March Madness here we come...

Below are questions from each region answered by the three of us dillweeds. Enjoy.


EAST Region

Best first round match up?

Dogg- Best first round match up will be Indiana vs. Arkansas. Both teams have been very good at times this year but they both have been very average as well. I believe the departure of Kelvin Sampson has put a huge damper on this team and I see Indiana not showing up in round 1 with their new head coach. Arkansas by 8...

Q: I think the best first round match up has to be Butler vs South Alabama. Two midmajor teams that a majority of the country knows nothing about. If Butler continues to shoot the ball as they have for most of the season, it is very likely that they win this game and upset Tennessee in the second round.

Fuzz: The best first round match-up is Washington State (#4) against Winthrop (#13). Winthrop can win this game. They have a bunch of thugs on their team and Wash St. is a bunch of pussies.

Sleeper team?


Fuzz: As for a sleeper team, I think the obvious choice is Butler. They are 29-3! That is an impressive record. They beat Ohio State and Virginia Tech earlier in the season. Both are NIT teams but both are pretty good teams. Plus, they won't have to meet UNC until the Elite Eight since they are in the lower area of the bracket.

Q: I'm not sure how much of a "sleeper" a 7 seed can be like Butler is, but I like them winning at least 2 if not 3 games and ruining a lot of brackets (just not mine, of course).

Dogg: My sleeper team is Butler. They play very good defense, slow the game down to the pace where most college teams are very uncomfortable and have great guard play with Green and Graves. They’ve played the big dogs the past two seasons so playing Tennessee in a potential 2nd round match up will not be intimidating for this squad. They could make a run towards the Sweet Sixteen, maybe even the Elite 8….

Dream match up in later rounds?

Dogg: Louisville vs. Tennessee would be a great one to see. Tennessee can score points with the best of them and Louisville plays defense that most teams can’t handle. Tennessee bombs 3’s and Louisville guards the 3 point line like no other team in the country. This game would be very intriguing and you always take defense over offense. I would pick Louisville in this game….

Fuzz: UNC and Tennessee is the dream matchup. Both have occupied the #1 team in the land at some point this year.

Q: I know a lot of people want to see the Tar Heels and the Volunteers square off, but I'm not one of them. A Butler/Oklahoma Elite 8 match up would be a dream for me because it would mean that my brackets are in good shape.

Who comes out of this region?

Q: As for a team to head to San Antonio for the Final Four? You'd have to be crazy not to pick UNC, so I'll go with them. As long as Lawson is up and running, they are nearly impossible to defend with inside (Hansbrough) and outside (Ellington) scoring options.


Dogg: Hansbrough and UNC come out of this bracket. Psycho T is the best player in college basketball and is a force on the block. Lawson and Ellington can step up in any big game and they are deep. They will outlast any team in a running game...

Fuzz: I know this will be ripped but I think Louisville comes out of this region. UNC is going to be in everyone's final four but not with this guy. Louisville is a balanced team that went 14-4 in the Big East, including the Big East Tourney. They are a tough team. Pitno is a pretty damn good coach, too. Louisville represents the East bitches!!

Any Additional comments about this region?

Dogg- Washington St. is my team to watch. They are unique in that they can score when they really decide to push the ball but also have the ability to slow the game down to a Princeton type style. They have great guard play with Weaver and Lowe who will both play at the next level so this team should not be overlooked.

Fuzz- The East region is a pretty tough region in my mind. Maybe the toughest. UNC could be playing Indiana second round and Indiana was ranked near the top 10 all year until Sampson got booted. They could just turn it on.

Q- The East will be tough, but it is not the toughest. Sure you have the #1 overall seed in Carolina, but I think there are some very overrated teams in this bracket, starting with the 2nd seeded Volunteers. Sure they score a lot of points, but they also give up a ton and don't shoot free throws all that well either. Not a great combination for tournament success. Strong arguments could also be made about Louisville and Washington St. (the 3 and 4 seeds) not being very tough as well.

MIDWEST region

Does Kansas finally break through to the Final four? Why or Why not?


Fuzz: Yes, they do. Bill Self and the Jayhawks seem to have a hot team entering every tourney but come up short every year. Not this year. They have the depth and the will to get to San Antonio. Guys like Chalmers, Rush and Robinson know to well what it feels like leaving the tourney too early and this year the wait is over.

Q: If you take out the fact that this is Kansas, they would appear, on paper, to have a team that absolutely should go to the Final Four. They have the best and deepest backcourt in the nation with Chalmers, Robinson, Rush, and Collins. Combine those guys with above average big men in Kahn, Arthur, and Jackson and you have possibly the most talented team in the land. The problem is the name on the front of the jersey. This is the same school that has produced uber-talented teams over the last two years and have been bounced in the first round by Bucknell and Bradley. Nevertheless, I'm going to say that they finally get that proverbial monkey off their back with a trip to San Antonio this year. Not because this team is necessarily that much better than in previous years, but rather because of the lack of talent in this region. For instance, Georgetown, the 2 seed, has not been consistent and their star player, Roy Hibbert, has proven that he can absolutely disappear at crucial times (such as fouling out with 0 points and 3 rebounds in the Big East semi's).

Dogg: I believe Kansas does breakthrough to the Final Four this year. I don’t see a real threat to them in their bracket is the first reason and secondly they are that good this year. They have the best 7 man rotation in the country and if Mario Chalmers decides to be the player he can be during crunch time I see them playing in the National Championship. They don’t really have a weakness except maybe for their tournament jinx but with a little more experience and Bill Self probably itching to reach a Final Four they are primed for a big time run at the title.

Who has the better game: Mayo or Beasley?

Dogg: I believe Beasley will have a better stat line when it comes to points but Mayo leads his team to victory. This will go with my answer to my sleeper team in this region who is USC. They were up and down most of the year but I really like all the Pac 10 teams this year as I believe from top to bottom that this was by far the toughest conference. Thanks to FSN on Thursday nights and Saturday nights we are blessed with late night Pac 10 basketball and it was exciting every night out because most of the teams were legit. I believe Mayo and Beasley will rise up on the national stage for this game but USC is just a much better team than Kansas St. The supporting cast for USC can actually play basketball and other than Bill Walker, Kansas St. doesn’t have another player who should be playing college basketball at any level.

Fuzz: Beasley will have the better offensive statistic game but Mayo’s USC team will win this game. Beasley could have 40 and they could still lose. Mayo will get his 20 and Beasley will get his absurd stat line that seemed to be the norm for him. Even though I see Kansas State losing, I’m not sold on USC either. I think USC wins this game but gets stuffed from Wisconsin the next game. USC will get owned by Bo Ryan’s D. Anyways, what really matters is that Beasley needs plenty of time off to get up to Minny and start house shopping. Needs to get comfortable with his surroundings.


Q: In the made-for-TV match up between USC and Kansas State, I have Beasley with the better game (Jay Bilas guaranteed that he'd get 30+ on ESPN last night), but Mayo and the Trojans will win the game because of OJ's unselfish play. Mayo has gotten a reputation for being a me-first player, but he'll shatter those thoughts and have the country raving about him as USC wins no fewer than 2 games.

Sleeper team?

Q: I'd love to say Davidson is the sleeper, considering we've been pimping them on the site all year, but I'm just not sure with the draw they got. A potential Gonzaga-Georgetown-Wisconsin run is a very daunting task. So instead I'm going with Clemson. The four or five times I've seen them play this year, they have looked really good. They have a great combination of guard play and physically imposing size to play with anyone in the region. Their free throw shooting may be their ultimate downfall, but don't be surprised if they pull off an Elite 8 run.

Fuzz: Q doesn’t like when sleepers are high seeds, but I’m putting Vanderbilt down here. Yes, Vanderbilt the #4 seed. I’m putting them down because I’ve literally heard nothing about their chances since the brackets have come out. Out of the top four seeds in each bracket they have to be the least mentioned. I bet a lot of people pick them to lose early because of the non-media coverage. They did beat Tennessee and have a pretty good team. If Vandy makes the Sweet 16, they’d more than likely play Kansas to get to the Elite Eight. Even though I personally think Kansas will advance, Kansas is far from a guarantee this time of the year. Vandy could make a run.

Who do you have representing this region?

Fuzz: Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Dogg: Kansas and Bill Self represent big time throughout the tournament and think they are one of 3 teams who have a shot at winning the title. We all know their fans will be supporting their team because they are one large click who live and die KU hoops. I personally know several who attended KU and trust me when I say their fans will be cheering louder than ever this season.

Q: As stated earlier, I've got to go with Kansas. I'm not a big fan of the Hoyas or the Badgers, and picking Clemson to represent the region is a call that is way too bold for me to take. KU's depth is going to be the key to them squaring off against UNC in a match up that will get hyped to no end.

SOUTH region

Who's the best Point guard in this bracket?


Q: Wow, what a loaded region for playmakers--great question. Let's make sure everyone's clear on the options for best PG in the South: Rose (MEM), Neitzel (MSU), Fields (PIT), James (MU), Crawford (KEN), Augustin (TEX), and whichever guard out of Oregon you deem as the point. Holy cow. Well with all due respect to the clutchness (made up word) of Neitzel and the excitability (another) of Rose, I'm going to have to go with DJ Augustin out of Texas. I may be a bit biased since I just spent the last 3-4 days in Kansas City watching the Big 12 Tournament and got to see him up close and personal, but I think DJ is the real deal. He can score, pass, defend--he does it all. Plus, I think he'll be the catalyst that gets Rick Barnes' club to the Final Four.

Fuzz: Let’s run through a few of the names of PG’s in this bracket: Derrick Rose, Drew Neitzel, Dominic James and DJ Augustin. That’s a good group. D-James is overrated but still deserves to be on this list. When he’s on, he’s as hard of a player to stop as anyone in the country. Unfortunately for James and Marquette, he’s off more than he’s on. Neitzel is probably the PG with the biggest kahuna’s in that list. Gamer is overused, but he’s just that. Rose is an extremely talented freshman who plays for a system that favors good point guards. Memphis runs and runs and runs so a good PG can really excel. Rose has done just that.

That leaves DJ Augustin, my pick for the best PG in this bracket and even the nation for that matter. DJ is unreal. There is a reason why Texas didn’t fall off after Durant left; it’s because of this animal. Bob Knight called him the hardest guy to guard in the nation the other night. Texas could be Final Four bound if he simply does what he does best---be the best PG in the nation.

Dogg: Yeah, there are a few good PG's in this region but my clear cut best PG and maybe best player in this region is Dominic James from Marquette. I still don't know how he only got 2nd team all Big East but Marquette is a fringe NIT team if he's not on the court. I know he tends to disappear at times but when it's national television time it's D-James time! He will lead Marquette so a Sweet Sixteen berth this year.

What's the most intriguing possible Sweet 16 matchup?

Dogg: I see Marquette playing Texas and seeing two undersized but explosive PG's duking it out with James and D.J Augustin. Both teams can look like the best team in the country but both have looked relatively mediocre at times especially the Golden Eagles. I like Marquette in this matchup and think this is their year to make a legit run.

Fuzz: Memphis vs. Michigan State would be an interesting game. Memphis plays like the Phoenix Suns and Michigan State plays like a small town high school team playing zone and box & one’s. Michigan State would try to control the tempo almost at an uncomfortable to watch slow-down level and Memphis would try to do the same but at the opposite end of the spectrum. I could see Memphis players getting very frustrated with this game. It simply would be a pro-typical Big Ten team playing against a pro-typical Conf. USA team.

Q: In the Sweet 16, I'd love to see Stanford-Texas. It may not have the flash and boatloads of points that a game like Memphis-Pittsburgh would, but for a real college basketball fan, this would be highly entertaining. Both teams have numerous players that are currently big time stars (and others that will be soon) and it would be interesting to see who would prevail--the Cardinal with their twin towers Brooke and Robin Lopez, or the Horns and their dynamite backcourt of Augustin and AJ Abrams. I'm getting excited just writing about it.

Overall thoughts on this region?

Q: Top to bottom, this is the most difficult and balanced region in the tournament. You have the consistent high level of play from Memphis, Texas, and Stanford, as well as a number of those "next level" teams that could easily go on a 5 or 6 game tear in Pittsburgh, Michigan State, Marquette, and Kentucky. Oh, and don't forget about a couple of potential Cinderella's in Temple and St. Mary's. This quarter of the bracket is absolutely loaded and I wouldn't be surprised to see any two of the previously mentioned nine teams battling it out for the right to go to the Lonestar state.

Dogg: Memphis doesn't make the Final Four is my thought. I selected Oregon in my draft for teams because if they can get by Miss. St. they can run up and down with just about anybody. They can score but aren't deep. Stay out of foul trouble and they might just be the spoiler once again for Memphis.


Fuzz: With Memphis as the #1 seed, this bracket is the widest open of all the regions. Out of all the #1’s most would agree that Memphis would be the most vulnerable. Memphis scores a healthy amount but also gives up its fair share. They are also a horrendous free throw shooting team, which doesn’t bode well come tourney time since most games are close ones. So, that leaves the door open for Texas. Texas is also a very good team but has the most losses out of any #2 seed with bad losses to Missouri, Texas Tech and an overrated A&M squad. So, that leaves the door open for Stanford. How many brackets has Stanford fucked this decade? Exactly. So, that leaves the door open for etc... This is the hardest bracket to pick in my opinion.

Who do you have taking this region?

Fuzz: I like the Longhorns. They played the Jayhawks very tough in the Big 12 championship game and Kansas could be the best team in the country. I think the Free Throw stat comes into play for Memphis. Calipari seems like one of those coaches who think this stat is overrated. He just blows off FT drills some days. “Shit, we’ll just outscore them so it doesn’t matter.” I could see him saying something like that. I think it bites them in the ass and Texas rides to the Final Four.

Dogg: I have Marquette in a huge surprise!!

Q: I have the University of Texas Longhorns representing the South region with Damian James as a sleeper Regional MVP.

WEST region

Who is the best coach in this region?

Q: Oh man, what a loaded first question. I'll give our readers one guess as to the moderator of this roundtable. Here's a hint: he waited until Duke's region to ask the question "Who is the best coach?" Well I'm not going to give you the satisfaction, Fuzz. I'm taking Ben Howland at UCLA. The guy has an amazing track record for success in both the regular season and the NCAA Tournament. Here are some stats for your ass: overall record of 290-143 (.670 winning percentage), including 122-44 (.735) with the Bruins. Won the Big Sky regular season twice and the Big Sky tournament once. At Pitt, he won two regular season Big East crowns and one Big East tournament title. Since coming to UCLA he has taken home the Pac 10 regular season title three times and has twice been victorious in the Pac 10 tournament. The guy flat out wins (went to the last two Final Fours and has his team poised as a #1 seed again this year).

Fuzz: This region boasts some pretty decent ones, but my pick is Coach K. Weird. Since Coach K took over 27 years ago, he’s had three losing seasons, three National Championships and 10 final four appearances. Plus, he’s one of the most hated coaches for fans out there and it’s more reason for me to love him.


Dogg: The best coach in this region is a complete landslide with Ben Howland. He leaves Pittsburgh for UCLA and with mass amounts of pressure on him; he has led UCLA to two straight Final Fours and probably a 3rd straight this year. He recruits, has guys leave early and then develops new stars the next year, recruits again and it he doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

What is the best first round game?

Dogg: Arizona/WV is the most intriguing game for me. There are 3 superstars in this game (Joe Alexander, Jared Bayless and Chase Buddinger). Two of them play for Arizona but WV has a much deeper and more balanced team so I'm taking WV. Watch out for WV to give Duke a nice run in round 2.

Fuzz: 5-12 game---Drake vs. Western Kentucky. With Drake already being a Cinderella story, they’ll be picked heavily against in this game. Everyone usually picks an upset in the 5-12 game and Drake seems like the safest #5 seed to go down. Will Drake keep the glass slippers on or will they be another 5-12 statistic?

Q: The best first round game in the South come courtesy of West Virginia and Arizona. Not many people in the country know about Joe Alexander and the Mountaineers, but they will soon. This team is talented, well coached, and has a shot at pulling off a huge upset of Duke in the second round (you know, if the Blue Devil can manage to squeak by Belmont, which is by no means a guarantee). On the other hand, many so-called experts are bitching and moaning about the fact that the Wildcats shouldn't even be in the tourney. That doubt always seems to put a chip on teams' shoulders and pushes them to play well above expectations (i.e. when UNC "shouldn't" have gotten in a few years back and then went to the Final Four). It would not shock me if Arizona took out WV in the first round and then Duke in the second round. I think the moral of the story is that the winner of this game WILL beat Duke in the second round and I will be happy.

Who is the most overrated team?

Fuzz: My two cohorts will probably say Duke. Actually, I know they will. This is a softball question for them to once again rip down Duke. They take any chance they can...believe me. Personally, I think it’s Georgia. Yes, they are a #14 seed but they don’t even belong here. Screw this automatic conference tourney bid bullshit. They aren’t even close to the top 64 teams in the country, which they preach it is. The Gophers are better than the Bulldogs.

Q: Most overrated team? Easy--the Duke Blue Devils. They blow, enough said.

Dogg: I believe Drake is the most overrated team in this region. I've seen them play twice and yes they do play hard but they rely heavily on the 3 point shot and don't have a lot of athleticism to guard anybody big or quick. I like Western Kentucky to beat Drake in round one.

Fuzz: One out of two ain’t bad right?

Who is your pick to win this region?


Q: My pick to win this region is UCLA in a cakewalk. The only game they're likely to get is in the Elite 8 against Xavier and even that game won't be all that close. Howland and the Bruins stroll into San Antonio for a ridiculous 3rd year in a row.

Fuzz: UCLA. They’re a Final Four machine. This would be their third straight Final Four and I see it happening. UCLA, Kevin Love and his outlet passing get through a fairly easy bracket to reach San Antonio as my last team.

Dogg: I'm taking UCLA because Duke lives behind the arc and if they do match up in the Elite 8, Kevin Love is going to own the block. UCLA will guard the 3 point shot and are as athletic as Duke so they will be able to contain penetration and kick tactic they like to use.

Finally...

Who wins it all? Over who?

Fuzz: If you weren’t paying attention my Final Four is: Louisville, Kansas, Texas and UCLA. I see Kansas winning it all over UCLA. Alfalfa finally gets to cut down the nets after years of disappointment.

Q: So that makes my Final Four UNC, Kansas, Texas, and UCLA (I know, real original). I have UNC and Texas advancing to the final game with the Tar Heels leaving as the 2008 National Champions.

Dogg: I'm taking UCLA over Kansas. UCLA has the easiest road to the Final Four so they should be the healthiest team going into the Final Four, which usually plays a factor on the outcome. I'm waiting anxiously to see Ben Howland holding the trophy while "One Shining Moment" is played.

Read More......

What I'm rooting for

Below are a few things that I'm rooting for right now.


1) I’m rooting for Francisco Liriano aka “F-bomb” aka “The Franchise” aka “our only #1 quality pitcher” to be the opening day starter. Reports in the locals this week have Gardy leaning toward Livan Hernandez as your March 31st (19 days away!) starter. I don’t like that. Livan was the add-on fatty we added late in the off-season to help us eat innings---not be our #1 guy! And everything I’ve been hearing is that Liriano has a great chance to make the rotation out of spring ball rather than be sent to the minors for more rehab work. So, if F-bomb makes the five-man rotation, why not start him against the Angels that first game? By the way, it’s a nationally televised game. The sports nation is going to feel pity on us when we roll out 8.00 ERA Livan for our first game. Liriano is clearly our best pitcher and having him run onto the mound in the first game would give fans a sense of hope---Liriano is back baby!

2) I’m rooting for the Minnesota Vikings to get going on this whole back up quarterback situation. They’re acting like college students with this procrastination method they’re implying. Half-heartedly looking for someone to bring in. This isn’t the night before a term paper due at your 8:15 class Chilly, this is about the future of your job. The Vikings employ three quarterbacks in their franchise. Tarvaris Jackson, Brooks Bollinger and Darrell Bevell. One looks like an overmatched small college quarterback, one looks like Kyle from “Road Trip” and the other is a 38-year-old offensive coordinator.


I think it would be smart for Chilly to grab a good enough veteran to push T-Jack. Just my opinion folks. It will also be a safety blanket in case T-Jack isn’t the answer, which everyone seems to be predicting. A 2nd round pick for Sage Rosenfels is probably too much. Some people might not think so because draft picks are never guaranteed to pan out. However, a second round pick for a below average veteran QB is too much for me. However, the Vikings do have two 3rd round picks and two 6th round picks along with their current picks. Would a 3rd and a 6th do it? I would do that. Or if you do think you’re that close for competing for a title, give up that second round pick but for a better QB. Second round picks are pretty valuable and could get you someone with a better resume. Would a first day pick be too much for like a Kurt Warner? I don’t have the answer to that but I’d rather have him than a J.P Losman, Mark Burnell, Chris Wienke or Bryon Leftwich, the only guys that are available right now. Either way, T-Jack needs some pressure and we need a plan B bad!

3) I’m rooting for Big Al Jefferson to develop some sort of illness that prevents him from playing the rest of the season. That’s right, I’m on the tanking bandwagon. If it’s a case of the shits (like Harry from “Dumb & Dumber”) or a herpes breakout (like 1-4 US teenage girls I guess) or Kidney stones (like Al Swearengen from “Deadwood”), anything to keep him off the court, I’m all for. Actually, I don’t wish the Kidney stones on our favorite player. The Doc stuck a two-foot rod up Swearengen’s penis to try to remove them---not cool. Make something else up T-wolves, just something! Tanking doesn’t promise you anything but it increases your odds. Having a better chance at a game changer like Michael Beasley or a Derrick Rose fits this team a lot better than another wing player like OJ Mayo or the Euro fuck. Our wing players aren’t rock stars but we have a good amount of solid ones (McCants, Foye, Brewer, & Gomes). An influential post like Beasley or a penetrating point guard like Rose, balances out our team. Anyone up for kidnapping Al for the next month? I’d be down.

4) I’m rooting for the newly acquired psycho wingman Chris Simon to flip out another NHL player. I don’t wish injury on anyone but a cheap shot that suspended him again would be an interesting scenario for this market. Minnesota is known as the nice State. The “we do things right up here” State. Adding Buffalo Bill to the roster at the trading deadline didn’t fly so well in Wild Hockeyland. The move was ripped by almost everyone. Now, I’m the jackass cheering for him to blow a fuse on the ice. He hasn’t played much but when he does, keep your eyes peeled. The fucked up thing is, I’m truthfully rooting for this. I want to see the uproar when he takes off a guy’s head like in Mortal Kombat.


5) I’m rooting for my roommate Q to come around on Tricky Nicky Punto. Dogg & I are trying are best to convince him that Punto is going to have a bounce back year. 2/3 of TKOT has faith in the diving into first base little speedster with the big heart. Q doesn’t. For example, Q brought up the fact that Punto is hitting .077 this spring. Then I proceeded to point out that Ichiro is 0-21 this spring and that all good hitters come around. He didn’t buy it but we’re still trying our best people. He’ll come around sooner or later. As the old cliché goes: Nick is #8 in your programs but #1 in your hearts. So true.

6) I’m rooting for the snow to go away so I can get on the golf course, grill outside and beat the shit out of my friends in “bags.” That’s how I do.

7) I’m rooting for Jason “Bobby Marley” Castro to win American Idol this season. One, I have him on my fantasy Idol team. Two, I think he’d be the first contestant ever to win the show and celebrate by smoking a J. on stage. This would immediately strip him of his million-dollar contract but I think he’d still do it. He’d say he would be fine because all he needs is his guitar and a street corner to live on man.


8) I’m rooting for the NBA Western Conference standings to end just like it is. First round playoff matchups would be: Lakers vs. Golden State- another #1 choke job? Probably not, but Golden State did it last year and could easily do it again. G.S. is 14 games over .500, so they aren’t a slouch team. You never know, but I think Kobe would will the Lakers to win this series. Houston vs. Dallas- battle of Texas. Dallas comes in as the #6 seed with a major role reversal from last years #1 seed. Maybe they play loosey goosey and play spoiler here. Houston is on a 20- game win streak and every team in history with a streak as high as theirs has gone onto win the NBA title. Well, they easily could get beat in round one. The West is so awesome this year…again. San Antonio vs. Phoenix- Revenge factor for the Suns after Horry bodychecked Nash last year that caused Amare and Diaw to get suspended for a game that gave the Spurs all the momentum to finish them off for good. One of the biggest bullshit rule enforcements ever. Will the trade for Shaq payoff in this series? We’ll see. Utah vs. New Orleans- Paul vs. Williams. Two of the best young pure point guards going head-to-head. Enough said. I don’t know how many NBA fans are out there, but these matchups would be entertaining as hell.

9) I’m rooting for Lucas & Lindsey and Nate & Haley.

10) I’m rooting for the PGA to keep John Daly on tour. Some people think his actions are bad for the game. I don’t think it’s hurting it. He’s a colorful character that makes Golf more interesting. He respects the game and is not doing any inappropriate to the course or the fans. He’s doing all the hurt to himself. Last weekends tournament, Daly got cut but stayed the weekend to “hangout” around the area, especially Hooters. His actions were called into question and here was his response: "I love Hooters. I had a few beers and some chicken wings. It was Saturday. I wasn't even playing in the tournament." Please keep him around.


11) I’m rooting for Duke to win the NCAA Championship. Surprised? Probably not. I don’t give a shit what any of you say; they have a pretty good shot. This year is wide open as ever. Now, I will say a few things do need to fall into place for them to get the last image in “One Shining Moment.” First off, they can’t have an off night shooting behind the arc after the Sweet 16. I think they are good enough to have an off shooting night and get to the Sweet 16. ESPN braketology has them as the #2 seed in Midwest bracket. They would play #15 Bellmont first round. Assuming they win, they would play either #7 Gonzaga or #10 Texas A&M. I just don’t see them losing before the Sweet 16 to those types of teams. So, beyond those first two games, their bread & butter (shooting threes) needs to be on or they will be bounced.

The second thing that needs to happen is they have to get lucky with teams in their bracket that don’t have a ton of size---a major weakness of this Duke team. Staying with the ESPN bracket, Tennessee is the #1 seed, Wisconsin is the #3 seed, Notre Dame is the #4 seed and Butler is the #5 seed. Sorry to break it you, but they have as good as chance as any of those teams representing the Midwest in the Final Four. I’d be nervous if the #1 seed in their bracket was a UNC or a UCLA. They’ll have a hard time competing with the big frontcourts. However, the tourney is full of surprises so maybe a team with some size gets bounced early and Duke shoots the lights out (which they can) for three weeks. I’m waiting to see the brackets to put them all the way, but they are on a short list of mine to win it all. I’d probably only favor 3-4 teams above them to cut down the nets (copyright Steve Lavin).

11) I’m rooting for Ben to kill Locke. Locke’s pissing me off. He’s the only chump that wants to stay on the island (for obvious reasons) but he’s taking down everyone with him with his personal agenda. Ben is the sneakiest dirty bastard on that island and will find a way to dethrone Locke’s power. That is a guarantee. Just think, Sayid had Ben figured out when he was a black man named Henry Gale from Minnesota about two seasons ago. Should have listened to him...

12) I’m rooting for politicians to be moral upstanding citizens. In the latest case of shadiness, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer solicits a hooker for his pleasure. Seems like a hell of an idea when you’re married with three daughters and are the Governor of one of the great States in this country. Way to think that one out pal. Below is the lady he was seeing:

Maybe it was money well spent...kidding...kind of...

13) I’m rooting for the Vikings to take Calais Campbell DE from Miami in the upcoming draft. If you remember, our very own resident draft guru, “The Bag,” had Calais at the 6th overall pick in his “Voices from a Stranger” column about a month ago. Since then, Calais has dropped in a few mock drafts I’ve seen in the teens. Mel Kiper even has him going to us at #17. We have a glaring need at DE and CC would be a nice addition to our team. Let’s hope he’s not like the stereotypical Miami player that find themselves more in police blotters than at charity events.

14) I’m rooting for May 17th, 2008. It’s the day Spencer Tollackson graduates.

15) Finally, I'm rooting the State of Minnesota to get out of this sports funk. We're the fucking laughing stock of the nation in the sports world. We have GM's and coaches that are punchlines. Every team is either really shitty or not quite there. Vikings and the Wild seem closer than the Twins and Wild. Gopher hoops is a few years away also. We don't have one team in this market that has everyone fired up. Please let that happen soon...

Out,
Fuzz

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Twins Update

Seeing as we are roughly at the midway point of Spring Training now seems like an appropriate time to update everyone on our favorite baseball squad. Here’s a look at what we know exactly 3 weeks to the day before Opening Day about your Minnesota Twins.



The Twinks are a robust 8-4 in the Grapefruit League heading into today’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays (no longer Devilish). That record, of course, means absolutely nothing because the final outcome of Spring Training games in inconsequential. What does matter is that the offense has looked solid thus far. The team seems to consistently be getting timely hitting with runners on base (and especially in scoring position). Considering the fact that for the first time in roughly 10 years the bats are going to have to carry the team this year, this is a very good sign. The pitching has been up and down so far. The trend that is starting to take shape is our starter going 2-3 innings while giving up 2-3 runs (if not more). Then the bullpen comes in and completely shuts down the opposing bats while we mount a comeback and steal a victory. We all know that this team possesses multiple shut down relievers, so that’s no surprise. The lack of quality innings from the starters is something that we may need to start worrying about though.



With such a young starting pitching staff, the early struggles in March are not uncommon and really shouldn’t be a major concern just yet. Kevin Slowey has shown signs of brilliance (3 innings of scoreless ball yesterday) and horror (giving up 6 runs in 3 innings of work his first time out). The same can be said about the other starters penciled in to our rotation—Boof Bonser, Scott Baker, Livan Hernandez, and Fransisco Liriano. Livan is throwing today and will hopefully show a bit more promise than he provided in his last outing. The F Bomb has only been out once, and while throwing at roughly 80%, looked good. I’m cautiously optimistic at this point.



Speaking of optimism, Delmon Young appears to be the real deal. The kid is absolutely crushing the ball this spring to the tune of .474/.500/.632 numbers (I know they don’t mean a whole lot, but those are too nice to ignore). Even when he’s not punishing the ball to the gap or into the seats, he’s at least putting it into play. Only one K in 20 plate appearances so far is a very good sign.



Another guy who seems to have found his stroke early (stop giggling) is The American Dream—Joe Mauer. Every bit of news out of Fort Myers about this guy is pointing towards a huge season. He’s ripping the ball all over the field, he’s becoming the vocal leader of this team, and he’s told Gardy that he wants to be in the lineup every single day no matter what (no more days off because of “the wear and tear” or “demands” of the position). Sounds to me like another year of .350 hitting from our catcher.

As crunch time approaches for this team, there are still some major decisions left to be made. Slowly over the next week or two there will be many guys sent to the minors, ending their dream of breaking camp with the big club. With that said, there are about four spots on this team that have yet to be decided. The first is the 5th spot in the starting rotation. With Baker, Bonser, Hernandez, and Liriano virtual locks to occupy the first four, it comes down to three guys for that final starting gig: Slowey, Glen Perkins, and Nick Blackburn. Thus far, Blackburn has looked the steadiest of the three. Slowey’s problems have already been mentioned, and Perkins simply hasn’t done anything to distinguish himself from the others. Don’t be confused, there is no clear cut favorite at this time. But it’s definitely a big thing to keep an eye on through the rest of the month.



Another pitching spot that remains unclaimed is the last spot in the bullpen (assuming the team heads back to Minnesota with 12 pitchers as Gardy has said he wants to). Joe Nathan, Jesse Crain, Juan Rincon, Pat Neshek, Matt Guerrier, and Dennys Reyes are all in. That leaves guys like Carmen Cali, Julio DePaula, and Bobby Korecky all doing their best to impress Rick Anderson and company. The best bet to fill out the ‘pen though? Perkins. Again, he hasn’t done much to prove his worth as a starter just yet, but the team seems to like what he brings to the table. He would also provide a second lefty arm in relief so that Reyes isn’t the only one. Seems like the logical move to me.

On the positional player side of things, the big race is still in centerfield. Jason Pridie hasn’t done much, and since he lacks the speed and upside of the other two candidates, he seems destined to become a Red Wing. Carlos Gomez and Denard Span have shown equal amounts of impressiveness and disappointment. There is no definitive leader at this point, which will make the next three weeks very intense for these two.



At this point, it looks like there is one bench spot available for the taking. This will be a heated battle between Brian Buscher (TKOT’s boy), Garrett Jones (who seemingly has fixed that giant hole that was in his swing last year), Alexi Casilla (still with an outside chance to win the 2B job), and Randy Ruiz. I know what you’re thinking…who? Yeah, Randy Ruiz bitch, and remember you heard it here first. The kid can play all four infield positions and is currently has a hitting line of .450/.500/.835 that includes two dingers and a team leading 17 total bases. The kid is knocking the cover off the ball and would seem to be the perfect bench player for this team. By the way, there are whispers of Nick Punto being cut/traded/sent down by the end of spring in favor of one of these younger players who bring a lot more to the plate and might actually be a valuable asset to a Major League Baseball team. Just whispers, but I thought you’d like a heads up on that potential roster move.


Nice bunt, Hank.

Before I end this, I thought I’d give everyone a quick update on the Big 3 that departed the Twins in the off season and how they’re doing so far. Torii Hunter is dominating for the Angels to the tune of a .611 average so far this spring. Johan Santana, after a less than stellar debut with the Mets, came back yesterday with a very Cytana-like performance against Boston, throwing 4 innings of scoreless ball on only 2 hits while striking out 4. Carlos Silva has gotten torched so far in Seattle--his two outings have resulted in an ERA over 10.



Fuck those fucking guys.

Out.

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Hodgepodge Roundtable

I don’t know how to say this but I think we were bored and it’s definitely a Monday. Below is a large roundtable that involves a wide range of topics that I’m not sure how they came up to begin with. We go from Duke Basketball, to Nick Punto, to the NBA draft, and to who the Wolves should take in the June draft. The majority is a basketball theme though. Anyways, below is what is on our mind this semi-warm Monday.

Readers note: This was two roundtables (email strings) that I combined. One that involved the Duke and Punto topics and the other brought in our resident NBA rube to talk NBA. The first conversation needs to be set-up. Dogg asked three of us (Fuzz, Q and Hill) to be in a March Madness draft pool as one team. Three opinions for one team---not good. Somehow we got a roundtable out of it though.


Hill: I am in for the March Madness draft. Let me know how you boys want to handle this. What is the buy-in?

Fuzz: It's pretty simple---Duke with the first pick. That's how you handle it.

Hill: Great, so I will just be throwing money away, because DUKE boy is involved. We may as well pick Winthrop first they’re about as solid of a lock as Duke right now.

Q: I'll do it as long as we don't pick Duke.

Dogg: Go ahead and pick Duke and lose your first team in the 2nd round.

Fuzz: Fine, I'm out you secret hand shaking assholes. You two sheds can throw your money away on Kansas (Hill’s favorite squad) and Washington State (Q pimped them hard on TKOT earlier in the season, remember?).

Q: I'm sure we'll be able to get all three of these teams. No one else will take them since none of the 3 will do anything in the tourney.

Dogg: I agree Hill. Duke has lost its mo-jo and coach K is losing it. He should retire!

Fuzz: They have four losses fellas. Only about six teams in the top 25 can say they have fewer.


Q: And 0 teams in the country that can say they played and easier non-conference schedule than Duke.

Dogg: And 0 teams can also say they have the refs in their back pocket like Coach K and Duke have… The best refs do the tourney so most often the refs will call the game straight up and why Duke has been losing early every year.

Fuzz: I wish you knew what you were talking about Q.

#13 Marquette, Davidson, #20 Wisconsin, & #9 Pittsburgh were Duke’s four best non-conference games.

That's not the best in country by any means but I bet I could find a handful of teams worse than that. So that 0 teams is way too extreme.

Dogg: Close enough to zero.

Q: Is the Davidson victory really a resume builder? Aren't they supposed to beat those small D1 teams? And they lost the Pitt game, so that's not really anything to brag about either. Oh, and it's called and exaggeration. Learn about it.

Fuzz: Teams four best non-conference games:

UNC- Davidson, Ohio State, Kentucky and Kent State.
Washington State's- Gonzaga, Baylor, Air Force, & Montana
Kansas- USC, Arizona, Georgia Tech and DePaul
G-Town- Memphis, Alabama, Michigan, & Ball State

Do you want me to keep going?

Some teams do play tougher non-conference schedules. UCLA, Texas and Michigan State all come to mind. But the majority of teams play opponents like I just mentioned. Duke's is right where pretty much everyone else is. You play 2-3 pretty good teams and that's about it. Wisconsin, Pitt, MU & Davidson isn't shabby.

By the way, you didn't come off as an exaggeration at all. You clearly said "0" teams. You could have said, "They have a pretty easy non-conference schedule." You made a point to say it was the easiest.

Dogg: Pittsburgh and Marquette suck.


Q: Did you really believe that I thought that out of the 150+ division 1 men's basketball programs that Duke had the easiest non-conference schedule in the country? That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.

Further--
Fuzz: "Punto is going to hit .280 this year." Your TKOT article last Friday…
Q: "0 teams have an easier non-conference schedule than Duke."

Clearly you have some idea what an exaggeration is and those two statements are similar in their level of absurdity.

Readers note: This is time where I kicked out Hill from the conversation. He clearly had better things to do and we were about to talk Twins. Hill’s not much of a ball-guy.

Fuzz: Why can't Punto hit .280 this year? He hit .290 two years ago. At least my exaggeration has some truth to it. It's happened before and not too far in the past. Duke's not even close to the easiest non-conference schedule in the country.

Yo Dogg, Pitt & Marquette were good at the time. Still, one is 22-9 and the other is 22-8 now.

Dogg: Why can’t Nick Punto hit .280 this year is a great question Q. He had one bad year and now you think the guy is a 14-year old in house player. What do you think he will hit? Remember if he’s a utility player and only plays sparingly, .250 is very good with his defensive skills...Pitt and Marquette are average basketball teams at best.


Readers note: Marx jumps into the conversation with some different news. Q is so ready to talk more college hoops that he ignores his hatred towards Punto and doesn't answer why Punto won't hit .280. Maybe he knows he will...

Marx: Wade is out for the season, let the Mike Beasley tanking begin!!!!

Fuzz: The Wolves keep winning, too! We still have the second lowest loss total in the league but are only two games from the fourth lowest. If we get the three or four pick, whom are we taking?

Q: Obviously if it's #1 then it has to be Beastly. Otherwise, then next 3-4 projected picks are all smaller guards. Is that really what we want/need? I love the Bayless kid in Arizona. He'd be my pick. They also keep projecting that DeAndre Jordan out of A&M really high, but he hasn't done much in college. I don't want Gordon and I'd be ok with Rose. I'm telling you that if Bayless comes out though, he'll be the best of those three.

Marx: Bayless is probably a good pick also if we can trade down. He's not a top 5 pick and he's a 2 guard trapped in a point guard body. I might even compare him to Jason Terry. We already have 2 small 2 guards in McCants and Foye. Also, our current pg is maybe 6 foot tall (Telfair). I have no clue who we take with the 3rd or 4th pick. Do we go for the Euro guy (Danilo Gallinari from Italy) that is supposed to be one of the top talents in the draft? Do we go for either Eric Gordon or OJ Mayo? Both are flawed prospects.

Do we take the freshman center DeAndre Jordan from Texas A & M? He is a major project similar to Andrew Bynum. He might develop nicely or he could just be another DeSagana Diop. Do try to trade down in the draft and take someone like DJ Augustin from Texas or Darren Collison from UCLA? I really hope we end up with one of the top 2 picks so we can take either Beasley or Derrick Rose.

Fuzz: Wolves roster:

PG: Telfair, Jaric & Foye
SG: Buckner, McCants & Snyder
SF: Brewer & Gomes
PF: Jefferson, Smith & Walker
C: Doleac, Madsen, & Richard

With that roster, I don't know if we need another swingman. Brewer, Gomes, McCants and even Foye can all play the 2 or 3 spot. That's why getting a top two pick is important to me also. We need Beast-ley or Rose. I would rather have those guys over like a Gordon or Mayo.

Marx: We probably won't have Buckner, Snyder, Doleac, or Antoine Walker on this team next year. We will trade Jaric in a heartbeat if someone is stupid enough to take him. I believe we will ship out McCants for the right deal. I also believe that Gomes will be offered too much money by somebody and I hope it’s not us. That leaves Foye, Telfair, Brewer, Jefferson, Smith, Madsen and Richard. These guys plus our high first round pick, our high second round pick, plus a select veteran or 2 will be brought in to hopefully help develop our young guys. We also have another 2nd round pick this year, but its lower. The point is we have some major needs, like pg, but we just need to draft talent regardless of position as we need major help everywhere.

Dogg: DO NOT TAKE COLLISON!!!! I don’t like him at all. I told Q last week that I’m on the Bayless bandwagon hard right now. I think he’s the real deal. I’ve also warmed up to Rose. Beasley first choice, Bayless 2nd choice and Rose 3rd choice. Bayless can play PG. This is the NBA and there isn’t many true PG’s. Rose and Bayless are similar players to me but I think Bayless shoots better. Rose might be a slightly better passer but that also has to do with Bayless having to shoot and score more on his team than Rose does.

Fuzz: I like the Bayless kid also, like everyone else here. Here’s a question for you goons: If we end up with the 4th or 5th pick because we keep winning would you guys be against taking a center like Brook Lopez? With my point I made before that we have a bunch of wing players, would this be too high for him? I've seen him top 10 in most mock drafts.


Dogg: Stanford always has good center that never pan out in the league but I actually wouldn’t mind taking him if we had the 5th pick. He can play great defense and can let Al just guard the worse of the 4 or 5 position, which will allow him to continue being the best low block player in the league. Yes Fuzz, he’s better than Duncan.

Fuzz: Dogg, I’m ignoring the Duncan comment. You're trying to goat me and I'm not taking it.

Marx: Brook Lopez is better than the Collins twins are/were. He will be a nice NBA player, but he only averages 5-6 rebounds a game right now in college, which is a little concerning. We are getting into Mark Blount territory there. Also, you guys might like Bayless, but be realistic. He is not better than Rose nor will he go higher than Rose.

Fuzz: Brook Lopez is averaging 18.9 points a game and 8.2 rebounds a game while averaging only 30.2 minutes a game. He's not Mark Blount.

Marx: Alright, so I underestimated his rebounds. I think its Roy Hibbert who is only averaging 6 rebounds a game. I hope we do not end up with him.

Q: Is Lopez too much of an "on the block" guy? We already have Al anchored down there. Is there someone who might be able to pop out and hit J's a little better? Would Jordan kid out of A&M be a better fit since he seems to have more versatile game?


Marx: From what I've heard about Jordan, his offensive game is very raw. I assume that includes his jump shot. If anybody was going to develop more of a 15 foot J it would be Lopez or Kevin Love. Besides, we already have a post who's main weapon is a spot up jump shot-Mike Doleac.

Dogg: Lopez can actually shoot jump shots already. I wouldn’t mind him at all. Jordan is very raw and seems like a Tyrus Thomas type project, which I personally don’t like at all. I don’t want him one bit. Brook Lopez is a legit center where Love would be undersized just like Big Al. Fuzz, I think you have warmed me up to Brook Lopez...Bayless is the man.

Fuzz: Well, now I think I'm in the camp where we need to go in tank mode. We at least need a chance at a top two pick. I think Beasley and Rose will go 1-2 also, and that's whom I would like. I know people hate when you root for losing but what's the point now? We are a horrible team and if we win 20 games instead of like 17 games, we'll end up drafting a project. And what's the difference in winning 17 games instead of 20 games? You still suck but it puts you in better position to draft an immediate impact player.

Q: Hey, if Wade can put it in the tank for the rest of the season, then in the next week or so I'd say it's perfectly ok if Al comes down with some sort of "back problem" that sidelines him for most, if not all, of the rest of the year.


Marx: We need the KG "tendonitis" that he developed over the last couple of seasons after not having missed a game in 4 seasons. Anyways, I think Kevin Love could be a dominant rebounder because nobody can move him out of the paint and he is not terribly undersized. He is only going to get stronger as he gets older. He might have trouble getting his shot off because of his athleticism, but I think he will be ok. Not a stud, but a good pro. Plus, his ability to outlet pass to start a break is overtalked about, but it is impressive. Wes Unseld, baby.

Fuzz: Funny story about Love's outlet passing. Q & I were watching one of UCLA's first games of the season and our first time watching them. The whole pre-game was about Kevin Love's outlet passing. We definitely made fun of the broadcasters and ESPN for a good 20 minutes about this. The main theme was: Why were they even bringing this up and is it that important to talk about the whole pre-game? I mean it's outlet passing! We were confused. Then the very first rebound Love got he fired a dart about 3/4 of the court for an easy dunk for one of his teammates.

We were like... "Oh, I see..."

It is overplayed by announcers but it's a skill worth mentioning.

Q: Even I've come around on this impressive skill that he possesses. It's still ridiculous to talk about, but the kid can fire an accurate, long-range pass. Despite this, he does not fit in with the Wolves--not tall enough.

I guess I wouldn't be pissed if we took Lopez with the 5 pick or Jordan (we're rebuilding anyways, so a project player like him might not be a bad idea). Rose should, and will, go ahead of Bayless, but I'm saying that the kid can play and a lot of people are overlooking him right now. The problem is that we're trying to guess what Kevin McHale is going to do. We could get the 2nd overall pick and he'd go with Drew Neitzel because we need a shooter. The guy has no clue.

Dogg: You seen that Jordan kid play? I don’t think highly of him at all. Absolutely no shot outside of 3 ft. but I guess he could turn into a baby Dwight Howard. He’s strong and very athletic but I hate guys who can’t shoot the ball besides a dunk shot. The Magic can’t go do Howard in the last minute because he can’t shoot FT’s and if he doesn’t dunk it, he isn’t scoring. Like I said, I would very happy if we get Beasley, Rose or Bayless.

Fuzz: The bottom line for me is that I want Michael Beasley on this team next year. I've been on his bandwagon since day one. I like the starting five of Foye, Brewer, Gomes, Beasley and Big Al. We'd win more than 20 games next year with that lineup and we'd be on our way to make a run at the turn of the decade.



Mr. Mchale...get him!

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Week in review/weekend agenda

Here’s a little recap of the week that was plus what’s on the agenda for this weekend in the world of sports.

Week in Review

Brett Farve retires-


I would say this is probably one of the bigger retirements we’ve had in a long time in all of sports. It was one of those retirements that you actually watched the press conference with some focus. Most of the time they either don’t have a press conference or you really don’t give a shit. This one was pretty big. Even though I’m a giant Vikings fan, I still have all the respect in the world for Brett Farve. I do get sick of the announcers sucking his prick every game but the guy was flat out awesome. He was also a huge face of the NFL, which is why this makes this retirement a biggie.

I will say I was totally shocked that he retired this week. The Packers were 13-3 last year and lost by three points in the NFC Championship game. The NFC north would have been a lock next year with the football Jesus back under center. He was coming off an MVP type season so I thought no way in hell he would retire. Well, I was wrong. And after watching him sob over national TV, I’d say he’s done for good. Some people still think he will come back after he gets the itch this summer. It sure didn’t look like it in his press conference. He’s done.

Farve calling it quits is great news for the men in purple. This opens the door for the rest of the division especially our beloved Vikings. Chicago is regressing and Kitna’s annual prediction of 10 wins next year will fall way short. We are the only team on the rise in the NFC north. The Packers are still the favorites. I don’t want to say any differently right now. Rodgers is still probably the best quarterback in the division, which is a little stupid but they took a giant hit this week. The new era of the Packers has officially started and the next 17 years aren’t going to be as good as the last 17 years. No way.

Lebron James in something besides a human being-


First off, it’s never been written in this blog but the guy is stacked. Can I just say that? He came in the league at 18 years of age cut to the max. How does that happen? Was he pumping iron at 13? He’s 6’8, 240 pounds and is the fastest guy on the court most nights. That’s not fair. He also had probably the dunk of the century last weekend where he floated in the air for a good three minutes. Anyways, he was a beast this week. Putting up points of 37, 50, and 39. Lebron has 20 games left and his season averages are 30.8 pts, 8 rebs, and 7.4 assists. He’s doing this against the best of the best. He’s like one of those guys you make up on “NBA live” where you give your guy the highest skill in every category and he looks like a mutant on the court. That’s LBJ.

The Spurs are back at it-


Three weeks ago people were saying the Spurs have gotten old and don’t look like they have it in them this year. They were hovering around a 5th or 6th seed in the West. Things kind of flipped though. A current 11 game winning streak has put them to the top of the West and primed to make another run. It doesn’t fail with them. It’s probably the last thing I want too because I’m sick of them. I don’t hate them as some others do (Q & Dogg) but I want to watch an entertaining finals this year. I respect dynasties but would love for some new blood to reach the finals this year. Anyone else on the Lakers bandwagon? I secured my seat a few weeks ago.

#1 seeds-


About one week ago I had my #1 seeds as Memphis, UNC, Kansas and Texas. That went right down the shitter eight days later. I forgot about UCLA who just wrapped up the Pac-10 regular season and Tennessee didn’t slip up like I predicted. They almost did though! I think the committee might be in for a tough choice come selection time. Memphis kind of fucks everything up. They aren’t going to lose so they will be a #1 seed because of the lowest loss total in the nation.

However, that leaves the winners of the Pac-10, ACC, Big 12 and SEC with only three seeds to compete for. I’m not even including Wisconsin, a four-loss team that will probably win the Big 10. They aren’t even in the mix. You could have a winner of a power conference like Kansas get a #2 seed with three total losses! Because UCLA, UNC and Tennessee will be in if they all win out. Duke is still in the mix also. If they beat UNC Saturday (more on this later) and win the ACC championship, how aren’t they a #1 seed? It’s going to be a crazy hard decision. This is like Jack from Lost choosing between Juliet or Kate! I know whom I would choose…

Twins early spring training analysis-


Delmon Young- Hitting .615 and Dogg says he’s an MVP candidate already. There is nothing better than Dogg jumping on a bandwagon. He’s convincing as hell. This might be a little too much homer here though.

Joe Mauer- Hitting very well and is primed for a big year. Needs to stop being a pussy and play the whole year. Lead this team Golden Boy.

Nick Punto- Back in his utility role where he’ll shine this year. .280 with 20 stolen bags.

Carlos Gomez- All you need to know about this guy is what he said in the papers this week: “They don't have no speed like me. I know I can help this team. Especially when I hit ahead of Morneau and the catcher and the other guy." The catcher and the other guy? Come on chump, you’re hitting a buck 54 this spring. That would be Joe Mauer and Cuddy, staples in this league. Get a clue.

Livan Hernandez- Still weighs as much as a semi and still will be the most inconsistent pile of shit on our staff. First outing---solid. Second outing---donkey shit. He’ll be 12-12 with a 4.70 ERA this year. I don’t know if that’s better than giving our kids some work.

Kevin Slowey- A 14 ERA so far and not stepping up like they thought he would. Needs to pick it up or else...

Nick Blackburn- TKOT’s boy will take his spot! We’re pulling for this kid big time!

Weekend agenda-

College hoops-


It’s the last weekend of college basketball regular season and all that is important is the Saturday night dandy between UNC & Duke. A fantastic game to end the season. Duke went into UNC last time they played and kicked the shit out of them. I don’t see a repeat performance. Duke is extremely tough on their home court but UNC is playing better ball. I’m not getting paid to say that either. Duke is barely getting by mid-level ACC teams while UNC is dominating. Duke’s given up like 90 points a game also.

I’m as big as a Duke fan as anyone but I don’t see them pulling this out. Like I said before, Duke would have a shot at the #1 seed if they can win this game but I think with Ty Lawson playing in this game and Duke’s suspect defense, I see UNC winning. That doesn’t mean I’ll be cheering for the ferries in powder blue because of this prediction, I’m just calling it like I see it.

Out,
Fuzz

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Early Returns: NFL Free Agency '08

When the clock struck midnight (Eastern) last Thursday/Friday, the NFL free agency season officially began. As Vikings fans, this is usually a very depressing time. You watch players that you know (or think) could make your team better getting swooped up by the opposition. And the whole time you find yourself thinking, “Why didn’t we sign him? We could afford (insert a few million dollars).” However, that is not the case this year. Zigmund promised us that the Purple would be active in free agency. We were armed with $30+ million in cap space and multiple glaring needs. So with that, here’s a little chatter between Dogg and I about our thoughts on the Vikes moves as well as others made, and not made, by other NFL teams. Enjoy.

Dogg: The Vikings are making a splash this off-season by picking up high potential WR Bernard Berrian and already proven safety Madieu Williams. Ziggy is not messing around and when he told MN that he likes to spend money—at least he wasn’t lying and has stuck to his word. I would’ve liked to see DE Justin Smith sign here but maybe Ziggy has a different plan up his sleeve (Jevon Kearse?). Do you like what the Vikings have done thus far?



Q: I'm going to be negative on the Vikes off-season so far. We paid waaaay too much for Bernard (I believe he's the 4th highest paid receiver in the league now)—a guy who has never caught more than 71 balls and hasn't had a 1,000 yard season yet. Plus, we already have a deep threat in Sidney Rice. When you have a young quarterback who has struggled in the past, you need possession/slot receivers and good pass catching tight end. Our tight end is an overpaid chump who has caught 10 balls in his career. It seems like Zigi is willing to spend money, but he spends it on the wrong guys and over pays when he does. I do like what I hear about Williams, because we need a good cover safety. However he's also making a decent chunk of change for a guy that really has had one good season and one average season. Then there's Tapeh. Sure, he's from Minny, but it just seems to me like he's another one of Chilly's boys from Philly and that's why we signed him.



Dogg: Q, this is professional sports and money doesn’t mean anything anymore. Paying for guys like Berrian and Williams is no big deal because every other FA out there will come close to making the same money. I like the signings a lot thus far.

Q: Money is an issue where you and I always disagree. I know they are going to get paid, and usually get more than they are worth. The problem I have is when we sign guys for way more than anyone else in their right mind would have offered. Seriously, $7 million a year for Berrian? That's absurd. Even $5 mil a year would have been over paying him. The same thing happened with Shiancoe last season. It's just like when the Twins pay almost $4 million to Craig Monroe when no one else in the league would have given him more than a million per. It just seems like we're wasting money that we don't need to. Especially when you're dealing with a set salary cap, like the NFL has, then it becomes an even bigger issue. We can't just throw out absurd contracts just because we feel like it. It will hurt the ball club in the long run.



Dogg: The only thing is about the money issue is if we low ball Berrian right away he flies somewhere else and signs for just a shade over what we offered him. He a top WR on the FA market this year so I’m assuming we really wanted him and maybe jacked it up a mil a year but I think that’s smart. If you get him here put your best offer on the table because if he leaves here without a contract there was slim to no chance at getting him. Then what? We go out and sign DJ Hackett? He probably would’ve made our team worse. That’s the last thing we need is another guy who can just run 8-10 yard out patterns. Maybe we overpaid a little bit but I think the signing is well worth the cash…..Shiancoe is a pile of crap so I will definitely give you that one.

Another name that has been thrown out there is Sage Rosenfels. It’s rumored that the Vikes are trying to land him, but is he worth a 2nd round pick?



Q: I don't get the Sage Rosefels thing. First, we tried to get him for a third round pick and that seemed too high for me. Now we're talking about giving up a second rounder for the guy. What's the fascination? He's a career backup who's been in the league for 7 years and not shown anything yet. I know our backup QB situation is not great, but why give up a player (2nd or 3rd rounder) that could make a major change on your team this year? Does this potential move make any sense to you?

Dogg: The Sage Rosefels makes complete sense to me because as I’ve said along with millions of other Minnesotans, we can play the QB position better than T-Jax, so anything is an upgrade. If we want to win, it should be now because we have several key defensive players who are getting ancient (Pat, Sharp, Winfield). I’m never sold on 2nd or 3rd round picks so I would definitely pull the trigger on a 3rd rounder. A 2nd rounder is probably pushing it but we don’t pick until mid 2nd round so I wouldn’t be pissed if we pulled the trigger with him.

Q: Ok, I need more info on your Rosenfels man crush. I don't have the stats to back it up, but I'm pretty sure most 1st through 4th round picks usually do pretty good and many start right away in the NFL. Plus, like I said before, he hasn't done anything yet. I know we need a better option at QB, or at least at the backup spot, but how is he worth such high draft picks?

Dogg: OK, maybe with most teams their 1st – 4th round picks pan out but the Vikings seem to try starting players from those rounds every year and the failure rate is about 99%. I guess I don’t pay attention other teams’ 4th round picks but the Vikings have very few who end up being impact players so that is where I get that thought from. I saw Sage play 2 games last year and the guy can throw the football and throw it well. It’s not saying much but much better than T-Jack and you win games in this league by throwing the football in my mind. Every team is passing much more than they run these days and AP can’t do it alone. Athletic QB’s never win Super Bowls either so I’m down with the pocket passer.

Q: Ok, well I’m sure we’ll continue to talk Purple all throughout the off-season, so let’s move on. What team has made the most improvement so far in free agency?

Dogg: I know the 49ers have signed a lot of guys including DE Justin Smith but I think the biggest signing thus far was Asante Samuel by Philadelphia. I believe that having a shutdown corner on one side of the field improves a defense so much that an average defense can turn into a great defense with one guy like Samuel. I really wish the Vikings could sign a guy like Samuel because it would make our LB’s look so much better and allow them to do what they’re good at instead of trying to pass cover. I also think New Orleans made a huge splash trading for Jonathan Vilma. They lack defensive firepower which he’ll immediately bring to the table.



Q: I'm completely with you on the Samuel thing. A shut down corner is so huge to have in the NFL. Put him out on an island and don't worry about that half of the field. One of these years the Vikes might figure out that it helps to have a shut down cover guy and/or a quality pass rushing end (just look at the Giants this year for an example of how important that last one can be).

Aside from all of that, I love what the Jaguars and Browns have done through roughly a weekend of free agency. Jacksonville picked up a legit corner in Drayton Florence, a nice back up for Garrard in Cleo Lemon, and they might have a legit receiving threat in Jerry Porter. In Cleveland, they resigned Derek Anderson to give them depth at the quarterback position (not to mention at least two guys that are better than our top QB), picked up Donte Stallworth to help Braylon and the receiving corp., acquired man-child/DT Shaun Rogers in a trade with Detroit, and signed a very underrated DT in Corey Williams. I can't say I like the resigning of Jailbird Lewis, but he did have a good year, so who knows.



Dogg: I agree that the Browns made the right move in signing Anderson because they will get good value for whoever they get rid of in the long haul, Quinn or Anderson. Look at the Chargers and what they got in QB-related moves. They took Eli even when he didn’t want to play there and turned him into Merriman, Kaeding, and Rivers.

I think the Pats are hurting thus far in free agency. They haven’t signed any LB to replace Colvin and Seau/Bruschi are one year away from checking into the nursing home. Losing Samuel will kill them and they also lost Randall Gay, another CB so their defense which showed weaknesses last year are getting even weaker.

Q: I completely agree that having the two good quarterbacks is a great thing for Cleveland (in case of injury, poor play, or a trade). And since you mentioned the Chargers, don’t forget that they traded the #1 pick in ’01 (which turned out to be Mike Vick) and turned it into LDT and Brees. Not bad.

Ok, it's still early, but what team(s) have been hurt the most by free agency--either by losing players or not adding any--at this point?



Dogg: I mentioned the Pats already being hurt but I think the Jaguars didn’t do well. Remember signing guys doesn’t always mean good things. Jerry Porter is worthless in my mind and they lost Marcus Stroud who is a top 5 DT and a big part of their great defense. Cleo Lemon? Come on Q. You don’t like Bernard Berrian but you like a man named Cleo?

Q: The Patriots are getting killed. Losing defensive backs is never a good thing, especially when they are arguably your best three (Samuel, Gay, and Eugene Wilson). Their defense is old and getting older. At least they were able to resign Moss for less money than others (Philly) were offering, so the offense should be dominant once again. I guess they'll just have to use that 7th overall pick in the draft to get some defensive help.

I forgot about the Jags losing Stroud, and that is a giant loss (both literally and figuratively). I don' necessarily like Lemon, but he is a decent back up for Garrard and they didn't pay him too much and didn't give up a top draft pick. In my mind, that's a good sign. And I think Porter has as much potential as Berrian and they got him for cheaper. Although they did acquire Troy Williamson from us and everyone knows he sucks...

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