Bagels & Biscuits

Do you prefer bagels and cream cheese or biscuits and gravy? Football on Saturdays or Sundays? Big 10 or SEC? The Braves or the Yankees? You know what? It doesn't matter. You can have it all right here.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Credibility

For anyone who is reading this and is just like - "Who the hell are these guys?" or "Anyone can have a blog, it's just a couple of typical 20-something guys who think they know a lot about sports, but they're just the same as everyone else." Well if you are one of those people, I present exhibit A as to why we just aren't your typical sports bloggers...

McFadden’s Game Has Arkansas Gaining Ground

Oh, by the way, you need to register with the New York Times web site to read this article.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Michigan vs. Ohio State

There is really only one thing I want to write about Saturday’s big game in college football between Michigan and Ohio State. The loser absolutely should not be allowed to play for the National Championship. With all the tweaking that is done to the Bowl Championship Series formula each year, I can’t believe they haven’t incorporated a penalty or a rule that says if you don’t win your conference, you cannot play for the national championship. If you can’t take care of business during the regular season, why should you be able to play for the championship? How can you be the best in the nation, but not be able to win your conference title?

There are plenty of good teams in the nation this year, and I believe a few could beat Michigan or Ohio State any given week. If you are wondering, that list includes USC, Notre Dame, Florida, Arkansas and, yes, even Rutgers. I think all of those teams would have a legitimate shot at beating one or both of those teams today.

I know some arguments could be made. Like, what if your conference has a championship game after the regular season? Too bad. The winner is getting an extra boost from an extra game. And, chances are it is against a ranked opponent, which could propel it ahead of someone in the BCS rankings who did not get a chance to play an extra game.

Take this year for example, the Southeastern Conference will probably have a championship game where both teams are ranked in the Top 10 (Arkansas and Florida). The winner of that game will certainly get a boost in its computer rankings and probably in the human polls as well (whether it is enough to propel it ahead of someone in the BCS rankings is still a question). The loser, well, if you can’t beat the best in your conference, you probably can’t beat the best in the nation.

A second argument: What if the two best teams in the nation are absolutely from the same conference? Well, this year, they are already going head-to-head once (right at the end of the season), so how much can possibly change between now and Jan. 8? It’s not like either will be playing another game in between with a chance to greatly improve.

Finally, the Big Ten is not as great as everything thinks. It is incredibly top heavy. The top three are good, but that’s it. No one has it ranked as the best conference in the country. The Big East and the SEC both have more top 10 teams than the Big Ten. Ohio State hasn’t played a good team since Sept. 9 when it won on the road at Texas! Michigan hasn’t played a good team since Sept. 23 when it beat Wisconsin!

I am hoping those who vote in polls will ensure this doesn't happen by voting for someone else No. 2 on their ballots after this game.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Recap: George Washington 70 – Boston University 57


I am a big sports fan, but I don’t attend a ton of games each year, so I figure I might as well write up some notes from each game I go to. It might not be the most exciting stuff in the world for all of you, but hey, you can skip this post and head to the next. I’m sure Rainer has something interesting to say.

Anyway, onto the game…

George Washington, a team that went 27-3 a year ago, is now without four starters from that team. The Colonials definitely look and play differently. It’s not a bad thing, it’s just not what anyone who pays attention to GW will recognize from the past four or five years. Actually more, because Tom Penders liked to run quite a bit as well. Instead, the team is a little slower, more deliberate in offensive sets as the backcourt is the unquestioned focus of this year’s offense. The running and gunning, fast break baskets and alley-oops were not to be seen in this game. Instead, perimeter passing and open looks on offense were the name of the game.

One thing that didn’t change: the defense. Its still is swarming, smothering and pressuring. The Colonials forced 18 turnovers and aside from some mix-ups on some switches that led to open threes by BU, the defense played great.

For BU, they are a very young team that appears set to go through a few growing pains. But, in a couple of years, they should be decent. The Terriers started three freshmen, two sophomores and the best player for them was a freshman off the bench. In a couple of years, when these guys are juniors and seniors, I fully expect BU to be competing for the America East championship. This year, they will scrap and fight, as they did against GW (cutting the lead to five with 7:36 remaining), but competing for the conference title is highly unlikely.

BU was best at crashing the offensive glass. For a team that is not particularly big, BU pulled down 12 offensive rebounds in the game (compared with six for GW), which led to multiple second-chance points.

Players to keep an eye on:

Carl Elliott, GW – The senior point guard for GW, Elliott is going to be the go-to guy and unquestioned leader on this squad after the departure of four starters from a season ago. Elliott played in control and did absolutely everything necessary for the Colonials to win this game. He played under control and his defense was superb as usual. He will be one of the best defensive players on the court every game he plays this season. He scored 25 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He hit all 11 free-throw attempts, pulled down five rebounds, dished out three assists and had three steals as well. He was all over the court and will be the best player on this team all season.

Rob Diggs, GW – It wasn’t Maureece Rice who was the second best Colonial on the court Friday. It was Diggs. The sophomore is starting in place of injured transfer Cheyenne Moore and, if he can continue to play this way, Moore will be taking someone else’s starting spot when he returns in December or January. Diggs scored 12 points (second to Elliott), pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and had two blocks and two steals. He rarely took a bad shot and played solid on the defensive end.

Carlos Strong, BU – A freshman in his first game, Strong came off the bench and lit it from the outside. He scored 19, including 5-of-8 from three-point range. He was left open a few times and did not miss when he had an open look. While BU struggled from the field (41 percent from the field), Strong was 7-of-12 overall. I’ve got to believe he will continue to get more playing time as he appeared to be the best shooter on this young team.

Photo Source: Sports Illustrated