“Sweet 16: Day 1 Predictions”

I expect the clock to strike Midnight tomorrow night for the Jimmer Show.

The madness resumes tomorrow evening with 4 big time games.  And it cannot come soon enough.  Out of the 8 teams that play tomorrow, I correctly picked 6 of them in my bracket.  Plus all 4 of the teams I predicted to move on to the Elite Eight in my bracket are still in tact.  Here is a closer look into each of tomorrow’s matchups.

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“Madness Highlights Thus Far Part II”

Duke has been pronounced as the favorite with the return of super freshman Kyrie Irving (pictured above). Irving is an outstanding player but I am still not entirely sold on the Blue Devils.

The 2nd and 3rd rounds sure have lived up to the hype this year.  MoreheadState, Richmond, Butler and more.  The upsets have been galore, and many games have come down to the final seconds.  What more could you really ask for? Since my last update, here are my thoughts for the Saturday and Sunday games thus far.

“Madness Highlights Thus Far”

UConn star Kemba Walker made a name for himself in Maui. He continued his great play throughout the regular season and wowed New York in the Big East Tournament. Now he looks to take his team to the Final Four.

As if there is anything else going on in the wide world of sports that is on the same wave length as the NCAA Tournament right now.  Sure there is the Roger Goodell versus Kevin Burnett bickering, Spring Training, and NBA Action.  But none of these things compare to the first Thursday of the NCAA Tournament.  And yes I said the first Thursday, because it is no longer the first round technically.  It is the start of Round 2.  Whatever it is the start of, you got to love it.

No predictions today.  I will let my bracket play out a little.  But I wanted to check in and let you know my initial thoughts of this year’s edition of March Madness.

“Food for Thought 3-15-11”

I am not sure how Florida Coach Billy Donovan (pictured above) and the Gators received a number 2 seed. But you can count on the Southeast Region to be a wild one.

It is an extreme chore not to focus all of my attention on the NCAA Tournament.  And I will admit, the majority of my thought over the past 24 hours has been focused on the Madness.  How should I fill out my bracket?  Will it be an upset city marathon like last year?  Or will all the parity hype just be for not?  Well there is one thing I do know.  The Southeast Region will by far be the most unpredictable.  Since viewing the Selection Show on Sunday, I was utterly shocked at the way this region came out.

“NCAA March Madness Preview Part 1”

The brackets are out. Let the journey to Houston begin!

The Brackets are finally officially set.  No more speculation.  No more bracketology.  I will admit that what ESPN Bracketology specialist Joe Lunardi does is pretty remarkable.  But it is made out as if his bracket is more important than the real thing some times.  I will take the bracket presented by the CBS Selection Show every day of the week over Lunardi’s.  Anyways, after watching the Selection Show this evening, here are a few initial items that really jumped out at me:

“Weekly Nickel”

We have an amazing week of College Basketball ahead and I foresee Jay Wright (pictured above) leading his Villanova squad to 2 major victories. Expect Nova to be in the top 10 come Monday.

I will admit that I enjoyed All Star Weekend more than I normally do.  The Dunk Contest had a little spice to it, unlike last year’s fiasco.  Though it did seem a bit rigged to go in Griffin’s favor.  JaVale McGee put on a pretty strong showing in his own right.  Then the game.  Though very boring for a while, really picked up in the 4th.  The play of the game in my eyes was when Kobe flushed home the dunk on the break in King Jame’s grill.  And then he gave him a little pat on the butt.  Kobe sent a message last night to the Heat, Celtics, and other contending teams.  The Lakers will be ready come playoff time.  You can count on it.

“Food for Thought 2-15-11”

Jimmer Mania has taken the nation by storm. I will admit that I am finally jumping on the bandwagon. There are two key questions though. Is Fredette Adam Morrison Part II and can anyone "Teach Me How to Jimmer?"

I have been getting hungry all day and now it is time to quench that hunger with the typical Tuesday “Food for Thought.”  So much going on.  So much to talk about it.  Lets jump right into the main headlines.

Teach Me How to Jimmer

Jimmer Mania has taken the country by storm.  I will admit that I am about a month late.  But I am finally jumping on the Fredette bus.  Let Jimmer Mania reign.  Sue me for being a month behind the times.  I am not easily sold on guys like that this playing in the smaller conferences.  But after witnessing how Mr. Fredette “Put the team on his back” against Utah on Saturday, I am finally sold.

The real question though is Jimmer going to become Adam Morrison Part II?  The two have eerily similar numbers. 

Fredette:  27.3PPG, 4.3APG (assists), 3.4RPG (rebounds), 1.4SPG (steals per game)

Morrison (his junior year):  28.1PPG, 1.8APG (assists), 5.5RPG (rebounds), 1.1SPG (steals per game)

In addition, both guys take 19 shots per contest.  It is kind of scary honestly how similar their numbers are.  But I am going to go with my gut on this one.  Jimmer may not become a star in the League, but he will become a very solid player.  The kid is able to create his own shot much easier than Morrison could and he also D’s up at a much higher level.  If you are not sold on Mr. Fredette, check this video out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqX_b_Bu4hI  (Teach Me How to Jimmer)

Captain Cardinal Controversy

St. Louis Cardinal’s legendary manager Tony Larussa is at it again.  This time he is calling out the MLB Player’s Union.  He claims the Union is pressuring Cardinal star Albert Pujols to hold out for a record-setting contract.  Either way, could you really blame the guy?  Pujols is the unquestioned best player in the game.  It would be hard not to expect some sort of record pay-day.  But that is besides the point here.

I am not a fan of Tony Larussa.  I never have been.  I understand that the guy has won the World Series with a team in both Leagues.  I realize that he is the longest tenured Coach in any of the Big 4 sports (now that Sloan resigned).  And he has accomplished many other great things.  It does not mean I like the guy.

He took a blind eye to massive steroid usage on his Oakland Athletic’s teams in the late 80s, early 90s.  I am not saying he is the only one who turned a blind eye.  But it is blatantly obvious that he condoned this on his teams.  In addition, he is the biggest micromanager in all of baseball.  Let me repeat. 

Larussa=Micromanager

People wonder why the American public’s interest in Major League baseball has been steadily declining and moving towards the NFL over the past decade.  I give you exhibit A.  People hate long and boring games.  Micromanaging creates this type of ball game.  Just thank Mr. Larussa for being one of the main contributors to this problem in baseball today.  In addition, he had a DUI incident back in 2007.  Had a very controversial incident with Twitter in 2009.  And last summer, he ran his mouth, fueling the fire with NL Central rival, Cincinnati.  I never got to thank him for this.

Either way, Larussa needs to put a plug in his mouth.  I really hope Pujols does not sign tomorrow.  It would serve Larussa right having the future of Albert Pujols hanging over his head all season.  Maybe thinking about Albert Pujols would make him think twice about batting his pitcher in the 8 hole.  Since apparently he knows something that the rest of baseball doesn’t in batting his pitchers 8th.  Guy must be a genius.

Philly Tag Usage

Today was a big day for franchise and transition tagging across the board in the NFL.  No city was more active though than Philadelphia.  Michael Vick, coming off a phenomenal season, was franchised tagged.  And Pro Bowl Kicker, David Akers was transitioned tag.  Now this is all good and well.  We already knew Vick would be the Eagle’s QB next year.  But what team will Kevin Kolb be suiting up for next season?

Many see this guy starting somewhere.  I have never really understood what all the hype was regarding Mr. Kolb.  But I do know he will forever be a backup in Philly as long as Michael Vick is alive and well.  This guy must have some sort of ability though.  I mean, Kolb was the Eagle’s original starter last season until an injury gave Michael Vick the ability to flap his wings and fly away with the job. 

Now this is all hypothetical talk though in that he will not be going anywhere if a new collective bargaining agreement is not formed.  But say a new CBA passes.  Where will Kolb end up? 

The frontrunners are as follows:  Tennessee Titans, Arizona Cardinals, and Miami Dolphins.

The sleepers are as follows:  San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings

And my dark horse is none other than the Cincinnati Bengals.  Carson Palmer’s house is currently on the market.  The guy has stated that if Cincinnati does not trade him, he will retire.  And believe me, the Bengals are not planning on having Jordan Palmer be their starter come September.  So why not pick up Kevin Kolb?  It is just a thought.  I know it is a longshot, but I would not be utterly shocked if it happened.

Just some “Food for Thought.”

Let me hear your thoughts though.  Please comment below with any questions or insights that you may have or shoot me an email at contact@thesportskraze.com.

Stay tuned for the next edition of TheSportsKraze.

-TheSportsKraze

“Player of the Year Thus Far?”

Kemba Walker is my favorite for the National Player of the Year at this point. But Jimmer Fredette and Jared Sullinger are not far behind.

College Basketball has already delved into the wonderland that is conference play. Teams are beginning to gel. There are no more excuses for working out the kinks. Now is the time where you ride or die when building up that resume for the NCAA Tournament Committee. This is the point in the year where the boys get separated from the men. Over the next month and a half, bubbles will be formed and bubbles will burst.

So the question I pose to you all today. If the season ended today, who would be your National Player of the Year?

In my eyes, it is a 3 man race…

“Weekly Nickel”

The Under Armour Senior Bowl is set for Saturday. Derrick Locke (pictured above) is one of many players looking to wow the NFL scouts before the combine.

After the weekend “that was,” we are now heading full steam into another amazing week in the wide world of sports that “will be.”  Saturday was arguably the best day of College Basketball we have had since last March and Sunday was just an outstanding day of NFL Football.

So whats in store for this week?  Here is a closer look.

“No Chance at Perfection”

The San Diego State Aztecs are currently 1 of 4 unbeaten teams in the nation. Can their star, Kawhi Leonard (pictured above), help the Aztecs run the table and secure a National Championship?

Somehow last evening, a mediocre Florida State Seminoles squad pulled off the unthinkable and defeated the number 1 ranked Duke Blue Devils.  They also accomplished this same feat in both 2002 and 2006.   I guess Duke was too reliant on the 3 Ball last evening heaving up 35 3-Point attempts?  I still do not get how they lost to a team that lost to Auburn. With Duke going down last night, does any team have a prayer at running the table?

Well there are currently 4 choices.

A. Ohio State

B. Kansas

C. Syracuse

D. San Diego State

Lets take a closer look at each of our 4 choices.