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NCAA Game Summary – Georgetown at West Virginia

(Monday, March 1st)
Final Score: (10) West Virginia 81, (19) Georgetown 68

Morgantown, WV (Freepick1.com) – Da’Sean Butler filled the stat sheet in his final game at WVU Coliseum, totaling 22 points, six rebounds and six assists to lead No. 10 West Virginia to an 81-68 victory over the struggling 19th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas.

The Mountaineers (23-6, 12-5 Big East) clinched a double-bye in the Big East Tournament with the win and currently sit in third place in the conference standings, a half-game ahead of Pittsburgh and a half-game behind the Villanova Wildcats, who they visit in the regular season finale on Saturday.

Devin Ebanks and Kevin Jones scored 15 and 14 points, respectively, for West Virginia, which received 11 points from Darryl Bryant in its fourth win in five games.

The Hoyas (19-9, 9-8), ranked eighth in the country just three weeks ago, have lost four of their last five, dropping them to seventh in the conference.

Austin Freeman, Georgetown’s leading scorer at 17.0 ppg, did not dress because of a stomach virus, the same illness that forced him to play limited minutes in a 14-point home loss to Notre Dame on Saturday.

Greg Monroe and Chris Wright tallied 22 and 21 points, respectively, for the Hoyas, who committed 20 turnovers in the setback.

West Virginia expanded its three-point lead midway through the first half with a 13-3 run. Butler had six points on the spurt, which was capped by Bryant’s finger-roll for a 27-14 advantage with seven minutes left.

The margin reached 41-21 on a Casey Mitchell three-pointer with two minutes remaining in the stanza.

Georgetown turned the ball over 12 times in the opening 20 minutes, leading to 14 points the other way en route to a 43-26 differential at the break.

The Hoyas failed to make any adjustments in the locker room, as they had four giveaways in the first three minutes of the second half. Jones fueled the subsequent 10-0 WVU flurry, with his jumper yielding a healthy 53-26 cushion.

A nine-point run for Georgetown a little later kept the Mountaineers on their toes, but the hosts still led comfortably until the final five minutes.

A Jason Clark bucket finished an 8-0 Georgetown spurt to get as close as 62-53, but Butler followed with two free throws and a contested layup to push the margin back to double-digits with 3 1/2 minutes to play.

The hosts led by at least 10 the rest of the way.

Game Notes

The Mountaineers finished 12-2 at WVU Coliseum this season, while the Hoyas went 6-5 in true road games…The Hoyas end their regular season at home against Cincinnati on Saturday…Monroe also had nine rebounds for the Hoyas, while Wright handed out seven assists and grabbed six caroms…West Virginia committed nine turnovers.

New York Yankees 2-20-10

Let me start by saying that I am not a New York Yankees fan.  In fact, I despise New York Yankee fans, I don’t like watching the New York Yankees make all of the trades that they do and I most definitely do not like anything about watching the New York Yankees win.  All that being said we have to agree to respect the way in which they conduct their business.  Let us be clear, the New York Yankees operate within the rules of baseball.  They do not break any of the rules in which the MLB organization has put into place.  They simply are willing to do things that other teams are not.  There are a lot of other great baseball organizations out there that just do not put as much money back into their team because they are looking for a profit.

The New York Yankees are concerned with only one thing, winning.  Many other organizations claim that this is their top priority but when push comes to shove the New York Yankees always get their man.  They are not afraid of their big contracts or the amount of money that it might cost to get the best players, they simply go out and get who they think will help them to achieve the ultimate goal of winning the World Series in October (actually now it often ends in November).

Now, I know that they have the most championships that any team has in any sport (yes, that makes me just as sick as you if you feel the same way I do) and therefore that creates a gigantic fan base which in turn generates more money for the organization to spend on the team that they put on the field.  But, how do you think that they got to this point? they got here by putting a winning product on the field each and every year since the mid 1990s.

The bottom line is that there are many other MLB teams who could open up their wallets to grab that extra player or two to make their team that much more competitive.  They simply don’t do it.  It is for that reason that the New York Yankees have laid out the perfect blueprint for how to run a successful organization and keep their fans happy.

The New York Yankees, love them or hate them, get the job done on a year to year basis and for that reason we must respect them as an organization.

Tiger Woods Apologizes Publicly 2-19-10

On Friday Tiger Woods issued a public apology for his behavior that got him in so much trouble.  He apologized to his family,friends and to his fans.  The apology lasted for over thirteen minutes and seemed to come from his heart.  He did not seem quick to try to brush this under the carpet as we did not once hear from him that we need to move on and put this behind us.  He sounded like someone who truly wanted to right his wrongs, which we now know were many, and work on his “addiction” and make things right with his family.  (Don’t we all, us men, have an addiction to sex?  Oops, I was just thinking out loud)  His road to recovery involves sex addiction clinics and a long road of therapy to try to heal the wounds that he inflicted upon his family.  His public persona might never recover from this, only time will tell, but this apology could have only helped.    America is a very forgiving society and I am sure that if he makes things right with his family then he will be able to win over the public as well.

Now, my big question is how does he make this right with his wife?  I mean, I like Tiger and I hope he can do it and thence return to prominence on the golf course.  But, if he pulls this one off then he will have accomplished something even more amazing than anything that he ever did on the golf course.  How do you have sex with all of those women and make things OK with your significant other?  He needs to write a book about that if he pulls it off.   Personally I don’t see his wife ever truly forgiving him but I could be wrong.  Is she staying in it for the money,love, fame or a blend of the three?  Who knows?

Lastly, I do feel that his explanation of having a sex addiction is a cop-out.  I mean really, to proclaim this like it is some sort of legitimate excuse bothers me a bit.  He was banging a lot of hot chicks over and over again.  He cheated on his wife.  But, a sex addiction? I don’t buy it.  He thought that he was on top of the world and was invincible, not subject to the rules that all of us follow or are held accountable to on a day to day basis.  I know all about addiction and I love to have sex, but sex, I don’t believe, is one of the many things that I have ever been addicted to in my life.  Who knows and who cares, what I am looking forward to is to see how this really pans out.  I hope that for his sake he is back on the course shortly and reclaims his spot as the most dominant man in golf and sports as a whole.

Tiger Woods apologizes publicly today.  did you buy it? I did.  I like Tiger and hope he comes out of this alright.  I think that his apology to his friends, family and fans was genuine and not fake like so many of the other public apologies that we have heard in the past from professional athletes that have screwed up like Tiger.

(19) Pittsburgh (19-6) at Marquette (16-8)

(19) Pittsburgh (19-6) at Marquette (16-8)

Thursday, February 18th, 9:00 p.m. (et)

The Sports Network

By Ralph Lauro, Associate College Basketball Editor

FACTS & STATS: Bradley Center (19,150) — Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Television: ESPN2. Home Record: Pitt 14-1, Marquette 12-2. Away Record: Pitt 4-3, Marquette 2-5. Neutral Record: Pitt 1-2, Marquette 2-1. Conference Record: Pitt 8-4, Marquette 7-5. Series Record: Tied, 6-6.

GAME NOTES: The surging Marquette Golden Eagles will try to bolster their resume tonight, as they host the 19th-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers in Big East action at the Bradley Center.

Marquette is a team many feel is on the NCAA Tournament bubble despite having defeated three ranked opponents, so a win tonight would go a long way in solidifying its chances for a postseason bid. The team was in pretty bad shape just a few weeks ago, but a current five-game winning streak now has the club sitting at 16-8 overall and 7-5 in conference play. Most recently, the Eagles defeated South Florida, 63-52, on Saturday to move to 12-2 at home.

Pitt meanwhile, is a lock for the NCAA Tournament and it made sure of that with a 98-95 triple-overtime besting of nationally-ranked West Virginia on Friday. It was the third win in a row for the Panthers, who are still in the hunt for the Big East title at 8-4. With a victory tonight, Pitt would also secure its ninth straight 20-win campaign, the longest run in school history.

The all-time series between Pitt and Marquette is tied at 6-6, with the Eagles owning a perfect 3-0 mark in games played at the Bradley Center.

Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker tallied 24 points apiece and combined for nine rebounds to help Pitt outlast WVU in a wild three-overtime affair last week. Wanamaker also dished out 10 assists for a double-double, while Gibbs went 6- of-13 from long range. Gilbert Brown tacked on 16 points for the Panthers, who went 31-of-42 at the foul line and handed out 23 assists to only eight turnovers. For the season, Gibbs is the team’s leading scorer at 16.8 ppg and he shoots 38.8 percent from downtown and 90.0 percent at the foul line. Wanamaker does just about everything well and he turns in 12.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg and a team-high 4.4 apg. Brown is also a threat for Pitt, as he chips in with 11.2 ppg coming off the bench.

Marquette forced twice as many turnovers as it committed and held USF to a miserable 35.5 percent shooting effort from the floor in a 63-52 win over the weekend. The Eagles, who had just six giveaways, recorded eight steals in the game and made good on 43.1 percent of its field-goal attempts. Lazar Hayward registered a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead the charge, while Jimmy Butler posted 15 points and six boards. A player that can get the job done at both ends, Hayward has nearly done it all for Marquette, leading the team with 18.6 ppg, 8.1 rpg and 42 steals. Butler has provided a nice complement to him and turns in 15.3 ppg and 6.6 rpg. Darius Johnson-Odom, a 49.5 percent three-point shooter, adds 12.4 ppg for a Marquette club that is shooting 42.3 percent from beyond the arc.

The Eagles need this game more than Pitt does and they should be able to get the job done behind Hayward and their three-point shooting.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Marquette 71, Pittsburgh 66

Ice problems in Canada, of all places

Vancouver, BC (Sports Network) – Canada may be the land of bacon, but it’s also the land of ice — as in hockey ice, pond ice, Molson Ice.

So when the men’s 500-meter speedskating race was delayed for more than an hour Monday while they figured out a technical problem with the ice resurfacing machine, there were more than a few rolled eyes.

It was the second time in as many days that one of the machines caused a delay at Richmond Olympic Oval.

“This was a drama. This was definitely not at an Olympic level. It’s laughable,” said Dutch skater Jan Bos, who also wasn’t impressed with the ice machine four years ago at the Turin Olympics.

Bos, who finished 29th, put his drink bottle down on the Richmond ice. On a normal surface, he said, the bottle will slide for 10 meters. On Monday, it immediately fell over.

“It’s a shame,” he said.

[Zamboni]
It was the second time in as many days that one of the machines caused a delay at Richmond Olympic Oval.
Some skaters complained, most didn’t. A few of them lost their balance — like top American hope Tucker Fredricks, who couldn’t recover after placing 15th in the first of two races.

Fredricks skated in the second half of the draw during the first race (competitors skate twice in the 500, and their times are combined). Which meant that he was among those who waited more than an hour for the problem to be sorted out.

The USOC said American coaches were concerned that the long delay would lead to unfair conditions. Fredricks wasn’t bothered by the wait, but did agree that the ice was in unusual shape.

“It was consistent with being inconsistent,” he said.

Two skaters wiped out, although not because of the ice.

Germany’s Samuel Schwarz went spinning into the wall after sticking his toes across the finish line in customary fashion. Later, silver medalist Keiichiro Nagashima of Japan was felled by a Herculean high-five from one of his coaches.

Gold medalist Mo Tae-Bum, meanwhile, managed to stay on his skates.

American star Shani Davis, using the 500 as a tune-up, withdrew after the first race to focus on two longer distances he has a better chance of winning. He said ice problems are part of the game.

“Bad ice is bad ice,” Davis said.

Sweden’s Magnus Enfeldt, the Vancouver organizing committee’s general manager for the arena, said the machines being used at the Richmond oval have been in operation for a year and a half. They have only recently started experiencing problems with them.

Enfeldt said a solution is in the works.

“We’re bringing in a Zamboni from Calgary.”

What, they don’t have a bunch of those in Vancouver?

NCAA Game Summary – Iowa State at Kansas

(Saturday, February 13th)

Final Score: (1) Kansas 73, Iowa State 59

Lawrence, KS (Sports Network) – Xavier Henry posted a team-high 16 points, and No. 1 Kansas remained unbeaten in Big 12 play with a 73-59 victory over Iowa State at Allen Fieldhouse.

The Jayhawks (24-1, 10-0 Big 12) used a 14-0 run midway through the second half to run their home winning streak to 56 games, as they continue inching closer to their sixth straight conference regular season title.

The win was also the 400th career victory for Jayhawks head coach Bill Self.

“We’ve got to play better than we did in the first half,” Self said. “That 14-0 run in the second half…that certainly put the game away.”

Cole Aldrich logged 11 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, while Marcus Murray chipped in 11 points and 10 boards for Kansas, which outscored the Cyclones, 34-14, in the paint.

Craig Brackins had 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists to pace Iowa State (13-12, 2-8), which has dropped four straight and seven of its last eight overall. Justin Hamilton chipped in 11 points and 12 boards, while Marquis Gilstrap added 11 and nine in defeat.

The Cyclones stayed close through the early portion of the second stanza, cutting their deficit to 40-38 on Brackins’ three-pointer 6 1/2 minutes in.

The Jayhawks stepped it up from there, scoring 14 consecutive quick points to build a comfortable lead.

Tyrel Reed’s jumper made it a 49-38 game with 11 1/2 minutes to play, and after Brackins missed a pair of free throws, Tyshawn Taylor went the length of the floor and converted a three-point play.

Henry ended the burst with two from the foul line with just under 10 minutes remaining, and the hosts cruised from there for their 10th straight win.

“I am pretty sure not many people gave us a chance to come here and compete and we came in here and competed,” Iowa State head coach Greg McDermott said. “All those types of runs that people that come in are worried about, and we were a recipient of one of those runs tonight.”

Just past the midway point of the first half, Henry drained consecutive three- pointers to give Kansas a 23-16 lead.

The margin was still seven in the final seconds before Sherron Collins beat his defender off the dribble and got his driving layup to fall for a 35-36 halftime lead.

Game Notes

Kansas leads the all-time series with Iowa State 168-58 and has won the last 10 meetings…Iowa State has lost 20 straight to ranked opponents…Kansas’ longest home winning streak lasted 62 games from February 26,1993 to November 8, 1998…Collins had 11 points and five assists for Kansas.

Iowa’s Tucker released from scholarship

Iowa’s Tucker released from scholarship

Iowa City, IA (Sports Network) – The University of Iowa granted Anthony Tucker’s request to be released from his scholarship, Hawkeyes head coach Todd Lickliter announced Friday.

As a freshman, Tucker was ruled academically ineligible midway through the 2008-09 season after averaging 10.4 points in 14 games.

He returned this season and started in all 11 games he played in, logging 11.9 points per game, good for second on the team.

However, he was arrested in December for public intoxication, his second alcohol-related arrest in just over a year.

Tucker was a standout in high school at Minnetonka, Minnesota.

2010 New York Mets Outlook 2-11-10

Any Mets fans out there?  Well, if you are then it sucks to be you.  But seriously, are the Mets ready for the 2010 season?  Did they do enough to improve their squad from last year that was so riddled by injury? No, no and no.

The Mets last season went into the year with high expectations and thoughts of a championship.  New York did in fact get that championship, it just wasn’t the Mets, it was their cross town neighbors.  To their defense just about everyone, including the bullpen catcher, ended up on the disabled list.  Now, teams should be able to overcome injury but the Mets seemed to have lost just about all of their key players for significant time at some point in the season.  So we give them a pass and head into the new season with our fingers crossed.

The Mets need a lot of things to go right in order for them to get back to the level that they are capable of playing.  First, speedster Jose Reyes needs to be back and healthy to set the table at the top of their lineup.  He is the catalyst for the New York Mets and they lost a lot when he went down last year.  He did leave with a hamstring injury that will raise red flags this year because speed is such an integral part of his game.

Next up, Carlos Beltran, who went against the organization this off-season to have another surgery on his knee.  He didn’t even clear the procedure with the Mets but that is all water under the bridge at this point.  He needs to come back and play the way he is capable of.  Thirty homeruns, .280 BA and 100 RBI’s: minimum.  With lights out defense in centerfield.  If they get this out of Beltran they will in fact receive a huge boost.

David Wrong.  I mean David Wright.  Last season seemed all wrong in the power department.  He is the ultimate gamer and he even took a stint on the DL last year after being plunked by a 90+ fastball right in the noggin last season.  He needs to regain some of that pop in his bat that seemed to all but disappear last year.

Carlos Delgado.  The guy can still play but the Mets and him have not come to any agreements.  He also left last season and landed on the DL.  If he can come back that will be huge for the Mets.  They cannot survive with D Murphy at first base.

The did add formidable Jason Bay and they do have the best starting pitcher in baseball as well as a dominant closer.  If they can fill their number two spot in the rotation with a viable option via trade, these players can come back healthy and the baseball gods look over them, they just might have a shot this year.

Ride Syracuse during March Madness: 2-10-10

So, it is not too early to start talking about the madness in March that takes us over and right into baseball season.  Which team has the right ingredients to take home the title this year.  We think it is Syracuse.  Syracuse came into the season as a very young and inexperienced bunch that was going to be going through a period of growing pains.  Well, they have seemed to grow up quite fast right before our eyes and are currently ranked second in the nation.

Jim Boeheim’s Orange are sitting atop the Big East standings, tied with Villanova at 10-1. Syracuse has reeled off an impressive 10 straight wins entering this contest, including last weekend’s 71-54 victory at Cincinnati.

The Orange have thrived at both ends of the court this season and the result is victories in 23 of 24 matchups thus far. Syracuse is averaging a robust 82.0 ppg and leads the nation in field-goal percentage at 53.1 percent. Iowa State transfer Wes Johnson has been awesome thus far, leading the Orange in both scoring (16.2 ppg) and rebounding (8.8 rpg). Bench help comes in the form of super sub Kris Joseph (11.2 ppg), Andy Rautins (10.7 ppg) and Arinze Onuaku (10.3 ppg).

We believe that the Orange are a perfect blend of experience and talent with their younger players and coach who knows all about what it takes to go the distance and survive the Final Four.

Look for the Orange to stumble a bit during the last stretch.  They will hit a rough spot that will only make them that much stronger come tournament time and we believe that they have what it takes to win it all.  Ride Syracuse during March Madness if you want to win your bracket this year.

Pitchers and Catchers to report in one week: 2-9-10

OK, football is over and all we have is basketball and hockey.  Now I know that rubs some people the wrong way, I apologize for that, but I am a true football and baseball fan and I know that there are many of you out there just like me.

February and March seem like eternity when we anxiously await the start of baseball season.  America’s game we call it.  There is nothing like a fresh start to a season.  Many teams will head into camp with a legitimate chance at winning a world series title and all teams will at least think that they can.

Teams this year enter as underdogs to the World Champion Yankees team who looks to have gotten even stronger during the off-season by acquiring Curtis Granderson and Javier Vasquez.  However, there are many quality tams out there that will plan on giving the New York Yankees a run for their money. 

There is nothing like an opening day victory for your team as you open the paper the next day and you spot your team in first place.  You start thinking, this could be the year that they put it all together.  It all starts in spring training, who makes the club, who doesn’t.  We are almost there.  Hang on for a few more weeks before the grapefruit and cactus leagues start.  Although exhibition games,  we as fans look for our stars to warm up and predict who will unexpectedly make the club out of spring training. 

Pitchers and catchers, just seven short days away for most teams.  You can do it, hang on for one more week of NCAA basketball highlights and before you know it we will be reading about our favorite MLB teams and we then can officially start getting excited for the 2010 season.

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