The Antagonists of March

Ah March. Spring is sprung. Grass being cut. Baseball on it's way. The NBA and NHL wrapping up their seasons. March Madness. What's not to love about this month? Well there are three things that are hateful this month. Assholes telling you about their fantasy baseball team. Assholes telling you about their bracket picks. And asshole NBA and college basketball writers that love to antagonize each other on Twitter.

The last one really gets to me because I follow a lot of basketball writers in both sports. And they love jabbing each other about why their version of the sport is better. You know how these responses go.

College basketball writer: "College basketball is so much better than the NBA! Look at the emotion on the players faces!"

NBA Writers response: "That and they can't shoot." 

College basketball writer: "Well your players get arrested." (I love this response because almost all of those players played in college and morph into thugs into these writers eyes. THEY WERE NEVER THUGS IN PRECIOUS COLLEGE!)

NBA Writers: "Your players can't score." (This is the old standby retort for NBA writers. When in doubt, always point out the fact that college basketball is a low scoring game leaving out the fact they all love watching Tom Thibodeau teams that can't in fact score.)

College basketball writer and Duke snob Seth Davis kicked off the antagonizing last night (yes he couldn't even wait until the real part of the tournament started) with this amazingly hokey tweet:

Reason No. 4,312 why college hoops is better than the NBA: Players locking arms on the bench. Do they do that during the NBA Finals?
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) March 19, 2014

Good God that is bad. And yeah Seth, I'm sure Lebron James and Chris Bosh are concerned about their teammates "locking arms" during the NBA finals.........

Anyway as you can imagine ole Seth got crushed on Twitter by NBA writers. Mocking the hokiness of that tweet. Mocking the low scoring of the game. Mocking everything about college basketball. The season for college basketball and NBA writers to antagonize each other was knocked opened and for the next three weeks if you follow these tools on Twitter you'll see them sniping at each other.

Look I'm the first one to admit that college basketball has its issues. The sport is too slow. There are way too many fouls called. Offenses aren't exactly fluid, then again most NBA offenses aren't exactly fluid. Have you ever watched a Mike Brown team in the NBA? Defenses can be way to aggressive leading to basically shitty wrestling. The possession arrow needs to be given a quick death.

College basketball has some serious issues but that doesn't mean you can't and shouldn't enjoy it. Why can't you just be a basketball fan, regardless who is playing or whether it's college or pros?

I enjoy college basketball for completely different reasons than the NBA. I don't need see Lebron taking over whole games at the college level. I can enjoy the nuances of the game. The different defense's that are used. The environments and the rivalries.

I enjoy the NBA for completely different reasons than college basketball. The faster pace, the man-to-man defenses. The fluidity of the games.

All I'm really asking for is that both writing groups just give it a rest for the next three weeks. You'll get your chance to shine NBA writers next month when your playoffs start. We don't need your constant reminders about how much better it is to watch the NBA. Also you give it a rest to college basketball writers. I know this is your time to shine but we don't need hokey reminders about college camaraderie and traditions. Just shut the fuck up please.

Amazing Finish

There is a big history of crazy buzzer beating game-winners. There have been some crazy shots, crazy putbacks, crazy missed shots turned into game-winning dunks. Have you ever seen a game-winning rebounding dunk though? I haven't until last night in the Arkansas-Kentucky game.



God I love seeing Calipari looking flustered. He hasn't looked that flustered since his Memphis team missed all of those free throws and Mario Chalmers broke their hearts in the 08 National Championship game. More buzzer beaters beating Kentucky please.

24 Hours of College Hoops Open Thread

College Basketball is back and ESPN is airing their annual 24-hour marathon of college hoops. Remember when I attempted to live blog this entire marathon a few years ago? (Ah the good ol college days) Well I'm not going to attempt to do that again but instead will leave an open thread for you folks to comment on the games you're watching. Obviously the biggest game, the game everyone will want to watch, is the Kansas-Duke game. There are some other good games as well in this period so let's enjoy the college basketball!

Schedule via ESPN Media Zone

Monday
Stanford at UConn (Women's), 7PM (ESPN2: Dave O'Brien, Doris Burke)
Kent State at Temple, 7PM (ESPNU: Adam Amin, Tim Welsh)
Tennessee at UNC (Women's), 9PM (ESPN2: Pam Ward(!!!), Carolyn Peck)
Colorado State at Gonzaga, 9PM (ESPNU: Roxy Bernstein, Miles Simon)
BYU at Stanford, 11PM (ESPN2: Dave Pasch, Seth Greenberg)

Tuesday
Western Kentucky at Wichita State 1AM (ESPN2: Dave Flemming, Mark Adams)
Akron at St. Mary's, 3AM (ESPN2: Carter Blackburn, Bob Valvano)
New Mexico State at Hawaii, 5AM (ESPN2: Kanoa Leahey, Stephen Howard)
Hartford at Florida Gulf Coast, 7AM (ESPN2: Mark Jones, LaPhonso Ellis)
Quinnipiac at LaSalle, 9AM (ESPN2: Mike Crispino, Tim Welsh)
LSU at UMass, 11AM (ESPN2: Bram Weinstein, Kara Lawson)
West Virginia at Virginia Tech, 1PM (ESPN: Jon Sciambi, Bruce Pearl)
South Carolina at Baylor, 3PM (ESPN: Jimmy Dykes, Fran Fraschilla)
NC State at Cincinnati, 5PM (ESPN: John Saunders, Sean Farnham)
VCU at Virginia, 7PM (ESPN2: Mike Patrick, Len Elmore)
Michigan State vs Kentucky, 7:30 PM (ESPN: Dan Schulman, Jay Bilas, Andy Katz)
Florida at Wisconsin, 9PM (ESPN2: Bob Wischusen, Dan Dakich)
Kansas vs Duke, 9:30 (ESPN: Dan Schulman, Dick Vitale, Andy Katz)

I'm surprised at how many of these games are on ESPN2. Almost all of them used to air on ESPN. I find this interesting because what does it say about this marathon? Is this the last one for a while or is ESPN just bowing down to the all important NFL coverage?

Have You Been Ridden?

This video below is a reminder to myself that I need to start watching college basketball again. Not only has the season been great, but Bill Raftery will always be awesome. Raft asked Jay Bilas last night if he's "ever been ridden?". As you can imagine, awkwardness ensued.



Love live Raft.

(Via The Sports Pickle)

Calipari Says What We've Known For 15 Years Now

Last night Duke hammered Kentucky in Atlanta. That wasn't the real story though. The real story was John Calipari saying Duke flops during the halftime interview. "They're flopping all over the place. In the NBA, they'd all be suspended," said Calipari who of course said he was just joking after the game ended.



That's no joke Cal, Duke flops. Hell everyone has known this for 15-20 years now. It's their Modus operandi. Kinda like your modus operandi is paying players recruiting one year players. So don't say Duke flops and then backtrack because you're already stated the obvious.

With all that being said I was actually happy to see Kentucky lose last night. Even if it was to Duke. And I was happy to see Calipari look disoriented on the sideline while his team was being hammered. I've always been under the impression that Calipari is not a good basketball coach. He's an excellent recruiter who just happens to coach. Last year's championship was mainly won because Cal had a once in a generation player surrounded by teammates who played well together. When they won people lost their shit and thought this team would win multiple championships. I'm hear to tell ya I believe Calipari has won his only championship at Kentucky. So last night was good to see him lose to a coach who can actually coach and recruit. Whether your feelings on Coach K are positive or negative, you have to give him credit in this regard in that the man can coach a team during a game. I've never had this feeling with Calipari unless he has a once in a generation player on his team.

(Via @cjzero)

College Basketball Open Thread

I must apologize first, I forgot that ESPN is airing their annual 24-hours of coverage on college basketball last night. A couple of years ago I live-blogged the entire 24 hours. This year I forgot about the first 12 hours. Well here's your open thread, Harvard-UMASS just played an exciting game, and more good games are left on the docket. Leave comments and don't be a troll.

National Championship Game Live Blog

Blog starts at 6PM PT/9PM ET.

Final Four Live Blog

Window #1
New Orleans, LA:  Louisville vs. Kentucky  6:09 (CBS - Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, and Steve Kerr, SR: Tracy Wolfson)

Window #2
New Orleans, LA:  Kansas vs. Ohio State  approx. 8:49 (CBS - Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, and Steve Kerr, SR: Tracy Wolfson)

NCAA Tournament Live Blog Elite 8, Day 2

Window #1
Atlanta, GA:  #3 Baylor vs. #1 Kentucky  2:20 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg, SR: Tracy Wolfson)

Window #2
St. Louis, MO:  #2 Kansas vs. #1 North Carolina  5:05 (CBS - Marv Albert and Steve Kerr, SR: Craig Sager)

NCAA Tournament Live Blog Elite 8, Day 1

Window #1
Phoenix, AZ:  #7 Florida vs. #4 Louisville  4:30 (CBS - Kevin Harlan, Len Elmore, and Reggie Miller, SR: Marty Snider)

Window #2
Boston, MA:  #2 Ohio State vs. #1 Syracuse  7:05 (CBS - Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery, SR: Lesley Visser)

NCAA Tournament Live Blog Sweet 16, Day 1

Window #1
Boston, MA:  #4 Wisconsin vs. #1 Syracuse  7:15 (CBS - Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery, SR: Lesley Visser)
Phoenix, AZ:  #4 Louisville vs. #1 Michigan State  7:47 (TBS - Kevin Harlan, Len Elmore, and Reggie Miller, SR: Marty Snider)

Window #2
Boston, MA:  #6 Cincinnati vs. #2 Ohio State  approx. 9:45 (CBS - Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery, SR: Lesley Visser)
Phoenix, AZ:  #7 Florida vs. #3 Marquette  approx. 10:17 (TBS - Kevin Harlan, Len Elmore, and Reggie Miller, SR: Marty Snider)

NCAA Tournament Live Blog 3rd Round, Day 1

NCAA Tournament Live Blog 2nd Round, Day 2

1st Window

Nashville, TN:  #11 Texas vs. #6 Cincinnati  12:15 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel, SR: Lewis Johnson)

Columbus, OH:  #11 North Carolina State vs. #6 San Diego State  12:40 (truTV - Tim Brando and Mike Gminski, SR: Otis Livingston)

Greensboro, NC:  #9 Alabama vs. #8 Creighton  1:40 (TBS - Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg, SR: Tracy Wolfson)

Omaha, NE:  #10 Virginia vs. #7 Florida  2:10 (TNT - Marv Albert and Steve Kerr, SR: Craig Sager)

2nd Window

Nashville, TN:  #14 Saint Bonaventure vs. #3 Florida State  approx. 2:45 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel, SR: Lewis Johnson

Columbus, OH:  #14 Belmont vs. #3 Georgetown  approx. 3:10 (truTV - Tim Brando and Mike Gminski, SR: Otis Livingston)

Greensboro, NC:  #16 UVM vs. #1 North Carolina  approx. 4:10 (TBS - Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg, SR: Tracy Wolfson)

Omaha, NE:  #15 Norfolk State vs. #2 Missouri  approx. 4:40 (TNT - Marv Albert and Steve Kerr, SR: Craig Sager)

3rd Window

Columbus, OH:  #9 Saint Louis vs. #8 Memphis  6:50 (TBS - Tim Brando and Mike Gminski, SR: Otis Livingston) 

Greensboro, NC:  #15 Lehigh vs. #2 Duke  7:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg, SR: Tracy Wolfson)

Nashville, TN:  #13 Ohio vs. #4 Michigan  7:20 (TNT - Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel, SR: Lewis Johnson)

Omaha, NE:  #10 Purdue vs. #7 Saint Mary's  7:25 (truTV - Marv Albert and Steve Kerr, SR: Craig Sager)

4th Window

Columbus, OH:  #16 LIU-Brooklyn vs. #1 Michigan State  approx. 9:20 (TBS - Tim Brando and Mike Gminski, SR: Otis Livingston)

Greensboro, NC:  #10 Xavier vs. #7 Notre Dame  approx. 9:45 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg, SR: Tracy Wolfson)

Nashville, TN:  #12 South Florida vs. #5 Temple  approx. 9:50 (TNT - Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel, SR: Lewis Johnson)

Omaha, NE:  #15 Detroit vs. #2 Kansas  approx. 9:55 (truTV - Marv Albert and Steve Kerr, SR: Craig Sager

NCAA Tournament Live Blog, 2nd Round: Day 1

1st Window

Louisville, KY:  #11 Colorado State vs. #6 Murray State  12:15 (CBS - Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery, SR: Lesley Visser)

Pittsburgh, PA:  #9 Southern Mississippi vs. #8 Kansas State  12:40 (truTV - Kevin Harlan, Len Elmore, and Reggie Miller, SR: Marty Snider)

Portland, OR:  #13 Davidson vs. #4 Louisville  1:40 (TBS - Brian Anderson and Dan Bonner, SR: Jenn Hildreth)

Albuquerque, NM:  #13 Montana vs. #4 Wisconsin  2:10 (TNT - Spero Dedes and Bob Wenzel, SR: Jamie Maggio)

2nd Window

Louisville, KY:  #14 BYU vs. #3 Marquette approx. 2:45 (CBS - Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery, SR: Lesley Visser)

Pittsburgh, PA:  #16 UNC-Asheville vs. #1 Syracuse  approx. 3:10 (truTV - Kevin Harlan, Len Elmore, and Reggie Miller, SR: Marty Snider)

Portland, OR:  #12 Long Beach State vs. #5 New Mexico  approx. 4:10 (TBS - Brian Anderson and Dan Bonner, SR: Jenn Hildreth)

Albuquerque, NM:  #12 Harvard vs. #5 Wisconsin  approx. 4:40 (TNT - Spero Dedes and Wenzel, SR: Jamie Maggio)

3rd Window

Louisville, KY:  #16Western Kentucky vs. #1 Kentucky  6:50 (TBS - Verne Lundqist and Bill Raftery, SR: Lesley Visser)

Portland, OR:  #12 Virginia Commonwealth vs. #5 Wichita State  7:15 (CBS - Brian Anderson and Dan Bonner, SR: Jenn Hildreth)

Pittsburgh, PA: #10 West Virginia vs. #7 Gonzaga  7:20 (TNT - Kevin Harlan, Len Elmore, and Reggie Miller, SR: Marty Snider)

Albuquerque, NM:  #14 South Dakota State vs. #3 Baylor  7:25 (truTV - Spero Dedes and Bob Wenzel, SR: Jamie Maggio)

4th Window

Louisville, KY:  #9 Connecticut vs. #8 Iowa State  approx. 9:20 (TBS - Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery,
SR: Lesley Visser)

Portland, OR:  #13 New Mexico State vs. ##4 Indiana  approx. 9:45 (CBS - Brian Anderson and Dan Bonner, SR: Jenn Hildreth)

Pittsburgh, PA:  #15 Loyola (MD) vs. #2 Ohio State  approx. 9:50 (TNT - Kevin Harlan, Len Elmore, and Reggie Miller, SR: Marty Snider)

Albuquerque, NM:  #11 Colorado vs. #6 UNLV  approx. 9:55 (truTV - Spero Dedes and Bob Wenzel, SR: Jamie Maggio)

First Four Live Blog, Day 2

Dayton, OH:  #16 Lamar vs. #16 Vermont  6:30 (truTV - Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel, SR: Lewis Johnson)

Dayton, OH:  #12 California vs. #12 South Florida  approx. 9:00 (truTV - Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel, SR: Lewis Johnson)

First Four Live Blog, Day 1

First Round, Day 1 (Nantz/Kellogg/Kerr//Wolfson)
6:30 p.m. -- Western Kentucky vs. Mississippi Valley State (truTV) 
9:00 p.m. -- Iona vs. BYU (truTV)

NCAA Tournament Thoughts

(Once again a reminder that we'll live blog the entire NCAA tournament starting Tuesday with the First Four games.)

Confession: I love holding the bracket in my hands and looking over the first second round match ups and the potential sweet 16 and elite 8 match ups. I've had this obsession since I was a kid when I would cut out the bracket out of the local paper. Now I just go to a website and print out the bracket. I like doing this because I feel like I get a better grasp of what I'm reading if it's on paper compared to a TV or computer screen.

Another confession I must make is that I haven't followed college basketball as faithfully this season. With all the scandals, conference realignment, and arguments about if college players should be paid has took a toll on me. And all this conversation hit during the football season that left a black mark on me for the basketball season. So I basically didn't watch a ton of college basketball this year because I sorta lost my passion for college sports.

So the past 48 hours I've been trying to catch back up in college basketball. I watched conference tournaments, read tournament preview columns, and listened to the "experts" on ESPN and CBS. Here our my thoughts on the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

Trendy Picks: With more and more mid-majors reaching the elite 8 and final four in recent years, trendy mid-major picks by columnists and analysis have become more prevalent. You're going to hear about how person X really likes Murray State to advance to the elite 8. Here's the truth though, we have no clue what mid-major will advance.

The tournament is a complete crapshoot and the mid-major that usually advances the furthest usually has a player that will be drafted in the NBA lottery or has a deep team full of senior players. Also matchups matter. Richmond made it to the sweet 16 last year because they beat an usually overrated Vanderbilt and a Morehead State team that upset Louisville in the first round. So when making picks look at potential matchups before deciding what mid-major can go on a run.

First & Second Round NCAA Tournament Announcing Schedule

(Once again we'll be live blogging the entire NCAA Tournament, starting Tuesday night with the First Four games. The announcing schedule is completely via Awful Announcing.)

 Louisville: Verne Lundquist, Bill Raftery
Pittsburgh: Kevin Harlan, Len Elmore, Reggie Miller
Portland: Brian Anderson, Dan Bonner
Albuquerque: Spero Dedes, Bob Wenzel
Nashville: Ian Eagle, Jim Spanarkel
Columbus: Tim Brando, Mike Gminski
Greensboro: Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg

FIRST ROUND GAMES
TUESDAY, MARCH 13
6:40 PM truTV Dayton I
Mississippi Valley St. vs. Western Kentucky
Nantz/Kellogg/Kerr//Wolfson
after conc. I truTV Dayton II

BYU vs. Iona
Nantz/Kellogg/Kerr//Wolfson

FIRST ROUND GAMES
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14
6:40 PM truTV Dayton I
Lamar vs. Vermont
Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel//Lewis Johnson

after conc. I truTV Dayton II
California vs. South Florida
Eagle/Spanarkel//Johnson

Selection Sunday Live Blog

Saturday Open Thread

(Note: I'll probably won't be around much for this one.)

Here's your open thread for college basketball, spring training, NBA, and NHL for Saturday. The college basketball schedule is via the506 forum.

Memphis @ Tulsa, 12:00
CBS: Spero Dedes, Bill Raftery

Pittsburgh @ Connecticut, 12:00
ESPN: Dave Pasch, Doris Burke

Big South, Final: VMI @ UNC-Asheville, 12:00
ESPN2: Justin Kutcher, LaPhonso Ellis

George Washington @ Dayton, 12:00
CBS Sports Network: Dave Ryan, Pete Gillen

Louisiana State @ Auburn, 2:00
CBS: Brian Anderson, Dan Bonner

Washington @ UCLA, 2:00
CBS: Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Bob Wenzel

Cincinnati @ Villanova, 2:00
ESPN: Mike Crispino, Tim Welsh

Ohio Valley, Final: TN TECH-MURR ST winner v. TENN ST-MORE ST, 2:00
ESPN2: Bob Wischusen, Fran Fraschilla

Southern Mississippi @ Marshall, 2:00
FSN: Ron Thulin, Perry Clark, Jenn Hildreth

Patriot, Semifinal: American @ Lehigh, 2:00
CBS Sports Network: Bob Socci, Vince Curran

 18 Louisville @ 2 Syracuse, 4:00
CBS: Ian Eagle, Jim Spanarkel

Vanderbilt @ Tennessee, 4:00
ESPN: Brad Nessler, Jimmy Dykes

Colorado @ Oregon State, 4:00
FSN: Kevin Calabro, Reggie Theus

Boise State @ New Mexico, 4:00
NBC Sports Network: Ted Robinson, Blaine Fowler

6 North Carolina @ 3 Duke, 7:00
ESPN: Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale, Erin Andrews

Atlantic Sun, Final: BELM-ETSU winner v. MER-FGCU winner, 7:00
ESPN2: Adam Amin, Tim McCormick

Texas @ 4 Kansas, 9:00
ESPN: Brent Musburger, Bob Knight

West Coast, Semifinal: LMU-SF winner v. 21 St. Mary's, 9:00
ESPN2: Dave Flemming, Sean Farnham

West Coast, Semifinal: USD-BYU winner v. Gonzaga, 11:30
ESPN2: Dave Flemming, Sean Farnham