Well, it was fun while it lasted.
For a few short weeks early in the college basketball season, it was nice to walk around with shoulders thrown back and chest puffed out. The Sam Houston State Bearkats were getting noticed on the national scene, and for a moment, it was exciting to think about what has always been impossible for any Southland squad to consider. An at-large big to the NCAA tournament was nothing more than a dream, but for the first time ever it was more than just a hallucination.
That dream ended when Southeastern Louisiana walked out of Johnson Coliseum with a victory over the Kats to start conference play, but there was no reason to panic. The Kats still had a championship caliber team, or so we thought. That hope has disappeared in recent weeks as two things became clear — Stephen F. Austin had the best team in the SLC, and Lamar continued to play extremely well and reaped the benefits of playing an unbalanced schedule.
In the aftermath of Thursday night's embarrassing loss at SFA, it would be very easy to harp on everything that is wrong with SHSU's basketball team. When the defense it bad, it's terrible. When the offense is bad, it's unwatchable. For most of the season, SHSU has played with a passion that has allowed the team to overcome its deficiencies. Against the Lumberjacks, that over-the-top effort was missing, and for the first time, the Kats simply looked like a bad Southland basketball team.
But there is hope.
Glory for mid-major programs dwells in the conference tournament. The reality is and always will be that the regular season counts for very little. In fact, now that the SLC has moved to a neutral site for the entire tournament, regular season success comes will no reward other than tournament seeding. And as Bearkat fans learned painfully in 2000 and again in 2007, being a higher seed guarantees you nothing in tournament play.
More often than not during the Bearkat basketball renaissance of the 21st century, the unpredictable nature of the conference tournament has been cause for concern, words of warning that can weigh heavy on teams that have accomplished much but will have nothing to show for it if they slip just once at the end of their season-long journey.
For the downtrodden, the underachievers, those teams yet to tap into their full potential, the conference tournament is about redemption. The fear of failure is replaced by the anticipation of a second chance at fulfilling your dreams. The fact that a fourth-place finish in the SLC has become a disappointing season to everyone associated with Bearkat basketball is a sign of just how good things are in Huntsville. It will be a nice change of pace knowing March Madness will cause someone besides the Bearkats to lose sleep.
Hope does spring eternal, and when the Kats take the floor at the Merrell Center in Katy for the first round of the conference tournament, it will be alive and well.
But right now, March 13 can't come soon enough.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Mavs should have traded for Artest (and other pro sports tidbits)
Some thoughts that came to mind while punishing myself and refusing to turn the channel during the final 10 minutes of Stephen F. Austin's thorough beat down of the Bearkats in Nacogdoches...
The NBA's Western Conference is so good, it almost makes professional basketball enjoyable to watch again.
How good? Right now it appears as if several teams that will not make the playoffs out of the West will probably finish with a record that would earn them home-court advantage in the first round if they played in the Eastern Conference.
The Dallas Mavericks landed Jason Kidd in a move they hope will finally carry them to an NBA championship, but I don't see it happening. Big men dominate the NBA. Shaq was king with the Lakers and helped Miami win a title as well (against the Mavericks no less). Tim Duncan has carried San Antonio to four titles. Ben Wallace struggles to score in a one-on-none fast break, but was a key piece in Detroit's recent championships.
Dallas has been as good as any team in the league over the past five years, but the Mavs have always had a glaring weakness in the post. Their best big man is Dirk Nowitzki, a 7-foot shooting guard who can't make clutch shots.
Dallas would have been better off trading for Ron Artest. Yes, he might be clinically insane, but he's also a really good basketball player. He's a tenacious defender and rebounder, and he plays with an attitude and swagger that Dallas could have used.
Don't be surprised to see the Mavs bounced from the playoffs in the first round again this season.
• • • •
I'm as much of a baseball fan as the next person, but I've never been a "baseball guy," so I have no idea why I keep thinking about the continuing steroid saga. But I do, so here's some more.
Whatever happened to a heart-felt apology? Is there something in the DNA of professional baseball players that prevents them from admitting they screwed up?
Paul Lo Duca said he's sorry for making an error in judgment.
Eric Gagne said he's sorry for causing a distraction.
Andy Pettitte said he's sorry, but insists he's not a cheater. (Tell that to the other guy who was injured and chose hard work over a chemically enhanced shortcut to get back on the field)
Roger Clemens isn't sorry for a damn thing, because he swears he didn't do anything.
It would be nice to hear someone, anyone, in baseball say: "I'm sorry I took performance-enhancing drugs."
• • • •
I'm not a "baseball guy," but I am "golf guy," and the World Match-Play Championship is one of the best tournaments of the year. Watching the 64 best players in the world go head-to-head for five days is a refreshing change of pace from the weekly grind on the PGA Tour.
But would someone please tell sports commentators that this is not the NCAA Tournament. There is a reason why Tiger Woods has lost in the first round of this tournament yet North Carolina and the other titans of college basketball never have and never will lose to Prairie View or any other No. 16 seed.
The NCAA Tournament is not the 64 best teams in all of college basketball. If it were, UAB (currently ranked 65th in the RPI) would be a No. 16 seed, via the play-in game, and might face Memphis in the first round. In case you missed it, the Tigers needed a last-second layup and free throw to beat the Blazers on Saturday night.
The NCAA Tournament is great because every Division I team in the country has a chance to make it.
The World Match-Play Championship is great for the exact opposite reason — because only the best are invited.
The NBA's Western Conference is so good, it almost makes professional basketball enjoyable to watch again.
How good? Right now it appears as if several teams that will not make the playoffs out of the West will probably finish with a record that would earn them home-court advantage in the first round if they played in the Eastern Conference.
The Dallas Mavericks landed Jason Kidd in a move they hope will finally carry them to an NBA championship, but I don't see it happening. Big men dominate the NBA. Shaq was king with the Lakers and helped Miami win a title as well (against the Mavericks no less). Tim Duncan has carried San Antonio to four titles. Ben Wallace struggles to score in a one-on-none fast break, but was a key piece in Detroit's recent championships.
Dallas has been as good as any team in the league over the past five years, but the Mavs have always had a glaring weakness in the post. Their best big man is Dirk Nowitzki, a 7-foot shooting guard who can't make clutch shots.
Dallas would have been better off trading for Ron Artest. Yes, he might be clinically insane, but he's also a really good basketball player. He's a tenacious defender and rebounder, and he plays with an attitude and swagger that Dallas could have used.
Don't be surprised to see the Mavs bounced from the playoffs in the first round again this season.
• • • •
I'm as much of a baseball fan as the next person, but I've never been a "baseball guy," so I have no idea why I keep thinking about the continuing steroid saga. But I do, so here's some more.
Whatever happened to a heart-felt apology? Is there something in the DNA of professional baseball players that prevents them from admitting they screwed up?
Paul Lo Duca said he's sorry for making an error in judgment.
Eric Gagne said he's sorry for causing a distraction.
Andy Pettitte said he's sorry, but insists he's not a cheater. (Tell that to the other guy who was injured and chose hard work over a chemically enhanced shortcut to get back on the field)
Roger Clemens isn't sorry for a damn thing, because he swears he didn't do anything.
It would be nice to hear someone, anyone, in baseball say: "I'm sorry I took performance-enhancing drugs."
• • • •
I'm not a "baseball guy," but I am "golf guy," and the World Match-Play Championship is one of the best tournaments of the year. Watching the 64 best players in the world go head-to-head for five days is a refreshing change of pace from the weekly grind on the PGA Tour.
But would someone please tell sports commentators that this is not the NCAA Tournament. There is a reason why Tiger Woods has lost in the first round of this tournament yet North Carolina and the other titans of college basketball never have and never will lose to Prairie View or any other No. 16 seed.
The NCAA Tournament is not the 64 best teams in all of college basketball. If it were, UAB (currently ranked 65th in the RPI) would be a No. 16 seed, via the play-in game, and might face Memphis in the first round. In case you missed it, the Tigers needed a last-second layup and free throw to beat the Blazers on Saturday night.
The NCAA Tournament is great because every Division I team in the country has a chance to make it.
The World Match-Play Championship is great for the exact opposite reason — because only the best are invited.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Valentine's Day musings
The past few weeks have been busy, but I had some time to collect my sporting thoughts while standing in a long line with other husbands and boyfriends at the Hallmark store this week.
The New York Giants shocked the professional football world — as well as the sports gambling industry — by defeating the previously undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
So, what did the game teach us?
• Eli Manning is a good quarterback. His playoff performances were clutch, a sign that maybe he has taken his game to the next level, and his game-winning drive was the defining moment of his young career. But, the youngest Manning is not an elite signal-caller yet, despite what some morons on television have said. Eli played four good games in a row. Elite QBs do it all season, year after year. Manning has taken the first steps, but he has a long way to go.
• New England had better team even though the Giants took home the shiny, silver football. No team in the history of professional football had ever complied an 18-0 record. Despite losing the final game, the 2007 Patriots should be in the conversation for greatest teams of all time.
• Sean Salisbury is a moron, and he is on television. The talking head from ESPN said with a straight face that Manning is now an elite QB because he won a Super Bowl, and the Patriots can’t be considered one of the greatest teams of all time. The theory goes that former players make good commentators because they have a unique insight and special knowledge of the game. If that’s true, how does Salisbury still have a job?
• The 1972 Dolphins are a pathetic group of elderly men. Mercury Morris actually admitted to crying when Plexico Burress caught the game-winning touchdown, thus ensuring that he and his Dolphin teammates would remain the only team to go undefeated and win the Super Bowl in NFL History. What the Dolphins did 35 years ago was an amazing accomplishment, but I still think the 2007 Patriots were a better team.
• Karma really does come back to bite people in the butt, and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy than Bill Bellicick.
••••
I believe Roger Clemens used performance-enhancing drugs. I don’t believe it can be proven in a court of law, and I’m not sure that it changes my opinion that he’s the greatest pitcher of this generation and one of the greatest of all time.
At some point, a person has to trust their gut instinct, and mine says Clemens is guilty. Nothing Brian McNamee or Andy Pettitte said factors into my decision. I believe Clemens was one of hundreds if not thousands of players who lived and worked in a culture where winning at all cost was expected and the use of illegal drugs was accepted. It does not appear that steroid use was an ethical issue for most players. The few who have admitted guilt have not expressed remorse, instead saying they did it to help their team.
I believe the players, the owners, the agents, the general managers, the commissioner and the fans are to blame for allowing it to happen, which is why I felt conflicted this week watching Clemens sit before Congress and argue his innocence. The fatal flaw of the Mitchell Report was its inability to give a complete accounting of the steroid era. So, while Clemens — guilty or not — has his image suffer permanent damage, untold hundreds of others are getting a free pass.
The New York Giants shocked the professional football world — as well as the sports gambling industry — by defeating the previously undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
So, what did the game teach us?
• Eli Manning is a good quarterback. His playoff performances were clutch, a sign that maybe he has taken his game to the next level, and his game-winning drive was the defining moment of his young career. But, the youngest Manning is not an elite signal-caller yet, despite what some morons on television have said. Eli played four good games in a row. Elite QBs do it all season, year after year. Manning has taken the first steps, but he has a long way to go.
• New England had better team even though the Giants took home the shiny, silver football. No team in the history of professional football had ever complied an 18-0 record. Despite losing the final game, the 2007 Patriots should be in the conversation for greatest teams of all time.
• Sean Salisbury is a moron, and he is on television. The talking head from ESPN said with a straight face that Manning is now an elite QB because he won a Super Bowl, and the Patriots can’t be considered one of the greatest teams of all time. The theory goes that former players make good commentators because they have a unique insight and special knowledge of the game. If that’s true, how does Salisbury still have a job?
• The 1972 Dolphins are a pathetic group of elderly men. Mercury Morris actually admitted to crying when Plexico Burress caught the game-winning touchdown, thus ensuring that he and his Dolphin teammates would remain the only team to go undefeated and win the Super Bowl in NFL History. What the Dolphins did 35 years ago was an amazing accomplishment, but I still think the 2007 Patriots were a better team.
• Karma really does come back to bite people in the butt, and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy than Bill Bellicick.
••••
I believe Roger Clemens used performance-enhancing drugs. I don’t believe it can be proven in a court of law, and I’m not sure that it changes my opinion that he’s the greatest pitcher of this generation and one of the greatest of all time.
At some point, a person has to trust their gut instinct, and mine says Clemens is guilty. Nothing Brian McNamee or Andy Pettitte said factors into my decision. I believe Clemens was one of hundreds if not thousands of players who lived and worked in a culture where winning at all cost was expected and the use of illegal drugs was accepted. It does not appear that steroid use was an ethical issue for most players. The few who have admitted guilt have not expressed remorse, instead saying they did it to help their team.
I believe the players, the owners, the agents, the general managers, the commissioner and the fans are to blame for allowing it to happen, which is why I felt conflicted this week watching Clemens sit before Congress and argue his innocence. The fatal flaw of the Mitchell Report was its inability to give a complete accounting of the steroid era. So, while Clemens — guilty or not — has his image suffer permanent damage, untold hundreds of others are getting a free pass.
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