EZ The Blog

When a washed-up sports radio host has only one outlet left.

One of the reasons I’ll probably never make it big time in the sports radio biz (besides the fact that I’m not very good at it) is because I don’t “attempt” to make “shock jock” radio. Now, sometimes it can come off that way I’m sure.  But, it’s definitely not intended.

To me, though, the kind of radio that WFAN’s Mike Francesa tried to pull off yesterday is the definition of “shock jock” (I hate that term).  It’s also some of the same material that has made Francesa a household name to many across the country, especially in the Northeast.

And it’s also the kind of radio that I refuse to do, for better or worse for me personally and professionally.

No need to give it any context, and it is a bit long.  You don’t need to watch the whole thing to get the drift (although the part that really sends me over the edge is at the very end).  It gets more and more tense the further you go.

I keep on staring at the top of the Big East standings trying to make sense of it.

Whose got the edge? Where does Louisville fit in?

What happens in case of a tie?

That last question is the one I attempted to tangle with last night after Jim Calhoun’s 800th win as UConn beat Marquette.

So I was starting to do some scenarios, and actually, there is ONE scenario where all four teams can tie for first place at 14-4. Obviously, that would mean that UConn (14-2 in conference) would have to lose both of it’s last two games (fat chance), Louisville loses at home to Marquette and at West Virginia, and Pitt LOSES at Seton Hall (fatter chance) before coming back to win at home against Marquette and UConn.

But, forget about that.

Here’s what we got at the moment:

Current Big East Standings
Connecticut – 14-2
Louisville – 13-2
Marquette – 12-3 (I feel bad for Dominic James. As a fellow Hoosier, I’ve respected his game)
Pittsburgh – 12-3

Now, let’s assume that all favored teams (according to Vegas) win out from this point forward (and we all know what assuming does). Here would be the final standings of the conference with outcomes of all the remaining games for the top four teams.

Predicted Big East Standings
Connecticut – 15-3 (W vs. ND, L @ Pitt)
Louisville – 15-3 (W vs. Marq, W vs. S. Hall, L @ WVU) I predict WVU will be slightly favored
Pittsburgh – 15-3 (W @ S. Hall, W vs. Marq, W vs. UConn)
Marquette – 13-5 (L @ UofL, L @ Pitt, W vs. Syr)

So given the above secnario, that puts UConn, Louisville, and Pitt in a three-way tie for first.

According to the Big East Conference Tournament tiebreaking procedure, the seeds for the Big East Tournament would go as follows:
1. Pittsburgh (who will have gone 2-1 against the other two teams in the tiebreaker)
2. Louisville (1-1)
3. Connecticut (1-2)

There will be a quiz.

I think U of L fans, for one night, can agree with me.

The Cards looked scared last night.

Scared of Hasheem Thabeet. He was a force. Samardo Samuels was a freshman for one night. And for that matter, so was Earl Clark.

For Pete’s sake, go strong to the hoop. If not, Thabeet is going to let you have it. It’s as simple as that. You go at him strong. See if you can’t get him in foul trouble. Maybe you’ll fail, but at least we know you tried.

Last night, we didn’t even know if the Cards tried. That’s got to be the most frustrating thing for a Cards fan.

And to be completely honest with you, Louisville would’ve lost to a lot of teams last night. Earl Clark jackin’ up threes in an apparent attempt to attract the NBA scouts who he didn’t need to really attract. Edgar Sosa shooting umpteen contested shots, most right off of a pass, without as much as a dribble to get away from the pressure.

Terrence Williams played great. He played like a senior.

He was the only one (save maybe Andre McGee).

Louisville had a very good first five or six minutes. They forced turnovers, they shared the ball.

And then they stopped. By the under-16-minute media timeout in the second half, Freedom Hall was deflated for good–and THAT is probably a new unofficial record for Freedom Hall.

All credit to UConn, they wanted it. After the first ten minutes of the game, they sliced through Louisville’s nationally-recognized full-court pressure like a hot knife through butter. The Huskies made the Ladybirds Dance Team the top Louisville-based act of the night.

Good news is that it’s the first week of February. I’m not one of those people that believes in a “good” loss, but I do think that this loss won’t do much hurt for the Cards, except for maybe their egos.

Truth be told, it provided a moment for these kids to refocus. When you receive your spanking just midway through the conference, and you’re still in second place, you’re going to be fine.

But boy, what a spanking.

Other good takes:
Bozich – Huskies are No. 1 in poll and on court [C-J]
Forde – Perhaps some stability at the top? [ESPN]
Goodman – No. 1 finally worthy of ranking? [Fox Sports]

Just like UK fans got it from me about the whole “you’re not a 4-seed yet” last week (and were then came back down to Earth after the inexplicable loss to a depleted Ole Miss team), U of L fans are starting to really think they are a 1-seed.

Hold on there, pal.

Now, just as I said with UK, U of L controls their own destiny to a 1-seed, there’s no doubt. But, let’s all be honest, U of L is going to take some lumps in the conference before it’s all said and done. The league is too deep to be able to go out and win each night in the Big East.

But, I’d be more than happy to give them the “1-seed-if-the-tourney-started-today” title if they can beat West Virginia this weekend, and then UConn on Big Monday.

What I’ve failed to see in any publication thus far (and between you and me, I haven’t been looking that vigorously) is that U of L (barring an upset of UConn by Providence this weekend) will be playing their second number one-ranked team in just over two weeks, and at home no less.

If U of L takes care of business against West Virginia this weekend, and then beats UConn (that’s a rigorous three-day stretch) on Big Monday, I think I can then put them in a 1 slot for the time being.

Until then, Cards fans, you aren’t a 1-seed. So stop it.

Getting done with a nice workout and sitting back down at the computer to check out the news.  I think the breaking news is that Matt Millen is done in Detroit.  Looks like ol’ Ford’s son has a little pull after all.

On to more of the squeeze: