Closing Time: This Is How To Celebrate

Big Cat showed me this today, and this guy absolutely kills the Osama celebration.  I hope Rashard Mendenhall enjoys this, same goes for Chris Douglas-Roberts.  I really don't have much of an opinion on athletes using Twitter to speak out on a issue, it's a free country and they are allowed to use social media in whatever way they want.  But I love how they retweet 'haters' like they expected everyone to agree with them. That's what pisses me off.

First Taste: Happy Birthday Big Cat

We lead off the day with one of the Big Cat's favorite artists, Angels and Airwaves.  Why you ask? Well it's the Big Cat's birthday today. We went out last night with rousing success.  More to come today, I will try to get a HAP done and my wrap up thoughts on the Jersey Shore.

-Charlie.

From A Duke Fan: UNC to Final Four

This could be a classic Brett Boyer knee jerk reaction but I have a hard time right now seeing the Tar Heels as a "pretender" going into the tourney. At the beginning of the season Roy Williams' squad started out in a rut but of their last 13 games they've won 12, and one of those coming against rival Duke for the right to be named regular season ACC champs.

As I watched the Duke game I became more and more impressed by this Marshall kid who is a freshman and was plugged into the starting line up half way through the year. Against Duke it tore up Coach K's notoriously tough Duke team defense for 15 points and 11 assists. It's amazing watching this kid play with the idea of pass first in the half court game, he reminds me a lot of a younger Jason Kidd, born to be a leader. Marshall isn't the only reason why I'm high on UNC though.



The emergence of the young phenom in Hairson Barnes has finally come about and it's everything people thought they'd see out of him. He's finally come into this own and playing much more comfortable and it shows. At the beginning of the year I think he may have had the "whole world on my back" mentality and for a freshman that is just simply too much to ask of yourself. Only player I can think of that didn't suffer with that is one Carmelo Anthony, and we know how that story ended. His size, strength and athleticism is something to awe at and admire. Barnes can now be looked at a guy to go to when the game is on the line and you need a bucket to score.

Maybe the most important aspect when looking at a team to make a deep run is depth, particularly in the 4 and 5 position. Look at Duke last year, they had Zoubek, Lance Thomas, Miles and Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly, probably not the most intimidating scorers or even defenders for that matter but what matters is when one goes down they have many else to go to. To have a chance to make a run, being able to rebound and bang down low with the big guys is way overlooked in my opinon. Last years Duke team, no matter what the foul situation was with the big guys was, had guys to fill in an do a good enough job on defense and offense. UNC fits this category better than any team I've watched this year (not much a statement) but they kept rotating and Roy went deep into his bench. They have no players that avg over 30 min a game. Being a Duke fan I have no idea what that is like because Singler and Smith avg well over 30. The Tar Heels have Zeller, Barnes, Knox (Grad student who played for Bama but had eligibility left), and John Henson. To have four viable forwards to plug in well help in a game with a team which relies on points in the paint.

Last nugget that impressed me was their fast break offense. Holy Hannah. I remember one highlight after Singler had scored and in less than 3 seconds the Tar Heels had passed the ball up the court for a dunk. There really is no defense for a fast and efficient fast break offense, especially at the pace they do. And this brings me back to the previous point of depth. The Tar Heels go balls deep in their bench and Roy isn't afraid to do so.

It took awhile for the Tar Heels to get their ball rollin' but it's rollin' and it's rollin' fast. Unfortunately this doesn't please me because of my love for Duke, but I'm a realist and I can atleast recognize when a team is playing well no matter who.

Should make for an interesting conference tourney and of course an interesting NCAA Tourney. As much as it kills me, right now I can see the University of North Carolina Tar Heels making a serious run. Gee dangit.

Seth

5 Things Missed if (When) The Lockout Happens

While you are reading this I want you to have Welcome Back-Mase played in the background. Why? Because I haven't wrote anything since the end of the NFL regular season. So I decided to put down my notes about carboxylic acids and their derivatives to talk about something that irked me. I was watching ESPN and they were doing Top 5 things missed if there is a lockout. Marcellus Wiley's list really got me going. I don't remember them all but two that stick out in my head are him missing Drew Brees pumping up the Saints before the game, and watching Michael Vick throw the deep ball. Really? That's what you are going to miss the most, I pray that I heard him wrong but I don't think I did. That's just plain dumb, really dumb. This lead me to think of my own "Top 5" and also I felt obliged to blog so if this thing goes huge I'll get 10% or something.

5. Talk and build up to the regular season

-Seeing how teams come out of training camp and all the hoopla that goes along with that is an exciting time, at least in my opinion. Let's be honest, so much happens before the season even starts, contract negotiations, trades, injuries, fights, players bitching about who knows what and seeing what the rookies can do. Not to mention fantasy football drafts which is part of another further down the list.

4. Wearing my team's gear with relevance

-People will tell you I wear Packer gear like I'm on the IR chillin' on the sideline. With no games going on it won't mean as much repping my team and wearing it proudly. Yes I'll still wear Packer clothes because I'm a big fan but it won't feel the same on Monday after a big W. And wearing the gear will just remind me of nothing to look forward to on Sunday, bummer.

3. Electric Plays

-Lets get real, every year there are plays that just plain "wow" everyone and will never be forgotten. Particular ones that stick out in my head are Donald Driver's catch and run against the 49ers, showing that he's got some gas left in the tank. The other one being Desean Jackson's punt return to end the Giants season.

2. Players coming out of no where

- I love watching football and having some no name or lowly expected player come out and make a huge difference. Seems like every year there are a handful of players who have had mediocre careers or you've never heard of and just take off to have a great year. I think the whole Kansas City Chiefs team can qualify under this one, especially Matt Cassel. Peyton Hillis comes to mind, Desmond Bishop, Caleb Hanie (hehe) and Jacob Tamme. Witnessing new athletes emerge to me is exciting and makes watching the game more fun.

1. Camaraderie amongst peers and fans

-Easily number 1. Nothing is better then everyone coming together on a Sunday afternoon, putting off school or other obligations to watch football. It has definitely become part of our culture when Sunday's in the fall are considered the best days, even if the worst day, Monday, follows. Along with this is the immaculate Fantasy Football leagues and draft like I stated earlier. Since we are all bums now, my friends and I only have this serving a remedy to keep our competitor juices flowing. Digging deeper into this camaraderie, I can think of Water Street as the Packers won the Super Bowl. The bars were absolutely packed and every 10 minutes a Go Pack Go chant would start. Everyone that night were best friends and times like those will be the ones I will miss if (when) a lockout happens.

I'm not a Pulitzer Writer but hopefully you all somewhat enjoyed. If not, your fault for continuing to read.

That is all for now. See you again in 2 months.

Big cat

Charles Barkley Is Gagging On His Foot

In 2008, when the Auburn Tigers hired Gene Chizik, Charles Barkley was outraged. Now he pulled out the race card, blah blah I won't get into that. However, following Auburn somewhat and just watching ESPN on a regular basis there is no doubt Gene Chizik knows what he is doing. The Tigers dealt with much scrutiny under a microscope thanks to Cam Newton and that whole situation. He did a hell of a job managing and keeping the guys focused on the present task and not placing emphasis on off the field allegations.

Chizik was 5-19 during his two year stint as head coach of Iowa State, which is a downright awful record, I'll side with Barkley on that. But to say his resume was the worst of the applicants when applying to fill in Tubervilles job is insane. First off this isn't his first rodeo at Auburn, in 2004 he was the defensive coordinator and that team went on to be 13-0 and finished number 2 in the country in the final rankings. Secondly, he was the defensive coordinator at Texas when they won the Nat'l Championship against USC. Gene has been seasoned being successful in the past. Just because he didn't have success at Iowa State doesn't make him a poor choice. Look at Bill Belichick, he coached with the Browns for 5 years starting in 1991 and only had one above .500 season. Then he goes on to the Patriots and everyone knows how that story is unfolding.

I don't dislike Charles, in fact I think he's hilarious and I understand he's known for being outspoken. But with that said before we bash a hire, lets give the guy a year or two. Who knows maybe that guy you didn't want will bring your alma mater an undefeated season, Heisman Trophy winning QB and a National Championship.

With all that said, congrats to Auburn and Gene Chizik with a great season and deserving of the Nat'l Championship. Kudos.

Big Cat