Bracketology for Degenerates

Wow, 10 days without a post? Yikes.

Anyway, with March Madness coming up, it might be fun to have a little contest going on for bracket bragging rights.

If interested, drop a line in the comments with e-mail to use for, um, gathering information.

Link (on CBS):

http://bracketologydegenerates.mayhem.cbssports.com

Pwd: hammer

Wrong fade

I wrote earlier thgis week how I'd put down Kansas to win.

Well, I had switched up my brckets in error. I'm in three different groups/pools, and I wrote from one where it was a just-screwing-around bracket.

There are two of those types of brackets, and one which is a little more involved, so for the sake of posterity I'll mention that one again.

My only goal is to do a better job on my main bracket than Obama did on his bracket. I doubt that Sportscenter would devote ten minutes to me filling out my bracket - but perhaps the media could focus for that long on another of his failed policy objectives instead of his bracket.

OK, here goes:

Round 1 Upsets: #9 Siena, #10 USC, #9 Texas A & M, #11 Utah St., #10 Minnesota, #11 VCU, #9 Butler, #11 Temple, #12 Western Kentucky

Elite Eight: Louisville over Kansas, Memphis over UConn, Pittsburgh over Villanova, and Gonzaga over Oklahoma

Final Four: Louisville over Memphis, Pittsburgh over Gonzaga

Champion: Louisville

Enjoy the rest of the day in front of your wide-screen TV, following the games on the web, or in the sports book watching every game at once.

Home court advantage

I haven't written about the Hawks since the draft last year, when we were hoping that the Hawks would get both Al Horford and Acie Law.

I didn't write anything before the season, though there was some hope that the Hawks could threaten to make the playoffs for the first time in nine years.

I didn't write much during the season, including the one game I went to during the year - a game against Utah where the kids imploded in the third quarter and we missed the Hawks coming from behind to win.

I didn't write anything after they clinched a playoff berth with a "red-hot" 5-5 stretch run.

Did we think the Hawks had a good nucleus after the draft ended last year? Yes.
Did we think they could make the playoffs? Yes

Did we think they stood a chance upon making the playoffs? No. Did we think they would win two games against the #1 seed with 66 wins? No. Did I think we would show up in force and actually make Philips Arena sound like it should? No.

But it's happened, and the Hawks are guaranteed at least one more home game. Are the Hawks really this good, and coming together at the right time, or does this show how the Celtics and the rest of the Eastern Conference pale to the West?

It's probably a little of both. The Hawks would be 12th in the West, but they do have a good nucleus of players (lousy draft picks of previous years notwithstanding) that can provide some excitement - it's been a lot of fun to watch Al Horford, Josh Smith, and Joe Johnson shine as much as they have.

Considering how lousy the rest of Atlanta's teams have been lately, it's a welcome relief. (I don't want to talk about the drat, either, and the Falcons getting the second coming of David Carr.)

But I imagine Philips will again be very loud Friday night, whether they win or lose Game 5. That's how it should be.

Quick Picks

Hopefully there is still enough time for you to fade them and make some money.

1st Round upsets:

George Mason over Notre Dame
Winthrop over Washington St.
South Alabama over BUtler
Villanova over Clemson
Kansas St. over USC
CS Fullerton over Wisconsin
Davidson over Gonzaga
Oregon over Mississippi St.
Texas A & M over BYU
Western Ky over Drake
Arizona over West Virginia
Georgia over Xavier

Sweet 16: UNC, Winthrop, Louisville, Tennessee, UNLV, Vanderbilt, CS Fullerton, Georgetown, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Marquette, Miami (FL), UCLA, UConn, Purdue, Duke

Final 4: UNC, Georgetown, Pittsburgh, UCLA

Final: UCLA over UNC (Boring, I know, everyone seems to be picking that.)

Woof

I'd file this under "No f***ing way" but I don't have enough posts to fit that description.

Few words on this post, because the picture says a lot.



I cannot believe they pulled it off, but there were three very happy people in this house when the final horn sounded. (Kim was taking a nap).

Now, it's off to DC to play #3 Xavier. Personally, I think it's a good matchup - I'm not too high on Xavier, so that could be another shocker of an upset, especially if enough Dawgs travel up to support them.

Danny Ware, take it away:

Crapping out through the years

Another draft note - for those feeling nostalgic, the Hawks' draft picks of the last four years:

2006
1 5 Shelden Williams Duke University (Disappointing - 5 PPG, 5 RPG in almost 20 minutes a night. Not that they could have uised Brandon Roy..........*sniffle, sob, sniffle*)
2 3 Solomon Jones University of South Florida (Still doesn't make sense, a year later)

2005
1 2 Marvin Williams University of North Carolina (Not a bust yet, but he better step it up in Season 3. A 13/5 is a good stepping stone, but that means you get better in Season 3, and I'm not just saying this because they passed on Chris Paul, or Deron Williams.....I'd better stop)
2 1 Salim Stoudamire University of Arizona (OK off the bench, but not really good)
2 29 Cenk Akyol (Who?)

2004 NBA
1 6 Josh Childress Stanford University (Decent, but 10 PPG and 5 RPG aren't enough for a #6 overall pick - which combined with the picks above may be why Horford may be the pick this year. Not that Luol Deng or Ande Igoudala would have been any better.....uh oh, here I go again)
1 17 Josh Smith (For once, a successful pick! Well, mostly.)
2 5 Donta Smith Southeastern Illinois College (2 unmemorable seasons)
2 8 Royal Ivey University of Texas at Austin (A bust so far after three seasons at PG - maybe Chris Duhon would have worked better - he went 1 pick later)
2 13 Viktor Sanikidze (Who?)

2003 NBA
1 21 Boris Diaw (Lousy while here, but great now for Phoenix. At least we got Joe Johnson in return)
2 8 Travis Hansen Brigham Young University (One season was enough, but we did pick up Zaza Pachulia who's at been serviceable at center, putting up a 12/7 last year)

The last lottery-level successful selection was probably Jason Terry, taken in 1999 at #10.

So, after four years, they STILL NEED A POINT GUARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Hawks have not had a decent one since Mookie Blaylock was traded. I'm not counting Speedy Claxton who unbelievable got $25 million over four years prior to last season, which is cap space the Hawks could have desparately used this offseason. The extra seven million per year combined with the rest of their available cap space would have allowed them to try to make a run at acquiring one player or another or another.

So, of course, they are probably going to pass on Mike Conley, Jr., Ohio State's PG, and take Horford, who while is a good player just duplicates areas which are somewhat filled (even if there were better selections available). They might be able to snag Joakim Noah at #11 if Al Thornton gets taken at #7.

If they do take Horford at #3, they better hope Acie Law IV is available at #11 and they can take him, otherwise there might be a riot while everyone searches for Billy Hunter so his head can be ripped off. I'm not sold on Javaris Crittenton - I'd prefer Law, even if he is an Aggie.

Just as long as we don't end up with the latest Chinese sensation. That would be very skeevy.

At least they don't look like bottles of ketchup

The Hawks unveiled their new uniforms over the weekend. Red, white, and blue make for a fairly good combination of colors, or so I've been told.


Home jersey here. Away jersey here.


Now, let's hope they draft the right players Thursday night to fill the jerseys. Who knows, I might decide to go to Philips for the draft party.

Bye Bye, Billy

Well, it happened.

Billy Donovan left Florida after all. However, he didn't leave to go back to Kentucky, but is staying somewhat local and going to Orlando to coach the Magic.

I like it, for several reasons:

1) He stays somewhat in his comfort zone, as opposed to moves from Gainesville to DC (Spurrier), Lexington to Boston (Pitino) or other flameouts who left college to go halfway across the country. Heck, he may not even have to move from where he lives now!

2) $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. He'll be making twice as much in Orlando as he would have at Florida.

3) Talent. Florida is losing Horford, Brewer, and Noah to the pros so it's going to be a year of lowered results (sorry, guys). Orlando's an up and coming team that made the playoffs, with Jameer Nelson and Dwight Howard to build around.

4) His departure means we won't have to deal with the remote possibility of a three-peat in Gainesville, even with those players leaving. Makes all of us non-Florida fans a little happier.

Any way to convince Urban Meyer to head somewhere else?

Best of Both Worlds

Well, the draft sure worked well in terms of local benefit and karmic payback!

Portland and Seattle get the top two picks, with Atlanta moving up to third. If Atlanta had been 4th, the pick would have gone to Phoenix as part of the Joe Johnson deal - it was only top-3 protected this year. In addition, the Hawks get the 11th pick from the Pacers thanks to the Al Harrington deal because the Pacers did not move up.

Good for Seattle, as Kevin Durant (assuming that's the pick) would help tremendously. Good for Portland, for actually giving a damn last year and not being the Jail Blazers anymore.

Right now, the Hawks have no pick next year. But two picks in the top 11 this year is a nice little bit of compensation. I'm hoping the #3 pick is Mike Conley, Jr. from Ohio State, so that the Hawks can finally HAVE A POINT GUARD!!!!!!! As for the #11 pick, I have no idea.

Last, for fans of the Grizzlies, Celtics, and Bucks: This is what you deserve for tanking the end of the season. Serves you right.

Now go get your shinebox.

UPDATE: Again, Celtics fans, the tanking and the fans' erstwhile endorement of it made this inevitable. Shut up and stop whining. You get what you give. Jeez.

Good day for Atlanta sports

Well, let's see:

1) We had the Final Four without massive gridlock or too many shootings (a couple, but at least no NFL players were involved)

2) The Braves won their first game to re-take first place in the NL East with a mighty 1-0 record. Four scoreless innings from the bullpen is a very nice way to start by beating the Phillies on the road, 5-3.

3) Last, for the first time ever, the Atlanta Thrashers are heading to the playoffs. Thanks to a Toronto loss yesterday, the Thrashers clinched a playoff berth. They have not yet clinched the division, but are three points up on Tampa with three games left. As of right now, they would face the Rangers in the first round - who knows, it might be fun to root against the Rangers again.

The Hawks, however, can't even lose right, as they'll lose their lottery pick if it is outside the top 3 and they currently have the fourth-worst record behind Boston, Milwaukee, and Memphis. Hopefully, they can learn to suck just a little more over the last couple weeks to get a better shot at a top-3 pick and either Oden, Durant, or Joakim Noah.

I hate the Gators

I hate them a lot right now.

Last night, Florda beat UCLA by 10 to advance to a rematch of the BCS Championship against Ohio State.

If UCLA had won last night and won Monday night, I would have won my pool. Because the damn Gators won, I now have no chance even though I had 3 of 4 in the Final Four.

Because I REALLY needed another reason to hate Florida.

And now, back to watching Wonder Pets for the 842nd time. For some bizarre reason, that is one of Alex's favorite shows. I find it as fun as getting hit over the head with a beer bottle - most of the other shows he likes are somewhat tolerable, but this one just grates on my nerves for some strange reason.

It's just started raining, so hopefully the pollen will come down from the 6000+ levels it's been at all week, and get rid of part of the yellow blankets from hell.

UPDATE: Yes, I know, Florida won. That's nice. Here's what I have to say because I don't want to talk about it.

Not your normal St. Patrick's Day

Normally, it is a day for massive celebrating, drunkenness, and frivolity.

So, of course, I absolutely blew it out on Saturday - by going to the DMV and IKEA.

I am such a party animal. At least I got in and out of the DMV in 20 minutes - which was a nice belated birthday present.

Of course, the rest of my time was spent watching basketball. I'm a but stunned by the results - there really isn't one team left you could term a Cinderella, such as a George Mason, Valpo, Xavier, and so on.

I mean, I don't ever recall seeing this many high seeds left:

Midwest: 1, 3, 4, 7
East: 1, 2, 5, 6
South: 1, 2, 3, 5
West: 1, 2, 3, 4

Only one #2 seed is gone - and of course, I had picked them for the Elite Eight. Seriously, can anyone remember a time when no one above a 7 remained?

Taking the chalk all the way might have been the best idea after all!

Bracket Busting

Well, March Madness is underway.

So I might as well throw out who I picked.

For once, it was not Kentucky. I actually picked them to lose in the 1st round to Villanova.

Today, I went 13 of 16. Not too bad. The only ones I missed were Butler (Old Dominion), Vanderbilt (George Washington), and Texas Tech (Boston College).

At least I was right about VCU over Duke.

As for games tomorrow, I picked a few upsets. Miami (OH), Winthrop, Arkansas, Villanova (9), and some little state school in upstate NY. 5 lower seeds out of 16.

Sweet 16 picks: I lost George Washington, so here are the other 15:

Florida
Maryland
Winthrop
Wisconsin
Kansas
Virginia Tech
VCU
UCLA
Nevada
Texas A & M
Ohio State
That school in NY
Georgetown
Texas
UNC

Final Four: UCLA over Florida, Ohio State over Texas
Final: UCLA over Ohio State

I can't believe I'm picking UCLA to win it all.

So far, I'm running second in my pool, so hopefully I can stay there and continue my run of good luck.

What's the over/under on Paternity Suits and Bail Bonds?

With football over and baseball not yet begun, mid-February allows two other sports to have their midseason showcases.

The NHL's All-Star Game already happened, but nobody cared.

Coming up in about 10 days is the NBA's All-Star Weekend. However, the events themselves may not stand out too much. Unless, of course, you're that hyped over a dunk contest between Gerald Green, Dwight Howard, Tyrus Thomas and defending champ Nate Robinson (if you even know their teams, congratulations).

No, what is unique about this All-Star weekend is the location. They've done Miami, they've done LA, but this weekend will be different. A raising of the sakes, if you will.

Because, really, nothing could possibly go wrong with a couple hundred basketball players and their entourages in Sin City and roaming the Strip with every possible temptation within arm's reach, right?

Right?

(shudder)

Sportscenter may do a joint braodcast with Cops by the time it's over.