Thoughts from an Island Girl

Sometimes a single point matters. ? Even if it was in an otherwise forgettable season by the Gettysburg Bullets. ? ?For the first time in many seasons they had a losing record. ?But it won't be remembered that way. ?In fact, ?it will be a Cinderella season, ?one that launched a 1-pt game onto ESPN's top ten plays.

?So what's the big deal, right? ?The big deal is the young player had a stroke at age 18. ?while yet a freshman at the school. ?After a series of medically traumatic events, he slowly recovered. ? And recovered enough to make a moment-clinching scene. ? ?You see, ?the game already in hand, ?the coach asked him if he wanted to play after he called a timeout with less than one minute to go, ?with an 18-pt lead! ? The coach asked Cory if he wanted to play and of course, ?he said, "yes". ? ? Seeing they were putting him in, ?the opposing coach asked his players to gently foul Cory. ?Which they did! ? Sending him to the free throw line.

Corey almost hit the rim on his first shot. ?This was usually the way it went in practice too, ?so he felt pretty confident with his second attempt. ? ?And true to form, ?he made it! ? The place was going crazy, ?adults crying and fellow students sharing in the raucous moment. ? ?One point! ? But that point was the only point of his entire career! ? A point that really matters. ? Unlike Jeremy Lin, ?this is the end of the road, ?but like Lin, ?he came out of nowhere to the general public who probably never even heard of the Gettysburg Bullets in New Jersey.

Arkansas Razorback Joe Adams also had a stroke when he was 19. ? He missed a few games but came back to be one of the best players in the SEC and a candidate to be drafted high in the first round of the upcoming NFL draft. ? The courage of these players are the fact that competition and their love of their sports is a powerful motivating factor. ? Degrees of success cannot be measured by statistics but maybe how they came about. ? For a healthy person, ?it is he or she against their opponents but they are mostly seen. ?With Corey, ?it was against a much bigger foe, ?his very life.?

​The glory days do eventually pass everyone by. ?But in the hearts and minds of the Gettysburg players, fans and sportswriters, ?this day will live until they die.

Freaking system is messing up tonight!? What the hell?

Welcome to the tantrums, where we?ve come to the end of February, and the sports docket is really taking off.? While that may be the case, please allow me to divert and talk about a movie I saw last night.? Let me start by saying:? I don?t watch movies in the theater ? I think it?s a rip off of epic proportions and I believe that actors and actresses are nothing more than douche bags who think they can lecture us about whatever subject whenever it suits them.? I think they?re effing hypocrites.? My doesn't like it, but I have self-imposed a moratorium on buying a ticket to the theater.?

But the movie I saw last night my daughter had free tickets to watch Act of Valor, so away we went.? I wasn?t disappointed, and it hit me in many ways that I won?t mention here.? Being a sailor for 22 years, and spending 18 months of that in a command where I provided non-combat support to Navy Seals and Special Warfare Combat Crew, I loved this movie.? It touched all the right buttons for me, and quite frankly, I have never walked out of a theater with the crowd so quiet ? almost somber.

40 years since "the Godfather" debuted?? Wow!!!

Rant of the Week ? Jim Rome.? My original rant was a little long and probably inappropriate, so I won?t go there.? Instead, I wanna bash Jim Rome.? Once upon a time, this dude had a phenominal radio show ? it was fresh and different.? It counted on sports fans from places like Albuquerque, Omaha, and Rochester and their views on sports ? they?re the epitome of sports fans ? they have no dogs in the race.? His show had fans defending their turf and ?border skirmishes? and creative fans running smack were the order of the day.? His show was about fans and legendary interviews with people like Steve Elkington the pro golfer.? What the hell happened?? Well quite frankly, he big leagued us all with stale and sterile interviews.? He fills time by repeating the same audio 50 times and discusses his horses, while mocking his listeners.? His SOCAL pimp in the box routine got real stale.? Yeah Jim, we know you?re from LA ? but FUCK LA, and screw you?re pimping the Lakers at every turn.? You got away from what made your show different and fresh.? Now, you?re no better than Colin Cowherd.

MLB.?? File this under the ?Are you serious, Bro??.? Fausto Carmona (err, Roberto Hernandez) is in some kind of trouble down in the Dominican Republic and he can?t get his visa.? I?m not sure what?s going on, but how do the Indians trust this guy ever again?

Ryan Braun ? you got over because some idiot put your pee in an unsecured reefer rather than doing the right thing chain of custody wise.? I held that job previously and everybody knows the first thing challenged when a positive comes out is chain of custody.? The collector should be thoroughly reviewed for being stupid enough to collect the sample so late in the day/week that they couldn?t get FedEx involved immediately.

Maybe I?m being an idiot here, but I kinda like what the San Diego Padres are quietly doing down in LOCAL.? Picking up Huston Street is a good idea as your closer, and bringing Carlos Quentin home is a great idea as well.? The problem I see here is power.? But trading Mat Latos to Cincy wasn?t a good idea.

College Basketball.? ??Hey Florida State, losing to Kook-U on Thursday Night did not please me!

What did please me was Pat Knight?s rant on his seniors down at Lamar University.? But Pat, I have a question ? why did you wait until the end of the season to do this?? If your players are late, not attending workouts, not listening to?coaches,?and getting ?F?s? for grades, you should have suspended them a long time ago.? Let?s face facts, no kid from Lamar is going to the NBA ? they should have been taught a lesson much sooner.?

Due to technical difficulties the column will be changing several times...your patience is appreciated

Hot Times?in Daytona!

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Greetings from the Hoodwood, where the locals were watching tapes of previous slam dunk contests instead of whatever that was supposed to be posing as a dunk contest this past Saturday.

I don't know what to think about the NBA All-Star game. The two teams clown more or less for about three quarters and then realize that they get an extra $25K for winning and decide to play hard. Ive said it before, make the game winner take all and you can better best believe that those cats will play all out.

As usual a game can be a game without the whining of one Kobe Bean Bryant. Yes he has a phenomenal game. And its hard to believe he has been in the game for 16 seasons, but there are times that he acts like a bratty diva than a grizzled veteran. Yes, the foul by Dwyane Wade was a little harder than expected with the unexpected results of Kobe?s nose getting broken, but it seemed to me like he was just way too ?insulted? by what was clearly an accident. Ive always thought of Kobe as a basketball snob, a pretty boy who's elitist mentality never gained much traction with the street ballers, the whole Kobe System commercials are humorous but I think that plays right into his ?I?m better than you mentality. Anyhoo, the all star game was its usual no defense everyone try to get theirs game. The East fell way way behind then charged back to get close and then with the East down by two with under 30 seconds to play. Guess who had the ball? LeBron. and guess who was guarding him? Kobe. And Kobe was daring him to shoot. Do you think he would have done that to DWade? Or Kevin Durant? Or hell even Jeremy Lin? You could read Kobe?s lips saying ?Shoot the fuckin? ball!? Kobe for all his elitist tendencies, is a stone cold assassin at heart. He is and Bron isn?t. So Bron takes more shit for passing up a chance to cap a great comeback. Add to boot, he turned the ball over with a bad pass that Blake Griffin intercepted. His two free throws iced the game. DWade's three at the buzzer was off and the West held on for a 152-149 win. I could just hear Skip Bayless nutting on himself knowing that he would have a chance to rag on LeBron?s unwillingness to shoot the big shot in the end. I agree with Michael Smith of ESPN who said that Bron Bron was in a no win situation. Shoot the shot and make it, it?s a meaningless shot in an exhibition. Shoot the shot and miss, its just another exhibit in why Bron Bron isn't clutch. Pass the ball like he did and its because hes scared to shoot. Pity poor Bron Bron?poor Bron Bron.

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Could the Colts go with RG3?

Naaahh, you know and I know that the Colts are taking the franchise Andrew Luck with the first pick in the draft this spring. You know it like you knew that they were going to take Peyton Manning first in the 1998 draft (Shit has it been that long ago???) But unlike the 98 draft where the consolation prize was dicey in Ryan Leaf, a player I never thought that much of, this year the ?consolation prize? is only the 2011 Heisman trophy winner Robert Griffin III who as been wowing them in Indy with breathtaking skill reps, flawless interviews and speed that running backs and wideouts are jealous of. Now the question isn?t if the Colts will take Luck, but who will maneuver to snag Griffin. The Rams with the #2 pick have no interest in the Griffin hunt as they have their own young franchise quarterback in Sam Bradford but seem to be interested in offers for that coveted number 2 pick in the draft. RGIII looks like he could as good (or better than?) Luck. That of course remains to be seen over the next 12 or so years. By then we will, some kid who is presently a? 4^th grader out of Cedar Falls Iowa and Heyward, California will be competing for the #1 picks. Peyton Manning will be in the Hall of Fame, Griffin and Luck will be finishing up Hall of Fame careers and I will be writing this column, reminiscing.

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Spec Sheet

My apologies for missing the sheet on Friday. Some technical difficulties have prevented my timely posting, which we cant have with the games getting so crucial.

Atlantic Coast?
(Conference Class-Power)?
Solid:?Duke, North Carolina, Florida State?, Virginia?
Work to do:?North Carolina State, Miami
Skinny on the ACC: Let keep it real here, NC State is blowing their chance to make it. Fading badly at the worst time, the Wolfpack had three chances to garner a signature win and went 0-3. They need to win out and at least get to Saturday in Atlanta to get a real shot at a bid. Miami is hanging tough and with a win over Florida State strengthened their bid chances though

Key Game:?Duke at Wake Forest 7p Tuesday ?The Dukies are road warriors but had better take care that they don?t look past Wake at their showdown with Carolina.

?Projected Bids: 6?

Atlantic Ten?
Conference Class-Mid Major?
Solid:?Temple, Saint Louis
Work to do:? UMass, St. Joes
The A-10 Spec is:?Temple is still safe but plenty annoyed after losing to neighborhood rival St. Joes up on Hawk Hill over the weekend. Im still wary of the Billikens but I think that they garner the bid. St. Joes has their signature win and now just was to keep winning and they will get more notice.

Key Games:?Xavier at Saint Louis Tuesday 8p The Billikens want to get on the list and keep the Muskies off.

Projected Bids:?2?

Big East?
Conference Class-Power?
Solid:?Syracuse, Georgetown, Marquette,?Louisville, Notre Dame, Cincinnati

Work to do: ? South Florida, West Virginia, Seton Hall?
Big East Skinny: Syracuse locked down the #1 seed for the Big East tourney (ho-hum) I still think Cincy is safe despite a terrible game in Tampa following a solid win over a despied regional rival. Seton Hall got a needed win over Georgetown then followed it up with a real stunk job loss against Rutgers. This are the kind of needless losses that fringe teams like the Pirates need to avoid. These aren?t similar losses: The Bearcats lost on the road to a tough team trying to solidfy its position, the The Pirates lost to Rutgers at home on Senior Day, ?

Key Game:?South Florida at Louisville Wednesday 7p?If the Bulls want to stay in contention for one of the coveted four double byes in the Big East tourney winning at the Yum! Center will be crucial.

Projected bids: 8?

Big Ten?
Conference Class-Power?
Solid:?Michigan State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Indiana,

Looking Good: Purdue
Work to do:?Northwestern, Iowa

The word on the Big Ten is: Has Purdue done enough? The win at Crisler may have put them over the top. I wish I could say the same about Northwestern? who may need to get at least to Sunday if not win the whole shooting match to garner a serious look. Iowa may be too far out to may noise

Key Games: Ohio State at Northwestern Wednesday 8:30p ?If the Wildcats are serious about their first ever NCAA bid, beating the Bucks is an absolute must.

Projected Bids:?6?

Big 12?
Conference Class-Power?
Solid:?Kansas, Baylor, Missouri, Kansas State, Iowa State

Looking Good:
Work to do:? Texas

Skinny from the heartland: Kansas won another Big 12 regular season crown with a thrilling comeback win against the soon departing Mizzou Tigers. Yes Iowa State fans your Cyclones have done enough to get to the Dance. Just a minute Texas fans, you haven't done nearly enough and as long as your team hovers at .500 in conference with no real quality wins (That?s what separate Kansas State?so shaddap!) you will stay right where you are. Waiting and hoping for a break

Key Game: Oklahoma at Texas Wednesday 9p The Longhorns need this win to stay at the .500 mark because they aren?t winning in Allen on Saturday.

Projected Bids:?5?

 

Conference USA 
Conference Class-Major 
Solid: Southern Miss

Work to do: Tulsa, Memphis, Central Florida
Oh Say Can You C-USA Spec: Memphis is trying to hold off Southern Miss, UCF and Tulsa to get the #1 seed in the C-USA tourney. I think the Tigers are the only bona fide tourney team. The other bid is a hot scramble between the fading Eagles and the surging Knights & Hurricane

Key Game: UCF at Memphis Saturday 9p Central Florida can make the CUSA scramble that more chaotic with a win in at the Fed Ex Forum.

Projected Bids: 2


Horizon 
Conference Class-Mid Major 
Solid: Valpo,
Work to do:  Cleveland State,  Butler, Detroit

Spec on The Horizon: The Crusaders are the top dog here but there are at least three other teams that could take the title. The problem for them is that unless Valpo gets beat the road to the NCAA tourney bid goes through Valpo’s Gym

Horizon League Championship Tourament: Campus Sites 1^st Round 2^nd Round and Semifinals Valapariso, Championship at Highest Remaing seed Feb 28-Mar6th

Projected Bids: 1 

IVY 
Conference Class-Small 
Solid: Harvard 
Work To Do:  Penn 
Spec on the Ivy Vine: Just when the Crimson are getting this close to locking the Ivy down, they take a stunning loss to the Penn Quakers and only lead by a half game. Keep in mind that the Ivy has no conference tourney. The Crimson can win out and still be sweating for should the Quakers win out there will be a one game playoff for the title.
Key Games: Harvard at Columbia; Brown at Penn Friday at 7p With an extra game to play the Quakers control their own destiny, win out and get at very worse a chance to play for the Ivy’s NCAA bid. The Crimson need to win and get help to avoid this scenario unthinkable three weeks ago

Projected Bids: 1 


Missouri Valley 
Conference Class-Mid Major 
Solid: Wichita State 
Work to do: Creighton
Missouri Valley Skinny: The Shockers are the top seed and all sign point to a Sunday showdown for the title. But everyone knows why they call it Arch Madness, this conference tourney long has a rep for wild games and shocking upsets.  Don’t sleep on the Valley 5 teams finished 9-9 and will make the tourney filled with great play.

Missouri Valley Conference Championship:  March 1-4 Scottrade Center St. Louis

Projected Bids: 2


Mountain West 
Conference Class-Major 
Solid: New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV 
Work to do: Colorado State
Spec from the Mountains: There  is three way logjam at the top of this conference. But all these teams are safe. Colorado State’s bid to force their way into the conversation may have died with the loss to San Diego State. The jockeying for the best seeding in the conference tourney starts in earnest now.

Key Game: UNLV at Colorado State Wednesday 10p The Rebels are in a pitched fight for the best seed in the MWC conference tourney and have no time to entertain the Rams fledgling hopes.

Projected Bids: 3 


Pacific 12 
Conference Class-Power 
Solid: Cal, Washington, Arizona Oregon

Work to do:  Stanford, Colorado, UCLA
Spec from the left coast: Just when you thought Cal was home free they stumble badly to Colorado. Now Washington looks to be in line for the top seed in LA. Arizona and Oregon are right there but Im hesitant to keep Colorado or Stanford in the solid side and not include UCLA

 Key Game: Washington at USC Wednesday 10:30p  (FOX Sports Net) If it looks like a trap game, it very well could. The Huskies need to avoid looking ahead to playing UCLA or the Pac-12 tourney and blast the weak Trojans

Projected Bids: 5



Southeastern 
Conference Class-Power 
Solid: Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Florida, Mississippi State 
Work to do: Alabama, LSU

Spec is Down South: The Wildcats are the only real bankable team in this conference, everyone else? Meh… Vandy, Florida and Mississippi State all are lurching to the SEC tourney in UK’s massive wake. Could the SEC only send 4 this year???

Key Game: Florida at Vanderbilt Tuesday 7p Coming off a horrid loss to Georgia, the Gators now have the Commodores hard on their heels trying to gain that #2 seed and stay on the opposite side of the SEC bracket away from UK

Projected Bids: 5


Western Athletic 
Conference Class- Major 
Solid: Nevada
Work to do:  New Mexico State,
Spec on the WAC: Still a one-bid league as of now with Nevada being the league bully, but the Aggies are making things quite interesting.

Key Game: New Mexico State at Nevada  9p Thursday If the Aggies pull the upset in Reno they will garner some serious consideration. Lose and the title run goes through the Wolf Pack

Projected Bids: 1

West Coast 
Conference Class- Mid Major 
Solid: Gonzaga, St. Marys 
Work to do:  BYU, Loyola Marymount
West Coast Spec: The WCC has the goofiest tourney bracket in college basketball. Gonzaga and St. Mary’s have byes all the way to the WCC semis. If Portland or Santa Clara want to win the WCC they have to win 5 times in five days…yikes

West Coast Conference Championship: Feb 29-Mar 6 Orleans Arena, Las Vegas

Projected Bids: 2 

 

Phat Dap/Head Slap

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Phat Dap

To the City of Sacramento who will be keeping the Kings after striking? a deal with the Maloof Brothers. It was no big secret that the Kings were looking elsewhere to move and possibly going to Anaheim. But the city led by former NBA all-star? and current mayor Kevin Johnson negotiated hard and held off blatant attempts by Anaheim and Seattle to pounce on the possibility of the team moving. The Kings have moved twice before, starting in Rochester NY, then moving to Cincinnati from 1957-72 then on to Kansas City with some games in Omaha then on Sacremento in 1985. Long known for its faithful and long suffering fans Cali?s state capital has supported the Kings and will get to keep them for a good while longer.

Head Slap

To the Delaware State fans. When Tahj Tate dunked in a missed shot with 0.4 seconds to play to give the Hornets a 72-71 lead over Morgan State. The Delaware State fans mistakenly thought that the game was over and stormed the court in the belief that the Hornets had clinched the MEAC regular season title. Not only was the game not over, the officials gave Delaware State a technical. Morgan State got two technical free throws and won the game. To make matters worse. Savannah State beat North Carolina A&T and clinched the MEAC title outright. Head Slap to fans that jump the gun.

Until Next Post Fellow Sports Fans!

Is the 2012 Daytona 500 over yet???

Snort, Snort...

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dvt

I feel like shit tonight, and I really don't have the energy to bang out a long thoughtful post because all I can think about is how shitty I feel. But, because I have to post something, I'm going to re-post a blog I wrote a long time ago detailing my trip to Cooperstown, NY to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame Museum. My apologies to those who were expecting something current, but I just don't have the energy to put anything into it.

Anyway, here's the story of my trip to Cooperstown:

That's it for this week. Hopefully I'll be over this shit by next week and will be able to talk about something more current. If you have anything you'd like to discuss, feel free to do so in the comments.

Until next Monday...