Archive → March, 2010
Like Clockwork, Midnight Arrives for NCAA’s Cinderellas
Filed under: NCAA Tournament, NCAA Tournament – Midwest Region, NCAA Tournament – South Region
ST. LOUIS — This was where midnight finally descended, as it always does, on the NCAA tournament, literally and figuratively.
It was inside the cavernous Edward Jones Dome before a little more than 26,000 people shortly before Friday dissolved into Saturday. It happened when a Lilliputian point guard from Michigan State, Korie Lucious, spun in the lane and dropped a soft jump shot through the basket with a little over a minute and a half to go against Northern Iowa. It pushed State’s lead to 55-51 and all but officially returned the Panthers from Northern Iowa to the upstarts they always were.
I don’t know if it also turned their team bus back into a van, their uniforms back into rags and their Nike basketball shoes back into P.F. Flyers. But the Panthers were the last Cinderellas dancing in this tournament and, like most all of those before them, they finally went poof, 59-52 when the final horn sounded.
Kansas State’s Clemente, Pullen Become Backcourt Brothers
Filed under: NCAA Tournament, NCAA Tournament – West Region
SALT LAKE CITY — Jacob Pullen could get by on sheer talent. He admits he didn’t really know the definition of hard work.
Then he ran into Denis Clemente.
It was 2007. Pullen had just stepped on campus as a Kansas State freshman while Clemente had arrived as a transfer from Miami who would be sitting out a season and then have two years of eligibility remaining.
“Denis was a gym rat,” Pullen said. “I thought I was a gym rat in high school but Denis was a different gym rat. Open gym would start at 2 (p.m.) and Denis would still be there at 9. When you’re around a competitor like him, I wanted to compete. We’d be playing one and one. If you lost, I’m not going to walk away from losing.”
Pullen didn’t. And the two often battled into the night.
That extended throughout the 2007-08 season when the guard duels the two had in practice sometimes were better than what fans saw in games.
“Jacob had to guard Denis every single possession of every practice,” said Kansas State coach Frank Martin. “Denis started making Jacob understand how hard college basketball is at that moment.”
By last season, Clemente was eligible and two started playing alongside each other more than against each other. It’s been quite a ride ever since.
Baylor Turns Past Pain Into New Pride
Filed under: March Madness, NCAA Tournament – South Region
HOUSTON — It was billed as the Baptists vs. the Catholics but it was more like lions vs. zebras. Because the chops Baylor showed and the rotten Hail Mary shots that Saint Mary‘s kept flinging — well, Saint Mary’s had no prayer. No stripes. Sometimes, it happens this way in these NCAA tournament games.
One team burns. The other freezes. Baylor burned en route to leads of 19-7 that turned into 41-15 that finished a 72-49 inferno on Friday night inside Reliant Stadium. It left the Gaels red-faced and extinguished.
St. Mary’s entered a 28-5 team that had won its West Coast Conference tournament by ripping Gonzaga by 19 points. It leveled Richmond (by 11) and Villanova (by seven) in NCAA tournament games to reach the final 16. But the roundball “tweets” that Baylor guard Tweety Carter put on them and the playmaking and shot-making of the best player on the floor — Baylor guard LaceDarius Dunn — dissolved the Gaels with such force that that it was over quickly after the pre-tip hellos.
St. Mary’s picked the wrong day for the worst game of its season. Baylor assisted in creating the misery. When you are the more active team, the quicker team, the one with interior defense that complements perimeter defense … when you shine in ball-handling and shot-blocking — all of that and more — you rule.
Pearl Jams Vols Into First Elite Eight
Filed under: Tennessee, SEC, NCAA Tournament, NCAA Tournament – Midwest Region
ST. LOUIS — Bruce Pearl went, well, Pearl Jam on his Tennessee Volunteers at halftime here Friday night. Pearl was loud, he was direct, he was agitated. Then, Pearl mixed in a breath — and was even louder and his face turned a bright red.
Or was it orange?
“Coach Pearl yelled at us so much I think everyone came in at halftime and woke up,” said UT center Brian Williams. “He was yelling at us to stop the ball down the middle.”
Actually, Pearl yelled about many different things, but his verbal salvo worked. The sixth-seeded Vols were solid when it counted and upended No. 2 Ohio State, 76-73, in the Midwest Regional to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history.
“I challenged their toughness,” Pearl admitted, blowing a fuse when he saw that the Buckeyes shot 55 percent from the field in the first half to build a three-point advantage.
“I thought they were intimidated early in that game, and we were not the more physical team in the first half. And so I thought they responded a little bit better.”
Tantrums Drown Out Martin’s Warm Story
Filed under: March Madness, Coaches, NCAA Tournament
SALT LAKE CITY — Why must the man SCREAM AND YELL ALL THE TIME, with RELENTLESSLY RAGING DECIBELS that threaten to topple the six lighted spires atop the Mormon-operated Salt Lake Temple? Does he really have to BROWBEAT AND BERATE AND LAMBASTE his players as if he has zero perspective on basketball’s place in life? There’s no need to have the TV volume up when Frank Martin is going death-stare cuckoo on the Kansas State sideline, because his maniacal eyes always speak for him, blasting right through the closed-captioning scroll.
They are Bobby Knight-scary, vampire-creepy, and the way Martin’s razor-thin eyebrows bend and crease make me wonder when he’ll be hauled away by the men in white jackets and placed in a rubber room for the rest of the NCAA tournament. Or, worse, if he’ll be locked up in Utah, where the locals don’t appreciate such obscene behavior. In this age when a lack of civil restraint has led to college coaches being fired — how’s life, Mike Leach? — I’ve wondered how Martin survives. As it is, in January, he was subjected to considerable media criticism when he smacked the arm of Chris Merriewether with the back of his hand, compelling Martin to issue an apology afterward. So Kansas State lost the game to Missouri. So the senior had contributed to the defeat with a costly late turnover. Did the coach really have to strike him? Isn’t it 2010, Frank?
“They’ve learned pretty quick to just look the other way,” Martin said. “Sometimes I feel like — who is that old mythology witch, or whatever, who used to like stare at people and turn them into stone?”
Medusa, he was told during a news conference.
“I feel like Medusa sometimes. They all look the other way,” Martin said. “They don’t want to look me in the eye.”
Lefty Feels Right About His Game Again
Filed under: PGA
ORLANDO, Fla. – There’s a famous golfer with trouble at home. His year has been marked by controversy. He’s been called a cheater. Now this tortured soul is desperately trying to get his game in shape for the Masters.
Hold on, we’re talking about Phil Mickelson. His story will not force you to send the children out of the room.
It finally took a promising turn Friday. Mickelson shot a 67 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. For the first time all year, he’s in position to win a tournament.
Nobody thought they’d be saying that two months ago. With another famous golfer indisposed, the runway was supposedly cleared for Mickelson.
No. 1 ranking. Player of the Year. Comeback story of the year. What’s more, golf needed an embraceable hero to fill a certain yawning void.
It was all teed up for Lovable Lefty. Instead, his best finish has been 8th. He’s 49th on the money list. He couldn’t hit a fire hydrant if he wanted to, and people are wondering how he could squander such a perfect setup.
“I’ve had an awkward schedule because of some of the stuff we’ve had at home,” Mickelson said. “Now I’m playing the next three [tournaments]. It gives me a chance to build some momentum.”
It’s Real Simple: Urban Meyer Must Leave
Filed under: Florida, Coaching, General CFB Insanity, FanHouse Exclusive
Memo to Urban Meyer: You should study the lessons learned (and not learned) by those who had your “dream job” at Notre Dame. If you do, you will stop coaching football NOW. Then, after a year or so, you could return to Florida, or you could take your X’s and O’s elsewhere, or you could stay away forever.
At the moment, you should just go, because you’re one more “something” away from hurting somebody, yourself or both.
Have a nice day.
And, if you take this advice, you’ll have a nice life.
Now back to Notre Dame history, which shows that burned-out coaches such as Meyer should do something about it — or have somebody do it for them.
During an exclusive FanHouse interview, former Notre Dame athletic director Gene Corrigan had more than a few revelations. For instance: soon after he took over the Fighting Irish in 1981, former Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian confessed to Corrigan that, even though he knew he was suffering from exhaustion during much of his legendary 11 seasons with the Irish through 1974, he didn’t decide to delegate responsibility until it was too late. Not only that, he privately fumed after he told university president Theodore Hesburgh about his idea of becoming more of a CEO, only to have the priest force Parseghian to retire anyway.
Gilbert Arenas Sentenced to 30 Days in Halfway House
Filed under: Wizards, NBA Police Blotter
WASHINGTON –Dressed in a dark blue pinstriped suit, Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas held back tears as he addressed District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Robert E. Morin Friday afternoon.
“I am very sorry that this all happened,” Arenas said in soft, even tones. “Every day, I wake up and I wish it didn’t happen.”
Morin said Arenas was remorseful for his role in a December locker room confrontation and “basically a good person” before he sentenced Arenas to 30 days in a halfway house and two years supervised probation. Arenas, who pleaded guilty to a single felony count of possessing a gun without a license, will also be required to serve 400 hours of community service, donate $5,000 to a victims of violent crimes fund and register as a gun offender in Washington.
Arenas and his lawyer, Kenneth Wainstein, left the courtroom without speaking to reporters, but later issued a statement.
LeBron Says He Could Win Scoring Title ‘Every Single Year’
Filed under: Cavaliers
LeBron James currently leads the league in scoring with an average of 29.8 points per game. He holds a slight edge over Kevin Durant, who trails by just a tenth of a point at 29.7. But according to James, whether or not he finishes the season on top doesn’t matter. What does matter, however, is that we are all aware that he could win the scoring title if he wanted to — every single year.
This ridiculous bit of braggadocio comes from an ESPN.com story, and the exact quote that was printed went like this:
“If I really wanted to,” James said, “if I really wanted to be the scoring [champion] every single year — every single year — I could really do it. But it doesn’t matter.”
Now, don’t get me wrong — I know how these things play out. This comment likely came out of a broader discussion about the possibility of the Cavs securing home court advantage throughout the playoffs before the end of the regular season, and whether or not they’d rest James if that indeed ended up happening.
Even so, it’s still an inane thing to say.
Stamkos Ties Ovechkin, Crosby In Goal Race; Can He Win?
Filed under: Capitals, Lightning, Penguins, NHL Awards
The Tampa Bay Lightning are going to miss the playoffs for a third consecutive year, but there’s been at least one positive development to come out of this season for the bolts: the rapid development of 2008 No. 1 overall pick Steven Stamkos who has gone from a good rookie with some glimpses of stardom, to one of the top goal-scorers in the NHL. While the Lightning have been relegated to the role of spoiler for the remainder of the regular season, the 20-year-old Stamkos is in a fight for the Maurice Rocket Richard Award, given to the league’s leading goal-scorer.
During Tampa Bay’s 5-3 win in Boston on Thursday, Stamkos tallied two more goals, moving him into a tie for the league lead with Washington’s Alex Ovechkin and Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby with 45 goals. It’s already been talked about recently how he has a great chance to become the third youngest player to ever score 50 goals in a season (trailing only Wayne Gretzky and Jimmy Carson) but he also has a legitimate shot to wrestle the Rocket Richard Award away from Ovechkin, the player that’s owned it each of the past two seasons.
What’s it going to take?
