Blinded by the Blue: NBA Draft Recap

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. John Calipari (pictured above) once again stole the show at the NBA Draft last evening.

By Josh Kramer

Is anybody else seeing blue?  Eight first round picks came from Kentucky and North Carolina.  Plus, six players out of Lexington were selected on the night (a record). That is a whole lot of blue.  For the first time in NBA Draft history, the top two picks happened to come from the same University.   In addition, the top three picks were not only all freshman, but they were all players out of the SEC East. Go figure.  I thought the SEC was a football conference?  These days, John Calipari is becoming more of a mainstay at the NBA Draft than David Stern.  The following are ten observations from the night in no particular order.

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Throwback Saturday Part XII

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Bobby Valentine (pictured above) is the current Red Sox manager due to a horrible September collapse last year. Will he right the ship in Beantown?

By Josh Kramer

Three months and still going strong.  The “Throwback Saturday” experiment has gone better than expected.  For those of you who have no idea what “Throwback Saturday” is, here’s a quick synopsis.  It is a time to look back and reflect.  What was happening on April 7, 2011? How about April 7, 2010?  Let’s find out.

One year ago..

Panic Time in Beantown?

Here is a snippet..

There are currently only two teams in all of Major League Baseball that we can call “defeated.”  Otherwise known as, “winless.”  Surprisingly, both of these teams are perennial playoff teams that reside in what most, including myself, consider the best division in all of baseball.

Were we all too high on the mighty AL East?

Tampa Bay currently sits at 0 and 5.  While the team that Sports Illustrated and most baseball experts picked to win not only the American League, but the World Series, sports the worst record in baseball.  Yes, the Boston Red Sox, the team with the most potent and dangerous lineup in all of baseball sits at 0 and 6.

Is it time to press the panic button in Beantown?

How many games are in an MLB Season?  162 right?  Boston has completed a little less than 4 percent of their games and people act as if the world is ending.  SportsCenter is providing stories on why history is against the Red Sox.  Most internet sites are calling the Red Sox a fraud.  And if you forget what a fraud is, just ask Colin Cowherd what the term means.

Well I am not playing into it, yet.  Sure the BoSox supposedly unstoppable offense has only scored 16 runs on the year, which is tied for second worse in the American League.  Sure Boston’s supposedly, “very solid” pitching staff has given up the second most runs in all of baseball.  38 to be exact, which translates to a little over six runs a game.  Even in Little League, giving up six runs a game is not part of a winning formula.  But they have only played six games.  It is a six month marathon for a reason (To finish reading this post, click this link).

Throwback Saturday Part X

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Kemba Walker (pictured above) was the face of the 2011 NCAA Tournament. Who will be the face of the 2012 version of March Madness?

By Josh Kramer

Two and a half months later and “Throwback Saturdays” are still going strong.  Welcome to edition ten of our weekly throwback day. What was happening on March 24, 2011?  How about on March 24, 2010?  I have a gut feeling that March Madness was discussed in some facet.  Let’s take a look back and see what the major happenings were and how accurate I was with my analysis.

One year ago..

Sweet 16: Day 1 Predictions

Here is a snippet..

Connecticut vs San Diego State:  Can you say Kemba?  UConn has won 7 straight and are a perfect 10 and 0 in tournament play on the year heading into tomorrow’s showdown with a very talented and higher seeded San Diego Aztecs team.  Now I realize that most of the national media has been grilling the Big East.  I mean who wouldn’t.  The conference began the tourney with 11 teams and only 2 still remain as we begin the Sweet 16.  Let me state though, both of the teams still standing went 9 and 9 in conference play.  Name me another team that is still standing in this bracket that went 500 in conference play.  I will do one even better.  Name me a team that did not finish in the top 4 of their conference that is still alive.  But back to the topic at hand.  San Diego State is also on a hot streak of their own having won 7 consecutive games.  43, 25, and 30 sums it up for me though when looking at this matchup  (Jimmer’s point totals vs SDSU this year). Though the Aztecs play very solid defense and also have a very well-rounded scoring attack, they have failed to slow down teams with elite scorers all year.  Good luck slowing down Kemba.  At least one Big East team will find their way into the Elite Eight.  And it will be the UConn Huskies as they gut out 3 point victory behind the Kemba Show.

BYU vs Florida:  On paper, this game appears to favor the Cougars.  They put up over 80 points a game.  They have the edge on the boards.  And I could go on.  But not so fast.  BYU has not been the same since the dismissal of starting center Brandon Davies for breaking University rules.  Well this will be the first NCAA Tournament game where this vacancy in the paint really hurts.  It will also be the first game in the tournament where BYU plays a team seeded higher than 11^th.  The Gators are very deep and talented, and will be the loan SEC team to nab a spot in the Elite Eight.  The Jimmer Show has to end at some point.  Plus Bobby Knight laid out how you stop Jimmer on SportsCenter.  You better believe that Florida Coach Billy Donovan took notes on what the legend said.  I am going to stick with my original pick in this one as well. Gators by 2 in a thriller (To finish reading this post, click this link).

Food for Thought 2-28-2012

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. How many of you knew who Jeremy Evans (pictured above) was before Saturday night? At least he has a cool nickname (The Human Pogo Stick).

By Josh Kramer

Saturday Night Bust

NBA All-Star Saturday Night was one for the ages this year.  And not in a good way.  Your three-winners of the main competitions were Tony Parker, Kevin Love, and Jeremy Evans.  Though the vast majority are well aware of whom Parker and Love are, how many of you actually knew who the guy that “some” people call the “Human Pogo Stick” was before Saturday?

Throwback Saturday Part V

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. I proclaimed Jon Diebler (pictured above) as the Buckeye "X" factor last year. Ohio State truly misses the Big Ten's all-time leader in 3-point field goals made.

By Josh Kramer

Welcome to the fifth edition of “Throwback Saturdays.”  Though this campaign was originally intended to just last a month, I couldn’t resist.  It is always fun to look at the past when analyzing the present and the future for that matter.  What was going on in sports on February 18, 2011?  What was transpiring on February 18, 2010?  Let’s find out.

One year ago..

Buckeye X Factor

Here is a snippet..

As I have mentioned many times on this blog, dating back to well over a year ago, Ohio State will go to the Final Four this year.  In my opinion, they are the nation’s best team.  I do feel that Duke would have been the favorite had Kyrie Irving not have gone down.  But injuries happen.

I have talked about what makes Ohio State so good.  They have the perfect mix of talent, experience, and chemistry.  When rumors of an outstanding incoming freshman class started transpiring well over a year ago, many considered Ohio State to be a team that would be in contention.  But when Evan Turner left for the draft, people already wrote them off.  They decided that Ohio State would be solid, but probably a top 20 team that was not quite as good as the Big Ten’s elite teams, Purdue and Michigan State.  I stuck by the Buckeyes and will continue to.  And here is why.

Freshman talent is a great thing.  Just ask University of Kentucky Coach John Calipari.  These one and done phenoms can make your team an instant contender.  But sadly, they are not enough generally to bring home the crown.  UK last year had arguably the two best players in the country, in John Wall and Demarcus Cousins.  They had 5 guys get selected in the first round.  Yet they did not even make the Final Four..

Experience still matters even in the one and done age people.  Though I will state that Kentucky will put this theory to the test next year when they bring in 4 of the top 5 rated players in America.  Experience is something that this Ohio State team possesses though.  They returned 4 starters from last year’s very talented squad.  3 of these gentlemen are seniors while the other is a junior.  Then they brought in this phenomenal freshman class.  And little did most people outside of Buckeye Nation know, but 4 of these diaper dandies came from the same AAU team.  An AAU team that dominated the summer circuit more than any team has in recent memory.  This team brought home 3 consecutive National Titles and really just laid a smack down on any and all teams nation wide.  These 4 kids are good friends.  And they all decided to take the next step together.  Thad Matta hit the jackpot when he visited the All Ohio Red Basketball program.  Or maybe he hit the jackpot in that JJ Sullinger (Jared’s older brother), played for him at Ohio State.  Either way, Matta reeled in the perfect class that had a great winning demeanor and was ready to work from Day 1 (To finish reading this post, click this link).

Food for Thought 2-14-2012

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. "Linsanity" has taken over the sporting world during the course of the past week. Jeremy Lin (pictured above) is a true Cinderella story.

By Josh Kramer

Happy Va’Lin’tine’s Day.  A week ago , Jeremy Lin had 114 total points in his NBA career.  Since February 4^th, he has scored 134 in five games. No matter what happens for the rest of Jeremy Lin’s life, nobody can ever take away his astounding first five “real” games with the New York Knicks (games he actually played significant minutes).  This little-known player that went undrafted out of Harvard has truly shaken up the basketball world with a real-life Cinderella story.  In doing so, he has opened up the door for hopefully more Asian-Americans to star in the sport of basketball.  I thought what Tim Tebow did this past season was insane.  Something that truly defied logic.  And it was.  But what Jeremy Lin has treated NBA fans across the globe to over the past week and a half is truly a miracle.

Let’s take a step back for a minute and fully understand where this guy is coming from.  Lin was a high school star who led Palo Alto High School to a state championship in California. This kid willed his team to a victory over nationally renowned Mater Dei High School. Yet he received no division one offers.  In addition, not even the Ivy League schools had an interest.  After much debate, Harvard eventually caved, and decided to take a chance on Lin.   After an outstanding career in which he proved to be one of the best Ivy League players of recent memory, Lin went undrafted.  Then Lin was eventually was signed by Golden State.  After going back and forth between the D-League, Lin was waived on the first day of training camp following the 2011 Lockout.  Houston claimed the former Harvard star off of waivers and then waived him on Christmas Eve.  A few days later the New York Knicks took a chance on Lin.

The first couple of months of Lin’s stay with the Knicks were not exactly eventful to say the least. Jeremy was living on his brother’s couch, and recorded a total of 55 minutes through February 3rd (23 games).

Throwback Saturday Part IV

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. A little over a year ago today, Jerry Sloan (pictured above) was forced into stepping down from his position as the Head Coach of the Utah Jazz.

By Josh Kramer

So when I originally constructed the idea of “Throwback Saturdays,” I figured I would do it for a month or so.  It would be a change of pace for you all and give you some time to reflect a bit. With that being said, I feel as if this idea has been a rousing success thus far, at least from the feedback you all have given me.  Please provide further feedback in the comments section.  I have a feeling next week you may be seeing “Throwback Saturday Part V.”

Unfortunately, I did not put up a post on February 11^th in either 2010 or 2011.  So I apologize for letting you all down on those particular dates.  We will just have to settle for dates very close in proximity.

One year ago (February 10, 2011)..

Sayonora Sloan

Here is a snippet from the middle of the post..

Sloan is one of the greatest offensive masterminds of our generation.  The guy has won his entire career.  He handles his business the right way.  No ridiculous off court mishaps with this guy.  Yet ownership has chosen Deron Williams as the future?

Unless you live under a rock, you probably know who Deron Williams is.  He is a 5th year All Star point guard who played college ball at Illinois.  The guy is arguably the best point guard in the League (I would currently rank him behind Rose, Rondo, and Paul in all honesty though).  Any guy that puts up 20 points and 10 assists a night is doing something right.  But it has been well documented that Williams and legendary coach Sloan have had their fair share of tussles over the past year (To finish reading the post, click this link).

Big Blue Nausea

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. John Calipari (pictured above) appears well on his way to capturing the first National Championship of his career.

By Josh Kramer

It’s a bird.  It’s a plane.  It’s Anthony Davis?  I will be the first to say that Kentucky is not my favorite team in the world.  To be entirely honest, they are probably my least favorite team in America.  Kentucky, also known as the “Big Blue Nation,” is arguably the most tradition filled program in college basketball and their fans make sure that you are fully aware of it.  They are the end-all be-all of sports in the Bluegrass State.   Either way, there is no denying just how well this team is playing right now.

This year’s Kentucky team has people across the nation saying, “John Wall and Demarcus Cousins who?”  Ever since John Calipari stepped foot in Lexington, the target has been on his back.  And along with his controversial past, he brought an absurd amount of blue chips to Kentucky.  I mean, there have been so many blue chip recruits on the Lexington campus during his three-year run, that he has made the “Fab-Five” sound more like the “Mediocre-Five” on multiple occasions.  People say he is a great recruiter, and unless the NCAA tells us differently, we will have to remain under the assumption that he is playing by the rules.

“Food for Thought 3-29-11”

I think this picture should be enough evidence for the Barry Bond's Perjury Trial. Sadly though, it will not nearly be enough. Can we just end this circus already?

It’s another Tuesday, which could only mean one thing.  Lets jump into this week’s version of “Food for Thought.”

Bond’s Trial is A Circus

“Buckeye X Factor”

Ohio State Senior sharpshooter Jon Diebler (pictured above) is the Buckeye X Factor in my opinion. Watch him set the Big Ten all time mark for 3 pointers made on Sunday against Purdue.

As I have mentioned many times on this blog, dating back to well over a year ago, Ohio State will go to the Final Four this year.  In my opinion, they are the nation’s best team.  I do feel that Duke would have been the favorite had Kyrie Irving not have gone down.  But injuries happen.