Past few days have been pretty crazy in sports. Here is some of what's happened locally and nationally and my reaction to it:
VIRGINIA TECH MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH SETH GREENBERG FIRED
This news came down early afternoon on Monday. Even though the Virginia Tech men's basketball team had a down season, its worst in several years, I did not see this coming. The Hokies had a very young team and I think they lost an incredible 12 games by five points or less, something like that. I think that showed how close this team was to breaking through. Next year, they were maybe going to be a force in the ACC and at least finish in the top 6, maybe higher.
I just can't see the Hokies attracting a big-name coach this far into the off-season to Blacksburg. Greenberg, though he only made one NCAA tournament in nine seasons, made strides from where the program was. He made Tech relevant in basketball. The Hokies beat a team ranked No. 1 in the country three different times during his tenure. I don't think Tech will be able to get a coach who can take it to the next level. It is hard to recruit high-level players to the area but somehow Greenberg did it. It is an area of the state where there aren't urban areas around besides Roanoke. There isn't a ton of basketball talent in southwest Virginia, either. And, football is king at the school and basketball will always struggle to get top billing and support there as long as the athletic department and football program itself view football as elite.
That's something I want to bring up. Is it possible that Greenberg -- who it's been reported was at odds with athletic director Jim Weaver -- was asking for money that Weaver was not able or willing to give because it was being poured into the football program? In the last four years, six assistant coaches have left the hoops program. Greenberg was probably tired of this and wanted his assistants to get paid more. Football rules at Virginia Tech, and Weaver was not going to budge on trying to keep Tech at the top of the ACC in football (which takes time and money resources). Was this a case of kicking men's basketball to the curb? Maybe the Hokies realized they could only get so far in men's basketball and instead of continuing to pour money into it, they are going to give it less attention and give more to football. Who knows everything that went into the decision but it is interesting to speculate.
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ANTHONY GILL TRANSFERS TO HOOS HOOPS PROGRAM
It was a shame this story was overshadowed by Greenberg's firing on Monday. Virginia got a big transfer from South Carolina, 6-foot-8 forward Anthony Gill. He will sit out next season and then have three years of eligibility remaining starting in the 2013-14 season. He averaged about seven points and four rebounds per game this past season as a freshman for the Gamecocks. He appears to have a similar body type and skill set to Mike Scott. A couple weeks ago, Virginia lost out in trying to land Duquesne point guard transfer TJ McConnell, so this is a big get for the Cavaliers.
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METTA WORLD PEACE NOT ACTING SO LOVING
In case you missed it, the Lakers guard formerly known as Ron Artest, now named Metta World Peace, elbowed Oklahoma City's James Harden after World Peace dunked during a game Sunday. It was a vicious blow to the back of Harden's head, who fell to the court. World Peace was celebrating and beating his chest and Harden was kind of in the way. It was at that point that World Peace appeared to rear back his elbow more and then throw it higher into the air behind him, as if he expected to hit Harden. It was revealed later that he sustained a concussion and he missed the last two regular season games for the Thunder on Tuesday and Wednesday. Harden should be able to play in the playoffs, however, which start Saturday, which is good news for the Thunder. He is one of the best sixth men in the NBA and a valuable contributor to that team. World Peace, who starts for the Lakers, was hit with a seven-game suspension, which includes only one regular season game. So he will miss six postseason games if the Lakers last that long in the playoffs. That is a big blow to the Lakers in their chase for a title. After seeing the replay, I thought that World Peace kind of wanted to shove Harden out of the way, but not necessarily hit him that hard and in the head. I think he wanted to get Harden out of the way, but the severity of what he did was unintentional and in the heat of the moment.
Interestingly enough, World Peace has had his run-ins over the years, most famously the Malice an the Palace brawl of 2004 when he was on the Pacers. Google search that one if you are unfamiliar with it. In recent seasons though, World Peace has settled down and actually done good things like community service so this relapse into violence was a bit surprising -- and maybe even to himself. After he was ejected from the game, he said he saw the replay and immediately knew what he had done was very bad.
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CAPITALS WIN GAME 7
I'm not a huge hockey fan but I have some friends in my office who are. There are two pretty intense Rangers fans and one pretty intense Capitals fans. After disappointing in the playoffs in recent seasons, Washington actually won an Eastern Conference quarterfinal series last night over Boston on the road in overtime, 2-1, to win the series 4-3. Every game in the series was decided by one goal, which is pretty crazy to me, and Boston was the defending champion and No. 2 seed, so congrats to the Capitals. Who the Capitals play next will be determined after two other Game 7s tonight. One of those Game 7s involve the Rangers, the East's No. 1 seed, and the No. 8 seed the Ottawa Senators. In the Western Conference, the No. 8 seed Los Angeles Kings defeated the No. 1 seed Vancouver Canucks already. If the Senators win tonight, it will be the first time ever that both No. 8 seeds will have beaten the No. 1 seeds.
VIRGINIA TECH MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH SETH GREENBERG FIRED
This news came down early afternoon on Monday. Even though the Virginia Tech men's basketball team had a down season, its worst in several years, I did not see this coming. The Hokies had a very young team and I think they lost an incredible 12 games by five points or less, something like that. I think that showed how close this team was to breaking through. Next year, they were maybe going to be a force in the ACC and at least finish in the top 6, maybe higher.
I just can't see the Hokies attracting a big-name coach this far into the off-season to Blacksburg. Greenberg, though he only made one NCAA tournament in nine seasons, made strides from where the program was. He made Tech relevant in basketball. The Hokies beat a team ranked No. 1 in the country three different times during his tenure. I don't think Tech will be able to get a coach who can take it to the next level. It is hard to recruit high-level players to the area but somehow Greenberg did it. It is an area of the state where there aren't urban areas around besides Roanoke. There isn't a ton of basketball talent in southwest Virginia, either. And, football is king at the school and basketball will always struggle to get top billing and support there as long as the athletic department and football program itself view football as elite.
That's something I want to bring up. Is it possible that Greenberg -- who it's been reported was at odds with athletic director Jim Weaver -- was asking for money that Weaver was not able or willing to give because it was being poured into the football program? In the last four years, six assistant coaches have left the hoops program. Greenberg was probably tired of this and wanted his assistants to get paid more. Football rules at Virginia Tech, and Weaver was not going to budge on trying to keep Tech at the top of the ACC in football (which takes time and money resources). Was this a case of kicking men's basketball to the curb? Maybe the Hokies realized they could only get so far in men's basketball and instead of continuing to pour money into it, they are going to give it less attention and give more to football. Who knows everything that went into the decision but it is interesting to speculate.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANTHONY GILL TRANSFERS TO HOOS HOOPS PROGRAM
It was a shame this story was overshadowed by Greenberg's firing on Monday. Virginia got a big transfer from South Carolina, 6-foot-8 forward Anthony Gill. He will sit out next season and then have three years of eligibility remaining starting in the 2013-14 season. He averaged about seven points and four rebounds per game this past season as a freshman for the Gamecocks. He appears to have a similar body type and skill set to Mike Scott. A couple weeks ago, Virginia lost out in trying to land Duquesne point guard transfer TJ McConnell, so this is a big get for the Cavaliers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
METTA WORLD PEACE NOT ACTING SO LOVING
In case you missed it, the Lakers guard formerly known as Ron Artest, now named Metta World Peace, elbowed Oklahoma City's James Harden after World Peace dunked during a game Sunday. It was a vicious blow to the back of Harden's head, who fell to the court. World Peace was celebrating and beating his chest and Harden was kind of in the way. It was at that point that World Peace appeared to rear back his elbow more and then throw it higher into the air behind him, as if he expected to hit Harden. It was revealed later that he sustained a concussion and he missed the last two regular season games for the Thunder on Tuesday and Wednesday. Harden should be able to play in the playoffs, however, which start Saturday, which is good news for the Thunder. He is one of the best sixth men in the NBA and a valuable contributor to that team. World Peace, who starts for the Lakers, was hit with a seven-game suspension, which includes only one regular season game. So he will miss six postseason games if the Lakers last that long in the playoffs. That is a big blow to the Lakers in their chase for a title. After seeing the replay, I thought that World Peace kind of wanted to shove Harden out of the way, but not necessarily hit him that hard and in the head. I think he wanted to get Harden out of the way, but the severity of what he did was unintentional and in the heat of the moment.
Interestingly enough, World Peace has had his run-ins over the years, most famously the Malice an the Palace brawl of 2004 when he was on the Pacers. Google search that one if you are unfamiliar with it. In recent seasons though, World Peace has settled down and actually done good things like community service so this relapse into violence was a bit surprising -- and maybe even to himself. After he was ejected from the game, he said he saw the replay and immediately knew what he had done was very bad.
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CAPITALS WIN GAME 7
I'm not a huge hockey fan but I have some friends in my office who are. There are two pretty intense Rangers fans and one pretty intense Capitals fans. After disappointing in the playoffs in recent seasons, Washington actually won an Eastern Conference quarterfinal series last night over Boston on the road in overtime, 2-1, to win the series 4-3. Every game in the series was decided by one goal, which is pretty crazy to me, and Boston was the defending champion and No. 2 seed, so congrats to the Capitals. Who the Capitals play next will be determined after two other Game 7s tonight. One of those Game 7s involve the Rangers, the East's No. 1 seed, and the No. 8 seed the Ottawa Senators. In the Western Conference, the No. 8 seed Los Angeles Kings defeated the No. 1 seed Vancouver Canucks already. If the Senators win tonight, it will be the first time ever that both No. 8 seeds will have beaten the No. 1 seeds.
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