Final Four Thoughts

Another NCAA Tournament, and another year The Beard goes "o-fer" on his Final Four Predictions. That's alright though since this tournament continued to produce very tight, memorable ball games:

• St. Mary's Stagecoach quickly returned to Pumpkin form as they were castrated by Baylor 72-49. Very nice Sweet 16 run for the Gaels, but reality is a tough customer when she wakes up. Butler will find that out next weekend.
• Was very happy to see Baylor reach the elite 8 level. It was just 7 years ago that Carlton Dotson shot and killed Patrick Dennehy, and it's nice to see a school recover from such senseless tragedy. Unfortunately Baylor couldn't close the deal against Duke, as Coach K goes back to the Final Four at their expense. Incidentally, this is one of the "Dukiest" teams to come down the pipe in a long time. They remind me of the teams of the Jay Bilas-era : overly white, tall, hustle-y, and way too excited whenever they do something simple like make a layup while getting fouled, or take a charge in the lane.
• I was getting VERY concerned that the Final Four might be polluted with a Bruce Pearl appearance. Thankfully Michigan State prevented that from happening with a narrow victory 70-69. Not enough bad things can happen to Bruce Pearl in my odd little world. In case anyone doesn't remember, Pearl was responsible for one of the most petty, self-serving, ridiculous incidents when he ratted out Illinois, and Deon Thomas. Here's a copy of Pearl's memo to the NCAA. Feel free to read it if you need a natural laxative. In case you're wondering, Bruce was asked if he would handle the incident differently now on Real Sports two years ago, and he said he would do the same thing over again. I'd love to call him a rat, but I would hate to insult rats that way.

Unfortunately, the Final Four is not completely free of pollution, as West Virginia took advantage of a Kentucky team that forgot how to shoot a basketball on Saturday with a 73-66 victory. I've already seen evidence that people are forgetting what a complete DIRTBALL Bob Huggins is, with articles like this that glance over the deplorable things that happened on his watch. Let's NOT glance over Huggins career infractions, violations, and overall slimy behavior. There's the wonderful 30% graduation rate that he routinely posted while at the University of Cincinnati. The Bearcats were also placed on 2 years probation by the NCAA for "Lack of Institutional Control" in 1998. Also, 19 of his players were charged with crimes ranging from shoplifting to assault, including one infamous incident when Art Long Punched A Horse! That's not even getting into his recruiting of players to commit to him before he was even HIRED for his cup of coffee at Kansas State.

Huggins is the ultimate "black-hat" in college basketball, and should be treated as such. It's gotten to the point where he doesn't even attempt to wear a suit on the sidelines anymore, opting for a West Virginia sweatsuit that would befit a Russian Mobster. Let's hope Huggins gets a quick exit next weekend, and btw of all 4 teams left, I could live with Michigan State winning this tournament the most.

What We're Looking At

Don't pay attention to Lovie Smith's strange and seemingly undermining comments he made today about Devin Hester still being a number one receiver and Greg Olsen still being a major part of the offense this year. All that tells me is that the Bears are trying to trade either one or both for a chance to move up in the draft. Mike Martz only really has a use for one of them (Hester), and that's as a third option/slot receiver. That being the case, both players could help the Bears move up in the draft, and the best way that could happen is if you try to sell the rest of the league on how valuable you think they are, thereby inflating their value on the trade market. As we all know, potential trades that seem unlikely during normal business hours, have a strange way of seeming like a good idea during the chaotic period of the NFL Draft. Lovie's comments seem the be planting seeds in other team's ideas about their own personnel decisions.

Speaking of Mike Martz, I had long heard rumors about how thick, long and complicated Martz's playbook was, ever since he was Offensive Coordinator of the St. Louis Rams in 1999. It's full of unique formations, routes, cadences that are a throwback to the Air Coryell era, while providing synergy to the modern passing game. Well after a nice and quick little google search, here is a copy of the Mike Martz Playbook for you to digest. I'll provide a permanent link on the right side of this blog so if you have a little down time, you can go over it and decide what will or won't work with the Bears this season. One thing I will say - and I say this not knowing for sure if other NFL Playbooks often dictate the huddle formation or not - it's a very detailed playbook. Martz also expects EVERYONE to know it backwards and forwards just like he does.

The Beard isn't worried about Jay Cutler being able to know it cover to cover, but he has suspicions and concerns about guys like Johnny Knox, Earl Bennett, Devin Aromashodu knowing it though...

I Still Say It Happened (Wonderlic Fun Part II)

I woke up this morning to a wonderful story regarding my least favorite quarterback this side of Brett Favre, Tim Tebow. In the story, an unnamed source alleged that during the Wonderlic Exam at the NFL Combine Tebow asked if the group of fellow players taking the test could bow their heads for a group prayer. Immediately after Tebow made the request, someone from the back shouted "SHUT THE F*CK UP!", and the entire room erupted in laughter. Obviously I find this story amusing as it's the first reported incident that Tebow's in-your-face Christianity was met with the appropriate response.

Apparently Tebow took exception to this story floating around and in an effort that can only be described as something a control freak would do, he called Profootballtalk.com founder Mike Florio and denied the incident ever took place. Tebow certainly left a favorable impression on Florio upon speaking with him, to the point where Florio decided to double check the story with his source. Thankfully, the source still stands by his story that it happened. The Beard still believes it happened as well for the following reasons. First of all, the most obvious to me is "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." Second of all, Tebow definitely strikes me as the type who's naive enough to think he can control the media. Third, Tebow is taking a page out of the Roger Clemens book of "If I say it's a lie, then it's a lie". Does that make Clemens any more believable? Nope.

Tebow shouldn't be more believable either.

Do I Really Understand This?

The picture you see is of former Denver Broncos kicker Rich Karlis. He is jumping because he hit a field goal to beat the Cleveland Browns in overtime to send the Broncos to Super Bowl XXI in one of the most legendary games ever played in NFL History (See "The Drive").

Now that the overtime rule in the NFL has been changed for the postseason, my question is, would this even HAPPEN under the current system? The rule states (in case you're not familiar yet) that if the team that wins the coin toss kicks a field goal on the first possession, the team that lost the coin toss gets the ball for a subsequent possession. If that other team kicks a field goal on the subsequent possession to tie the game, it will then go to the traditional sudden death rules.

So lets take the example above of the 1987 AFC Championship Game. After Elway's miraculous drive, the Cleveland Browns won the toss in overtime. The Browns took the ball first, but eventually punted to the Broncos. The Broncos drove 60 yards, and Karlis kicked the field goal to win it (even though my friend Brad still thinks he missed it...take a look at the replay and you'll see what I mean). Game over.

From what I can tell (bear with me because debating these scenarios might make your penis hurt), under the current rule change it's not clear if the Browns get the ball back with a chance to tie it? The rule only addresses what happens if the team that wins the coin toss kicks a field goal on their FIRST possession. It doesn't specify why there is a difference between kicking a field goal on the first possession of overtime, versus the first field goal kicked by EITHER team in overtime. Why should one field goal count as "sudden death" and another field goal doesn't count?

Help me out with this one if you can and/or feel like it. I'm sure I'm missing something here, but nevertheless I feel it's worth exploring. Again, if you're going to have sudden death in overtime, leave the system the way it was. If you want both teams getting a possession, then adopt the NCAA Overtime Rules. Don't half-ass it by splitting the difference NFL.

Why The Hell Not!?

What do you do when you underachieve despite your talent level, and preseason projections? You go to the NIT Final Four of course! You also manage to do so by beating a team you have always wondered what would happen if you ever played them in their own gym.

The Dayton Flyers marched into Assembly Hall and promptly dismantled the Fighting Illini 77-71, despite their odd black uniforms. Using their usual blend of athleticism, uptempo play, better than average three point shooting, and tough defense, the Flyers built two different 16 point leads, and despite it getting a little hairy at the end, largely outplayed the Illini for much of the contest. There were a couple of milestones achieved with the win for the Flyers. This marks the first time Dayton has beaten a Big Ten team since the 2001-2002 season. It's also the first time Dayton has gone to the NIT Final Four since 1968.

As a Dayton alum, it's not that hard to remember that this season was a disappointment overall. UD will still approach a crossroads coming up when this season does eventually end. Will they fight to keep coach Brian Gregory as he will no doubt be courted by teams with vacancies? Both arguments for and against keeping him are more than valid. That will have to wait for the moment though as the Flyers are Madison Square Garden bound. Even though winning the NIT is always the equivalent of being the tallest Midget, it will still make me chuckle when I see the "NIT Final Four" Banner hanging in UD Arena. Get the Velcro ready!

GuciNugs and Observations

The Beard is checking in with some odds and ends he noticed over the past weekend:

• Terrific NCAA Tournament so far. One of the best I can remember quite frankly, despite two of my predicted Final Four teams already eliminated-THANKS A LOT BIG EAST! Plenty of upsets, last second shots, overtime thrillers, and overall good "white boy basketball" being the term I heard a few pundits use to refer to the success of teams like Cornell, Northern Iowa, Butler, and St. Mary's, as they all advanced to the Sweet 16. After watching the games this weekend, it seems the easiest explanation of why so many upsets took place was the decided advantage teams with seniors in the starting lineup have over teams that have highly recruited talented freshman players. The correlation being that the teams with the seniors have played together longer and know each other's strengths and weakness versus a team featuring superstar freshmen being overwhelmed at the reality of playing in the tournament for the first time...I doubt very highly if that will stop Kentucky from winning it all, but if Kentucky does win it, it will likely be erased within 3 years.
• The NFL Owners Meetings are taking place in Orlando this week, and the number one story so far seems to be possible changes to the Overtime System in the playoffs. The main talking point would be the significance of a field goal, meaning if a team kicks a field goal in overtime, the other team would get a fresh set of downs to do the same. If they kick a field goal in return, THEN the game goes to sudden death. There are three points of outrage that come to my mind. First of all, that's just silly since sudden death would still be possible under this change anyway. Second of all, I somehow get the feeling that the only reason this is even being talked about is because Brett Vicodin didn't go to the Super Bowl last year, and the Networks didn't like it. Third, there is a friggin LOCKOUT on the horizon! How The Lockout isn't priority number one during these owners meetings is beyond me?! Worrying about overtime, and concussions is the equivalent of making sure the doorknobs and brass railings are really shiny on the Titanic. All things NFL should take a backseat until they can secure that the league will even be playing football in 2011.
• Eldrick Woods once again took another major misstep on Sunday. In another bizarre move from Goliath, he agree to do a 5 minute "interview" with not one but two handpicked media members Tom Rinaldi and Kelly Tilghman, in which he once again revealed.....nothing. First of all, I did chuckle at the irony that Woods would choose Kelly "Lynch Him In A Back Alley" Tilghman, as she once was suspended for two weeks for making off-color remarks about him. Overall though, this was just pointless because he still isn't answering any questions. He was asked about Thanksgiving and he gave a b.s. "It's all in the police report" answer, even though it's NOT in the police report. He never talked to the police, nor was any explanation given (blood tests, breathalyzer, etc.) as to why he evaded a DUI. He wasn't asked about the investigation regarding Doctor Anthony Galea, or if he's talked to the FBI during their investigation. He did deny that anybody in his camp was pimping women towards him, even though TMZ and others have reported that the head of his design group Byron Bell was doing exactly that for him. If this latest misstep has proven anything, it's that Woods still hasn't learned a damn thing during this whole saga. He's still a raging dirtball, and will always be one. I have a sickly feeling though, that his ass-lickers are not going to care, and will still look to him as their hero when all the smoke clears.

Denial Isn't Just A River In Egypt...

I keep meeting people that don't understand why the Eldrick Woods situation is so bad. They keep telling me that this is only between him and his family, and that we should all leave him alone. You can imagine my reaction.

In an effort to address why this is not the typical situation involving a guy cheating on his wife, let me just summarize with the following links and images. Woods went from being:

1. This (11 second mark)

to

2. This

Hopefully these links will help people understand that Woods was strategically positioned as role model for kids. Now we all know, that he's not a role model for anybody, and like any fallen role model, it's ALL of our business to examine why the god ended up being false. For everyone that ever bought his Gatorade, his Nike clothes, his Nike hats, his Nike golf balls, his golf clubs, his Buick cars, (you see where I'm going with this?), we all deserve answers.

Thankfully, Trey Parker, Matt Stone and the geniuses at South Park gave us their season premier which cuts through the B.S. in their usual eloquent T.V. Show. Click here to watch the episode.