stupid youtube

ok, apparently Youtube embed codes don't work on blogger, so here's the link to that video.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqtW8DjYNi0

And then there were four

The Final Four is set.  We have Connecticut, Kentucky, Butler, and perhaps the biggest surprise of all, Virginia Commonwealth.  Butler is making its second straight Final Four appearance, and Virginia Commonwealth made it after many said they didn't deserve an invite to the dance at all.  They took that "nobody believed in us" mentality and rode it all the way to Houston.  As much as I hate to say it, I think UConn will be cutting down the nets this year.  They are on an incredible run and haven't lost a game since the beginning of the Big East Tournament, which was nine games ago.  Kemba Walker is playing out of his mind right now and can get his shot any time he wants.  In college basketball, one dominant guard can take you a long way and that's what UConn has in Walker.  They also have coach Jim Calhoun who has two National Titles under his belt.  I certainly won't be rooting for them to win, I just think they have the best chance to do so out of the four that are left.  I don't really have much else at the moment since I'm still looking for a direction to take this.  To keep your interest, here is a video of why trampolines and basketball just don't mix.

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RqtW8DjYNi0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> 

All Danced Out

Yes, unfortunately the Syracuse season ended far earlier than I would have liked.  I thought the team was just hitting its stride and starting to play really well.  The young guys were also starting to contribute more and were no longer playing like freshman.  Alas, only one team can win it all, and like 67 other teams we will have to say "maybe next year."  But the thing is, now I need an idea for a direction for this blog until that time comes. I was thinking about doing just basketball in general, but I want something a little more exciting.  Any ideas in the comments would be greatly appreciated.  In the meantime, here is a sweet video of Blake Griffin's latest dunkface.  And it shouldn't have been a charge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvyelLWnDMo

Going Dancin'

Tournament time is upon us.  To me, it is the unofficial start to spring which comes with nice weather, melting snow, and girls wearing more revealing clothes.  It also means Syracuse is making the push to a national title, and they are off to a good start after handling Larry Bird's alma mater, the Sycamores of Indiana State in the first round of the NCAA tournament.  They call it the second round now because of the expanded field, but I say nuts to that, it is still the first round and the first four games were useless play-in games.  Anyway, I kind of knew Syracuse wouldn't have much trouble when Indiana State started four guards against all the trees the 3rd-seeded Orange rolls out.  Rick Jackson continued to show that he got snubbed from the All-Big East time by pouring in 23 points.  They couldn't handle him in the paint.  Scoop hit a few 3's in big spots when we needed a bucket, but Brandon Triche kind of no-showed for this game and only played 28 minutes.  The biggest surprise was the play of C.J. Fair off the bench.  This guy is fast becoming one of my favorite players on the team because he plays bigger than he is and crashes the boards to grab every rebound he can.  Next up is a Big East battle against 11th-seeded Marquette who upset the 6 seed Xavier in the second (first!) round.  Marquette won the regular season matchup but in the Tournament everything changes.  Coach Boeheim has been around the block a few times and I'm confident he will have his guys ready to play.

Tourney Time

Greetings, readers.  Sorry about the late post, It's been a busy week and I straight up forgot.  The Big East Tournament is upon us, and after the blowout win against DePaul, Syracuse earned the 4 seed and two byes so they don't have to play until tomorrow.  I have less to say about that, and more about how Rick Jackson got no love from whoever votes on awards for the Big East.  Jackson earned defensive player of the year, but was snubbed from the All-Big East first team and the conversation for player of the year.  Not to sound like a homer, but that is a farce.  The All-Big East first team is comprised of 5 guards: Ben Hansbrough of Notre Dame, Kemba Walker from Connecticut, Austin Freeman from Georgetown, Ashton Gibbs from Pittsburgh, Marshon Brooks from Providence and Dwight Hardy from St. John's.  Incidentally enough, those are the top six scorers in the conference as well.  The All-Big East team isn't supposed to be just the highest scorers, it should be an actual TEAM that selects the best player at each position, kind of like an all-star team that doesn't really play any games.  You can't tell me there was a power forward that played better than Ricky.  The guy was the only senior on the team and played his ass off every game.  He averaged 35 minutes a game out of a possible 40 and had 17 double-doubles on the season.  17! He also AVERAGED a double-double for the whole season, averaging 13 points and almost 11 rebounds a game, along with 2.5 blocks.  You can't tell me he didn't deserve a first-team nod.  It shouldn't be all about scoring.  Jackson meant more to his team that almost all of those other players, save for maybe Kemba Walker at UConn and Hansbrough at Notre Dame.  Syracuse wouldn't have been half as good without him as he was the only serviceable inside presence they had since Fab Melo and Baye Keita are both freshman.  I think it was the most egregious of snubs and the guy should be recognized for how much he accomplished and how far he came in his four years at Syracuse.

Georgetown and stuff

Just a quick look at the Georgetown game as I'm sure you are all getting tired of this game coverage.  Another big win on the road moving the 'Cuse up the Big East rankings and on the way to getting two byes in the Big East Tournament.  Scoop Jardine must secretly read this awesome blog because he has played much better since I called him out.  He poured in 17 big points to go along with seven assists and hit some big shots down the stretch to keep the lead.  Go Scoop.  We have on game left this Saturday at home against Big East bottom feeder DePaul.  Hopefully the team won't be looking ahead to the Big East Tourney and will make this an easy win.  There is something else I wanted to talk about in this post though.  I consider myself a pretty big fan of the team.  Perhaps not as much as these guys, but hey, not everyone can be.  However, I have noticed that I have this strange superstition that I don't like to wear Syracuse gear the day before or the day of games.  I know that kind of goes against all sports fan logic, but I feel like every time I wear a 'Cuse shirt on the day of a game, the team loses.  Don't get me wrong, if I had a Rony Seikaly jersey, and possibly even the short shorts, I would rock them without conviction.  Speaking of which, have you seen Seikaly's ex-wife?  Damn.  By the way, this  is Rony Seikaly.  He must have done something right, but apparently not right enough since she ended up with half of his money.  But anyway, my point is I feel like I'm weird because I don't wear the gear until after the team wins.  Is that frontruning?  I still support the team in losses, I just try not to jinx games by repping the 'Cuse before or during games.  I don't know, maybe I'm just weird.