCAA (unless A Rod and Jeter announce their engagement or Barry Bonds’ head shrinks).

Today will be my first round upset specials based on a Ouija board, tea leaves, and a coin. Actually, I’ll try to do better than that but don’t hold me to any of this.

EAST REGIONAL - Nothing jumps out at me but Arkansas is streakier than fraternity boys in the 70s. They are the 12 seed playing against a 5 seed USC team that was bounced 81-57 in the Pac Ten final. This one is a hunch.

In the same region you might also want to look at Texas Tech (10) over Boston College (7), a team I thought underachieved greatly. Love him or not, Bobby Knight will have Tech ready. I also like experienced senior guards this time of year and Jarius Jackson for the Red Raiders is the poster child for such a player.

SOUTH REGIONAL - You have to like Nate Funk and Creighton if you’re from this neck of the basketball hardwoods. They are a 10 going against the 7 seed Nevada. I’ll risk the boos, but I think Nevada’s Nick Fazekas will be too much inside for Anthony Tolliver, who is prone to foul trouble. My heart says the Blue Jays but my bracket might say Nevada.

I might take a flyer on Long Beach State (12) over Tennessee (5) only because the baseball team is called the Dirtbags and the Vols coach painted his body for a women’s game at Tennessee. Like I said, this isn’t science.

MIDWEST REGIONAL - Two choices here: Old Dominion over Butler and Winthrop over Notre Dame. OD scores a lot of points and beat Georgetown early in the season. Winthrop, while fodder for big dogs like UNC, still won 28 games. Everyone will be on Winthrop because of the George Mason quality of its name, but of the two, OD probably has the better shot although Butler is solid.

WEST REGIONAL - It’s killing me as a true Dukie but VCU over Duke (11v 6) might be the smart move. The Dukies are young and do not close out games very well. Tourney time often means close scores and down to the wire finishes. VCU is senior-laden and experienced — two good qualities this time of year.

You might also want to take a look at the 10 seed Gonzaga, with plenty to prove after two of its players went around the legal bend. The Zags have Indiana who has not impressed.

Next post: Bigs dogs going down in round two. And a guess on the next George Mason.

Wearing Me Down

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 20:23:00 +0000

Back on the blog after a District and State basketball schedule that took me away from the blogosphere. It was all about time.

Meanwhile, somebody discovered that professional athletes “might” be taking human growth hormone and Pac Man Jones runs with a rough crowd. Go figure.

The HGH story centered on a sting operation in Florida that revealed a connection to some NFL players. Then, major leaguer Gary Mathews’ name turned up where it shouldn’t in relationship to a doctor implicated in more bad pharmacy stuff.

The entire athletes-using-chemicals-to-enhance-their-performance story is wearing me down. The discussion has more parts than the “The Ten Commandments.” Does a lifetime ban make sense? We have drunk drivers working on their fifth, sixth, or 10th convictions, behind the wheel where they could kill somebody. We ought to issuing lifetime bans to them.

Instead we’re talking abut guys running around in short pants, playing a kids’ game, and being employed by a private company (although a union shop).

I am not condoning steroid or HGH use. It’s chemically cheating, and I can hardly imagine taking something that would make my head get bigger. Not my brain — my melon. I’m just wondering aloud here.

The lifetime ban, let’s say for a second or third offense, would definitely get some athletes’ attention. But what can we do retroactively in a universe where statistics rule and apples to apples underpins any conversation among generations.

I’ve yet to hear a comprehensive plan that fans like you and I would buy, something that could overcome the inordinate cynicism that pervades professional sports — something along the lines of “Well, they all probably take something.”

I would think “clean” athletes would not only insist on but also lead a campaign to right this rotting, stinking ship because the broad brush used to paint pro athletes usually makes them and their performances suspect, too.

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Boys state basketball hits it Thursday. I’ll try to blog from the games, where lots of local folks will follow Northwest, Central Catholic, Boone Central, Hastings St. Cecilia, Loup City, and St. Edward to Lincoln for what they hope are three days and nights of action. And a Sunday morning headache from a delirium overdose.

Here’s to reasonable weather, great hoops, and time for a leisurely bowl of pasta from the Macaroni Grill or a steak at Granite City.

-30-

So long, DJ

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 20:54:00 +0000

High school hoops are heating up and my extended gig at the paper sends me to a million gyms between now and the middle of March. I like basketball but then everybody has a limit. I haven’t reached mine but have been close in the past. (Some knuckleheads behind me in the stands after 25 hours of games in two days.)
A couple observations as we head into crunch time, to crunch a hackneyed phrase:
A point of emphasis of officials in high school and college basketball has been carrying the rock, what we use to call palming. Crossover dribbles have become almost impossible to defend because the offense player simply stops, holds on to the ball, then crosses over.
Good idea if you can get away with it. But it hardly makes you a better player.
For the most part I have seen the palm being called, but where they ought to really look at it is in the middle schools and lower high school ranks, so kids can learn good habits. It is also a matter of coaching. If players are blowing the doors off of practice with a great dribble drive, but they are carrying it, time to drag out the fundamentals.
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I wrote last year about officiating in general, speaking with veteran stripes Joe Wells and Tim Higgins. If it’s March, everybody seems to have an opinion on what happens 20, 60, or even 100 feet away, an opinion based on the logic that the guy three feet from the action missed it. They can, sure, but do the math.
I guess like most fans I know an occasional missed call can be part of the game. What annoys the hell out of me is gas bag sitting directly behind me questioning every call, every no call, and the shoe selection of the opponent’s coach. People like that see a conspiracy inside every gym bag.
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Final thought: Dennis Johnson. I hope that young ballers don’t miss the importance of what Larry Bird has said about Johnson, who died Thursday at the age of 52. Bird, one of basketball’s five greatest, said Johnson was the best teammate he ever had. That means he came to work every night, he defended, he did what was necessary for his team to win, and cared little about who stood in front of the cameras at the end of the game.
At a time when seventh graders are being recruited, talking about team may seem a quaint notion, but I’ll still take five playing as one rather than one playing as five. Johnson played like that. Bird benefited from and appreciated it. Rest in peace, DJ.

Sleepless in New York

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 20:56:00 +0000

I hate to throw my fellow media types under the bus, but here’s what they should do with the Derek Jeter/A-Rod friendship story: Shut up.

What the hell The Buddy Buddy Story has to do with baseball and the Yankees is beyond my pea-brain. But that seems to be the primary focus on the minds of the sportswriters in Florida as spring training heads into its second week. God forbid they could write about the Pinstripes’ problems on the mound, how they will replace Randy Johnson, Mariano Rivera’s final contract year, will Bernie Williams really get a shot at making the team, has Boston secured a pitching staff to overcome its Damonless woes — I could go on.

Instead, we get Derek and Alex and are they doing sleepovers. I’m embarrassed for everybody involved.

All Star Games Not Doing it

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 21:46:00 +0000

I missed the NBA All Star game. I was on the road. But that’s no excuse because I would have missed had I been on my couch, remote at the ready. Yes, I’ll go with the world’s greatest athletes, but I’m not interested in their all star game. I barely can get the television to tune into a regular season game, a little better during the playoffs, which are longer than an politician’s explanation.

I watched the slam dunk contest with my son and realized — and it was corroborated by the eventual winner — that all the dunks have been done. Maybe somebody Dunk Doctor can revive that contest, but the props have made it less competitive for me as has the time clock.

All Star in general games are duller than dishwater if you’re considering the impact. Baseball stupidly gave the winner home field in the World Series to add some chops to the midsummer classic. Memo to Bud Selig: What were you smoking? The NFL plays its all star game after the Super Bowl, timing befitting an improv flunky. I don’t watch hockey, so I don’t know what it does.

College all star games are post season, post bowl etc. and get little attention. I’m wondering what the solution is, but in the meantime, 150 points does not impress me — unless it’s me bowling.

Hardaway Rocker, Rocker Hardaway

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 19:01:00 +0000

Well, where to begin? You don’t blog for a couple of days and the sports world goes to hell or at least its gatekeepers think so.

I speak of Tim Hardaway’s outburst on homosexuality, the ensuing discussion of tolerance, and hand wringing all around. Where we all stand on the issue runs the gamut from believing being gay is a sin to supporting same sex marriage. The preaching has been at a minimum, but then I’m not checking out every forum or blog lest my melon explode from millions of two cents worths. A couple observations, however:

In my mind there is a difference between tolerance and respect. My religion, race, or sexual orientation should neither automatically establish nor deny respect. Respect — given and received — comes from another set of characteristics, mostly learned at home and having to do with behavior. If I simply tolerate you because you’re Catholic or black or gay or whatever, we may only be able to be teammates but then probably not good ones. Like most of you, I was raised to treat others with respect and when I didn’t, I heard about it big time (and occasionally there was a belt involved). Obviously, I have lost respect for people, but it was a matter of behavior, not something filled in on a census form.

Observation two: Funniest comment I heard came from a gay guy on the radio about locker room worries, a primary and pivotal issue here, something we all think about when the-gays-in-sports-locker-rooms discussion comes up. He said too many guys paralyzed by this possibility are automatically thinking they are all that simply because they have requisite equipment. “Don’t flatter yourself,” he said.

Observation tres: The better the athlete does not necessarily mean the better the thinker. It’s obvious but needs a mention.

Observation last: Will Hardaway become the John Rocker of Roundball? His supporters counseled the aforementioned tolerance. Others may consider the aforementioned respect and behavior. On balance, I’d say Hardaway’s chances to be the new Rocker are spot on.

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Centura and St. Paul played basketball Thursday night and all I heard about was the game. That’s an improvement. Kudos to good fans, cooler heads, and perspective. On to districts.

In other high school sports GICC’s Ryan Zavala stayed unbeaten with two wins Thursday in Class C 125. He’ll be on the mat Friday night in the semis. Eighteen other area wrestlers will also be there. Saturday’s finals will be on the tube — NET. If you can’t make it to the Quest Center, it’s great theater on television, a four-ring treat for the sports fan.

Should be good hoops tonight at the new GICC gym as the Wood River boys visit the Crusaders.

Doctor Treating the Program

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 16:45:00 +0000

The Doctor is sticking by his diagnosis: Jamel White is not fit to play for the Huskers right now.

Nebraska Basketball Coach Doc Sadler has suspended White for the remainder of the season for an unspecified breaking of the team rules.

We don’t know the offense and Sadler isn’t telling us. That’s fine. I respect that. The problem when the broken rule is unspecified is that speculation — via forums, blogs, and a little talk radio chatter — rushes to fill the void.

I’ll skip that low hanging fruit.

I will say that Sadler sounds like a guy who demands things be done his way. Some call that old school, but whatever it is, White says he’ll come back next year. Good, but he needs to understand — and probably does more than anyone — that the Doctor is a serious man.

The situation reminds me of a column I wrote three or four years ago when Greichaly Cepero and Jammal Lord got drunk and proceeded to disturb the peace. Volleyball Coach John Cook had Cepero apologize publicly and sit on the end of the bench while the teammates she let down played on the court. Point taken.

Frank Solich said he would handle the discipline of Lord internally, but as far as any of us could see, nothing really happened as a consequence. Point missed.

Sadler knows his first year means plenty. He’s defining himself and where he wants Nebraska basketball to go. Let’s hope the talented White comes back and leads the team to that place.

Defense: Apply, Then Tighten

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 22:57:00 +0000

Grand Island Central Catholic climbed back to number two in the NSAA C-1 point standings after putting on a clinic at Hastings St. Cecilia Friday night. Plainview (19-0) still leads the class, but not few teams could have survived the I-can-see-your-molars defense Gavers’ boys applied and then tightened.

It’s an old saw, but if Crusader Jake Johnson drove the bus home, he did everything. His play reminded me that a good basketball player can make his or her teammates better without a monster scoring game. Johnson did score, his two quick threes in the third a resounding slap upside the Blue Hawks’ melons. But he also boarded well, passed well, played great defense, and was obviously the leader out there.

Still, while Johnson stepped it up a notch, Joe Partington, Brad Kulus, Spencer Fahey, Brent Moravec, and anyone Gavers put on the floor played with blue fire and enormous mental toughness. St. Cecilia has never seen defensive pressure like that.

With a tough weekend ahead as St. Paul and Wood River visit the new digs, GICC is playing like a team you’ll be watching on television come March 10.
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Congrats to area wrestlers and swimmers who are headed to the Quest Center (wrestlers) and Devaney (swimmers) for State next weekend. GISH, Central City, and Ravenna all brought home district wrestling team titles, too.

Sometimes I get a little carried away with hoops and forget all the other athletes who show up every day (swimmers at the ungodly hour of 5 a.m.) to ply their talents. The vast majority don’t make it to Omaha or Lincoln. They still learn plenty: discipline, how to finish, seeing something through to the end, being a teammate (which gives them lifelong friends.)

Check the Independent’s Web site (theindependent.com) or NSAA (nsaahome.org) for qualifiers, but remember lots of other kids left lots of effort and skill on the mat and in the pool. Congratulations to all of them, too.

They're Off!

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 17:35:00 +0000

Fonner Park begins its live racing season Friday with a 2 p.m. post time. That the perfect post time for a seventh hour study hall.

I’ll explain in a minute. I neither follow the ponies nor the fortunes of racing any more. I used to be a fan (mostly of cashing winners) but often lost at the track (I won occasionally). One of my good friends from college, Tom Lewis, now an accounting professor at Creighton University, tried to show me how to handicap horses, an art I never came close to accomplishing. Yeah, I know a mud mark when I see one, and think I once knew what a speed rating was but the rest was lost on me. If they looked good in the paddock and might pay a little, my money was down.

Lewis on the other hand not only mastered the art, he’s become a world champion. He is currently the top-ranked handicapper and money leader according to Horseplayer Magazine. Lewis also recently won the Orleans Classic.

I could have used my buddy in study hall, 157 years ago. That’s when I would sign out to the library, sneak out to my car, drive to the track, jump the fence, bet the Daily Double, and get back to school in time for eighth hour, out of breath and usually a few dollars lighter. I’ll never forget one day when I noticed another kid scaling the fence not 30 feet from me. I recognized him as a study hall comrade, taking out a few bets.

Each season when Fonner opens, my clearest memory is betting the Double during study hall. For Tom Lewis, it has to be cashing plenty of tickets.

There's always the high jump

noreply@blogger.com (George Ayoub) — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 17:19:00 +0000

Congratulations to GISH’s Jake Gdowski for signing a national letter of intent to play football at Colorado State in beautiful Fort Collins. My nickel says Jake will play plenty for the Rams, who virtually owned Colorado for several years and always play them tough. That game will have even more meaning for Central Nebraska fans. He has talent on both sides of the ball and is a smart kid and player. It will be interesting to see where he ends up on the line.

Jake’s middle school buddy, Joe Partington, now a standout at Grand Island Central Catholic, also signed Wednesday. The Crusader wide receiver/safety will be a UNO Maverick in the fall. First he and cousin Jake Johnson (look for his basketball signing later) are aiming for a C-1 hoops crown to break in that new gym on Ruby Street.

Just in case Jake and Joe don’t make it in football, they can always take up the high jump. That’s what another gifted Grand Island athlete has done. GISH three-sport standout Johnna Jeffries is a freshman golfer at the University of Wyoming, playing on scholarship for the Cowboys. After a mess hall conversation with the track coach, Johnna decided to high jump a little. That was her track event in high school.

Several medals later, she is the team’s best jumper and scoring points at indoor meets. When golf weather shows up in Laramie, a couple of coach’s may be discussing who gets to tap in on Johnna’s talent.

*****
Another sign that we have lost our way in the sports reporting world: From AP “The Dallas Morning News, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported on their Web sites, as did ESPN.com and NFL.com, that (Wade) Phillips had been selected as the next coach. All cited unidentified sources.”

OK, so the Dallas Cowboys need a coach (and babysitter for Terrell Owens), but I could cite an unidentified source (how about my cousin in Utah) that says Dick Butkus will be selected or how about Mel Kuiper or a digitized (ala Orville Redenbacher) version of George Halas. Being first on this pales in comparison to the real story is whether or not the new coach will be able to hold the hand of owner Jerry Jones and Owens at the same time. Dallas needs a football coach and a drama instructor, and we in the media are having a difficult time distinguishing between the two.