Angels 2; Twins 9

Once again an Angels starter gave a good effort. Once again, Torii Hunter provided the Angels with offense, giving them an early lead. And once again, a complete meltdown by the bullpen undid their efforts, as the Angels fell to Twins yet again.

Hunter’s team leading 4th home in the second inning put the Angels in front early, but it was all the Angels offense could muster. Bobby Abreu and Juan Rivera, the only other regulars besides Hunter hitting over .300, each delivered two hits.

Darren Oliver allowed one run, but after a long outing earlier in the week, and a spring spent preparing for a relief role, he was pulled after four innings. That’s where the trouble started. Kevin Jepsen was again unable to throw strikes consistently, walking the first two batters he faced before allowing three straight hits and three runs. He wasn’t done. He allowed a fourth run on a wild pitch, and was credited with a fifth run allowed (four earned) when Rafael Rodriguez threw a wild pitch. Rodriguez went on to allow three runs of his own in the sixth inning, one earned.

Thoughts on the game:

• The bullpen, everyone but Jose Arredondo and Darren Oliver, has been awful. With starters hurt, and with pitches limited in the young season, that’s a recipe for disaster.
• I look at this offense, and I don’t know where runs are going to come from. Torii Hunter can’t do it forever.

This Is A Bad Baseball Team

Look at the bright side, folks. You won't be losing the float on those playoff deposits.

I'm not sold on the idea that an offense needs to walk and hit homers to score, but you also can't rely on stringing a ton singles together. Don't let the nine runs fool you. This is not a good offense.

As for the pitching, well, the front line guys are fucking head cases. They give up one hit and refuse to ever go back to the zone. You guys wanted Frankie gone, and you got your wish. Now we have no one, outside of Speiere (believe it or not) who can get anyone out.

No one in the minors to take over outside of Wood and Rodriguez. Crippling contracts to Matthews and now, apparently, Rivera. The run is over. This team will not return to the post-season until 2014 at the earliest.

Vlad, out for more than a month.

Season. Over.

Your Last Place Angels: Angels 3; Mariners 11

The Angels fell behind early, held a brief one run lead, then proceeded to get stomped by the Mariners in a seven run seventh inning that put the game out of reach. After yet another gamed marred by poor relief pitching and a lack of timely hitting, the Angels find themselves 3-5 on the season, 3.5 games back of the Mariners, and in last place in the AL West.

Torii Hunter’s fifth inning two run home run erased an early deficit and gave the Angels a one run lead. But Jered Weaver served up back to back gopher balls to Endy Chavez and Ken Griffey Jr. in the bottom of the fifth to regain a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. The M’s added a run in the sixth when Jered Weaver couldn’t handle a squeeze bunt. Kevin Jepsen worked out of the mess that Weaver left, but he allowed three runs in the seventh before turning it over to Jason Bulger, who allowed a single and two walks before giving up a grand slam to Ichiro.

In the seventh inning, trailing by two runs, the Angels strung together a Hunter double, a strike-out/wild-pitch to Kendry Morales, and a Juan Rivera single to cut the deficit to one. But after Jeff Mathis sacrificed the tying and go-ahead runs into scoring position, Erick Aybar and Chone Figgins struck out to end the threat, and the M’s explosion a half inning later erased any doubt.

Thoughts from the game:

• Jered Weaver didn’t look very sharp. He threw a lot of strikes (60 in 89 pitches), but he got knocked around pretty well, giving up 10 hits. Not a surprise in an early game, but as their second best active starter, he really needs to pick up the slack.
• Erick Aybar looks lost at the plate. His 0-4 performance dropped his average to .150, and he left three men on base. With the Angels offense struggling, and with Brandon Wood’s hot start (.333/.333/1.067 - three homers and a triple in 15 at bats) and terrific spring training, you have to wonder how long the Angels can afford to keep him in Salt Lake.
• Last night’s game looked like a flash back to last October. The 8-9-1-2 hitters combined to go 0-15. Tough to get anything going with a big black hole like that in your lineup.

Quick Site Note

I think I mentioned last year that I was cross-posting some things at SoCal Sports Hub, a site that covers pretty much all professional and college sports for Southern California. I'm doing the same thing this year, and it looks like I'll be writing anywhere from 2-5 game recaps per week. I'm going to post them here as well, so whatever you see here will probably coincide with the games I'm doing for that site.

That's pretty much just related to Angels content. All of the other stupid stuff I write here will still be here.

Just One More Reason to Hate the Red Sox

I'm not really in a writey mood tonight, despite today's actions, so here are just some quick thoughts.

• Josh Beckett is a little bitch, and there's no doubt in my mind that he intentionally threw at Abreu. It was a goddamned fastball and it was nowhere near the target, or at least, nowhere near the target that had been set by Varitek. I'm sure it was very close to the target that Beckett selected.
  

• Not only did Beckett get things rolling with his pitch, but escalated the situation. Abreu had a right to be pissed and I'm sure he made that known. But Beckett walked in from the mound, pointing and yelling, and THAT'S when the benches emptied. Somehow, Beckett gets this rolling, escalates the situation, and four Angels get kicked out.

• Then again, maybe the umpires delivered the proper punishment by leaving Beckett in the game to get slapped around, finishing with a big fat L next to his name.

• If Beckett thinks the time out call came a little late, then here's a solution. DON'T WAIT A FREAKING HOUR TO THROW THE PITCH! He was taking a ridiculous amount of time to deliver the ball.
  

• There's simply no excuse for this: "Obviously, there's a lot of emotion in this series. Not only facing us, but the tragedy." Those were Beckett's post-game comments. So you throw at someone's head. Then you charge that guy running your mouth. Then you run your mouth to the opposing manager, and you blame their reactions on the death of their teammate. I'd call Beckett a total piece of shit, but I've taken shits that deserve more respect than him.

• Howie Kendrick parlayed yesterday's long at bat into some nice at bats in this game. He's really squaring the ball up well, and hitting it hard. I think he'll hit 10-15 homers this year if he stays healthy, and 35-40 doubles. But that's a big if with Howie.

• Another nice outing from Dustin Moseley, who's really a sixth starter who has been thrust into this role. He didn't lose his composure after the back to back home runs.
  

• I'm not concerned about the bullpen, but I'm probably at the level that comes right before concerned. For now.
  

• Now they go on the road, and hopefully this is a time to get away from all of the distractions. They're already a game and half back of Seattle, so it's actually kind of a big series.
  

More on Yesterday

This is just going to be kind of rambling and bullet pointed. For longer looks at the life, career, and death of Nick Adenhart, try the Rev, or Shane Demmit. They've both done far better than I could.

• I can't really explain how this hit me, although I suppose it was probably the same for most of you. I actually found out from a friend via email, who's initial message was simply "Holy Crap, Nick Adenhart!" Not having heard the news, I responded with my take on his performance from the night before. He then said "You must not have heard the news..." From that point on, the next three hours were just kind of an unproductive blur, and I can only say that fortunately I had some real work to do to pull me out of it. I'm still shocked, stunned, and I don't know how I'll react when the game starts tonight.

• I don't want to get too philosophical, but it's weird the way we treat "celebrity" deaths like these. Obviously Nick was the newsmaker, and his death is going to dominate all aspects of this story. But two other people died in that accident, and their deaths are just as tragic. So is the death of Brian Powers, the fan who died from the result of a sucker punch to the back of the head on opening night. Also, here's a tribute to Henry Pearson, a former CSUF catcher who also died in the wreck, written by his best friend (via Deadspin).
  

• These sort of freak occurrences always lead to discussions of fate and circumstance. If Lackey and Santana hadn't come down with soreness in the arms, Nick Adenhart probably would have been in Salt Lake to start the season. You can play that game forever, but it never gets you anywhere. I'm not particularly religious, but I can see why people find their faith important at a time like this. It's not pleasant to believe there was no reason for what happened. But life's a crazy game, I guess.
  

• There's lots of talk about why we treat drunk drivers so leniently. On the one hand, you wouldn't let someone get liquored up, then let them walk around with a rocket launcher or something, but when a drunk gets behind the wheel, he's essentially piloting a very large weapon. Maybe the reason drunk drivers have the opportunity to be repeat offenders is because so many people have done it. Judges, lawyers, legislators, etc. I would venture to guess that the vast majority of people I know have been behind the wheel when they shouldn't have been, myself included. There but for the grace of God go I, I suppose. And how can we really be tough on people who have made the same "mistakes" that we've all made? I'm not arguing for leniency in the slightest, I'm just trying to get to the root.

• That said, Gallo should face the stiffest charges allowable. He's a repeat offender, and his actions have taken three lives. In some sense, it's hard to understand the mindset. I'm not patting myself on the back, but in the few times I've driven when I shouldn't have driven, my recollection is that I was HIGHLY sensitive to traffic laws. Not a mile over the speed limit. Stop for an extra second at stop signs, just to make sure. I was so afraid of getting pulled over that I probably felt I was being conspicuous in my attention to traffic laws. Any cop with a lick of common sense would have to figure that someone trying so hard to stay within the rules has to be guilty of something. That doesn't make it right, of course, and if a small child had darted in front of me, my dulled reactions would have put both of us in a world of trouble. Then again, there aren't a lot of kids running around at 3:00 am, but that's neither here nor there. I can't imagine the arrogance of getting behind the wheel while drunk and actually speeding and flirting with red lights.

• There will probably never be a good time to ask this, but honestly, what do the Angels do now? Who takes that slot in the rotation?
  

• I think the last time I felt like this was 1991 when word leaked that Magic was retiring due to having contracted HIV. Just an out of left field punch in the gut that leaves you speechless for hours.

But the games must go on, and tonight the Angels will take the field against the hated Red Sox. I don't know how the players will react. I don't know how the fans will react. I don't know how I'll react. But I can bet that the outcome is going to seem pretty insignificant.

R.I.P. Nick Adenhart

Tragic news. Nick Adenhart was killed by a driver running a red light after last night's game.

I don't even know what to say.

On what was supposed to be a joyous evening for the organization, there probably (hopefully) won't be a baseball game at the Big A. I think I'll probably always from this point associate the HOF plaques of Chuck Finley and Brian Downing with this incident. Not their careers, of course, but just what was supposed to happen tonight.

Mental Midgets - A's 6; Angels 4

Nick Adenhart's six scoreless innings should have been enough to win. He escaped jam after jam, usually of his own making, before leaving after 98 pitches with a 3-0 lead. He allowed seven hits, walked three, and struck out five. He tossed two perfect innings, but I was impressed by how he responded with runners on. Last year, he was a disaster when pitching from the stretch. But last night he had to pitch with runners on in four innings, and three times allowed the lead off runner to reach, but still found a way to escape those jams and leave unscathed.

Unfortunately, his team could not hold the lead, and what should have been a nice night for Adenhart turned into a nightmare for the home team. After a solid seventh inning for Jose Arredondo, a Chone Figgins run pushed the lead to four. Scioscia, who would have turned to Shields in the 8th inning of a three run game, left Arredondo on the mound. He allowed the first two runners to reach before Scioscia went to Shields, who struck out Travis Buck, and induced a ground ball to third base from Mark Ellis. Instead of going to third for the sure out, which is what he undoubtedly should have done with a four run lead, Figgins chose to throw home to cut off Jack Cust at the plate. Napoli couldn't handle the throw, allowing Cust to score and Ellis to reach. A wild pitch and base hit later, and what should have been a three run lead was down to one.

Brian Fuentes, sharp in his debut, walked Giambi to lead off the ninth inning. After retiring Buck and Cust, Kurt Suzuki tapped a ball in front of the mound, and a miscommunication between Napoli and Fuentes turned a close play into no play. Nomar Garciappara's single drove in the tying run, and Matt Holliday gave the A's a two run lead they wouldn't relinquish.

I'm not going to revisit the meltdown thread on Halos Heaven, but personally, I place the blame for this game on Figgins. He made a huge mental error when he tried to cut off Cust at the plate, and it led to two more A's runs in the eighth inning, meaning Fuentes had no margin for error in the ninth. Fuentes failed to deliver, but that's going to happen over the course of a season. Poor performances are unavoidable. Mental errors are unacceptable. Gary Matthews, inserted as a pinch runner and defensive replacement, may have had a play on the Garciappara single in the ninth, but it looked like he lost it in the lights, and I'm not sure he would have gotten to it anyway. Make no mistake, I don't like Gary Matthews, but I don't find him at fault here.

Kendry Morales delivered two hits and is off to a solid start this season. Juan Rivera also delivered two hits, and Mike Napoli had an RBI double and a walk in his season debut.

An early test tonight, as the Angels throw jered Weaver, one of their true starting five against Brett Anderson, who is not the former lead singer of Suede.

A's 0; Angels 3

1 down, 161 to go. Nice way to start the season as Joe Saunders showed no signs of a dead arm, going 6.2 scoreless innings. He allowed only three hits, while walking and striking out two. He was probably on a pitch count of about 90. He finished with 93 pitches for the game, 56 of them for strikes. He fell behind a number of times, but generally seemed to find a strike when he needed it. He induced three double play balls, although the Angels infield only turned one of them, or else he may have completed the seventh inning. The A's threatened in the third inning, putting two runners on with only one out. But Jeff Mathis made a great throw to third to gun down Mark Ellis, who was the front end of an attempted double steal. Saunders got Orlando Cabrera to pop up, ending the inning.

The bullpen did its job. Jose Arredondo retired the only batter he faced. Scot Shields recorded his first hold of the season with a perfect eighth, and Brian Fuentes worked a perfect ninth for his first save as an Angel.

The offense pounded out nine hits, two each from Howie Kendrick, Vlad Guerrero, and Juan Rivera. One of Kendrick's hits left the yard, an opposite field blast to right center field over the big wall. For a guy who isn't supposed to hit for a lot of power, he hit the ball a long way. His other hit was an RBI single in the third inning. The newly patient offense looked a lot like the old 'not all that patient' offense, drawing only one walk. They did, however, work quite a few deep counts, and A's starter Dallas Braden was at nearly 100 pitches through six innings.

So far so good. Some opening day jitters, but the Angels won the way they're probably going to win this year. Good pitching, timely hitting, and a shut down bullpen. Now we get to see how the rebuilt rotation really works. Dustin Moseley takes the mound tomorrow against Trevor Cahill.

I Know It May Not Seem Like It...

...But it's opening day, and yes, I'm pretty excited. And yes, there will be Angels content here again shortly.

And Go Spartans!

Why You Shouldn't Smoke

Let me preface this by saying I love Ian McCulloch. I truly believe that he's probably the coolest person on the planet. And I love the current iteration of Echo and the Bunnymen, mostly because I became a fan after the initial breakup, and the reunion of the band has given me the opportunity to see them live a bunch of times. But Mac's voice is not what it once was. To wit, here are two versions of one of their best songs, 'All That Jazz'. See if you can pick up on the difference.

1983



2006

AC Newman and the Broken West @ Logan Square Auditorium - 3/25/09

So I've come to the conclusion that I'm really a horrible music writer. It actually has nothing to do with my skills (or lack thereof) as a writer. My problem is that I can't really criticize. I only go to shows that I want to see. Which means I only see bands that I know I already like, which means I'm going to like the show. Every review comes off as a fanboy review. So what follows is not a review, but a recap. I'm basically going to tell you why I like the bands I like so much.

This was a smaller crowd than my last Logan Square show. I saw Los Campesinos! with Titus Andronicus as the opener a couple months ago and the place was packed. The Broken West took the stage about ten minutes after 8:00, and the place was still half empty. Truth be told, I love the Broken West, and I think I've seen every show they've played in Chicago since 2007 when I first saw them open for America's finest live act, the Walkmen. They played a sample of the old album, but the bulk of the set came from thenew album and the first album, and it was all well mixed. The list:

• On the Bubble
• So it Goes
• Down in the Valley
• Gwen Now and Then
• Auctioneer
• Ambuscade
• Got It Bad
• Elm City
• House of Lies
• Perfect Games

AC Newman and band followed shortly thereafter, and I have to say, I really appreciate bands that play on time. They started shortly after nine, which is what I expect from a headliner when I see a show that's billed as an 8:00 show. Also, I have to give credit to the two females in the band (bass and violin) who were drinking wine. Rarely do you see wine consumed on stage.

Anyway, I'd say they played a typical mix of old and new. When an act is supporting a new album, you expect about 65-35 mix, and that's pretty much what we got. I think they played all but one song from the new album (honestly, at this point, I can't remember if they failed to play 'Elemental' or 'Thunderbolts'. It's been a day or so). And honestly, he played a couple songs from the Slow Wonder that I'm not crazy about (Cloud Prayer and Come Crash). But he hit most of hte highlights, and he closed with the Town Halo, which is still his best song, and is a great song if you have a violin player.

All in all a great show. Great venue, solid set, on-time, no complaints. Two bands that I really love. Hope they come back soon.

Upcoming:
Destroyer (May)
Doves (May)
Art Brut twice (June)
X (June)
Pitchfork Festival (July)

Some samples:

Broken West


AC Newman


AC Newman

Another Quick Thought

I'm really starting to sour on John Lackey. I don't know. If he thinks that complaining to the press is going to get him signed quicker, he doesn't know the Angels front office very well. And he's not really endearing himself to his fanbase.

"They got one of those on my last contract," Lackey said. "My performance outweighed that contract. . . . This is kind of my turn. They've had control for six years. Now they have to convince me."

Also, it would help if he knew how arbitration worked. You didn't sign below market on your last deal. You signed for what the market pays guys who can't become free agents. It wasn't a home town discount.

Wildcats Strike - Beat UCLA 89-69

If you set aside two hours of your day to watch this game, I hope you found something to do after about the first five minutes, because the game was essentially over that early. UCLA’s first six points came from the free throw line, but the story was how they got there. Hard, physically punishing fouls sent a message early on that Villanova was going to bully UCLA all over the floor, and the Bruins never really stepped up to the challenge. After Josh Shipp’s fourth free throw gave UCLA a 6-4 lead, the Wildcats went on a 24-5 run from which the Bruins would never recover.

You could look for someone to blame, but this was just a beat-down, plain and simple. Villanova was stronger, quicker, more athletic, and executed better than the Bruins in every aspect of the game. The Villanova back court routinely took the ball to the basket without much trouble. Dante Cunningham dominated the smaller Bruins inside, finishing with 18 and 10. Six Wildcats finished with double figures in scoring, and another finished with 8 points.

The raw numbers don’t look all that awful. Neither team shot over 50% (UCLA finished at 42.6% while Villanova shot 46.3%). UCLA outscored Villanova at the free throw line and the three point line. But two numbers tell the whole story are rebounds and turnovers. Villanova outrebounded the Bruins 39-26, including 15-7 on the offensive glass. The Bruins turned the ball over 20 times compared to only 11 times for the Wildcats. Those numbers translated into 20 more shots for Villanova, and the team with 20 extra shots is usually going to win.

So the UCLA careers for Josh Shipp, Darren Collison, and Alfred Aboya have come to an end. The trio combined for 11 of the Bruins turnovers and only 10 rebounds. Shockingly, Josh Shipp finished the game without a rebound. It’s their earliest tournament exit since Shipp’s first year loss to Texas Tech. Shipp ends his career with a career record for games started, while Collison and Aboya finish with more games played than other Bruin in team history.

The Bruins will now wait on the decision of freshman J’rue Holiday, who will take over his natural point guard position if he decides to come back. They also add length in a five man freshman class, each of whom stand 6′7″ or taller. But as they learned against Memphis last year, and Villanova this year, talent alone won’t get it done. They need to get tougher and stronger if they’re going to return to national prominence.

Think Happy Thoughts

I'll write about today's debacle tomorrow. But for now, stay positive.

Quick Thought

Arte, sign the checks. Get John Lackey signed. You don't have two guys who can step into his role like you did when you decided to let Frankie walk. You can't sign another starter on the cheap who can replicate his number like you did when signed Fuentes. If you're losing big time cash in the market, then be honest about it and let us know that we're in for some lean years. But if you aren't, then don't dick around with this. Get. It. Done!

UCLA 65; Virginia Commonwealth 64

It was a struggle over the last ten minutes. UCLA fans were probably flashing back to the ASU debacle from earlier in the season as an 11 point lead was slowly whittled down to one, giving VCU's Eric Maynor a chance to win the game in final seconds. But the Bruins forced VCU to use more clock than they probably would have liked, Maynor mishandled the ball a bit before the final shot, and the ball fell off the front end of the rim, giving the Bruins a one point victory as the clock expired.

This was really kind of a strange game for the Bruins. They struggled to pull away early, but finished the first half on a 13-2 run over the final five minutes to take a 10 point lead into the half. The second half was a bit up and down, with teams trading scores until about the six and a half minute mark. What happened then may have been the turning point in the game had the game ended differently. With an 11 point lead, Jrue Holiday made a nice move to get to the basket, but fumbled the ball a bit on the way to the hoop and blew the lay up. A quick strike by VCU the other way turned what should have been a 13 point lead turned into a 9 point lead, and things continued to tighten until the final buzzer.

Contributions came from many hands tonight. Josh Shipp led the Bruins with 16 points and added 8 rebounds. He had two baskets early in the second half when the Bruins were struggling to make field goals. Nikola Dragovic had average offensive numbers, but his 13 rebounds were key. Jrue Holiday played very well in a key second half stretch after Darren Collison picked up his fourth foul. As for Collison, he struggled with fouls, and did not have a very nice line (2 assists, 3 turnovers, 4 fouls), but finished with ten points. Alfred Aboya grabbed seven boards, but his key numbers were his four steals and 5 free throws made in 5 attempts, including the Bruins' final two points. The surprising number for me was 0. That's the comined number of minutes played by Drew Gordon and Malcolm Lee. With Collison's foul trouble, and the size up front for VCU (mainly Larry Sanders) I expected each of those guys to see the floor, but Ben Howland really shortened the bench. [update: Per Brian Dohn, Drew Gordon did not play because of a concussion he suffered earlier in the week].

As for the Rams, Sanders had 10 points and 11 rebounds to go along with floor blocks. It seemed like altered at least 10 shots, and he was a force inside. Eric Maynor led all scorers with 21 points, 15 of them in the second half. And pardon my subjectivity, but for a good stretch in the second half, it seemed like if a Bruin looked at Maynor, he was going to the line. He only made five of fifteen shots, and that tenth miss was the difference in the game.

UCLA has to get ready for Villanova, who will basically have the home court advantage that the Bruins have enjoyed for the last few years. They struggled mightily against the Eagles from American University until simply dominating the end of the game. It's not an insurmountable task for a team with as much talent as UCLA. They'll play the first game of the day, tipping it off at 10:05 Pacific time. As much as the late start may have benefitted the Bruins tonight, they'll need to be ready for the early tip on Saturday.

Unorganized Thoughts on Illinois and UCLA

Lucky me! Both teams play tonight at the exact goddamn time, which means I'll be watching the Illini on television, and the Bruins on the computer. But the similarities don't end there. They also happened to be the only two teams (that I noticed, anyway) that were called out as immediate first round upsets by first rate douchebag, Seth Davis. That immediately calmed my nerves, safe in the knowledge that Seth Davis picking against a team in the first round is a virtual ticket for that team to the second round. I don't know, I checked his wikipedia page (which is pretty funny) and apparently his basketball expertise is limited to "graduating from Duke". Not playing for Duke, mind you, but simply graduating from Duke. Anyway, I'm totally discounting matchups here, because I've been a little overwhelmed with coverage and other stuff, and I honestly don't care about the matchups. Both the Illini and the Bruins are teams that should enforce their will on weaker opponents, but we shall see.

Illinois

Honestly I'm surprised they got a fifth seed, considering Chester Frazier's injury and their spotty play down the stretch. I'm of two minds about the loss of Frazier. On the one hand, they'll miss his defense, his hustle, and his leadership. But the intangibles are his key contribution, and if I have to loss one guy, well, I'd rather keep all the guys with the tangibles. As a mediocre offensive team, if you're going to lose one guy, it may as well be your worst offensive player.

The main problem I see with the Illini is the inability to get an almost guaranteed basket when they really need one. When your opponent goes on a run, occasionally you need to slow things down, go back to basics, and run a play that has a good chance of either getting a basket, or getting to the line. Illinois simply doesn't have the personnel to do that. You can break a run with jump shots, but you don't want to rely on jump shooting to break a run. We saw it last weekend in both games. A gainst Michigan, after going on a run that turned a one point halftime lead into a 20 point lead, the Illini let Michigan go on a run of their own to cut the lead back to seven. Mike Davis finally made a 15 foot turn around hook shot to stop the bleeding, and that seemed to carry the Illini to the victory. You do not want to rely on 15 foot turn around hook shots when you desperately need a basket, because when those don't fall, you end up missing 16 straight shots like they did against Purdue.

I think their tendency to go into long periods where they fail to execute has kept me from completely buying into this team. I think they're going to win tonight, but admittedly, that's based on nothing but faith and hope. They'll start four guys who can really shoot it if you include Davis and his conscience (i.e., he's not a long range gunner, but he doesn't try to be). I think Mark Tupper is dead right that Demetri McCamey, a.k.a. the Little Sleep, is the key man for Illinois. I really thought he was step up against Purdue and have the type of game that he had against them in the tournament last year (and against Indiana in the regular season), making big shot after big shot. I don't know if he's nursing an injury or recovering from an illness, but he's been quiet, and he needs to play like he's shown he can if the Illini are going to advance past tonight and hopefully into next week.

UCLA

Contra my thoughts on Illinois, I'm surprised they dropped to a six seed. This team has confounded all year, going through stretches where they looked like a top 5 team, and stretches where they looked like a team that wouldn't garner an NIT invite. My hope is that the six seed, and the outpouring of negative feelings about their chances, will serve as a wake up call. I'll be honest, picking with my head, I have them in the final four. I based that on just looking at the brackets game by game. If they get past tonight, they'll have a tough match up with Villanova in Philly, but if they win that game, I think they can beat Duke and Pitt. I think they have the easiest bracket if they get past this weekend, but that's a tall order.

Unlike the Illini, this team is loaded with offensive talent, which makes games like they played against ASU a couple months ago, and U$C in the conference tournament particularly strange. They start four players who won't just make and take the occasional three pointer, but are legitimate three point threats every time down the floor. And Alfred Aboya has matured into a decent offensive post player, while Nikola Dragovic has recently shown a proclivity for going to the basket. This is a team that should be able to score with anyone in the country.

The defensive side has been even more confounding. A hallmark of Ben Howland's UCLA teams, the '08-'09 Bruins have not covered their end of the floor very well. Maybe it's the lack of multiple big men to cover the middle. Maybe they're a little slow on their hedges. They've been burned on slipped screens numerous times this year. This seems like the worst defensive team they've had over the past few years.

Probably what concerns me most about this team is what I perceive as a lack of heart, for lack of a better word. I hate to criticize 18-22 year old kids with label, but they just don't seem to dig in and find that little something extra when they needed the same way the Bruins have over the past few years. This team would not have erased that deficit against Gonzaga. This team would not have beat Berkeley and Stanford down the stretch the way they did last year. They showed some glimmers in their PTT game against U$C, but there just seems to be a spark missing from this team. A guy who can give them that spark is Drew Gordon, who always seems to be fired up. An unexpected performance from on of their freshman guards, or maybe a big night from James Keefe, could also ignite them.

Still, they start three seniors. They have four players in the rotation who have been a part of three straight final four teams. They are LOADED with experience. That's something you can't put a price on at this time of year. And regardless of the way they've looked at times, they still have a boatload of talent, and they have a world class coach. I'm hoping that their poor seed is a wake up call. They've kind of dicked around all season, and they've had this week to get serious. We'll see what kind of stuff they're made of. I think they have the talent, the bodies, and the coaching to put together another long tournament run. The question is whether they believe that.

I'm Starting My 2009 List Early

I didn't do a 2008 top 10 albums list, but I'll start my 2009 list today. The best album I'll hear this year has already been released, and in a major upset, it's not the new Super Furry Animals album (available via download today).

It took all of six days in 2009 for Animal Collective to release Merriweather Post Pavilion, but it's pure brilliance from start to finish. But don't take my word for it. Sample some of the reviews aggregated by Metacritic:

Merriweather finds one of the most talented, most creative pop bands finally and gloriously figuring it all out....

What’s more important is that Merriweather Post Pavilion is not just one of the finest things you’re going to hear in 2009 but that it should sit well next to albums like Kid A on lists of the best music made in our time....

Has the album of 2009 been unleashed in January? I can’t see anything else coming near it....

Is Merriweather Post Pavilion the flawless album that it's been willed to be? Taken as a whole I'd say it's pretty damn close....

I tried to get into some of the previous AC albums and couldn't. Too experimental and just plain weird sounding to me. But when Panda Bear released Person Pitch a few years ago, it was full of glorious Brian Wilsonesque melodies, and was a taste of Animal Collective could do if they tried to a mainstream album that still sounded like Animal Collective. They succeeded.

The universally loved tracks are going to be 'My Girls', 'Summertime Clothes', and 'Brother Sport', with 'Lion in a Coma', 'In the Flowers', and 'No More Running' probably in the second tier. But it's really a joy to listen to from start to finish. The middle section, which sometimes feels a little long, is the very slight sour that makes the sweet extra sweet. And like the Beach Boys at their best, the melodies are pure cane sugar. Whether it was a conscious decision to make an album for the masses, or just serendipity, the result is near perfect joyous pop.

Give it a few listens to take effect. It's best to listen to it a few times while you're working. Sooner or later, it will all click.

Here are My Girls and Brother Sport.

UCLA 64; Wazzu 53

On February 21st, Washington State torched the UCLA defense, shooting 59% and scoring 82 points in an 82-81 victory at Pauley Pavilion. Their return trip to L.A. didn't go so well. The Cougars found the going much more difficult tonight, scoring almost 30 fewer points, and shooting only 30% from the field. The Bruins weren't excellent by any means, but they made 43% of their long range shots, and took advantage of poor shooting by the Cougars to avenge last months loss. They will move on to face USC in the tournament semi-final tonight.

The Bruins did the bulk of their damage with an early 21-0 run that turned a 5-4 deficit into a 25-5 advantage. Washington State never got closer than nine points the rest of the way, failing to take advantage of plenty of open looks in the first half, and repeatedly failing to convert offensive rebounds into points. Aron Baynes muscled his way to 22 points, but the trio of Caleb Forest, Taylor Rochestie, and Klay Thompson, who combined for 60 points at Pauley, combined for only 20 in this game.

I'll be honest. I hesitate to give the Bruins a ton of credit for their defense tonight. They didn't force a ton of turnovers, they allowed 12 offensive rebounds to the Cougs, and it generally looked like Wazzu just failed to take advantage of early opportunities before getting into a whole from which they could not extricate themselves. But I do give the Bruins credit for taking advantage of Wazzu mistakes early, going on that early run, and responding to every threat the rest of the way.

Darren Collison had 15 points to lead the Bruins, doing the bulk of that damage from the line (8-10). Josh Shipp (10), Jrue Holiday (10), and Nikola Dragovic (12) also finished in double figures for UCLA. Dragovic may responsible for the night's most surprising line. His 12 points came without a three pointer, and he had eight points in the paint (he was also 4-4 from the line). Holiday in particular rebounded from a horrid defensive effort last month to put the clamps on Klay Thompson. The box score may not tell the whole tale, but Michael Roll deserves some credit as well. He had only four points, both layups, one very tough. But his first bucket ended a 7-0 WSU run at a time when the Bruins were struggling to score, and his second basket ended a 6-0 run. He didn't score a lot, but he picked important moments.

The Bruins will have to find a way to play better defense in the post against USC. Taj Gibson doesn't have Baynes' size, but his athleticism could pose problems for Alfred Aboya, who didn't play his best game tonight.

The teams will tip it off at about 8:30 Pacific Time.