EAST
Chauncey Billips (Detroit), Chris Bosh (Toronto), Caron Butler (Washington), Richard Hamilton (Detroit), Antawn Jamison (Washington), Joe Johnson (Atlanta), Paul Pierce (Boston)
WEST
Carlos Boozer (Utah), Steve Nash (Phoenix), Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas), Chris Paul (New Orleans), Brandon Roy (Portland), Amare Stoudemire (Phoenix), David West (New Orleans)
As a reminder, Jason Kidd, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett and Dwight Howard are the starters for the East, while Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan and Yao Ming are the starters for the West. (It’s funny, because the email I received from NBA.com regarding the reserves has T-Mac in the group of images at the bottom, which are supposed to represent the starters. It’s good to see that the coaches didn’t select him when there were far better first half performances in the West.)
So, compared to my picks from two weeks ago, in the East, Rip Hamilton and Joe Johnson replaced my picks of Ray Allen and Josh Smith. With Boston’s recent slip, I can see why the coaches took Rip over Ray Ray, though I think Hedo Turkoglu would have made a better choice. I still think Josh Smith is the best player in Atlanta, though Joe Johnson has a bigger name at the moment.
In the West, Brandon Roy and David West replaced my picks of Baron Davis and Shawn Marion. Man, knowing how much importance he places on getting props, I bet the Matrix is pissed. He’s been a good citizen all year and is playing great ball, but he doesn’t make the All-Star team (and Amare Stoudemire does). I have no problem with the David West pick. New Orleans is on fire and West is a terrific complement to Chris Paul. I think it came down to the fact that the coaches couldn’t justify three Suns and only one Hornet, so they went with West, who probably deserves the honor given the Hornets’ recent play.
Roy is a great young guard, but Portland’s success is a team effort in every sense of the word, so it’s tough to take him over Davis who has better numbers and has led the Warriors to a better record.
Bobby Petrino still knows how to talk tell a good lie game apparently.
Petrino, now coach at Arkansas, spent extensive time over the past two weeks recruiting the top two prospects from Chattahoochee High School, defensive end Justin Smith and safety Elton Ford.
“My impression of [Petrino] was very high. I was just really impressed with how honest he was with the kids,” Chattahoochee coach Terry Crowder said. “I would have to say he is now one of my favorite head coaches I’ve ever met. I just can’t say enough good things.”
“I just got a good vibe about Coach Petrino from the start: He is straight up and honest about everything,” Ford said.
Deadspin.com has found the mother of all audio clips. Here’s Chris Berman throwing a hissy fit on an ESPN crew during a commercial break for a 1999 broadcast of Monday Night Football. (Warning: Clip has bad language and contains a highly irritable fat man).
I don’t blame him for getting pissed. He has one of the hardest jobs in the word coming up with atrocious nicknames for football players, and he’s got people ducking under cameras and what not. Ridiculous.
Who will the MVP of the Game thank first?
(Only listed options). If Two or More MVP’s wagers will be No Action. Singles Only. Max $100
Teammates 2/1 God 5/2
Family 2/1
Coach 5/1
Doesn’t thank anyone 6/1
I don’t know about anyone else, but if I were to bet, there’s no way I’m going against God in any wager. I’m not going to be the one standing at the pearly gates who didn’t bet on God when he had the chance. If Jesus were listed, I’d throw a separate bet on him too, just to be safe.
Just for kicks, you can also bet on which song Tom Petty will end with at halftime and how long the National Anthem will last. If anyone bets more than a $1 on any of these SB prop wagers, you might want to ask yourself where your life’s heading.
The Drake Bulldogs are having a season most people only dream about. First year head coach, Keno Davis, led his team to a 75-65 victory over defending champion, Creighton, to stay perfect in the Missouri Valley. They are now 19-1 and have won a school record 18 games in a row.
Tied at 65 last night they ran off the final 10 points of the game to win going away. Drake was 12-27 from the 3 point line and 15-16 from the foul line.
Hats off to Coach Davis and the Bulldogs. They join a couple of other Bulldog team rising from the mid major level. The other two being Gonzaga and Butler. If this keeps up more teams will be changing their nicknames.
It took 24 years for the Kansas State Wildcats to beat Kansas at home, but with the help of three freshman who weren’t even born when the streak started they knocked off the Jayhawks, 84-75 last night. The predicted advantage of the Kansas guards never materialized as freshman Jacob Pullen tallied 20 points and the Wildcats hit 12 three point shots.
Leading Player of the Year Candidate, Michael Beasley, was spectacular once again. Facing a double team everytime down the floor he still managed to score 25 pints and grab 6 rebounds. When the game was in the balance he calmly stepped outside and sank a three point shot (his fourth of the night). I didn’t think it was possible, but he is better than advertised. Also, fellow freshman Bill Walker scored 22 points on 9-18 shooting.
The Cats led almost the entire game and really did a number on the glass. They were able to get key baskets off offensive rebounds all night long. Standing alone at 5-0 in the Big 12 it is a lofty perch for first year head coach, Frank Martin. After last night’s perfomrance I hope he gets the recognition he deserves for molding this team with nine newcomers into a cohesive unit.
For Kansas it is only a bump in the road. However, I am still concerned about the disappearing act that Brandon Rush did. He had opportunities to step up and take over, but never did. For the Jayhawks to win it all Rush will need to put himself front and center just as Beasley has done for Kansas State.
Down in Texas, it seems that Texas A & M has righted the ship as they ripped off their second win in a row with a convincing 80-63 win over Texas. I wonder if Mark Turgeon is getting any credit this morning. As he said in his meltdown news conference last week, “if we win Gillispie will get all the credit.” My response is be thankful for the talent you inherited. You could be like Greg Marshall who inherited your Wichita State team with no players left what so ever.
In Columbia fans are wondering if they will ever escape the off the court problems. Two years ago Missouri had a chance to hire Bob Huggins before he went to Kansas State, but decided the safe choice was Mike Anderson. Now after suspending five players and losing your best player to a bar fight (Stefon Hannah out 4-6 weeks with broken jaw.), I am sure they are second guessing themselves. With the Wildcats headed for the NCAA tournament, Missouri loses at home to last place Nebraska. Could be a long year for the Tigers. The frustrating part is that the majority of players getting in trouble are not leftovers, they are Anderson recruits. Not a good sign of the program moving forward.
On September 6, the Indianapolis Colts kicked off the 2007 NFL Season by thrashing the New Orleans Saints 41-10. Seventeen regular season weeks and three rounds postseason rounds later, Super Bowl XLII is finally here.
Bullz-Eye.com’s Super Bowl XLII Preview has a little bit of everything, from reasons why either the Giants or Patriots could win on Sunday, to articles, interviews with Troy Aikman, Joe Buck, Terry Bradshaw and Jimmy Johnson, as well as a comic strip devoted to the highly personable Bill Belichick.
Johnson indicated earlier this winter that he’s interested in playing for Bill Parcells’ Dolphins. His body language and attitude on the set made it appear that he is dejected, and he admitted being “frustrated.” While Johnson is unhappy, the team doesn’t seem interested in dealing him. A little more money would probably shut him up.
Does anybody else feel like Parcells and Johnson would make an odd tandem?
New England’s Ellis “Don’t call me Too Short” Hobbs apparently didn’t take kindly to FOXSports.com reporter Kevin Hench asking him if covering the 6-foot-5 Plaxico Burress would be an issue this Sunday because of the cornerback’s lack height.
Thomas Hobbes said, “Life is brutish and short.” Ellis Hobbs said (paraphrasing), “Who you calling short, (blanky-blanker)?” Maybe there was a better way to phrase it, but however I asked Ellis Hobbs about the challenges of covering the 6-foot-5 Burress, all he heard was, “Damn, you’re short.” At first I felt bad as he launched into a rant about how much of a better chance he stood of covering Burress than I did, but then it hit me that this was not a guy brimming with confidence. If you have to point out that you’re a better cover corner than the four-eyed goofball asking the (apparently) impertinent question, well, you must be having some bad visions of No. 17 haunting your dreams. Hobbs seems a little psyched out and maybe with good reason. Burress physically abused him for a 52-yard gain on the Giants’ second play from scrimmage in Week 17, even though Hobbs had perfect position. Manning threw a jump ball and, well, the taller guy went up and snagged it.
Perhaps the real story behind Hobbs’ anger isn’t due to his lack of height. Maybe he’s still pissed at this young couple for only calling Rotman’s furniture “good”:
Roger Clemens showed up to Houston Astros’ minicamp Wednesday, but wouldn’t you know it, he steered clear of steroid questions.
“I’m not going to talk about that,” said Clemens, dressed in jogging pants, a hooded sweatshirt and a baseball cap. “I’m doing it the right way and do what I need to do. We’re going to do it the right way.”
Oh you can run Roger, but you can’t hide. Apparently Brian McNamee’s lawyer says Andy Pettitte could corroborate the HGH accusations against Clemens when he’s due to speak to a House committee next week.
