Every time that UCLA advances a round, I will post a set of unpublished photos of the UCLA Dance and/or Cheer teams. Hopefully, this will give undecided fans a reason to root for the Bruins.
This was almost the shortest recurring feature of all time. But fortunately, UCLA managed to pull out a one point victory over VCU and will advance to the 2nd round. So with that, I send this offering to the gods of basketball karma:
There were roughly 12,600 live blogs of the NCAA tournament Thursday. But just in case you haven't gotten your fill of commentary, here are my thoughts about the first day of action from the hoops orgy:
There is an interesting phenomenon surrounding Greg Gumbel. There's absolutely nothing special about him, but everytime you hear his voice, you know something special is about to happen. That is unless, he's about to invite Seth Davis into a conversation.
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One of the hidden benefits of being on the west coast at tourney time- it's completely acceptable to drink at 9:20 on a weekday morning. Being surrounded by tvs and booze at a local bar is the next best thing to actually being in an arena. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it to best locale to combine alcohol and tvs- a Vegas sportsbook. Bob Knight, however, did make the trek out to Vegas to co-host a show with Billy Packer. So far, it doesn't look like the city has been too kind to him.
Maybe Packer stole his sunscreen so that he could approach coeds on spring break and offer to apply lotion to their backs. (Try to get that image out of your head.)
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Jim Calhoun went to the hospital and was unable to coach the team Thursday night. But why is in the hospital? Why can't any of these reporters tell me? Hey CBS: Get some facts and come back and see me!
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CBS had a human interest piece prepared about CSUN reserve Michael Lizarraga, who is believed to be the first deaf player to play in the NCAA tournament. This kind of story is the perfect filler to keep the audience engaged during a blowout. Only problem is that the Matadors failed to cooperate and gave Memphis quite a scare; and actually led with 10 minutes to go in the game. The Tigers finally made their run, but by the time the game was out of reach, CBS was almost out of time and they had to rush in the story in the final minutes. In fact his interpreter received about as much camera time as he did. If the interpreter is available, perhaps she could confirm what I'm pretty sure I saw at the end of the game:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly certain that Calipari congratulated CSUN head coach Bobby Braswell by telling him, "You guys played your balls off." If you're Braswell, how do you even respond to a used car salesman talking about your team's collective balls? I know it's intended to be a compliment, but I can't even figure out how working hard would result in the loss of ones balls. And if it is a possible consequence, then lord knows I need to continue to avoid hard work. I've rewatched the clips a few times thinking that maybe it was actually "You guys played your butts off," because that would be, ya know, an actual expression. But it looks like balls to me, and I find that tough to swallow.
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During the later portion of the Washington/Mississippi State game, Kevin Harlan reminded the audience that "in this shot clock era" there was still a chance for a comeback. The shot clock era began 24 years ago- I think we're well adjusted to it by now. Still it could have been worse. At least Harlan didn't start talking about how the game has changed since the darkies were allowed onto the court.
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What could have possibly made State Farm execs think that ripping off the annoying Mercury Insurance campaign would be a good idea.? We get it: all insurance companies are dishonest charlatans who can't be trusted to do as much as wash your car. But it's the law that I need insurance, so you've got me over the barrel...just like a good neighbor. Well played, State Farm.
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Coeds in bikinis are usually a great thing. But band members in bikinis? Dicey. VCU decided to take on the challenge. The results depend on how drunk you are at the time:
Wait- the one chick plays the flute. That is definitely worth some bonus points. "This one time, at band camp..."
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Western Kentucky held off a furious rally from Illinois to complete their upset bid in the last game of the night. The victory was sealed when the Hilltoppers managed to burn almost all of the clock by passing the ball around and over defenders, thereby preventing Illinois from fouling them. Kevin Harlan described this as W. Kentucky playing a game of "dodge ball." I'm pretty sure he meant "keep away," but I like his idea better. It seems like more fun. Especially if some Duke players are involved.
Pac-10 champion Washington had little trouble dispatching Mississippi State, 71-58, tonight. However, Venoy Overton might not remember the score...or where he is:
This season, the one word that best describes UCLA's performance is "inconsistent." The Bruins started the year ranked in the top 5 in preseason polls. Perhaps this was an unfair expectation given the losses of Kevin Love, Luc Richard Mbah a Mote, and Russell Westbrook (however Memphis and Kansas lost their key players and have recovered nicely). After 30+ games, it's still hard to know exactly what to expect from the team. A run into the elite 8 wouldn't be out of the question, but neither would a first round loss at the hands of VCU.
However far UCLA advances, they'll have to do it all on the East coast. Like any successful team, UCLA is one that people love to hate, so they should expect a hostile crowd in Philadelphia. Actually "hostile" is pretty much the norm for a Philly crowd regardless of who's playing. But for those without any allegiances, there is one very good reason to root for the Bruins. This is the final season for most, if not all, of the members of the UCLA Dance Team. So when the Bruins lose, we all lose. Here's an idea of what they bring to the table:
This Thursday, cheer for the Bruins (and a lot of TV timeouts). As an added bonus, each time that UCLA advances a round in the tournament, I'll post a gallery of previously unpublished photos from this season. So go ahead and cheer for UCLA. Your brackets are busted anyway.
Earlier today, Arizona lost to Arizona State for the third time this season. The 68-56 defeat gives the Wildcats five losses in their last six games and seemed to put Arizona's chances of making the NCAA tournament in serious jeopardy. That is at least, until the following news was broken:
I like the idea. I'm pretty sure I still have one year of eligibility remaining; and I've always wanted to give bartending school a try. Now, I just need to partner with an LA pole dancing class for some cheerleaders and I'm set.
The sports trading card industry has been dying a long, slow death. Anyone who thought they were going to retire with a closet full of Gregg Jefferies and Ken Griffey Jr rookie cards can tell you that. (Although right now, those cards might be worth more than their 401k.) Ever since Michael Eisner bought Topps in 2007, he's been looking for a way to make cards relevant again. Given his entertainment background, he's making the same move that desperate franchises like Friday the 13th and Amityville made. He's going 3-D. Hitting stores today will be Topps 3D Live, a set of baseball cards that seem like standard cards at first, but when held up to a webcam, will spring to virtual life:
Kind of cool, in a "Star Wars chess game" kind of way. But this series is marketed towards kids who won't have that sense of nostalgia; and it's hard to envision kids wanting to press "N" to throw a pitch at a target when they could they pick up their Wii Super Slam Bat and take a few hacks themselves.
So that just leaves adult men as potential buyers. But these packs are priced at two bucks a pop, and even in this economy, collectors believe that if they're going to get a 50 cent card, they want to pull it from a $100 pack. Still, I could see these filling a niche role for guys. For anyone with a webcam in their cubicle, these players could serve as a great little time-killer during conference calls. Also, these cards could be a big hit in the home of Yankees fans, who could get undressed, put their Derek Jeter card on the webcam, and finally fulfill all of those fantasies with the captain of their hearts. Just beware of virtual herpes.
Hmmm...maybe these virtual cards do have some potential. But rather than picking up a pack of Topps, I'm going to have to wait for Benchwarmer to license the technology.
Last night, ESPN took their college gameday crew up to Berkeley, where Digger Phelps obviously indulged himself with some traditional Berkeley pregame tokes. Either that, or sharing a hotel with Erin Andrews creates such a testosterone overload that a man is driven to do crazy things. How else to explain these actions?
This isn't the first time this season that an ESPN analyst has decided to eschew any resemblance to credibility by dancing with cheerleaders during a commercial break (Self aware Ed note- stay tuned for UCLA dance team pics this week!). Although to be fair, Digger Phelps and Dick Vitale abandoned any notion of being legitimate basketball analysts a long, long time ago.
Update: Thanks to reader JSon for pointing out where Digger got his dance moves. It's the same place he found his shrewd fashion sense- from the movie Caddyshack:
Every now and then when I'm looking around the sports net for items to comment snarkily on, I actually find nuggets of wisdom and inspiration instead. Or perhaps it's that in not finding anything to write about, I am instead desperate for guidance and wisdom, and so otherwise trite comments gain added significance for me. In either case, here are a couple of such instances from the last few days.
Mike Singletary, speaking to a crowd of season ticket holders:
"When I look around the NFL, I'm amazed by how many people have a dream and how few have a vision," he said. The difference, he said, is that a dream ends up being passive, accommodating disappointment. A vision, he said, "captures the imagination. A vision is something that consumes you like a fire, won't let you eat, won't let you sleep until that vision comes to pass."
Mike Schmidt, commenting on the Alex Rodriguez steroid saga (the entire article is a great read):
"I look more at the psychological side of it," he said. "That's what's interesting -- how sports fans choose their heroes, how we as a human race choose our heroes, how our heroes always seem to let us down. You know, when you pick a sports hero, he at some point lets you down. ..."
And for a somewhat different feel, here is a NSFW( you've been warned) European commercial that may not be inspiring, but is truly inspired:
Link:
Thank goodness there was golf and tennis in that clip to qualify it as sports related.
Whoever created that ad embodies the wisdom of the first two men- turned a dream into a vision, and truly is a hero.
This past Thursday in Tempe, UCLA's attempt at a comeback victory was wiped away when a potential go ahead basket by Darren Collinson in the last minute was ruled a charge, despite the fact that ASU's Jeff Pendergraph clearly stuck out his hip. Video evidence below (ignore the chicken wing by Collinson that the refs also missed):
Tonight it was USC's turn to experience the Sun Devils' home court mojo when Daniel Hackett drove into the lane in an attempt to cut the lead to three, only to find himself being undercut by a sliding defender. One official was prepared to call the block but was overruled by David Hall, the overzealous head official, at the baseline. Rather then confer amongst themselves to make sure the call was correct, the refs went the alternative method of "most demonstrative call wins" and stayed with the charge call. Tim Floyd then responded in typical Floyd fashion, by subtly expressing his displeasure with the call:
It should be noted that while both games were in Tempe, it was a different officiating crew for each game. You've got to hand it to Pac 10 refs- at least they're consistent in their calls. Unfortunately for basketball fans, they're consistently awful.
