Illegal Use of Hands

Hello

2010-03-01T19:48:00.000-08:00

It's been almost a year since I posted and although I'm betting nobody reads this site, I'm going to put this here just in case anyone stumbles here through the murky tubes. I'm currently teaching English in South Korea and have been since last June. As such, it's very difficult for me to watch American sports, and thus I don't have much to say about anything. That's why I'm not posting now, hopefully someday in the future I'll have something to write, and then hopefully you'll stumble your way here again.

Is this the end of an era?

2009-02-25T15:20:00.000-08:00

If you've been paying attention to the NFL offseason, you'll know that Marvin Harrison asked to be released by the Indianapolis Colts, and they granted his request.

To me, it feels like the NFL is entering a new era. I don't know exactly what this new era is, it could be the era of the hybrid RB/WR, the era of the all-around athlete, but one thing is certain: the era of the wide receiver seems to be over.

Looking back over the past four or five years, we've been blessed/cursed with incredible wide receivers in the NFL. Marvin Harrison, Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce and Chad Johnson to name some of the best. Now, don't take this as some alarmist ranting about how the wide-receiver is "dead," but I think the NFL might actually be undergoing a change in front of our eyes.

What's one other thing those guys have in common? Attitude.

Who's the best wide receiver in the league right now? Larry Fitzgerald, who has none of the attitude or off-field issues of guys like Randy Moss, Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson.

It's not just players that seem to be changing, but team philosophies. For a while, guys like Randy Moss and Torry Holt were so dominating on the field that we as fans began to expect spectacular wide receiver play. The Lions tried to save their franchise by drafting "big-play" wide receivers, but that failed miserably.

Maybe I'm wrong and things will go back to the way they were, but a whole crop of new wide receivers will have to step up to take the crown from that group mentioned above. If I'm wrong, the NFL should try to take this opportunity, with a lot of the stars of the past years retiring or otherwise leaving, and use it as a chance to help rebuild their image by cultivating new young superstars with decent reputations.

Is there success in Vick's future?

2009-02-23T10:24:00.000-08:00

My musings at Totalprosports.com/blog... check it out.

Super Bowl Reflection

2009-02-02T00:34:00.001-08:00

It's been a few hours since the Super Bowl ended, and I'm finally coming to terms with what happened. No matter how much I hate the Steelers I can't deny that it was a good game all around.

My biggest gripes are...

The officiating: they invented a penalty for "running over the holder" which honestly looked like in committing the "penalty" Wilson did more to save the holder from harm than if he hadn't, so who knows what that is about. Also, why not review the final fumble? Whatever argument you have against me on this, even if you think it was a fumble, there's NO reason to NOT review it. It's the Super Bowl, don't you want to be 100% certain that's the right call? And if you do think it was a fumble, having that ruling confirmed only gives you more ammo in the coming firestorm over the bad officiating.

The violence: James Harrison committed assault, battery and possibly attempted murder and yet the Steelers only got assessed about a half-yard in penalties. Please, before the Harrison hero-worship gets out of hand for the INT-TD, can somebody mail him a bill for $15,000 (maybe more). Millions of people around the world including young children watched Harrison assault Arizona's Francisco, who didn't so much as push Harrison back. He should've been ejected from the game, but it's too late now.

In my mind, the play of the game was Fitzgerald's touchdown to take the lead. The pure joy of the moment as he ran probably faster than he's ever ran before straight into the endzone and just kept running, holding his arms out in celebration all the way back to the Arizona sideline. Watching that replay over and over was the highlight of the night. Of course, all of those good feelings were crushed in the ~2:30 that followed but still a great moment.

Nice Guys Don't Always Finish Last

2009-02-01T11:46:00.001-08:00

New RealClearSports.com article:

With two weeks between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl, it's expected that the media would be grasping to come up with compelling story-lines, and this year has been no different.

We've seen stories here and there about Kurt Warner's journey from bag-boy to Super Bowl champ, Whisenhunt's "revenge" against his former team the Steelers, and Hines Ward's knee. ESPN even ran a segment about the absence of Joey Porter, exposing their desperation for a dramatic story.

So how is it that the big story essentially became that there is no story?

Click here to read the rest

Steelers might blitz their way out Super Bowl XLIII

2009-02-01T11:38:00.001-08:00

New post on TotalProSports.com, check it out:

Anyone who has ever read Tuesday Morning Quarterback on ESPN, is well aware of the mantra “stop me before I blitz again.”

TMQ’s theory being that teams blitz too much, and, logically, when you blitz you have less players in your defensive backfield, therefore it is easier for the other team to complete a pass, and extend the drive with a first down.

The ideal offense against a blitz is a pass-first offense, with big wide receivers that can break tackles and get yards after the catch, and running backs with good hands to catch the ball out of the backfield. Essentially a west-coast offense, with a ton of receiving options and a quarterback who knows who to dump the ball off to.

Click here to read the rest

Super Bowl Preview and Prediction

2009-01-30T14:05:00.000-08:00

Alright, since the rest of the world is predicting this game I'm going to do so as well.

One of the arguments I keep hearing in favor of the Steelers is that their defense is too good. True, they had the best defense in the NFL during the regular season. What these people seem to forget is that the Arizona Cardinals have the 3rd highest scoring offense, so you've actually got a pretty even match-up between a good defense and good offense, and when the Steelers have the ball a mediocre offense against a mediocre defense.

I remember when I predicted the NFC championship game and I said that the Eagles would win because both teams had good offenses, but the Cardinals' bad defense was the odd man out. I also remember thinking that the Carolina Panthers would win because they, too had a better defense. We all know what happened in both of those games.

Here's the thing, the Eagles and Panthers did have good defenses during the regular season, but the Cardinals' defense has been playing above and beyond their regular season achievements. In my mind, the Arizona defense is not going to be the deciding factor in this game.

Pittsburgh's D won't be it either. Whatever their alleged "zone blitzing" can achieve, Kurt Warner has shown repeatedly, and I mean on almost every play of the playoffs, that he is fantastic against the blitz. He may be completely immobile in the pocket, but watching the games against the Panthers and then the Eagles, I felt like TMQ watching the self-destructing blitzes. Especially given the accomplishments of Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, and Steve Breaston's 1,000 yards that a lot of people seem to forget, this is not really a great team to blitz against.

Not only that, but the Cardinals have been showing a commitment to the run throughout the playoffs, and won the game against Philly by running the ball in the 4th quarter. With the success of Edgerrin James, Tim Hightower and J.J. Arrington, the Cardinals have about 18 skill-players who can do damage to the Steelers.

On the other side of the ball, Roethlisberger seems much more likely to make a mistake against defensive pressure than Warner, and the Cardinal defense will be bringing the heat. The Steelers have good receivers, but really compared to the Arizona trio they are about as dangerous as a newborn kitten. If the Steelers are going to win this game, it is going to be because of one man and one man alone.

Willie Parker. If Parker goes for anything close to 150 yards or more, the Steelers have the game locked up. One reason the Steelers' offense wasn't that great during the regular season was Willie Parker's injuries. Hines Ward's knee could magically heal overnight and he wouldn't have as much impact on this game as Willie Parker. With Willie Parker, the Steelers are a legitimate NFL offense, without him, they're a sack away from Byron Leftwich.

Full disclosure before I make this pick: I hate the Steelers with the majority of my soul, and I desperately want them to lose because I don't want to hear anything about how they're the "best franchise ever," and other general hyperbole (ex. "Roethlisberger is a good quarterback").

Pick: Arizona Cardinals win the Super Bowl in what will become known as The Lamest Game Ever Played by a score of 31 to 20 over the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Roethlisberger will spare us a lifetime of torture by retiring in embarrassment, please!?

My love/hate relationship with the NBA

2009-01-30T12:26:00.000-08:00

Last night I was reminded of exactly why I love watching the NBA, and at the same time I was reminded of why I absolutely hate watching the NBA.

The game was Orlando vs. Cleveland, featuring two of the best players in the game and probably two of the best athletes in the world - Lebron James and Dwight Howard. But they're not the reason I loved watching the game. At one point, some guy named Kinsey threw down a monstrous put back dunk, that might have been the most athletic play of the game. [bad video here]

Just the general level of play and constant excitement that comes with basketball, embodied in that dunk by Kinsey, a little-known role-player, is one of the reasons NBA games are so much fun to watch. However, I always come back to hating the NBA.

Why? The officiating. On a fast-break drive, Lebron picked up the ball to shoot, was fouled, took a third step and then made a lay-up. So, because he picked up the ball to shoot, the foul was a shooting foul. But if he is in the act of shooting when he's fouled, the basket should count and it should be an and-1. But he traveled on the play, so the basket doesn't count, but it was still a shooting foul, but not an and-1. However, if he traveled then it would be a turnover, but he was fouled in the act of shooting so he gets two free throws, but they called the travel so he wasn't fouled in the act of shooting, he was fouled in the act of traveling. In which case, the Cavaliers get to inbound the ball, which probably would've made a lot more sense than sending James to the line.

Not only that, this play happened late in the game, and it was James' first trip to the free throw line. That's my real problem with the officiating. In the NBA, the fouls are so arbitrary and the referees so inconsistent that it can become unbearable to watch at times. Nevertheless, this will always keep me coming back.

Owen Daniels, Pro Bowl Backup

2009-01-29T17:12:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, January 28th, Owen Daniels was announced as the Pro Bowl backup to AFC tight end Antonio Gates. Not only is this notable because the Houston Texans now have THREE Pro Bowlers, but also because Daniels is finally getting some recognition for a very solid tight end career.

When I went to the University of Wisconsin in 2005, Daniels was a key component in a Badger offense that heavily featured the tight end screen - partly because Stocco didn't have the greatest arm-strength. Regardless, anyone who paid attention to the Badgers during Daniels' career knows that he was a great college tight end, not overly spectacular like Gates with his athleticism, but great hands and consistency showed Owen had the potential for bigger and better things.

I wouldn't be surprised if Daniels continues to get better and become a consistent Pro Bowler and one of the best tight ends in the league. Despite being the laughing-stock of the league for many previous years, the Texans might take the opportunity and let Detroit assume the crown in the next few. With three players in the Pro Bowl already, Houston is only a few short steps away from winning a playoff game, or even two!

On the radio today

2009-01-29T14:35:00.001-08:00

Beginning at 3 PM PST today, the sports talk show formerly known as The State Street Press Box* will be airing on 91.7 FM Madison. The first half hour of the show will be dedicated to the failures of the Wisconsin men's basketball team, and following that I will be calling in to discuss the Super Bowl. The show can also be found at www.wsum.org where the live stream is always available, so give it a listen and prepare for us to beat some dead horses.

The WSUM station has moved and is no longer on State St., so pending a flash of brilliance the show has no name.

What's going wrong in Wisconsin?

2009-01-29T10:00:00.001-08:00

From my post at TotalProSports.com:

One of the biggest stories in college basketball right now is not what’s happening at the top of the rankings, it is what’s happening off the charts as Wisconsin tumbles down the Big Ten standings.

For the first time in Bo Ryan’s career as Wisconsin head coach, the team has lost two games in a row at home, and for the first time since 1998 the Badgers have lost five conference games in a row.

Read the rest

Another Championship, Another Controversy

2009-01-27T19:41:00.001-08:00

Just weeks after the annual BCS debate swept across the country, American football fans are looking at another championship game and they’re unhappy.

Remember in 2005 when the Seattle Seahawks were not worthy of playing in the Super Bowl because they were from the “soft” NFC West? Well, the NFC West is back in the Super Bowl, and they’re not 13-3 this time.

Unlike that Seahawks team, the Arizona Cardinals have come all the way to the pinnacle of the NFL after only winning nine games in the regular season. Like the Seahawks, they will play against the Pittsburgh Steelers for the championship. It’s funny how in 2005 when the Steelers made the Super Bowl as a 6^th seed, they somehow became the favorite.

Now that the tables have turned, nobody wants the Cardinals to have even made the playoffs, let alone entertain the thought that they might win the Super Bowl. Remember the embarrassment the league suffered when Pittsburgh went from the last AFC team in the playoffs to NFL champion? Me neither.

That’s not to compare the 2008 Cardinals to the 2005 Steelers, and that’s not to say that Arizona deserves to be in the playoffs. Looking at the final regular season standings, the Cardinals were – at most – seventh best in the NFC.

On their road to the playoffs the Cardinals went undefeated in their division against three teams with a combined 13-35 record. Between NFC West victories, the Cardinals lost to almost every other NFC playoff team: Philadelphia, New York, Minnesota and Carolina. Not included in that list is a particularly bad 47 to 7 beating, administered by the 11-5 New England Patriots.

Forget that that same Patriots team missed the playoffs in the AFC, and the 8-8 San Diego Chargers (AFC West champions) made it. Nobody’s complaining because San Diego lost. Regardless, New England’s absence from the playoffs is just as offensive as Arizona’s inclusion, if not more.

Sports Illustrated writer Stewart Mandel made the argument that the Cardinals’ Super Bowl run is a convincing argument for the college football BCS system. He writes that if the NCAA replaced the BCS with a playoff, the regular season would be devalued and we would risk an “outsider” making it to the championship, a la Arizona.

However, is the playoff really the problem? No major sport has the same post-season controversy as college football, and those other sports all use playoffs.

The NFL playoff hardly causes the same quantity of debate as the BCS, and yet it seems the NFL draws more criticism than either the NBA or MLB. The biggest difference between the three is that baseball and basketball play 162 and 82 games, respectively, and football plays a 16 game schedule.

Over those long seasons, it is much easier for bad teams to be weeded out, and both the NBA and MLB use series’ in their playoffs, which increases the chance that the better team will advance to the next round.

Because of the physical nature of football relative to baseball and basketball, adding games to the post-season would be impossible. The way to avoid the complaints while maintaining the playoff system is to remove the automatic playoff berth for division champions, and just pick the best six teams from each conference by record.

In reality, changing this rule would have little effect on the playoffs, and most years the division winners would be in the top six teams of the conference. Divisions would still be used for scheduling, but playoff berths and playoff seeds would be awarded based on win percentage. In the case of a tie, the system would use the same tiebreakers it does currently.

If Arizona wins, no one will say they aren’t the real champions. They’ve done everything within the system and won all their playoff games, so don’t get angry at them. The problem is the divisional system and for the years when a division winner isn’t one of the six best teams the NFL needs to rethink it.

Happening Right Now: Purdue @ Wisconsin

2009-01-27T19:03:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posting lately, this week and next week are going to be a little slow for me as I'm working on a lot of different projects.

Right now on ESPN the Purdue at Wisconsin men's basketball game is at halftime, the Boilermakers lead 36 to 30 and Wisconsin is in a desperate situation as they need to break a four-game losing streak.

Regardless of how badly this season turns out for the Badgers, the one positive note is that Jordan Taylor seems to have a lot of potential, and could be a big factor in Wisconsin's future success.

Anyways, tune in to ESPN for the second half and witness either a more-than-huge win for the Badgers or an unprecedented fifth loss in a row, not to forget that it would be another rare loss at home.

Giving Him the Business: Weekend Update

2009-01-24T13:07:00.000-08:00

This week on Illegal Use of Hands:

After previewing the matchup between Wisconsin and Iowa in men's basketball, we watched Northwestern upset Michigan State and Iowa pull out an overtime win. We attempted to analyze the impact of these games and explain just how bad that loss was for the Badgers.

I analyzed the possible legacy of New England head coach Bill Belichick for Real Clear Sports, and also blogged about the benefit of Matt Cassel's possible free-agency.

In the news, rumors surfaced of a friendly match between the Seattle Sounders FC of the MLS and Chelsea of the English Premier League, and did a little speculating that the Sounders might be the right time and place for soccer to take hold in America.

What I'm watching today:

NCAAB: Wisconsin @ Illinois, ESPN, started 1:10PST - Wisconsin needs a win desperately to break a 3 game losing streak

NCAAF: Senior Bowl, 4PST, NFL Network - Future NFL draft picks and busts in action

NBA: Orlando at Miami, 4:30PST, Online - Dwight Howard and Dwyane Wade

NBADL: Austin vs. Albuquerque, 6PST, Online - Will Conroy

Cassel should leave the Patriots, for everyone's sake

2009-01-23T18:19:00.000-08:00

In this story on ESPN.com, Matt Cassel is quoted saying he would be happy to stay in New England as back-up to Tom Brady. Regardless of Cassel's boundless humility and noble intentions, that would be a terrible idea for everyone, except maybe the Patriots. Since I have no real fondness for the New England football team, that prospect doesn't trouble me, and honestly is it really worth $15 mil to keep a guy on the bench?

Aside from this season, Tom Brady has been one of the most consistent starters in the NFL since taking over for Bledsoe, and the Patriots could easily draft a new backup QB who would be much cheaper to keep than Cassel. Unless they really expect that someday Cassel will become the permanent starter, there's no reason to keep him on the roster at that price-tag.

Now, how would Cassel leaving the Patriots help the rest of us?

Imagine the 10th best quarterback in the league - by rating - sitting on the bench. Imagine that, while guys like Dan Orlovsky, J.T. O'Sullivan, Shaun Hill, JaMarcus Russel, Kyle Orton, Gus Frerotte are playing and starting throughout the league. In the interest of quality football, the Patriots should let Cassel go.

With the current state of quarterbacking in the NFL, we need Cassel. Some might say that he only succeeded because of the Patriots' system, but Cassel showed he is a starting-caliber quarterback, and most NFL teams run systems designed for quarterback success.

For whatever reason, there aren't 32 quality NFL quarterbacks in the world. Matt Cassel is one of the few we have, he deserves a starting shot and NFL fans deserve the possibility of decent football.

Belichick's Grumpy Old Man Legacy

2009-01-22T20:13:00.001-08:00

My latest submission to RealClearSports.com is now up for the January 23 Morning Edition, the topic is Bill Belichick's legacy to the NFL in comparison to retiring coaches Mike Holmgren and Tony Dungy.

"One second from defeat in the 2008 Super Bowl, this losing head coach threw a hissy fit and stalked off the field."

That was one of the clues in the "Sore Losers" category on a recent episode of Jeopardy. For any football fan the answer is obvious – Bill Belichick, head coach of the New England Patriots.

With the retirements of Mike Holmgren and Tony Dungy, and the firings of Mike Shanahan and Jon Gruden, Bill Belichick is one of two remaining head coaches in the NFL that have won the Super Bowl. But that may be the only thing he has in common with those coaches. When Belichick eventually retires, he will receive a farewell starkly different from the current standing ovation given Holmgren and Dungy by the sports media.

Read the whole thing at Real Clear Sports...

Sounders FC to play Chelsea?

2009-01-22T17:33:00.001-08:00

Seattle's next great hope in sports (maybe only great hope in sports) the Sounders, are rumored to be part of a scheduled US tour for the great English soccer club Chelsea. GoSounders.com has the report:

Rumors are flying around that English Premier club Chelsea will be headed to Seattle to face Sounders FC for a Friendly in July (we're getting conflicting dates, but July 18th seems to be the most prevalent one).

Chelsea is planning a summer tour of the US so this isn't a huge stretch. Chelsea played Celtic here at Qwest Field in 2004. Season Ticket Reps are informing people that the game will be included with Sounders FC Season Tickets.

The Blues won the Premier League in 2005 and 2006 and went to the final of the UEFA Champions League last May.

This is big news for a franchise looking to start off on the right foot, and with an opportunity to fill a vacancy in Seattle's pro sports picture a big match-up like this could be a great way to build interest and fan-base.

[source: GoSounders.com]

Recap of Big Ten Basketball action from 1/21

2009-01-22T16:38:00.000-08:00

Two Big Ten games went down yesterday that affected the conference standings. First, Michigan State's unbeaten conference streak was ended by the Northwestern Wildcats in a game that went down to the wire (Read my live-blog of the second half). Immediately following that game, a struggling Iowa Hawkeye team broke a three-game conference skid with an overtime victory over the Wisconsin Badgers (game preview, full game live-blog).

As far as the MSU-NU game goes, it was a well-deserved win for the Wildcats over a Spartan team ranked #7 in the AP and 12-point favorite. Northwestern made 9 3-pointers and had 9 steals, whereas the Spartans only had 5 threes and 4 steals. Michigan State also committed 11 more turnovers than Northwestern, but that was probably balanced out by a 16-rebound advantage and 5-point advantage from the free throw line.

You have to give the Wildcats credit for playing hard up to the final buzzer, taking the lead right at the start of the second half and a lot of those threes and steals came towards the end of the game when the Spartans were trying hard to mount a comeback. The importance of this win is that it brought the Spartans (5-1) a little bit closer to the rest of the pack in the Big Ten conference standings, particularly Minnesota and Illinois who are hot on their tail with 4-2 conference records.

That would've been especially important for a Wisconsin Badger team which coming off of two losses could have put themselves in equally good position to challenge the Spartans.

The Badgers went into Iowa with a 3-2 conference record thanks to a 2-game losing streak. A win for the Badgers would've moved them up from tied for 3rd in the Big Ten to tied for 2nd, but the overtime loss drops them to 6th. This was a game that the Badgers definitely needed to win and could've won, but mental errors cost them the game. On the final stat sheet, Iowa held an advantage of 35-10 in free throw attempts, and two Badgers (Leuer and Krabbenhoft) fouled out. For a game that goes to overtime and ends with a 4-point differential in the final score, you have to look at those fouls and think there was something mentally off with this team (or some home cooking).

Iowa with a 2-4 conference record remains near the bottom of the Big Ten standings, but was happy to play spoiler to the Badgers' hopes, and as noted in my preview of this matchup, take the lead 27-26 in the all-time series.

It won't get easier for the Badgers either, up next they face Illinois (16-3, 4-2) on Jan 21, then Purdue (14-4, 3-2) on Jan 27, who they've already lost to once this season 65-52. That was at Purdue, however, so the Badgers will seek their revenge on their home court at the Kohl Center.

Leaders from Wednesday:

NU@MSU
Kevin Coble (NU): 31 pts (10-16 FG, 8-9 FT, 3-8 3PT), 4 Reb, 1 Ast, 4 Stl, 0 Fouls in 38 Min
Goran Suton (MSU): 15 pts (3-6 FG, 9-11 FT, 0-1 3PT), 14 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 0 Fouls in 29 Min

UW@IOWA
David Palmer (Iowa): 21 pts (8-12 FG, 3-5 FT, 2-4 3PT), 7 Reb, 1 Stl in 33 Min
Joe Krabbenhoft (UW): 11 pts (5-6 FG, 1-1 FT), 7 Reb, 1 Ast, 0 TO in 33 Min

About Me

2009-01-22T16:10:00.000-08:00

This post is just some brief biographical info about me that will serve as the "official" about me page on this website, the post's permalink will be available in the link section of the sidebar so after this page disappears into the archives the information will be easily found.

My name is Brian Colella and I am a recent graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.A. in History.

At school I ran a sports talk show for two years on the student radio station, I will try to keep doing this throughout the spring semester even thought I'm not a student anymore. I am currently contributing sports articles to RealClearSports.com, and I have also contributed to the Badger Herald, a Madison campus newspaper.

I'm originally from Kirkland, WA, a suburb of Seattle, so my sports allegiances lie with the Northwest (recently I expanded my fandom to Portland in the NBA). As a kid growing up in a Husky family, I hate all other Pac-10 teams, so even though I'm a Blazers fan I'm not expanded that much. In addition to the Mariners, I also like the Atlanta Braves (although I've never even been to Atlanta or a Braves game) because they played against the Yankees in the World Series when I was younger, and I hate the Yankees. My one true love is of course football and the Seattle Seahawks.

That's a little bit of my credentials/experience/biography, which will probably be updated every now and then to keep it current, but won't reappear on the front page so look for the link on the sidebar.

This blog serves as the vessel for my sports opinions and thoughts and occasionally I will do a little live-blogging/recapping/summary of games. Thanks for reading and please come back again sometime!

Resources I use:

Pro Football Reference
cfbstats.com - College Football Statistics
College Basketball Stats, Scores, News, and Analysis - StatSheet.com
Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Baseball Statistics and History
Basketball-Reference.com - Basketball Statistics and History
and of course Wikipedia

Photo taken by me from the Camp Randall Stadium press box before broadcasting the Wisconsin vs. Cal Poly football game

Happening Right Now: Wisconsin @ Iowa

2009-01-21T17:42:00.000-08:00

Read my preview and prediction for a bit of an overview of this match-up. Michigan State's loss just now to Northwestern gives the Badgers some hope for their conference championship chances, bringing the Spartans one loss closer to the 2-loss Badgers and the rest of the Big Ten. I'll use this thread for some live-blog updates throughout the game, hopefully not as many as I did during the MSU-NU game, but if its close at the end I might have to. Feel free to drop comments down below if you're watching.

The game is live on the Big Ten Network

UPDATE 17: The Badgers had an opportunity with about 10 seconds left but down 71-67 Bohannon missed a three and Iowa rebounded it, was fouled, and made two free throws. Wisconsin scores a two making it 69-73 and takes a timeout, but there's only two seconds left on the clock. Unless the Badgers win this, it's my last update for the game. Post-game analysis will come later.

UPDATE 16: Iowa timeout, another Taylor three makes it 70-67 Iowa. For teams that were shooting about 20% from deep this game, they are lighting it up late. :28.5 seconds left in OT.

UPDATE 15: I had hoped to keep this game to 15 updates or less, but thanks to overtime I'm going to break that. Jordan Taylor is stepping up for the Badgers at the end of this game, but with 1:00 left its 70-64 Iowa.

UPDATE 14: Kelly and Krabbenhoft, respectively Iowa and Wisconsin's second leading scorers this game have fouled out. Iowa leads 64-62, 2:30 left.

UPDATE 13: Iowa strikes first in OT, 62-60 with 3:00 left.

OVERTIME!! Jordan Taylor with a DEEEEEEP three to tie the game at the buzzer. It looked like the Badgers were gonna let this game go down as a loss, especially when they inbounded it to a guy 10 feet away from the three point line, but he got a couple steps forward and launched the three. Surprisingly, that was Jordan Taylor's first made three pointer in his career. Wisconsin has to be pleased with that. The way this game has been going, it seems likely the momentum will swing back to them. 60-60 as OT starts.

UPDATE 12: With 1:38 to play Iowa sank a three to take a 54-51 lead, Landry and Bohannon both missed three point attempts, and Bohannon committed a foul with 0:47 left to play. Two free throws make it 56-51 Iowa, the home crowd is getting super excited now.

UPDATE 11: Technical foul on the Badger bench, Taylor was blocked on a breakaway layup, the bench wanted a foul called but didn't get it and obviously were unhappy. Iowa had just made a big three as well to tie it briefly before Wisc took a 2 point lead, so the momentum keeps swinging back and forth. Iowa might be able to capitalize on this series to grab the win, which would be pretty devastating for the UW team. The free throws made it 49-49 and now Taylor picked up his 3rd foul and Iowa will shoot two more from the line. 2:38 remaining on the clock.

UPDATE 10: Hughes tried to fast-break unnecessarily and turns the ball over, Iowa gets it back with 5:05 and timeout is taken, the score is 42-39. Wisconsin has committed 11 team fouls already in the half, and the most recent one by Landry gives Iowa a chance to tie, which he does.

UPDATE 9: This is the battle of the bricked shot. Looks like it'll come down to the wire. I'm going to be updating less often because live-blogging these close games is so tiring and things change so quickly, keep checking back for updates though. Still UW 37 - Iowa 35, and the Hawkeyes are about to go to the line for 2 free throws, after missing two on their last possession.

UPDATE 8: Leuer commits his 4th foul and goes to the bench. 9 minutes to play and Wisconsin commits a turnover, ahead 37-35

UPDATE 7: 9:57 to play, score is 35-32 Wisconsin, and UW just called timeout. It seems that anytime good things start to happen for either team, they can't take advantage of it enough to sustain the streak and momentum swings back to the other team.

UPDATE 6: Another foul on Iowa, and the Hawkeyes take a timeout. 12:15 on the clock, score still 33-28 Wisconsin.

UPDATE 5: Bohannon three, followed by a dish to Leuer for the slam. Wisconsin takes a 33-28 lead with 12 and half minutes left. Iowa called for an offensive foul, Wisconsin is building a little momentum now to counteract Iowa's good start to the half.

UPDATE 4: Great play by Taylor to tie it at 28, but then Taylor commits a foul fighting for a rebound. Nothing going very well for either side.

UPDATE 3: 15:32 to play in the second half, game tied at 26. Still a lot of time left, but the Badgers have gone 5 minutes and scored only 2 points, so if they want to win they have to pick up the scoring. The way defense is going it looks like the team that stops missing shots first wins. It seems obvious and cliche, but whichever team can put together any offense will take this game, because neither team is doing anything better than their opponent.

Halftime Update: No scoring since my last update, halftime score is 24-20. Both teams are really digging in on defense/continuing their trends of mediocrity on offense. Scoring should pick up a little in the second half, if for no other reason that the players get tired and won't want to use their energy as much on the defensive side of the ball. Landry took a hard elbow to the chin but he looks okay, so nothing dramatic to report from the first half. The Badgers are looking good right now, if they can get the scoring to pick up a little bit they should be able to carry over their defensive success from the first half and cruise to an easy win. Iowa probably won't make it easy though, as this game will probably stay fairly physical.

UPDATE 2: Down to about 3 minutes to play, Wisconsin leads 24-20 with possession. As expected this game is pretty low scoring so far, as both teams play good defense. Not sure why no foul was called on that play as Leuer was pretty much tackled from behind under the hoop, but Iowa knocked the ball away so UW keeps it. The Badgers look like they are pretty together so far, not playing great but they are putting forward a solid effort.

UPDATE: Wisc timeout, 6-0 run by Iowa, they lead 18-16 with about 8 minutes on the clock. The Badgers had a couple bad turnovers caused by Iowa's defensive pressure that let that run happen.

It's 12-10 Badgers with 13:43 left in the first half thanks to a Trevon Hughes free throw

Happening Right Now: Northwestern @ Michigan State

2009-01-21T16:36:00.001-08:00

Right now on the Big Ten Network, or online if you don't have BTN, Northwestern is ahead 35-34 early in the second half, with possession as I write this. MSU is 5-0 in Big Ten play so far, and ranked 7th in the AP. Northwestern is coming off of a win over Minnesota and is looking to spoil the Spartan's perfect conference record. Turn on your TV or watch it online, its a good day for college basketball. I'll also live-blog some updates in this post.

UPDATE 14: Northwestern wins 70-63. One of the hardest played second halves I've ever seen, much credit goes to the Wildcats, they earned that win. MSU falls to 5-1 in conference play.

UPDATE 13: Great effort by Northwestern at the end of the game getting rebounds and takeaways. 16 seconds to go and they have a five point lead and the ball

UPDATE 12: If Northwestern loses, they can blame missed free throws, 4 misses late in the game. MSU misses another long three, NU called for a foul trying to get the rebound. 66-63 NU with 29 seconds to go. Michigan St. fouls right away on the inbounds pass.

UPDATE 11: Michigan St hits a three and takes timeout with 45 seconds left, 65-62. The Spartans still have a lot of life, but Northwestern continues to play great defense, MSU almost turned it over on that possession before getting a long three.

UPDATE 10: Big two pointer for the Spartans brings them a little close, Northwestern takes a timeout, still one minute left.

UPDATE 9: Northwestern plays keep-away across the court, MSU couldn't get the foul and its now 64-57 with 1:24 left. It's looking more and more like the Wildcats are going to take this game.

UPDATE 8: Northwestern calls a time-out, still 2:04 left. You have to be impressed that Northwestern has held onto this lead, considering the edge the Spartans have at the free throw line. NU only has 7 free throw attempts.

UPDATE 7: That last foul was non-shooting, MSU fouled again, Northwestern with a bad turnover, great defensive pressure by the Spartans, but Northwestern with great hustle created another takeaway. MSU is giving away all their non-shooting fouls. Coble off the glass puts NU up 62-55 with 2:04 left, Spartans go to the line, two free throws makes it 62-57.

UPDATE 6: Loooooong three for Northwestern, their whole team is stepping up right now and they are playing great defense, getting rebounds and takeaways. NU gets an offensive rebound off a missed three, under 3 minutes left to go and the Wildcats are using up critical time with a 60-55 lead. Foul called on MSU, TV timeout.
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UPDATE 5: Timeout after an MSU three, 57-55 with 4:30 to go.

UPDATE 4: Back-to-back threes for Northwestern put them up 54-49, they are playing well right now and it looks like they've got MSU's number right now. Layup with the and-1 brings MSU back within 2, ANOTHER three for NU makes it 57-52 as the 5 minute mark passes.

UPDATE 3: Not sure why you would double a guy and foul him when you have the lead, MSU takes the lead briefly 49-48, Northwestern hits a three takes it back 51-49 with 6:50 left in the game.

UPDATE 2: Northwestern leads 48-45 at just under 8 minutes left, TV timeout.

UPDATE: With 8:40 left in the second half, NU leads 48-43.

Wednesday Watch-list for Jan 21

2009-01-21T15:56:00.000-08:00

If you're not interested in Wisconsin at Iowa, there's a lot of other action in NCAA basketball tonight. Real Clear Sports has the roundup on their blog: check it

One game I'd like to add to the list is Cleveland vs Portland:

The LeBron-Kobe matchup a couple days ago was super-hyped beyond realistic expectations, the matchup between the Blazers and the Cavaliers should be an interesting game as well, with LeBron going against some other rising stars such as Brandon Roy, Lamarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden, Rudy Fernandez... the whole Blazers team, essentially. The Cavs are one of the best teams in the East, whether or not they're better than the Magic right now is debatable, and the Blazers are one of the best in the West, so this matchup should make for some great basketball. Blazer's Edge has a pre-gameday open thread going: give it a read if you're interested.

Watch it online at 7 PT

Tiebreaker: Wisconsin @ Iowa Matchup and Preview

2009-01-21T15:05:00.000-08:00

The Wisconsin Badgers head to Iowa today to take on the Hawkeyes, the game is on the Big Ten Network and starts at 5:30 PST.

Wisconsin comes into the game with a 2-game losing streak (@Purdue and at home against Minnesota) and are looking to get the season back on track after starting their Big Ten schedule with three wins. Luckily, Iowa isn't having a very good season overall (11-7, 1-4 conf.) but are 9-1 at home. That being said, Wisconsin is only predicted to win the game by 2.5 points, not exactly a stellar win for a Badger team that should be much better than it is.

For the Badgers, this win would be especially important given the way they lost to Minnesota, and the fact that the game took place at the Kohl Center, and the Badgers almost never lose at home. The Badgers pretty much had the game against Minnesota locked up for the win column, but due to some horrendous decision making late in the game they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Passes were made against the full-court press that should never have been made, shots were taken on the fast-break (with the lead!!) that should never have been taken, and it all resulted in a Minnesota comeback and victory in overtime. The psychological meltdown necessary to make that loss happen, and then the impact of a game like that on the morale of the team, puts the Badgers in a fragile position where they need a solid win to bring their confidence back.

For Iowa, on the other hand, a victory against the Badgers would be a great coup, and would probably give them a lot of new confidence early in the Big Ten schedule. They have lost their last three in a row, and the Badgers are the perfect opportunity for them to break the streak. The fact that the Badgers, who on paper are far superior, are only favored by 2.5 points is a red-flag for Badger fans. Iowa has a great chance to get a solid win over a struggling superior opponent, and with a 9-1 home record the odds are on their side.

The inter-conference rivalry stands tied at 26 wins each, that in itself is a coup for the Iowa Hawkeyes, who have been the lesser team overall in recent history. A win today to take the lead in the series would provide Iowa fans with a little extra trash-talk, and they are probably well aware of it. Expect the Hawkeye fans to be loud and rowdy today, and that home-court advantage just might be enough to lift their team to victory.

Regardless, the Badgers are well aware of how loss to Iowa would affect their chances of a conference championship, especially as Michigan State is running away with a 5-0 Big Ten record and the top spot in the conference. Wisconsin stands tied at third place, and a win today pushes them into a tie for second, other than MSU, the other top teams in the conference already have 2 losses as well. Both teams badly need this win, so expect it to be hard fought and probably get a little scrappy on the court.

Prediction: Wisconsin 63 @ Iowa 61

What to watch for on Sunday

2009-01-18T01:20:00.000-08:00

NFC & AFC Championship Sunday - Preview and Picks

Philadelphia Eagles @ Arizona Cardinals: 3pm Eastern (12pm Pacific) on FOX

That picture just about sums it all up.

If we see Brian Westbrook, it'll be good news for the Philadelphia Eagles. ESPN reported Saturday that Westbrook tweaked his knee against the Giants and had to do some extra running in the pool to try and work the problem out. Correll Buckhalter is a more than adequate replacement for Westbrook but the psychological impact of not having your best running back can hurt a team (look at what happened to the Titans without Chris Johnson). This is especially true if your best running back is also one of your best wide receivers. If Westbrook is healthy enough to start despite reportedly not feeling 100%, the Eagles have a distinct edge over the Cards.

I didn't even intend to make this pun when I wrote that last sentence, but a lot of Arizona's offensive success is going to depend on Edgerrin James. The Cardinals beat Atlanta and Carolina in their two games so far but those were two teams with weak pass defenses, 21st and 16th respectively in passing yards allowed. They now face the Eagles who have given up the third least yardage through the air, and James will have to step up and get something going for Arizona on the ground.

When you have the 4th ranked offense (Arizona) against the 6th ranked offense (Philadelphia) you can expect a shootout. Arizona ranks 22nd defensively, so there's a pretty clear advantage for the Eagles. I think this won't be as lopsided or high-scoring as Philly's victory over Arizona earlier in the season, but I'm still taking McNabb and the Eagles for the win.

Philadelphia 27 @ Arizona 17

Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers: 6:30pm Eastern (3:30pm Pacific) on CBS

Another running back with injury problems, Willie Parker, is the key to the AFC Championship matchup. Without Willie Parker, the Steelers decide to rely heavily on oft-maligned quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who is honestly not an amazing quarterback. Luckily for Pittsburgh, they have the best defense in the NFL, and as long as "Big" Ben can hold himself together long enough to let them finish their Gatorade, they'll be pretty good. WITH Willie Parker, the Steelers can absolutely dominate a team, as seen in their game the San Diego Chargers. The Ravens will be a different story though, because in stark contrast with the Chargers, Baltimore plays defense.

Of the four teams remaining in the playoffs, three teams rank in the top four defensive units in the NFL. As they say, defense wins championships, so expect the Arizona Cardinals to be the first to go. As far as the AFC game goes, however, since both Baltimore and Pittsburgh have great defenses, good running backs, and mediocre quarterbacks (unless Joe Flacco decides to end the fluke season early) this should be a close matchup. I would give the advantage to Pittsburgh simply because Willie Parker is better than McGahee. The defenses are about equal and with the Ravens coming in with a chip on their shoulder because they're the underdogs that should be the way it plays out. I'm giving this one to the Steelers, as much as I hate to do it.

Pittsburgh 20 vs. Baltimore 14

Sidenote:
Needless to say, these predictions can and probably will be wrong in many ways. Maybe home field advantage will somehow make the Cardinals actually good. Too bad for them the Eagles are streaking right now, and look nigh unbeatable.

The Ravens have the best chance of disrupting the party, and I think that would disappoint me because we'd miss out on the manufactured hype of the Pitt-Philly Super Bowl, but then again the Eagles against the Ravens would be the second bird-on-bird matchup in a row, and as a Seahawks fan I like birds. Not that a Seahawk is an actual bird, but there are hawks that live near the sea, I'm pretty sure.

Anyway, just remember to watch closely, enjoy and don't let the commentators fool you into thinking Roethlisberger is actually a good quarterback.

Fire Bret Bielema, Hire Jon Gruden

2009-01-17T17:08:00.000-08:00

I wasn't on the bandwagon as early as some people, but as a Wisconsin alum I found our performance in the Champs Sports Bowl to be highly disturbing. I think I've blocked out the final score because it was so traumatizing, but suffice it to say that Florida State embarrassed us so badly I thought we'd never recruit a player from Florida ever again.

One of the main reasons I didn't support firing Bret Bielema was that a lot of the big names (Mike Leach) had already been signed by other schools, so I said why take the L on recruiting, name-recognition, just having a coach at all, to get rid of Bielema. Now, I think a perfect opportunity has presented itself to Barry Alvarez and the Wisconsin Badgers. This Friday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired Jon Gruden.

One of the other reasons I thought firing Bielema wasn't a viable option was because Alvarez hand-picked him three years ago to be his successor, and Alvarez seems like the type of guy to stick by his guy. That is, of course, unless a golden opportunity presents itself which is too good to pass up.

The one thing the Badgers have been consistently decent at is defense, aside from a few tackling problems now and then, but the defensive problems are easy to correct. The biggest problem the team faces right now is inconsistency at quarterback and wide receiver. Guess what? In addition to being a successful NFL head coach, Gruden has college experience as both quarterbacks coach and wide receivers coach, and NFL experience as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach.

Throughout this past season, in which the Badgers finished 7-5, the State Street Press Box crew (myself, Jake Harris, Ben Breiner and Rob Huston) has criticized Bielema's staff severely for not developing any of the talent at QB or WR. Players like David Gilreath, Nick Toon and Kyle Jefferson have all shown flashes of sky-high potential, and yet those flashes of brilliance haven't become any more consistent as the years go by. If the Badgers brought in an offensive-minded coach like Gruden to develop these guys, they could develop into an extremely dangerous receiving corps.

Despite the horrendous offensive play of the past season, Dustin Scherer showed something with a 54.5% completion percentage, 1,389 yards, 6 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Although that "something" was consistent mediocrity, Scherer showed the ability to not lose games, and occaisionally win them. With a coach like Gruden to help bring him along, Scherer could turn into a quarterback somewhere in between reliable and good. With John Clay and a huge offensive line, the talent is there for a good offense, the players just need a coach that knows how to bring out the best in them.

If Barry Alvarez really likes Bielema that much, maybe he could stay on as Gruden's defensive coordinator.

The other major benefit of Jon Gruden, besides the fact that he could bring some skill to the head coaching position, is that he brings big-name recognition that would allow UW to make the switch without losing much recruiting ability. In fact, maybe Gruden could increase recruiting, especially after the recent bowl debacle.

The Badgers (lost their swagger/had it taken from them brutally) this season, and all Bret could say the whole time is "1-0 mentality." At some point, Bret, that wasn't enough. Sometimes you have to take a dog and rub his nose in the giant turd he left on your rug. Gruden could light a fire under this team, and bring some life back to a Badger fanbase that is just counting the days until Bielema is gone.

Please, Mr. Alvarez, fire Bret Bielema before its too late (and before Gruden gets a job somewhere else).