Reserves: M Kenny McCormick M Phil McMaster D Keith O’Connell
Recap: Another fast start saw two Matt Greenhalgh strikes find the back of the net for a 2-0 lead at halftime. I had a couple of early chances, but I still didn’t have my legs underneath me from an off-season conditioning program that consisted of Wendy’s double cheeseburgers and bags of Doritos. I was also unable to get completely warmed up and got a slight strain in my right quad chasing down a loose ball.
The second half started with us trading goals, Greenhalgh netting his third strike of the game to give us a 3-1 lead. Once again, the middle of the second half saw us fall asleep at the wheel and allow Chicagoense to get back into it. They tied the game up at three, but for the second straight week we answered immediately. Greenhalgh got his fourth goal of the match after firing a rocket from an awkward angle that beat the keeper.
It looked like we were going to hold on for our first victory, but the last minute bug bit us for the second straight week as Chicagoense tied the match with less than five minutes to play.
Man of the Match: Matt Greenhalgh
Match Day 2 Goals: Matt Greenhalgh (?) Matt Greenhalgh (?) Matt Greenhalgh (?) Matt Greenhalgh (?)
Record: 0-0-2 2 pts. – Tied for 3rd Place GF: 8 GA: 8
2008 Season Totals Goals: 4 – Matt Greenhalgh 1 – Jamelle McCreary 1 – Danny Carver 1 – Ben Bartholomay 1 – Brandon Caputo
This is my regular feature called Top Five Fridays. Here I'll list some of my favorite things like, Top 5 Ways to Annoy a Michigan Fan or Top 5 Most Overrated Athletes (cough cough, Brett Favre, cough cough)..... Have no fear, we'll get to both those topics in good time. At the end there will also be a section for those that just missed the cut.
The Cleveland Browns will not be picking in the first few rounds at this year's college-selection process of the National Football League thanks to some trades. This could be a good thing based on our history. Either way, in honor of tomorrow's NFL Draft, today's topic is:
Top 5 Worst Draft Picks by the Cleveland Browns Since Re-Expansion
1. Tim Couch (1st pick, 1999 NFL Draft) Quarterback, Kentucky The second this guy showed up at the first Browns' rookie mini-camp there was already sign for concern. As the story goes, Couch had never had a real playbook in either high school or college. Now, I don’t know how true that is, but what little I remember from his college days is that Kentucky was always in a no huddle offense with Couch pointing people in the direction. It looked like he was just making everything up as he went along, so the story could be true.
Tim has since gone down as one of the biggest busts in NFL Draft history and without question the worst draft pick in Cleveland’s storied past, not just the re-expansion era. On a personal note, I was never happy with the selection. Rookie quarterbacks rarely succeed, but when they do, its typically with a veteran laden team that has a solid running game (see: Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh.) I believe Cleveland needed to focus on building an offensive line and a defense that first year. A veteran quarterback should have been handed the reins for a couple of seasons until a solid offense was built. Nothing will destroy a young quarterback quite like being handed a pile of crap to work with.
Here are some notables that were drafted after Couch: Donovan McNabb (2) – QB, Syracuse Edgerrin James (4) – RB, Miami (FL) Ricky Williams (5) – RB, Texas Torry Holt (6) – WR, NC State Champ Bailey (7) – CB, Georgia
2. Gerard Warren (3rd pick, 2001 NFL Draft) Defensive Tackle, Florida I’m giving the nod to Warren over Courtney Brown for several reasons. We'll get into more of this when we get to number three, but the 2001 draft was not as strong near the top. Many believe the Browns would have been better served by trading down. This would have given them additional picks, something that young and untalented teams need. Obviously it would be easier to make that assessment now, seven years later, but even then there were no “sure things” after Michael Vick went number one overall. And as it turns out, even he is in prison, so nothing was certain. Warren never amounted to anything and, just as his two predecessors, his NFL career was about as long as his college career with much less notoriety.
Here are just a few of the notable first round picks after Warren: LaDainian Tomlinson (5) – RB, Texas Christian Richard Seymour (6) – DT, Georgia Koren Robinson (9) – WR, NC State Steve Hutchinson (17) – OG, Michigan Nate Clements (21) – CB, Ohio State Deuce McAllister (23) – RB, Mississippi Reggie Wayne (30) – WR, Miami (FL)
3. Courtney Brown (1st pick, 2000 NFL Draft) Defensive End, Penn State I could have easily put this as the number two biggest bust, but it was widely regarded that both Courtney Brown and his Penn State teammate, linebacker LaVar Arrington, were "can’t miss" prospects. It was heavily debated which Nittany Lion they would take, but in the end Cleveland listened to the rumors about Arrington’s “character issues” and went with Brown. Often injured and rumored to be very soft in workouts, Brown was awful in Cleveland and eventually was traded to Denver before disappearing completely. Arrington had a very good career, though it was cut short by an injury. He retired in 2007 after rupturing his Achilles tendon in 2006 and then getting into a motorcycle accident the following June.
Notable first round picks: Chris Samuels (3) – OT, Alabama Jamal Lewis (5) – RB, Miami (FL) Plaxico Burress (8) – WR, Michigan State Brian Urlacher (9) – LB, New Mexico John Abraham (13) – DE, South Carolina Chad Pennington (18) – QB, Marshall Shaun Alexander (19) – RB, Alabama
Another thing that the 2000 draft was known for is the star players taken in the later rounds. Here is a small sample: Laveranues Coles (78) – WR, Florida State Dante Hall (153) – WR, Texas A&M Marc Bulger (168) – QB, West Virginia Adalius Thomas (186) – LB, Southern Mississippi Tom Brady (199) – QB, Michigan
4. Willie Green (16th pick, 2002 NFL Draft) Running Back, Boston College If character issues were such a big concern for LaVar Arrington, how come the Browns all of a sudden threw caution to the wind during the very next season to get a running back from a weak running back class? Clevelanders were legitimately excited about Willie because he was considered a top 5 prospect that fell specifically because of the aforementioned character problems. His father was a heroin addict that died of AIDS when Willie was 12 and his mother died of the same disease a year later. He had two suspensions in college for marijuana use. One year into his NFL career he was arrested for drunk driving and marijuana possession. While suspended, his wife stabbed him in the back, literally, and upon returning it was announced that a woman other than his wife would be having his child.
Some notable picks after Green: Javon Walker (20) – WR, Florida State Ed Reed (24) – SS, Miami (FL) Lito Sheppard (26) – CB, Florida LeCharles Bentley (44) – C, Ohio State Clinton Portis (51) – RB, Miami (FL)
5. Quincy Morgan (33rd pick, 2001 NFL Draft) Wide Receiver, Kansas State It’s not that Quincy was a horrible player. It turns out he wasn’t worth his stock, and he’s out of the league now, but by all accounts he had a very good college career and was projected to go at some point in the second round. The reason I have him on this list is because the 2001 draft was deep at wide receiver and there were a handful of Pro Bowlers taken after him, two of which were in the same round and actually projected higher.
Chad Johnson (36) – Oregon State Chris Chambers (52) – Wisconsin
Chambers is the one that really bothers me because he was born and raised in Cleveland. He was underrated coming out of high school and didn’t get an offer from Ohio State, so he went to Wisconsin. He was underrated again coming out of college and turned into a late second round pick. I was in the same high school graduating year (1997) as Chambers and I went head to head against him in track. Granted it was the 400m, not the 40-yard dash, but Chambers was enormous even then and was easily the fastest human being I’d ever run against.
Other notables that went after Morgan: Steve Smith (74) – WR, Utah T.J. Houshmandzadeh (204) – WR, Oregon State
"Juuuuust a bit outside. He tried the corner and missed."
C Jeff Faine (21) – Notre Dame, 2003 – We should have known better than to take any member of the Fighting Irish in the first round. LB Rahim Abdullah (45) – Clemson, 1999 – He was recently suspended by his team, the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL, for kneeing an opponent in the neck. RB Travis Prentice (63) – Miami (OH), 2000 – He held seven NCAA records at the end of his college career, but never did anything in his four NFL seasons.
Last week Friday when the New York Knicks fired head coach Isiah Thomas I was deeply saddened. Not because I thought the termination was unjust mind you. We’re talking about a guy who single handedly destroyed an entire league (CBA) and then one of the NBA’s marquee franchises. I’ve often joked that they ought to put him in charge of the WNBA so we can be rid of it already. No, the reason I was saddened by the news was because we (we meaning sports junkies like myself) would no longer have Isiah to make fun of.
As it turns out, we don’t need to worry about that just yet. The new team president of the Knicks, Donnie Walsh, clarified the “firing” on Tuesday. In actuality, Thomas wasn’t fired, he was just "reassigned" from his head coaching position to an advisory role. He is still employed by the Knicks, but Walsh informed the media that Thomas no longer has a full-time job. He doesn’t have a specific title either. And, to make matters worse funnier, we’ve been told that Thomas is no longer allowed to have contact with the team in any way.
Walsh went on to tell everyone that he believes Thomas has a good eye for talent (see: Eddy Curry, Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, Jamal Crawford, Jalen Rose, Jerome James, Jarred Jeffries) and that he will still consult with Isiah on player scouting. He made it clear that his decisions would be final, not Isiah’s, and that Isiah would have no contact with the team. "I don't want there to be some kind of double-voice here, so he's answering to me and nobody's reporting to him."
So what is his role? Well, if you ask me, Thomas’ new job is to be the laughing stock of the NBA, much in the same way that the Knicks have become the laughing stock on the league over his time in charge.
The Knicks are contractually obligated to pay Thomas the same salary whether they fire him or keep him on staff for the next couple years. So instead of firing him, what solution did they come up with? Humiliate him. Thomas has been a PR nightmare for four seasons with his terrible player acquisitions, sexual harassment lawsuit, an embarrassing win-loss record despite the league's highest payroll and his general douchebaggitry.
If they humiliate him enough, he might just up and quit. Don’t count on it, but he might. This would, in turn, remove obligation from the Knicks to pay the remainder of his contract.
Donnie Walsh may be the smartest man alive. I want to be friends with him.
Recap: A quick start led to several scoring chances in the first few minutes, but we failed to put one away. I was pretty out of shape while still recovering from an ankle injury I suffered in the final regular season game of last season and should’ve done better with a couple of early chances. Finally a through-ball that was right on target sprung me inside the 18-yard box and I slid the ball across the edge of the goal area to a sliding Jamelle who fought off a defender and the goalkeeper to knock the ball home for an early 1-0. We increased the lead to 2-0 on a goal from Danny Carver, but the visitors got one back just before the half.
Ben Bartholomay increased the lead to 3-1 with a lethal strike from just inside the 18-yard box to start the second half, but about halfway through the game got interesting. Off a corner kick for CF Jaguares, the ball was deflected straight up in the air. An attacker for Jaguares headed the ball straight down near the penalty spot and it hit the arm of one of our players. The referee, Roman, who is normally very sharp, immediately signaled for a penalty kick. I haven’t seen a penalty called awarded on an unintentional handball (especially near the top of the penalty box with no real scoring opportunity) in years. If you are standing still with your arms are at your side and the ball plays you, instead of the other way around, it shouldn’t be penalized. Poor decision and as a result, Jaguares converted the gift and the momentum swayed quickly.
A few minutes later, CF Jaguares found the back of the net again, knotting the game up at three goals apiece. Less than a minute later, we answered. Rudy played a perfect through-ball and I slipped in behind the defense. I needed to sprawl out to beat the goalkeeper to the ball and when I did, the ball easily found it’s way into the old onion bag. However, we celebrated a little early. Thinking we had locked it up with less than five minutes remaining, we surrendered the equalizer just moments later and the match ended with a 4-4 draw.
Man of the Match: Jamelle McCreary
Match Day 1 Goals: Jamelle McCreary (Brandon Caputo) Danny Carver (unassisted) Ben Bartholomay (unassisted) Brandon Caputo (Rudy Schaser)
Record: 0-0-1 1 pts. – Tied for 2nd Place GF: 4 GA: 4
2008 Season Totals Goals: 1 – Jamelle McCreary 1 – Danny Carver 1 – Ben Bartholomay 1 – Brandon Caputo
This is my regular feature called Top Five Fridays. Here I'll list some of my favorite things like, Top 5 Ways to Annoy a Michigan Fan or Top 5 Most Overrated Athletes (cough cough, Brett Favre, cough cough)..... Have no fear, we'll get to both those topics in good time. At the end there will also be a section for those that just missed the cut.
This week I’m going to change things up a little bit. No long stories, no my favorites lists... I'd like to encourage everyone to chime in with their opinions in the comments. Frankly, you can always do that with these Top 5's, but this one might make it a little easier. I’ll be perfectly honest, writing a list like this pains me a little bit as there isn’t a single team from my childhood on it, but I’m trying to be a realist here. So with out further Freddy Adu, here it is!
Top 5 Most Recognizable Logos in American Sports
If someone were to create a survey with the logos of every sports team in America (and just the logo, no city or team name in them) and take this survey out to the streets, I believe that more people would recognize the teams on this list than any others.
1. Chicago Bulls
You can thank Michael Jordan. In fact, if we were to send this survey out to the streets across the entire globe, the Bulls would likely be number one by a landslide. What MJ did for the global market economy was unprecedented. Tiger Woods is recreating it and LeBron James could get to that level with a couple titles (or six,) but is was "His Airness" that brought sports marketing, and specifically athlete endorsements, to the level they are. Woods and James are merely riding the coattails of what Jordan created. An image. And with that image, he turned the Chicago Bulls into a global brand. That brand is as recognizable as McDonald’s, Nike, and Gatorade. In fact, one could argue that the popularity of THOSE brands was in large part because of Michael. Despite the gambling scandal, the multiple retirements, the indiscretion in his marriage, and the image tarnishing return with the Wizards, he is still the most popular athlete on earth.
2. New York Yankees Quite possibly the most polarizing sports entity in American culture, the interlocking NY was created by Tiffany & Co. in 1877. The franchise began using it as their insignia in 1909 when they were still known as the New York Highlanders. In 1911 the old Polo Grounds burned down and after moving into the new Polo Grounds located near the Harlem River, the name "Highlanders" no longer made sense. The New York media had already been casually referring to the team as the Yankees in recent years, so in 1913 it became official.
3. Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys were one of the last teams to join the NFL before the merger in 1970. They began play in 1960 and their first coach, Tom Landry, quickly built a competitive team. He ended up being their only coach until he was fired in 1989. The Cowboys hare the most valuable franchise in sports according to a 2007 article on Forbes Magazine's website as they are by far the most successful NFL team of the modern era and have been nicknamed "America's Team." The Cowboys are tied with the Steelers and 49ers for the most Super Bowl victories with five and hold NFL records for most winning seasons, most postseason appearances, most postseason games, most 10-win seasons and most Super Bowl appearances...among other things.
4. Michigan Wolverines The block “M” might not have made it on it's own, but if you put a picture of the winged football helmet on there, I think you’d have something. Most Michigan fans would have you believe they were the first to create this logo, but it was actually a man named Fritz Crisler who first put it on the Princeton helmets to help quarterbacks more easily identify their wide receivers down field. Crisler was then hired as the head coach at Michigan and he brought the winged helmet with him in 1938.
5. Detroit Red Wings I’m not sure the Communist Tire With Wings should make the list, but I’m squeezing them in at number five just because I can, it's my list. They might not even make the top 20 in some people's opinions because the NHL has really taken a back seat in this country to "The Big Three." However, I feel we have enough Northern European and former Soviet block immigrants in this country to put them on the board.
"Juuuuust a bit outside. He tried the corner and missed."
Chicago Cubs – The Lovable Losers have WGN’s reach as the catalyst for the nation’s obsession with the Cubbies. 100 years of futility and yet they have more bandwagon fans than any team in the country. Boston Red Sox – Still 20-something odd titles behind the Yankees, their nationwide bandwagon fans in the past five years have made them almost as polarizing a force in American sports as their hated rival. A few more years of this and they could be in the Top 5, and Mrs. Sizemore could end up buried in a ditch. I kid, I kid. Also, she is not one of those bandwagon fans, but even she would have to admit that there are a ton of them out there. Los Angeles Lakers – One of the two greatest dynasty’s in NBA history, they seem to always have one of those “it guys” to keep them socially relevant even when they are having a down year. Boston Celtics – The single greatest dynasty in NBA history with a record 16 titles, they were starting to slip into obscurity until this season when "The Boston Three Party" resurrected them.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish – Twenty years ago they might have been at the top, but they haven’t won a national title since 1988, a bowl game since 1994 and haven't had a Heisman trophy winner since 1987. However, their NBC contract and ESPN’s obsession with them have kept them in the conversation. Green Bay Packers – Lombardi put the Pack on the map and then they laid dormant for years until Brett Favre help resurrect the franchise. Now there is no mistaking the Packer “G” with the Georgia Bulldogs, the Grambling Tigers, or anyone else. St. Louis Cardinals – They are number two behind the Yankees all-time in World Series titles, but have slipped behind the Cubs and Red Sox in terms of national appeal. A recent World Series title and Big Mac’s home run chase got them in the conversation, but overall they’ve been missing something since the mid-80s.
I ask Jobu to come, take JoeBo away from Indians. I offer him cigar, rum. He will come.
Funny, just last night I went to bed praying that Joe Borowski would feel intense physical pain and would no longer be able to pitch. Nothing serious, but enough to put him on the bench. In turn, this would make him unable to blow any more saves for my Tribe. I was fed up with him after last season, but after last night, enough was seriously enough. After a terrific start from Jake Westbrook and some tremendous relief by Perez and Betancourt, Borowski came in with a 4-3 lead in the 9th.
Final: Boston 6 - Cleveland 4.
Surprise, Surprise.
Although JoeBo had 45 saves last season, as I mentioned last week, his ERA was over 5 and he did blow 8 saves. I would love to know his percentage of saves when coming in with a one run lead. I would venture a guess that it isn't very good considering he almost always allows the first hitter to get on base. Even when he gets the save, often times a run will score.
So I got home for lunch this afternoon, and I saw the following article on espn.go.com. Did Jobu enjoy the Montecristo No. 1 and Captain Morgan Private Stock I left for him in my locker last night?
Indians' Borowski heads to DL after blowing save against Red Sox Associated Press
Updated: April 15, 2008, 1:26 PM ET
CLEVELAND -- Indians closer Joe Borowski has been placed on the 15-day disabled list after blowing a save and giving up a two-run homer in the ninth inning to Boston's Manny Ramirez in a 6-4 loss to the Red Sox.
The club said Tuesday that Borowski, who led the AL with 45 saves last season, has a strained triceps. He had been puzzled and frustrated by a significant loss in his velocity.
The club recalled right-hander Tom Mastny from Triple-A Buffalo.
With Borowski out, Indians manager Eric Wedge will likely turn to Rafael Betancourt as his new closer. Betancourt was one of baseball's top set-up men last season. He had three saves last season and has 12 career saves.
This is my regular feature called Top Five Fridays. Here I'll list some of my favorite things like, Top 5 Ways to Annoy a Michigan Fan or Top 5 Most Overrated Athletes (cough cough, Brett Favre, cough cough)..... Have no fear, we'll get to both those topics in good time. At the end there will also be a section for those that just missed the cut.
In honor of the Chicago Bulls being mathematically elimated from the playoff picture, today we'll be going with:
Top 5 Favorite Chicago Bulls of the Post-Jordan Era
This was a tough one since I worked for the Bullskis for 2 1/2 years, but I think I've found a good mix of players I genuinely cared about and some funny stories for you!
1. Tyson Chandler Ty wins the prize for two reasons:
a. When the Bulls traded Elton Brand for his rights on draft day, the sales staff was given this line to tell fans who were pissed off about the move. "Tyson Chandler runs like a gazelle."
b. When Michael Jordan came out of retirement, again, and arrived with his Washington Wizards to play in what would be his last ever game in the United Center, I took one of my college roommates, Hacksaw, and my ex-girlfriend from college, who we will refer to as Mrs. Miami from this point forward. Bear in mind that this girl once called to ask if Florida State was the same school at the Gators. So...after the Bulls botched a fast break when a pass hit Tyson Chandlerin the hands and he fumbled it out of bounds the conversation sounded something like this:
Hacksaw: Chandler sucks.
Cap: Yeah, but he's been a lot better lately. Give him time.
Mrs. Miami: I don't think Chandler has had a good season at all.
(She is sitting between us and at this point we both lean forward and stare at her with a "whaaaaa?" expression.)
Mrs. Miami: (slouching in her chair in embarassment) We're not talking about Chandler from Friends are we?
You simply can't make stuff like this up folks.
2. Donyell Marshall
In my humble opinion, he was one of the classiest guys to ever pull on a Bulls' uniform. He was always the first one at practice and the last to leave. He showed up for a bowling event with our sponsors an hour before any other player simply to practice bowling and sign autographs for the kids in the after school league. He was one of very few players to show up at the company Holiday Party, and he even brought his entire family with him. I was sad to see him go. This was a guy who understood what being a professional athlete was all about. And during his prime he could drain an open jumper with the best of them.
3. Jalen Rose One of my favorite memories from my time with the Bulls front office is "The Jalen Rose Expression." It didn't matter the situation: Needed to get the crowd pumped up, just hit a big shot, chucked up a prayer that missed and thought he got fouled, didn't know what Coach Cartwright said because you couldn't hear him over the crickets in the United Center (okay, that was a dig in very poor taste at Coach...sorry.) Either way, it always looked the same to me. Couldn't find the picture in a Bulls' uniform, but here it is with the Raptors. I hear that Kirk Hinrich has been doing a good impression of it this season.
4. Andres Nocioni Okay, look; when Nocioni first came over from Argentina I was borderline obsessed with the guy. The Bulls finally had a guy who gave it his all during every second he spent on the floor. He was pretty good too, although now he's developed a bit of an ego and his act is wearing a little thin. Either way, he inspired this song that I heard on my favorite Sports Radio show, "Mac, Jurko and Harry."
5. Adrian Griffin This thought by Harry Teinowitz on ESPN Radio clinched it: "Adrian Griffin is the most versatile player on the Bulls roster. He'll brick shots from anywhere on the court. He's not picky at all about where he misses from."
"Juuuuust a bit outside. He tried the corner and missed."
Ron Artest - This is more because of his starring role in The Melee at the Palace than anything he did in Chicago. Kirk Hinrich - After being told to go away when he was trying way too hard to hit on my friend's roommate, he once busted out the classic famous person line, "Do you know who I am?" Marcus Fizer - I love the giant question mark tattoo on the neck symbolizing how he questioned his faith after a childhood friend was killed. Nice story, but by "I love it," I really mean, "that looks dumb." Corie Blount - Blunt? Are you serious? That's your name? And you're sticking to that? Bryce Drew - I knew I should have gone to some small school and played basketball just so I could hit a prayer during March Madness to clinch a first round upset and parlay that into an NBA contract that I didn't deserve. Jay Williams - "Messed around and got a triple double" his rookie year on J-Kidd and looked to be headed in the right direction before the motorcycle accident. Dalibor Bagaric - What was this guy doing in the NBA? No. Seriously. Linton Johnson III - Signs that your team sucks: 1. An NBDL guy signs a 10-day contract and not only makes the team, but starts 20 games that season
Okay, so it isn't brand new, but it will be rebranded. Mrs. Sizemore is working on the logo and I've changed the name from "Six Cents" to "The Sixth Cents." A little play on words with the "my two cents" concept mixed with me having a "sixth sense" about sports. The second part is obviously ridiculous, just like anyone who tells you that they knew the whole time that Bruce Willis was already dead. So, stay tuned for all that in the coming weeks. This won't be a weekly feature like the Top 5 Fridays are, but it will show up from time to time. Without further (Freddy) Adu.....
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Rock'em Chalk'em Jayhawks I’d like to extend a heartfelt “screw you” to the Kansas Jayhawks for NOT choking in the NCAA tournament this year like they always do. My bracket was already ruined when Georgetown got knocked out early and Memphis didn't get knocked out fast enough, but KU finished me off. Mrs. Miami’s father invited me into the family pool this year and thanks to the Jayhawks win last night I finished butt naked last. That, I believe, is a first for me. I should probably be forced to stop blogging about sports as a result, but truth be told I've never been that into basketball at any level. While it is certainly disappointing, my 2004 bracket victory in the Chicago Bulls Front Office pool has handily covered me in every other bracket that hasn't won money.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Get Your Kicks On Route 66 I would like to take this time to extend congratulations to The Ohio State University. The Buckeye hoopsters won the NIT Championship last week, otherwise known as "The Battle for #66." tOSU played perhaps their best ball of the season the during the tournament. Granted, they were playing against teams that weren’t good enough to go dancing, so it wasn't the stiffest competition. However, they won a title, so I'm not complaining.
Here’s some food for thought:
Would you rather get into the NCAA tourney as a 12 seed and lose in the first round, or go the NIT and win a championship?
If you ask me, with a young team like Ohio State has, I’d rather win the NIT and teach the kids how to win. that's exactly what they did. Congrats again boys.
3. Joe Borowski: Best Worst Closer? or Worst Best Closer? We’re one week in and I’ve had enough of JoeBo. In his three appearances he has already blown a save, surrendered two homers including a walk-off grand slam by Torii Hunter last night, walked four and has an ERA of 19.29. Last year he became the first closer in history with over 40 saves and a 5+ ERA (45 saves, 5.07 ERA.) Bottom line, he saves a lot of games, but he aways gives up runs in the process. Either way, I don't trust him.
I honestly believe that the closer was one of the missing pieces to last year’s club along with Hafner and Sizemore having slightly down years at the plate. With a top flight closer, we’d have had home field advantage throughout and that MIGHT have been enough to eek past the BoSox.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. “Everybody just be cooooooooooool”
At one of my favorite Dave Matthews Band shows, Dave had to tell everyone to “be cooooooool” as the crowd poured out of the stands at RFK Stadium and began to crush “the pretty little ladies up in the front.” Well, now I’m saying the same to all the crazy baseball fans out there. I mean, it's been one week people. Now, should I apply this to my thoughts on Borowski? No. JoeBo was a scary closer last year and I think it could come back to haunt us when it counts, much like Memphis at the free throw line.
However, here are few little nuggets for you:
The Cubs aren’t that bad. Fans were jumping off a ledge after the first two games. The Cubs aren’t that good. Certain people have the Cubs winning the World Series this year. Sorry, I just don’t see this lineup and that pitching staff being deep enough to take down the AL representative, even if they do become the AAAA (NL) representative. Plus, it's been 100 years. Come on. The Tigers aren’t that bad. This team will score runs and win games, don’t worry. The Tigers aren’t that good. This team was overrated to begin with thanks to the "experts" at ESPN. The bullpen is downright awful and the rotation isn’t deep enough. Was I the only one that wasn’t scared when they signed Dontrelle Willis?
Also: The Indians are not a .500 team. Neither are the Red Sox. The Cardinals aren't that good.
The Rockies aren't that bad.
And the Orioles may currently have the best record in baseball, but I assure you that they have a better chance of finishing with the worst record.
Reminder: It's only been a week. Ya'll can start worrying some time in May. Okay?
On Saturday, I got a phone call from Nash at 11:15 AM asking what I thought of a playing bags that afternoon. Mrs. Sizemore and I had a ton of other plans, but the weather was too nice to not play, so I relented. I was thinking 4-5 guys would show up. I was wrong. An entire day/night of debauchery ensued where we consumed copious amount of beer and over two handles of vodka. I'm glad all the guys that weren't in Cabo for 900's wedding were able to swing by, it was a much needed day of relaxation. Not only that, but the little Red Bull mini came by and dropped off a ton of product for us. We took that as a cue that it was time for Jaegerbombs!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. Beirut is too a Sport
The original plan for Saturday was to start building some custom Beirut/Flip Cup tables for the big Cap of July festival this summer. For those that haven’t booked your trip to Chicago yet, the party is going to be on Saturday, July 5th. Be there. Or don't. But if you don't, then I assure you that we will have a better time that day than you will.
Here are the designs we've come up with for the two tables:
One will be green and painted exactly like a scaled down version of the field in Browns' Stadium.
The other will be a Buckeye board. The circles where the cups are placed will be the same as the circle on the state flag of Ohio.
This is my regular feature called Top Five Fridays. Here I'll list some of my favorite things like, Top 5 Ways to Annoy a Michigan Fan or Top 5 Most Overrated Athletes (cough cough, Brett Favre, cough cough)..... Have no fear, we'll get to both those topics in good time. At the end there will also be a section for those that just missed the cut.
In honor of the opening week of the MLS season, today's topic is:
Top 5 Soccer Related Memories of My Lifetime
1.First Game Day of my Sports Marketing Career The league was only five years old and I didn't attend many matches previously. Given the circumstances, I hated D.C. United about as much as anyone in my position could. But here I was, turning down an offer for an internship with the Columbus Crew, my favorite MLS team at the time, for two reasons. One, Mrs. Miami, my then girlfriend, was working for the Heritage Foundation that summer. The other? United had won three championships in the first four seasons of league history. They seemed to be the pace setter both on and off the field. It was a no brainer for me. Little did I know, the team would begin a serious rebuilding effort that season and finished up in butt naked last.
I moved into my apartment, a 7-person house off campus in Georgetown, and started interning two days later. My third day on the job there was an exhibition match between D.C. United and Bayer Leverkusen at RFK Stadium. The day before I had met Mia Hamm, who was playing for the Washington Freedom of WUSA at the time. That morning I stepped out on the pitch during a little down time and got to knock the ball around with Chris Albright and Bobby Convey. D.C. United won the game 4-3. I was in complete awe of the situation I was handed. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning.
Afterwards we all proceeded to Fado’s Irish Pub in downtown D.C. Both teams showed up to the after party along with our entire front office staff. It was at this point that I was approached by a couple of the players from Leverkusen and asked if I was Russian.
Cap: Half German actually…and a bit of Polish and Italian.
Ulf: You German? You my new German friend.
At this point he called to the female bartender.
Ulf: Red Bull Vodka for my new German friend.
She grabbed a rocks glass and before she could pour, he interrupted her.
Ulf: No, no, no….BIG glass. BIG glass for my German friend.
I spent most of the rest of the evening getting hammered with Ulf Kirsten on Red Bull vodkas, my introduction to the drink as it turned out. Ohio is always about six months behind the times and as of May 2001, we had not yet heard of this concoction. Needless to say, I had to cab back the next morning and search for my car. All in all, not a bad first day working in “the biz.”
2. La Guerra Fría February, 2001. Columbus, Ohio. Freezing temperatures. Snow. Walkie Talkies. Good times.
When USSF, the governing body of soccer in this country, found out that the Men’s National Team would begin the final round of qualifying for the 2002 World Cup at home in February, against Mexico no less, they couldn’t have been more excited. They had he first ever American soccer specific stadium in a city that didn’t have many Hispanics. Not only that, but February in this area of the country was biting cold.
Enter Crew Stadium.
The day started out with myself, Mrs. Miami, a teammate of mine from college named Jake and one of his buddies piling into my Honda Prelude. My roommate, Nick, jumped in his similar looking Honda Accord and left a few minutes earlier to pick up his dad and cousin in Middletown. We took walkie-talkies (this is pre-cell phones mind you) and decided to meet up at a specific gas station we both knew on I-71 on the way from Miami University to Columbus. They beat us there, but as we approached I decided to test Nick. In the distance I saw him parked at the gas station right near the curb, facing in the opposite direction.
Cap: Tower, this is Ghost Rider requesting a fly-by.
Without missing a beat, he responded.
Nick: That’s a negative Ghost Rider, the pattern is full.
At this point I proceeded to blow by him at 70 MPH. Good times. Maybe you had to be there.
Before arriving at the game, we met up again at Wendy’s for dinner since it would be too cold and we’d be too bundled up to eat in the stadium. Jake, his friend, and Nick’s cousin painted U-S-A on their chests and faces and Mrs. Miami surprisingly got in on the act letting Jake paint her face. At the game, the three young knuckleheads would proceed to take their shirts and wrapped themselves in a big American flag to try to keep warm.
Game time temperature was a balmy 29 degrees and the crowd was frozen stiff, but the atmosphere was electric. For once it actually felt like a home game for the U.S. I even saw one Mexican fan with a sign that read, "Next time, pick Alaska." It was a crazy game with tons of action despite the temperature and the light snow falling. There was a fight in the game and a few in the stands near the end of the match. In the end, The United States upset Mexico 2-0 on goals from Josh Wolff and Earnie Stewart. Nobody could believe it, especially the handful of Mexican’s that found their way to Ohio for the game. After all, it was the first time since 1980 that we'd beaten them in a World Cup Qualifier.
3. Fall 1997 – First Pioneer Conference victory Most of you aren’t going to believe this, but for a guy that loves soccer as much as I do, my high school career was not very successful. We had a great team growing up, won tons of tournaments, a gold medal in the Ohio Games, but by the time high school rolled around we’d all gone our separate ways. Eight of our starters ended up at the various Catholic schools in the area and a few other teammates trickled onto the rosters of other area schools as their parents moved away from Middleburg Heights.
Myself, I stayed and went to Midpark High School. I started off that summer training and playing preseason matches with the Junior Varsity, but the day before the opener, the coach handed me the #11 shirt for the Varsity. The next four years would see the team steadily improve overall, winning more and more games each year. However, we finished the regular season of my Senior year having gone 0-28 in Pioneer Conference play. Only a couple times were we blown out. Most of the time it was a 2-1, 3-2, or 2-0 score that did us in. I played sweeper, a drastic change from the striker I played as a kid and the attacking midfielder/winger I would play in college and beyond. We just couldn’t score, and because we couldn’t score, we were stuck defending for the entire match.
In the state of Ohio, every team makes the playoffs in Division I Boys Soccer. Our first round opponent we dispatched quite easily, a 5-2 victory over Bedford. In the second round, we were to play a road game against our arch rival, Berea. Midpark and Berea were in the same school district and therefore, shared some of the same facilities. For four years, they would use our field at Big Creek Elementary School as their game field while practicing at an elementary school in Berea called Park Ridge. The match between the schools always took place on the AstroTurf over at Baldwin Wallace College, the home football field for both schools.
In soccer the field will vary in size and the better team always wants to play in nice weather on a big field where they can spread out their opponent and take their sweet time dismantling them. A small crappy surface will slow the pace down and even things out. Being the home team, they chose the site: Park Ridge Elementary. The weather that day was freezing. It had been raining for two days and the night before began to snow. By game time, visibility was about 50 yards. Giant puddles, six inches of snow, only two yards on the far sideline before you ran into some trees, the smallest field we ever played on…this couldn’t have suited us better.
Tied at halftime, we broke through with two goals in the second half. The first came off a corner kick when a Senior defender headed home the only goal of his high school career. No, it wasn’t me. But a 2-0 victory marked the first time in a long time that Midpark took down a Pioneer Conference school. The next game we battled Strongsville to a 0-0 halftime score, but eventually ran out of gas. They went on to the State Finals and my career finished a horrific 1-29 against conference opponents. I’ll never forget that one win though.
4. 2001 Fall Intramural Co-ed Championship – Miami University While my high school career was tragically unsuccessful, my college career was very successful, but also mostly tragic. My freshman year I played quite a bit with the Miami Club team, but realistically I was an intramural guy. I transitioned from the sweeper position I held at Midpark to a striker/midfielder and ended up scoring plenty of goals. I discovered early on that I had a knack for putting together competitive teams as our freshman men’s team, The East Quad Players, went all the way to the championship before losing to a fraternity. Over the next five years, I would put together a Men’s and a Co-ed team for each season, Fall Outdoor, Winter Indoor and the Spring Tournament. For the first four years, we would win tons of games and make several championship games only to lose to teams that we thought we should beat.
In an indoor league out in Monroe, about 30 minutes from campus, we entered a men’s team and went three straight years without losing a game. The townies hated us preppy Miami kids. When our girlfriends came, we had them sit on the bench with us because all the old crusty drunk men would come watch the men’s league and taunt us. But we couldn’t crack the Miami Intramural scene until my 5th year. The team was called Das Bundas Ligas and this is a picture of our squad. What a dominating performance we turned in. We would end up losing in the finals of the indoor league, but thanks to the spring tournament, we won the final game of my collegiate life.
5. 6-5. Overtime. Force. While there are several other moments that could have been in this fifth spot, I chose one of the ones that started it all. The Cleveland Force were my childhood. Although they would fold after this very game and the indoor game would soon be replaced by a top outdoor league in MLS, going to watch these guys as a kid was one of my favorite memories in life, not just sports.
The Force only existed for 10 seasons and they never won a championship. When I go back and look at the record books the Baltimore Blast, Dallas Sidekicks and San Diego Sockers were always a little bit better even though my memory was always of Force wins. I loved all of them. Kai Haaskivi, Ali Kazamani, John Stollmeyer, Craig Allen, Bernie James, P.J. Johns…the list goes on. In the early years, before John Lucas threatened with litigation, the mascot was Darth Vader and the intro music was the Imperial March.
In their tenth season, they made it to the championship, a best-of-seven series against the San Diego Sockers. We got tickets to Game 4, in Cleveland, and on the drive to the Richfield Coliseum my dad, Uncle John from Buffalo and I made our predictions. I don’t remember what theirs were, but mine was Force to win, 6-5 in overtime.
The game went back and forth and was always close. When the thing went into overtime tied at 5, I remember my uncle and dad not believing their eyes. Unfortunately, the Force gave up a goal in the first overtime and we all went home unsatisfied, but nobody more than the nine-year old boy whose team almost made his wildest dream come true. That game clinched the series for San Diego in a sweep and the Force never played another game.
"Juuuuust a bit outside. He tried the corner and missed."
Grand Opening of Toyota Park - My first year working for the front office, the Fire opener a new stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois. There was a "Safety Match" two weeks early, but the Fire won the official opener 2-0 over New York. US Open Cup Championship 2006 – Later that year I received my first (and only) championship ring in sports as the Chicago Fire won the Open Cup Tournament. The final was a 3-1 victory over Los Angeles and the after party was definitely the best in memory of my short time with the club. My first red card – Most of you would think it came earlier, but it was fall of 2006. I was injured with some IT band problems and meniscus damage and hobbled around the entire game because the team needed me, but mostly because I was stubborn. This one guy kept hammering me all game, every time I touched the ball he came in hard at my knee. On a break away, I suffered one of the hardest fouls I've ever felt, just as I was about to shoot what would have been the winning goal. After getting to my feet, I noticed the referee was signaling for a goal kick. No foul? So I took matters into my own hands. We were both sent off. Ryan Giggs Wonder Goal - My favorite player ever, the Welsh Wizard, scored one of the most dramatic goals in Manchester United history in 1999. It was in extra time after the match ended in a 1-1 draw. It was the FA Cup semi-final, so the winner went on to the Championship game. Not only that, but it was a replay, meaning the teams were tied after 120 minutes the first time they played. Unbelievable.
1994 World Cup, USA vs. Switzerland - My dad surprised us with tickets to the game and we made the drive from Cleveland up to Pontiac, Michigan. This was the first game played indoors in the history of the World Cup. They had to keep the building so humid to keep the natural grass alive that it was something like 105 degrees on the field and only 98 degrees outside. Eric Wynalda scored the first American goal in a World Cup since 1950 and the two teams tied. That and the upset win over Columbia would be enough for the United States to earn a trip to Pasadena for a 4th of July loss in the round of 16 against the eventual champion Brazil. 1999 Champions League Final – After winning the FA Cup, and the Premier League title Manchester United trailed FC Bayern Munich 1-0 on a goal just six minutes into the match. I had actually forgotten about the game and gone for a run with one of my fraternity brothers who had also stuck around Oxford for the summer. I walked into my room, turned on the television and saw the fourth official signal that there would be three minutes of stoppage time. I thought to myself, "crap, I missed it." And then, "at least I didn't miss them winning it all." It was that exact moment when a David Beckham corner kick was redirected on a sho fromRyan Giggsright toTeddy Sheringham, who burried it for the equaliser. Then, 30 seconds later, Beckham lined up for another corner. Sheringham headed it straight down and Ole Gunnar Solskjærstuck out his foot and the ball rocketed up into the roof of the goal for the game winner. The two last minute goals were timed at 90:36 and 92:17.
Thus far we’ve had quite a ridiculous off-season in the NFL. We have heard nothing except tales of the New England Patriots cheating, Pacman Jones playing with strippers and the discussion about imposing a ridiculous rule where they would regulate the length of a player’s hair. They were seriously considering telling players that they couldn't have long hair coming out of the back of their helmets. Thankfully they didn’t vote that one in, just as they didn’t vote in the “Devin Hester rule.” Yes, the league was actually considering penalizing the kicking team for punting the ball out of bounds to avoid return men from making plays. This makes no sense to me because, as a former kicker/punter myself, we were always taught to angle the ball out of bounds inside the 20 yard line to pin a team deep. This rule would have effectively ended a practice that has been a part of football since its metamorphosis from rugby over 100 years ago.
The NFL is full of rules like the hair rule that, in reality, do nothing but give the league the moniker, the No Fun League. Things like, you can only use white tape when taping your ankles. You can’t write anything on said tape as a tribute, such as a family member’s initials that just passed away or a teammates number who was killed or paralyzed. You must have your socks pulled all the way up to your knees.
All of these rules remind me of the ridiculousness that is high school soccer in this country. In our mandatory rules interpretation meetings, we spend the majority of the time discussing things like the color of tape used on players’ socks. Rule: the tape must be the same color as the sock. We have to sit around and pretend we care and then exactly three guys (who never actually played or coached the game) decide to enforce it. These are the same guys that are out there measuring all the player’s shin guards to make sure they are “age and size appropriate.” I had a referee tell me in my adult men’s league a year ago that my shin guards weren’t big enough. I told him that I got them from the equipment manager of the Chicago Fire, so if they’re good enough for professionals, they are good enough for me.
Here’s another gem: A company called Full 90 invented headgear for soccer amidst all the research that heading a ball causes brain damage. If you ask the people that do these studies they would have you believe that a header is about as dangerous as a 250 pound linebacker making helmet to helmet contact with a 220 pound running back at full speed. I’ve been playing the game just short of 24 years now and I’ve seen no side effects of that sort. Either way, now that these things have been invented, the NFHS has adopted a rule that if more than one player on a team is wearing said headgear, then all players wearing it must have the same color.
Every year they waste our time with this nonsense instead of talking about issues regarding how the game is played and officiated. This past summer at one of these rules meetings we spent over an hour arguing with the IHSA representative about this and other stupid rules they wanted us to enforce. As it turned out, we only had about 15 minutes to discuss things that we legitimately wanted to get interpretations on. I was bored and decided to be the smart ass. In a room full of about 150 high school and college soccer referees, as well as a handful of coaches, I chimed in:
“If one player has blonde hair, do all the players have to have blonde hair?”
Enough of my ranting about the NFHS, I’ll finish up with a happy tale about an NFL rule change that has been a long time coming; they finally removed the “push-out rule.” For those that are unfamiliar, the push out rule states that if a receiver leaves the ground to make a catch and is pushed by a defender so that he lands out of bounds, it is still a complete catch if, in the opinion of the referee, he WOULD have come down in bounds with both feet had he not been pushed. My response has always been: “WHAT!? Why?” The fact is he DIDN’T come down inbounds. You want to reward the team whose quarterback threw a crappy pass and penalize a defender for being in the right position to make a play?
Could it have helped the Browns on this play? Well, it should have. We'd have been in the playoffs if that particular referee had actually followed the rules. The problem is that the rule was discretionary. Would he or wouldn't he? Who knows for sure. But one official got to decide what HE thought and that was the end of it. I never understood that one, but today, thankfully, I longer have to try. If you are out of bounds, you are out of bounds, no matter how you ended up there. Finally, something that makes sense.
Here’s to hoping that our nation’s sports leagues start focusing more on rules that make sense and stop wasting time discussing things like the length of a players hair or the color of the tape they use.
“ I feel so….unsatisfied.” – Teddy KGB (from Rounders – 1998)
Overall I had a very nice weekend. A quiet night on Friday, the Chicago Fire season opener taken in amongst the real fans over at The Globe Pub on Saturday and finally the “Too White Crew” show at Cubby Bear that night. But the way it ended made me almost forget all the fun moments. You know that expression, “it’s better to have loved and lost, etc.?” Well, this may change at some point, but right now it doesn’t feel like that.
It seemed all season like only That School Up North (The Michigan Wolverines for you non-Ohioans) could beat the Miami Redhawks in a college hockey game that actually meant something. But as we bowed out of the NCAA Hockey Tournament on Sunday afternoon a depression set in that rivaled the heartbreak I’ve felt with my other sport loves over the years, but never with my alma mater.
The Drive. The Fumble. The Jose Mesa blown save in Game 7 of the ’97 World Series. The football and basketball defeats to the Florida Gators for the Buckeyes in '07. The Indians collapse against the BoSox last fall.
You see, at Miami University, our tiny little mid-major school in Southwest Ohio, it's different. We go in with the knowledge that we are eventually going to lose.
Remember that Sweet 16 run in 1999 by the Wally Szczerbiak led Redhawks? The reality was that Wally World was our only legitimate scoring threat and we were a #10 seed. Kentucky smoked us. If they hadn’t, Michigan State was waiting to do the honors.
The Roethlisberger led football team from 2003 was amazing. They averaged around 43 points per game and romped Louisville in the GMAC Bowl. Had the current rules been in place back then, Miami would have been BCS bound. I would have loved a chance to do what Utah did in '05 and Boise State did in '07. The reality is that we got beat handily at Iowa in week one and there was never a shot to make an unbeaten run.
The hockey team has had some very good seasons over the past 10 years. They’ve often been ranked and climbed as high as #1 a year ago, becoming the first team at Miami to do so in ANY sport. But that only lasted one week before we fell back a bit. All of that aside, reality is that Miami has also never won the CCHA Tournament and they are 1-4 all time in the hockey version of March Madness.
However, this year was headed in a direction that just seemed so different. We started the season ranked in the Top 5 and moved up quickly to #1. Miami stayed there for six weeks, suffered a defeat to an excellent Notre Dame team, and then climbed back to the top spot. Only a home loss to TSUN late in the year would knock the Redhawks off their perch again, and we finished the year #2, just behind the Wolverines.
We were given a #1 Seed in the Northeast Regional of the NCAA Tournament, but I still felt a bit of the "little Miami" syndrome in the first round against the #4 seed Air Force Academy. We trailed 2-1 late in the 3rd period and I was actually blaming myself. After all, it was me who parked behind an SUV with an Air Force sticker in the window on the street that morning. But then Miami got a late power play goal, punched home the overtime winner and jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Boston College in the regional final the next night.
For the first time in my life as a Miamian, I actually believed we could win it all at something other than Precision Ice Skating (the ice version of synchronized swimming for those of you who are unfamiliar.) We weren’t going to settle for being little “Miami of Ohio” anymore. And then, as quickly as you can say "I hate all things from Boston," we gave up three goals in 1:58 near the end of the 2nd period. We fought back and tied it, and dominated the overtime, but Boston College scored an amazing goal that was reminiscent of Bobby Orr flying through the air in the ’67 Stanley Cup against my St. Louis Blues.
So, while BC will be making their 21st appearance in the Frozen Four, we are still waiting for our first. We won more games than any team in school history, and we have the best overall record in college hockey right now, but we’ll be watching from home again this year. Or not watching, as the case may be. I’ll be at the Yelp! Prom with Mrs. Sizemore. We were planning on watching the Finals while dressed to the nines, but now the night is all hers.
At this time, I’d like to get on my high horse for a minute and rip into the NCAA. Once again, we’ve discovered that their purpose as a NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION has nothing to do with academics or athletics, as would be indicated by their name, the National Collegiate Athletic Association. God forbid. No, their only mission is to make money. How did we relearn this lesson through hockey, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you.
If you thought the seeding in the NCAA basketball tournament was a travesty, and it was, then the injustice that occurred in the seeding of the NCAA tournament would border on criminal. Below are the brackets, in order of how they ranked the #1 seeds. Please note the venues each region are being played in.
East Regional Albany, New York #1 Michigan vs. #4 Niagra #2 St. Cloud vs. #3 Clarkson
#1 Michigan vs. #3 Clarkson
Northeast Regional Worchester, Massachusetts #1 Miami vs. #4 Air Force #2 Boston College vs. #3 Minnesota
#1 Miami vs. #2 Boston College
Midwest Regional Madison, Wisconsin #1 North Dakota vs. #4 Princeton #2 Denver vs. #3 Wisconsin
#1 North Dakota vs. #3 Wisconsin
West Regional Colorado Springs, Colorado #1 New Hampshire vs. #4 Notre Dame #2 Colorado College vs. #3 Michigan State
#3 Notre Dame vs. #4 Notre Dame
Question: Why were Boston College, Colorado College, Clarkson, Wisconsin and Niagara(two #2 seeds, two #3 seeds and a #4 seed) all set up to have what amounted to home games against teams that were seeded higher in the field than they were?
Answer: Money. Simply put, the NCAA figured that all of those schools would by lots of tickets.
However, if money were the driving motivation, then why were each of the #1 seeds playing so far from their homes? Miami in Massachusetts? Michigan in Albany, New York? New Hampshire in Denver? Wouldn’t you think the top teams in the country would send tons of fans if they were closer to home?
North Dakota was the only one that played even remotely close to their home (if you call a nine hour drive "close." However, while other #1 seeds played in the backyard of a lower seeded opponent, the Fighting Sioux actually had to play in the home building of a #3 seed. Not only were the Badgers a #3 seed, but they were also the only team in the field that entered the tournament with a losing record. That could have been the biggest disadvantage of them all.
And hear me out here, because despite me being a Miami fan, my plan would have still kept Miami far from home. Michigan earned the right to be in Madison more than we did. The Redhawks would still have been playing in Albany, but at least it's closer than Worchester. But wouldn’t New Hampshire have had a more level playing field against Boston College in Massschusetts than we did? And North Dakota's trip to Colorado Springs wouldn't have been that much further than Madison, only about five hours or so.
If tickets is your concern, go ahead and keep letting low seeds host the Regional play. But if you're going to do that, at least put the top seeds in cities that make a little bit of sense.
I'll dismount from my horse now and leave you with the Miami highlight real from the 2008 NCAA Hockey Tournament. Hopefully next will be the year we finally get to the Frozen Four.
Born along the polluted shores of the Cuyahoga River in the dying metropolis of Cleveland, Ohio, I have lived a tortured life as a sports fan. No matter what the biased media may think, Chicago and Boston fans had nothing on Northern Ohioans. My high school soccer coach summed me up best when he said, "If you don't know who he is, you've probably heard him from the parking lot."
