The term Cinderella applies no more aptly to any school than Gonzaga University. The no-name Bulldogs earned the nickname by advancing deep into the NCAA Tournament for three consecutive years. The success made shining stars out of Casey Calvary, Dan Dickau, Richie Frahm and Blake Stepp. However, as Gonzaga has increased success recruiting actual stars to it's Spokane campus, the NCAA Tournament success has dwindled.
In 1999, Gonzaga shocked the college basketball world and advanced to the Elite Eight. As a 10-seed, they upset Minnesota, Stanford, and Florida. They cemented "The Runner" in the lexicon of college basketball. The Zags even took eventual National Champion UConn to the final minute before losing, 67-62. The following year, Gonzaga did the unimaginable and returned to the Sweet 16. Again as a 10-seed, the Bulldogs defeated Louisville and St. John's to make the second weekend. In 2001, they did the impossible and returned once more to the Sweet 16. This remarkable run earned them the Cinderella moniker and title of America's Team.
2002 is the year in which the trouble started. The NCAA Tournament selection committee screwed Gonzaga by handing them a 6-seed, despite the fact Gonzaga was ranked 6th in the nation. Instead of showing the tournament committee up, the Bulldogs blew it and lost in the first round to 11th seeded Wyoming. The following year, the Bulldogs heroically took the #1 overall seed Arizona Wildcats to their absolute limit, eventually losing in double-overtime. In 2004, Gonzaga received their highest seed from the selection committee to date (#2 in the West), only to get smoked by the Nevada Wolfpack in the second round. In 2005, Gonzaga received a 3-seed, only to lose again in the second round, this time to Texas Tech. In 2006, Gonzaga received another 3-seed. This time, the Zags got out of the tournament's opening weekend for the first time since 2001. However, they blew a huge lead against UCLA and lost an absolute heart-breaker in Adam Morrison's final college game.
In the last two years, Gonzaga has seen disheartening opening round defeats. They were worked by Indiana as 10-seed in 2007. Just this past weekend, Gonzaga was upset by upstart Davidson. Despite their 8 West Coast Conference Championships, Gonzaga has advanced past the first weekend only once since 2001.
Gonzaga has only lost to a lower-seeded team three times in this 10-year span. Even still, only one of those games (2004 against Nevada) should be considered disasterous. He who giveth also taketh away. The light that shone on Gonzaga early in their run has turned to new keepers of the mid-major flame, namely George Mason, Davidson or whatever the Missouri Valley Conference has to offer. It would be easy to label the Gonzaga Bulldogs as overrated or choke-artists; looking at the facts, however, it seems they're just victims to the fickel fate of the NCAA Tournament.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Make This Happen
The NCAA Tournament is damn near flawless. Even still, minor tweaks could improve it. There are three sure-fire ways to fix the minor flaws of the tournament while keeping its spirit in tact.
1. Eliminate the opening round game. It’s a shame that the losing school of this game is even considered to be in the actual tournament. Even though both of these schools are champions, they receive zero respect. Their school name appears in smaller font on the bracket line, if it’s included at all. They also won’t appear on those tacky t-shirts that list the entire bracket on the back. They don’t get to experience the true NCAA tournament. Reward the champions and punish the at-large teams. The opening round should be eliminated, but the play-in concept should not.
2. Expand the play-in game format. There should be three play-in games on the Tuesday after Selection Sunday. All three games will involve questionable at-large teams that have a real claim for tournament inclusion. All games will involve power conference mediocrity taking on mid-major good-but-not-greatness This year’s line-up could potentially look like this:
Villanova vs. Illinois State
Arizona State vs. Temple
Dayton vs. Baylor.
Winners advance to the NCAA Tournament and losers go home to watch the real tournament begin without them. The tournament would be considered to have 64 teams, not 67. This would create a situation where actual champions (yes, even of the weakest conferences) are treated as such and the at-large runners-up need to prove their worth. This would also create a hot-topic for the water coolers and blogs by pouring gasoline on the Major/Mid-Major fire. Possible names for this event include “Prove-It Tuesday” or “The Official Major/Mid-Major Bracketology Buster sponsored by Pontiac and the lame college basketball themed made-for-TV movie ESPN is trying to shove down our throats this year.”
3. Enforce a .500 winning percentage requirement. The NCAA Tournament is not in existence to deliver exciting games for the casual television spectator. Its purpose is to determine a National Champion. Would the 7th place team from the ACC with a 7-9 conference record have a better chance of advancing than a 12-4 2nd place team from a respectable mid-major conference? Probably. However, does the former team deserve to be in the tournament over the latter? Absolutely not. We know they’re not good enough to win it all. They weren’t even good enough to finish in the top half of their conference.
These three steps would make the NCAA Tournament fairer and more exciting; at the same time, these steps would stave off far-fetched ideas such as implementing a 128-team format or inviting only the 64 “best” teams. Small tweaks would allow the heart of the tournament to remain in tact while simultaneously keeping the magic of March Madness alive.
1. Eliminate the opening round game. It’s a shame that the losing school of this game is even considered to be in the actual tournament. Even though both of these schools are champions, they receive zero respect. Their school name appears in smaller font on the bracket line, if it’s included at all. They also won’t appear on those tacky t-shirts that list the entire bracket on the back. They don’t get to experience the true NCAA tournament. Reward the champions and punish the at-large teams. The opening round should be eliminated, but the play-in concept should not.
2. Expand the play-in game format. There should be three play-in games on the Tuesday after Selection Sunday. All three games will involve questionable at-large teams that have a real claim for tournament inclusion. All games will involve power conference mediocrity taking on mid-major good-but-not-greatness This year’s line-up could potentially look like this:
Villanova vs. Illinois State
Arizona State vs. Temple
Dayton vs. Baylor.
Winners advance to the NCAA Tournament and losers go home to watch the real tournament begin without them. The tournament would be considered to have 64 teams, not 67. This would create a situation where actual champions (yes, even of the weakest conferences) are treated as such and the at-large runners-up need to prove their worth. This would also create a hot-topic for the water coolers and blogs by pouring gasoline on the Major/Mid-Major fire. Possible names for this event include “Prove-It Tuesday” or “The Official Major/Mid-Major Bracketology Buster sponsored by Pontiac and the lame college basketball themed made-for-TV movie ESPN is trying to shove down our throats this year.”
3. Enforce a .500 winning percentage requirement. The NCAA Tournament is not in existence to deliver exciting games for the casual television spectator. Its purpose is to determine a National Champion. Would the 7th place team from the ACC with a 7-9 conference record have a better chance of advancing than a 12-4 2nd place team from a respectable mid-major conference? Probably. However, does the former team deserve to be in the tournament over the latter? Absolutely not. We know they’re not good enough to win it all. They weren’t even good enough to finish in the top half of their conference.
These three steps would make the NCAA Tournament fairer and more exciting; at the same time, these steps would stave off far-fetched ideas such as implementing a 128-team format or inviting only the 64 “best” teams. Small tweaks would allow the heart of the tournament to remain in tact while simultaneously keeping the magic of March Madness alive.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Epic at the Mecca
Ok, so when Adam Morrison declared for the NBA Draft one of the main reasons I was upset was because, had he stayed, Gonzaga surely would have gotten major exposure on ESPN. I said they would receive the "Duke Treatment" from the World Wide Leader. I was close, but a little off. The Zags won't be getting the Duke Treatment. Even without Morrison next year, the Zags will be getting Duke.
An article today on SI.com announced that Gonzaga and Duke will meet for the first time ever. Not at Cameron, not at the Kennel, but at the Mecca of Sports, Madison Square Garden.
Anyone think this might be televised nationally?
Damn!
Damn!
Damn!
The ultimate showdown between the best "Major" and the best "Mid-Major" programs and we're one year too late! Morrison vs. J.J. Reddick this past season could have been as big as Larry Bird and Indiana State vs. Magic Johnson and Michigan State back in 1979. Either way, Gonzaga can still make a HUGE statement. Following George Mason's Final Four run, a team from the West Coast Conference beating Duke at MSG would solidy "mid-majors" for years to come.
If Morrison had stayed, Gonzaga would probably roll into MSG with at least a top 5 ranking and the opportunity to take out the cream of the "Major" crop. Without him, the Zags are barely a top 25 team. Depending on the development of Josh Heytvelt, they could be good.
The Blue Devils aren't looking too fantastic for next year, either. Depending on freshman coming in and making an immediate impact, Duke might not be the familiar team we're used to seeing in the top 3.
Anyway, this is pretty exciting. Hopefully this game will spawn a home & home series between the two so we can see the Cameron Crazies and Kennel Club in top form.
Somewhere, I think Duke Vitale just exploded.
An article today on SI.com announced that Gonzaga and Duke will meet for the first time ever. Not at Cameron, not at the Kennel, but at the Mecca of Sports, Madison Square Garden.
Anyone think this might be televised nationally?
Damn!
Damn!
Damn!
The ultimate showdown between the best "Major" and the best "Mid-Major" programs and we're one year too late! Morrison vs. J.J. Reddick this past season could have been as big as Larry Bird and Indiana State vs. Magic Johnson and Michigan State back in 1979. Either way, Gonzaga can still make a HUGE statement. Following George Mason's Final Four run, a team from the West Coast Conference beating Duke at MSG would solidy "mid-majors" for years to come.
If Morrison had stayed, Gonzaga would probably roll into MSG with at least a top 5 ranking and the opportunity to take out the cream of the "Major" crop. Without him, the Zags are barely a top 25 team. Depending on the development of Josh Heytvelt, they could be good.
The Blue Devils aren't looking too fantastic for next year, either. Depending on freshman coming in and making an immediate impact, Duke might not be the familiar team we're used to seeing in the top 3.
Anyway, this is pretty exciting. Hopefully this game will spawn a home & home series between the two so we can see the Cameron Crazies and Kennel Club in top form.
Somewhere, I think Duke Vitale just exploded.
Curt Schilling, Sure Killing
Even though he took the loss last night against the Yanks, Curt Schilling is still better than everyone not named Roger Clemens. He's the only pitcher in MLB history to have won a World Series game for three different teams.
Respect.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Wii Have Liftoff
At the E3 Convention today in Los Angeles, Nintendo released a lot of interesting info about their upcoming video game console Wii. (Seriously... don't make fun of the name. I like it. It's like Google or Yahoo.)Titles such as Super Mario Galaxy, Excite Truck, Duck Hunt (!!!), Red Steel and Madden NFL Football 2007 were on display.
The most interesting thing I've read so far involves the Madden game. I cannot wait to see how that enhances the franchise. Football games need a kick in the ass and the new Wii controlls just might be the boot.
Although I haven't had a chance to play it, the boys over at IGN.com have, and they seem elated. They say,
"Although we were very timid to play the game, our hesitations were put to ease as soon as soon as we got to throw the first pass. We found out pretty quickly that the control for this incarnation of Madden football is where the game shines. Made to be as easy as possible, the control scheme never felt contrived or difficult, but rather felt natural and simple to pick up on. Once we started playing the second time around, we found that we were completing passes and finding holes, even if we had to create them ourselves. Madden '07 makes good use of the motion sensor as it is used in nearly ever aspect of the gameplay, from kicking the perfect field goal to making the game winning pass. We can't express enough how much fun the control scheme was; We were elated to put ourselves in the place of the quarterback, only to snap the ball and throw the passes by ourselves. Even the most hardened Madden fans will find something to love with the Nintendo Wii's control scheme."
Awesome. I cannot friggin' wait to play that. Check out their full Wii recap (so far) for more information.
Here's a video of the system's capabilities:
One of the most interesting concepts is that the wireless-controllers will have speakers in them. An example of this is when playing Zelda when you draw the controller back to shoot an arrow, the controller makes a sound effect when you shoot and the television makes a sound when it hits the target. Awesome.
I'm really excited for this system as opposed to Sony's PlayStation 3 and the already available Microsoft XBOX 360. Nintendo seems to be the only company out of the three that isn't just releasing a new processor in some new plastic to make a quick buck. Although Nintendo 64 and GameCube might not have been as commercially successful as their competitors, they are aweosme systems. With all these new inventions, Nintendo is bound to grab a big share of the video game market with Wii.
Video credit: Youtube.com
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
New Albums 05.09.06
There are a three truly fantastic albums coming out today...
For starters, Neil Young has his new album, chock full of political rockers, entitled Living with War out today. The album includes the song "Let's Impeach the President" which is an absolutely awesome scathing attack of President Bush and his actions in office.
Everything from the War on Terror, Hurricane Katrina, and the focus on steroids in Major League Baseball is brought up as evidence for impeachment. The song includes snippets from the Commander in Chief himself, with Young shouting "Flip" and "Flop" after every contradiction. Great stuff that proves the "Godfather of Grunge" is still releasing top-shelf work four decades into his career.
The almighty Red Hot Chili Peppers have their latest effort coming out today. Stadium Arcadium is a double-album with "Dani California" as the lead single. Although I didn't like the single, the rest of the album is really great. A lot of Frusciante influence!
One stand out track (out of many, seriously, it's really good) is "She's Only 18." The song contains a funky Flea bassline, crazy Frusciante solo, driving drums from Chad Smith, and crazy Kiedis lyrics. He belts out,
Gnarls Barkley's album, St. Elsewhere, was released today as well. Unfortunately, the three stores I visited today didn't have it displayed in the New Release section. The album is a step in a completely new direction for hip-hop. By now the song I'm feeling the most is "Feng Shui." Check out my recent post on the duo, Gnarls in Charge.
Other new music that comes out today includes stuff like Grandaddy's final album Just Like the Fambly Cat, the U.S. release of Daft Punk's Human After All and new stuff from Snow Patrol.
The award for "Best Name for a Band Releasing an Album Today" goes to Jack Off Jill, which has a best-of out today.
Feel free to let me know if these (or any other albums) are worth checking out!
For starters, Neil Young has his new album, chock full of political rockers, entitled Living with War out today. The album includes the song "Let's Impeach the President" which is an absolutely awesome scathing attack of President Bush and his actions in office.Everything from the War on Terror, Hurricane Katrina, and the focus on steroids in Major League Baseball is brought up as evidence for impeachment. The song includes snippets from the Commander in Chief himself, with Young shouting "Flip" and "Flop" after every contradiction. Great stuff that proves the "Godfather of Grunge" is still releasing top-shelf work four decades into his career.
The almighty Red Hot Chili Peppers have their latest effort coming out today. Stadium Arcadium is a double-album with "Dani California" as the lead single. Although I didn't like the single, the rest of the album is really great. A lot of Frusciante influence!
One stand out track (out of many, seriously, it's really good) is "She's Only 18." The song contains a funky Flea bassline, crazy Frusciante solo, driving drums from Chad Smith, and crazy Kiedis lyrics. He belts out,
"It's understood you wrap the voodoo right around my neck/ You've got some glitter on your kitty at the discotheque/ I throw my lovin' in your oven and I had to check/ The last I heard from you well you we're screamin' resurrect! "Pretty much everything you could ever want from the Chili Peppers.
Gnarls Barkley's album, St. Elsewhere, was released today as well. Unfortunately, the three stores I visited today didn't have it displayed in the New Release section. The album is a step in a completely new direction for hip-hop. By now the song I'm feeling the most is "Feng Shui." Check out my recent post on the duo, Gnarls in Charge.
Other new music that comes out today includes stuff like Grandaddy's final album Just Like the Fambly Cat, the U.S. release of Daft Punk's Human After All and new stuff from Snow Patrol.
The award for "Best Name for a Band Releasing an Album Today" goes to Jack Off Jill, which has a best-of out today.
Feel free to let me know if these (or any other albums) are worth checking out!
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Sprawl Classic?
"So much for the Hallway Series, huh?"
- Ernie Johnson
"For those of you looking for a Clippers-Lakers series... FORGET ABOUT IT."
- Steve Levy
E.J. and Levy probably made a bunch on 12-year-olds cry by exclaiming that with such enthusiasm. Fortunately, they probably also made ESPN, TNT, Bill Simmons, ABC, Jack Nicholson, Stephen A. Smith, Arash Markazi, Scoop Jackson, Disney, TBS, Ted Turner, Michael Eisner, etc. shed tears as well.
There will be no lucrative showdown between the two Los Angeles teams. Thanks to Phoenix working the Lakers for 48 minutes, we'll get a much less anticipated matchup between the Suns and the Clippers. Looks like all those columns written after Game 4 will be swept under the rug. I only wish I could hear sports talk radio tomorrow in the City of Angels...
Unfortunately for me, I can't sarcastically call the L.A./L.A. showdown the Sprawl Classic. Oh well. Small price to pay!
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
New Albums 05.02.06
There are a couple albums of interest coming out today...
In case you forgot about Pearl Jam, they've released three outstanding albums since 2000. This new, self-titled record is the first released under the J label. Without question their hardest album to date, Pearl Jam keeps up the reputation as America's leading rock band. Lead by the single, "World Wide Suicide", the album is yet another notch under their belt. I'll have a full review after a couple more spins.
Mobb Deep also has an album coming out today, their first as members of the G-Unit family. The record, Blood Money, is their first proper release since 2004's Amerikaz Nightmare which spawned the club anthem "Got it Twisted." I haven't heard it yet, but anything from the duo that gave the world "Shook Ones Pt. II" has got to be at least decent. Stay tuned for a review.
Other new music that comes out today includes stuff from RJD2, Snow Patrol, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and, oh yeah, some band named Tool.
Feel free to let me know if these (or any other albums) are worth checking out.
In case you forgot about Pearl Jam, they've released three outstanding albums since 2000. This new, self-titled record is the first released under the J label. Without question their hardest album to date, Pearl Jam keeps up the reputation as America's leading rock band. Lead by the single, "World Wide Suicide", the album is yet another notch under their belt. I'll have a full review after a couple more spins.Mobb Deep also has an album coming out today, their first as members of the G-Unit family. The record, Blood Money, is their first proper release since 2004's Amerikaz Nightmare which spawned the club anthem "Got it Twisted." I haven't heard it yet, but anything from the duo that gave the world "Shook Ones Pt. II" has got to be at least decent. Stay tuned for a review.
Other new music that comes out today includes stuff from RJD2, Snow Patrol, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and, oh yeah, some band named Tool.
Feel free to let me know if these (or any other albums) are worth checking out.
Gibbs Grills Salisbury
Just in time for your beginning of summer BBQ comes a sizzling story about a Hall-of-Famer calling out a talking head.The other day Washington Redskins Head Coach Joe Gibbs called out ESPN analyst Sean Salisbury for not holding up to his end of a guarantee.
Last season when the Redskins were 5 - 6 and looking lost, Salisbury said he would walk naked from Bristol, Connecticut to the District of Columbia if the 'Skins ended up in the playoffs. Well, Washington rolled up five straight victories to find themselves as a Wild Card team in the playoffs. Oddly enough, Sean Salisbury never spoke of his guarantee again.
Maybe he forgot!
Luckily, Joe Gibbs and all of Washington did not. In the media where every word uttered is forgotten in minutes and guarantees are a dime a dozen, it's easy to back away from responsibility. On Sunday during Day 2 of the NFL Draft, Gibbs called out Salisbury on live TV during an interview with Trey Wingo.
Here's the clip...
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