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To me, it’s funny and not all that brutal, but my goodness–Rick Pitino was mad last night, and Ralph Willard may have got the brunt of it. Steve Masiello, literally, was taken aback by it. Make your own observations.
05
Kevin Barlow has something lodged in his throat, or he thinks IU is choking.
Thanks to The Big Lead for this gem.
I would think that Tom Crean makes copies of this and puts it up on the locker of every player.
Okay, that sounded so corny.
Great television last night, but there’s a reason that Purdue’s Kevin Barlow is making that choking gesture, since the Hoosiers missed three straight front-ends of one-and-ones late in the game.
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On my radio show, we love to play DJ Steve Porter’s “Press Hop” remix every once in awhile. He basically takes audio-visual clips and turns them into hip hop music in most cases. To some, his remixes are funny. To others, it’s great music.
To me, it’s both.
Now, he’s done his own version of “Pants On The Ground” from American Idol.
Enjoy:
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I show you this for a couple reasons.
1. I wanted to show you that I have sports fandom just like most of you.
and…
2. I don’t mind the embarrassment, because the Colts are in the BLEEPING SUPER BOWL!
Enjoy!
27
Well, we’re about 24 hours removed from the third straight loss by a college basketball team ranked number one in the country–Kentucky’s 68-62 loss to South Carolina.
I, like make UK fans, thought the time to really be nervous about a potential loss for the Cats was last Saturday when they played Arkansas in the game that would’ve basically stamped the number one ranking on them officially. Cal’s kids wiped right through the Hogs and all was right in Big Blue Nation.
And I also figured there was no need for the Nation to get all uptight about going into South Carolina to play against an inferior team.
But, oh, Ken Pomeroy, the guy I constantly love to link to when it comes to college basketball, knew a loss was coming for Kentucky. I’m sure most of us did. But what’s really alarming is that, even before UK’s loss to South Carolina, Pomeroy told the masses that these Wildcats have some obvious flaws (keep in mind, this was BEFORE UK’s Tuesday nignt loss):
This year’s edition of Kentucky has a history of not putting away weaker opponents. Normally that’s a sign of bad things to come, and in this case it’s the direct cause of UK’s lower-than-expected rating. In recent contests against both Georgia and Auburn, the game was tied with eight minutes to go. A week ago the Cats were tied with Florida with five minutes left. Essentially, the Wildcats have been willing to throw away the first 75 to 85 percent of the game. Playing what amounts to a five- to eight-minute game against a less-talented opponent is normally a dangerous thing when done regularly–it gives the more-talented team less time to prove its superiority.
So far, Kentucky hasn’t been burned by this pattern of play. They’ve had some close calls, sure, but they’re still unbeaten. The question is whether UK is headed for a reality check like other teams that have repeated close calls against weak competition, or whether they are truly different.
Pomeroy compares this year’s Kentucky to the ’06 Gonzaga team that had Adam Morrison as the star. They were so offensively superior than other teams that they didn’t have to play all that tough on defense, put it on cruise control for 35 minutes, then “flip the switch” and win the game. That is, until they had to play someone with similar offensive talent in the tournament–UCLA–and lost.
It’s just one loss for Kentucky. Hell, it’s the only loss for the Cats. But, Pomeroy’s opinion and data have definitely been noted.
25
This was some pretty funny stuff. If you ask me, it was done in fun by Coach Calipari. But, I think John Buccigross (a.k.a. the new Jeanine Edwards) was a little stunned by what he heard.
23
Just when I got done singing the praises of Rick Pitino’s team on the road this season, they go and lay an absolute egg up in Newark against Seton Hall.
And, yes, I know Louisville may have been screwed royally on this play late in the game:
And even though the team is a very mediocre 3-3 in the Big East Conference (and just seven wins away from the NCAAs according to Pitino), the Cardinals are fourth in the Big East when it comes to point-per-possession offense and defense.
This from the smart folks at BasketballProspectus.com:
Pace PPP Opp. PPP EM 1. West Virginia 64.4 1.13 0.99 +0.14 2. Pitt 65.2 1.11 0.99 +0.12 3. Villanova 71.7 1.18 1.06 +0.12 4. Louisville 68.7 1.14 1.03 +0.11 5. Syracuse 71.6 1.10 0.99 +0.11 6. Marquette 62.9 1.16 1.07 +0.09 7. Georgetown 64.4 1.10 1.02 +0.08 8. Connecticut 69.8 1.00 0.98 +0.02 9. Cincinnati 66.6 0.98 0.99 -0.01 10. St. John's 65.4 0.93 0.95 -0.02 11. Notre Dame 66.5 1.09 1.12 -0.03 12. Providence 72.5 1.05 1.10 -0.05 13. Seton Hall 71.1 1.03 1.10 -0.07 14. S. Florida 68.0 0.92 1.06 -0.14 15. Rutgers 71.0 0.90 1.12 -0.22 16. DePaul 65.8 0.86 1.15 -0.29
So, what are we to make of this?
Maybe those stats are padded by the big wins over South Florida and Providence. Or, maybe Cards fans (well, most some) are getting too frustrated too fast.
Either way, things better start changing… and soon.
(h/t @EamonnBrennan)
22
Live from the you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up department:
Recording artist Prince, a lifelong Minnesota Vikings fan, decided it was time to make his own Vikings song. It was unveiled on the local news this week and everything.
Colts fans, be happy that Prince doesn’t root for you (thanks to The Big Lead for the tip):
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The spincycle got a nice little run at the Yum Center Wednesday during Louisville head men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino’s standard day-before-the-game press conference.
Pitino said that his team’s goal is to make it to 10 conference victories (video of the presser, thanks to the Courier-Journal, is below).
I got news for Pitino. Ten wins ain’t gonna cut it. But that’s probably not news to Pitino. He’s HAS to know that’s not enough, right?
The table to the right is Ken Pomeroy’s (KenPom.com) projection for Louisville the rest of the way which also predicts an eight-loss Big East slate. The projections also show one win over ANYONE IN THE TOP 40 CURRENTLY–a home win over Georgetown (white suit optional).
This is NOT a NCAA Tournament-worthy resume.
Now, it probably won’t go like this. No Rick Pitino-coached team ever does the predictable.
But take a look again at that remaining schedule–slice it however you want–and tell me how the Cardinals get into the NCAA Tournament as an at-large with just 10 Big East victories (and an 18-12 regular season mark). They’d have to get to the championship game of the conference tournament to have a shot.
Watch Pitino here:
18
Quickly, I gotta get something off of my chest.
Has there ever been more pressure on a NFL general manager to get to the Super Bowl than there is now? Bill Polian wanted this, right?
After their 17-14 win Sunday over the San Diego Chargers, the New York Jets get to meet the team they can thank for allowing them the last-chance opportunity to get into the playoffs–the Indianapolis Colts.
Make no mistake, when the 14-0 Colts sat their starters to preserve health and not history 30 days ago, there was an another motive as well–keep those pesky Steelers out.
So far so good. Colts win in playoffs, don’t have to see the Steelers (or the Patriots or the Chargers). The Jets got in, and now they’re looking like they’re deserving.
For a Colts fan like myself, it’s scary. They’re the favorite, they’re at home. And all the pressure is on them.
Bill Polian must beat team he let into playoffs. He chose a healthy Colt team and the Jets in the playoffs over the chance a chance at immortality. He could be right.
It’ll be a long offseason if he’s not.