Thursday, September 30, 2010

Spurs vs. Twente - Champions League Game 2

Rafael van der Vaart accomplished about as much as any player could in 60 minutes of action. His last 15 minutes were particularly eventful. He went from low, to lower, to high, to "I can't believe I just picked up my second yellow card this early in the second half."
Van der Vaart started the match on the right side of the midfield in place of the ineffective Aaron Lennon. While more accustomed to playing in the center of the field, the combination of van der Vaart and Bale on the wings proved to be incredibly effective, and at this point, gives Spurs the best chance to win. Both van der Vaart and Bale dominated the first half with their play.
While Spurs controlled almost 60 percent of the possession in the first half, they weren't able to create a scoring opportunity for the majority of the first 45 minutes.
It wasn't until the 40th minute when Peter Crouch was tackled to the ground by Peter Wisgerhof in the box. Fresh off a yellow card for delaying the penalty kick, Twente goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov made a brilliant diving save to deny van der Vaart.
The missed opportunity was a major blow for the home side that fought off an early game surge from Twente to take control of the first half, but still headed to the locker room with a scoreless draw.
Determined to make up for his miss, van der Vaart gave Spurs the lead less than two minutes into the second half.
Spurs would double their lead shortly after when Roman Pavlyuchenko put home a penalty kick given after Bale was tackled inside the box.
Normally a 2-0 lead seems comfortable, but that was far from the case in this match. Substitute Nacer Chadli cut the lead in half shortly after Pavyluchenko's goal after a surprising series of offensive surges from Twente. Minutes later, van der Vaart was sent off after picking up his second yellow.
With an extra man and down only a goal, it seemed like the momentum was starting to swing in the visitor's favor. But Spurs were able to hold it together. Faced with the disadvantage, they took care of the ball better and made crisper passes.
They were so crisp, they scored two shorthanded goals. Pavyluchenko scored his second penalty kick of the game, awarded for a controversial handball, and Bale made a fantastic run to put the game out of reach in the 85th minute.
Wednesday's match also marked the return of goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes. His impact was felt immediately, as he made a brilliant one handed save while running forward. The save came early in the first half. Had he allowed a goal, it could have changed the dynamic of the match.
With the win, Tottenham joined Inter Milan atop Group A with four points each. They will face an uphill challenge when they meet Inter on the road without van der Vaart a month from now.
Regardless, starting group play with four points, Spurs have put themselves in an excellent position to advance to the knockout stages. 

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Thoughts On Bears-Packers MNF Game

In hindsight, this game didn't teach us much of anything. Both teams can't run the ball (we knew that). Rodgers makes better decisions than Cutler (ditto). Lovie Smith and Mike McCarthy are terrible about managing the clock/using challenges. And penalties, especially committed in excess, can cost you a game. Who knew!
If we did learn one thing it's that everyone's favorite preseason Super Bowl pick has quite a few issues:
1) The First Obvious Issue: no viable option at running back behind Ryan Grant. Fullback John Kuhn (6 carries) split time with Grant's back up Brandon Jackson (7 carries). They combined for a whopping 43 yards.
2) The Second Obvious Issue: OK, 18 penalties is an aberration. But it does make for cool stats like, the Packers had more penalties than rushing attempts. They won't commit 18 or probably anywhere near that many penalties again this year, but the penalties only mask bigger issues.
Everything I've read has said the Packers beat themselves. It's the cliche thing to say when a team commits a ton of penalties and loses a close game. I'm also guilty of uttering that very sentence. But there's a difference in penalties. Penalties like roughing the quarterback and late hits are stupid penalties that would fall under the "beating yourself category."
While the Packers had their fair share of those, the majority of their penalties were pass interference and either holding or false start calls. Those pass interference calls weren't bail outs. The Bears receivers were just too fast. The Packers secondary has thrived over the years by being physical with teams at the line of scrimmage, and it's hard to be physical with a guy when he's running right by you with 4.4 speed. Woodson and Co. couldn't keep up so they had to result to grabbing their man all game.
On the same note, it was amazing to see how terrified the Packers O-Line was of Peppers. The Bears moved Peppers to both the left and right side, and he created havoc from both sides all game. At least five or six of those penalties from the O-Line were the result of either holding Peppers or false starts because they were worried about his pass rush.
While his impact hasn't shown up in the stat books, Peppers has been as impressive as any Bear this year. Just by suiting up he gives this defense an entirely new dimension. He was in the Packer's heads after the first series.
3) When their fantastic linebackers are neutralized by either forcing them to cover a tight end, or picked up while blitzing, this defense gets exposed. The Bears did a pretty good job of handling the defensive line and did an excellent job of neutralizing their linebackers. The Packers depend on their linebackers to provide pressure. If they don't, the corners are left out to dry, and that's not a good thing for this weak secondary.
The Bears aren't without their own issues. Jay Cutler was their leading rusher with 37 yards. The rest of the Bears combined for 40 yards. It's no secret that the Bears are going to rely heavily on the pass this year. 56 percent of the Bears plays were through the air, and if they had the ball longer, that number would have probably been up in the 60s. It's going to be tough to win consistently if Forte can't muster anything with about 20 carries a game.  
Here's something interesting to consider. If you had the choice of one linebacking core for just this year, would you choose the Bears or Packers? The Packers trio obviously have the youth on their side, but I'm not going to be the one that bets against a rejuvenated Urlacher and Briggs (who I still think is the most underrated defensive player in the league despite being selected to the last five Pro Bowls).
Urlacher and Briggs' joint effort to wrap up James Jones and force the ball out, which eventually led to the game winning field goal, was a thing of beauty. Fantastic individual efforts by the both of them. Yeah, this year, I'm choosing them.
By the way, that's why I love football. James Jones, who up until that fumble had four quiet catches for 43 yards, ended up costing his team the game. Jones was lucky the penalty total was so high or his head would be on a platter.
Two last thoughts. With the increased popularity of fantasy sports, there's three plays that every fantasy owner hates. From least painful to most:
3) Fantasy Baseball - an intentional walk. Increases the WHIP, usually just adds to a high WHIP inning.
2) Fantasy Basketball - a half court shot at the end of the quarter. Half the time a player just half asses a quarterback like throw and it decreases shooting percentage just like a missed mid range jumper.
1) Fantasy Football - a last minute heave from a quarterback that ends in an interception, resulting in minus one point. I'm watching Urlacher just trying to knock Rodgers' hail mary down and see Briggs pick off the deflection at the end of the half and can't help but laugh.
I was reading Twitter Monday morning, which I've been doing way too much of lately, and Jerry Azumah said that he had a dream that Hester would return one in tonight's game. I usually don't take what Azumah says seriously because he kind of comes off like a 35 year old who used to be in a cool frat and still thinks he's a part of it even though he graduated 15 years ago. Anyway, for some reason, I had this weird feeling that Azumah might be right about this one.
Had Hester avoided the punter he would have returned one earlier and I thought that was the best chance he'd have.
When he took the third punt to the house I couldn't believe it. That coupled with the bend but don't break defense and inept offense, and it felt like the glory days of 2006.
Maybe we did learn one more thing from this game: when the Bears and Packers play, throw everything you know out the window. How's that for cliche.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Quarterbacks Trump Bears-Packers Rivalry

Chicago sports fans aren't the most forgiving in the world (Steve Bartman, anyone?), but there's a strange aura of redemption floating around the city these days. Not that long ago, I wrote, before the season even started, about how pessimistic I was about this season. Most Bears fans agreed with me.
We heard about how Cutler was going to limit his turnovers, how Mike Martz was going to turn the offense around, and how the defense would return to form. We heard this and saw none of it come to fruition during the preseason. We weren't going to buy into the hype and be fooled for a third straight year.
That is, until the third week of the season.
The city of Chicago has turned into believers once again. A referee's interpretation of a rule earned us a victory against the 0-2 Lions, and a road win against a 0-2 Cowboys team that no one knows what to make of, and all of a sudden, we're legit.
I wouldn't go that far. This Monday night Packers game will go a long way in determining if the Bears can compete for a playoff spot, but it will not make or break their season.
A lot of people are forgetting the Packers have some issues of their own. They just lost running back Ryan Grant for the year, and had a suspect offensive line even before that. Outside of Woodson, their secondary is a liability. Basically, they're overly dependent on their front 7 providing pressure, and Rodgers running for his life to make plays.
I know, Green Bay is a sexy Super Bowl pick early in the season, but I wouldn't be surprised if games later in our schedule (Dolphins, Patriots, Jets) end up being tougher games. How the Bears play against those teams will cement their playoff chances.
Besides the obvious fact that this is the NFL's best rivalry, and a division game between two teams with postseason expectations, this match up just became a whole lot more interesting because of the play of Jay Cutler and Aaron Rodgers.
I still don't know what to think of Cutler. Is this the year he finally breaks out and takes on a leadership role, or has he simply feasted on two mediocre secondaries to start the year? I will say this. I've always hated Jay Cutler, going back to his Denver days. I hated his body language, I hated the way he quit on his team, and I hated the way he refused to take responsibility for his or the offense's mistakes.
But, to quote myself, "I'm not above rooting for a dousche bag."
Remember when Cutler was traded to the Bears and the way the media was hyping the Rodgers-Cutler match-up? It was supposed to be an epic division battle between two young quarterbacks for the next ten years. This may be the year when comparing them isn't laughable.
In the first two games of the season, I've noticed two things from Cutler that I thought I'd never see.
1) First game against the Lions, and running back Matt Forte makes a spectacular catch in the end zone to put the Bears up 19-14 with 1:32 left in the game. Forte lands awkwardly and stays down for a few minutes. Cutler makes his way down the field and checks on Forte while the rest of the team heads to the bench. Cutler was the only player, along with the training staff there while Forte was being treated. Last season, this doesn't happen.
2) Two things in the Cowboys game. First, Cutler was rushed out of the pocket and knocked down so many times in the first quarter that I expected him to give up and mail it in for the rest of the game. He didn't.
Second, after throwing either his second or third touchdown pass, I think it was his third, he jumps into offensive lineman Frank Omiyale's arms. If Cutler tried to do that last year, I'm pretty sure his lineman would have body slammed him to the ground.
The point being, that we all know Cutler is a highly skilled football player. The big questions about him are his attitude and leadership ability. For the first two games of the season, that stuff doesn't seem to be an issue.
Rodgers, on the other hand, sat behind Favre for three years, didn't complain when Favre skipped camp and announced he was coming back, and took on a leadership role immediately after taking over three season ago. He even wears the same type of chin strap Favre does.
This game has the potential to be the first game of many that pits the division's two best quarterbacks against each other. The Bears and Packers have been playing each other for 89 years, these games need a rivalry within a rivalry.   

Thursday, September 23, 2010

My Favorite Sports Hair Part 5 (John Clay)

I haven't updated this series in a long time, and I can't think of a better athlete to usher in its resurrection than Wisconsin running back John Clay. Actually, Clay's hair would fall into the "My Least Favorite Sports Hair" category, but that category doesn't exist, so I put him here. Also, I'm all about positivity. I can't imagine constructing a piece molded around negativity. Just kidding, that piece will probably come next Tuesday.
Anyway, Clay's hair represents the new age athlete. It incorporates a mohawk, symbols shaved into one's head, and unmeasurable amounts of swag.
If there's three things I don't understand its mohawks, the desire to have symbols shaved into your head, and swag. Maybe that's why I just don't get it.
For reference, here's a video of Clay's hair. I couldn't find a picture, but this video actually illustrates it better because you can see both sides.
If you direct your attention to the upper right side of his head, it looks like Clay has laces shaved into his head. I didn't notice this detail before watching video. If those are in fact supposed to be the laces of a football, I can respect this haircut a little more.
My main gripe is with the stars on both sides. Starts to me are a bit feminine. And believe me, the only way a 6'1, 248 pound bruising running back could look feminine is if he has stars shaved into his head. Couldn't Clay have come up with something a little better? Like say Bucky Badger, the Heisman Trophy, or even the Capitol Building.
Come to think of it, those figures might be a little hard shave. My only experience with trying to get something shaved into my head was at age 7 or 8. My entire baseball team was shaving their number into the back of their heads. I was number 8. I asked the hairdresser to shave an 8 and she told me that it would end up looking like two squares on top of each other. Did I want another number? No. I wished I'd had an easy number like 11.
In all seriousness, Clay has continued his outstanding sophomore effort into the early part of this year. Despite sharing carries with Montee Ball and James White, Clay has still managed to surpass 100 yards in each of the Badgers' first three victories. On the year, Clay has amassed 383 yards on 62 carries.
If this pace continues and the Badgers find themselves in the Rose Bowl at the end of the year, Clay will be one of the select few invited to the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York City.
Just as exciting, Clay is currently 10th on the Wisconsin all-time rushing leaders list with 2,784 yards. While Ron Dayne's 7,125 is out of the question, if he stays healthy and returns for his senior season, Clay should pass Anthony Davis for second on the all-time list.
Thankfully for us, we're able so see Clay run over opponents with a helmet on. Besides protecting him from concussions and other important things like that, his helmet also covers up that hideous mohawk hybrid.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

It's Not "Just" The Carling Cup

For many of the bigger and more successful clubs used to playing in the Champions League, the Carling Cup is merely an exhibition tournament for their younger players. While many feel this cheapens the competition of the tournament, it's hard to argue with a manager that wants to rest his players for the Champions League and Premier League season.
Don't tell Harry Redknapp it's just an exhibition game. He criticized Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger for the handling of his roster the last few Carling Cups, and down 1-0 at halftime, substituted the high profile Aaron Lennon and Robbie Keane to start the second half.
Redknapp's substitutions made an immediate impact, as Keane scored in the 49th minute to even the game.
Tottenham has achieved a fair amount of success in the Carling Cup the last three years. They were eliminated in the fifth round last year, lost to Manchester United on penalty kicks two years ago in the championship, and won the Cup three years ago under manager Juande Ramos.
For a Premier League team that faces an uphill battle to qualify for one of the various European tournaments, the Carling Cup provides the only big game atmosphere they will encounter in any particular year. For that reason alone, they deserve a shot to go up against a more successful team that takes the tournament at least semi-seriously.
More importantly, the fans deserve a show. They don't care if the game means anything or not. That's one of the more underestimated qualities of being a fan there is. It doesn't matter the situation or importance, a fan wants to win every game.
Think of this in terms of the NFL preseason. The fans know the point is to get a look at players battling for roster spots. The starters are rusty and just looking to get on the same page. But that doesn't stop the fans from wanting an impressive performance from the starters, as well as a win at the end of the game.
The same logic applies in the Carling Cup, which is why this defeat was so disappointing for Spurs fans. It's not that they lost, it's the way they lost.
Three boneheaded mistakes in extra-time led to three goals. This coming after a hard fought second half to come back and tie the game, despite looking dreadful in the first half.
Two penalties in the box are inexcusable. Especially in extra time, and the first committed before a minute ticked off the clock. The third goal was even worse. While Spurs defender Kyle Naughton was complaining about a foul call, Jack Wilshere took a quick free kick and set up Andrei Arshavin who snuck easily behind Naughton for a goal that officially put the game out of reach.
Tottenham's miscues were not limited to the defensive end. Down 3-1, David Bentley missed a header from seven feet away after receiving a perfect cross. Had he connected and put Spurs within one, the game could have had a different outcome. Instead, it was just another mistake in an extra-time first period that was filled with mistakes.
For the players, it was just the Carling Cup. They still have the Premier and Champions League to concern themselves with.
Don't tell that to the fans who had to witness Samir Nasri put home two penalty kicks and smile his way down the field like his first child was born. Don't tell that to the fans who had to leave early hoping to avoid the Arsenal fans who flooded their stadium with chants and songs, only to be serenaded across North London for the rest of night.
For the fans, it's never just a game. They all mean something.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Too Early For Badger Fans To Panic

While Saturday's 20-19 close call against Arizona State didn't result in a stock market-esque drop in the national rankings, or even worse, a loss, the damage to Wisconsin's reputation is done. Murmurs of being overrated have already surfaced, as well as the usual Big Ten bashing.
We're often caught up in the offseason hype and early season non-conference games to the point that we forget that rankings at this point are meaningless. Yes, meaningless. They're fun to look at and debate about, but right now, number 10 or 20, or unranked means nothing.
Here's my biggest problem with preseason rankings: fans and analysts alike tend to read too much into the early season scores. Let's take the Wisconsin-Arizona State 20-19 game as an example.
Wisconsin came into the game 2-0 and ranked number 11 nationally. Arizona State also came into the game 2-0, but unranked. Both faced inferior opponents in their first two contests.
So essentially both teams were undefeated, beating opponents they were expected to beat. The only difference? A preseason ranking that suggested Wisconsin should win handily.
Many things are taken into account when determining a preseason ranking. Returning players, recruiting class, perceived strength of schedule, etc. But ultimately all of those things are speculative. Preseason rankings are wrong just as often as they are right.
That's the beauty of the regular season. Teams have the chance to prove their worth. I think back to the 2002 National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes. They started the year ranked 13th and worked their way into the top 5 after winning their first five games. The Buckeyes won their Big Ten conference games by an average of 12 points, and that includes 28 and 31 point wins over doormats Indiana and Minnesota.
They looked particularly unimpressive late in the season in a 10-6 win over unranked Purdue, and then again in a 23-16 overtime win against unranked Illinois.
Ohio State wasn't given a chance in the National Championship game against Miami (FL). If I recall correctly, their was a 14 point line in that game, the largest ever for the BCS Championship. A lot of that had to do with the fact that Miami was probably the most talented team of the last decade. The other factor was the that Ohio State squeaked by a bunch of "bad" Big Ten teams.
Ohio State didn't blow teams out. They didn't win pretty. For this, they were slapped with the "Overrated" tag for pretty much the entire season. They did finish the season undefeated and went on to beat that Miami team to win the BCS Championship, by the way.
The point being, that Wisconsin fans, pundits, or whoever else has an opinion shouldn't read so far into a "close call" victory against a supposed lesser team. Ohio State had plenty of them.
Similar to the 2002 Buckeyes, Wisconsin's very nature prevents them from blowing out most teams. An ideal drive for their offense is pounding the ball up the middle, sprinkling a few passes in there, and taking eight minutes a drive to score. You're not going to blow teams out or win pretty by running the ball en route to an eight minute drive.
Wisconsin fans should be more concerned about the fact that they were unable to keep up with Arizona State's team speed. Ohio State and Michigan possess similar speed in the skill positions and could potentially run all over a Badger defense that looked flat-footed and slow to react on Saturday.
For now, let's try treating college football like the NFL. A win is a win. When a team loses they will be properly dropped in the rankings. If they win, accept the win and move on to next week, regardless of the margin of victory.
When Big Ten play gets underway, we may very well find out Wisconsin has been overrated all along. By the same regard, maybe Arizona State is underrated.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

EPL Week 5 - Spurs vs. Wolves

Friday afternoon, I was sitting in the car waiting to pick up my girlfriend from work. I was parked in a restaurant lot. A blue minivan pulled up and parked in the spot in front and to the left of me. The side door flew open and out jumped an 8-10 year old kid wearing a Spurs jersey.
I got excited in the same way I used to when I saw someone wearing a Bears or Cubs hat in Wisconsin. This marks the first time I'd ever seen someone wearing Tottenham gear.
I wanted to yell to the kid, "Hey little man! Love the shirt. Go Spurs!"
I thought twice about trying to get his attention though. If I know anything about suburban parents, it's that they don't appreciate you calling out to their kid if:
A) They don't know you.
B) You're more than 2 years older than their child.
C) You call their child "Little Man."
D) You're blasting some ignorant rap music and wearing oversized sunglasses, sitting in the same parking spot for the past 15 minutes.
Needless to say, I didn't complement the kid on his jersey. But I did think it was a good omen for Saturday's match. Why did I think it was a good omen? I suppose I don't have a good reason for that.
Spurs were trying to avoid the same Champions League hangover that plagued them in their 1-0 home loss to Wigan two weeks ago. They were also looking for their first home goal and win, if that wasn't enough.
Wolves have acquired the reputation as a dirty team to start the season. They earned three yellows in this game as they aggressively pursued the ball the entire first half. Their defensive tenacity gave Spurs fits and started to frustrate them as they weren't able to push a goal across despite dominating the time of possession.
In typical Spurs fashion, they gave up a late first half goal to Steven Fletcher, nullifying their hard work in the first half.
From that point on, it seemed to be a reincarnation of the Wigan loss. Spurs were held goalless up until the 76th minute when Stephen Ward took down replacement Alan Hutton inside the box. Van der Vaart calmly struck the penalty into the lower left hand side of the net to tie the game.
Pavlyuchenko, another Spurs substitute, came up with the rebound from a Huddlestone shot and scored in the 87th minute. To celebrate, Pavlyuchenko took off his shirt, placed it on the corner flag and held it in the air. Hands down one of the best celebrations I've ever seen, on par with anything TO or Ochocinco has done. In the NFL, that would have been a 15 yard penalty and 50 thousand dollar fine. In the EPL, a yellow card.
Spurs would add one more goal when Hutton cut through two surprised defenders and lofted the ball over goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann to put the game out of reach.
Each player's goal was their first this year during Premier League play.
Next up is the Carling Cup showdown with Arsenal at White Hart Lane. I like to think that I can officially hate Arsenal after this match. Should be a good one. I can't wait to witness the atmosphere. That is, if the online steam cooperates.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

The EPL Needs An Eight Team Playoff

As an American learning to appreciate soccer, I came to realize that the EPL schedule is more fair than any of the American professional sports. Each team plays the other twice, once at home, and once on the road. This eliminates the problems we see in the NBA, MLB, and NFL. Teams with the weaker divisions can prey on easier opponents and increase their win total. This doesn't happen in the EPL and that's a great thing.
However, I can't possibly ignore the fact that the season ends after the regular season. I realize that the top teams play countless Champion and Europa league games, but adding at most, three additional games won't overwork anyone.
Here's what I propose. Take the top 8 teams from the final standings and pair them off, 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, etc. Instead of an aggregate, give the higher seed the advantage and allow them to play at home in a single elimination game. The higher seed will play at home for the first two rounds, and the championship will be held at a neutral stadium.
Here's what the first round of match ups would have looked like from last year:
1. Chelsea vs. 8. Everton
4. Tottenham vs. 5. Manchester City
3. Arsenal vs. 6. Aston Villa
2. Manchester United vs. 7. Liverpool
There's not one bad game in that bunch. In fact, those are all excellent games, and the second round would be even better. You're telling me you're satisfied with Chelsea beating out Manchester United by one point and that's that? No. They should have had the opportunity to battle it out one last time.
Many would say this discounts the importance of the regular season, and I understand that completely. And since the regular season, I believe, is a great indication of how good a team is, Champions League qualifying should still be determined by how a team finishes the regular season. It would be unfair to discount a team's accomplishments over 38 games.
The playoff would simply be a great way for the best teams to go head to head on a grand stage, as well as create the possibility of an upset.
Let's face it, it's boring when only three teams have the possibility of winning the league every year. In the last 18 years, only four teams have won the Premier League. Compare that to 7 in the NBA, 10 in the MLB, 11 in the NHL, and 12 in the NFL. Parody is good. It makes games more interesting and allows for growth in different markets. Four winners in 18 years is pathetic.
Perhaps the EPL should take a page out of the Football League. When the bottom three teams are relegated from the EPL every year, the top two teams from the Football League move up. To determine the 3rd team, the third place team faces the sixth, and the fourth faces the fifth. The two winners then face each other, and the winner moves up. Last year, 6th seeded Blackpool was able to move up to the EPL because of this format.
While the odds were against Blackpool, just like the would have been against Everton last year, they still had the opportunity. The EPL needs to spice up the end of the season and this is the way to do it. The Champions League qualifying and all the other stuff the purists would complain about will remain unchanged.
Hopefully there would be some new teams under the "Division Title" column. For a change.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Spurs vs. Werder Bremen (Let The Champions League Begin)

Spurs are beginning to look more and more like the Chicago Cubs every day. Except now, they have a bigger stage to exhibit the type of play that reminds everyone why they hadn't qualified for the Champions League in 50 years. I knew what I was getting into, and I just so happen to be a masochist. Sue me.
Leading up to this game I thought a draw would have been a good result. In fact, I would have been delighted with this result if it happened in a different manner.
Spurs' first goal was an own goal from Bremen defender Petri Pasanen in the 12th minute. Gareth Bale delivered a low cross to the streaking Crouch that Pasanen turned in. Crouch would strike 6 minutes later with a header off of a van der Vaart cross.
There's no excuse for not being able to hold a lead after scoring two goals in the first twenty minutes. To make matters worse, Spurs could have easily been up by three or four going into halftime.
However, Bremen forward Hugo Almedia cut the lead in half just before halftime, providing a spark to an otherwise lackluster performance from the home team.
Bremen was able to capitalize off of their new found confidence early in the second half. Within four minutes, Marko Marin drove a low kick in off a miss from Aaron Hunt.
Both teams would have a few scoring opportunities late in the second half that ultimately amounted to nothing. Bremen was content after tying the game, and within the last 15 minutes, Spurs began to play more conservatively to preserve the tie.
Fellow Group A participants Twente and Inter Milan would also play to a 2-2 draw. The draw came as a surprise to an Inter team that was expected to easily win the group.
Had Spurs been able to hold their lead, they would have been able to gain a much needed early points advantage in the group.
As it stands, Spurs fans will have to be content with the draw. The result isn't terrible, but considering they were up 2-0 and Inter drew, it seems like a missed opportunity.
Spurs can hang their hat on the fact that they were only outplayed for about seven minutes of this game. If Werder is their roadblock towards advancement, they have set themselves up pretty well.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Calvin Johnson's (Non) Catch

Who knew that NFL fans would get a quick history lesson after Sunday's Week 1 action. The lesson of course being that any document, whether it's the US Constitution, Magna Carta, or NFL Rulebook is subject to interpretation. And when interpretation is involved, there's bound to be a winner and a loser. No strangers to losing, the Detroit Lions happened to get the short end of the stick (again) this time around.
The NFL rulebook states that in according for a catch to count, a player "must maintain control of the ball after he touches the ground...If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete." In reference to end zones catches, the rules state, "if a player catches the ball while in the end zone, both feet must be completely on the ground before losing possession, or the pass is incomplete."
These two passages seem to contradict each other. The first part would seem to suggest that the call was the right one, that is, if you believe that when Johnson swung his arm around and lost control of the ball was part of the continuation of the catch. The referees clearly did.
On the other hand, the second quoted passage seems to suggest that it's ok for the receiver to lose the ball as long as he has established possession by getting his feet down. Johnson clearly got both feet down, then a knee, and his butt while maintaining possession, then lost the ball when it hit the ground. So which is it, did the fact that he went down in the end zone with possession make it a catch? Or is it only a catch if he follows through with every movement and still retains possession, even after being legally "down?"
Watch Johnson's (non) catch again and again like I have and determine for yourself.
Similar to the US Constitution, arguing about its interpretation usually doesn't accomplish anything. But let me comment on an aspect of Johnson's catch that no one is talking about.
It seems like everbody is disregarding the fact that Johnson made this already difficult catch a lot more difficult than he had to. Watch as Johnson grabs the ball with two hands over Bears defender Zach Bowman. He comes down on both feet and it's not until he begins to turn that he transfers the ball to his right hand. There was no reason to transfer the ball.
Obviously this all happened in less than a second, so it would have been difficult for Johnson to make a conscious decision about how to hold the ball, but holding the ball with one hand is what cost him the catch.
 In no way did transferring the ball help him come down with the catch. He unnecessarily used his left arm to break his fall. Had he held on to the ball with both hands and fell to the ground he would have never lost possession. And even if he did lose possession, we've seen it called a catch before when a receiver gets both feet down with possession and the ground causes a fumble.
In my opinion, if Johnson came down the exact same way he did with both hands on the ball and lost it when the ball hit the ground, that's ruled a catch.
Whether it was a bad call or not, let's put this game into perspective. This game isn't going to be the win that catapults the Bears into the playoffs, or the loss that keeps the Lions from reaching the playoffs. Both team will be lucky to win over five games. If anything, this good/bad call gave NFL fans something to talk about in an otherwise painful game to watch.
By the way, I'm convinced that a call like this could only go against a professional franchise in Detroit or Cleveland. I feel bad for Detroit, but best believe I'm enjoying this victory. Wins won't be easy to come by this year.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Wisconsin vs. SJSU, College Football Roundup

So I figured I would just make it a weekly ritual of making some quick comments on a few college football games, and devote the rest of the space to Wisconsin's game...
Rich Rodrig--I mean, Denard Robinson is doing a pretty good job of saving Rich Rodriguez's job. For the past couple of meetings, the Notre Dame-Michigan rivalry has looked a lot like Army-Navy (good tradition, little substance), but not this time. Both teams are pretty good and will be ranked at the end of the season. I'd still like to see Robinson improve is passing accuracy because I don't see him running wild on the Ohio States of the world.
After having their national title aspirations crushed after only one game, Virginia Tech fans figured it couldn't get much worse. Well, it did. They lost to James Madison today. Yes, the I-AA James Madison. Since we don't care about Virginia Tech anymore, the real question is: will this loss effect Boise State's chances of playing in the National Championship game?
I don't want to get into Boise State's schedule and whether they deserve it. What I will say, is that the Virginia Tech team they played is a different team than the one we will see from Week 3 on. I don't understand why people think a team in Week 1 is just as good or just as bad as they are at the end of the season. Team psyche changes, for better and for worse.
Florida looked equally unimpressive in this week's victory as they did last week. After last week's win, they dropped in the polls from number 4 to 8. The ways things are going, they'll be 4-0 and ranked in the 20s.
I'm not going to go crazy over Ohio State's victory over Miami (FL) like many will. While it's a big win, I think we might be in a similar situation as the Boise State-Virginia Tech game. Va. Tech isn't as good as we thought they were, I feel the same about Miami (FL), although this OSU team is as athletic as I can remember. They won't be outrun by the SEC or ACC like they have in the past.
The Wisconsin game can be divided into "The Good" and "The Bad."
THE GOOD
John Clay had another stellar game on the ground, leading the Badger rushing attack with 137 yards on 23 carries. Clay also rushed for two touchdowns. The next two weeks should provide a good tune up to get Clay back into playing shape after undergoing surgery on both ankles this offseason. Just in time for Big Ten play.
Lance Kendricks was involved in the passing game. Last week against UNLV, Kendricks was used primarily as a blocker. He caught only one pass for five yards. While Kendricks wasn't thrown to a lot during the San Jose State, he took advantage of the balls that were thrown to him. Kendricks caught three passes for 60 yards, including a 14 yard touchdown pass to put the Badgers up 14-0 in the beginning of the second quarter.
THE BAD
The Badgers once again hurt themselves by turning the ball over. Freshman running back James White cost the team a score when fumbled into the end zone, resulting in a touchback. Tolzien fumbled a bad snap on 4th and inches inside the 5. Tolzien also threw his second interception of the season. While these turnovers didn't result in points for the other team, they did cost themselves points. Hopefully these mistakes can be chalked up to early season sloppy play and will be corrected in the next two weeks.
For the second straight game the Badgers have followed up an efficient first drive of the game with lackluster play. Against UNLV, they scored on their first possession and did so again today. It seems after the first possession, the Badgers lose some of the fire they started the game with. If they're able to keep their level of intensity up the entire first quarter, they could put teams away early with the running game.

EPL Week 4 - Spurs vs. WBA

Only four weeks into the EPL season and the injury bug has already bitten Spurs. This isn't just a typical mosquito bite. More like a mosquito carrying malaria. Shortly after finding out Jermain Defoe would be lost for the next three months, and Michael Dawson for about eight weeks, manager Harry Redknapp saw Luka Modric go down soon after scoring Spurs' only goal in the 27th minute.
Modric went down clutching his leg after a challenge, and needed crutches to make his way off the field. The ways things have gone, it wouldn't be surprising if Modric misses a considerable amount of time.
Injuries couldn't have come at a worse time, as Spurs prepare for their first Champions League match this Tuesday at Werder Bremen.
West Brom would answer in the 41st when Chris Brunt headed the ball home for the 50th league goal of his career. I admittedly didn't see the first half because I wasn't able to find an online stream, but from what I've read, Spurs were dominant in the early going.
The tide shifted in the second half, as West Brom consistently put pressure on the defense, especially in the last 15 minutes. Spurs were lucky to hold off a flurry of strikes and corners to come away with the draw.
While Modric's injury grabbed headlines, this game also marked the debuts of William Gallas and Rafael van der Vaart.
With all of the injuries, the play of Gallas and van der Vaart will be crucial through out the next few months. Gallas looked good today. I thought he looked sharp and made some smart defensive decisions. Van der Vaart apparently played a good first half, which I unfortunately didn't see. He looked a little tired in the second half. Hopefully with increased play, he'll be able to shoulder more playing time.
While it would have been nice to come away with a victory from The Hawthorns, putting things into perspective, this was a decent result. Without our best striker and defender, and in the midst of incorporating new players into the lineup, it may be necessary to just "hang around" for a few months. As long as Tottenham doesn't start losing games, the team should be fine. I can live with a draw on the road, even if it's against a lesser opponent.
Spurs will face Werder Bremen on Tuesday, which I believe will be the most important match in determining if they can advance into the knockout round.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Team USA's Top Five Players

Any stock broker, single guy at the bar, or college quarterback can tell you it's good to have options. Such was the case for this post. The beginning of the NFL season and the end of the FIBA World Championship have provided an endless amount of things to talk about. In fact, I narrowed it down to a few ideas:
1) The amount of times Fran Frashcilla said "feast or famine" in one broadcast. I can imagine a broadcast journalism professor shouting at the TV, "Redundancy, Redundancy!"
2) The Cold War 2.0: How much the US and Russia still hate each other. The US gets mad when Russia takes credit for the 1972 Olympic gold medal in basketball. Russia gets mad when the US takes credit for Carly Patterson's 2004 Olympic All Around Gold Medal. There's still monkeys up in space somewhere. When will it all end?
3) Russian national team coach David Blatt's facial contortions. Furthering my point that international basketball not only has the strangest looking players of any sport, but coaches as well.
4) They say the camera adds ten pounds. Does HD add five years to Brett Favre's appearance?
Ok, so I like lists. A lot. I also was talking about options earlier. Team USA has 11 first or second options on their respective NBA teams, and one third option (sorry Tyson Chandler). So in an effort to tie all of this together, if I had the option, here are the top five players on Team USA I would take to build my team around.
Number 5: Rudy Gay - Before this tournament I would have said Danny Granger, but what Gay has done in this tournament is undeniable. So much so, that Granger has been relegated to the end of the bench. Gay gets overshadowed in Memphis because Zach Randolph helps with the scoring load. He also happens to be overlooked in FIBA play because he's playing behind Durant.
Here's what I love best about Gay's tournament: he's shooting 58 percent from the field, compared to his career 45 percent in the NBA. If there's one knock on Gay is that he needs to develop a more consistent outside shot. He's shown he can do that in FIBA play, let's see if it translates to the NBA. If it does, Gay will average 20 points a game and battle for one of the last All-Star spots in the West.
Number 4: Andre Iguodala - Iguodala may be the best player the casual NBA fan has never heard of. He averaged 17/6/5 last year. He's just a notch below the elite guard-forward guys such like Wade, LeBron, and Kobe.
What has hurt Iguodala through out his career is that he's never played with a playmaking point guard that can create opportunities for him. Louis Williams, Allen Iverson, Andre Miller were all shoot first point guards. Jrue Holliday will be handed the reigns this year, but he seems to be pretty offensive minded as well. Too often Iguodala has been isolated and forced to create his own shot, which has led to some bad shots, and a not-so-impressive shooting percentage. The talent is there, he just needs to be surrounded by players that can bring it out.
I also love Iguodala's durability. He's played all 82 games in five of his six NBA seasons. If I'm building a team, I want a guy I can count on to be out there every night.
Number 3: Russell Westbrook - I admit, I'm placing Westbrook this high based off potential. While he still needs work on his shot and needs to his limit his turnovers, he's entering his third NBA season and will turn 22 later this year.
Westbrook fits the new mold of point guards. He's big, fast, athletic, and has ability to get to the basket at will. If he continues to improve it's not inconceivable to see him developing into a Chris Paul type of point guard that is an elite player on both ends of the floor.
The big difference right now is that Westbrook is nowhere near the shooter Paul is. He's entering his third year, which is normally around the time guys start to improve their shot. Derrick Rose improved his shooting considerably from his second to third year.
The good thing is that with Durant around, Westbrook will never be expected to carry the scoring load.
Number 2: Derrick Rose - Is Rose this high on the list because he plays for the Bulls? Yes. But I mean that in a objective way and not a homer-pick kind of way. The fact that I've been able to see about 85 percent of Derrick Rose's NBA games allows me to comment on the types of things that don't show up in the stat book.
For instance, what's the biggest knock on Rose? He only averages 6 assists a game. The line of thinking as that the elite point guards average around 10 or more assists per game. And if a point guard doesn't average his 10 then he's either not elite, or a dreaded "score-first point guard."
While his stats may suggest otherwise, Rose is in fact an elite, "true" point guard. His lack of assists have more to do with the incompetence of his teammates than anything he's done. Rose's game is penetrating and then either kicking it out to a teammate or finishing the drive. He's also improved his shot to the point where teams can't play off him like they did in his first two seasons.
Team USA's style of play doesn't utilize is skill set and he has still managed to play very well. At this point, he has better body control and his a better finisher at the rim than Westbrook. They both have a similar skill set.
Rose also has the experience of putting an entire team on his back early in his NBA career and carrying them to the playoffs. Last year's Bulls team had no business being in the playoffs, and the 2008 Bulls had no business taking the Celtics to 7 games. Replace Rose with any other point guard besides D-Will, Paul, or Nash, and the 2009 team doesn't make the playoffs, and the 2008 team is eliminated in 5 games.
Number 1: Kevin Durant - Everything that needs to be said about Kevin Durant has already been said. He's the best scorer in the game at age 22. He should have been drafted before Greg Oden. He's a humble and hardworking guy. The only thing left for him to do is win a couple of MVP awards and NBA Finals trophies.
Here's my attempt at a fresh take on Kevin Durant and the number 3 player on this list, Russell Westbrook. Durant (2nd overall) and Westbrook (4th overall) were drafted in the 2007 and 2008 drafts, respectively. Very rarely do teams get back to back top 5 picks, and when they do (Bulls, Grizzlies, Clippers, T'Wolves) they fuck at least one of the picks up. The selections of Durant and Westbrook will be only the 4th successful back to back top 5 picks for a team in the last 20 years, and the first since 1992-93. Here's the 3 other duos:
1990-91 - Derrick Coleman (1st overall) and Kenny Anderson (2nd overall). During their 4 years together Coleman average 20 points and 10 rebounds for the last three years with the Nets that were not marred by injuries. Anderson averaged 17 points and 9 assists a game. The Nets would never make it out of the first round of the playoffs.
1991-92 - Larry Johnson (1st overall) and Alonzo Mourning (2nd overall). During their 3 years together Johnson averaged 18 points and 9 rebounds and Mourning averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds a game. The farthest Charlotte would get is to the second round of the playoffs.
1992-93 - Shaquille O'Neal (1st overall) and Penny Hardaway (3rd overall, drafted by Golden State and traded to the Magic). During their 3 years together, Shaq averaged 27 points and 12 rebounds a game, while Penny averaged 19 points and 7 assists a game. The Magic would be the the most successful of the duos, reaching the 1995 NBA Finals, and the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals.
It's hard to imagine Durant and Westbrook matching the play of O'Neal and Hardaway. The Magic duo was one of the greatest of all-time. However, you'll notice a pattern amongst these three duos. The Magic were the only duo unaffected by injuries, and consequently advanced the furthest in the playoffs (Penny's string of injuries would begin the year after Shaq bolted to LA).These duos also spent no more than four years with each other, not enough time to build a championship winning chemistry.
If Durant and Westbrook and can stay healthy and remain in Oklahoma City, they may experience something none of these duos experienced, an NBA Championship together.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Defoe and Dawson Go Down, My Blood Pressure Goes Up

As an American watching international soccer, there's many things to adjust to. I've commented on some of these things, such as the announcing, fans, and now, most notably, the way injuries are dealt with. Two Tottenham players, Michael Dawson and Jermain Defoe have went down with injuries in consecutive qualifying games.
Dawson will miss the next six to eight weeks after suffering ligament damage in his left knee and ankle during England's opening match against Bulgaria. Defoe injured his ankle or knee (he's not sure), one game after recording a hat trick against Bulgaria.
Defoe was originally scheduled to have surgery on his groin a few weeks ago, but then postponed the surgery because he wanted to help Spurs qualify for the Champions League group stage. After Spurs secured a 4-0 victory over Young Boys to advance, most expected Defoe to have the surgery.
Turns out, he postponed it again to play for his country. So which is it, Jermain? Your club team or your country?
Therein lies the problem. Which is more important, a player's club, or his country's international games? In American sports the line is clearly drawn. Your club team trumps all else. In many cases, as we're seeing in the FIBA basketball tournament, many teams aren't allowing their players to participate because the tournament poses a serious injury risk.
As an American this line of thinking makes sense to me. It's the club that is investing millions of dollars into their players. They should have the right to withhold them from international competition. FIFA doesn't insure any of these players, yet makes billions of dollars off of them, and in the case of an injury, at the expense of a club team.
But as Americans, we often fail to understand the spirit of international competition. Except of course, when the Olympics roll around. Many of our NBA players were eligible to compete in the FIBA tournament and refused.
You don't see that in soccer. Every one of these players (except maybe a few Frenchmen) would kill for an opportunity to play for their country. It's amazing to see Defoe continue to risk injury just so he can play some games for an English side that could easily qualify for the World Cup without him.
We don't even let our NBA and NFL player play an entire season if it means we can rest them for the playoffs.
So what's the point? The English created soccer and no longer dominate the game they invented. They want to take every opportunity to try and prove that they are the best at the game they created.
America doesn't have this problem in basketball. Not yet, at least. The gap between our talent and the rest of the world as closed considerably in the last ten years. It's not until we aren't the favorites anymore that the best players will be clamoring to prove themselves.
That's why the English Premier League takes a back seat to international play. Premier League players know that the biggest stage is international soccer. It's why players like Defoe risk their Premier League season to showcase their skills on their country's team.
This isn't the case in basketball. The best players are all in the NBA. An NBA championship is a basketball player's greatest team accomplishment. In ten years, that all could change.
Here's to crossing my fingers and hoping that all ligaments, ankles, and groins remain intact and are functioning properly a month from now.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

We Need More Of These Boise St. - Va. Tech Type Games

We've all been in the situation where we get together with a group of friends we haven't seen in a while. Maybe you were a bit apprehensive at first, but after hanging out for a while, you start to remember old times and really enjoy each other's company.
There's the one friend, who on average has consumed two more drinks than everyone, and on average has ten less friends.  Then towards the end of the night, he breaks the silence by saying, "Guys, this is so much fun. Why don't we do this more often?"
This is the type of feeling I had while watching Boise State defeat Virginia Tech 33-30 on Monday night. Except I was by myself, and the party was hosted by the NCAA. No, I was not paid to attend.
I got to thinking, and realized that there's no reason why two top 10 nationally ranked teams shouldn't face off on Labor Day every year. This almost makes too much sense.
First, let's take a look at the last five Labor Day night games:
2005: (14) Florida State vs. (9) Miami (FL)
2006: (11) Florida State vs. (12) Miami (FL)
2007: Clemson vs. (19) Florida State
2008: UCLA vs. (18) Tennessee
2009: Miami (FL) vs. (18) Florida State
Here's the first two things I notice about this list: Too much Florida, and the lack of a match up that pits two national championship contenders against each other.
Florida State and Miami are great. Both programs are on the rise and close to recreating the dominance they once exhibited in the late 90s into the early 2000s. However, there's no reason they should have been playing on this big of a stage for the last five years.
Sure, it's a rivalry game. A rivalry game that no one outside the state of Florida cares about. Their rivalry doesn't transcend sports, and therefore, shouldn't be the slotted in week one's marquee spot.
What made the Boise State - Virginia Tech game great is the fact that both teams were in the preseason national championship discussion. A loss in the first week would likely eliminate either of them from that discussion immediately. Couple that with the added bonus of Boise State being the highest ranked non-BCS school ever and we had ourselves a potential classic.
This game and games like it are good for college football. It would make sense for the BCS to get involved and schedule a top 10 match up the first week of every season. I realize there's more that goes into it than that.
Schools make their own schedules, typically scheduling easier games to start the year in order to pad their record before conference play. And for Big 12 and SEC teams who face a grueling conference game every week, it's hard to fault them for doing this.
There's also the issue of the small schools who depend on a pay day from the bigger schools. They don't travel to national powerhouse's stadiums and get thrown around the field for 60 minutes for nothing. The revenue they make from playing that game is important towards their school's athletic program that doesn't make much money. It would also be unfair to strip them of a chance at that pay day.
There's also the problem of schedule's being set a few years in advance. As well as the issue of not knowing which teams will be in the preseason top 10.
But think of the benefits college football would reap. A top ten match up every Labor Day would generate major interest for the upcoming season. Many football fans think of the first week of college football as an appetizer for the start of the NFL season.
Watching the powerhouses in the first week of the season run over players half their size, updating their Twitter accounts as they catch touchdown passes isn't going to keep the casual fans coming back for more.
Here's a few solutions towards fixing the aforementioned problems of small school scheduling and predetermined games:
1) Let each national power continue to schedule their games in advance. However, there's a possibility that they will have to reschedule their first week game.
2) After the preseason top 25 polls are released, randomly select two teams from the top 10 and have them face off at a neutral stadium on Labor Day.
3) Both teams that were selected the previous year will not be eligible for the Labor Day game the next year. And the team they originally had on their schedule for last year will be played a year later. 
I know, this will never happen. But it would create an enormous amount of suspense and be great for the fans. Fans would be clamoring for their teams to be selected preseason top 10 in order to gain eligibility to the Labor Day game.
Let me put it this way. Monday's Boise State - Virginia Tech game felt like a Bowl Game. New shiny uniforms, neutral stadium, 80 thousand people screaming their asses off. You know what it also felt like? A typical NFL prime time game.
College football has a long way to go before it catches the NFL. A shake up to the first week of the season could provide a platform for growth.
Now that's a party I'd attend every year.

Monday, September 6, 2010

College Football Week 1 - Wisconsin vs. UNLV

Over the last few days, I've had some computer "issues," to say the least. I was planning on writing about a bunch of my thoughts on the first week of college football action, as well as a separate post about my alma mater, the Wisconsin Badgers. The Badgers post will be a weekly thing, just like I've been doing with Tottenham.
Since I'm kind of late, I'm going to condense this post to a few quick thoughts about about the first week of college football, with an emphasis on the Wisconsin game.
- Denard Robinson looks like a budding star in Rich Rodriguez's offense. However, if he doesn't learn to slide or lower his should and absorb hits, he'll be injured by the sixth week of the season.
- Florida will solve their issues under center, but expect three to four losses from them this year. And what was up with the lack of emotion from Urban Meyer on the sidelines? Is he just trying to keep his blood pressure low early in the season? Or possibly experiencing post-Tebow break up depression?
- I didn't watch that Oregon game, but any time a team wins 72-0, they're trying to send a message that they deserve to be discussed with the nation's elite.
- Look for TCU to deliver their second straight undefeated regular season after defeating Oregon State's high powered offense. TCU's biggest obstacle to perfection will be on November 6th, when they visit Utah.
- Jacksonville State true freshman quarterback Coty Blanchard's perfect 30 yard strike to Kevyn Cooper on 4th and 15 in double overtime and the two point conversion that followed will go down as a top 10 moment of the 2010-11 college football season.
Initially, I didn't know how to feel about a Badger game broadcasted on Versus. To my knowledge, Versus only broadcasts hockey and auto racing. Before the game, they were showing former college football sideline reporter Jack Arute cheesing it up with a member of a pit crew, and at that point, it was safe to say that I was worried about the quality of this broadcast.
My fears were confirmed when the announcers opened the broadcast yelling. They continued yelling well into the first quarter. I understand, they're unknown announcers and are trying to make a name for themselves. Everything they've been taught about announcing is that they have to sound passionate and exciting, and they took it over the top a little. Fortunately, as the game wore on, I either suffered a slight hearing loss and became accustomed to them, or they toned it down.
Wisconsin's first possession of the game displayed the type of football they'll be looking to play all season. Run the ball, control time of possession, and wear the defense down. They did all of that en route to the first touchdown of the game.
While it's still early to speculate, it's not a stretch to say that the Badgers run game could be second in the nation next to Alabama's. They have John Clay (who is looking more and more like Ron Dayne) to pound the ball on first to third down, Montee Ball can also run between the tackles and is a better receiver out of the backfield than Clay. Add in the speed of freshman James White, and you have 266 rushing yards, and one of the most versatile backfields in college football. Not to mention, an NFL-sized offensive line blocking for them.
When you have a dominant running game going up against an overmatched defense, the passing game tends to be underused. Such was the case in Las Vegas.
I've always thought quarterback Scott Tolzien is underrated. Despite his size, he has a surprisingly strong and accurate arm. He also has a few speedy receivers to work with that will allow them to run a barrage of reverses, slants, and go routes to keep defenses on their toes.
Wisconsin has a legitimate shot at the Rose Bowl this year. There's only two things I think that could possibly hold them back.
1) Turnovers. We saw this in the UNLV game. Two turnovers led to 14 points. Wisconsin was up by only 3 at halftime despite dominating the game. The first turnover was a pick 6 from Tolzien, and the second was a fumble in the red zone from Nick Toon that UNLV returned 82 yards to set up a touchdown pass. In Big Ten play, these type of turnovers will cost them games.
2) The Secondary. I'm really worried about this secondary. Thankfully, the front 7 is excellent and should get plenty of pressure over the course of the season. They're going to need to because Wisconsin's defensive backs won't be successful out on an island for long. Our safeties aren't exactly stellar either. Jay Valai is a big hitter that can stop the run, but his coverage skills leave something to be desired. Aaron Henry is playing safety because he failed as a defensive back.
Overall, it was a good first game. I look for Wisconsin to limit their turnovers and get tight end Lance Kendricks more involved in the offense next week.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Team USA Improves To 5-0

I've been watching many of these FIBA games and have been thinking about why I'm enjoying this tournament so much. The obvious answer is that the USA is beatable. It's much more fun when you're rooting to win and not rooting to win by at least 40. But no, it's not that.
Another answer could revolve around the nationalism that goes hand in hand with an international sports tournament. One problem: besides the rivalry between Turkey and Greece, there aren't any countries and fans that blatantly hate each other like you'll see in the World Cup.
It finally dawned on me while watching this morning's USA-Tunisia game. It's the funny looking guys on the international teams that you just don't get in the NBA. Think about it, if you saw any NBA player walking down the street, somebody could point towards him, tell you that's Player X, and you'd believe them. Brian Scalabrine is the only exception. Even a weird looking guy like Chris Kaman gets a pass because he's a seven footer.
Each international team has at least five Scalabrine's. In fact, Tunisian forward Radhouane Slimane's baldness attracted more attention than anything that actually happened in the game. Slimane is 30 years old and looks about 45. Just think about how hard it is to look 15 years older than you are.
Slimane is exactly the type of guy you would immediately D up on in a pick up game thinking you'd get a rest on defense. First possession, he hits a mid range jumper in your face and you shrug it off as luck. Then he does it again the next time down the floor. "Shit," you say to yourself and play defense for the rest of the game.
Anyway, what I wanted to talk about is how much Eric Gordon and Rudy Gay have improved their stock during this tournament.
Gordon led all scorers against Tunisia with 21 points on 7-10 shooting. I was more impressed with his defense. He recorded three steals in 25 minutes. Gordon has been USA's best option off the bench, and his play has led some to speculate about his possible insertion into the starting lineup.
But at who's expense?
Rose and Billups have both looked lackluster at times. I think pairing up Gordon with Rose would be ideal because Rose's ability to penetrate would create plenty of open looks for Gordon.
Another possibility is starting Gordon next to Billups and moving Billups back to point guard where he's more comfortable. This would be a better defensive backcourt but would lack speed and athleticism.
My guess would be that Coach K sticks with his original starting lineup. Rose is too versatile not to start, and I think he likes the veteran leadership that Billups provides. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Gordon has excelled off the bench, so he'll likely remain in the 6th man role.
Rudy Gay is another player that I've been impressed with. I think it's not so much that he's improved, as it is I wasn't aware of how good he was. I always assumed Granger was the better of the two players. The stats last season would suggest that (Granger - 24/5/3, Gay - 19/6/2) they're more even than I thought. Also take into account that Gay plays with a 20 ppg scorer in Randolph, and Indiana's offense is run through Granger.
Gay has shot the ball well and shown a willingness to rebound the basketball (the same can't be said for most of his teammates). At this point, Gay has cemented his spot as the back up small forward. The Tunisia game is evidence. Granger got the majority of the minutes during garbage time in the second half because he needed to find a way to work Granger into the game somehow.
USA will face Angola on Monday for their first game in the 16 team single elimination tournament. More on that tomorrow.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Gonzalez, Not Sandberg The Favorite To Land Cubs Job

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, sources have suggested that GM Jim Hendry is leaning towards a manager with major league experience to replace the retired Lou Piniella, and that man is former Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez.
Gonzalez was fired midway through this year after Florida posted a 34-36 record through 70 games. Gonzalez's career record is 276-279 in three and a half years with the Marlins. This record will hardly thrill Cubs fans.
Actually, any decision Hendry makes these days won't thrill Cubs fans. That's why with this decision, he has to go with the fan favorite, former Cubs second baseman/ Hall of Famer, Ryne Sandberg. Sandberg has worked his way up from single A ball and is currently managing the Iowa Cubs (AAA), who coming into today, were 20 games over .500 and sitting atop their division.
I'm definitely not an advocate of general managers making decisions based on the opinions of the fan base. I'm a fan myself and realize that our opinions are off base the majority of the time. But this time Hendry needs to defy conventional wisdom and take a chance on the fan favorite.
It makes sense that Hendry wants an experienced manager to fill the position. But ask yourself this question: Will an experienced manager make next year's team any better?
I'm not sure, but it's an interesting question.
The 2011 Cubs are going to be young, and quite frankly, not very good. They probably won't contend in the NL Central for at least another three years. So is it better to have an experienced manager in Gonzalez (who is still considered an up and comer, by the way), or to throw the rookie Sandberg in there and allow him to experience some growing pains along with his team.
I feel very certain about one thing, if the team struggles, the fans will be much more forgiving if Sandberg is the manager. He's the Hall of Fame second baseman, the guy who did things the right way, and according to all reports is doing a great job of teaching the AAA kids. Basically, he can do no wrong.
If the team sucks next year and Gonzalez is managing he'll be heavily criticized. He'll likely be painted as a manager who isn't getting everything out of his players, and more importantly, the guy standing in Sandberg's way.
If the team struggles and Sandberg is managing, expect the blame to be on the players. I can see it now. "What's he supposed to do? He has a terrible team to work with."
In my opinion, neither manager will have this team in contention next year, or is better suited to make them competitive in the future.
That's why Sandberg needs to be given his chance now. It would be a disaster to have him sign on as an assistant somewhere else and eventually become a head coach. I doubt he'll wait around to see how Gonzalez works out.
Sandberg is a former Cubs player. He understands the expectations and knows what it takes to win here. He's one of our own and wants to be here. His loyalty should be rewarded with a major league job.
Just this once, the fans may be right.