Pending his physical, Darin Erstad is off to the White Sox. Part of sort of doesn't care, considering I may not be able to watch much baseball next year, and though I could watch the White Sox fairly often, doing so, which requires listening to Hawk Harrelson and Darin Jackson, would probably result in me being forced to blow my brains out. So chances are that's not going to happen.
Still, there's no denying Darin Erstad's place in Angels lore. In 2000, he put together one of the finest seasons in Angels history, hitting .355/.409/.541 with 25 homers, 39 doubles, and an amazing 100 RBIs from the lead off spot. In that season, against the Yankees, he provided one the most memorable moments in the team's regular season history when he saved the game by making an amazing catch in left field in the bottom of the tenth before slamming the eventual game winning home run in the top of the 11th (props to Mo Vaughn, whose two out, three run homer off of Mariano Rivera in the top of the ninth sent the game into extra innings).
But no single at bat was ever as important as his eighth inning lead off home run in game six of the 2002 World Series against the Giants. The Angels had already cut a five run lead to three in the previous inning. But they still had a two run deficit to contend with, and with one swing of the bat, Erstad crushed a 1-1 change-up over the right field wall, and gave everyone just a little more hope. I want go so far as to say it gave the outcome an air of inevitability, but suddenly the Angels trailed by one with the heart of the lineup coming up against a depleted Giants bullpen.
His enduring image in an Angels uniform? For me, it would have to be watching him settle in under Kenny Lofton's fly ball to right center that ended the 2002 World Series. 29 years of Angels fandom (for me, anyway), culminated in that one moment.
It's a cliche to say that Erstad was "scrappy" or "a gamer", but honestly, I can think of very few players who fit that description better. There was a never a time when he gave less than everything he had. He rotated between three different positions, winning gold gloves at two of them, because that's what the team asked him to do. Not every major leaguer would do that. And players like that are invaluable because sometimes you need that flexibility to move pieces around the guys who can't or won't move.
Darin Erstad, along with Tim Salmon, epitomized the 2002 Angels. He'll always be remembered fondly by Angels fans, not only for the way he represented the Angels on the field, but off the field as well. I wish him luck on the South Side.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Indiana 43; Illinois 51
Imagine that. Illinois actually WON a game in which they had a second half lead. For those still holding out hope that the Illini have a chance to play in the NCAA tournament game, this was pretty much a must win. Pay not attention to the fact that they beat an overrated Indiana team (any national ranking for Indiana is an over-ranking). The Illini had to beat a ranked team, and they had to prove to themselves that they can close a team out when leading in the second half.
Remember when the Illini were fun to watch? Hell, even when they had a rotating line of butchers at small forward earlier in the decade, they still had exciting guys who could bring you out of your seat. This year's team is just kind of boring.
As the score indicates, the Illini did it with defense. They held Indiana to only five points in a fourteen minute stretch that started halfway through the first half. They held Indiana to 20 points in the second half, and six of those were in the final minute when the game had already been decided.
Sean Pruitt had big night on the boards with 13 rebounds to go with his ten points. Rich McBride has responded to the criticism by catching fire lately, adding 15 points last night, including a couple of big three pointers that stretched the lead out to eight points, a lead they would never relinquish. Fortunately, he has stepped up as Jamar Smith continues to slump, due in no small part to his injuries. Since going 6-14 for 17 points against Michigan on January 3rd, he's been awful, 11% from the field, and 7% from three.he's four for his last 37, including just 2-28 from beyond the arc. Ouch.**
The Illini shot 65% from the line, roughly on par with what they've done all season. Warren Carter was 6-6, but Sean Pruitt (who only shot three free throws), was 0-3, while Chet Frazier was 3-7. Any wonder why they've had a hard time holding leads?
I wouldn't call this a signature win, but it is a stepping stone. Perhaps they can build on it and go on a little run. If Jamar Smith gets his stroke back, and McBride keeps shooting well, and Randle gets healthy, they have a chance to go on a winning streak that could put them in tournament contention. But they pretty much need ALL of those things to happen.
**I swear I didn't read Mark Tupper's blog before I posted that. Seriously. But it's word for word what he wrote (although I wrote 'beyond' and he wrote 'behind') so I'll change it.
Remember when the Illini were fun to watch? Hell, even when they had a rotating line of butchers at small forward earlier in the decade, they still had exciting guys who could bring you out of your seat. This year's team is just kind of boring.
As the score indicates, the Illini did it with defense. They held Indiana to only five points in a fourteen minute stretch that started halfway through the first half. They held Indiana to 20 points in the second half, and six of those were in the final minute when the game had already been decided.
Sean Pruitt had big night on the boards with 13 rebounds to go with his ten points. Rich McBride has responded to the criticism by catching fire lately, adding 15 points last night, including a couple of big three pointers that stretched the lead out to eight points, a lead they would never relinquish. Fortunately, he has stepped up as Jamar Smith continues to slump, due in no small part to his injuries. Since going 6-14 for 17 points against Michigan on January 3rd, he's been awful, 11% from the field, and 7% from three.
The Illini shot 65% from the line, roughly on par with what they've done all season. Warren Carter was 6-6, but Sean Pruitt (who only shot three free throws), was 0-3, while Chet Frazier was 3-7. Any wonder why they've had a hard time holding leads?
I wouldn't call this a signature win, but it is a stepping stone. Perhaps they can build on it and go on a little run. If Jamar Smith gets his stroke back, and McBride keeps shooting well, and Randle gets healthy, they have a chance to go on a winning streak that could put them in tournament contention. But they pretty much need ALL of those things to happen.
**I swear I didn't read Mark Tupper's blog before I posted that. Seriously. But it's word for word what he wrote (although I wrote 'beyond' and he wrote 'behind') so I'll change it.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Following up
About a week or two ago, I posted about a piece I read concerning Major League Baseball's negotiations with DirecTV to make them the exclusive outlet for the Extra Innings package. Looks like they've reached an agreement.
Major League Baseball has decided that it doesn't want my business unless I use the television company that they've chosen. And so, I won't be a consumer of Major League Baseball anymore. That could change come May, of course, but I'm not getting DirecTV, and I'm not going to spend a full season watching MLBTV, so chances are, you won't be reading much about the Angels here anymore.
At least I'll be able to get to bed at a decent hour.
Major League Baseball has decided that it doesn't want my business unless I use the television company that they've chosen. And so, I won't be a consumer of Major League Baseball anymore. That could change come May, of course, but I'm not getting DirecTV, and I'm not going to spend a full season watching MLBTV, so chances are, you won't be reading much about the Angels here anymore.
At least I'll be able to get to bed at a decent hour.
Wisconsin 71; Illinois 64 and Arizona 69; UCLA 73
Big Ten
Pretty predictable result. Quite frankly, I thought Wisconsin would roll, and Illinois made it a lot closer than I expected. They were victimized by some poor officiating, two calls in particular, but even more so by their own inability to make free throws. They shot only 60% from the line, and it seemed like every time it mattered, they could never do any better than one out of two. That was huge down the stretch.
The refs didn't help. They took two points off the board for Illinois when Brian Randle jumped to catch an entry pass and bounced to the rim for the basket and the foul. The ref inexplicably ruled that the foul was on the floor, which was interesting considering he was on the floor for about a tenth of a second. Later, with Wisconsin leading by only two and under a minute to go, Marcus Landry of Wisconsin drove the basket and ran over Brian Randle for an offensive foul. Only, somehow the basket was allowed to count. He rose, hit Randle, released the ball, yet still got credit for the basket instead of having waved off. A two point lead was stretched to four, Randle made only one of two, and that was that.
Good game for Sean Pruitt who had 19 and 14 against only one turnover. Another 0-5 for Jamar Smith, who let's face it, if this is all due to his ankles, he needs to be out of the lineup until he's healthy. On his last few shots, he missed everything. It's been really ugly, and either way, he's hurting the team right now. He's trying hard, but he just doesn't have it. Randle finished with 8 points, and seemed to lift the Illini when he started to assert himself down the stretch. He's turning into a poor man's Frank Williams. He sit out the first 30 minutes, and in the last 10 minutes, he makes you think "where the hell was he in the first 30 minutes?!" Oh well, the descent continues.
Pac 10
Boy is there egg on my face after I said Arizona would probably win. I forgot that they're loaded with guys who a) can't play defense, and b) struggle against teams that actually can play defense (UCLA, U$C, Wazzu....guess who three of Arizona's losses have come against?). A certain Cat fan once said "Defense is overrated; especially if you shoot 60% from the field." I've really only watched Arizona's last three games (48% against Oregon, 38% against U$C, and 39% against UCLA) so I guess I would have to watch a team that consistently shoots 60% to test that theory. Keep in mind that UCLA was missing its best interior defender as well.
Mustapha Shakur (11 points - six of which came in garbage time when the game had already been decided, 8 assists, 3 turnovers) showed why after four years, he remains one of the most overrated point guards in college basketball, as he was pretty much completely owned by a sophomore who wasn't supposed to be anything more than a backup this season (Collison had 14, 7, and 2). Juwann McLellan has gotten so bad that Lute is wishing he had kicked off a kid earlier in the season only so that he could reinstate him to replace McLellan. I'll give credit to Ivan Radenovic, who I actually noticed in the second half for the first time in his four years at Arizona.
A lot has been made of UCLA's "struggles" against zone defenses. Teams play zone defenses in an effort to make it difficult to get the ball inside (which often helps protect their own big men from foul trouble). The idea is to force your opponent into jump shots, and make the guards beat you. If teams want to play a style that dares Collison, Afflalo, Roll, Westbrook, and occasionally Shipp to beat them, well, good luck with that.
Deserving of recognition for UCLA:
Pretty predictable result. Quite frankly, I thought Wisconsin would roll, and Illinois made it a lot closer than I expected. They were victimized by some poor officiating, two calls in particular, but even more so by their own inability to make free throws. They shot only 60% from the line, and it seemed like every time it mattered, they could never do any better than one out of two. That was huge down the stretch.
The refs didn't help. They took two points off the board for Illinois when Brian Randle jumped to catch an entry pass and bounced to the rim for the basket and the foul. The ref inexplicably ruled that the foul was on the floor, which was interesting considering he was on the floor for about a tenth of a second. Later, with Wisconsin leading by only two and under a minute to go, Marcus Landry of Wisconsin drove the basket and ran over Brian Randle for an offensive foul. Only, somehow the basket was allowed to count. He rose, hit Randle, released the ball, yet still got credit for the basket instead of having waved off. A two point lead was stretched to four, Randle made only one of two, and that was that.
Good game for Sean Pruitt who had 19 and 14 against only one turnover. Another 0-5 for Jamar Smith, who let's face it, if this is all due to his ankles, he needs to be out of the lineup until he's healthy. On his last few shots, he missed everything. It's been really ugly, and either way, he's hurting the team right now. He's trying hard, but he just doesn't have it. Randle finished with 8 points, and seemed to lift the Illini when he started to assert himself down the stretch. He's turning into a poor man's Frank Williams. He sit out the first 30 minutes, and in the last 10 minutes, he makes you think "where the hell was he in the first 30 minutes?!" Oh well, the descent continues.
Pac 10
Boy is there egg on my face after I said Arizona would probably win. I forgot that they're loaded with guys who a) can't play defense, and b) struggle against teams that actually can play defense (UCLA, U$C, Wazzu....guess who three of Arizona's losses have come against?). A certain Cat fan once said "Defense is overrated; especially if you shoot 60% from the field." I've really only watched Arizona's last three games (48% against Oregon, 38% against U$C, and 39% against UCLA) so I guess I would have to watch a team that consistently shoots 60% to test that theory. Keep in mind that UCLA was missing its best interior defender as well.
Mustapha Shakur (11 points - six of which came in garbage time when the game had already been decided, 8 assists, 3 turnovers) showed why after four years, he remains one of the most overrated point guards in college basketball, as he was pretty much completely owned by a sophomore who wasn't supposed to be anything more than a backup this season (Collison had 14, 7, and 2). Juwann McLellan has gotten so bad that Lute is wishing he had kicked off a kid earlier in the season only so that he could reinstate him to replace McLellan. I'll give credit to Ivan Radenovic, who I actually noticed in the second half for the first time in his four years at Arizona.
A lot has been made of UCLA's "struggles" against zone defenses. Teams play zone defenses in an effort to make it difficult to get the ball inside (which often helps protect their own big men from foul trouble). The idea is to force your opponent into jump shots, and make the guards beat you. If teams want to play a style that dares Collison, Afflalo, Roll, Westbrook, and occasionally Shipp to beat them, well, good luck with that.
Deserving of recognition for UCLA:
- Alfred Aboya was only 1-4 from the field, but he grabbed 11 rebounds, including six on the offensive end, and made all of his free throws.
- Michael Roll was only 3-9 from beyond arc, but finished with 13 points and a nice assist on the interior after breaking down the defense.
- And of course, Aaron Afflalo was the player of the game yet again, going 9-14, including 3-6 from three, for 22 points. In addition, he held down Marcus Williams to 11 points., who finished with 11 points 4-12 shooting, and turned the ball over four times.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
ASU 50; UCLA 60
First things first, as I type this, the idiot Arizona announcers are doing the U$C - UA game. U$C took seven seconds in the backcourt. The announcer says "U$C only has three seconds to get the ball over the mid-court line". Ya know, if you're going to broadcast games in a power conference, you should know the rules. Only the shot clock doesn't re-set. If you take four seconds to inbound the ball before calling a time out, you still get another five seconds after the time out. Similarly, if you take nine seconds in the back court before calling time out, you get another ten seconds to get the ball over the time line. Play by play guys should know that.
Now, on to the UCLA game. I've come to the realization that the reason I hate watching games against teams that play zone defenses is because I root for the two teams in the country that seem to have no clue how to play against a zone defense. It's a slow tempo, pass it around, use the clock type of game, which really isn't all that fun to watch. For now, Arizona State has to play that way. Honestly, I don't know enough about Herb Sendek to know if that's his style, but for now, we're stuck with it.
UCLA hit the shots they needed to hit, played the defense they needed to play, and despite trailing for a majority of the game, eventually pushed it out to a 12 point lead before winning by ten. Darren Collison led the Bruins with 16 points, inlcuding a couple of threes. And big ups to LRMAM who grabbed 15 boards in this one. He's been hurting, so it's good to see him get back to his strengths, which is pulling down rebounds.
I don't quite understand his thinking, but a couple of times in the second half, UCLA settled for what really were bad shots late in the shot clock (a product of the zone defense they were facing). Don McLean, UCLA's color guy, noted after they made two that those were shots they could have gotten early in the shot clock, thereby forcing the tempo. Well, sorry, but no shit. They can get bad shots at just about any point in any game. Notice that he didn't make a similar comment after they chucked up 30 footers at the end of the shot clock. The reason they don't take those shots after five seconds is because they're working (or possibly praying) that something better opens up. This isn't rocket science.
U$C beat another team looking ahead to their matchup against a top three team yet again, which means Arizona will show up hungry on Saturday. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised to see Arizona win, so long as they don't rely on a good second half from Ivan Radenovic, who seems to find new ways to come up small in the final ten minutes every year. But UCLA is due for a home loss, and Arizona has already choked away three conference games, so the law of averages says they have to win sometime. Then again, UCLA seems to come out big against good teams, except for maybe Oregon. Should be a good one.
Now, on to the UCLA game. I've come to the realization that the reason I hate watching games against teams that play zone defenses is because I root for the two teams in the country that seem to have no clue how to play against a zone defense. It's a slow tempo, pass it around, use the clock type of game, which really isn't all that fun to watch. For now, Arizona State has to play that way. Honestly, I don't know enough about Herb Sendek to know if that's his style, but for now, we're stuck with it.
UCLA hit the shots they needed to hit, played the defense they needed to play, and despite trailing for a majority of the game, eventually pushed it out to a 12 point lead before winning by ten. Darren Collison led the Bruins with 16 points, inlcuding a couple of threes. And big ups to LRMAM who grabbed 15 boards in this one. He's been hurting, so it's good to see him get back to his strengths, which is pulling down rebounds.
I don't quite understand his thinking, but a couple of times in the second half, UCLA settled for what really were bad shots late in the shot clock (a product of the zone defense they were facing). Don McLean, UCLA's color guy, noted after they made two that those were shots they could have gotten early in the shot clock, thereby forcing the tempo. Well, sorry, but no shit. They can get bad shots at just about any point in any game. Notice that he didn't make a similar comment after they chucked up 30 footers at the end of the shot clock. The reason they don't take those shots after five seconds is because they're working (or possibly praying) that something better opens up. This isn't rocket science.
U$C beat another team looking ahead to their matchup against a top three team yet again, which means Arizona will show up hungry on Saturday. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised to see Arizona win, so long as they don't rely on a good second half from Ivan Radenovic, who seems to find new ways to come up small in the final ten minutes every year. But UCLA is due for a home loss, and Arizona has already choked away three conference games, so the law of averages says they have to win sometime. Then again, UCLA seems to come out big against good teams, except for maybe Oregon. Should be a good one.
More Stuff
Illinois
They beat a bad Minnesota team last night by 12, and they looked really good at times, but they also looked pretty bad at times. Richard McBride continued his resurgence, or maybe it's just a surgence, by going 3-7 from beyond the arc, but Rich being Rich, those were his only nine points. Warren Carter also had a nice night, finishing with 17 points, 11 boards, and five assists. Sean Pruitt was not as good. Seven points on 3-10 shooting with five turnovers. Get used to that. Minnesota realized that whenever the ball went in to Pruitt, it wasn't coming out, and even triple teamed him at times. If he can't get off against Minnesota, it could be a rough year for him until he learns to pass out of the double team. A slaughtering at the hands of Wisconsin awaits.
Angels
Boy, they get some really stupid letters at the LA Times, don't they? Here's a sampling:
Great quote from head coach Phil Jackson after last night's big road win over the Spurs
UCLA
Tonight at home vs. ASU. Let's hope they don't get caught looking ahead to their game against underwhelming Arizona. Also, it would be nice if Josh Shipp were healthy so that we could see Shipp guarding Shipp (his little brother Jerren).
They beat a bad Minnesota team last night by 12, and they looked really good at times, but they also looked pretty bad at times. Richard McBride continued his resurgence, or maybe it's just a surgence, by going 3-7 from beyond the arc, but Rich being Rich, those were his only nine points. Warren Carter also had a nice night, finishing with 17 points, 11 boards, and five assists. Sean Pruitt was not as good. Seven points on 3-10 shooting with five turnovers. Get used to that. Minnesota realized that whenever the ball went in to Pruitt, it wasn't coming out, and even triple teamed him at times. If he can't get off against Minnesota, it could be a rough year for him until he learns to pass out of the double team. A slaughtering at the hands of Wisconsin awaits.
Angels
Boy, they get some really stupid letters at the LA Times, don't they? Here's a sampling:
- Q: I enjoy watching Vladimir Guerrero. The man has so much natural talent. Has he shown any frustration in the last few years with the Angels' inability to make the playoffs?
- A: Well, first of all, they've made the playoffs in two of his three years in Anaheim. Second, seeing as how he came from a team that used to win about 10 games per year, he's probably handling it pretty well.
- Q: Why on earth would the Angels trade Scot Shields? The guy is clutch, he's as reliable a shut-down reliever as there is in the major leagues. Getting rid of Shields, in my opinion, would be a huge mistake.
- A: The Angels haven't traded Shields, and by all accounts, they aren't "trying" to trade him. Listening to offers is not "trying". And as good as Shields is, he's not exactly Mariano Rivera. He is, in fact, 17-18 over the last two seasons. Those numbers are skewed because he comes into a lot of games when the Angels lead, i.e., games he can't win, but can lose. Still, that's a lot of losses for such a great pitcher. I love Scot Shields, but he's had his issues over the last couple of seasons.
- Q: Because Joe Saunders seems to be a six-day pitcher, why not use Bartolo Colon as a spot starter until Saunders can be a five-day pitcher?
- Joe Saunders struggled late in the season, after pitching more innings than he ever has, on normal rest, and was lights out on extra rest. That doesn't necessarily make him a "six-day pitcher". It makes him a guy in his early to mid 20s reacting to his largest workload ever. How about we let him mature a little bit before we label him a "six-day pitcher".
Great quote from head coach Phil Jackson after last night's big road win over the Spurs
"We value a road win, especially against a team like this," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said, before adding a dose of caution. "You know that line in that movie, 'Let's not start patting each other on the back quite yet.'I don't think that's the quote you're thinking of, Phil. I think you're thinking of this one.
UCLA
Tonight at home vs. ASU. Let's hope they don't get caught looking ahead to their game against underwhelming Arizona. Also, it would be nice if Josh Shipp were healthy so that we could see Shipp guarding Shipp (his little brother Jerren).
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
While I'm back on the subject of music...
...It's getting to be good concert season again, and there are finally a bunch of good acts coming to town. So far I'm set to see:
The Shins at the Congress Theater:
The Apples in Stereo at Subterranean:
And the Walkmen at Schuba's:
The Shins at the Congress Theater:
The Apples in Stereo at Subterranean:
And the Walkmen at Schuba's:
Labels:
Congress Theater,
Music,
Schuba's,
Subterranean,
The Apples in Stereo,
the Shins,
The Walkmen,
Videos
More music
Just found this on Youtube. Geez, check out the hair on Mark Gardener. This is a very non-shoegazer song by a very shoegazer band.
Monday, January 15, 2007
A Rare NFL Post
Trust me, there are a million other places you can go to read about yesterday's games, but really, what the hell was McCree thinking on that fourth down interception/fumble in the Chargers/Pats game? Seriously, doesn't everyone learn in third grade, while playing football at recess, that you knock down the pass on a fourth down play?
Of course, that was just one of a shitload of mistakes the Chargers made, but at this rate, the way all of the remaining playoff teams are playing (except maybe New Orleans), the Super Bowl is going to a contest to see which team can out-suck the other.
Of course, that was just one of a shitload of mistakes the Chargers made, but at this rate, the way all of the remaining playoff teams are playing (except maybe New Orleans), the Super Bowl is going to a contest to see which team can out-suck the other.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Conrats to Yutaka Fukufuji
The first Japanese born and trained player in NHL history got into his first NHL game today, making a brilliant save on Eric Brewer, before allowing a power play goal later in the period.
The Kings lost again, 6-5 to Andy Murray's St. Louis Blues. Anze Freaking Kopitar added a couple more assists, and congrats to him for his anti-climactic naming to the NHL young stars game (which actually may field a better group of players than the all-star game). Lubo Visnovsky will be the Kings sole representative in Dallas at the All-Star game.
Honestly, this might be the best we can hope for from the Kings this season. An exciting, entertaining game that puts them one step closer to the number one overall pick, or something pretty darn close. Also, it makes it more obvious that they'll be sellers at the trade deadline. The future is bright.
The Kings lost again, 6-5 to Andy Murray's St. Louis Blues. Anze Freaking Kopitar added a couple more assists, and congrats to him for his anti-climactic naming to the NHL young stars game (which actually may field a better group of players than the all-star game). Lubo Visnovsky will be the Kings sole representative in Dallas at the All-Star game.
Honestly, this might be the best we can hope for from the Kings this season. An exciting, entertaining game that puts them one step closer to the number one overall pick, or something pretty darn close. Also, it makes it more obvious that they'll be sellers at the trade deadline. The future is bright.
UCLA 65; U$C 64
Nailbiter, eh? I've gotta say, I thought this was a strange game. Usually, when a team erases a nine point deficit late in the game, they do it with a good sized run, or at least a stretch of five minutes or so where they are clearly and unequivocally the better team. I never got the feeling that UCLA put together that kind of run, but the scoreboard disagrees. I'll be honest, when Darren Collison hit his two consecutive threes, cutting a 10 point lead to 4, I thought the Bruins were back in it. When U$C ran the lead back out to 10 shortly thereafter, I thought the game was over.
But somehow, the Bruins found a way to claw back, slowly cutting into the lead, getting another three from Collison, a layup from Al Aboya, a three from Russell Westbrook, a Lo Mata layup, then a bunch of free throws. Next thing I knew, the game was tied, and Aaron Afflalo was knocking a three to give the Bruins a three point lead. A couple of Mata layups later, and the lead was up to six before U$C hit a couple three of their own, and got a gift from the Pac 10 refs in the form or a four point play for Nick Young. That set the stage for Afflalo's heroics, as he moved the free thrown line, and knocked down the game winning jumper.
Big win on the heels of the Oregon loss. And with the week off, and Josh Shipp's absence, this gives Shipp over a week and a half to heal for the homestand against Arizona. Some observations coming out of this game:
But somehow, the Bruins found a way to claw back, slowly cutting into the lead, getting another three from Collison, a layup from Al Aboya, a three from Russell Westbrook, a Lo Mata layup, then a bunch of free throws. Next thing I knew, the game was tied, and Aaron Afflalo was knocking a three to give the Bruins a three point lead. A couple of Mata layups later, and the lead was up to six before U$C hit a couple three of their own, and got a gift from the Pac 10 refs in the form or a four point play for Nick Young. That set the stage for Afflalo's heroics, as he moved the free thrown line, and knocked down the game winning jumper.
Big win on the heels of the Oregon loss. And with the week off, and Josh Shipp's absence, this gives Shipp over a week and a half to heal for the homestand against Arizona. Some observations coming out of this game:
- Courtesy of my dad: Tim Floyd arguably spends more time on the floor and out of the coaching box than he spends in it. And lord knows, he spends more time on the floor than half his team. Speaking of which;
- U$C could have problems in the second half of the Pac 10 season if they continue to give most of their minutes to only six players. Especially on the road. That's a lot to ask from your starters this early in the season.
- I'm going to repeat what I wrote after the Illinois-Squawk game: Next year, I'd like to see college basketball make it a point of emphasis to stop calling defensive fouls, and start calling offensive fouls, on players who kick their defenders while shooting three pointers. Nick Young got a four point opportunity, giving U$C a last minute lead, basically because he kicked Darren Collison. I'd still like someone to tell me why in the hell that's a defensive foul.
- U$C whines more than any team I've ever seen about calls that don't go their way. It was unreal. They got 95% of the marginal calls, and they whined about every single one that went against them. Must be the thug mentality around which U$C has built its athletic programs.
- I'm not going to tell Ben Howland how to coach, but he typically uses his time outs after made baskets starting around the nine minute mark. Until Lo Mata learns to make free throws, he may want to start saving those until the end of the game so that he can switch Mata on for defense and off for offense. College refs aren't going to start enforcing the intentional foul rule anytime soon, so either deal with the hack-a-Mata, or sub more wisely.
- Galen Center? Meh. Didn't seem like a big home court advantage to me.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Iowa 70; Illinois 74
I'm not going to do a long post about this one. I've pretty much given up hope on Illinois making the tournament, and I really couldn't care less about the NIT, but I have some observations on the parts of the game for which I stayed awake:
- College basketball is virtually unwatchable when one or both teams are playing a zone defense. Every possession is 30 seconds of throwing it around the perimeter until someone finally jacks one up. And it's not just bad teams that react that way. What's funny is that in the second half, even with a zone, Iowa still got torched on the inside.
- Next year, I'd like to see college basketball make it a point of emphasis to stop calling defensive fouls, and start calling offensive fouls, on players who kick their defenders while shooting three pointers. Adam Haluska basically kicked Warren Carter, who was standing still, on his way down from shooting a three pointer, and was rewarded with three free throws. Haluska is a flopper, and was repeatedly either bailed out by officials, or allowed to take four or five steps at a time, and that was in Champaign. I don't think he'll even have to dribble the ball in Iowa City.
- Brian Randle was particularly active and effective in the second half run that built up Illinois' biggest lead, be it on defense, or while dishing (a team high six assists) and dunking on the offensive end. He has to be that good every night for the Illini to be competitive.
- As good a win as this was, the Illini were a couple or Warren Carter misses away from a loss. Jamar Smith was non-existent, going 0-7 from the field. Trent Meacham was just as bad at 0-5. Fortunately, Rich McBride picked up the slack, going 5-11 from the field for 15 points. They got 48 points from their starting front line, which is kind of a surprise against a zone team, but they're going to need to be better from the perimeter if they want to compete.
- Apparently trash talking is now grounds for a technical.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Moonlighting update
Not the TV show. A couple of posts from yours truly are up over Song of the Day.
Also, while you're over in Bullsieville, check out all of the "Tucker Carlson is Batshit Crazy" stuff over there. Long story short, Tuckwad goes to video store. Store clerk (Chuckles) says "hey, TC came into my store, he's a crazy wingnut" on his blog. Tuckwad goes nuts and gets guy fired for no apparent reason. Oh, the power of being a minor celebrity. All of the relevant links compiled by Plover.
Also, while you're over in Bullsieville, check out all of the "Tucker Carlson is Batshit Crazy" stuff over there. Long story short, Tuckwad goes to video store. Store clerk (Chuckles) says "hey, TC came into my store, he's a crazy wingnut" on his blog. Tuckwad goes nuts and gets guy fired for no apparent reason. Oh, the power of being a minor celebrity. All of the relevant links compiled by Plover.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
A Digression
First things first, Maury Brown brings up the DirecTV issue on his own non-subscription required blog with a few more excerpts over here. Primer discussion here.
JenJen (sorry about those Buckeyes), was incredulous yesterday over the possibility that I could tire of baseball if I can't get the Angels on television routinely. I was going to respond with another comment, but it led me into a larger post, so I figure I'd respond with a new post.
First, in response to Jen's comment, I'll probably never stop enjoying going to baseball games and whatnot, but if I can't get the Angels on TV regularly, I'm going to lose a fair amount of interest. It's inevitable, which brings me to my larger point. I don't know if any of the rest of you feel the same way, but as I've gotten older, I've found that I've gotten more interested in the teams that I root for, and less interested in the specific sport in which that team plays. For example, I read a ton of news stories about the Angels, and I visit most of the Angels blogs regularly. I watch every game I can, and listen to those that aren't on TV (assuming I'm not playing golf on a weekend). But I can't sit through a baseball game on TV if the Angels aren't one of the teams playing. I can't sit through a hockey game on TV if the Kings aren't playing. I used to be up to date on the scoring leaders and standings in the NHL. Now, I have no idea what divisions most of the Eastern Conference teams play in, and I'm still a little unclear on some of the Western Conference teams. And I say this as someone who watches pretty much every Kings game.
There are reasons for this, of course. In hockey, the unbalanced schedule means the Eastern teams rarely play the Kings anymore. The proliferation of the net has made a hell of a lot more information available about specific teams and players. A lot of the effort that went into following leagues and other teams has gone into following prospects in pro sports, and recruiting in college sports. I'm less interested in other teams because I know less about them because I don't follow them as much because I follow my own teams more.
Like I said, maybe I'm the only one experiencing this, but it seems I like sports less, but my sports teams more, than I did 15 years ago. Of course, that could change if I can't watch those teams play regularly anymore.
JenJen (sorry about those Buckeyes), was incredulous yesterday over the possibility that I could tire of baseball if I can't get the Angels on television routinely. I was going to respond with another comment, but it led me into a larger post, so I figure I'd respond with a new post.
First, in response to Jen's comment, I'll probably never stop enjoying going to baseball games and whatnot, but if I can't get the Angels on TV regularly, I'm going to lose a fair amount of interest. It's inevitable, which brings me to my larger point. I don't know if any of the rest of you feel the same way, but as I've gotten older, I've found that I've gotten more interested in the teams that I root for, and less interested in the specific sport in which that team plays. For example, I read a ton of news stories about the Angels, and I visit most of the Angels blogs regularly. I watch every game I can, and listen to those that aren't on TV (assuming I'm not playing golf on a weekend). But I can't sit through a baseball game on TV if the Angels aren't one of the teams playing. I can't sit through a hockey game on TV if the Kings aren't playing. I used to be up to date on the scoring leaders and standings in the NHL. Now, I have no idea what divisions most of the Eastern Conference teams play in, and I'm still a little unclear on some of the Western Conference teams. And I say this as someone who watches pretty much every Kings game.
There are reasons for this, of course. In hockey, the unbalanced schedule means the Eastern teams rarely play the Kings anymore. The proliferation of the net has made a hell of a lot more information available about specific teams and players. A lot of the effort that went into following leagues and other teams has gone into following prospects in pro sports, and recruiting in college sports. I'm less interested in other teams because I know less about them because I don't follow them as much because I follow my own teams more.
Like I said, maybe I'm the only one experiencing this, but it seems I like sports less, but my sports teams more, than I did 15 years ago. Of course, that could change if I can't watch those teams play regularly anymore.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Angels Blogging Could Become Pretty Much Nonexistent
According to Maury Brown, the business of baseball guy over at Baseball Prospectus, I could be seeing a lot fewer Angels games this year. MLB is in...well, I'll let him tell it:
Of course, I could go back to getting MLBTV, or getting the radio package, but having tasted the Extra Innings package, I'm more likely to just scrap the whole thing and stick to reading news reports in the Times until I tire of baseball completely.
So if you stop by in April looking for my take on Angels news, and you don't see anything, that's probably why. Or, it could just be laziness.
John Orerand and Eric Fisher of the Sports Business Journal have reported that MLB is in advanced talks with DirecTV to make the satellite television company the exclusive provider of MLB Extra Innings. While Extra Innings was initially only offered on DirecTV in 1996, the package has been available on cable since 2001, and on Dish Network since 2004.In other words, yours truly could become one of those shut out of the Extra Innings package, and I'm not switching to DirecTV just to get the baseball or hockey (also in negotiation) packages. Apparently regional telecasts on Saturday afternoons which screw out of market fans weren't enough for MLB. They'd rather grab the quick buck and sell-out to DirecTV, thereby alienating me and probably a bunch of other fans.
Of course, I could go back to getting MLBTV, or getting the radio package, but having tasted the Extra Innings package, I'm more likely to just scrap the whole thing and stick to reading news reports in the Times until I tire of baseball completely.
So if you stop by in April looking for my take on Angels news, and you don't see anything, that's probably why. Or, it could just be laziness.
Over the Weekend
Illinois
Umm, these guys aren't really going to be very interesting to write about this season. They're pretty bad so far. I still think they have the talent to turn it around, but as Mark Tupper has pointed out, they have yet to find someone who want to be a leader, and it doesn't help that theirsenior backcourt senior isn't very good. I'll admit, I thought Weber was going to turn McBride into a very good player, but he's been a disappointment for most of his career at Illinois, at least in my opinion. So who will it be? Well, my guess is no one, but if anyone can do it, it's Brian Randle. He has the ability, but so far he just doesn't have the fire.
As for Saturday's debacle, I didn't really see it. It was on at the same time as the UCLA - Oregon game, and once I saw what the score was after about 10 minutes, I decided it would be a waste of time. Sorry.
UCLA
Had to happen sometime. Give credit to Oregon. They played extremely well, especially without Malik Hairston (speaking of that, maybe I just changed the channel every time it came up, but I didn't hear his injury mentioned once by the broadcasters - more on them later). Aaron Brooks played the game of his life, while the Bruins played without a doubt their worst game of the season (only including games against actually decent teams), and still had a chance to win or tie at the end. I've only seen one team in the last 20 years or so that I really thought could go undefeated, and this team wasn't it. Better to get this one out of the way on the road.
And while I'm on the subject, it should be interesting to see what kind of record U$C ends up with in the conference season. So far, thanks to the way the Pac 10 schedule works, it looks like they're either going to get teams that are looking ahead to UCLA (like Oregon and Washington), or teams that are drained from having just played UCLA(like Washington) (like Oregon State - see update at bottom). Of course, if they keep winning, that might change. And they'll get to test themselves against UCLA this weekend.
As for Barry Tompkins and Dan Belluomini, interesting exchange in the second half when LRMAM picked up his third foul. Howland sat him down, and brought him back on shortly thereafter, prompting Barry and Dan to comment that Howland was taking a chance bringing him back in with three fouls. A minute or two later, UCLA brought the ball down the floor, and a cross-court pass was knocked out of bounds by Oregon. Howland took LRMAM back out of the game. Somehow, Tompkins or Belluomini got convinced that there was a foul, and it was on LRMAM (his fourth). One proceeded to convince the other, and as a result, they were very shocked when Howland brought LRMAM back out a minute or two later with, in their view, four fouls. Finally, after figuring it out, they blamed it on a scoring mistake. Sure, guys. Whatever you say.
Angels
Nothing, really.
Kings
Nice 3-2 win over Detroit on Saturday after a dreadful first period. Before the season started, I said that the Kings would need more goal scoring from the blue line. Last year they had about 40 goals from defensemen, and about a third of those were from Joe Corvo, who's obviously gone. I said they'd need closer to 55 this year to be competitive. About halfway through the season, they've got 26, so they're ahead of last year's pace, but behind the pace I said they'd need to be at. Of course, a few more goals from the defense wouldn't make this team much better considering they have a hard time keeping it our of their own net.
Regardless, the Kings used two goals from defensemen to come back from a two goal deficit to tie the game before Michael Cammalleri got a good bounce on a power play for the decisive margin late in the third period. Lubo Visnovsky got his 13th of the season on a rush up the right wing, and Rob Blake tied the game on a fortuitous bounce from a Brian Willsie pass through the crease (though it still required a nice finish from Blake).
As for that power play goal that won the game, the man advantage was created by another jaw-dropping move from Anze Freaking Kopitar. He beat a man coming out of the Kings zone, pulled an incredibly timed pull and drag move at the blue line, smartly getting the puck into the zone before dragging it around a poke-check and splitting the defensemen for a great chance that probably should have been a penalty shot (he was a step behind the defense with a clear scoring chance - nothing in the rules says it has to be a clear break from the blue line). The kid is 19, folks. He's worth the price of admission.
*UPDATE - Nestor links to a Trojan Times article where Oregon State coach Jay John agrees.
Umm, these guys aren't really going to be very interesting to write about this season. They're pretty bad so far. I still think they have the talent to turn it around, but as Mark Tupper has pointed out, they have yet to find someone who want to be a leader, and it doesn't help that their
As for Saturday's debacle, I didn't really see it. It was on at the same time as the UCLA - Oregon game, and once I saw what the score was after about 10 minutes, I decided it would be a waste of time. Sorry.
UCLA
Had to happen sometime. Give credit to Oregon. They played extremely well, especially without Malik Hairston (speaking of that, maybe I just changed the channel every time it came up, but I didn't hear his injury mentioned once by the broadcasters - more on them later). Aaron Brooks played the game of his life, while the Bruins played without a doubt their worst game of the season (only including games against actually decent teams), and still had a chance to win or tie at the end. I've only seen one team in the last 20 years or so that I really thought could go undefeated, and this team wasn't it. Better to get this one out of the way on the road.
And while I'm on the subject, it should be interesting to see what kind of record U$C ends up with in the conference season. So far, thanks to the way the Pac 10 schedule works, it looks like they're either going to get teams that are looking ahead to UCLA (like Oregon and Washington), or teams that are drained from having just played UCLA
As for Barry Tompkins and Dan Belluomini, interesting exchange in the second half when LRMAM picked up his third foul. Howland sat him down, and brought him back on shortly thereafter, prompting Barry and Dan to comment that Howland was taking a chance bringing him back in with three fouls. A minute or two later, UCLA brought the ball down the floor, and a cross-court pass was knocked out of bounds by Oregon. Howland took LRMAM back out of the game. Somehow, Tompkins or Belluomini got convinced that there was a foul, and it was on LRMAM (his fourth). One proceeded to convince the other, and as a result, they were very shocked when Howland brought LRMAM back out a minute or two later with, in their view, four fouls. Finally, after figuring it out, they blamed it on a scoring mistake. Sure, guys. Whatever you say.
Angels
Nothing, really.
Kings
Nice 3-2 win over Detroit on Saturday after a dreadful first period. Before the season started, I said that the Kings would need more goal scoring from the blue line. Last year they had about 40 goals from defensemen, and about a third of those were from Joe Corvo, who's obviously gone. I said they'd need closer to 55 this year to be competitive. About halfway through the season, they've got 26, so they're ahead of last year's pace, but behind the pace I said they'd need to be at. Of course, a few more goals from the defense wouldn't make this team much better considering they have a hard time keeping it our of their own net.
Regardless, the Kings used two goals from defensemen to come back from a two goal deficit to tie the game before Michael Cammalleri got a good bounce on a power play for the decisive margin late in the third period. Lubo Visnovsky got his 13th of the season on a rush up the right wing, and Rob Blake tied the game on a fortuitous bounce from a Brian Willsie pass through the crease (though it still required a nice finish from Blake).
As for that power play goal that won the game, the man advantage was created by another jaw-dropping move from Anze Freaking Kopitar. He beat a man coming out of the Kings zone, pulled an incredibly timed pull and drag move at the blue line, smartly getting the puck into the zone before dragging it around a poke-check and splitting the defensemen for a great chance that probably should have been a penalty shot (he was a step behind the defense with a clear scoring chance - nothing in the rules says it has to be a clear break from the blue line). The kid is 19, folks. He's worth the price of admission.
*UPDATE - Nestor links to a Trojan Times article where Oregon State coach Jay John agrees.
"Me"
Jack Motherf***ing Johnson. Is it any wonder Kings fans already freaking love this kid before he's ever played a game for the franchise?
But Johnson, a sophomore at Michigan, came through big-time for the U.S. in the 2-1 shootout loss in the semi-final on Wednesday when, twice facing elimination in the tie-breaker, the big defenceman beat Canadian goaltender Carey Price both times.In fact, when U.S. coach Ron Rolston was selecting his three shooters for the shootout, he said, "OK, we'll have Pat Kane, Peter Mueller, and . . ."
Johnson interrupted and said, "Me," startling his teammates.
That is freaking awesome. Can't wait to get this kid in a Kings uni. And the fact that he's American is just icing on the cake. I'm not exactly Mr. Rah-Rah America or anything, but I'll root for just about any player on any team (except the Ducks) if they're American.
Friday, January 05, 2007
UCLA 71; Oregon State 56
Didn't see it. Only those of you special enough to live in SoCal got this game. Instead, I got some lame womens' game and something about Texas football. Yippee!
Elsewhere, the bloom is off Oregon's rose after choking at home against $C last night, so Saturday's match-up loses some luster. But the Bruins should beware of team that wants to take out some frustrations. Also, Washington and Arizona played an exciting game. Props to Arizona on a big win. Maybe someday those two teams will discover that they're actually supposed to play at both ends of the floor.
Elsewhere, the bloom is off Oregon's rose after choking at home against $C last night, so Saturday's match-up loses some luster. But the Bruins should beware of team that wants to take out some frustrations. Also, Washington and Arizona played an exciting game. Props to Arizona on a big win. Maybe someday those two teams will discover that they're actually supposed to play at both ends of the floor.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Full Circle
Heading home today. Sitting at LAX right now waiting for my flight back to Chicago. I've been from Temple City to San Clemente, back to Temple City, up to Santa Cruz, back to Temple City the next day, down to San Diego the day after that (played Torrey Pines - North Course), back to Temple City, and now here.
Most disappointing moment? Realizing the parimutuel punched in an exacta on the 5 horse and the 10 horse instead of the 5 and 9, which I'd requested. Didn't realize it until I walked away. Had time to correct it, but the odds on the 9 and the 10 were virtually identical, so I figured "what the hell, it's probably a sign." It was. A sign that I'm an idiot. The 5 and 9 came in, and the $3 exacta would have paid me $180. I didn't bet anymore after that.
Most disappointing moment? Realizing the parimutuel punched in an exacta on the 5 horse and the 10 horse instead of the 5 and 9, which I'd requested. Didn't realize it until I walked away. Had time to correct it, but the odds on the 9 and the 10 were virtually identical, so I figured "what the hell, it's probably a sign." It was. A sign that I'm an idiot. The 5 and 9 came in, and the $3 exacta would have paid me $180. I didn't bet anymore after that.
Monday, January 01, 2007
Dominance - Washington 74; UCLA 96
One early trend for the Bruins seems to be that they play down to their competition in games against non-marquee opponents. But in a matchup with more hype, they simply dominate their opposition. Such was the case against Michigan, and such was the case yesterday against 14th ranked Washington. The Bruins took the lead from the outset, forced turnover after turnover, most of which led to easy baskets, and put Washington in a hole from which they'd never see daylight.
Washington was able to hang around most of the first half, occasionally cutting the lead to around four, at which point the Bruins would run the lead back out to nine, and there were times that UCLA looked in danger of losing the lead, but with just under three minutes to go in the first half, they scored the last nine points of the first half, and the first six points of the second half for a 15-0 run that all but put the game away.
The Huskies responded with a zone defense that gave the Bruins trouble at times, but timely shots from Mike Roll, who finished with 15 points, and James Keefe brought Washington out the zone, and UCLA took over from there, adding another 12-0 run that slammed the door.
Aaron Afflalo played the game of his life, pouring in 20 in the first half, 27 for the game, while adding 8 assists and five rebounds. In addition, he hit all of the big shots when UCLA needed a shot in the arm. Darren Collison added 15, and almost had more assists (12) than points. In all, UCLA finished with an astounding 29 assists. Just Shipp finished with 13 points in limited time due to his sprained ankle, while LRMAM and Lo Mata each added eight more.
If this is how the Bruins are going to play against big time opponents, it's going to be a great year. Now they just need to come out with a little more fire against teams like Washington State. The next test is at Oregon on Thursday. Mac Court is really a brutal place to play, and the Bruins have yet to play a true road game, unless you really want to count Chaminade. How they approach that game will say a lot about their season.
Washington was able to hang around most of the first half, occasionally cutting the lead to around four, at which point the Bruins would run the lead back out to nine, and there were times that UCLA looked in danger of losing the lead, but with just under three minutes to go in the first half, they scored the last nine points of the first half, and the first six points of the second half for a 15-0 run that all but put the game away.
The Huskies responded with a zone defense that gave the Bruins trouble at times, but timely shots from Mike Roll, who finished with 15 points, and James Keefe brought Washington out the zone, and UCLA took over from there, adding another 12-0 run that slammed the door.
Aaron Afflalo played the game of his life, pouring in 20 in the first half, 27 for the game, while adding 8 assists and five rebounds. In addition, he hit all of the big shots when UCLA needed a shot in the arm. Darren Collison added 15, and almost had more assists (12) than points. In all, UCLA finished with an astounding 29 assists. Just Shipp finished with 13 points in limited time due to his sprained ankle, while LRMAM and Lo Mata each added eight more.
If this is how the Bruins are going to play against big time opponents, it's going to be a great year. Now they just need to come out with a little more fire against teams like Washington State. The next test is at Oregon on Thursday. Mac Court is really a brutal place to play, and the Bruins have yet to play a true road game, unless you really want to count Chaminade. How they approach that game will say a lot about their season.
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