Confessions of a sports addict

These are the moments that make me think I might have a bit of a problem. I am simultaneously watching Mets-Phillies on TV, DC-Pachuca on an internet stream, and Devils-Rangers on another internet feed. Baseball, soccer, and hockey. And this is with me still low on sleep thanks to March Madness (and needing to finish my taxes) . . .

The Mets are winning 7-1 in the 4th, and the Devils and DC are both in more meaningful games (Eastern Conference playoffs and CONCACAF Champions Cup respectively), so I'll be turning my attention more to the computer as I eat dinner and then calculate sums from this shoebox full of receipts. Moments like these make me worried about myself, but they also make me utterly grateful for the internet. Because seriously, there's really no other way to make these tabulations tolerable . . .

Oh, I forgot the main reason I wanted to write this post: Joe Morgan. He seems like a nice guy, he really does. But when he's working games for ESPN sometimes I'll look down at my arm and wonder whether sawing it off would feel better than listening to Morgan's commentary does. He's just... dumb. His observations make absolutely no sense, like the time he said that he has always thought that starting pitching is the most important part of the rotation. A little while ago he was talking about how this Phillies pitcher was getting lit up because all of his fastballs were straight down the middle... when replays showed them all clearly on the outside or inside edge. He tried to argue that wins are a better metric for judging a pitcher than ERA is (HA!). He just said something about black people being more excitable than other races - not the first time he's made me cringe with his comments on race. He's always going off on tangents on his own career, and he never seems to come back from them. And half the time when he's talking about his (admittedly storied) career he's just making things up. I just can't stand listening to him. ESPN wised up and replaced Dave O'Brien with JP Dellacamera for its MLS broadcasts; will it eventually wake up and gently let Morgan go?

March Madness: One Shining Moment

Mario Chalmers FTW!



An incredibly exciting tournament comes to a close as Kansas beats Memphis in the championship game. It was really a very good, back and forth game. Both teams played at such a high level for most of the game that it was difficult to pinpoint exactly why one team or the other was ahead at any particular stage. For much of the game, the story was the Kansas D. But the quiet story was Kansas's intense focus on getting inside on every possession. This is generally a good strategy, and only faltered in the second half when they started taking bad contested shots inside. But without Dorsey in OT, Memphis lost one of the major obstacles to the Jayhawk big guys, and Kansas was able to re-establish its dominance in the paint.

Memphis could have still pulled it out, but they didn't get the performances they needed from Rose and and Douglas-Roberts. As good as those two are, they aren't quite "great". I never had the sense during the game that either one was capable of lifting his game in a big spot like Dwyane Wade or Carmelo Anthony. On the other hand, Kansas didn't have a dominant star either. But their team balance meant that they didn't really need one. When they did need a shotmaker, Chalmers, a 47% shooter from downtown, got the job done.

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I guess that's the one thing that really stands about about this final. Despite all the big names in this tournament - Beasley, Hansborough, Love, Curry - this was a game that wasn't about huge personalities. It was about a true team playing good, smart basketball. There wasn't a whole lot of razzle-dazzle, though good passing leads to some nice alley-oops. There wasn't a whole lot of reckless long range bombing or individual one-on-one play. None of these Kansas players are great, individually. But they came together to form something greater than the sum of its parts, and it was good enough to win. It was an excellent ending to a wonderful tournament. I'm not going to lie - I got some chills watching this edition of "One Shining Moment". And when it ended and the screen faded to black... ah, well, when you live for sports, when it serves as an escape from the pressures of real life, you can't help but feel at least a little bit sad when it's over.

A few other thoughts from tonight . . .

John Calipari:
I really dislike him. He's disingenuous and he doesn't graduate his players and he's complaining about the refs after losing. Loser.

Billy Packer:



I HATE him. Absolutely hate him. He makes incredibly idiotic comments and is more interested in hearing himself talk than saying anything insightful. I mean, sometimes he just makes sweeping generalizations off of premises that are just dead wrong. I'm talking factually incorrect. Oh, and he's also a major conference elitist, homophobic, racist, sexist, and an all-around jerk. CBS, get this guy the hell off the air. While you're at it, Nantz isn't bad, but Gus Johnson needs to be doing the big games. He's the best college play-by-play guy out there.

Marketing:



Look, I understand the need for advertising. I understand that without it, we don't get anything out of the tube except PBS. But you know what? Announcing an official LADDER of the NCAA Basketball Championships, and interrupting the net-cutting to do so, is going too far. Thanks for adulterating such a special moment, CBS and NCAA. I mean seriously, NCAA. You essentially get slave labor from these players who entertain us all and make you a killing but don't get a dime, and you need MORE cash?