The Wright Stache Inspiration from The Wright Stache on Vimeo.
Our first baseball post of the Spring! So this is what it sounds like when doves cry. Here is a video emploring David Wright to grow a mustache in order to prevent another New York collapse in September. It even has its own website, thewrightstache.com. While the theory is solid, I'll take solid bullpen play over facial hair anyday.
Via Big League Stew
Tuesday, March 31
A Mustache And A Dream
Monday, March 30
Coaching Greats In Socks
So what you will about not liking one or more of these fellows, college coaches collecting hefty paychecks for the ad, or the fact that you don't like Lars because he helped shut down Napster, this commercial is pure gold. My favorite is definitely Pitino; look at the way he holds that drumset steady while he slides in, dude's a pro and his playing style is...unique.
Just a quick rundown of what the old dudes in socks brought to the table:
8 National Championships
27 Final Fours
2880 wins
Friday, March 27
It's Friday
I would totally rock that Bulls leather jacket if I had one. Also if you want us to buy the premise that these two kids rock at basketball and can dunk from the free throw line and can move like that while wearing a shirt tucked into jeans, shouldn't you at least make sure he can dribble the ball without using both hands at the same time?
Is This The Best Gonzaga Team Ever?
It is a tough question, and the answers to such questions are not always found by listening to Joe Esposito. Many are saying yes, and I tend to agree, but before the Zags take on top-seeded North Carolina tonight, let's look at their history going dating back to the run to the Elite 8 that began it all in 1999, SHALL WE?!!
Quick Reaction To Last Night In The Sweet 16
UCONN 72, Purdue 60
They got Thabeet, they got Thabeet, they got Thabeet, yeah they got him. Hasheem has been oft criticized for a variety of deficiencies in his game; he is too soft, he has bad hands, no touch around the goal, does not make himself available for entry passes. The 7'3" center from Tanzania who has only been playing basketball for about 5 years put together a 15 point, 15 rebound effort against a feisty Boilermaker team, including 8 points in a row to begin the second half and a thunderous dunk that made it look like he was playing on a Fischer-Price goal. The Huskies jumped ahead early, but their shooting was not all that impressive and a lot of that had to do with Purdue. Jeff Adrien looked nothing like the confident jump-shooter we saw in the early rounds, going 1 for 9. Stanley Robinson's double double should also not be lost in the shuffle, although his jump shot was weak as he airballed one 18 footer. UCONN will have to play better if they want to survive Missouri, but it was a big win for everyone involved at UCONN after the events of the last couple days.
Pitt 60, Xavier 55
Xavier just seems to be the hard luck kids of the tournament. I feel bad for these players, but shooting 32.8% will not get it done. It almost did and if it were not for the jeuvos of Levance Fields, Pitt was looking at another dissapointing tournament. This has been the script we have seen out of the Panthers in recent years but Field, Blair and Young refuse to let this team go down, scoring 71.6% of the team's points. They will have to bring forth their best effort against Villanova though, who may be the hottest team in the country.
Missouri 102, Memphis 91
"They beat us at our own game." That is all you need to know about Mizzou's impressive effort. It was given by Memphis coach John Calipari after the game. If you went strictly by eyeball test, Missouri would be 1-A to Nova's 1 in terms of teams playing well. Missouri came out and basically did the things Memphis does well and beat them over the head with it. Mizzou was the sexy pick to come out of this region and they have not dissapointed. There were not that many turnovers (14 for Memphis, 12 for Missouri) and both teams shot over 50%. Memphis's glaring bad spot was their 3-15 effort behind the arc, and the fact that their defense had no answer for Missouri's shooting or J.T. Tiller. If the Tigers can keep things this chaotic and high-paced against UCONN, they will probably move on to Detroit.
Villanova 77, Duke 54
Duke has fallen before in the Sweet 16 in recent history, but they have not been dominated the way they were last night. It seemed as if the teams were operating on two different planes; Nova the powerhouse from the power conference playing suffocating defense and penetrating at will and Duke the less athletic team from some mid-major conference who was outgunned from the start. Even people who pretend to think they know about college basketball were saying "Duke needs to knock down the outside shots to be effective, if not they have no chance." No chance, that's what they had. 26.7% shooting and just 5-27 from deep. It is hard for me to say any other team is playing as well as the Wildcats are right now on both ends of the court. If Blue Devil fans are looking for a bright spot, they did get one more free-throw attempt than Villanova.
Thursday, March 26
Is Julius Peppers as bad as TO?
To have this discussion, we must first acknowledge that TO is, at least in part, a creation of the media. There are inherent differences between the two players. TO has craved the spotlight, while Julius shies away from it. TO has been vocally disruptive and publicly criticized his coaches and fellow players alike. Peppers has never caused such problems, again shying away from the spotlight to the point of being called a loner by his fellow teammates. Terrell wanted more money from the Eagles, while Julius turned down a contract to be the highest paid defensive player in the league. So how can it be possible that two so diametrically opposed players possibly be similar? Let's take a look.
The Games Tonight
7:07 PM Purdue vs. Connecticut
Boilermakers would probably get a Husky toasted.
7:27 PM Xavier vs. Pittsburgh
Can Musketeers be harmful to Panthers if ingested?
9:37 PM Missouri vs. Memphis
Tiger vs. Tiger, who will uppercut first?
9:57 PM Villanova vs. Duke
Wildcats have no concept of Devils and Demons.
Wednesday, March 25
Newspaper Cutbacks Hit Close to Home
The Charlotte Observer has announced 82 job cuts and pay cuts for the rest of the staff. Unfortunately, many of those affected work in the newsroom. The vicious cycle facing newspapers is simple to understand, but hard to stop. In today's media environment, they receive reduced advertising leading to fewer employs leading to lower quality which results in... lower advertising (and subscriptions). This announcement comes just one week after the Raleigh News and Observer announced cuts of their own. In just seven days, two of North Carolina's largest newspapers have had their workforce reduced by fifteen and eleven percent, respectively.
While we've had fun with the local fishwrap before, I love newspapers. There's something special about having all the box scores on one page and that's something the current landscape of the internet doesn't allow. With most of the TV stations tied directly into the leagues they're supposed to be covering, newspapers should have filled the role (now being filled by Yahoo!) of being the watch dog. Sadly, most haven't and many have also failed miserably in making the transition to the internet for various reasons. Newspapers are important and while their medium may be changing, the people of this country should be better served by having them around. I for one, and hoping for many more great pieces out of the Observer, like this one by Rick Bonnell about Raymond Felton.
Connecticut In Trouble: Recruiting Violations Revealed
By now, you no doubt have heard about the story. Yahoo Sports unviels a lengthy and detailed investigation into rules violations committed by Connecticut basketball in relation to their recruitment of Nate Miles, a player who was expelled last fall from UConn for trouble with the law. Hard to defend the Huskies on this one; it appears they have been caught with phone records to back up the charges. How timely of Yahoo to unveil this on the eve of the Sweet 16 match-up against Purdue. I would not be surprised to see UConn come out flat due to the story, but that is really up to the players who had nothing to do with this.
Calhoun has been the subject of praise and disdain in his tenure at Connecticut. He built the program literally out of nothing into one of the premeire programs in the sport, but his salty attitude and what some would call sketchy recruiting practices had landed him scrutiny from those who do not care for him. Earlier this season he got into a verbal exchange with a reporter some jackass in a postgame press conference about his million dollar salary. He has never faced any kind of challenge like this where the facts seem laid out in plain sight. The critcism from the detractors will be overwhelming now.
The story of this kid seems to be one that encompasses the entire dark side of college basketball. He had academic and personal problems, he had vampires all around him "advising" him, there were respected people in basketball that did their part to stay away from him, and he eventually self-imploded. As a lifelong fan of Connecticut basketball it is a dark day and I am not even going to try to spin this until we here from the NCAA or Calhoun. If one were trying to force themselves to see the intentions in this, it would be the UConn staff was trying to get this kid on the right track while improving their team at the same time and then cut him loose after he got arrested, but the story indicates the Huskies have continued to recruit him even after Miles landed in a JC in Idaho.
The two cases that came to mind when reading this story were USC and Oklahoma. USC because Yahoo reported on the Reggie Bush scandal and the "advisor" involved with OJ Mayo which has subsequently been swept neatly under the rug and Oklahoma because of the improper phone calls made by former coach Kelvin Sampson. What will happen in this case? We will certainly discuss this story more as it develops and I'm certain will cover it on the Shackleford Files this week. Link to the story below.
UConn violated NCAA rules [Yahoo Sports]
Seth Curry Transfering
No matter where Seth Curry travels in the world of college basketball, he will always be known as Stephen Curry's little brother. But perhaps Seth seeks a bigger spot in the limelight as he will be transferring from Liberty University. Liberty recently lost to James Madison in the quarterfinals of the CIT tournament by 23 points. Curry was the Big South Freshman of the Year as he led the nation in scoring for freshmen with 20.2 points per game. Curry made it apparent in his statement that school's position in the Big South played a role.
"This is a difficult decision that I have reached after close consultation with my family and others close to me, and it is based on my desire to develop as an athlete to the fullest of my potential and take advantage of new opportunities that may be available to me in a higher-rated conference, Curry said in a statement released by the school."
I am unsure exactly what he means here. His brother became a household name by lifting Davidson from the Southern Conference into the national spotlight. Prior to last year's Elite 8 run by the Wildcats, Davidson had never won a tournament game. The Big South has hardly been a powerhouse the last two years, with bid-winner Radford getting dismantled by North Carolina in the first round of this year's tournament. Two years ago however, Winthrop had been ranked in the top 25 and defeated Notre Dame in their first round match-up. Winthrop lost their core of players to graduation and the coach that led them to that in in Greg Marshall who is now at Wichita State.
It appears Curry does not want to get into the position of his brother; the hard toil at a mid-major just to possibly not get into the tournament. Seth may realize that the easier road is to go to a major conference -probably the ACC- and be seen on a consistent basis and have easier access to the NCAA tournament. You cannot blame him for that, but now the pressure will only intensify on him whereever he goes. It is amazing that schools passed on Seth to being with after seeing what Stephen did, and in many ways Stephen's success should have made Seth's choice of school as open as possible. In the end, the Big South loses a player who was destined to become the face of the league and another school will add what could potentially be a superstar.
Tuesday, March 24
Bury Low Hits At Wounded Knee
Tom Brady took to his knee at the hands of Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard, the NFL is changing things for the upcoming season. According to the Boston Globe:
"...the league's Competition Committee adopted a clarification of the current rule on hits to a quarterback in the knee area or below. The clarification specifically prohibits a defender on the ground who hasn't been blocked or fouled directly into the quarterback from lunging or diving at the quarterback's lower legs."
I know Catfish is a proponent of limiting the protection that QBs get under the rules, but I think this is a more important rule that the hand glancing the helmet so I have to throw a flag rule. Blows to the head with a single hand lame, protecting quarterback's plant leg good. Carson Palmer has to be sitting around wondering "why this is a rule just now, happened to me in 2005 when I got von Oelhoffened."
Brady rule: Steps taken to protect QBs' knees [Boston Globe]
Last Year's Sweet 16: You Don't Know [Blank]
A wise man once said, "You can't know where you are going, if you don't know where you've been." With highly anticipated match-ups in front of us in the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, we take a look back at what transpired last year in this edition of YDKB. Come on people, it was only a year ago, has the internet and instant cable news channels fried your brain that much that you cannot recollect what transpired 12 months ago? Try to fire up those few neurons in your head that have not been toasted by your cell phone, PDA, news tickers, and Hannah Storm and take our quiz. As always feel free to post your score and await tremendous prizes that are both incredible and phantasmic. The test begins after the break....
Monday, March 23
What's New with Orange Julius?
We discussed Julius at the end of our most recent podcast, but shockingly others still feel the need to comment as well.
Bill Belichick has an interesting message for Julius Peppers and his "agent" Carl Carey, "If a player wants to be in a position to be traded, the best thing for him to do is sign the tender, be under contract, go to the team and say, ‘I don't want to be here.' Trade me and here's where I want to go." In simpler terms, "Sign the bleeping tender." That's what Matt Cassell did and he's already relocated and got a nice place picked out in Kansas City. (NFL.com with audio of Belichick interview)
Both ESPN's John Clayton and the Chicago Tribune's Dan Pompei are now of the belief that 90 will still be in a Panthers uniform next season. Say it with me now, "Noooooooooooo!"
The Steelers have no interest according to defensive line coach John Mitchell, “We have the 32nd pick in the draft,” he says, “and we wouldn’t take him.” (Rocky Mount Telegram)
Carl Carey spoke with Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald last week and again he appears ready to stick it to the Panthers (after publicly declaring they didn't want to do so), "While Julius is interested in the Patriots and a few other teams in the league, he is comfortable with the position he’s in right now," Carey said. "In the event we are unable to reach an agreement (with another team), Julius will be among the highest paid defensive players next season, and we will be comfortable with that. Were not in a position where we have to act hastily." And Julius won't be in a position to play hard... again.
Bigotry is a Far Cry from Immaturity
"Nobody knows anything about themselves, 'Cause they're all worried about everybody else"
-Jack Johnson, Wasting Time
No line can better sum up an article written on Thursday for The New Republic. A Duke graduate, Seyward Darby, asserts that "there is a nasty strain of bigotry emanating" from anti-Duke fans because of the repeated references to their players being gay. Ms. Darby adds a few concessions, but with all the conviction of someone who begins a sentence with, "No offense, but..."
Continue reading...
Shackleford Files 012: Catfish v. A Hot Microphone
We take a look back at the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. Memphis v. Vasquez gets some love, the impact officials have had, late game execution and what conference has been the most disappointing (I'm still mad Wake). We also look ahead at the upcoming match-ups and discuss the ongoing (have we entered saga territory?) story of Julius Peppers and a potential win-win situation for two teams needing to make a move. Come for the wrestling reference, stay for the breakdowns. Download it HERE.
16 Things
Pop that jersey like it is 2004 young man! The sweet 16 is set and perhaps the field loaded up on old school metamucil because it is rather chalky. The top 3 seeds are a combined 24-0 and only one double-digit seed remains and it is Arizona. The number one seeds have been tested somewhat but are still alive. As we must wait in agony for Thursday night to get here and the games to resume, here is a fun fact about each team that is left remaining in this talc-like field of favorites.
Friday, March 20
It's Friday
Safe For Work (Just in case you are not familiar with Adult Swim and if you are not I feel bad for you.)
64 Douches, 1 Title
March Madness not only decides who has what it takes to be crowned on the court, it spans all categories of life's best battles. Holy Taco has given us the 2009 National Douchebag Tournament. 64 douches from Entertainment, Politics, Sports, and Business will battle it out to cut the down the Summer's Eve gift basket. I like the 3 seed Octo-Mom out of the Entertainment, 3 seed Skip Bayless from Sports, 2 seed Ron Blagojevich in Politics, and a darkhorse Jim Cramer 7 in Business.
The 2009 National Douchebag Tournament [Holy Taco via Yesbutnobutyes who also have some other alternative tournaments listed]
It's Just Clemson Being Clemson
There was not too much intrigue in the first day of the tournament. Maryland won as a ten seed, Western Kentucky made sure there was at least one 12-5 upset, and those affable Tigers from the upstate of South Carolina have done it once again. The seven seed Clemson fell to ten seeded Michigan 62-59 in the first round of the NCAA tournament yesterday. A ten over a seven is not considered much of an upset if one at all, but I believe this one is cause for a second look. If you live in ACC country as I do, you are quite familiar with Clemson falling apart. Even though Catfish continues to have faith in them, the Tigers' seasons in football and basketball have ended in despondent disarry of late.
This past August the Clemson football team was ranked in the top ten and a fashionable pick to reach the BCS title game. I saw through this charade (although my Wake Forest pick was wrong) and Clemson went on to have one of its most dissapointing seasons. With a returning QB, defense and two dynamic running backs Clemson opened the season by getting spanked by Alabama in the Georgiadome. Their stumbling led to the firing of Terry Bowden and even though Dabo Sweeney gave them a spark late, they lost the Gator Bowl to Nebraska as they blew a lead late.
The basketball program has never reached a the level of national championship that the football team has accomplished, but recently expectations have been raised on the hardwood. Their last four seasons tell the tale of quick starts and horrible finishes:
2006: First Half of season: 11-0, second half: 8-13, final record, 19-13
2007: First Half of season: 17-0 second half: 8- 11, final record: 25-11
2008: First Half of season: 10-0, second half: 14-10, final record: 24-10
2009: First Half of season: 16-0, second half: 7-8, final record: 23-9
source: the op blog via Deadspin tourney previews
Considering where Clemson was before head coach Oliver Purnell arrived, many fans are content to just have a good season and make the tournament, but those feelings have to be dissipating quickly though. It is time to start moving in the tournament where the team has not won a game in 12 years. Last year, the Tigers were a popular darkhorse pick as the five seed in the West Region until they blew an 18 point lead to Villanova and made the quick exit.
The 59 points Clemson threw up in Kansas City yesterday were the lowest they totaled in a game this season. The Tigers shot 32.3% from the field and 22.7% (5-22) from the 3 point line. In a common theme of Clemson's season, they failed to pound the ball inside to their stud Trevor Booker. Booker had 18 and 11, but only accounted for 15.3% of their FG attempt total. Their most notorious shot-jacker, Terrence Ogelsby was 1-8 shooting and was ejected for throwing an elbow. In his defense, the elbow was nothing extreme, but for some reason we have the rule where if the officials go to the replay and they see contact, they are forced to eject the player. The rule is ridiculous, but it was clear Ogelsby chucked his forearm into Zack Novak and therefore had to be tossed. Clemson made a late comeback, but as has been the trend, they fell short. They had the ball down three but only attempted a couple ball screens which Michigan switched on and K.C. River's final shot as a Tiger did not even draw iron.
Even in Purnell's post-game quote he sounded like he lost faith in his team. "It's kind of like a high-wire act: maybe you stay up on it, get it down and bring it into overtime. But the way we were making shots in this game, it probably wasn't going to happen," he said after the game. The trend has been set Clemson teams have developed the reputation for falling flat on the big stage. Whether it is coaching, the player's decision, or just a failed attitude, the Tigers are right where we are used to seeing them this time of year.
Thursday, March 19
White Guy Dunking Epidemic
Recently in college basketball there has been a horrible trend developing. White dunkers are failing to land on their feet after dunks. With the NCAA tournament starting in less than 3 hours, fingers around the nation are crossed for our pasty paladins of the hardwood. Observe our first case, Wyoming's Adam Waddell:
What did this young man think? He had just found the morphing ball on Metroid or something? Waddell was ok and kept playing.
Next we have Kristoff Ongenaet from Syracuse. With a name like Kristoff you know there could be problems, but to be fair he is probably the best dunker named Kristoff in history and his team had just played in 7 overtimes to get into this game against Louisville.
You have to love how the trainers need to be waived in by Jim Boeheim. A white dude just hit the floor on a dunk, grab a towel and run your ass down there! Fortunately Ongenaet returned to the game, he is afterall from the mean streets of Ghent.
These two young caucasians were able to escape without injury, but next time, the pale rider to the rim may not be so lucky. Right now we do not know a solution; some say it is to force them to do what they do best and play fundamental basketball and simply lay the ball up, but others argue that would take away their rights of freedom and expression. We are going to see a lot of dunkers with marshmallow complextions in the next couple of weeks and we should all be holding our breath when they reach for the rim.
Pick-Counterpick: Final Four Picks
What will happen at Ford Field on April 6? Somebody will win a championship and it sure as hell won't be the Lions. Based on our brackets, Catfish and I finish off our NCAA tournament picks.
CLEET'S FINAL FOUR
Pittsburgh over North Carolina: To me this is a once in a blue moon kind of team for Pitt, and they are strong exactly where Carolina is. LeVance Fields-Ty Lawson, DeJuan Blair-Tyler Hansbrough, Sam Young-Wayne Ellington. I know I am taking a chance considering there would be a definite Hansbrough flop attempt or two on Blair, but I think the refs are going to let Pitt play and if that happens, they can win.
Memphis over Kansas: The Tigers get a small measure of revenge on KU. This year, Memphis is shooting around 70% from the line, compared to their paltry 61% a year ago.
National Championship
Memphis over Pitt 77-71: In a similar fashion to Utah after Van Horn and Kentucky after Mercer, Memphis gets one better than the year before with their stars Dorsey, CDR, and Rose. The last time I correctly picked a National Champion before the tournament was in 2007 with the Florida repeat. I did not like making that pick, this one however I am fine with if it comes to fruition. Calipari was a smarmy prick at UMASS but I think his years of fail with the Nets tempered him somewhat. I felt bad for him after the game last year and if he got a chance to cut the nets down, I have no problem with that.
CATFISH'S FINAL FOUR
North Carolina over Pitt: If I pick this wrong, it's going to hurt a lot less than watching the Heels fall in the Final Four again. It will be called the de-facto national championship, despite being the semi-final. Two point guards that take tremendous care of the ball, two big forwards that are going to get theirs. Sam Young will present matchup problems for the Heels, but I look for Lawson's speed (if they're here, he's playing) and Ellington's shooting to be the difference makers (and maybe Blair foul trouble to make me breathe easier).
Purdue over Wake Forest: Wake tries to win the game in the first five minutes by bombing shots, allowing Purdue to get comfortable in the national spotlight. Wake's youth and inexperience finally bites them as Purdue slows down the tempo and executes in the halfcourt.Teague's turnovers which have been an issue all season, finally cost the Deacons.
National Championship
North Carolina over Purdue: Tyler Hansbrough isn't my favorite Tarheel, but I don't think I've ever wanted someone to win a title as much as hope he does. Give me Lawson's quickness and Hansbrough's veteran savvy over the Boilermakers.
Wednesday, March 18
Pick-Counterpick: South Region
It's hard to find anyone this side of Syracuse or Norman that thinks North Carolina will not make the Final Four, even with the question of Ty Lawson's big toe. Speaking of the Tar Heels, Catfish did the quick facts of team for the annual Deadspin NCAA Tournament on all 65 teams. I was slated to do the Miami preview but you know, they suck. The picks from the final region after the break.
Continue reading...Pick-Counterpick: East Region
Pittsburgh more than earned their number 1 seed in the East Region, but perhaps the zebras will determine their fate more than any other entity. If the whistles come quick, the Panthers could be in trouble. 87.5% of the time, the Panthers win when they do not get into foul trouble everytime.
Pick-Counterpick: Midwest Region
It seems an NCAA by-law that Indianapolis must be invovled somehow in the NCAA tournament. Of course, that is where they are headquarterd so no quarrel there. Cannot wait to see the players slug it out in the regional at the glorified barn stadium that is Lucas Oil Field. The region's picks after the break.
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