Bill Walton Chats

I have to admit, I'm a big fan of the chats at ESPN. Typically they cover a lot more topics and so there's a better likelihood that they'll talk about things I'll find interesting. However, I saw that there was going to be a chat with Bill Walton, which was something I had never seen before, and so I figured it would be a little different and strange.

Generally the chatter answer lots of questions and give short answers... not Bill Walton. He took 7 questions and gave very long responses. I find Bill very funny in person because of his great exaggerations and hyperbole, but I wasn't sure how it would translate to writing... but I found it funny.

So here are some of the parts I found funny... if you think it sounds like the writing of a guy tripping on acid... well, you're not alone.

"Joe Crawford has stepped into the center circle, hopefully he won't be ejecting any willing participants in today's ceremony. The ball is in the air, the two hands going ever higher. The fate of the known world is in the balance. I'm ready to play...Thanks for putting me in coach. Let's go!"

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[talking about the Phoenix Suns]"...and my favorite coach in the NBA (he shouldn't be wasting his time with basketball, he should be president) it's all there for Phoenix. The've capitalized brilliantly on their favorable schedule (a lot of home games against the Sisters of the Poor). But now they head East, for their first of what promises to be many momements of Truth."

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"We're really excited Ben about your Bulls impressive 5 game win streak! And if you can continue to play the Knicks, Boston, and any other memebers of the Atlantic Division (Philly tonight ESPN at 9 ET) we're sure that there is nothing that will stop your mighty Bulls from shattering the Lakers 33 game win streak."

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"And we can only hope that Shaq is able to return as quickly as possible. We're well aware of how hard he worked all summer to come back in tip-top shape to defend his fourth championship."

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"Artis Gilmore gave me more trouble than anyone else, but that was because he had no comprehension that double dribbling, three seconds, offensive fouls, and travelling were not only against the rules of basketball, but against the rules of human decency."

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"When I joined the NBA in 1974, I became the highest paid player in the history of all team sports (for about as much money as today's minimum salary). My agent was so excited he was raving about all the money, and how it was going to change my entire life. And I looked at him and said, "I don't care about any of this. After four years with John Wooden the only thing that I was concerned about was that I didn't want anyone to tell me when to get a haircut and when to shave or whether or not I could wear a headband." And I was a rookie Ben! I knew enough at that point to get it in writing!"

Bill Walton everybody! One crazy SOB.

And remember, you hear a good Bill Walton quote, let me know as I am compiling my Bill Walton Quote Library!

Some good college basketball action

There are some other things going on, such as the Red Sox signing JD Drew (a veritable steal in this market if he can stay healthy), but I don't feel like writing a lot about baseball today, and I've been neglecting college basketball. So, a rundown of what happened on Tuesday:

First, LSU beat Texas A&M 64-52. Glen Davis was a beast with 24 and 10, but the determining factor was that Acie Law was not a factor. 1/11 shooting, 4 points. On a day when Joseph Jones was limited to 16 minutes because of foul trouble and Acie Law was a non-factor, LSU didn't even need a miracle like the one Darrel Mitchell gave them last time.

Two decently solid games in the Jimmy V Classic. The first featured Oklahoma St. remaining undefeated a 72-68 win over Syracuse. Obviously its looking like the Cowboys were a little underrated to start the year... they have a very good inside-outside game with Mario Boggan and JamesOn Curry and are well-coached under young Sean Sutton. For Cuse, this was the first time I got to see Paul Harris extensively, and I echo the sentiment of others. His outside shot isn't that good right now, but he's very good going to the hoop, an excellent rebounder for his size (6'5'') and a solid defender. No need for Cuse to panic after 2 straight losses, as the talent is in place for a Tourney run.

The nightcap featured #15 Arizona taking out Lousvilla 72-65 in a strange game. Arziona built a big first half lead, then Louisville came back to take the lead early in the second half, and Arizona quickly pulled back ahead by double digits. Everything you've heard about frosh Chase Budinger is true, but I'm not as big a fan of these guys as some are. Marcus Williams has not looked great, and I still think Mustafa Shakur takes too many bad shots. As for Louisville, could it be another year out of the Tourney for Rick Pitino? You heard it here first.

Another game of note was Washington St. upsetting Gonzaga by 10. Normally a Pac-10 team beating a WCC team isn't an upset, but in this case it probably is. Though Washington St. is 8-1 right now, a record that's probably skewed a little because their schedule has not been very challenging yet. But still a very nice win for them under a new coach.

A final game of note that I mention because I can was UCLA remaining undefeated with a 78-54 win over Cal-State Fullerton. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute struggled, everyone else was good. 7-0.

What do you think was the biggest storyline in college basketball for the day?

My favorite Sportscenter commerical

Over the past few years ESPN has gone down a bit, but I've always found their Sportscenter commercials to be always rather funny. And here is the one that is probably my favorite:


"GET UP, WALK IT OFF. YOUR PARENTS SIGNED THE PERMISSION SLIP, GET UP MAN."

What's your favorite Sportscenter commercial?

BCS Title Game: Ohio St. vs. Florida

UPDATE: For my BCS National Title Game Preview, check here.

Let the debate begin. After moving up in the Coaches Poll and the Harris Poll, the Gators jumped the Wolverines into the #2 spot in the BCS, pitting them against Ohio St. in the National Championship game. Throughout this whole process, I have held to two beliefs:

(1) Michigan is a better team than Florida
(2) Florida has done more to deserve the title spot than Michigan.

I'm not much into the argument that Michigan should not be in the title game because they didn't win their conference. Just because the best team in the country happens to be in their conference does not mean that they are not the second best team. The other argument I don't like is the sentiment that Michigan had their chance so there should not be a rematch. Look, if the goal of the BCS is simply to match the 2 best teams in the National Championship game, then it should not matter if they already met earlier this season. That is completely irrelevant.

Really, the only issue is (or at least should be) whether the fact that the only loss Michigan had this year was by 3 points on the road at Ohio St. outweighed by the fact that Florida had the overall tougher schedule? That's a matter of opinion, and I won't and can't even attempt to answer that question. It can't be answered definitively.

So at the end of the day, I'm not upset Florida is in the BCS Title Game over Michigan, and I wouldn't have been upset if Michigan was in the BCS Title Game over Florida. The only thing that I'm upset about is that this has to be an either/or situation. No, a playoff system is not a perfectly fair way to determine a national champion, but it's the fairest way, and it sure works well in every other sport that I know of.

One other question, and this is purely speculation, would Florida have jumped Michigan in the polls if USC had won? How many people didn't want to see a rematch and so they voted Florida ahead of Michigan? Again, this is pure speculation and we have no way of knowing if this is true, but I have my doubts that Florida would have jumped Michigan if USC had won. And I find that to be a little bit of a problem.

But in the end, we have Florida vs. Ohio St. As The Sports Pulse writes, the consensus seems to be that Florida has no shot in this game. I think that's a badly mistaken thought. Florida will be the best defense the Buckeyes have played all year. Florida has the playmakers offensively (see Harvin, Percy) to put points on the board. I think Florida is being underrated a little bit by a lot of people, but the fact is they are a very good team. Better than Michigan? Well, since we don't have a playoff system, we'll never know. Which is really too bad.

Bears 23, Vikings 13

As bad as I'm sure this game was to watch for neutral fans, well, it was much worse for me, a Vikings fan. If I wrote out all my thoughts it would probably fill a book, so I'll just write some of them, especially pertaining to the QBs. I apologize in advance for the angry tone.

Some numbers for you:

Brad Johnson: 11/26, 73 yards, 0 TD/4 INT
Brooks Bollinger: 7/8, 80 yards
Tarvaris Jackson: 3/4, 35 yards

It's safe to say Brad Johnson was the Bears MVP today. He threw bad picks at crucial times, has, as I read, "paraplegic escapability," (no offense to paraplegics), and missed a few wide open WRs. I mean, really the only positive I can say about Johnson's game is that one of the INTs was not his fault. That's it.

It's not even so much the INT, but its more when and where they happened. In the first, he threw a perfect pass to Danieal Manning, which set the Bears up at about the Vikings 30. Ultimately this didn't have an effect because the Vikings picked off Rex Grossman (more on him later), but it was a bad throw at a bad spot on the field.

The next pick (I think it was the next one) was admittedly not his fault. He threw an excellent ball to Jeff Dugan, who let it hit his chest and it was intercepted by Lance Briggs. That is one I can't put on Brad Johnson.

Then, with the score 7-6 and the Vikings around midfield, Johnson forced a slant pass to Marcus Robinson. Ricky Manning read it all the way and intercepted it. 14-6. Next possession, first play, Johnson is pressured, and instead of taking the sack lofts one over the head of the RB and into the arms of Brian Urlacher for the easy intereception. With the Bears at around the 20, they decide to roll the dice and go for it on 4th and 1. 21-6. Ballgame over.

At this point in his career, Brad Johnson has very few redeemable qualities as a QB. He is not a good game manager anymore, and he showed he can make some really bad decisions. He's got a noodle arm, and any pass thrown over 20 yards is a rainbow. He has no mobility. I'm not just basing it on this game either... because I know the Bears have a great defense... all of these factors have been a trend all season. Benching Brad Johnson near the end of the 3rd quarter was a start... now DO NOT START BRAD JOHNSON NEXT WEEK.

Now, the Bears. First off, the running game impressed me. Thomas Jones had some nice runs early on, and Cedric Benson was solid throughout. But I came in with a very low opinion of Rex Grossman as a QB... and he even surprised me with how bad he was.

6/19, 34 yards, 0 TD/3 INT. And honestly, the Vikings didn't even put that much pressure on him. He was inaccurate and made bad decisions. He was throwing off his back foot and seemed antsy in the pocket. His deep ball was not accurate and usually uncatchable, the short passes were off target, and he made poor decisions.

I've said it before and I'll say it again... the Bears have one of the top 2 defenses in the NFL and perhaps the best Special Teams in the NFL (though they did make a couple of big mistakes today)... but they WILL NOT WIN THE NFC THIS YEAR WITH REX GROSSMAN AS THEIR STARTING QUARTERBACK. If I'm wrong, I'll gladly eat crow. But I really cannot see it happening.

Steve Spurrier staying at South Carolina

Rumors of Steve Spurrier's departure have been greatly exaggerated.

As I reported when I wrote that Steve Spurrier could be the next coach at Miami, sources told CSTV that Spurrier could be on the move. Almost immediately there were reports that he was denying this, but it was really just hard to know what to believe.

But have no doubt anymore, with Steve Spurrier extending his deal and having his salary upped... he will be staying at South Carolina.

Oh well... would have been kinda fun to see The Ole Ball Coach back in Florida.

NFL Picks Against the Spread: Week 13

I skipped last week because of the Thanksgiving holiday, but things seemed to be more normal, meaning it was the week I should have been here! Which just means my losing streak is still going strong... obviously I skipped the Thursday night game as well, since I couldn't see it anyway. Stupid NFL Network. Out of sight, out of mind.

Saints (-7) over 49ers
Niners are playing very solid football and have entered right in the middle of the terrible NFC playoff race. So they're a very tempting pick here, especially with the spread up to 7 points. But I just love the versatility of the Saints offense. Drew Brees has been spectacular, Deuce provides inside running, Reggie does a little bit of everything, and I like the receivers there. At home, I'll take the Saints beating the Niners by around 10 or so.

Chargers (-6) over Bills
The spread makes me nervous for a couple of reasons. One, it's in Buffalo in December, and could be rather chilly. Two, SD hasn't been that inspiringly good against mediocre teams this year. Three, JP Losman has looked like *gulp* an NFL QB the past couple weeks. All the signs say to go with the Bills and the spread, but in this NFL season, I'll go against my instinct on this one. Chargers are just so talented.

Jets (Even) over Packers
Lambeau Field in December. These used to be the game of games Brett Favre would never lose. But ladies and gentlemen, this is not your father's Brett Favre.

Vikings (+9.5) over Bears
I just have a feeling here. I don't see the Bears being able to run the ball at all, leaving this offense to Rex Grossman. And I envision the Vikings blitzing the heck out of Grossman, and I'm not sure how he'll respond to that. Brad Johnson against the Bears defense could be a very ugly site, but I think the Vikings defense can keep this game within single digits.

Browns (+5) over Chiefs
I have no way to explain this pick. The Chiefs are playing well, the Browns are not. Larry Johnson is awesome, the Browns offense is not. I'm not even going to explain why I'm picking the Browns here, because even I'm not really sure.

Rams (-6.5) over Cardinals
Congratulations Rams, you play in the NFC! After a 4-1 start, they lost 5 in a row, then eeked out a win against San Fran last week... and they're right back in the playoff race at 5-6. Ain't it grand?

Titans (+7.5) over Colts
When the teams met earlier this year the Colts beat the Titans by 1 in Indy. Now, it's in Tennesee, and Vince Young is starting to get comfortable and played some fine football last week. The Colts continue their efforts of taking it easy against far lesser teams as they allow the Titans to stay in this game.

Lions (+13.5) over Patriots
The Patriots are 5-0 on the road, 3-3 at home. Plus, this is the NFL. A 13.5 point spread just seems a little excessive to me. But gosh, its so hard to pick the Lions to cover the spread. Don't let me down Jon Kitna!

Falcons (+2) over Redskins
Just seems like Vick's due for a good game again. Hey, he's got to at least make everyone think he might be a good QB! But seriously, I like Jason Campbell, but I think he'll continue to go through some rough spots early in his career here.

Texans (+3) over Raiders
I'm sure this game will be very exciting for both people that actually are forced to watch it.

Jaguars (Even) over Dolphins
Joey Harrington is playing better than he ever was in Detroit, but let's get serious for a moment. He still gets rid of the ball WAY too quickly (kinda like the anti-Drew Bledsoe), and at least once a game he will make a terrible decision and throw into triple coverage and have everyone scratching their heads. I'm not on the bandwagon yet. Although it's very hard to pick against Jason Taylor right now.

Steelers (-7) over Bucs
Yes that's right, I'm picking a 4-7 team to cover a 7 point spread. Unfortunately for Tampa, as good as the defense has been the last few years, there is definitely a dropoff now. Age will do that to a person. I love the way Romo is playing, but 5 TD passes?

Giants (+3.5) over Cowboys
I'm not sure NY will go quietly into the night just yet. I think the comments by Michael Strahan should at least get Burress to, you know, try harder. The Giants know if they lose this they'll be in trouble... I mean, they won't be buried because they play in the NFC, but I imagine there's already lots of tension because they don't seem to like Tom Coughlin, and this probably wouldn't help. I look for an inspired effort from the Giants.

Broncos (-4) over Seahawks
I love the Cutler move and think it was a long time coming. Jake Plummer cannot carry an offense, and this was not a Super Bowl caliber team with Plummer at the helm. I think Cutler was the best QB in the draft, I think he's got a very strong arm, and he's smart back there. If, and this is a big if, he picks up the offense quickly, this is not a team I would want to face in the playoffs. So, uh, I kinda like Cutler.

Panthers (-3) over Eagles
I generally find that I have no idea how the Panthers will play from week to week. So this is mostly just a guess.

Week 11: 6-8-2
Season: 69-83-8