IMHO – Jumping the gun on the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Brackets

Today is Selection Sunday. In approximately 8 hours, we will see the real brackets and scramble to complete them for our office, friends and online pools.

I know I am jumping the gun, but let’s take an early look at the tournament using Joe Lunardi’s predictions on Espn.com.

East – IMHO:

• Miami is the type of team that can make a run. Good, quick guard play from Larkin is the key to their success.  Their #2 seed is earned and it would not be a surprise if they made it to the Final 4.
• Wisconsin is battle tested having gone through many wars in the Big 10.  While somewhat inconsistent at time, they have the tools to make a run.
• Never count out Tom Izzo and Michigan State.  Many of their losses in the Big 10 could have gone either way. Yesterday Izzo commented he is ready to play non-Big-10 teams.  If he gets this far, he may be facing Miami and then Wisconsin again.
• Louisville has had an up and down year. They seem to be on the upswing. This type of athletic, pressing team is built for this tournament.  Throw in Rick Pitino and watch out. I would not want to play them.  You need a solid, smart, well-coached team to break their press and force them to back off.  Who is that?

South – IMHO:

• This is the most unpredictable bracket. Duke and Michigan are  inconsistent.
• Duke. Duke. Duke.  Ryan Kelly is back. Now they are supposed to be  a great team.  They can get to the Final 4. They will try to “out score” you. Defense is not great. The do not box out and give up way too many offensive rebounds. If their offense is hot, they will go far. Of not, they won’t.
• Kansas is strong. McLemore and 7 footer Withey will be tough.  They have 4 players averaging in double-figure points.  I am unsure of them. I can picture them getting to the Final 4. I can also picture them getting knocked out by the likes of Michigan or Arizona.
• Which Michigan team will show up?  That says it all.

West-IMHO:

• Regional and time-zone advantage to Gonzaga.  The #1 ranked team in the country.  Olynyk and Harris have good point and rebound numbers.  I have not seen them enough to contribute to the “weak schedule” argument.   The first few games will really tell the story.  If they win this bracket, they will have certainly earned it by facing the likes of  The Ohio State, Kansas State, and Syracuse.
• The Ohio State is a tough team that finds ways to win.  Thomas and Craft get all the attention.  Smith is hot and cold.  Watch out for Ross and Thompson. They are long athletes who can put the ball in the hoop.  If they play well, they can make it to the Final 4.
•  Syracuse is for real.  They have 4 players in double-figure points.  Long players in a tough zone defense.  Syracuse versus The Ohio State could be a great game.  I have no idea how that game would end.

Midwest – IMHO:

• Indiana deserves the top seed in this bracket.  Zeller and Oladipo, NBA first-rounders, are the leaders of this team. Players like Watford and Sheehey greatly affect games and spread out the court.  On paper, I do not see how they lose.  But, of late, they have been losing.   It seems like Oladipo gets distracted and is not always on the top of his game.  If Zeller and Oladipo are on the top of their games, and everyone else plays average games, they will be hard to beat. 
• Georgetown is long, lean, and athletic. They are coached well and will be hard to beat.  They play good defense.  IF they get by UNC, they will get to the Elite 8.  An Indiana v. GTown game would be fun to watch.  I would venture to say GTown could take Indiana out of their game.
• North Carolina has had 2 seasons; the 1st half and the 2nd half.  They have that “Carolina Talent” and, if they play well, can get by GTown and Florida.  I doubt they can beat Indiana.
• I have only seen Florida play twice this year.  Obviously they are a balanced team on the offensive side of the court.  Can they beat a UNC or GTown?  Can they beat a well-coached VCU?  We’ll know soon enough.

IMHO:  Of course this not even using the actual brackets, but…

• Final 4: Louisville. Kansas. The Ohio State.  Georgetown.
• Final game:  Georgetown. Louisville.
• 2013 NCAA Mens Basketball Champion: Louisville

Obama, Clinton, and Cialis

So funny.  Obama and Hillary Clinton in a Cialis commercial.

Click to view – obama clinton cialis

 

It’s Super Bowl Sunday…

… and we need to have a quick chat about College Hoops.  I am a New Yorker and love hoops! This post is oriented towards the Knicks and Nets.

After yesterday’s college basketball game between University Of Michigan and Indiana University, I had to look at the 2013 mock NBA daft. (Thank you NBADraft.net).  It was a great game showcasing great college, soon to be pro, talent.

• Trey Burke. Great Talent.  Plays taller than his 6’0″ size because of his step back jumper.Will he be the next Kyree Irving?  Or Austin Rivers? (Note: I am not giving up on the 6’4″ Rivers. He’s so young with tremendous potential upside, but IMHO, he was overrated coming out of Duke.)
• Cody Zeller. Great Talent. Great height and I assume he will fill-out since he is only a sophomore. Awesome athleticism for a 7-footer. Nice touch on his shot.  Yesterday’s game was a Zeller Showcase! Forecasted to go to the Cavs? That would be interesting to see him lay with Kyree Irving.

The charts below have Zeller going 3rd and Burke going 21st?  Unless Burke “falls off of a cliff”, there is no way he will be available at 21.  And is he a fit for the Brooklyn Nets?  Drafting on the “best available player” theory, yeah, take him. But the Nets backcourt is strong.  (Full disclosure: I rushed to see a mock draft wondering if there was any way Zeller could end up with the Nets.  Deron Williams + Joe Johnson + Brooke Lopez (healthy) + Cody Zeller?  I know it’s a pipe dream and probably impossible, but that would put them up there with the elite teams in the league.)

2013 NBA Mock Draft

• Glen Robinson III. Talented. Just a freshman and probably still growing. Good size. Good body. Good blood-lines.  He disappeared against Indiana, but again, he’s just a freshman.  We’re getting into the pressure-filled part of the season. It will be interesting to see how he progresses.
• Tim Hardaway Jr.  to the NY Knicks?  Athletic. Good size for a #2.  Does he have the NBA jumper? Great blood-lines.  He’s definitely worth taking a chance at the 25th pick.

Note to the NY Knicks:  If there is a way to trade up to get Trey Burke, do it!  Young athletic point guard.  Have him come in and work alongside Raymond Felton and be under the tutelage of Jason Kidd? What would be better than that?  A No Brainer. 

• Victor Oladipo.  I do not know what to say about him. He’s a beast! A great athlete. Offense. Defense.  While he may not fit a prototypical NBA role, but he will carve out playing time and will be a major factor in games.  He may be the sleeper of the 2013 NBA draft. (More on Victor below!)

Before clicking on the image below, take a second to look at the image. The video goes by quickly and you may not appreciate what actually happened.  This ‘miss’ of a dunk, on a bad pass, may be better than any NBA or college dunks this year!

Click to see video – Indiana University Victor Oladipo missed dunk

Who else met the girlfriend of Manti Teʻo ?

Manti Teʻo girlfriend

Manti Teʻo

NY Jets Football and Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start The Fire

We all agree The Jets are a disaster on and off the field.

I wonder if Long Island’s Billy Joel is a NY Jets Football fan.   It would be appropriate  if  Billy, or someone with musical talent, would update the song “We Didn’t Start The Fire” to cover the last 2 seasons of the NY Jets.

Will someone talented at lyrics and music (like Billy), please jump in!

 Here’s fodder for the start of the effort:

• Bring in Tim Tebow and disrupting a horrendous lockerroom to begin with
• Rex Ryan big mouth
• Cromartie with 10 kids with 8 different women
• Jets provide Cromartie with a $500,000 advance so he could make outstanding child support payments.
• Cromartie being the 2^nd best wide receiver
• Anotonio Holmes is injured, is he now the best receiver?
• Darrelle Revis getting hurt
• Dismantling one of the top rushing games in the NFL. Getting rid of Thomas Jones.
• Skipping the 2^nd string QB to play the 3^rd String QB (McElroy)
• QB McElroy starting one game and getting a concussion
• Skipping back after the 3^rd string quarterback to 1^st string QB (Sanchez)
• The lying by the coaches (or Tebow) about Tebow not wanting to play the Wildcat
• The Butt Fumble
• Santonio Holmes pouting on the side line
• New York Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards is being sued for child support again
• Braylon Edwards tweets the Jets are “idiots” and then is brought back.
• Fire OC Shottenheimer – hire Wildcat expert  Sparano – Fire Sparano
• Doing absolutely nothing in the off-season to help the team.
• Fire Ryan. Fire Tannenbaum
• And the cross-town rivals NY Giants win the Super Bowl Again!

Maybe it can be called “We Didn’t Start The Back-Fire”?

Winter Storm, Long Island, Melville NY

Another storm here on Long Island. The trees are so beautiful, right up to the point that they snap and … [ you fill this in]

 

 
 

Where is my jeep?

Thank you to WTF for this one.  It all goes back to “You can never go broke underestimating the intelligence of the public.”

Mexican smugglers tried to drive over the wall between the US and Mexico near Yuma, Arizona. They built a ramp but got stuck anyway. The smugglers left the car hanging and disappeared. Border patrol agents found the car perched atop the fence.

You really have to give them a ’10′ for creativity…

 

200 foot trees fall in Melville, NY (Hurricane Sandy, Long Island)

Our street in the Huntington Hills section of Melville NY, Long Island...  (Notice the size of the trees in relation to the person standing behind the them.)

Hurricane Sandy, Long Island, 200 foot tree falls in Melville, NY

My neighbor’s 200 foot tree just fell during Hurricane Sandy.

I’ve been told the worst is yet to come.

We found the baseball ARod threw into the stands…

We found the baseball ARod threw into the stands…  I guess she’s a baseball groupie with principles…