create your own personalized map of the USA
or write about it on the open travel guide
Thursday, February 26, 2004
Across The Nation... Well, Sort Of
Visited States
create your own personalized map of the USA
or write about it on the open travel guide
create your own personalized map of the USA
or write about it on the open travel guide
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
All Cashed Out
Hey, remember that poker challenge I was in a couple months ago?
Yeah, I finally went bust.
By the time the actual challenge was over, I had about $30 or so of the original $50 I was spotted, and I kept playing on-and-off until I finally ran out of money last week. I did learn a few things, though:
- I'm somewhat better at Omaha than Texas Hold 'Em;
- I tend to fall into the common trap of trying to win back a bad beat right away;
- I shouldn't play for more than 20-30 minutes at a time, because after that, I pretty much stop getting playable cards.
In other financial news, the Magic card collection sold for $54. My mistake was probably setting the minimum at $50. I didn't get any bids until there were less than two days left in the auction. I was beginning to hope nobody bid so I could relist it at a lower price and get some interest.
Oh well. At least they're gone.
Yeah, I finally went bust.
By the time the actual challenge was over, I had about $30 or so of the original $50 I was spotted, and I kept playing on-and-off until I finally ran out of money last week. I did learn a few things, though:
- I'm somewhat better at Omaha than Texas Hold 'Em;
- I tend to fall into the common trap of trying to win back a bad beat right away;
- I shouldn't play for more than 20-30 minutes at a time, because after that, I pretty much stop getting playable cards.
In other financial news, the Magic card collection sold for $54. My mistake was probably setting the minimum at $50. I didn't get any bids until there were less than two days left in the auction. I was beginning to hope nobody bid so I could relist it at a lower price and get some interest.
Oh well. At least they're gone.
Saturday, February 21, 2004
Illinois-Chicago Diary (Week 14)
Polls: Tennessee’s still on top. Kansas moved up from 6 to 3.
Awards:
Horizon League Player of the Week: C #11 Gabriel Ichaki, 6’6” senior, Butler (22 ppg, 15.5 rpg)
Horizon League Freshman of the Week: PG #11 Rashun Cooper, 6’1” freshman, Illinois-Chicago (13.5 ppg, 7.5 apg) That second-half benching against UWM two weeks ago must have woken him up.
National Player of the Week: PF Bernard Harris, 6’10” senior, Ohio State (29.5 ppg, 17.5 rpg)
National Freshman of the Week: PG Brett Slane, 5’11” freshman, St. Francis, Pa. (23.5 pgg, 4.5 apg)
Game 24 Report
Illinois-Chicago (13-10, 5-5) at Youngstown State (8-14, 4-6)
Thursday, February 13, 2003
These aren’t the same Penguins we beat in the opener or the same Penguins we thought would be a sleeper team in the Horizon. This team’s pretty ordinary now, especially with point guard Otis Moran having academic issues.
An undistinguished start. Nothing really to speak of in the early going. But back-to-back Penguin threes in the sixth minute brought a switch to the zone on our part. This was part of a 9-0 run that gave them a 16-10 advantage. We responded with a little spurt of our own and get to 20-19 halfway through the first half. Both teams are shooting very poorly from the free throw stripe; 40 and 33 percent respectively.
A dunk by Jones over Ramon Richardson tied it at 23 with seven minutes to go in the half. Cooper, Correa, White and Muhammad already have two fouls each, which is both annoying and puzzling. Jones hit a three to give the Flames a 30-29 lead with 4:30 left, but one minute later, Cooper picked up his third foul. The Penguins started to pull away slightly after that, but Will Wagner, seeing his first real action in about a month, hit a halfcourt buzzer-beater to make the score 40-39 Penguins at halftime.
We were whistled for 14 fouls to their five. Four of our players have three fouls already. Ah, gotta love homecourt advantage. Jones leads all scorers at halftime with 11. Pat King has a team-high eight for the Penguins.
Correa began the second half with back-to-back jumpers, but White picked up foul No. 4 less than two minutes in. Correa actually scored the first eight UIC points of the second half, giving him 10 at the first timeout. He got HIS fourth foul called five and a half minutes into the second half, creating a massive problem. We were still ahead, but playing with two starters chained to the bench with four fouls for probably the next eight or nine minutes wasn’t going to be pleasant to deal with.
Or was it? Muhammad’s become known for his threes, as unlikely a development as any, but he’s also got some nice inside moves, getting a layup after faking Martin Sanchez out of his Nikes. But Fields picked up HIS fourth foul, and the Penguins regained the lead, 62-61, on a Jovan Yilmaz putback with 8:40 left. Our calculations at this point told us that we could maybe last three more minutes before Correa and White absolutely had to go back in.
Up three with 6:09 left, we brought Fields back in because Jones needed a breather and Adam’s expendable. After Williams made the second of two free throws, Sean Miller responded with a three-point play that got the Penguins within one at 68-67 and also gave Cooper four fouls. But they were unable to take the lead in the next minute, and with 4:49 left, Jones, Correa and White came back in. Jones rebounded a Correa miss and found Jefferson for two. Correa made a smooth over-the-shoulder pass to Jefferson that led to another deuce. A steal by Jones led to a sloppy-looking leaner by Correa that fell. But Richardson came back with another three to cut the lead to 74-72 with 2:40 to go. Miller tied it with a jumper, and Sanchez hit an 8-footer to give the Penguins a 76-74 lead with 1:14 left.
White got the ball at the top of the key as we reached the one-minute mark. Rod Larson fouled him. He MISSED the first free throw. Now he’s hurting us when he actually plays. He hit the second one, but the Penguins came down and got a quick score from Larson, then fouled Jones, who made his first free throw… but missed the second. Sanchez made two at the other end with seven seconds left, effectively ending a good game. 80-76 final.
Free throws killed us again. We were 10 of 18 from the stripe; they were 20 of 27. Bobby Coursey, playing out of position at point guard, led the Penguins with 15 points and seven assists. King had 14, and Miller added 13. For the Flames, Correa had a game-high 16, while Jones added 13. White only played 14 minutes because of foul trouble and is in real danger of losing his starting spot, as his inability to stay in games effectively reduces him to a bench player anyway.
Game 25 Report
Butler (15-9, 9-3) at Illinois-Chicago (13-11, 5-6)
Saturday, February 15, 2003
Here’s how twisted the schedule was this year: We’re already done with Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland State AND Youngstown State, but this is our first meeting with Butler and there are only two and a half weeks left in the regular season. Who set this up? Not me — I only changed the Virginia Tech game from a trip out to Pacific or someplace since we were already in the South and heading north.
The reigning conference Player of the Week is probably the best player in the conference:
C #11 Gabriel Ichaki (6’6”, 200, senior; Resurrection HS, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada)
12.7 ppg, 15.5 rpg (leads NATION), 2.5 bpg (2nd in conference)
After much speculation, White did indeed start for the Flames in this game. Jones scored five early points for us, but, as expected, we weren’t able to keep Ichaki off the boards. Jones ended up with seven in the first seven minutes to stake us to an 11-8 lead before he went to the bench for a rest.
Ichaki’s first block of the game came after Jefferson grabbed an offensive rebound and tried to lay it up inside instead of passing out. Not smart. Also, this just in: White is NOT in foul trouble. Cooper was, picking up his third with 7:30 left in the first half in the middle of a 13-2 Butler run that gave the Bulldogs a 30-22 lead with 3:18 to go in the half. Things went downhill from there, and it was 40-26 at halftime.
Gerald Williams, who’s the Bulldogs’ leading scorer despite not starting, had 13 at the break. Jones led us with seven. Yes, STILL. Butler’s shooting 56 percent to our 31, which also isn’t helping matters.
Jones and Cooper started right out with back-to-back threes to open the second half, but the Bulldogs were relentless, deciding that nothing we did was going to stop them. And it didn’t, as they took over in the second half and blew the lead out to 25 points with 11 minutes left. They’d lead by as much as 34 en route to a 93-60 demolition job. They’re better than us, and I acknowledge that, but 33 points better?
Gerald Williams led all scorers with 24. Ichaki finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks, which is about right. Jerome Betts had 17 points and nine assists. DeLawn Mydra had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Backup PG Marlon Jackson came off the bench to hit for 12. Butler shot 63 percent to our 34 percent. Jones led us with 20, while Jefferson had 13 off the bench and Damon Williams scored 10.
Awards:
Horizon League Player of the Week: C #11 Gabriel Ichaki, 6’6” senior, Butler (22 ppg, 15.5 rpg)
Horizon League Freshman of the Week: PG #11 Rashun Cooper, 6’1” freshman, Illinois-Chicago (13.5 ppg, 7.5 apg) That second-half benching against UWM two weeks ago must have woken him up.
National Player of the Week: PF Bernard Harris, 6’10” senior, Ohio State (29.5 ppg, 17.5 rpg)
National Freshman of the Week: PG Brett Slane, 5’11” freshman, St. Francis, Pa. (23.5 pgg, 4.5 apg)
Game 24 Report
Illinois-Chicago (13-10, 5-5) at Youngstown State (8-14, 4-6)
Thursday, February 13, 2003
These aren’t the same Penguins we beat in the opener or the same Penguins we thought would be a sleeper team in the Horizon. This team’s pretty ordinary now, especially with point guard Otis Moran having academic issues.
An undistinguished start. Nothing really to speak of in the early going. But back-to-back Penguin threes in the sixth minute brought a switch to the zone on our part. This was part of a 9-0 run that gave them a 16-10 advantage. We responded with a little spurt of our own and get to 20-19 halfway through the first half. Both teams are shooting very poorly from the free throw stripe; 40 and 33 percent respectively.
A dunk by Jones over Ramon Richardson tied it at 23 with seven minutes to go in the half. Cooper, Correa, White and Muhammad already have two fouls each, which is both annoying and puzzling. Jones hit a three to give the Flames a 30-29 lead with 4:30 left, but one minute later, Cooper picked up his third foul. The Penguins started to pull away slightly after that, but Will Wagner, seeing his first real action in about a month, hit a halfcourt buzzer-beater to make the score 40-39 Penguins at halftime.
We were whistled for 14 fouls to their five. Four of our players have three fouls already. Ah, gotta love homecourt advantage. Jones leads all scorers at halftime with 11. Pat King has a team-high eight for the Penguins.
Correa began the second half with back-to-back jumpers, but White picked up foul No. 4 less than two minutes in. Correa actually scored the first eight UIC points of the second half, giving him 10 at the first timeout. He got HIS fourth foul called five and a half minutes into the second half, creating a massive problem. We were still ahead, but playing with two starters chained to the bench with four fouls for probably the next eight or nine minutes wasn’t going to be pleasant to deal with.
Or was it? Muhammad’s become known for his threes, as unlikely a development as any, but he’s also got some nice inside moves, getting a layup after faking Martin Sanchez out of his Nikes. But Fields picked up HIS fourth foul, and the Penguins regained the lead, 62-61, on a Jovan Yilmaz putback with 8:40 left. Our calculations at this point told us that we could maybe last three more minutes before Correa and White absolutely had to go back in.
Up three with 6:09 left, we brought Fields back in because Jones needed a breather and Adam’s expendable. After Williams made the second of two free throws, Sean Miller responded with a three-point play that got the Penguins within one at 68-67 and also gave Cooper four fouls. But they were unable to take the lead in the next minute, and with 4:49 left, Jones, Correa and White came back in. Jones rebounded a Correa miss and found Jefferson for two. Correa made a smooth over-the-shoulder pass to Jefferson that led to another deuce. A steal by Jones led to a sloppy-looking leaner by Correa that fell. But Richardson came back with another three to cut the lead to 74-72 with 2:40 to go. Miller tied it with a jumper, and Sanchez hit an 8-footer to give the Penguins a 76-74 lead with 1:14 left.
White got the ball at the top of the key as we reached the one-minute mark. Rod Larson fouled him. He MISSED the first free throw. Now he’s hurting us when he actually plays. He hit the second one, but the Penguins came down and got a quick score from Larson, then fouled Jones, who made his first free throw… but missed the second. Sanchez made two at the other end with seven seconds left, effectively ending a good game. 80-76 final.
Free throws killed us again. We were 10 of 18 from the stripe; they were 20 of 27. Bobby Coursey, playing out of position at point guard, led the Penguins with 15 points and seven assists. King had 14, and Miller added 13. For the Flames, Correa had a game-high 16, while Jones added 13. White only played 14 minutes because of foul trouble and is in real danger of losing his starting spot, as his inability to stay in games effectively reduces him to a bench player anyway.
Game 25 Report
Butler (15-9, 9-3) at Illinois-Chicago (13-11, 5-6)
Saturday, February 15, 2003
Here’s how twisted the schedule was this year: We’re already done with Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland State AND Youngstown State, but this is our first meeting with Butler and there are only two and a half weeks left in the regular season. Who set this up? Not me — I only changed the Virginia Tech game from a trip out to Pacific or someplace since we were already in the South and heading north.
The reigning conference Player of the Week is probably the best player in the conference:
C #11 Gabriel Ichaki (6’6”, 200, senior; Resurrection HS, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada)
12.7 ppg, 15.5 rpg (leads NATION), 2.5 bpg (2nd in conference)
After much speculation, White did indeed start for the Flames in this game. Jones scored five early points for us, but, as expected, we weren’t able to keep Ichaki off the boards. Jones ended up with seven in the first seven minutes to stake us to an 11-8 lead before he went to the bench for a rest.
Ichaki’s first block of the game came after Jefferson grabbed an offensive rebound and tried to lay it up inside instead of passing out. Not smart. Also, this just in: White is NOT in foul trouble. Cooper was, picking up his third with 7:30 left in the first half in the middle of a 13-2 Butler run that gave the Bulldogs a 30-22 lead with 3:18 to go in the half. Things went downhill from there, and it was 40-26 at halftime.
Gerald Williams, who’s the Bulldogs’ leading scorer despite not starting, had 13 at the break. Jones led us with seven. Yes, STILL. Butler’s shooting 56 percent to our 31, which also isn’t helping matters.
Jones and Cooper started right out with back-to-back threes to open the second half, but the Bulldogs were relentless, deciding that nothing we did was going to stop them. And it didn’t, as they took over in the second half and blew the lead out to 25 points with 11 minutes left. They’d lead by as much as 34 en route to a 93-60 demolition job. They’re better than us, and I acknowledge that, but 33 points better?
Gerald Williams led all scorers with 24. Ichaki finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks, which is about right. Jerome Betts had 17 points and nine assists. DeLawn Mydra had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Backup PG Marlon Jackson came off the bench to hit for 12. Butler shot 63 percent to our 34 percent. Jones led us with 20, while Jefferson had 13 off the bench and Damon Williams scored 10.
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
D-V Day
Not D-Day. Or V-Day. Or even VD Day. (Ew.)
"If I love someone, they know it. If they expect something from me because it's halfway through February, they can fuck right off." - jesteR
Preach it, brother.
In light of Butch's most recent post, I fear that this may come off as sour grapes.
But I've always despised Valentine's Day. Wait, that's really not true... I shouldn't say "always" - it's more like "since I was old enough to know better."
Because it starts out the same way for everyone, I think. You're six or seven years old, you're in school, your teacher passes out a mess of red and white construction paper and tells the class to go to town. By the end of the day, you've got a bunch of asymmetrical hearts (enough for all the girls in the class, of course - except possibly the "yucky" ones) and everybody's happy and it's forgotten about the next day.
This pattern repeats itself for about five years. Then, something happens. That one girl who you always made a sub-conscious effort to cut the perfect heart for has suddenly blossomed into a Perfect Vision Of Adolescent Loveliness. Or one of the "yucky" girls has suddenly blossomed into a Perfect Vision Of Adolescent Loveliness. And that "forgotten about the next day" bit suddenly doesn't sound so good anymore. There's no more construction paper.
At this point, if you're a boy, you can go one of two ways:
1) The way that leads to being the first to date the newly-formed "It"-girl, making you the envy of all of your peers;
2) The other way
But either way, you're screwed. Because either way, the pressure is enormous. If you're coupled, you're bound by social law to get your girl something romantic and special, and it's not like you can really get the equivalent in return (You can't get guys flowers. It just doesn't work). And God help you if you get it wrong or worse, forget.
And if you're single like me, you're overwhelmed with reminders of that fact. Ska called it, I think, "Singles Awareness Day". It's everywhere - the radio, TV, movies, out on the street, among your friends and neighbors. It can seem like literally everyone in the world is in love but you.
The fact is it's all one big commercial racket. It's bigger than Christmas, and it's WORSE because at Christmas, you don't NEED to be "with" someone to enjoy it. Plus, any crappy gifts can be returned and the giver will likely never be the wiser. You screw up Valentine's Day, you're gonna hear about it. Or worse, you may not hear anything but a cold, cold silence.
(And I think I'd be more willing to get behind Easy's Saint Halfoffheartshapedcandy Day if most Valentine's candy didn't suck ass. The ONLY candy that matters is Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs at Easter. I will NOT argue about this.)
So FOUR thumbs down to that. Love - REAL love - isn't dependent on a date on a calendar or a pre-written message on a card. True love is 24/7/365. Or 366, since this is a Leap Year.
We have all year to love someone. The only day you should have to single out is "today."
"If I love someone, they know it. If they expect something from me because it's halfway through February, they can fuck right off." - jesteR
Preach it, brother.
In light of Butch's most recent post, I fear that this may come off as sour grapes.
But I've always despised Valentine's Day. Wait, that's really not true... I shouldn't say "always" - it's more like "since I was old enough to know better."
Because it starts out the same way for everyone, I think. You're six or seven years old, you're in school, your teacher passes out a mess of red and white construction paper and tells the class to go to town. By the end of the day, you've got a bunch of asymmetrical hearts (enough for all the girls in the class, of course - except possibly the "yucky" ones) and everybody's happy and it's forgotten about the next day.
This pattern repeats itself for about five years. Then, something happens. That one girl who you always made a sub-conscious effort to cut the perfect heart for has suddenly blossomed into a Perfect Vision Of Adolescent Loveliness. Or one of the "yucky" girls has suddenly blossomed into a Perfect Vision Of Adolescent Loveliness. And that "forgotten about the next day" bit suddenly doesn't sound so good anymore. There's no more construction paper.
At this point, if you're a boy, you can go one of two ways:
1) The way that leads to being the first to date the newly-formed "It"-girl, making you the envy of all of your peers;
2) The other way
But either way, you're screwed. Because either way, the pressure is enormous. If you're coupled, you're bound by social law to get your girl something romantic and special, and it's not like you can really get the equivalent in return (You can't get guys flowers. It just doesn't work). And God help you if you get it wrong or worse, forget.
And if you're single like me, you're overwhelmed with reminders of that fact. Ska called it, I think, "Singles Awareness Day". It's everywhere - the radio, TV, movies, out on the street, among your friends and neighbors. It can seem like literally everyone in the world is in love but you.
The fact is it's all one big commercial racket. It's bigger than Christmas, and it's WORSE because at Christmas, you don't NEED to be "with" someone to enjoy it. Plus, any crappy gifts can be returned and the giver will likely never be the wiser. You screw up Valentine's Day, you're gonna hear about it. Or worse, you may not hear anything but a cold, cold silence.
(And I think I'd be more willing to get behind Easy's Saint Halfoffheartshapedcandy Day if most Valentine's candy didn't suck ass. The ONLY candy that matters is Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs at Easter. I will NOT argue about this.)
So FOUR thumbs down to that. Love - REAL love - isn't dependent on a date on a calendar or a pre-written message on a card. True love is 24/7/365. Or 366, since this is a Leap Year.
We have all year to love someone. The only day you should have to single out is "today."
Monday, February 16, 2004
Illinois-Chicago Diary (Week 13)
Polls: Tennessee’s still on top. Oklahoma took its first loss (a 96-42 shellacking at the hands of Texas Tech) and dropped to fourth.
Awards:
Horizon League Player of the Week: PF #1 Melvin Dearman, 6’6” senior, Wisconsin-Green Bay (25.5 ppg, 10 rpg)
Horizon League Freshman of the Week: SF #25 Terence Keith, 6’2” freshman, Cleveland State (20.5 ppg)
National Player of the Week: PF Marshod Gottlieb, 6’9” sophomore, San Diego (38 ppg, 10 rpg, 3 bpg)
National Freshman of the Week: PF Ryan Ashburn, 6’10” freshman, Appalachian State (22.5 ppg)
News: Loyola-Chicago lost point guard Dante Caskill for likely the rest of the season with a broken ankle.
Since we’re at about the halfway point of the conference schedule:
Horizon League Standings:
Butler 8-1
Wisc.-GB 6-4
Wright St. 4-4
Detroit 4-5
UIC 4-5
Wisc.-Mil. 4-5
Loyola-Chi. 4-5
Youngstown St. 3-5
Cleveland St. 2-6
Game 22 Report
Detroit (12-9, 4-5) at Illinois-Chicago (11-10, 4-5)
Monday, February 3, 2003
This time around, let’s meet the man who runs their show:
PG #5 Adonis Harris (6’1”, 152, senior, Carbondale, IL)
10.9 ppg, 7.3 apg (3rd in conference), 3.60 GPA
And there he is with a three-pointer to start the game. This game, like most of them, was back-and-forth to start, neither team getting a clear advantage or being able to grab a big lead. Our foul shooting deserted us early as we missed four of our first six on our way to a 4-for-11 start after nine minutes. We trailed, 17-16.
Detroit’s Paris LaRue, starting for Martin Sanchez, who was hurt in the first meeting between our teams, then hit consecutive threes to extend the lead to 27-20. Jones actually made some foul shots late in the half to cut the deficit to 31-27 at one point, but LaRue came back with a jumper to make it a six-point game again with four minutes left in the half. A Jones 3 got us to 37-33, but we just couldn’t get over the hump in the first half, and it’s 43-36 Detroit at halftime.
LaRue has a game-high 14 so far. Mark Keep has 10 for Detroit. Jones and Jefferson have nine apiece for the Flames. White? Foul trouble. Again. I think I’m only going to start mentioning the times he actually plays.
The good news was LaRue missed his first three shots in the second half. The bad news was we missed every one after the first two for the next four minutes until a three from Cooper cut into their 50-40 lead. A jumper by Correa got us to within four with 12:30 left, but we still kept whiffing on getting that next score.
We finally got it on a beautiful pass from Correa to Fields, who hit a layup to make the score 52-50. But Harris hit a jumper of his own. Then Jefferson came back with a three and made it 54-53, but LaRue rebounded his own missed three and slammed it home. Fields scored on a putback, but Oliver Sanders (who we’ve managed to hold down tonight) banked a 15-footer to bring the lead back to three at 58-55 with 9:23 to go.
Cooper came back in and scored off a layup, but Detroit had an answer again. White, who had also just come back in, got his fourth foul almost immediately and was sent back to the pine. A frustrated Sanders fouled Cooper on a three… and he missed the third free throw. But it must have woken Oliver up, because he then scored five straight points. With five minutes left, the lead is 71-63. If he gets hot, this game is as good as lost.
Four points from Jefferson got us back to within five with just under four minutes left. White returned, and he played like a man possessed, ripping down rebounds and scoring five points on three possessions to keep us in it, then Cooper hit a three with 38 seconds to go to pull us to a one-point gap. 76-75! White fouled out four seconds later, and we went small with Cooper, Jefferson, Correa, Jones and Williams. But Detroit’s Brandon Pride missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Correa got the rebound and called time.
Twenty-two seconds left, down one. What to do? Mills elected to put the ball in Cooper’s hands and let him figure it out. It’s his job as the point guard, right? Right. Well, he can’t be blamed for this — Correa lost the ball out of bounds. We fouled Harris, who made both shots, and we’re down three with four seconds left. Jefferson got the inbound, found Cooper streaking up the side, fired a bullet pass past half-court, Cooper got it, threw up a desperation heave…
…and HIT IT!
78-78! Overtime, baby!
Detroit won the tip, but Jones got a steal and found Muhammad (playing for the fouled-out White) who drained a three. After a travel call on Detroit’s next possession, Cooper found Muhammad in the same spot, and he hit another three! All Coach Mills can do is shake his head with a bemused smile on his face. “I don’t even stop him anymore,” he said afterwards. “He’s been making ’em; we’ll let him put ’em up.”
A three-point play by Detroit’s David Mason made it 84-83 with 2:20 to go in overtime. He got back to the line and made one of two to tie it, but Detroit got the offensive rebound only to lose it to a Correa steal. What followed was the least exciting end to an overtime period ever, as only one shot got off in the final 1:45.
84-all.
DOUBLE overtime.
I should mention that we’re in the double bonus while Detroit still has a foul to give. Also, Cooper has four fouls.
Jones opened the second overtime period with a jumper. Two minutes went by without any more points until Sanders made two free throws to tie the score again at 86. With 1:22 left, Correa was fouled, but only hit one of two. Williams drew a charge on Harris, and Jones hit a hook shot at the other end to make it 89-86 with 49 seconds left. After a travel on the next possession, Harris fouled out with 31 seconds left by hacking Cooper, who sank both free throws. Two more from Williams sealed it. 93-86 final in double double over overtime.
Game of the year? Uhhhh… no. Way too sloppily played in stretches. Cooper ended up leading us in scoring with 17 points. He also had six assists. Jefferson added 16, Correa 15, Jones 13 (and 11 rebounds), Muhammad 12 thanks to those two threes in the first overtime, and White had 11 before fouling out, though five of those were huge in getting us back into the game at the end. Detroit’s LaRue led all scorers with 24. Sanders and Mark Keep had 15 apiece, and Mason finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Game 23 Report
Denver (6-15) at Illinois-Chicago (12-10)
Saturday, February 8, 2003
Time for a mid-season out-of-conference game.
The Pioneers are, well, not good. We took a quick 7-0 lead and they called time out. I mean quick. Like, 82 seconds. Even after the time out, Robbie Chase was the only Pioneer who could find the basket, and we were up 15-7 after seven minutes, and a subsequent 10-3 run gave us a 15-point lead.
How bad was it for Denver? Leading scorer Steven Palmer didn’t get a bucket until there was 5:40 left in the first half. He scored eight points in the span, but we still led 42-28 at the half. Nine of our guys played in the first half; eight of them scored. There was a point early in the game where the Pioneers were shooting under 20 percent, but they got sort of hot and checked in at 37 percent.
Little changed as the second half began. Jones took over, scoring nine of our next 18 points as we increased the lead to 60-36 with 13 minutes to play. There really isn’t a whole lot to talk about here. This was just an ass-kicking. 86-65 final. Jefferson led with 19. Jones added 16, and Williams had 14. Cooper had 10 and nine assists. Palmer matched his average with 16 to lead the Pioneers, and Chase added 13. But this was never a contest.
Awards:
Horizon League Player of the Week: PF #1 Melvin Dearman, 6’6” senior, Wisconsin-Green Bay (25.5 ppg, 10 rpg)
Horizon League Freshman of the Week: SF #25 Terence Keith, 6’2” freshman, Cleveland State (20.5 ppg)
National Player of the Week: PF Marshod Gottlieb, 6’9” sophomore, San Diego (38 ppg, 10 rpg, 3 bpg)
National Freshman of the Week: PF Ryan Ashburn, 6’10” freshman, Appalachian State (22.5 ppg)
News: Loyola-Chicago lost point guard Dante Caskill for likely the rest of the season with a broken ankle.
Since we’re at about the halfway point of the conference schedule:
Horizon League Standings:
Butler 8-1
Wisc.-GB 6-4
Wright St. 4-4
Detroit 4-5
UIC 4-5
Wisc.-Mil. 4-5
Loyola-Chi. 4-5
Youngstown St. 3-5
Cleveland St. 2-6
Game 22 Report
Detroit (12-9, 4-5) at Illinois-Chicago (11-10, 4-5)
Monday, February 3, 2003
This time around, let’s meet the man who runs their show:
PG #5 Adonis Harris (6’1”, 152, senior, Carbondale, IL)
10.9 ppg, 7.3 apg (3rd in conference), 3.60 GPA
And there he is with a three-pointer to start the game. This game, like most of them, was back-and-forth to start, neither team getting a clear advantage or being able to grab a big lead. Our foul shooting deserted us early as we missed four of our first six on our way to a 4-for-11 start after nine minutes. We trailed, 17-16.
Detroit’s Paris LaRue, starting for Martin Sanchez, who was hurt in the first meeting between our teams, then hit consecutive threes to extend the lead to 27-20. Jones actually made some foul shots late in the half to cut the deficit to 31-27 at one point, but LaRue came back with a jumper to make it a six-point game again with four minutes left in the half. A Jones 3 got us to 37-33, but we just couldn’t get over the hump in the first half, and it’s 43-36 Detroit at halftime.
LaRue has a game-high 14 so far. Mark Keep has 10 for Detroit. Jones and Jefferson have nine apiece for the Flames. White? Foul trouble. Again. I think I’m only going to start mentioning the times he actually plays.
The good news was LaRue missed his first three shots in the second half. The bad news was we missed every one after the first two for the next four minutes until a three from Cooper cut into their 50-40 lead. A jumper by Correa got us to within four with 12:30 left, but we still kept whiffing on getting that next score.
We finally got it on a beautiful pass from Correa to Fields, who hit a layup to make the score 52-50. But Harris hit a jumper of his own. Then Jefferson came back with a three and made it 54-53, but LaRue rebounded his own missed three and slammed it home. Fields scored on a putback, but Oliver Sanders (who we’ve managed to hold down tonight) banked a 15-footer to bring the lead back to three at 58-55 with 9:23 to go.
Cooper came back in and scored off a layup, but Detroit had an answer again. White, who had also just come back in, got his fourth foul almost immediately and was sent back to the pine. A frustrated Sanders fouled Cooper on a three… and he missed the third free throw. But it must have woken Oliver up, because he then scored five straight points. With five minutes left, the lead is 71-63. If he gets hot, this game is as good as lost.
Four points from Jefferson got us back to within five with just under four minutes left. White returned, and he played like a man possessed, ripping down rebounds and scoring five points on three possessions to keep us in it, then Cooper hit a three with 38 seconds to go to pull us to a one-point gap. 76-75! White fouled out four seconds later, and we went small with Cooper, Jefferson, Correa, Jones and Williams. But Detroit’s Brandon Pride missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Correa got the rebound and called time.
Twenty-two seconds left, down one. What to do? Mills elected to put the ball in Cooper’s hands and let him figure it out. It’s his job as the point guard, right? Right. Well, he can’t be blamed for this — Correa lost the ball out of bounds. We fouled Harris, who made both shots, and we’re down three with four seconds left. Jefferson got the inbound, found Cooper streaking up the side, fired a bullet pass past half-court, Cooper got it, threw up a desperation heave…
…and HIT IT!
78-78! Overtime, baby!
Detroit won the tip, but Jones got a steal and found Muhammad (playing for the fouled-out White) who drained a three. After a travel call on Detroit’s next possession, Cooper found Muhammad in the same spot, and he hit another three! All Coach Mills can do is shake his head with a bemused smile on his face. “I don’t even stop him anymore,” he said afterwards. “He’s been making ’em; we’ll let him put ’em up.”
A three-point play by Detroit’s David Mason made it 84-83 with 2:20 to go in overtime. He got back to the line and made one of two to tie it, but Detroit got the offensive rebound only to lose it to a Correa steal. What followed was the least exciting end to an overtime period ever, as only one shot got off in the final 1:45.
84-all.
DOUBLE overtime.
I should mention that we’re in the double bonus while Detroit still has a foul to give. Also, Cooper has four fouls.
Jones opened the second overtime period with a jumper. Two minutes went by without any more points until Sanders made two free throws to tie the score again at 86. With 1:22 left, Correa was fouled, but only hit one of two. Williams drew a charge on Harris, and Jones hit a hook shot at the other end to make it 89-86 with 49 seconds left. After a travel on the next possession, Harris fouled out with 31 seconds left by hacking Cooper, who sank both free throws. Two more from Williams sealed it. 93-86 final in double double over overtime.
Game of the year? Uhhhh… no. Way too sloppily played in stretches. Cooper ended up leading us in scoring with 17 points. He also had six assists. Jefferson added 16, Correa 15, Jones 13 (and 11 rebounds), Muhammad 12 thanks to those two threes in the first overtime, and White had 11 before fouling out, though five of those were huge in getting us back into the game at the end. Detroit’s LaRue led all scorers with 24. Sanders and Mark Keep had 15 apiece, and Mason finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Game 23 Report
Denver (6-15) at Illinois-Chicago (12-10)
Saturday, February 8, 2003
Time for a mid-season out-of-conference game.
The Pioneers are, well, not good. We took a quick 7-0 lead and they called time out. I mean quick. Like, 82 seconds. Even after the time out, Robbie Chase was the only Pioneer who could find the basket, and we were up 15-7 after seven minutes, and a subsequent 10-3 run gave us a 15-point lead.
How bad was it for Denver? Leading scorer Steven Palmer didn’t get a bucket until there was 5:40 left in the first half. He scored eight points in the span, but we still led 42-28 at the half. Nine of our guys played in the first half; eight of them scored. There was a point early in the game where the Pioneers were shooting under 20 percent, but they got sort of hot and checked in at 37 percent.
Little changed as the second half began. Jones took over, scoring nine of our next 18 points as we increased the lead to 60-36 with 13 minutes to play. There really isn’t a whole lot to talk about here. This was just an ass-kicking. 86-65 final. Jefferson led with 19. Jones added 16, and Williams had 14. Cooper had 10 and nine assists. Palmer matched his average with 16 to lead the Pioneers, and Chase added 13. But this was never a contest.
Saturday, February 7, 2004
Don't Mind Me; I'm Terrified
So I'm at work last night and I get a Hershey bar out of the vending machine, and when I go to open it, what I see astounds me.
Instructions.
I'm dead serious.
On the back of the wrapper, there is a circle on the left with "Hold Here" written in the middle of it, and at the top of the wrapper where the two sides meet, on that little flap, is a triangle pointing down the seam with "Tear Here".
I am not making this up. And God knows I wish I was.
Instructions.
I'm dead serious.
On the back of the wrapper, there is a circle on the left with "Hold Here" written in the middle of it, and at the top of the wrapper where the two sides meet, on that little flap, is a triangle pointing down the seam with "Tear Here".
I am not making this up. And God knows I wish I was.
Thursday, February 5, 2004
Illinois-Chicago Diary (Week 12)
Polls: Tennessee is still No. 1, but 20-0 Oklahoma has moved up to No. 2.
Academics: Yay! Kiwane Jefferson got his GPA up to 2.26 and was reinstated. Just in time, too — his shooting, and really, just his person, are badly needed.
Awards:
Horizon League Player of the Week: C #11 Gabriel Ichaki, 6’6” senior, Butler (24 ppg, 23 rpg) 22 and 28 in an 82-43 shellacking of Wright State on Saturday.
Horizon League Freshman of the Week: PG #12 Chris Merton, 6’3” freshman, Wisconsin-Green Bay (17 ppg, 7 apg) Second week in a row and third in the last four.
National Player of the Week: Jon Finley, 6’2” junior, New Hampshire (34.5 ppg)
National Freshman of the Week: Jeff Reese, 6’8” freshman, Rhode Island (30 ppg, 21 rpg, 4 bpg)
Game 20 Report
Illinois-Chicago (10-9, 3-4) at Cleveland State (11-8, 3-4)
Wednesday, January 29, 2003
Why, yes, we DID just play and beat the Vikings last week. Why do you ask?
This time around, the first points of the game came at the free throw line. Williams got our first three in the early going, and White had four rebounds as we trailed 9-7 after five minutes, only for Jones to give us the lead with a three. Cooper got two quick fouls, so Jefferson made his return a little earlier in the game than we’d planned, and the rust on him showed as he missed his first two shots. But he did get an assist on a nifty baseball pass to Correa. He recovered to sink his next two shots to help us to a four-point lead, and scored seven in his stint off the bench.
We hit a shooting slump late in the first half, but the Vikings had spent the entire game in a shooting slump, stuck around 35 percent. White and Jones were helping us out on the boards, but we didn’t make a shot in the last four minutes. Still, we led, 33-32 at halftime. Jefferson and Jones had seven apiece for the Flames. Marc Minton led Cleveland State with 10 at the half.
After losing the lead briefly, dunks by Jones and Williams started a 10-2 run to push the lead to 45-36. Cooper got two more fouls and hit the bench with four early — someone should tell him that Kiwane coming back doesn’t mean he can just play recklessly. It was 50-40 before another mini-slump hit us and the Vikings closed to within seven before we were able to pull away again. Jones and Jefferson pushed us at the offensive end, but we’d been giving up the odd three, so we switched to a zone late to make sure they didn’t come back on us. They didn’t. Apparently, home court advantage equals seven points, as this was our margin of victory this time. 72-63 this time around.
An up-and-down effort. Jefferson had a triumphant return, leading us with 16 points off the bench. Jones added 15 and eight rebounds, while White had 12 boards. Cooper and Correa combined for 13 assists. Minton and Terrence Keith had 15 apiece for the Vikings.
Game 21 Report
Wisconsin-Milwaukee (7-13, 3-5) at Illinois-Chicago (11-9, 4-4)
Saturday, February 1, 2003
REVENGE THE TIME IS NOW
But this isn’t good: after beating us the first time, the Panthers have won three of four (including a 112-64 thrashing of Youngstown State, a game in which Greg Morrill scored his first points) and are coming off a 20-point upset win at Detroit where they had five players score in double figures.
It was almost five minutes before we made a shot. That’s all you really need to know about how this game started. Down 8-0, we switched up our offensive sets and scored seven straight points after that before a Damian Jackson jumper ended the run. As usual, White got into foul trouble again, and Muhammad came in and did some good things (four points in the post) and bad things (why is a 6-10 player fouling guys on the perimeter?) We made another little run to get to 17-13, but couldn’t find a way to overtake them early on.
Jones picked up his second foul, giving us three guys already with two: him, White, and Fields. The shooting’s been pretty abysmal in the first half, with neither team breaking 35 percent. That’s the only thing keeping us in it, as we’re committing stupid fouls and can’t get to the line. We then start getting to the line, but we can’t make those shots, either. The Panthers lead by 11 at one point, and are up 31-22 at halftime.
Seven of 21 from the floor. Thirteen turnovers in the first half. Against a good team we’d be down 25. We’re doing irreparable harm to the game of basketball with this farce. Jones has eight at the break to lead all scorers. Muhammad has six off the bench for us.
Coach Mills must have used that “irreparable harm to the game of basketball” line in the locker room at halftime, because they came out in the second half and tried to fix it. It started at the free throw line, where we got out first six points of the second half. That and a White jumper closed the gap to 33-30. Cooper got whistled for a flagrant foul that gave him four, and he’s really regressed in the last week and a half. Fortunately, the Panthers missed both technical free throws and turned over the ball on the possession.
Correa hit a three to get us to 34-33, but Keaton Grady responded with a three of his own. We stayed within three or four points of them for a while, but Correa went to the bench for a breather, and with Cooper still there, the Panthers pulled away slightly, taking a 53-45 lead with 6:36 to play.
With 3:45 left, Jones got fouled on a three-point attempt, but missed the last two shots. However, White got the rebound and put it back to close the gap to 58-52. Jackson fouled out for the Panthers soon after, and Williams hit two free throws to make it 60-54 with 2:52 left. We got within four before a John Burch jumper and a three from Grady pushed the lead to 65-56 with 51 seconds left. And with both teams in the bonus, the odds were against us catching them, and we didn’t. 68-60 loss.
Jones led all scorers with 17. Jefferson and Williams had 10 apiece. For the Panthers, Ian Okotie led with 12, Grady had 11, and Ross Shivers added 10 and eight rebounds. It seemed like every basket Shivers made stopped any thoughts of making a run we might have had — they always came after we’d hit a couple in a row and were getting some momentum. Cooper never did get back in the game after the flagrant foul, leading reporters to ask coach Mills after the game if his starting spot was in jeopardy. Mills said he wasn’t sure. He also said off the record that he thinks the Panthers and coach Courtney Fuhs were sandbagging the conference all along.
Academics: Yay! Kiwane Jefferson got his GPA up to 2.26 and was reinstated. Just in time, too — his shooting, and really, just his person, are badly needed.
Awards:
Horizon League Player of the Week: C #11 Gabriel Ichaki, 6’6” senior, Butler (24 ppg, 23 rpg) 22 and 28 in an 82-43 shellacking of Wright State on Saturday.
Horizon League Freshman of the Week: PG #12 Chris Merton, 6’3” freshman, Wisconsin-Green Bay (17 ppg, 7 apg) Second week in a row and third in the last four.
National Player of the Week: Jon Finley, 6’2” junior, New Hampshire (34.5 ppg)
National Freshman of the Week: Jeff Reese, 6’8” freshman, Rhode Island (30 ppg, 21 rpg, 4 bpg)
Game 20 Report
Illinois-Chicago (10-9, 3-4) at Cleveland State (11-8, 3-4)
Wednesday, January 29, 2003
Why, yes, we DID just play and beat the Vikings last week. Why do you ask?
This time around, the first points of the game came at the free throw line. Williams got our first three in the early going, and White had four rebounds as we trailed 9-7 after five minutes, only for Jones to give us the lead with a three. Cooper got two quick fouls, so Jefferson made his return a little earlier in the game than we’d planned, and the rust on him showed as he missed his first two shots. But he did get an assist on a nifty baseball pass to Correa. He recovered to sink his next two shots to help us to a four-point lead, and scored seven in his stint off the bench.
We hit a shooting slump late in the first half, but the Vikings had spent the entire game in a shooting slump, stuck around 35 percent. White and Jones were helping us out on the boards, but we didn’t make a shot in the last four minutes. Still, we led, 33-32 at halftime. Jefferson and Jones had seven apiece for the Flames. Marc Minton led Cleveland State with 10 at the half.
After losing the lead briefly, dunks by Jones and Williams started a 10-2 run to push the lead to 45-36. Cooper got two more fouls and hit the bench with four early — someone should tell him that Kiwane coming back doesn’t mean he can just play recklessly. It was 50-40 before another mini-slump hit us and the Vikings closed to within seven before we were able to pull away again. Jones and Jefferson pushed us at the offensive end, but we’d been giving up the odd three, so we switched to a zone late to make sure they didn’t come back on us. They didn’t. Apparently, home court advantage equals seven points, as this was our margin of victory this time. 72-63 this time around.
An up-and-down effort. Jefferson had a triumphant return, leading us with 16 points off the bench. Jones added 15 and eight rebounds, while White had 12 boards. Cooper and Correa combined for 13 assists. Minton and Terrence Keith had 15 apiece for the Vikings.
Game 21 Report
Wisconsin-Milwaukee (7-13, 3-5) at Illinois-Chicago (11-9, 4-4)
Saturday, February 1, 2003
REVENGE THE TIME IS NOW
But this isn’t good: after beating us the first time, the Panthers have won three of four (including a 112-64 thrashing of Youngstown State, a game in which Greg Morrill scored his first points) and are coming off a 20-point upset win at Detroit where they had five players score in double figures.
It was almost five minutes before we made a shot. That’s all you really need to know about how this game started. Down 8-0, we switched up our offensive sets and scored seven straight points after that before a Damian Jackson jumper ended the run. As usual, White got into foul trouble again, and Muhammad came in and did some good things (four points in the post) and bad things (why is a 6-10 player fouling guys on the perimeter?) We made another little run to get to 17-13, but couldn’t find a way to overtake them early on.
Jones picked up his second foul, giving us three guys already with two: him, White, and Fields. The shooting’s been pretty abysmal in the first half, with neither team breaking 35 percent. That’s the only thing keeping us in it, as we’re committing stupid fouls and can’t get to the line. We then start getting to the line, but we can’t make those shots, either. The Panthers lead by 11 at one point, and are up 31-22 at halftime.
Seven of 21 from the floor. Thirteen turnovers in the first half. Against a good team we’d be down 25. We’re doing irreparable harm to the game of basketball with this farce. Jones has eight at the break to lead all scorers. Muhammad has six off the bench for us.
Coach Mills must have used that “irreparable harm to the game of basketball” line in the locker room at halftime, because they came out in the second half and tried to fix it. It started at the free throw line, where we got out first six points of the second half. That and a White jumper closed the gap to 33-30. Cooper got whistled for a flagrant foul that gave him four, and he’s really regressed in the last week and a half. Fortunately, the Panthers missed both technical free throws and turned over the ball on the possession.
Correa hit a three to get us to 34-33, but Keaton Grady responded with a three of his own. We stayed within three or four points of them for a while, but Correa went to the bench for a breather, and with Cooper still there, the Panthers pulled away slightly, taking a 53-45 lead with 6:36 to play.
With 3:45 left, Jones got fouled on a three-point attempt, but missed the last two shots. However, White got the rebound and put it back to close the gap to 58-52. Jackson fouled out for the Panthers soon after, and Williams hit two free throws to make it 60-54 with 2:52 left. We got within four before a John Burch jumper and a three from Grady pushed the lead to 65-56 with 51 seconds left. And with both teams in the bonus, the odds were against us catching them, and we didn’t. 68-60 loss.
Jones led all scorers with 17. Jefferson and Williams had 10 apiece. For the Panthers, Ian Okotie led with 12, Grady had 11, and Ross Shivers added 10 and eight rebounds. It seemed like every basket Shivers made stopped any thoughts of making a run we might have had — they always came after we’d hit a couple in a row and were getting some momentum. Cooper never did get back in the game after the flagrant foul, leading reporters to ask coach Mills after the game if his starting spot was in jeopardy. Mills said he wasn’t sure. He also said off the record that he thinks the Panthers and coach Courtney Fuhs were sandbagging the conference all along.
Tuesday, February 3, 2004
By The Pigskin Of Our Teeth: Super Bowl Sundae
Chris: "And is CBS really so desperate to find things to fill 94 hours of Super Bowl pre-game coverage that they felt the need to defrost Duran Duran?" I myself watched the Sixers blow an 18-point halftime lead to the T'Wolves. I'd call it a disgrace, but the Wolves could win the title, so I really can't.
Woooo. Beyonce KILLED.
All right, whoever had 15 in the "total number of captains for the opening coin toss" pool, please collect. Thank you. I wonder what the over/under on that was. And don't tell me there WASN'T one.
He Hate Me is in the Super Bowl. God bless America. Back, forth. Back and forth. Is Troy Brown gonna break one here? Viniatieri... MISSES? WTF? You know what we're gonna need soon is a turnover if this keeps up. It's not so much that the defenses are making big or great plays, it's that they're just not giving anything offensively. And this time Vinatieri gets BLOCKED. I didn't know about the four misses here - he must hate this place right now.
"Dad, that's just wrong."~~~~~~~
Aaaaaand it's a FUMBLE! That's about right. Now can the scoring start? Thank you. Whoa! How exactly did Smith end up being covered by somebody other than Law on that play? Now if you don't think this is enough time for Brady to do something, you're nuts. You know who's good is this Branch kid. Hey, when I asked for the scoring to start, I didn't mean all at once! "Can I say again how much I hate the squib kick?" Simms~~~~ Then Fox straps on a pair and calls a draw play, figuring nobody would see it coming. Fortunately for him, it worked.
"I gotta have you naked by the end of this song." Well... The real outrage should be that Justin Timberlake is even allowed within 100 miles of Janet Jackson, much less SHARING A STAGE with her. I'd add that he can't carry her jock, but it would sound and look ridiculous. See?
Ladies and gentlemen, Adam Vinatieri has new shoes.
That streaker guy better never show up at a WWE broadcast if he values his life. And I would not be shocked if somebody gets fired over that.
The commercials have been pretty weak, for the most part. "It's like having an angel by your side." That's pretty high praise for a FUCKING RAZOR. Idiots.
Think Walter and Sauerbrun'll kick Hunter Smith's ass next time they see him? "Pansy." *kick*
Remember what I said about Antowain Smith and the playoffs? He just scored. 21-10. Come on, safety. The Panthers need six here, and now we're going to see what Delhomme's really made of. And this is what. Three bullets, then Foster (!) bounces outside and runs away from everybody. The Panthers had two good runs in this game; this and the Davis draw. That's IT.
Don't do it, Fox. Don't do it. Listen to Phil, DO NOT DO IT. Don't do... don't... don't... GAH! It was WAY too early for that. They were gonna get at least one more possession, and most likely two, and now they're gonna have to do it again. Always take the easy points outside of five minutes, folks.
Hey, a Kevin Faulk sighting! A touchdown here probably ends it. Interception? On Brady? In the END ZONE? Now THERE'S something you don't see every day.
THAT was the longest passing touchdown in Super Bowl history? I'll be DAMNED. And this is what I was talking about - had they kicked the extra point last time, they'd be up two and just kick it again. Now they have to go for two. And they're denied AGAIN! Wow. The last time the Patriots trailed? That game against the Texans. They must REALLY hate this place.
Here we go again. Nobody knows the Pats' receivers, but they can run, they know how to get open and they hold on to the ball. I know it sounds like a lot, but it's all you need. HERE WE GO AGAIN. Mike Vrabel? MIKE F'N VRABEL? Now that's guts: "We need a go-ahead touchdown." "OK, put in the weakside linebacker." I think even the announcers were fooled on the direct snap to Faulk on the conversion - I know we all were.
The Panthers' offensive plan all night has been that this is Delhomme's game, so there's no reason to change course now. He's carving this secondary like a pork roast. Is this happening? Ricky Proehl's STILL alive? The Pats should try to get him just so he can't cause them any more agita. Holy crap. It's tied.
He kicked off... the ball... it went... how does... oh my God. He may be joining John Carney in Cuba if this ends the way it looks like it's going to. And even here, they call offensive pass interference. Dubious, though I guess you gotta get it in every week. The only complaint I have with CBS at this point is that they never mentioned the time out situation, not with a graphic or anything.
They're gonna ice Vinatieri. This led to this exchange in the office:
James: "Matt? Your stock line?"
Me: "This NEVER WORKS."
And sure enough. Haven't we seen this before? Max made a damn good argument for Vrabel as MVP, but that's not gonna sell any T-shirts. Forget Kid Rock - Brady's the pimp of the nation.
I will not call this the best Super Bowl I've ever seen - the game two years ago was a better overall game. And 23 (Niners-Bengals II) remains second - that last drive was art, a master at work. I'll put this in the second tier, with Elway's first win and Rams-Titans. Had it gone to overtime, maybe it's a different story.
FINAL RANKINGS!
TOP 3
1. New England - And with seven picks in the first four rounds, will probably only get better
2. Indianapolis - Manning about to get paid
3. Carolina - Believe
BOTTOM 3
30. N.Y. Giants - After tank job, could benefit from Coughlin's foot up their asses
31. Oakland - Norv Turner? *yawn*
32. San Diego - TRADE DOWN DAMN IT
Woooo. Beyonce KILLED.
All right, whoever had 15 in the "total number of captains for the opening coin toss" pool, please collect. Thank you. I wonder what the over/under on that was. And don't tell me there WASN'T one.
He Hate Me is in the Super Bowl. God bless America. Back, forth. Back and forth. Is Troy Brown gonna break one here? Viniatieri... MISSES? WTF? You know what we're gonna need soon is a turnover if this keeps up. It's not so much that the defenses are making big or great plays, it's that they're just not giving anything offensively. And this time Vinatieri gets BLOCKED. I didn't know about the four misses here - he must hate this place right now.
"Dad, that's just wrong."~~~~~~~
Aaaaaand it's a FUMBLE! That's about right. Now can the scoring start? Thank you. Whoa! How exactly did Smith end up being covered by somebody other than Law on that play? Now if you don't think this is enough time for Brady to do something, you're nuts. You know who's good is this Branch kid. Hey, when I asked for the scoring to start, I didn't mean all at once! "Can I say again how much I hate the squib kick?" Simms~~~~ Then Fox straps on a pair and calls a draw play, figuring nobody would see it coming. Fortunately for him, it worked.
"I gotta have you naked by the end of this song." Well... The real outrage should be that Justin Timberlake is even allowed within 100 miles of Janet Jackson, much less SHARING A STAGE with her. I'd add that he can't carry her jock, but it would sound and look ridiculous. See?
Ladies and gentlemen, Adam Vinatieri has new shoes.
That streaker guy better never show up at a WWE broadcast if he values his life. And I would not be shocked if somebody gets fired over that.
The commercials have been pretty weak, for the most part. "It's like having an angel by your side." That's pretty high praise for a FUCKING RAZOR. Idiots.
Think Walter and Sauerbrun'll kick Hunter Smith's ass next time they see him? "Pansy." *kick*
Remember what I said about Antowain Smith and the playoffs? He just scored. 21-10. Come on, safety. The Panthers need six here, and now we're going to see what Delhomme's really made of. And this is what. Three bullets, then Foster (!) bounces outside and runs away from everybody. The Panthers had two good runs in this game; this and the Davis draw. That's IT.
Don't do it, Fox. Don't do it. Listen to Phil, DO NOT DO IT. Don't do... don't... don't... GAH! It was WAY too early for that. They were gonna get at least one more possession, and most likely two, and now they're gonna have to do it again. Always take the easy points outside of five minutes, folks.
Hey, a Kevin Faulk sighting! A touchdown here probably ends it. Interception? On Brady? In the END ZONE? Now THERE'S something you don't see every day.
THAT was the longest passing touchdown in Super Bowl history? I'll be DAMNED. And this is what I was talking about - had they kicked the extra point last time, they'd be up two and just kick it again. Now they have to go for two. And they're denied AGAIN! Wow. The last time the Patriots trailed? That game against the Texans. They must REALLY hate this place.
Here we go again. Nobody knows the Pats' receivers, but they can run, they know how to get open and they hold on to the ball. I know it sounds like a lot, but it's all you need. HERE WE GO AGAIN. Mike Vrabel? MIKE F'N VRABEL? Now that's guts: "We need a go-ahead touchdown." "OK, put in the weakside linebacker." I think even the announcers were fooled on the direct snap to Faulk on the conversion - I know we all were.
The Panthers' offensive plan all night has been that this is Delhomme's game, so there's no reason to change course now. He's carving this secondary like a pork roast. Is this happening? Ricky Proehl's STILL alive? The Pats should try to get him just so he can't cause them any more agita. Holy crap. It's tied.
He kicked off... the ball... it went... how does... oh my God. He may be joining John Carney in Cuba if this ends the way it looks like it's going to. And even here, they call offensive pass interference. Dubious, though I guess you gotta get it in every week. The only complaint I have with CBS at this point is that they never mentioned the time out situation, not with a graphic or anything.
They're gonna ice Vinatieri. This led to this exchange in the office:
James: "Matt? Your stock line?"
Me: "This NEVER WORKS."
And sure enough. Haven't we seen this before? Max made a damn good argument for Vrabel as MVP, but that's not gonna sell any T-shirts. Forget Kid Rock - Brady's the pimp of the nation.
I will not call this the best Super Bowl I've ever seen - the game two years ago was a better overall game. And 23 (Niners-Bengals II) remains second - that last drive was art, a master at work. I'll put this in the second tier, with Elway's first win and Rams-Titans. Had it gone to overtime, maybe it's a different story.
FINAL RANKINGS!
TOP 3
1. New England - And with seven picks in the first four rounds, will probably only get better
2. Indianapolis - Manning about to get paid
3. Carolina - Believe
BOTTOM 3
30. N.Y. Giants - After tank job, could benefit from Coughlin's foot up their asses
31. Oakland - Norv Turner? *yawn*
32. San Diego - TRADE DOWN DAMN IT
Sunday, February 1, 2004
The Pick
So, yeah.
The Panthers have done just about all of this with running, defense, and running. And some timely passing thrown in for good measure. But running on the Patriots hasn't been easy this season, to say the least, and it won't be easy today. Delhomme threw 14 passes in the NFC title game. They're not going to win this game with him throwing only 14 passes.
The Patriots played most of this season held together by Band-Aids and gauze. This group is pretty much the same (as much as it can be these days) as the team that won two years ago. Defensively, they do a million things and change them every week. Brady runs a somewhat more balanced offense and simply doesn't feel pressure.
This'll be a simple game; basic football. Not a lot of flash, but not a lot of mistakes, either. We're not going to see a blowout or an utter coaching mismatch. The Panthers could win, but the Patriots, I think, are a better version of the Panthers. And in the interest of being consistent with my poll votes:
New England 23, Carolina 13
The Panthers have done just about all of this with running, defense, and running. And some timely passing thrown in for good measure. But running on the Patriots hasn't been easy this season, to say the least, and it won't be easy today. Delhomme threw 14 passes in the NFC title game. They're not going to win this game with him throwing only 14 passes.
The Patriots played most of this season held together by Band-Aids and gauze. This group is pretty much the same (as much as it can be these days) as the team that won two years ago. Defensively, they do a million things and change them every week. Brady runs a somewhat more balanced offense and simply doesn't feel pressure.
This'll be a simple game; basic football. Not a lot of flash, but not a lot of mistakes, either. We're not going to see a blowout or an utter coaching mismatch. The Panthers could win, but the Patriots, I think, are a better version of the Panthers. And in the interest of being consistent with my poll votes:
New England 23, Carolina 13
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