Mitsurugi's Baba Gannouj: Sports

Opening Day

2005-04-02T05:59:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is Opening Day

It's the Yankees and the Red Sox. Hate them both, especially the fans - Red Sox fans moreso because they're commies.

Think that's mean? Well, I seem to remember the Red Sox calling the Yankees brass an "Evil Empire" because they spent a lot of money and won a lot. The Red Sox also spend a lot of money (their $130 million payroll is twice that of the Rockies') and win less often, though they did last year. At least now they can stop whining about their curse. I'm sure all those family members of Kurds' killed in Iraq by Saddam loved hearing about how tragic the Red Sox tale was. I hope they go another 86 years without winning one.

I dunno. Upset that group A is spending more than you, even though you're bigger than everyone else EXCEPT group A? (USSR, $130 million payroll) Want rules that will only hurt Group A and not you? (Luxury tax) Lose most battles but are able to win some? (Sputnik, 2004 World Series). I'd love to use John Hawkins' definition of projection in terms of the Red Sox calling the Yankees an Evil Empire like Reagan did the Soviet Union. (I hate you becomes you hate me, I'm an evil empire becomes YOU'RE an evil empire), et cetera.

The Yankees are the Capitalists and the Red Sox are the jealous commies. Who do you think I'm rooting for on opening day?

That's right - the Rockies. Just because I can. XP

Post Script: I am truly sorry that everyone in OddyBobo's city must suffer through another season of Lloyd McClendon (and Bill Cowher for that matter)

Post Post Script: I am predicting the following for the 2005 season:
AL East: New York
Al Central: Cleveland
Al West: Anaheim (Sorry, Los Angeles)
Al Wild Card: Red Sox
ALCS: New York over Boston (it's going to be one of these two f*cking teams EVERY F*CKING YEAR until 2011)
NL East: Philadelphia (I was the only person I knew who picked the Braves to win it again last year - no sporting magazine I bought did. I just had the feeling they would make the naysayers eat crow. I don't get the feeling this year)
NL Central: Houston
NL West: Los Angeles (Not Anaheim)
NL Wild Card: Atlanta
NLCS: Los Angeles over Atlanta
World Series: New York over Atlanta

To All You Cubs Fans: No. It's not happening. Go home.

To All You Like-Minded Rockies Fans: No. It's Also Not Happening.

3/29 Sports Wrap-Up

2005-03-29T23:52:00.000-05:00

Today was the day my brackets imploded upon themselves.

Terps season finally ended. I'll leave it at that. They were 1-7 in the 8 games I blogged them, and 3-0 in games I didn't. >_<

Rockies won 4-3 after going into the top of the 9th up 4-0. Dang. 17-11 is the best you'll see that team (Spring Training or no) for a long time. I'm predicting a fourth place finish by no more than 3 games over last. 95 losses are a possibility, with 100 an outside shot.

The Bulls have won six in a row. That's good. The Cavs made a great comeback last night, though I have to be wary of any team that gets down 17 points to New Orleans in the first place. The real question: Will the Lakers finish with a worse record than the Clippers for only the 2nd time in 25 years?

UConn's Charlie Villanueva is entering the NBA draft. I really see him as the sort of pompous type of player whose college game is going to look golden compared to his pro game (Similar to Andrew Bogut, except at least Bogut doesn't have the aura of smugness that Charlie does, which gives him a huge heads-up)

Who goes #1 in the NBA Draft? I'll get back to you the week before. ^_^

Updated Sports Musings

2005-03-28T22:17:00.000-05:00

1. Kentucky got ousted on a REALLY questionable set of calls. Illinois is still alive, as is the UNC. Illinois is in my title game. So I have one of two still remaining. I did have 7 of the elite 8 teams correctly chosen, by the way. Forgot about Skip Prosser's Bill Cowher-esque chokes. Did I mention that I told you that NC State was going to beat UConn? ^_^

2. Baylor surprised the UNC women tonight, and Rutgers plays Tennessee tomorrow, so I've still got both my title game teams still alive in that bracket. Maryland lost, whereas I figured their home-court advantage would be enough to overcome Ohio State. It was not.

3. Maryland has somehow gotten to the NIT semi-finals (now that I'm blogging about them again, they're going to lose), and Memphis is still kicking around too, so both of the title teams are still alive in that one. So 5 out of 6. I seem to get a lot better at this come tournament time.

4. Nik Caner Medley has certainly stepped up his game as of late, right? Well, seeing as this is what he's supposed to have been doing since he got to start in the program, I can't say that he's playing like a star. Now that we know he can do it, I'll wait to see if he does it next year before I remove all the criticism I've given him. I think that I'll win this bet.

5. Andrew Bogut is not going to be an NBA superstar, and is not worthy of a #1 draft pick. Please, stop kidding yourselves. It's boguS. If he wins rookie of the year, then sure, I'll eat crow.

6. Pro Basketball: The Bulls have won five in a row while I haven't blogged them, a la the Terps. Though I haven't forgiven them for drafting guys from UConn and Duke (two of my three most hated schools), they're on the right track, even by using those same guys.

7. Non-basketball related: Rockies are 16-11 in Spring Training with four games to play. I wish they could be 82-78 in the regular season with four games to play. But that'll never happen because of everything. Blast you, everything!

NCAA Men's Tournament Predictions

2005-03-14T18:10:00.000-05:00

Analysis for all three tournaments will come tomorrow - if I feel any better.

Play-In-Game Winner: Alabama A&M

First Round Upsets (9th seed or higher advances)
Chicago: 9 seed Nevada over 8 seed Texas
Albequerque: 12 seed George Washington defeats 5 seed Georgia Tech
Syracuse: 12 seed New Mexico defeats 5 seed Villanova (in OT)
Syracuse 10 seed N.C. State over 7 seed Charlotte
Austin: 9 seed Mississippi State over 8 seed Stanford

Second Round Upsets (5th seed or higher advances)
Chicago: 5 seed Alabama defeats 4 seed Boston College
Albequerque: All four top seeds advance from Albequerque
Syracuse: 10 seed N.C. state shocks 2 seed Connecticut
Austin: 5 seed Michigan state surprises 4 seed Syracuse
Austin: 9 seed Mississippi State stuns 1 seed Duke in overtime (you read it here first)

Sweet 16 (seed # in parenthesis)
Chicago: Illinois (1) vs. Alabama (5), Arizona (3) vs. Oklahoma State (2)
Albequerque: Washington (1) vs. Louisville (4), Gonzaga (3) vs. Wake Forest (2)
Syracuse: UNC (1) vs. Florida (4), Kansas (3) vs. N.C. State (10)
Austin: Mississippi State (9) vs. Michigan State (5), Oklahoma (3) vs. Kentucky (2)

Elite 8
Illinois vs. Oklahoma State, Louisville vs. Wake Forest, UNC vs. Kansas, Michigan State vs. Kentucky

Final Four
Illinois vs. Wake; UNC vs. Kentucky

Championship: Illinois vs. Kentucky
Winner: Kentucky

Women's NCAA tournament preview

2005-03-14T18:05:00.000-05:00

Since two more 64-line posts would be way too long, I'm just going to abridge it.

First Round Upsets (in which any higher numbered team defeats a lower numbered one)
(Location of bracket in parenthesis)

9th seeded Purdue will defeat 8-seed New Mexico (Philadelphia)
9th seeded Louisville will defeat 8-seed Southern California (Kansas City)
9th seeded George Washington will defeat 8-seed Mississippi (Tempe)
10th seeded Houston will defeat 7-seed Boston College (Chatanooga)
10th seeded Utah will defeat 7-seed Iowa State (Kansas City)
11th seeded Rice will defeat 6-seed Georgia (Chatanooga)
11th seeded Old Dominion will defeat 6-seed Virginia (Tempe)

Second Round Upsets, Higher Seed Wins
5th Seed Arizona State takes out 4th seeded Notre Dame (Tempe)
11th Seed Old Dominion shocks 3rd seed Minnesota (Tempe)
7th seeded Maryland surprises 2nd seed Ohio State (Philadelphia)
5th seed Vanderbilt defeats 4th seed Kansas State close to home (Kansas City)

Sweet 16 now looks as follows: (seed in parenthesis)
Chatanooga: LSU (1) vs. Penn State (4), Texas (3) vs. Duke (2)
Tempe: UNC (1) vs. Arizona State (5), Old Dominion (11) vs. Baylor (2)
Philly: Tennessee (1) vs. Texas Tech (4), Rutgers (3) vs. Maryland (7)
Kansas City: Michigan State (1) vs. Vanderbilt (5), Connecticut (3) vs. Stanford (2)

Elite Eight then goes as follows
LSU vs. Texas, UNC vs. Baylor, Tennessee vs. Rutgers, Michigan State vs. Connecticut

Final Four: LSU, Baylor, Rutgers, UConn
Championship: Baylor vs. Rutgers
Champion: Baylor

NIT Predictions

2005-03-14T18:00:00.000-05:00

Since I cannot format this correctly, I shall just type in my predictions here, according to the bracket at http://nit.org

Preliminary Round:
1) Rice @ Southwest Missouri State: Winner - Rice
2) Davidson @ Virginia Commonwealth: Winner - Davidson
3) Cal State Fullerton @ Oregon St: Winner - Cal State Fullerton
4) Denver @ San Francisco: Winner - Denver
5) Kent State @ Western Kentucky: Winner - Kent State
6) Houston @ Wichita State: Winner - Wichita State
7) Drexel @ Buffalo: Winner - Buffalo
8) Hofstra @ St. Joe's: Winner - St. Joe's

First Round:
9) Western Michigan @ Marquette: Winner - Marquette
10) Texas Christian @ Miami of Ohio: Winner - Miami of Ohio
11) Oral Roberts @ Maryland: Winner - Maryland (yeah, I know)
12) Rice vs. Davidson: Winner - Rice
13) Cal State Fullerton vs. Denver: Winner - Denver
14) Boston University @ Georgetown: Winner - Georgetown
15) Arizona State @ UNLV: Winner - UNLV
16) Miami FL @ South Carolina: Winner - Miami FL
17) Northeastern @ Memphis: Winner - Memphis
18) Temple @ Virginia Tech: Winner - Virginia Tech
19) Vanderbilt @ Indiana: Winner - Indiana
20) Kent State vs. Wichita State: Winner - Wichita State
21) Buffalo vs. St. Joe's: Winner - Buffalo
22) Holy Cross @ Notre Dame: Winner - Holy Cross (will the Pope be watching?)
23) Clemson @ Texas A&M: Winner: Texas A&M
24) DePaul @ Missouri: Winner - DePaul

Second Round:
25) Marquette vs. Miami of Ohio: Winner - Marquette
26) Maryland vs. Rice: Winner - Maryland
27) Denver vs. Georgetown: Winner - Georgetown
28) UNLV vs. Miami FL: Winner - UNLV
29) Memphis vs. Virginia Tech: Winner - Memphis
30) Indiana vs. Wichita State: Winner - Wichita State
31) Buffalo vs. Holy Cross: Winner - Buffalo
32) DePaul vs. Texas A&M: Winner - DePaul

Third Round:
33) Marquette vs. Maryland: Winner - Maryland
34) Georgetown vs. UNLV: Winner - Georgetown
35) Memphis vs. Wichita State: Winner - Memphis
36) Buffalo vs. DePaul: Winner - DePaul

Final Four:
37) Maryland vs. Georgetown: Winner - Maryland
38) Memphis vs. DePaul: Winner - Memphis

Consolation Game: Georgetown vs. DePaul: Winner - Georgetown

NIT Championship: Maryland vs. Memphis: Winner - Memphis

TB4 Roundup

2005-03-10T23:32:00.000-05:00

...Someone shoot these people. No - seriously. Two ten point leads, and an eventual -22 point differential later, and you lose by 12. It looks like barring extreme pity, that the Terps are headed to the NIT for the first time in quite a while.

Thankfully, the 21-9 Lady Terrapins have no such worries. Good to see SOME people doing their job.

Elsewhere in the world of sports that I follow:
NHL: Still no NHL season. @$$holes. The Blackhawks have yet to win a Stanley Cup with more than 6 teams in the NHL.
NBA: Bulls are 31-27. Surprising. I'm also surprised that the Lakers have fallen into 9th. Don't expect them to stay there. At least not this season.
MLB: Rockies are 7-2 in Spring Training. I know it's Spring Training (and the Indians have the best record in the AL), but when was the last time I saw the Rockies 5 games over .500? I'll take this for the rest of the week as they drop to 8-9.
NFL: Bears grabbed Mushin Muhammed. Good move. Then they signed him for six years. VERY not good move. The guy is worth a two-year deal at most, because then he'll be 33.

Paying attention to sports tends to give me a nasty headache. That, and the f*cking light in my dorm burnt out. Today was not really my day.

Btw, just so I don't forget: ~~Brokaw~~, ~~Rather~~, Jennings... Back in 2000, I woulda thought these three would be on till at least 2012. >_<

TerpBlogging 4

2005-03-09T19:47:00.000-05:00

Well, the ACC tournament starts tomorrow. Maryland plays Clemson at 12 Noon. This doesn't bode well for the Terps, as they were swept by Clemson in the regular season. (according to CBS sportsline, this is the first time this has happened since '96-'97) Coach Williams says there'll be a lineup change, and I have to say that it's about time. We can't give up 90 points to Clemson and expect to go far into the NCAA tournament. If we play as we have the last five games, the Terps will be NIT-bound for sure. No one wants to be NIT-bound in the ACC.

But there's no telling whether Maryland will be able to come out of nowhere to run the table like they did last year. Any one of the top eight teams has a chance to win this tournament, and even Clemson has a much better shot than they normally would have. It should be an interesting ACC tournament for sure. Don't be shocked if you don't see any of the top three seeds in the final round.
Here's hoping. ^_^

PostScript: By the way, what the smurf is with 12-18 Oakland? They should probably rename themselves "Illinois Fodder"

Caner Medley For President

2005-03-05T18:19:00.000-05:00

Because basketball is certainly not in his future.

Another disappointing game, another disappointing loss, and it looks like there's no NCAA tournament birth this year, and whose shoulders does that primarily rest on? This guy's. No one on campus can figure out why this guy gets any minutes, let alone starts.

Too miffed to put up CJ! just yet. Maybe tomorrow.

TerpBlogging 3

2005-03-04T21:26:00.000-05:00

Okay, so my predictions have been completely off in the past two roundups. I really can't explain this. (I was 31 for 33 entering the second round of last year's NCAA tourney, my only misses being the play-in and the Pacific/Providence game)

But this could be one of the last Terpbloggings around here for awhile if they decide they aren't going to play tomorrow at Va. Tech and lose on the road again. A win would probably put them in the NCAA tournament. A loss would mean that the Terps would most likely have to win the ACC tournament - however, they'd most likely be guaranteed a match with Wake Forest, Duke, or UNC (possibly even all three). It would not be a pretty sight.

I really was disappointed after the UNC game, but after watching the guy from UNC pull that dunk with 1 second to go in the first half, that looked to be it. We just do not perform well on the road. Coach Gary Williams needs to stop playing every team like they're Duke. Only Duke is Duke, and we know you can beat them. Virginia Tech is not Duke - they play a much different style.

If the Terps do not win tomorrow, it's probably over. That would be a darn shame with this team. Do the seniors want to go from a 32-4 national champion to a 17-12 NIT team? I don't think so.

Odds Gilchrist goes pro early to enter NBA draft are currently at 11:2

Terpblogging 2 Roundup/Rant

2005-02-27T20:13:00.000-05:00

Update: 9:10 PM.

After re-reading that, I can see now why Maryland fans are looked upon as some of the worst in the country. We aren't that good of a set of fans, I admit. Fatalistic and vulgar and rude. Not what I'd like us to be, but that's the way we are.

However, the worst fans? No. We're bad, but the worst fans belong to the city of Boston, and New England in general

"Boston?" you say. "How can Boston have the worst fans? They've been cheering on the Red Sox for 86 years before they won a championship. Do you know how tormented that city was?"

First off, the attention span of Boston fans is shorter than any other in the country. If the fact is not "We finally won after 86 years!", they forget all about it. Remember the Celtics' run through the 80's? Neither do they. How about those three super bowls in four years for the Patriots "Dynasty"? I lived in New England since I was born, and never met a single Patriots fan until the AFC Championship game of the 2001 playoffs. Bill Belichick is a genius only in the way he's able to A) Luck out in playing Bill Cowher at home, and B) Get fans to actually attend Patriots games.

(On a related note, I feel sorry for former Pats coordinator Romeo Crennel, who's going to the Browns. The Browns have been so dismal not even Bill Belichick could win the Super Bowl with them. In fact, noted dope Bill Cowher beat Belichick way back in 1994. Poor Romeo.)

That 86 year curse? People in my high school were talking about how cursed they were. Come on - I've been cheering for the Bears in football since 1991, you've been cheering for the Sox in baseball since 1993. Who's had a longer drought? To further this point, my father was born in the mid-fifties and roots for the Indians. If you were born in the sixties and root for the Red Sox, he's still been waiting longer than you did.

Don't get me started on the Bruins (nice team), but as they're known around those parts, the "Who-ins?" New England also let the Whalers' leave without really giving a crap.

Whenever any team of New England's beats you, they have to rub it in your face until you'd like to do serious damage to theirs. And as soon as their team isn't good anymore? They don't mention them again. C'mon - how many of you could actually name the coach of the UConn Huskies in the mid '80s? How many sportscasters could? It's the same way with every sport. BU win the Beanpot? You bet they're gonna remind you of it every thirty-two seconds, whether or not you cheer for college hockey or not.

I enjoy it very much when New England does not win in a contest that they participate in. The last such one of these was the Election. Boy, was I greatful for that. And you know that New England was ready to take a crap on the rest of the country if they had won THAT, too.

Personally, I'm a Rockies fan, but I have to root for the Yankees to take out the Red Sox this season. Hey - maybe it'll be another 86 years before they win it. 19-18, 20-04, 20-90... I can only hope.

For all the Bruins fans who are upset that the season was cancelled, I'm sorry. Sounds like you do actually care. For the rest of you NE sports fans, you need to know what it feels like to not whine and moan about winning.

In conclusion, we at the University of Maryland are very crappy fans. I'll admit it - but if you want to call us the worst in the nation, you've got to be ignoring an entire region of the country.

The TerpBlogging 2

2005-02-26T15:57:00.000-05:00

Not looking like a good day for the Terps. We're on the bubble (again, just like last year), and have only two games left before the ACC tournament. It looks to me like the team will have to win 2 out of 3, if not 3 out of 4 in order to get to March Madness.

That would be so simple, if tomorrow's opponent wasn't UNC. Absolutely terrific. For those who can't remember, North Carolina defeated Maryland 109-75. To be fair, it was in Chapel Hill. However, I'm doubting that the Terps can actually beat UNC, even at home. If Maryland does somehow win tomorrow, they're in. If not, then the game March 5 at Virginia Tech becomes yet another must-win. If they lose both of these games, then they're not going to the NCAA tournament. A win at VT would also most likely have to be followed up with at least one win in the ACC tournament. In that case, the opponent would have to be either Duke or Virginia. Not good odds, but it's still a possibility.

Let's see what else is going on in the world of College Hoops.

Sportsline's Gregg Doyel writes a great piece on the John Chaney debacle of last week. All I can add is "My sentiments exactly." Coming from a student at a college where NCAA basketball is king, I have to say that this is not the message any high-schooler looking to 'ball in college should be getting. Chaney's had a good career - perhaps it's time to call it a night.

Duke scored only 58 points in a victory over St. John's today. I don't even know what to make about that, other than St. John's beat a team (N.C. State) that swept a team (Maryland), who swept Duke. So maybe the game SHOULD have been even closer. Just shows how far the ACC has fallen.

Connecticut-Pittsburgh should be a good game, as always. If I had a television, that's the game I'd be watching today. Since it's not the Big East tournament, I'll give the nod to Pitt. (Update: UConn's pulled out to an early lead) That's the game you should be watching too.

As for the Terps, we'll see, tomorrow night at 5:30. Here's hoping for an overtime game, since we tend to win those. ^_^

TerpBlogging 1 Roundup

2005-02-23T14:22:00.000-05:00

Ouch. Well, UNC did beat Clemson for the 50th straight time at home, and Maryland did beat Virginia, but Maryland then proceeded to lose to Clemson for the second straight time this season and are on the bubble again, much like last season. We have a worse record than Northeastern, for crying out loud. Now, I don't want to sound fatalistic or anything, but it looks like UMD must beat Va. Tech or win the ACC tournament to have any realistic shot at getting in. Not good.

TerpBlogging 1

2005-02-19T06:07:00.000-05:00

Alrighty then. Two games of real note today: The first is Clemson at North Carolina at 1:00.

How does this affect Maryland Terrapins students/fans like myself? Well, it doesn't. But I like statistics, and Clemson at UNC is full of them. What's the storyline for today's game? Clemson has played at Chapel Hill every year for the past 50 years. They have NEVER won there. The all-time series is 114-19 in favor of North Carolina. Is Clemson due to win at UNC? Don't bet on it. UNC wins 72-56.

Game 2: The one all you Terps fans are waiting for: Maryland at Virginia. We need a win to stay in 4th in the ACC standings, and Virginia's looking to avenge the 82-68 loss we handed them earlier in the season, and it's basically do-or-die time for Virginia. Hopefully Maryland brings their "Duke" game and not their "NC State" game. Prediction?: Maryland 73, Virginia 69. (I'm not trying to be biased HERE, folks)

Other predictions for Today, 2/19/05

#1 Illinois will defeat Iowa.
#2 Kansas will defeat Iowa State.
Cleveland state will actually win another game.
#16 Alabama will get upset via their own incompetence in shooting today.
St. Joseph's will beat the abysmal St. Bonaventure. However, the hype over them will be non-existent as opposed to this point last season.
Western Michigan will play Northern Iowa on ESPN2 and no one will watch.
UAB will defeat #24 Cincinnati
#6 BC will defeat #9 Syracuse by 10 or more points.
#18 Connecticut will dispatch Rutgers, doing what their women's team was somehow unable to accomplish this season.

Check back today around 3:30 to 4:30 for LIVE-Terps blogging