A Little Bit of Everything

Wizard, you are an idiot. No kidding every game in every sport could come down to the final minute. Its a freaking general statement. A lot of people say it because its true. Unfortunately none of the games came down to the final minute. Memphis came out and just over powered UCLA. Derrick Rose completely took Darren Collison out of the game. CDR had a great game and put the exclamation point on it when he posterized Kevin Love. In the second game, Kansas had amazing energy in the first half and were running UNC out of the building. UNC nearly pulled off the historic comeback by pulling within 4 but all their energy was spent and Kansas hung on. Kansas matches up really well with Memphis. The Jayhawk guards can keep up with Rose and CDR. The game should be an up and down affair in the early going because of the nerves of both teams. I wouldn't be surprised if Kansas goes to a zone and force Memphis to shoot contested jumpers.

The Red Sox lost today 7-4 to the Blue Jays. Beckett looked good early on but he tired in the in the 5th inning. I thought that Beckett was left in for one batter too many. The middle relief continues to struggle. Right now, I think this team is still very tired. You can just tell that the usual spark isn't there. The Sox now return home and they should receive some energy because of the ring ceremony. Plus the Tigers are coming to town.

Last Night the Celtics locked up homecourt throughout the playoffs by beating the Bobcats. KG, Pierce, and Allen got some much needed rest. I think they will maybe miss one more game but should probably play in the final 5 games in reduced minutes to get back into a rhythm heading into the playoffs. Also they set the record for biggest turnaround ever from the previous season. This year has been amazing and I don't want it ever to end.

Jose Canseco has been everywhere lately plugging his new book. Canseco is just an absolute moron and a scumbag. He picks and chooses who is going to rat out. He openly admits to hating A-Rod and is ratting out Maggilio Ordenez for not investing on a movie with him. He was interviewed on the Big Show on WEEI the other day and hung up on them when the questions got a little tough. He calls Curt Schilling a 1 year old, weird and the strangest man he has ever seen. He is defending Roger Clemens like James Dolan backs Isiah Thomas in public but in his book he says that Clem-bag didn't look so good in front of Congress. He is contradicting himself in his own book. To be honest, I don't know who or what to believe anymore but I know that when I need the truth I'm not turning to Jose Canseco.

Kansas vs. Memphis

Despite my pre tourny pick of Memphis loosing in the sweet 16 they have played like a powerhouse all tournament. For a team that shoots under 57% from the stripe all season, they have consistantly hit there free throws thus far. They opened at 63% against the University of Texas-Arlington then shot a dismal 47% while just squeaking out a win against Mississippi St. Then in their past three games they have shot 74%, 83%, and 87% respectively, all in blow outs of decent teams. Hit your freebies and you will be successful. Unfortunatly they are running into a Kansas team which simply dominated Tyler Hansbrough and his UNC Tarheels.

In response to our new blogger, PUCK GURU, I am pretty sure watching hockey isn't time well spent. It's merely just time spent at best. Other than that however, I personally am theorally excited about the Bruins playoff push. I honestly thought it was all over twelve games ago when Zedano Chara got hurt and rookie GM Peter Chiarelli made the comment, "We are going to rest him for the playoffs" with a two point lead over the then 9th seed Sabres. There is so much wrong with that comment that I can't even comment more on it. Unfortunatly it appears as if the Bruins are going to get stuck playing Montreal whom they are 0-8 against this season, or the Washington Capitals who are the hottest team in hockey. I never thought playing Sid the kid and the rest of the Penguins was the Bruins best chance but it appears that it is. Finally, the Boston Globe reported today that Patrice Bergeron still might come back after that devestating hit from behind he suffered at the beginning of the season. That would be a rare hockey storyline I'd be excited about.

In response to B Shea and his inability to say something that makes sense, nice pick with UCLA. At least you had Kansas so i can't enjoy being 100% more right than you. You say that both games could have come down to the final minute because they are all #1 seeds. Not only was that wrong, but can't every game of every sport come down to the final minute? The lone thing I agree with you about is the storylines which proved to great. I really want to comment on you saying that these two games feature the most potentional NBA players. With the exception of Derrick Rose and maybe Kevin Love, these games don't feature any NBA starters, unless they all end up in Charlotte or Miami. I see this as a catch 22 however because all these players are great college athletes and should have made for two better games than what I witnessed today. Finally, please don't ever call Tyler Hansbrough a future "decent" pro again. I see him getting 7-10 minutes a game while averaging 3 points and 2 boards.

So this leads me to the Championship game of Kansas vs. Memphis. Pre tourny I had Kansas winning 79-73 over Texas. This has proved to be on it's way to being half right so far. To me this game is going to be very simple to predict. Kansas has a better defense, offense, bench, and starters. Memphis has the best player in the game. Coaching is about even because I still don't see Bill Self as a good coach, but at the same time I am sick of John Calipari playing the "no-respect" card. Look for Memphis to come out firing and jump out to an early lead but for Kansas to control the rest of the game. Memphis will not shoot over 60% from the stripe because they won't have the comfort of a big lead anymore. I look for Kansas in the 2nd half to take this game over. The Final score will be 86-67.

Playoff Frenzy

My beloved Bruins have clinched a playoff birth after their impressive victory over the Ottawa Senators last night. Tim Thomas made 17 saves and came within 8:14 of his third straight shutout. In my eyes he has been the MVP of the team all year and he is a savior for this surprising and young team. Milan Lucic reminds me of old friend Cam Neely by playing ferocious defense and fighting with just about everyone who stands in his way. Can you believe were in the playoffs without having injury stricken Patrice Bergeron, and most recent Marc Savard. It looks like we will be playing the Capitals or Hurricanes in the first round who are on a hell of a run and are tied with Carolina for that Third Spot in the conference with one game to go. I am so impressed with this Bruins squad this season by having a great turn around from last year's disaster. Please watch the NHL playoffs this year, its not a waste of time, its time well spent.

We're talkin playoffs

In honor of the Boston Bruins making the playoffs, we here at The Great Sports Debate decided to add some hockey flavour. The Wiz and I have added our good friend, also known as the Puck Guru, to talk about hockey. I am not what you call and hockey aficionado and Wizard is too busy taking on entire nations so we do not really talk about hockey. Trust us people, the Puck Guru was raised on hockey and he knows what he is talking about. So enjoy his posts, they should be humorous as well as informative.

Looking Rosie

This years Final Four could be the most exciting Final Four in history. Having all four number 1 seeds will mean that both games could come down to the final minute. This Final Four is also full of story lines. There's Roy Williams vs his old team Kansas. There is John Calipari looking to bring the Memphis Tigers to the title game as well as Ben Howland looking to hang up the 12th NCAA championship banner in Pauly Pavilion. This Final Four also features possibly the most future pros ever in a Final Four. UNC has Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, and Wayne Ellington. Kansas features Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers. UCLA has freshman center Kevin Love, Darren Collison, and Russell Westbrook. Memphis has a ton of great athletes in Joey Dorsey, Chris Douglas-Roberts, and freshman sensation Derrick Rose. Of all these players, the player that I think will have the best NBA career will be Derrick Rose. Rose is 6'3 super quick point guard. In the game against Texas, Rose skyed over everyone to grab a rebound, turned up the jets at half court, and then soared in for a lay up. He is the most NBA ready out everyone in the tournament. Rose is built like Kidd, quick like Paul, and has LeBron type athleticism. While he doesn't have the eyes-behind-his-head passing ability, he has a good court vision and has a great mid range jumper to compliment his athleticism. Lets hope he goes to possibly the Sonics where he can run along side Kevin Durant and not be banished to hell with the Knicks.

Some people think that Tyler Hansbrough will be a great pro. He'll be a good, solid pro but in no way will be a great pro. He dominates the college game because he is so much stronger than everybody. He wont be able to get away with that in the NBA. He will probably out hustle his way for rebounds and points because he has such a tremendous motor. I see him as a more offensive skilled Anderson Varejao.

Kevin Love will be a terrific pro as well. He is a big body and terrific passer. Once he enters the league, he will already be one one of the top 5 passing big men in the league. He has shown at UCLA that he can bury the outside jumper so he will be a tough match up.

Like I said before this could be one the more exciting Final Fours we will ever see. All these teams are so evenly matched and are all playing at such a high level. I am going to stay with my original pick of Kansas over UCLA. However, there is no telling what can happen in these games.

I'm not blaming China for all the problems in the world...Just most of them

I'll give you credit Brian, I'll agree with one point you made. Darren Mcfadden won't be the next Adrian Peterson. I'll tell you why though. Peterson set the single game rushing record last year, and then got hurt. You can't be the next big thing and be compared to a guy who is yet to play a full season. How in the world can you compare Mcfadden to Reggie Bush. Bush walked through a sub-par Pac-10 while Mcfadden rushed for over 300 yards in a game against South Carolina, in the best conference in the NCAAF, the SEC. Mcfadden is a true running back unlike that HB/split reciever first round bust Reggie Bush. Mcfadden is taller and heavier, with the ability to gain weight as opposed to Reggie Bush who is maybe 200 lbs soak and wet, at best!

Clones, as Jim Rome would say, what in the world is China and America doing? Apparently the USA won't partake in the opening ceremonies at this years summer Olympics and more than likely will boycott the entire summer games because of some things the Chinese government is doing. For us who lack a decent knowledge of the world and it's history let me explain briefly what China is doing. They call themselves capitalists after being communist for over 100 years yet they are still run by the CCP. ( that means the Chinese COMMUNIST party ) This shows that China is merely a wanna be capitalist country. Apparently we as Americans are boycotting the olympics because of reports that the Chinese government is randomly killing it's citizens among other things. My question is, who in the hell are we to boycott something due to a countries government actions? We start a war in Afganistan because .01% of the worlds terrorists live their. Then we go to Iraq and start fighting their because we found weapons of mass destruction??? Well we didn't find WOP's but we proved they had something to do with the terrorists group, Al Queida??? Well the Iraq citizens need a new democratic government??? I'm not a political genuis but I think it has to do with this black liquid like substance that lives in the sand. Now were trying to start a fight with countries like Iran and Yemon, while going back to Afganistan because why? If the olympics were to come to our country with our government no one would boycott us because the olympics mean so much more than government. Some athlete's in countries that win medals train athletes for their entire lives. Once every four years they get to show off what they have done and suddenly they have to wait four more years to compete. I say let the American's go over their and do their thing. Leave your ego in America and go to a country despite its government issues, whether their right or wrong and compete for the greatest honor in the world. In 1980 the Russian's came to America and competed despite all the cold war problems we had with them. In 1936 the Jewish athletes were treated very unfairly despite Adolf Hitler's plan to make the world see how German's were the perfect race. Before the athlets arrived he hired people to get rid of all the signs saying "Jews not welcome" or anything like that. Irony? These olympics showed African American, American Jesse Owens who beat German track and field heavyweight Lutz Lang in four events. After the last event Lang was the first one to shake Owens hand yet Hitler wouldn't even give Owens the Medals he clearly earned. This proves that the athletes don't care what the government does. The olympics are supposed to remind us that no matter what is happening in the world, every two years for a few weeks, it shouldn't matter. It just shouldn't matter!

Heard This Story Before

I dont know why fans and people around the NFL are drooling over Arkansas running back Darren Mcfadden. This guy reminds me so much of Reggie Bush its not even funny. All the adjectives being said by people about Mcfadden, explosive, superstar, and game changer, were the same words being said about Reggie Bush just two years ago! Their final college season stats are strikingly similar. Mcfadden had 1,830 yards on a 5.63 average with 16 touchdowns. Bush had 1,740 yards on a 8.7 average with 16 touchdowns. These two players are very similar. I have heard some people say he is the next Adrian Peterson. Are you kidding me? Peterson is built like Earl Campbell. Peterson is an everydown back becuase hes big enough to take the hits. Bush has had his succes in the NFL when he split carries with Deuce Mcallister. In college both guys were in two back systems. Bush had Lendale White at USC and Mcfadden had Felix Jones. When Mcallister went down early last year with injury, everyone expected Bush to takeover and he struggled big time. Bush is great when he can split carries with a bigger back. A guy like Bush and Chicken Legs-Mcfadden arent capable of converting the short yardage situations. At times Bush can have a jaw dropping play and Mcfadden will be the same way but no way will either of them be every down backs. They are both fantastic athletes and when they get open space in the feild they can do damage but thats about it.