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Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Ode to Oden

Last week I was on vacation. I week of Lindsay, Briley and myself. I decided to go back to my roots. I decided to go low-tech, I was staying away from the lap top as well as the world wide web altogether! Even though I am truly not going back the basics. I guess you can't say you're low tech when you are watching the TV via a 7 foot projection screen accompanied by a surround sound home theatre system. Regardless, the cell phone is muted, the lap top is in it's case, the e-mails are piling up and I am loving life!

What a week of sports!

Baseball's opening day.
Schilling gets bombed in Kansas City. Barry homers in his first game. The Yankees unveil their Opening Day starter, Carl Pavano (enter laugh track here). Jose Reyes will set the single season triple record this week. The Pirates look like last year's Tigers. Tampa Bay is full of tomorrow's superstars!
And finally Sammy Sosa is back in the league and looking as if he hasn't seen his "personal trainer" in a few months. Thank you God for baseball!

NCAA Women's Championship
Pat Summitt's Vols defeated the Lady Scarlet Knights of Rutgers to win the Women's crown. However, the game has been shadowed by the statements made by Radio Host Don Imus and his producer, Bernard McGuirk. I think they both should be fired. Not just because of the comments but because they are both idiots. Any rational human being would consider the ramifications of calling an entire women's basketball team "hardcore hos" or McGuirk's thought of the two teams (the jiggabos vs. the wannabes) on a Nationally aired radio show. But America don't worry because "moral watch dogs," Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are on the case. Rest easy!

The Master's
I love watching me some golf whenever I can. I sat there and watched as players were shooting over par (finally golf I can relate to!). And I remember thinking, "Man, I could even shoot that score!" Yeah Right. If Tiger Woods was at +2 on Sunday, I would be at +17 after the first hole! It was refreshing to see a relative "nobody" Zack Johnson, being fitted for a green jacket by last year's winner Phil Mickelson. Why do I love golf?
1. I suck at it and I love a challenge.
2. Sunday, after a Tiger tee shot went hard left onto the beach, follwed by a beautiful shot out of a bunker, and with Tiger down by 3 strokes, I said, "Here comes Tiger!" Having a player such as this makes watching the game so much better.

Though just once, I want to see a player lose his cool a la Happy Gilmore. C'mon, if seeing Vijay Singh cussing out a tree wouldn't make you laugh, I feel sorry for you!

Though my top event of the week that was:

NCAA Men's National Championship game. The Ohio State University vs. Florida
This was perhaps one of the most intriguing college finals EVER. On one hand you have the ultimate "team" in Florida. Five players averaging over 10 points. On the other hand you have the Buckeyes, being lead by 2 freshmen Mike Conley Jr. and the 37 year old Greg Oden. I will be honest, I wanted OSU to beat Florida by 40. Not because I hate Florida or I am one of those idiots who dislike Joakim Noah because he isn't pleasant to look like, but because I wanted Greg Oden to show everyone that he is as dominant a player as we have seen in college basketball. During the entire tournament, people were taking shots at Oden in the media (How did that work out for you and your Memphis teammates Joey Dorsey?) However during the National Championship Oden proved 2 things:

1. He is a beast. Many call him a man-child. Dude there is nothing childlike about him. He did whatever he wanted and Al Horford and Noah could do nothing. In perhaps his final game (though he should stay, you'll read why in my next blog), Oden did everything he could to bring a title to Columbus. Greg scored 25 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked 4 shots. (The block where he pinned Brewer ... wow!) Though Oden had a stong personal performance, the team performance did not make the trip from the team hotel. OSU shot 23 3 pointers and only converted on 4 of them. All while Florida (the country's best shooting team), shot 18 and hit 10 of them.

2. Oden proved why the Florida players will not be good NBA players. It is a known fact that great college teams do not produce great NBA players. Many will say, but MJ won a title and he is a great player. OK, true we will make an exception for the best player to ever touch a basketball. But c'mon the UNC teams of the early 90's.
Eric Montross, enough said. Kansas off the mid 90's. Jacque Vaughn, enough said. Duke of the early 90's, Bobby Hurley, enough said. The front court of Florida has been good this season, however how much of their success has to be attributed to the fact that there entire team can hit a 30 ft jumper!!

However, basketball is and forever will remain a team game, won by great teams. Florida played to it's strengths and exploited OSU's weaknesses. Congrats Gators! again and again!

By the way, you know that former OSU QB and Heisman trophy winner Troy Smith has got to be sick of the "Gator Chomp!" I can easily see a mental break down where he goes "Rainman" and mumbles about Chris Leak and Al Horford as he says, "Yeah definitly Gators." As he walks around his padded room doing the Gator Chomp!

You stay classy Sportsblender!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

you went there!

Anonymous said...

Heartbreak Kid said...
That was so funny. The use of Rainman! You forgot the paper, rocks, scissors guy as well. I think Troy Smith is the guy who took paper and Florida threw the rock. Ouch!! thats almost as bad as the drop Troy Smith has had on most experts draft board after the national championship game!