Author: John Paulsen (Page 361 of 937)

      Vitale: Pete Carroll “beat the posse”

      January 9, 2010 /

      During the broadcast of the Georgetown/UConn game on ESPN, Dick Vitale commented on the report that Pete Carroll has signed a deal to coach the Seattle Seahawks.

      “Well, you know, to me, he beat the posse. Posse coming after him down there, the NCAA. He takes the money, the program gets hurt in the future. I really have a problem with that. These guys go on, they leave the program, take their cash and run. Because, you know, the NCAA is still investigating them for Reggie Bush. And I just feel that he beat the posse, got his cash, and off he went.”

      — Dick Vitale, during Georgetown/UConn broadcast (1/9/10)

      College Basketball, College Football, Rumors & Gossip

      It’s going to be a big Saturday in sports

      January 9, 2010 /

      Earlier this week, I took a look at the sports schedule for Saturday and asked my wife, “Please don’t volunteer me for anything on Saturday. It’s a huge day in sports.”

      I live in California, so things start early for me. Those of you on the East Coast or in the Midwest have a few hours in the morning to get the husband/boyfriend duties out of the way. Here’s your Big Saturday itinerary:

      12 PM ET / 9 AM PT: #13 UConn @ #12 Georgetown (ESPN)
      Sure, Georgetown’s loss at Marquette on Wednesday takes a little sting out of this matchup, but a home date with UConn should get the Hoyas plenty focused. Georgetown has a balanced attack (three players averaging 14+ ppg) while UConn is The Jerome Dyson-Stanley Robinson Show. (Side note: The Huskies still haven’t won a game away from home this season.)

      1:30 PM ET / 10:30 AM PT: #4 Purdue @ #20 Wisconsin
      The Boilermakers face a tough test on the road against the Badgers’ stingy defense. Sadly, this one isn’t on national TV. Bummer.

      2 PM ET / 11 AM PT: #5 Duke @ #17 Georgia Tech (ESPN)
      Another top 5 team faces a tough road test. This time, it’s The Team That Everyone Loves To Hate who visits a good Georgia Tech squad in Atlanta. The Yellow Jackets’ feshman big man Derrick Favors (currently projected to be the #2 pick in the draft) will battle the Dookies inside.

      4:30 PM ET / 1:30 PM PT: Jets @ Bengals (NBC)
      The Jets come in surprisingly confident (considering they have a rookie QB who has thrown 20 interceptions this season) after thrashing an uninspired Cincy team in Week 17. Look for the Bengals to play well and take advantage of Mark Sanchez’s inexperience. The Jets have a great defense, so this should be a low scoring affair.

      7 PM ET / 4 PM PT: Hawks @ Magic (Fox Sports South)
      I know, it’s the NBA regular season, but if the Jets/Bengals game gets out of control, this Atlanta/Orlando matchup features two of the top four teams in the East.

      8 PM ET / 5 PM PT: Eagles @ Cowboys (NBC)
      All eyes will be on Dallas tomorrow night as the Cowboys try not to suffer another late season meltdown. The Eagles looked terrible in Week 17 — could they possibly play that bad back-to-back? We’ll see. The Cowboys are one of the hottest teams in football right now, but game smells like it will be a close one.

      There you go — East Coasters can go to bed while those of us living on the West Coast can take our ladies to a late movie. Good times.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      College Basketball, NBA, NFL

      Why did the Boise State Broncos finish #4?

      January 8, 2010 /

      One Bronco Nation Under God put together an interesting breakdown of the final AP vote for the 2009-10 college football season.

      Why is it interesting? Well, Alabama finished #1, as they should. But it was Texas, not Florida, that finished #2. The Gators finished third and the Broncos finished at #4. The site points out a couple of voters who actually had the Broncos ranked lower than #4:

      [Craig] James was far and away the most anti-Boise AP voter of the bunch. Voting Boise State at No. 7 is inexcusable. Voting TCU at No. 14 is just as bad.

      The worst part is that the Broncos only finished four points behind Florida in the AP poll. Hmm, where might you find four extra points? If Craig James had voted like a rational human being, the Broncos could have at least got three more points (if James put them at No. 4).

      James had Ohio State, Penn State and Iowa ahead of the Broncos. I guess he’s a big fan of the Big Ten.

      Then there’s the case of the only other writer in the country to put the Broncos lower than #4 — Kirk Bohls, of Austin, Texas.

      He dropped the Broncos below … wait for it … THE Ohio State University. We’ll laugh about this later. I swear we will. Bohls and James were the only ones with OSU in front of BSU. Had Bohls swapped the Broncos and the Buckeyes, Boise State would have picked up an extra AP point and been tied with Florida for No. 3.

      In addition to James’ #7 ranking and Bohls’ #5 ranking, 22 voters had the Broncos at #2, six ranked them #3 and 30 voters had Boise State at #4, so it appears that the voters are split into two camps: 1) those that believe that the Broncos belong (ranking them #2 or #3), 2) and those that still don’t think they are as good as one-loss BCS teams like Texas and Florida (ranking them #4 or lower).

      The bottom line is that nothing has changed. A Colt McCoy-less Texas squad looked good enough against Alabama to stay at #2, while Florida thrashed a head coach-less Cincy squad in the Sugar Bowl. Boise State played TCU in the Fiesta Bowl, which made for a “fun” (i.e. non-BCS) matchup, but neither team got the opportunity to play against the big boys.

      And that’s exactly the way the BCS wanted it. If Boise State and TCU got matchups with BCS schools this bowl seasons and won (or at least made it a game), it would add more fuel to the we-need-a-playoff fire.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      College Football

      Bosh to Houston?

      January 8, 2010 /

      There has been some Bosh to Chicago talk in recent days, and now Marc Stein says the Rockets are very interested in acquiring Toronto’s big man, even if they have no assurances that he’ll re-sign next summer.

      What we did hear, though, is that the Houston Rockets have made it known that they would be willing to trade for Bosh immediately … even if they don’t get a guarantee they can re-sign him this summer.

      Sources say the ever-aggressive Rockets are sure a half-season in Houston could convince the native Texan to pledge his long-term future to a city players love as well as a team that sits four games over .500 without the injured Yao Ming and the exiled Tracy McGrady.

      This season’s success without marquee names also suggests that the Rockets have the requisite stash of assets — depending on whom they’re willing to surrender from a group that includes Aaron Brooks, Carl Landry, Trevor Ariza and Luis Scola — to assemble a legit deal for Toronto to consider. It’s likewise believed that Houston can put a decent package together without insisting that McGrady’s mammoth $22.5 million salary has to be part of it, which complicates matters even though it’s an expiring deal because so many more players have to be included to make the trade math work.

      You figure Chicago, Miami and New York also are on the short list of teams that would be willing to risk trading for Bosh before we get to the summer. Those are the teams thought to have the best shot at signing him in free agency and could inherit Bosh’s Larry Bird rights with a deal before the deadline. None of them, though, can offer a better talent deal than Houston. The Heat and Knicks — with their heavily stripped-down rosters as the countdown continues to July 1 — can’t come close.

      From a talent standpoint, I’m not so sure that Houston has the edge. They do have a number of good young pieces, but Miami’s Michael Beasley and the Knicks’ Danilo Gallinari would seem to have more upside than any of the Rockets mentioned. The Rockets do have more young talent overall than the Knicks or the Heat, so maybe they’ll be able to put a package together that will appeal to the Raptors. I’m sure Toronto would rather trade Bosh out of the Eastern Conference if possible.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Andre Miller is not happy in Portland

      January 8, 2010 /

      An argument between Andre Miller and head coach Nate McMillan to close practice is further proof that the (ill-conceived) marriage just isn’t working out (OregonLive.com).

      The louder parts of the exchange, which intermittently featured raised voices and expletives from both sides, were audible through a closed door where media were waiting to enter the practice court.

      He has mildly complained about the team’s “methodical” playing style, and more than hinted that McMillan is a “controlling” coach that stifles free play. He also has slipped into interviews he is confused about his role, which has twice alternated between reserve and starter, and recently has expressed bewilderment over a growing trend of playing little, if any, in the fourth quarter.

      Brandon Roy is the Blazers’ star, and he does most of the ball handling in crunch time. He needs to play alongside a point guard who can space the court with good shooting. Moreover, the Blazers continue to play at the slowest pace in the league, so why they would want to sign a point guard that wants to push the ball and can’t shoot it from deep is beyond me. This signing didn’t make much sense last summer and it makes even less sense now.

      Miller was Portland’s Plan C (or D or E, who knows) after attempts to acquire Paul Millsap and Hedo Turkoglu fell through. Some suggested that management didn’t want the cap space to go to waste, so they acquired Miller figuring that they’d be able to move him for another asset later in the season. That may very well happen.

      Miller is signed for two more seasons at the tune of $15 million, but the final year of his deal is not guaranteed, so his contract shouldn’t be too hard to move. The Knicks and Heat jump out as good fits, but neither team is likely to squander its cap space next summer for a 33-year-old point guard.

      Maybe he won’t be so easy to move after all…

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

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