RIP UAB Football (1991-2014)

Heartbroken. That is one of many words that could describe my attitude to the dismissal of the UAB football program. President Ray Watts declared on December 2 that he would be disbanding the football program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham due to a lack of funding. The Blazers are coming off one of their most successful seasons since the founding of the football program in 1991. They are 6-6 and bowl eligible for the 1st time since 2004. Whether or not they will playing in a bowl game is still up in the air. The players, coaches, and fans were more than upset when the announcement came out. Watts claimed that the reason for the dismissal was because of money. However, UAB actually made money by spending $8.96 million on their football program. That number of $8.96 million is lower than the total revenue of $8.98 million. The plan is that this will help other sports succeed with more funding. That may not be the case because a lot of athletic teams may have to drop down to Division 2 or they need to find a new conference due to the fact that you need to play football to be a Conference USA member. This whole situation is just awful. My heart goes out to those players and coaches who came from all over the country to be apart of the UAB brotherhood. Below is a link to the UAB players and coaches meeting with President Ray Watts. (Warning: Contains NSFW Language)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAvSuQEh6lI\

 

College Basketball is Back... And So Am I!

I am very song for the LONG hiatus I took, and I will be posting regularly from now on, so please make sure to check back consistently. I am not the only thing that is returning to action, though. College basketball is upon us and the real tip-off is tonight with the biggest game of the early season between #1 Kentucky taking on #5 Kansas at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Kentucky is coming in uncontested with a record of 2-0. They are lead by a mix of Juniors, Sophomores, and Freshman who are the main reason the Wildcats have the #1 ranking. The Big Blue can beat you up inside and have a bevy of inside post presences whether it is Willie Cauley-Stein, Dakari Johnson, or Karl Towns. You can't focus too much on those group of players because the Harrison twins, Alex Poythress, and Freshman Trey Lyles can make you pay too.

Kansas is 1-0 with its only victory coming over UCSB by 10 points. Perry Ellis is the go-to-guy for the Jayhawks, who are on a quest not just for their 12th straight Big 12 Championship (regular season or Big 12 tournament,) but a Final Four appearance. The 6-8 Junior Forward from Wichita averaged about 14 points and 7 rebounds last season. Other scoring options include Devonte Graham and Frank Mason III. The Jayhawks will need Wayne Selden Jr. to score and distribute the ball well to have a chance at the victory tonight.

Prediction: Kansas 68 Kentucky 63- I think the Jayhawks escape Indy with a very big win that could come in handy down the stretch. Watch out for stud Freshman Cliff Alexander to shine coming off the bench. The Chicago native is 6-8 and 240 lbs and has the ability to take over games. I believe this will be his coming-out party.

Final Four Picks and Analysis

This NCAA Tournament has been crazy and it is down to four teams. Wisconsin, UCONN, Florida, and Kentucky all have taken tough roads to get to where they are now in North Texas. The #1 overall seed Florida had a relatively easier road to the Final Four compared to the other 3 teams still in, but the South Region was a hotbed for upsets. They are a very Senior-heavy team and are lead by Point Guard Scottie Wilbekin. They are strong in the paint with Dorian Finney-Smith and Patrick Young. The Gators will be facing the red-hot UCONN team that relies heavily on PG Shabazz Napier. UCONN has beaten St. Joe's in OT, Villanova, Iowa State, and Michigan State to get to Dallas. They came into the tournament a #7 seed and losing their conference championship game to Louisville. They finished their regular season with a 33 point drubbing against Louisville. They were on the wrong side of that massacre. On the other side of the bracket, Wisconsin has been playing terrific basketball lately. They are lead by 7' 0" Center Frank Kaminsky. Kaminsky has been playing great. He can shoot from anywhere on the court. This Badgers team is very efficient and one of the most important players for them is Freshman Nigel Hayes who comes off the bench. He gives them some extra athleticism. Kentucky had to go through the Region of Death. Their whole region was made for TV. They met Wichita State in the Round of 32 and escaped. They then beat a Louisville team that was a tourney favorite. The Wildcats then knocked out Michigan to clinch a spot in the Final Four.

#7 UCONN vs. #1 Florida

6:09 P.M.

This will be one of the best Point Guard matchups you will see in college basketball with Shabazz Napier and Scottie Wilbekin. The key to this game is if the Huskies can handle Florida inside. It will be tough, especially when their leading rebounded is Napier. DeAndre Daniels will have to step up tonight. I expect Casey Prather to have a big game for the Gators.

My Pick: Florida 72 UCONN 65

#8 Kentucky vs. #2 Wisconsin
8:49 P.M.

This will be a very exciting game and UK is very strong inside and is extremely young. Three of Kentucky's starters are from the state of Texas. The two Harrison twins have stepped up hugely lately. Sam Dekker will have to have a big game for the Badgers. The big question for Kentucky is if Sophomore Center Willie Cauley-Stein will take the floor. This will come down to the wire.

My Pick: Kentucky 63 Wisconsin 61

Rivalry Rematch

The biggest rematch of the college basketball season lost some of its luster this week when both #1 Syracuse and #5 Duke lost. Duke lost to archrival UNC just 40 hours ago in Durham. Syracuse was upset at HOME against BC in an Overtime heartbreaker 62-59. These two teams played a historic game on February 1st when the Orange beat the Blue Devils at the Carrier Dome 91-89 in an OT classic. This has already turned into a big rivalry now that Syracuse is in the ACC with Duke. As a Georgetown fan, it pains me to see Cuse in such a fun new rivalry. These are the two best coached teams in the country with the two best active coaches in the nation in Jim Boeheim and Mike Kryzewski. This game also showcases two of the best Freshman in the country (Tyler Ennis and Jabari Parker). Not to mention it has arguably the two best SF in the country in Jabari Parker and CJ Fair. Parker has to start playing better defense. He was poor defensively against UNC ON Thursday. Last time these two met up, Duke got into foul trouble and had a hard time stopping the Orange in the paint. I think Jerami Grant of Syracuse will have a big day. He leads the team in rebounds with 7.2 a game. Rodney Hood will have his hands full trying to guard these guys and will need help. Amile Jefferson will have to play well for Duke to be successful. I expect Marshall Plumlee to get some more minutes off the bench. This game has a tough act to follow after their last matchup and it will be hard to reach expectations.

My Pick: Syracuse 74 Duke 68

Olympic Heartbreaker + Men's Semifinal Picks

The numbers that will be in every American's head are 3:30. The US Women's hockey team was 3 minutes and 30 seconds away from a gold medal up 2 goals on archrival Canada until Brianne Jenner netted a goal for our neighbors up north and gave them some life. The Canadians then pulled their goalie with about a minute and 30 seconds left and then just a few seconds later a shot from US forward Kelli Stack hit the empty net post and was a matter of inches from clinching the game. Marie-Philip Poulin stole the show and tied the game up with 55 seconds to play. She was the hero last Olympics for that Gold Medal-winning team. The game went to OT and after a few chances that the US couldn't convert they found themselves down 2 players and trying to kill a Power Play opportunity by the Canadians. With some excellent passing, Poplin struck again and sniped a game-winning shot. It was a devastating loss for the US women and they played their hearts out, but Canada just found a way to win. US fans were torn up about this loss, while the Canadian fans were ecstatic. The Canadian/US hockey rivalry will be renewed tomorrow when the men's teams take each other on.

Finland vs. Sweden

7:00 AM

These two teams have been rather impressive and stirred things up in this tournament. Everybody expect Russia to be here instead of Finland, but the Finns upset the fan favorite Russian team. The Finns did well in group play, losing just one game to Canada. They are lead by Boston Bruins' Goalie Tuuka Rask. Rask has played great throughout these Olympic Games. Possibly the best player on this Finland team and the player to watch is Teemu Selanne of the Anaheim Ducks. In the win against Russia, Selanne had a goal and an assist. Despite being the #1 seed, this Sweden team has gone under the radar even though they were in a very deep group. Henrik Lundquist has been very consistent this tournament and is tough to score on. This team has been devastated with injuries and has still been playing terrific hockey. They have missed Henrik Zetterberg and Henrik Sedin. However, the Swedes have the other Sedan twin, Daniel. They have gotten a great impact from Carl Hagelin and Niklas Kronwall. This should be a low-scoring affair, and I expect Sweden to pull it out.

Canada vs. USA

12:00 PM

This is a very intense rivalry and when these two teams take the ice it is always extremely intense. This has the makings to be a truly historic game. Canada has relied heavily on Shea Weber this Olympic Games and he has delivered. He has one of the hardest snapshots in the world and will make you pay if you try and block his torpedo of a shot. The hero of the tournament so far for the US has been TJ Oshie. He came up big in the win against Russia scoring 4 times in the shootout to anchor this team to a gutsy shootout victory. This is a revenge match for the US after Canada took the gold from them in 2010 in Vancouver after a Sidney Crosby GW-goal in OT. Crosby is the captain of this Canadian team. This game should be extremely tight and I believe it will come down to goaltending. If it does indeed come down to goaltending, I will take Jonathan Quick (US) over Carey Price (CAN).

College Basketball Update

Saturday is a huge day in the college basketball universe as there are some huge showdowns that are must watches. The top two teams in the SEC will go at it when #3 Florida takes on #14 Kentucky. Florida has won 16 straight games and is lead by a core group of seniors. PG Scottie Wilbekin is one of the most underrated players in the country. Kentucky poses matchup problems inside with Julius Randle and Willie Cauley-Stein and will most definitely be tough to handle. The 6-9 senior Patric Young will have to step up tomorrow night in what will be a huge game. This game will take place at Rupp Arena in Kentucky and College Gameday is there. These two teams will play again in the last regular season game in Florida. This matchup showcases not only the best talent in the country, but two of the top 5 best coaches in college basketball in Bill Donovan and John Calipari. I think that Florida is one of the best teams in the country, but I believe the Wildcats will come up with a huge victory at home.

The best team in the country is Syracuse. They are one of the two unbeaten teams in the country, the other one being Wichita State, and they have had their fair share of close games. Their leader is a Freshman PG who has asserted himself into the National Player of the Year conversation. His name is Tyler Ennis. Ennis can do everything you ask of him. He is a great passer, finishes at the rim well, can shoot the deep ball, plays great defense, and is extremely clutch. If you want to know how well Ennis is at all of these things, just ask Pittsburgh fans. In the Cuse/Pitt matchup this year, Ennis has taken over late in games and by now you have probably seen his 35-foot buzzer beater to beat the Panthers. With all the talk about Julius Randle, Jabari Parker, and Andrew Wiggins, people forgot about the 6-2 Canadian PG coming out of St. Benedict's Prep (NJ). He has everybody's attention now, and in my eyes is the best Freshman in the country. However, Ennis isn't doing this thing by himself. CJ Fair is also a Wooden Award candidate and frontrunner, Jerami Grant has had a breakout season, and Trevor Cooney is arguably the best shooter in the country. The Orange have just 7 games left from running the table, but two of those include matchups against #8 Duke (at Cameron Indoor) and #17 Virginia. This team's season doesn't end there, though. I would be surprised if this team didn't make a Final Four run. They have to watch out for a trap game coming up with NC State. NC State has the ACC's leading scorer in T.J. Warren and Syracuse is just coming off an emotional high against Pitt.

 

Sochi 2014: Hockey Preview

I am sorry for the delay, but I am back in business and will be updating a lot more from now on. The Winter Olympics are entering their second weekend and this is where things will start to heat up with the hockey starting. Olympic hockey could be my favorite thing in the world to watch. I am not an avid hockey fan, but it is so exciting to follow. The Olympic hockey has no fighting, which makes the games go along quicker. This year's tournament should be epic, but it will be tough to follow what happened four years ago in Vancouver when Canada beat the US in the Gold Medal Game in OT. The hockey events started Wednesday, but the three frontrunners took the ice Thursday.

The Favorite: Canada

After a slow start in a 3-1 win over a Norway team that boasts 1 NHL player, you probably wouldn't give the title of favorite away to this team. That is the thought from an American right now. The fact of the matter is that this team deserves this label. They are the defending champs and have a star-studded lineup. The big question will be if these guys can adapt to being role players. Almost every single one of these players is the go-to-guy on their NHL team, but with players like Sidney Crosby, Shea Weber, and Jonathan Toes, some players will have to take a back seat. Weber played a great game against Norway, but the man who set everything up was Patrice Bergeron. He had two great assists in the game.

The Other Favorite: USA

This sounds weird, but there is really no other way to put it. Especially after a dominating 7-1 win over a decent Slovakia team, the US and Canada look to be neck and neck. This 7-1 masterpiece showcased a 2nd Period with 6 US goals. All of the men contributed and they stayed out of the penalty box. It also helped that they had Jonathan Quick in the net. Zach Parise is the captain of this team and has some great help. They have a young group of defensemen, but they stepped up in their first game. We will learn a lot from Saturday's game against a Russia team with a plethora of talent and a home crowd.

The Dark Horse: Russia

There is a lot on the line for this Russian team, and it is gold or bust. The home fans should have a lot to cheer about as this team has plenty of good players. They are lead by Captain Pavel Datsyuk who is returning from a knee injury. They also have one of the top 3 players in the world in Alexander Ovechkin. Not to mention they have Evgeni Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk. Yes, the same Ilya Kovalchuk that turned down the monster contract the Devils gave him to play in the KHL. They have two great goalies in Sergei Bobrovsky and Semyon Varlamov. Both should get time in the net. There will be a huge amount of pressure on this team every time they take the ice.

The Challenger: Sweden

This Sweden team is under the radar, and will be tough to handle. With Henrik Lundqvist in net, teams will have a tough time scoring. In their 4-2 win over a quality Czech Republic team Henrik Zetterberg and Erik Karlsson combined for three goals and I expect both of them to carry this team offensively. The Group C that they are in is deep, but they have some of the best defensemen in the Olympics. They will cause some problems for some teams.

 My Predictions:
Gold: US over Canada- One word: Revenge.
Silver: Canada
Bronze: Sweden over Russia- Pressure too much for this Russian team.