So, how was your summer?
Sports conferences had a busy time trying to take over the world. The era of the superduperpower conference was held at bay by the Texas Longhorns. The full court press applied by the Pac-10 towards half of the Big 12 could have shifted the Mountain West Conference into a Big Six conference. With Kansas, K-State, Iowa and Iowa State left in a conference with Baylor and Missouri, they were ripe for the MWC to rescue them from their wandering around after the music stopped. When Texas declined to join and for now, commit to the future of the Big 12 (which is comprised of only 10 schools) it sealed the MWC's fate as a high mid-major for the time being.
Utah and Colorado to the Pac 10 kinda makes sense. I'm still surprised they didn't end up taking BYU, but I may be underestimating their need to play games on Sundays, something they wouldn't be able to do if they invited BYU. So Craig Thompson was able to snatch Boise State away from the WAC, which basically sinks them to Big West or lower status and the league basically breaks even from a football perspective. BYU's decision to take its football independent is interesting for several reasons.
First, sentimentality. BYU's leaving the MWC basically breaks up the best parts of the old WAC pre-16 team expansion era and leaves the left half of the country in a certain state of limbo.
It also leaves the MWC without a presence in Utah, so look for Utah State's invitation to arrive sometime next summer when it will be much cheaper for them to leave. Adding Fresno State and Nevada does not do much for the conference's BCS hopes. It looks like their impending friendship with Conference USA will be their best bet to get a seat at the BCS table. BYU leaving hurts this effort, not that it was guaranteed with them included in everything. That fact probably is what tipped BYU to decide to go independent, because now they don't HAVE to play in the Las Vegas Bowl every year, they can go wherever anyone else will have them. You know other second tier bowls wouldn't mind having BYU to choose from, as their church, er, fans travel very well.
BYU leaving the MWC in other sports and joining the Gonzaga Conference, means that the WCC will pretty much be a two bid league for the next decade or so. It vaults them to right below the MWC and C-USA in terms of quality of basketball and it gives those other schools a chance to lose at Provo every year. Look for the Cougars to set new home conference winning streak records for that conference. The biggest arena in the conference is maybe 12,000 and the Marriott Center holds almost 20,000. Yeah, that won't be intimidating for San Francisco and Portland. Gonzaga should be happy because now their RPI won't be slowly sliding backward from January on now. BYU vs. Gonzaga in the WCC finals - pencil it in now for the next twelve years. Also, I think they move their conference tournament to the same weekend as the big boys and move it to Provo or Salt Lake. Watch attendance spike as fans realize the BYU invitational exists only to slake the thirsts of the Mormon church.
As a result of all this, I am beginning to disike the ESPN machine. They played a role in all this mess because they had a deal with the WAC before it got raided by the MWC. I like the theory of this series vs. Notre Dame to try to get more visibility, but I think in the long run, BYU will grow into a niche on the West Coast. I understand the theory behind their decision but I think they underestimate their ability to grow into a national brand. We'll see what happens.
College football is around the corner...more to come as always
laters
cvz
Rebels by 10
Wednesday, September 1
Monday, August 2
More to come...
Indeed, it has been awhile since I last wrote, but that is the way the cookie crumbles. Sorry to those that wait with bated breath (all six of my readers...riiiiight). As a result you will get Larry King style stream of consciousness rants....
Fully satisfied that the Lakers polished off the Celtics in seven games. Really, that is the only way it should have happened. Don't get me wrong, I was biting my fingernails the whole time and almost threw my TV out the window at halftime, but it was a gratifying end to an uneven playoffs that the NBA gave us....
We'll see what the fallout is from the LeBron circus. Not sure if they will be able to put title-winning pieces around the new Big Three, but the cognoscenti seem to think Miami is a year away from being the new Titletown. I think they have to figure some things out over there first and the clock on Eric Spoelstra's tenure is beginning to tick down to its end, as I think it will be way too tempting for Riles not to come down to coach his new toy...
The retirement of Lou Pinella and the death of the actor who played Lou Brown in Major League is mildly comically coincidental. As in whoever the Cubs call to manage the team next year, the voice on the other end of the phone will say..."Ehhhh, I don't know. I've got to call you back, I've got a customer on the phone about some whitewalls." Let the Ryne Sandberg era begin. It won't matter until they do something to upgrade the pitching, that is what got them to the playoffs back to back years...
I now have two boys at home to enjoy...my oldest seems to think a good way to have fun is to jump on me and generally abuse me, much to his delight. My support group meets Wednesday nights...Welcome to the world, Carsten Christopher! I look forward to seeing you grow into a functional contributing member of society...
We'll see what the fall brings us in MLB. I think the Yankees are the team to beat, but the Cardinals could surprise some people as well....Other stuff since the spring gave way to the heat - Rebels faded down the stretch vs. the Aztecs and the Panthers. It was obvious they just ran out of gas. Too bad about Matt Shaw and Tre'von Willis. I enjoyed watching Shaw and I am renewing my season tickets anyway. Willis, I think was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I think as more information comes out, he probably did something but not as bad as first reported. I think he'll be out for a portion of the season, which is too bad as their schedule has a chance to get them dancin' again...Personally, I was rooting for the dissolution of the Big 12. I was hoping the expansion of the Pac 10 would essentially merge the north part of the Big 12 with the Mountain West and make them one of the BCS leagues. As it happened, basically they traded Utah for Boise State, which is good for football, bad for basketball, but I am not unhappy to see Utah leave the league. Football is the money sport and if UNLV had been able to put any kind of winning program on the field the last ten years, they could have been a candidate to join instead of Colorado. We'll see if more techtonic shifts are on the way for college athletics....
Hopefully, I can work in some NFL predictions before the season starts. At least I can start wearing my 'Skins apparel a little more this fall.
laters
cvz
Rebels by 10
Fully satisfied that the Lakers polished off the Celtics in seven games. Really, that is the only way it should have happened. Don't get me wrong, I was biting my fingernails the whole time and almost threw my TV out the window at halftime, but it was a gratifying end to an uneven playoffs that the NBA gave us....
We'll see what the fallout is from the LeBron circus. Not sure if they will be able to put title-winning pieces around the new Big Three, but the cognoscenti seem to think Miami is a year away from being the new Titletown. I think they have to figure some things out over there first and the clock on Eric Spoelstra's tenure is beginning to tick down to its end, as I think it will be way too tempting for Riles not to come down to coach his new toy...
The retirement of Lou Pinella and the death of the actor who played Lou Brown in Major League is mildly comically coincidental. As in whoever the Cubs call to manage the team next year, the voice on the other end of the phone will say..."Ehhhh, I don't know. I've got to call you back, I've got a customer on the phone about some whitewalls." Let the Ryne Sandberg era begin. It won't matter until they do something to upgrade the pitching, that is what got them to the playoffs back to back years...
I now have two boys at home to enjoy...my oldest seems to think a good way to have fun is to jump on me and generally abuse me, much to his delight. My support group meets Wednesday nights...Welcome to the world, Carsten Christopher! I look forward to seeing you grow into a functional contributing member of society...
We'll see what the fall brings us in MLB. I think the Yankees are the team to beat, but the Cardinals could surprise some people as well....Other stuff since the spring gave way to the heat - Rebels faded down the stretch vs. the Aztecs and the Panthers. It was obvious they just ran out of gas. Too bad about Matt Shaw and Tre'von Willis. I enjoyed watching Shaw and I am renewing my season tickets anyway. Willis, I think was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I think as more information comes out, he probably did something but not as bad as first reported. I think he'll be out for a portion of the season, which is too bad as their schedule has a chance to get them dancin' again...Personally, I was rooting for the dissolution of the Big 12. I was hoping the expansion of the Pac 10 would essentially merge the north part of the Big 12 with the Mountain West and make them one of the BCS leagues. As it happened, basically they traded Utah for Boise State, which is good for football, bad for basketball, but I am not unhappy to see Utah leave the league. Football is the money sport and if UNLV had been able to put any kind of winning program on the field the last ten years, they could have been a candidate to join instead of Colorado. We'll see if more techtonic shifts are on the way for college athletics....
Hopefully, I can work in some NFL predictions before the season starts. At least I can start wearing my 'Skins apparel a little more this fall.
laters
cvz
Rebels by 10
Sunday, March 7
It's amazin'
Time for my brief MWC tournament preview. I know y'all have been looking forward to it.
First, the year end awards.
Player of the Year: Probably Darington Hobson from UNM, but I can see them giving co-POYs to him and Jimmer Fredette from BYU. Both players were the best in conference, although Jimmer had a better non-conference run than Hobson. Tre'von Willis gets an honorable mention, but he may just have to wait until next year.
Defensive Player: This is not so obvious to me. If he hadn't gotten hurt, Derrick Jasper could have made a run at this award with good games vs. UNM, SDSU and Utah but his injury set him back. Utah has two great shot-alterers in David Foster and Jason Washburn, but since Foster averages more than 3 blocks a game, it is probably his to lose. Honorable mention to Jackson Emery from BYU who was able to lead the conference in steals.
Newcomer of the Year: The preseason pick was Jasper but I think Hobson gets this one without a doubt.
Coach of the Year: Again, I could see a co-COY for this recognition as well. Dave Rose's story is too inspiring, given all he has had to handle (and it is admirable) and Alford's job of bringing together a talented bunch that was still picked fifth in preseason to the Top 10 and possible 2-seed in the Dance is also very hard to see them recognizing.
First Team:
Hobson, Fredette, Willis are the no brainers. Dairese Gary is also probably worthy as is Kawhi Leonard who is only a freshman. Hard to see Leonard making first team though. From there you have a bunch more great second team candidates. Ronnie Moss from TCU deserves some recognition as well but first team may not be within his grasp. Oscar Bellfield led the league in turnover ratio and assists but probably did not score enough to get attention. D.J. Gay from SDSU was tough to defend and Zvonko Buljan from TCU lacked the consistency he showed from last year. Chace Stanback was another foe opponents hated preparing for. Tavernari is definitely the sixth man but could also make a second team, maybe first.
Other stuff:
The tournament's semifinals should be pretty entertaining. UNM and BYU have locked in for the Dance, while UNLV needs to get by Utah to clinch their invite. SDSU is win if they make the tourney finals, but an earlier exit before then could doom them to the NIT (again). The potential second round of UNM-SDSU and BYU-UNLV makes must see basketball action. By far they are the best teams of the season and deserve to be there. However, there always seem to upsets and I think UNLV is vulnerable as Utah upended them in both matchups this year. I really don't think CSU can give the Aztecs a game, but if they get hot, it could be possible. I like a BYU-UNM rematch in the final, but since both teams are eyeing Top 4 regional seeds, they could be distracted enough to get upset during the tournament.
The Rebs have good momentum and confidence after burying their last 4 opponents following a three game losing streak. My worry is if they get into a close game, they may not be able to execute under pressure and finish off their opponent. I think if they get by Utah, a big if, they should be able to get BYU since they have a hard time winning on this court. I'm hoping for a UNM-UNLV final with Jasper making the championship clinching block on Hobson. We'll see what happens.
More to come later,
laters
cvz
Rebels by 10
First, the year end awards.
Player of the Year: Probably Darington Hobson from UNM, but I can see them giving co-POYs to him and Jimmer Fredette from BYU. Both players were the best in conference, although Jimmer had a better non-conference run than Hobson. Tre'von Willis gets an honorable mention, but he may just have to wait until next year.
Defensive Player: This is not so obvious to me. If he hadn't gotten hurt, Derrick Jasper could have made a run at this award with good games vs. UNM, SDSU and Utah but his injury set him back. Utah has two great shot-alterers in David Foster and Jason Washburn, but since Foster averages more than 3 blocks a game, it is probably his to lose. Honorable mention to Jackson Emery from BYU who was able to lead the conference in steals.
Newcomer of the Year: The preseason pick was Jasper but I think Hobson gets this one without a doubt.
Coach of the Year: Again, I could see a co-COY for this recognition as well. Dave Rose's story is too inspiring, given all he has had to handle (and it is admirable) and Alford's job of bringing together a talented bunch that was still picked fifth in preseason to the Top 10 and possible 2-seed in the Dance is also very hard to see them recognizing.
First Team:
Hobson, Fredette, Willis are the no brainers. Dairese Gary is also probably worthy as is Kawhi Leonard who is only a freshman. Hard to see Leonard making first team though. From there you have a bunch more great second team candidates. Ronnie Moss from TCU deserves some recognition as well but first team may not be within his grasp. Oscar Bellfield led the league in turnover ratio and assists but probably did not score enough to get attention. D.J. Gay from SDSU was tough to defend and Zvonko Buljan from TCU lacked the consistency he showed from last year. Chace Stanback was another foe opponents hated preparing for. Tavernari is definitely the sixth man but could also make a second team, maybe first.
Other stuff:
The tournament's semifinals should be pretty entertaining. UNM and BYU have locked in for the Dance, while UNLV needs to get by Utah to clinch their invite. SDSU is win if they make the tourney finals, but an earlier exit before then could doom them to the NIT (again). The potential second round of UNM-SDSU and BYU-UNLV makes must see basketball action. By far they are the best teams of the season and deserve to be there. However, there always seem to upsets and I think UNLV is vulnerable as Utah upended them in both matchups this year. I really don't think CSU can give the Aztecs a game, but if they get hot, it could be possible. I like a BYU-UNM rematch in the final, but since both teams are eyeing Top 4 regional seeds, they could be distracted enough to get upset during the tournament.
The Rebs have good momentum and confidence after burying their last 4 opponents following a three game losing streak. My worry is if they get into a close game, they may not be able to execute under pressure and finish off their opponent. I think if they get by Utah, a big if, they should be able to get BYU since they have a hard time winning on this court. I'm hoping for a UNM-UNLV final with Jasper making the championship clinching block on Hobson. We'll see what happens.
More to come later,
laters
cvz
Rebels by 10
Wednesday, January 27
May you live in interesting times...
I have to say it has been an entertaining start with the first half of league play in the Mountain West Conference. BYU has pretty much established themselves as the team to beat, despite their loss at New Mexico tonight. They may not glide through the second half of the schedule but they should only drop one or two more games. That raises the bar for UNM, UNLV and San Diego State to win their home games and steal as many on the road as possible. I truly think BYU is the only team that will go undefeated at home, UNLV and UNM have a chance to finish 7-1 at home and their finish will be determined by their success on the road. UNLV had a good week with wins they were unable to get last year - at TCU and at CSU, both teams probably better than they were last season but UNLV had more determination and drive to win those games as opposed to just thinking they had to show up in the upsets last season.
Watching Derrick Jasper go down last night with a knee injury, my first thought wasn't "There goes the rest of the season," like I did when Kaspars Kambala and Kevin Kruger went down with injuries during conference play. I really feel bad for him because he has fought through so much just to be playing basketball and probably at about a 80-85% level of what he is used to doing. The Rebels are deep enough to get through the injury. I think they will miss his defensive versatility and his playmaking ability on offense. Willis also will miss his favorite alley ooper. All the best, Derrick-Heal quickly and I hope to see you on the court soon!
I'll take BYU vs. UNLV in the finals of the conference tournament (again) this year. Probably the way it should be. (Since we all know that Alford won't win a game in Vegas...hahaha...)
laters
cvz
Rebels by 10
Watching Derrick Jasper go down last night with a knee injury, my first thought wasn't "There goes the rest of the season," like I did when Kaspars Kambala and Kevin Kruger went down with injuries during conference play. I really feel bad for him because he has fought through so much just to be playing basketball and probably at about a 80-85% level of what he is used to doing. The Rebels are deep enough to get through the injury. I think they will miss his defensive versatility and his playmaking ability on offense. Willis also will miss his favorite alley ooper. All the best, Derrick-Heal quickly and I hope to see you on the court soon!
I'll take BYU vs. UNLV in the finals of the conference tournament (again) this year. Probably the way it should be. (Since we all know that Alford won't win a game in Vegas...hahaha...)
laters
cvz
Rebels by 10
Tuesday, January 5
I had really meant to post again before the end of the year, but as they say-the best laid plans...
I will devote my space today to the start of MWC conference play and as I write this the Lobos and Aztecs are battling to get off to a good start. By far, the Lobos are the surprise team of the league so far and are making some noise due to the notoriety of their coach, Steve Alford. They still haven't played many quality foes although they did escape with wins over Texas A&M and Texas Tech. It seems the third year for a coach is the year the kids put it together and achieve and this could be the year for the Lobos to win either the regular season or the tournament and I think they could win a first round game if tehy got a good matchup. However, I don't think this is likely and I'll get into that more later.
BYU is good, but not as good as the last three years. Their schedule is softer than my stomach and while they have swept the Arizona schools, I don't think they are as deep as in their previous regular season winning years. Their streak will come to an end this year. Still, they will win at home and steal more than their share on the road, then lose in the second round of the conference tournament and promptly get bounced out of the dance.
San Diego State is what they normally are. Usually the most talented on paper, if they don't play together, they won't win. I've been impressed with their battling so far against New Mexico but I don't think they have the focus they showed last year when they won big games on the road and almost beat Utah. Because of their soft schedule, they will be forced to win marquee games against conference foes and for the first time in the conference there will be more than two teams to get those wins against.
Utah enters in at .500 but is still a team that nobody will want to play. They walk the walk and scheduled like a beast again this year but did not get the quality wins they earned last season. Of course, they are missing nine foot tall Beeker but they still are a tough out and will not be easy to beat this year.
The rest: While TCU has probably underachieved and CSU has overachieved, Wyoming and Air Force will battle for the first team not to make the NCAAs. TCU still has the best name in the league with Zvonko Buljan and the Rams have some nice players. I think the depth of the top half of the conference is really too overwhelming for the bottom half of the league. If any of the top four take their eye off the ball against these teams, they will pay for it.
I'll try to be objective in evaluating the Rebels. I think they and UNM have performed the best against the competition they've played this year. It is not their fault Arizona and Louisville are having down years. I think the SIU and the Reno win will be really good wins in March. The Rebels just need to take care of business against the lower half of the conference, win their home games and get SDSU, UNM or BYU on the road and they have a shot at winning the regular season, which will actually be worth something this year. They don't really have a bad loss as K-State is the 2nd best team in the Big 12 in my opinion and USC with Gerrity, now can play very loose and have nothing to lose and nothing to gain after they sanctioned themselves as a result of the O.J. Mayo scandal. If they win their home games and take care of the lower half of the conference, two things they did not do last year, they will be dancin' in March.
This is the best the MWC has been since probably the first season. UNM, UNLV and BYU getting in the rankings is great exposure and these teams need to stay at the top of the standings to remain in the rankings and on the radar. If San Diego can make a late run, the conference has a great shot at three teams and maybe four actually deserving teams in the dance this year. Combine that with the down year that the Pac 10 is having and it could be a great season for Mountain West BB.
It looks like UNM is going to fall at San Diego, allowing the Aztecs to get the jump on the big three. UNLV has a great chance to get in the driver's seat if they can find a way to stop BYU's offense and come out swinging against what will be a determined Lobo pack. It should be a fun season to watch.
laters
cvz
Rebels by 10
I will devote my space today to the start of MWC conference play and as I write this the Lobos and Aztecs are battling to get off to a good start. By far, the Lobos are the surprise team of the league so far and are making some noise due to the notoriety of their coach, Steve Alford. They still haven't played many quality foes although they did escape with wins over Texas A&M and Texas Tech. It seems the third year for a coach is the year the kids put it together and achieve and this could be the year for the Lobos to win either the regular season or the tournament and I think they could win a first round game if tehy got a good matchup. However, I don't think this is likely and I'll get into that more later.
BYU is good, but not as good as the last three years. Their schedule is softer than my stomach and while they have swept the Arizona schools, I don't think they are as deep as in their previous regular season winning years. Their streak will come to an end this year. Still, they will win at home and steal more than their share on the road, then lose in the second round of the conference tournament and promptly get bounced out of the dance.
San Diego State is what they normally are. Usually the most talented on paper, if they don't play together, they won't win. I've been impressed with their battling so far against New Mexico but I don't think they have the focus they showed last year when they won big games on the road and almost beat Utah. Because of their soft schedule, they will be forced to win marquee games against conference foes and for the first time in the conference there will be more than two teams to get those wins against.
Utah enters in at .500 but is still a team that nobody will want to play. They walk the walk and scheduled like a beast again this year but did not get the quality wins they earned last season. Of course, they are missing nine foot tall Beeker but they still are a tough out and will not be easy to beat this year.
The rest: While TCU has probably underachieved and CSU has overachieved, Wyoming and Air Force will battle for the first team not to make the NCAAs. TCU still has the best name in the league with Zvonko Buljan and the Rams have some nice players. I think the depth of the top half of the conference is really too overwhelming for the bottom half of the league. If any of the top four take their eye off the ball against these teams, they will pay for it.
I'll try to be objective in evaluating the Rebels. I think they and UNM have performed the best against the competition they've played this year. It is not their fault Arizona and Louisville are having down years. I think the SIU and the Reno win will be really good wins in March. The Rebels just need to take care of business against the lower half of the conference, win their home games and get SDSU, UNM or BYU on the road and they have a shot at winning the regular season, which will actually be worth something this year. They don't really have a bad loss as K-State is the 2nd best team in the Big 12 in my opinion and USC with Gerrity, now can play very loose and have nothing to lose and nothing to gain after they sanctioned themselves as a result of the O.J. Mayo scandal. If they win their home games and take care of the lower half of the conference, two things they did not do last year, they will be dancin' in March.
This is the best the MWC has been since probably the first season. UNM, UNLV and BYU getting in the rankings is great exposure and these teams need to stay at the top of the standings to remain in the rankings and on the radar. If San Diego can make a late run, the conference has a great shot at three teams and maybe four actually deserving teams in the dance this year. Combine that with the down year that the Pac 10 is having and it could be a great season for Mountain West BB.
It looks like UNM is going to fall at San Diego, allowing the Aztecs to get the jump on the big three. UNLV has a great chance to get in the driver's seat if they can find a way to stop BYU's offense and come out swinging against what will be a determined Lobo pack. It should be a fun season to watch.
laters
cvz
Rebels by 10
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