image courtesy of turtletrader.com

Arnold Jacob “Red” Auerbach (1917-2006)

Dwayne Wade. He not only hit the shot that took Game 5 of the NBA Finals to overtime, but he also ices the victory with 2 foul shots with 1 second left. This guy is out-of-this world amazing. I remember watching him in the NCAA tournament when he was with Marquette. He was fun to watch then. I definitely didn’t peg him for the next superstar though. It seemed like he wasn’t flashy enough. He didn’t talk trash, he was a team player both things not typical of the NBA superstar. But it looks like with his performances in this year’s Finals (dropping 28, 23, 42, 36 and 43 points respectively), he’s solidified his place as an ‘A List’ superstar in the NBA. I couldn’t be happier to see it. A guy who is humble, a team-player, and a quiet leader stepping up to lead his team to a 3-2 lead over Dallas.

Even though the NCAA Tournament has one more game to determine the National Champion, the First Annual Vigilante Sports NCAA Bracket Challenge crowned it’s champion last night when Florida defeated, the Cinderella, George Mason. I’m happy to report that the winner was… me. I know that I previously posted that my brackets were busted, but I was wrong. Florida was my saving grace. Heading into the Final Four I was the only person who had a team who could score more points.

There has been talk that the reward for picking a Final Four team or a team that wins it’s National Semi-Final game is too high. But, I don’t agree with that line of thinking. When people ask about your picks in the tournament they don’t ask “Who do you have winning in the first round?” They ask “Who’s your Final Four?” and “Who do you have winning it all?” So in my mind those picks are the most important ones, and should reflect that importance in the point value awarded for correct picks in that round. Thanks to all that participated in the First Annual Vigilante Sports NCAA Bracket Challenge. I would love to see if we can’t get a bunch more people for the Second Annual Vigilante Sports NCAA Bracket Challenge next year.

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend my first professional basketball game this evening. It was a game between the Orlando Magic and the Chicago Bulls at the United Center in Chicago. A couple of things about the atmosphere before I get to the game. First of all the halftime entertainment by “Kenya Boyz African Acrobats” (I believe this was the name of their group) was outstanding. It was a combination of dance, and acrobatics. If you get a chance, check these guys out. Second, I just have to say that I really enjoy the United Center venue. It’s always kept very clean, and it’s very easy to navigate.

Now, onto the game. The Bulls came out and were shooting the ball really well. Andres Nocioni had a career night, pouring in 26 pts and 10 rebounds. He went off, early and often. It was good to see. I haven’t watched too much basketball in the last few years, but what I have seen of the Andres Nocioni, I really like. He’s gritty and not afraid to mix it up. So early on it was pretty much Nocioni and Kirk Hinrich for the Bulls offense. Luol Deng was a strong contributor as the game went on.

There were a couple things that just didn’t make sense to me.

1. Early on the Bulls were getting dominated on the glass. They would allow the Magic to easily get offensive rebounds. This must have lead to about 3 or 4 easy baskets.
2. What happened in the 4th quarter? The Bulls shooting went south… way south.

They ended the game shooting 42.4% from the floor. Most of those misses came in the 3rd and 4th quarters when Ben Gordon (5-17) was throwing up ill-advised threes, and everyone else seemed to be just settling for midrange jumpshots that just weren’t falling. Finally as the Magic got back into it and the game clock wound down, Kirk Hinrich decided to take it to basket, and he drew a foul. That dribble penetration was there for Hinrich, Gordon, and Deng all night. Rarely did they pursue it. Nocioni repeatedly took the ball to the hoop and was rewarded with foul shots and a couple of rim-rattling dunks.

I’m not sure why the Bulls went cold. It seemed like there was a lack of discipline out there. I’m a huge fan of Coach Skiles, but he’s got to get these guys focused if they’re still planning on landing the 8th spot in the NBA playoffs.

Besides the disappointing finish, my first NBA experience was definitely a good one.

With UConn losing, the door to my brackets has re-opened. If Florida beats George Mason I will be victorious in the First Annual Vigilante Sports NCAA Bracket Challenge. At first glance I like my chances. However, I like Michigan State’s chances (as much as that kills me to say), I liked North Carolina’s chances. I didn’t know how to feel about the Wichita State game, but Wichita State was a 7 seed so I’d expect them to beat an 11 seed. And I certainly felt that UConn would be able to take care of the Colonial League champs. But… George Mason has written the most unlikely Cinderella story.

They didn’t just coast into the Final Four. They have beaten four teams to get to the Final Four, 3 of whom have won national championships since 2000 (Michigan State, UConn, and UNC). That is just outrageous. I’m trying to think of some similar situation to compare this too, but I’m unable to. They have toppled 3 of the most recently successful basketball programs in the country. If they do indeed go ahead and beat Florida on saturday, that would add the runner-up from MSU’s title game to the list of powerhouses defeated. If we then look forward to the final game against either LSU or UCLA (two other strong programs) they could move into a whole new category of underdog. I have a feeling that George Mason’s streak will end on saturday, and if it does, congratulations to the Patriots of George Mason for getting to the Final Four, but if they prevail and take one step closer to a National Championship, I think that there will a whole lot of interest in the final game.

I had Duke. I’m done. My bracket is officially busted. As of tonight I have one of my Final Four teams left (Florida). So I will just have to try and enjoy the rest of the games.

I’m starting to sense a theme in the results of the First Annual Vigilante Sports NCAA Bracket Challenge. PWill21 still holds the lead after the first day of the Regional Semifinals. He has picked 36 of the games played. tkyman has picked 35 games correctly, but he has Duke winning the final so he probably won’t be there in the end.

I have to mention the end of the Texas v. West Virginia game. I can’t imagine the feelings that the WVU players felt. They sink a 3 pointer to tie only to have Texas bring the ball in with 5 seconds left, drive the length of the court and drain a 3 as time runs out to win a spot in the Elite 8. Amazing.

Congratulations to the teams that have made it this far.

So it turns out there were upsets. And damn it if one of them didn’t knock one of my Final Four teams out (UNC). Of course Bradley, George Mason, and Wichtita State are great stories. They are teams that probably shouldn’t have gotten out of the first round and here they are in the Sweet 16. So what are the other big stories of the tournament besides the upsets? Well, i’d have to say that the utter failure of the Big Ten is pretty big. Kansas getting bounced in the first round, that’s pretty big because they came into the tourney as one of the hottest teams.

I’m starting to get worried that this is going to be a very vanilla NCAA tournament. That will be too bad. I think there are potentially some really interesting angles. For one, JJ Redick and Adam Morrison could meet (of course I mean their team’s could meet) at the Final Four. I think it’s fairly rare to have the 2 best players in the country meet at the Final Four. I think that would be fun. What are some of the story lines or players that you think will have a big impact on the rest of the tournament?

BTW. The rest of my Final Four (previously mentioned: Duke, UNC) is Florida and Gonzaga. We’ll see how that goes. Yikes.

As for the First Annual Vigilante Sports NCAA Bracket Challenge, heading into the Sweet 16, PWill21 is still in the lead (34 correct games). He has quite a few people right on his heels. It should all come down to the finals. So, PWill21, hold on tight, I think there are some folks knocking at the door.

I know, I’ve been lax on posting about the NCAA tournament. And I will continue on that hiatus. I have to take a moment to post about the NIT. Now I know that they weren’t playing a team with any basketball tradition at all, but it was good to see the Maize and Blue pull out that victory at home last night. They folded down the stretch in the Big Ten but, I think that this win is a huge stepping stone as Tommy Amaker rebuilds the Men’s basketball program in Ann Arbor. GO BLUE! Feel free to sing along:

Hail! to the victors valiant
Hail! to the conqu’ring heroes
Hail! Hail! to Michigan
the leaders and best

Hail! to the victors valiant
Hail! to the conqu’ring heroes
Hail! Hail! to Michigan,
the Champions of the West!

Day One of the 2006 NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament has come to a close. A great start to what promises to be a very interesting tournament. There were upsets, and there was overtime. They say that every year, at least one 12 seed will beat a 5 seed (in the last 20 years there have only been 2 years where this didn’t happen). This year is no different. Two number 5 seeds fell on the first day of this years tournament. The Montana Grizzlies gave Nevada more than they could handle. Montana never trailed as they beat Nevada 87-79. The bigger suprise was that Texas A&M was able to stop the streaking Orange from Syracuse. It seemed like Gerry McNamara had his team rolling and was ready to make a strong push in the tournament. Apparently they ran out of steam.

As for the First Annual Vigilante Sports NCAA Bracket Challenge, the leader after day one is PWill21. He has only missed 2 games today (Wichita St. and Montana). So congrats to PWill21.

I on the other hand have had a terrible day of picks. I nearly crapped my pants when it took BC 2 overtimes to handle Pacific. They take Duke down to the wire in the ACC Championship game and then 4 days later, need 2 overtimes to take care of Pacific? I don’t think that bodes well for them in this tournament, unfortunately for me. I already lost 2 Sweet Sixteen teams today (Marquette and Syracuse), so I really needed Boston College to come through.

I’ll give you one of my Final Four teams each night of this first weekend of the tournament. I hope that all of the teams will at least make it out of this weekend. Duke is the Final Four team from the Atlanta region. They have been at the top of the polls all year. They have very strong senior leadership. And, while watching the ACC Championship Game, I wondered to myself, “Will J.J. Redick ever miss a shot?” Love him or hate him, he’s a gifted player. So I think Duke will make another run to the Final Four.