Author: John Paulsen (Page 745 of 937)

“We want ta-cos!”

January 13, 2008 / John Paulsen

I attended the Lakers/Bucks game at the Staples Center Friday night. I grew up in Wisconsin, so I have been a longtime Bucks fan since the days of Sidney Moncrief and Bob Lanier. I went with JC, a friend of mine who is a diehard Laker fan. Tickets are expensive, but we try to make the Lakers/Bucks game every season. Last year, I was treated to a 109-105 win when Michael Redd scored 45 points (18 in the fourth quarter) to upset the Lakers, breaking a 10-game string of dominance by L.A.

As of Friday night, the Bucks had won three straight against the Lakers, but Kobe and Co. were playing well, so I wasn’t optimistic about Milwaukee’s chances.

And I was right. The Bucks trailed the entire game, but kept it close enough that they were in scramble mode late in the fourth quarter.

Then the chant started.

“We want ta-cos!”

Apparently, if the Lakers hold their opponents under 100 points, those that attend the game can get free tacos at Jack in the Box, a local fast food joint.

Already irritated by the inevitable outcome of the game, this grating chant annoyed me even more. It wasn’t enough that the Lakers are playing well and that they snapped a three-game losing streak against the Bucks, these front running Laker fans had to have their tacos, too.

So, after rookie Yi Jianlian hit a fadeaway jumper with 0:16 to play, the Bucks had 99 points. Michael Redd immediately fouled to stop the clock, and since Milwaukee was down 10 (and, of course, since it hurt their chances of getting their tacos), the Laker fans started to boo. The chant started up again.

“We want ta-cos!”

The Bucks got the ball back and Charlie Bell made a three-pointer with 0:11 to put the Bucks over the top.

The Lakers fans booed even louder.

I cheered, knowing that my beloved Bucks came through in the end. They didn’t win the game, but they might have won the war.

No tacos tonight, kids.

NBA

BCS “exploring” modified playoff

January 8, 2008 / John Paulsen

An article in the LA Times sheds some light on the BCS’ short-term postseason plans.

Despite continued resistance from two conferences and a major bowl, incoming Bowl Championship Series coordinator John Swofford says college football leaders will continue to explore a modified playoff.
“I think the subject deserves that,” Swofford, commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference, said Monday at a Football Writers Assn. of America meeting.

Really? You “think” that 90%+ of college football fans might be right about a playoff being the best thing for the sport?

College football officials have ruled out an expanded “NFL-style” playoff.

Great.

Four conferences — ACC, Big East, Southeastern and Big 12 — are interested in pursuing a Plus One model that would add an additional game to the current five-game BCS arrangement.
The Pacific 10 and Big Ten Conferences, and the Rose Bowl, are opposed to Plus One.

Get with the program, Pac-10 and Big Ten. What is this “Plus One” that you speak of?

Plus One would potentially seed the top four teams in the final BCS standings. No. 1 would play No. 4 and No. 2 would play No. 3 in two of the major BCS bowls, and the winners would then play for the BCS title.

Wait, isn’t that just a four-team playoff? Why are we calling this “Plus One”?

Swofford admitted Plus One would not solve the controversies that have often plagued the BCS since its inception in 1998.
If Plus One was used this year, Georgia and USC, two of the hottest teams in the country, would not have made the cut. Georgia finished No. 5 in the BCS standings; USC was No. 7.

Right, and an “NFL-style,” six-, eight- or even sixteen-team playoff would solve those controversies.

ARGH!

College Football

I expected the Celtics to be good…

January 8, 2008 / John Paulsen

…but not this good.

Boston is 29-3 and is on pace to finish the season 74-8, which would break the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls record of 72 wins. They’re getting outstanding play from their Big Three. Paul Pierce is averaging 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists. Kevin Garnett is posting 19.1 points, 10.1 boards and 3.6 assists a game. Finally, Ray Allen is pitching in with 18.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists to round out the dangerous trio.

But the Celtics aren’t just about offense. The team allows the fewest points in the league (87.3), and is also first in FG% allowed (.414) and 3P% allowed (.312).

Keep an eye on how Doc Rivers is using each of his stars. He isn’t using the Spurs’ model. When all three are healthy, it’s not often that the Spurs have fewer than two of their three stars on the court at any given time. There are long stretches in Celtics games when Garnett and Pierce (or Allen) are on the bench. It’s clear that he’s trying to develop his bench, and it hasn’t hurt the C’s yet, so it appears to be a successful strategy. Once the playoffs arrive, it will be interesting to see if he changes his rotation to ensure that at least two of his three stars are on the court at any given time.

So what are the chances of the C’s breaking the Bulls’ record? I’d say they are just so-so. Although they are playing great, they haven’t played the three best teams in the West – San Antonio, Dallas and Phoenix – so those should be six tough games right there. They’ve also stayed relatively injury-free, as Ray Allen is the only member of the Big Three that has missed any time (two games) due to injury.

To break the record, they need to continue to defend the way they are (not an easy task) and stay injury-free (which is even more difficult). That said, they definitely have a shot.

It’s nice that the East is relevant again.

Fantasy Basketball, NBA

Who is the better rookie?

January 4, 2008 / John Paulsen

Adrian Peterson ran away (pun intended) with Rookie of the Year honors, garnering 46.5 of the panel’s 50 votes. Joe Thomas was the only other rookie to get a vote. (He actually got 3.5.)

Where is Ryan Grant?

All right, hear me out.

Much is made of the numbers Peterson put up even though he didn’t crack the starting lineup until the sixth game. In the first five games, he averaged 19.2 carries, which are hardly backup numbers. Grant got all of six carries in the five games he appeared in before taking over as the Packers’ starter in week 8. Here are a few per game stats for each player, which compare Peterson’s 14-game performance to Grant’s 10-game stint as Green Bay’s starter:

Peterson: 115 total yards, 5.6 ypc, 0.9 TD
Grant: 105 total yards, 5.1 ypc, 0.8 TD

Here are their numbers over the last four games:

Peterson: 46 total yards, 2.7 ypc, 0.5 TD
Grant: 97 total yards, 5.5 ypc, 1.0 TD

By most accounts, Peterson played behind a much better offensive line and the 8-8 Vikings didn’t even make the playoffs. So much is made of the team’s record when the balloting is done for the MVP award, but it doesn’t seem to play a role in the voting for ROY. The Packers finished the season 13-3 and Grant was a major reason why defenses weren’t able to key on Brett Favre and Co. in the passing game.

I’m not saying that the wrong guy won the award – Peterson had a wonderful year and deserved the honor – but I think there’s enough of an argument for Grant that at least one panel member would have voted for him or at least split a vote between the two players.

Fantasy Football, NFL

The top 50 keeper league players

January 1, 2008 / John Paulsen

With the 2007 fantasy football season behind us, keeper leaguers should be looking ahead to 2008. It’s clear (to me, anyway) that LaDainian Tomlinson is still the best bet in football, but plenty of fresh faces litter my list of the top 50 keeper league players, including Adrian Peterson and Braylon Edwards.

Take a look and tell me what you think.