SUPER BOWL XLV
As predicted, it was a great game. I didn't think there was any way the Packers were going to blow out the Steelers. I knew Pittsburgh was coming for Green Bay in the second half. For a good bit of the end of the first half and beginning of the second, it looked like the Steelers were going to take the lead. Costly turnovers and an opportunistic Green Bay defense prevented them from doing so. A clutch Aaron Rodgers-led Packer offense also helped. Rodgers was brilliant, and would've been even better had it not been for his receivers' dropped passes. My girlfriend Holly and her family, who are all Packer fans, especially her brother Andrew, were extremely excited for the victory, as was my friend JP, who is a Green Bay fan as well.
I had the Steelers winning in my prediction and in my mind for probably all of the week leading up to the Super Bowl. The day of the game, however, I heard on ESPN that the Packers had a strict schedule on game day while the Steelers were allowed to do whatever until 2 p.m. Ben Roethlisberger said he was going to sleep until noon. I would never think a team like the Steelers would underestimate an opponent, and Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin in no way strikes me as a coach who would think such. But subconsciously, I think you have to wonder if the Steelers were completely dialed in with this game. Sure, they said all the right things and probably fully believed they were ready. But the human mind is funny and they could've been completely unaware that they weren't taking the Packers 100 percent seriously. It's the same kind've concept that could help explain why teams play down to their competition. Why is the Virginia men's basketball team able to get leads in its ACC games but seemingly never hold on in the second half? I'm sure some of it has to do with adjustments at halftime by the opponent, but I think part of it comes from the natural tendency to let your guard down when a situation isn't as competitive or stressful.
Add to this the fact that the Steelers have won two Super Bowls recently, and I'd have to think the Packers were the hungrier team. Again, I'm not suggesting the Steelers did anything on purpose, but everyone saw how the game started. It looked to me like the Packers were more ready for the moment. I wonder if "experience" (which ESPN talked about over and over and over and over before the game) hurt the Steelers? Green Bay was more amped, more prepared than the Steelers, who had Super Bowl experience and had seen this all before. Their senses weren't dialed in completely and, as a result, their play at the beginning of the game suffered. Green Bay punched Pittsburgh in the mouth and the Steelers were never able to fully recover.
Now, to turn our sights to next season. There isn't really anything to talk about right now because the season is sort of up in the air. The NFL and the players union have to reach a collective bargaining agreement by March 3. Otherwise, there could be a lockout and 2011 could be in jeopardy. I definitely don't know the ins and outs of what's being discussed beyond the fact that owners want a bigger percentage of the profits and want the regular season extended to 18 games. The players, meanwhile, are unwilling to give up money if they are forced to play two more real games because there will be more injuries, which have increased in recent years anyway, they say.
The fans probably don't want to hear millionaires and billionaires arguing about who gets more money, but they do care about watching football in the fall. Plenty of people will be devastated if there is no NFL next year, namely my roommate Jack. He doesn't watch anything but the NFL on Sundays in the fall and his favorite TV show is Monday Night Football. The NFL's image will take a hit if there is no football or if games are taken away. The NFL is the most popular sport in America and is embedded in the country's culture. It's a way of life for lots of people. The league needs to get a deal done. Quick.
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ACC MEN'S BASKETBALL SITUATION
We are just a little over halfway through the conference season and the ACC is shaking down into what I see as three divisions of teams. Duke and North Carolina renewed their rivalry last night in a fantastic game and both showed why they are among the ACC's elite. UNC has really come on as of late and just needs to keep playing how it's playing. I think Duke will win the conference with 13-14 conference wins and Carolina will nab second with 11-12 wins. Both will get into the NCAA tournament.
Then, we have the trickiest situation--the next five teams will be battling for what I believe is two, maybe three at-large berths in the Big Dance. This group includes Boston College (RPI 43, 15-9 overall, 5-5 ACC), Florida State (RPI 54, 16-7, 6-3), Clemson (RPI 64, 17-7, 6-4), Virginia Tech (RPI 68, 15-7, 5-4) and Maryland (RPI 79, 16-8, 5-4). I think these teams will end up with 7-10 ACC wins. In a normal year, the ACC gets 5-7 berths. The conference is down this season, though, so I think five is the upper end of how many bids the league might get. In general, over the years, teams aren't safe for getting at-large bids until they reach the 30s in RPI, sometimes 40s. Even then, it can be a shaky. I don't think any of these five teams are safe, given their RPIs, except for possibly Boston College. They all have work to do.
The final group of five teams are reduced to spoiler roles--Virginia, Miami, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and N.C. State--and will end up with probably 2-6 league victories. The Cavaliers get a chance to damage the resumes of all of the teams in the second group on their upcoming schedule, with Clemson being the only exception--but Virginia already defeated Clemson last Wednesday. Virginia beat Virginia Tech on the road earlier in the season and almost beat Boston College, too. The Cavs have home games left against those two teams in addition to playing Florida State on the road Saturday.
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CARMELO ANTHONY
First, Carmelo Anthony was headed to the Nets. Then it was the Knicks. Now it's the Lakers. And also today, ESPN reported that Anthony would be open to signing a long-term deal with the Nuggets if he doesn't get traded. It could be leverage on his part, though, to get the Knicks to sign him. He could be saying, "Hey, better come get me now." Anthony has wanted to go to New York since last summer and the Knicks need to close the deal before they lose their chance. I'd like to see Melo in New York, because they would probably be an Eastern Conference contender then. The NBA would have the possibility of having the big markets of Miami, Boston, New York and LA all having competitive teams. It would be fun to watch the playoffs unfold. If Melo ends up going to the Lakers, it would bolster their chances of a three-peat, but lower the chances that New York could make a serious run in the postseason.
As predicted, it was a great game. I didn't think there was any way the Packers were going to blow out the Steelers. I knew Pittsburgh was coming for Green Bay in the second half. For a good bit of the end of the first half and beginning of the second, it looked like the Steelers were going to take the lead. Costly turnovers and an opportunistic Green Bay defense prevented them from doing so. A clutch Aaron Rodgers-led Packer offense also helped. Rodgers was brilliant, and would've been even better had it not been for his receivers' dropped passes. My girlfriend Holly and her family, who are all Packer fans, especially her brother Andrew, were extremely excited for the victory, as was my friend JP, who is a Green Bay fan as well.
I had the Steelers winning in my prediction and in my mind for probably all of the week leading up to the Super Bowl. The day of the game, however, I heard on ESPN that the Packers had a strict schedule on game day while the Steelers were allowed to do whatever until 2 p.m. Ben Roethlisberger said he was going to sleep until noon. I would never think a team like the Steelers would underestimate an opponent, and Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin in no way strikes me as a coach who would think such. But subconsciously, I think you have to wonder if the Steelers were completely dialed in with this game. Sure, they said all the right things and probably fully believed they were ready. But the human mind is funny and they could've been completely unaware that they weren't taking the Packers 100 percent seriously. It's the same kind've concept that could help explain why teams play down to their competition. Why is the Virginia men's basketball team able to get leads in its ACC games but seemingly never hold on in the second half? I'm sure some of it has to do with adjustments at halftime by the opponent, but I think part of it comes from the natural tendency to let your guard down when a situation isn't as competitive or stressful.
Add to this the fact that the Steelers have won two Super Bowls recently, and I'd have to think the Packers were the hungrier team. Again, I'm not suggesting the Steelers did anything on purpose, but everyone saw how the game started. It looked to me like the Packers were more ready for the moment. I wonder if "experience" (which ESPN talked about over and over and over and over before the game) hurt the Steelers? Green Bay was more amped, more prepared than the Steelers, who had Super Bowl experience and had seen this all before. Their senses weren't dialed in completely and, as a result, their play at the beginning of the game suffered. Green Bay punched Pittsburgh in the mouth and the Steelers were never able to fully recover.
Now, to turn our sights to next season. There isn't really anything to talk about right now because the season is sort of up in the air. The NFL and the players union have to reach a collective bargaining agreement by March 3. Otherwise, there could be a lockout and 2011 could be in jeopardy. I definitely don't know the ins and outs of what's being discussed beyond the fact that owners want a bigger percentage of the profits and want the regular season extended to 18 games. The players, meanwhile, are unwilling to give up money if they are forced to play two more real games because there will be more injuries, which have increased in recent years anyway, they say.
The fans probably don't want to hear millionaires and billionaires arguing about who gets more money, but they do care about watching football in the fall. Plenty of people will be devastated if there is no NFL next year, namely my roommate Jack. He doesn't watch anything but the NFL on Sundays in the fall and his favorite TV show is Monday Night Football. The NFL's image will take a hit if there is no football or if games are taken away. The NFL is the most popular sport in America and is embedded in the country's culture. It's a way of life for lots of people. The league needs to get a deal done. Quick.
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ACC MEN'S BASKETBALL SITUATION
We are just a little over halfway through the conference season and the ACC is shaking down into what I see as three divisions of teams. Duke and North Carolina renewed their rivalry last night in a fantastic game and both showed why they are among the ACC's elite. UNC has really come on as of late and just needs to keep playing how it's playing. I think Duke will win the conference with 13-14 conference wins and Carolina will nab second with 11-12 wins. Both will get into the NCAA tournament.
Then, we have the trickiest situation--the next five teams will be battling for what I believe is two, maybe three at-large berths in the Big Dance. This group includes Boston College (RPI 43, 15-9 overall, 5-5 ACC), Florida State (RPI 54, 16-7, 6-3), Clemson (RPI 64, 17-7, 6-4), Virginia Tech (RPI 68, 15-7, 5-4) and Maryland (RPI 79, 16-8, 5-4). I think these teams will end up with 7-10 ACC wins. In a normal year, the ACC gets 5-7 berths. The conference is down this season, though, so I think five is the upper end of how many bids the league might get. In general, over the years, teams aren't safe for getting at-large bids until they reach the 30s in RPI, sometimes 40s. Even then, it can be a shaky. I don't think any of these five teams are safe, given their RPIs, except for possibly Boston College. They all have work to do.
The final group of five teams are reduced to spoiler roles--Virginia, Miami, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and N.C. State--and will end up with probably 2-6 league victories. The Cavaliers get a chance to damage the resumes of all of the teams in the second group on their upcoming schedule, with Clemson being the only exception--but Virginia already defeated Clemson last Wednesday. Virginia beat Virginia Tech on the road earlier in the season and almost beat Boston College, too. The Cavs have home games left against those two teams in addition to playing Florida State on the road Saturday.
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CARMELO ANTHONY
First, Carmelo Anthony was headed to the Nets. Then it was the Knicks. Now it's the Lakers. And also today, ESPN reported that Anthony would be open to signing a long-term deal with the Nuggets if he doesn't get traded. It could be leverage on his part, though, to get the Knicks to sign him. He could be saying, "Hey, better come get me now." Anthony has wanted to go to New York since last summer and the Knicks need to close the deal before they lose their chance. I'd like to see Melo in New York, because they would probably be an Eastern Conference contender then. The NBA would have the possibility of having the big markets of Miami, Boston, New York and LA all having competitive teams. It would be fun to watch the playoffs unfold. If Melo ends up going to the Lakers, it would bolster their chances of a three-peat, but lower the chances that New York could make a serious run in the postseason.
This doesn't fit entirely with your post but I'm worried about the future of Virginia basketball. Maybe it's because I've seen all the hype about the football program and we haven't heard it about Virginia. But Tech's hauling in recruiting classes in the top 15, bordering top 10. Does anyone really believe we don't have the resources here to do that if Tech can? I'm not saying it's Bennett's fault, I like him and I don't know whose fault it is, but it just gets me concerned a little bit.
ReplyDeletei think we need time before we make a judgement on bennett. ur right, tech will beat us in bball recruiting for this upcoming class. greenberg has been there awhile though. u should expect him to get some good classes since they have had some mild success. i think bennett will bring in good classes once he has his first "successful" year (I'd say NIT bid). also, bennett was never know for always pulling in blue chippers. he got his kind've guys who were solid players, but not mcdonalds all-americans. but he liked what they brought to his sytem and he molded them into what he wanted.
ReplyDeletei know this year hasnt been all that pretty but this has basically been Bennett's first year. let's get real. he lost sylven, the best player last year, and jeff jones, prolly the second best player (and he was inconsistent at that). this year, he lost his best player to injury and we are relying on a career inconsistent threat in Mustapha to keep us afloat, along with two good freshmen who are still finding their way. we have blown lots of leads which is disheartening, but the fact we are in these games and playing with leads is kindve crazy because of this lineup.
Yeah I agree with all of that and I am patient, believe me. I'm just concerned that's all. It's not even Bennett's fault, it's not really anyone's fault actually I'm just seeing Tech pulling ahead in the state. It has more to do with timing than bad or good coaching. I think we'll get it together, I'm just getting antsy that's all.
ReplyDeleteAlso I think Littlepage's career actually rides on Tony Bennett. Yes he hired London but that was as much of a no-brainer as you could possibly have. Terry Holland would have hired him. But Bennett is LIttlepage's work. So I think he'll put the Athletic Departments resources into Bennett's program to the maximum. That's speculation but it's what I'm picking up on nonetheless.
You have to wonder what the implications will be if the NFL's lockout wipes out most or all of the season. Like I told you before in GChat, I'd like to see a post that perhaps delves more into that. I wonder if we could see a cultural shift the way that the 1994 strike sort of caused a shift from MLB to the NFL as the country's most popular sport.
ReplyDeleteThe whole dispute burns me up as a fan. The debate seems to come down to the owners wanting to share $2B of the league's profits rather than the $1B that they do now. As seems to be the case with most lockouts of this ilk, the primary motivator seems to be naked, out-of-control greed. Same with the 18-game season debate. The owners are perfectly fine fleecing the players on money while simultaneously asking them to go out and risk their careers two more times every season. They should be ashamed of themselves and I hope the sports media exposes them for the money-grubbing scumbags that they are.
+1 JP. I agree with your assessments. You are as able to write a post about what could happen if the season is shortened or completely erased as i am. I dont really know. id have to think about that one.
ReplyDelete