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Welcome to college basketball…

February 8th, 2008, 9:10 am by patrickdonohue

By my own admission, I wasn’t all that excited about the end of football in America and when the final seconds ticked off the clock at the Super Bowl, I began to feel the way you do the day after Christmas.

Truthfully, I was dreading this weekend. My first weekend without football (and the Pro Bowl doesn’t count as football, it barely qualifies as a competitive sporting event) was going to be, to say the least, slow and mildly depressing. That was until Wednesday and Thursday night.

The Duke/UNC game, a great game that saw Duke hitting every three-pointer and garbage shot imaginable, sparked my interest once again in college hoops and last night’s Indiana/Illinois game in Champaign has me ignited.

(Indianapolis Star/Heather Charles)

A couple of thoughts on last night’s game.

It’s time for Bruce Weber, his basketball team and the Illinois fan base to grow up. As an IU alum and IU fan, nothing is more satisfying to me than beating a fan base who would sell their vital organs to beat IU so for the Hoosiers to come out of Champaign with a win is unspeakably gratifying this morning.

The win is particularly fulfilling considering it came against a fan base that is as borderline obnoxious as Illinois. Look at it this way, these are fans that viciously clung to and defended a white student running onto the field dressed as a Native American and dancing around. Doesn’t sound like the most enlightened bunch of cats, right? Think Ohio State fans without all the, you know, championships and tradition of winning. I can’t say that I blame them for being cranky. The handful of occasions I have traveled to Champaign-Urbana has left me with no further desire to ever go back. It’s like Seattle without all the natural beauty, great seafood and interesting people.

The shove, let’s not mince words, that Chester Frazier gave Eric Gordon at the beginning of last night’s game was absolutely classless and that starts at the top. I know that Bruce Weber’s feelings are hurt that an 18-year-old kid changed his mind and decided not to play at Illinois (I can’t imagine why, I mean Champaign-Urbana is so lovely) but at a certain point you need to move on for the sake of your program. But oh no, not old Bruce. He’s going to continue to let this thing drag out and consume him as he drives this program right into the ground.

And while we’re on the topic of that 18-year-old kid, any NBA GM who takes this kid with his lottery pick had better had his resume uploaded to CareerBuilder.com. I was excited as an IU fan to be getting a player of Gordon’s caliber and while he has shown flashes of…being a pretty good college basketball player, he’s far from the game changer that many IU fans were promised when Gordon committed to IU. What I see when I watch Gordon is an 18-year-old kid who is used to dominating high school competition and can’t create his own looks. Anyone can hit an open shot, only the great players can create and Eric Gordon is far from great, as of now. I think this year in college has really exposed some glaring weaknesses in his game. He’s not a great ballhandler, his shot selection (particularly when he’s pulling up from the parking lot) is questionable and he’s turnover prone. If you’re a GM are you giving $3 million a year to a kid who’s too small to play the 2 at the NBA level and is too turnover prone to efficiently run the point. Put it like this, do you like Eric Gordon matching up against Steve Nash, Tony Parker or Chris Paul? That being said, I think he’s gone after the year and he’s going to get someone to pay him a lot of money to play basketball but his first year or two in the NBA could determine whether he’s Jason Kidd or Mateen Cleaves.

Posted in: Hoosiers • Illinois Fighting Illini • Indiana Hoosiers • Indiana University • Kelvin Sampson | Post a Comment »

Misc. End of the Week Post

January 11th, 2008, 10:49 am by patrickdonohue

Dead horse files assault charge against Rev. Al

As some of you may have heard, Golf Channel analyst Kelly Tilghman has been suspended two weeks for a remark she made while calling the Mercedes-Benz championship last weekend.

On air, Tilghman joked that to stymie Tiger Woods’ dominance on tour young golfers needed to “lynch him in a back alley.” Tilghman has since apologized for the remark and has received the suspension I’ve mentioned above. Tiger’s camp has accepted her apology and the whole thing appeared to be over. A very poor choice of words into a live microphone had earned Tilghman two weeks off from work and a fair share of embarrassment.

If only that were the end of this story. Rev. Al Sharpton, as he seemingly always does, has interjected on behalf of… well at least himself, saying that Tilghman’s comments were no less inflammatory than Don Imus’ famous comments about the Rutgers womens basketball team and that Tilghman ought to be fired.

I should preface this post by saying that I think this country needs people like Rev. Al Sharpton serving as a watchdog for civil rights.

Al Sharpton is just flat out wrong about Kelly Tilghman. What he does when he injects himself into situations like this is compromise his own legitimacy as a leader and as a public figure when called upon to lend his voice to causes that are actually socially significant (the Jena Six most readily comes to mind).

You absolutely cannot make the comments that Tilghman and I do not condone making those types of comments because of the emotions and years of vicious violence they invoke. But Imus and Tilghman are not the same because there is nothing in her past that suggests that she is bigoted in any way (her friend, Washington Post columnist and PTI host Michael Wilbon said as much on last night’s program), the same cannot be said for Imus who, on a number of occasions, referred to Illinois Senator Barack Obama as “that young colored fella.”

Leave Kelly Tilghman alone, Al.

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Playoff Picks

GREEN BAY over Seattle

NEW ENGLAND over Jacksonville

INDIANAPOLIS over San Diego

DALLAS over New York

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When did Sports Writers become gossip columnists?

Does anyone really, truly, honestly care where and with whom Tony Romo spent his off weekend?

It is an absolute embarrassment to our profession that sports writers are asking Dallas Cowboys players and coaches what they think about Tony Romo heading to Cancun for a couple days during the Cowboys off week. A trip, it should be noted, he did not take alone, pro bowl tight end Jason Witten went along.

Romo broke no team rules by going, didn’t miss any practices or team functions. In fact, Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips instructed his players to get away from the game for a couple days. So what’s the problem? Do we care at all if Marco Rivera mowed his lawn over the weekend? Or if Marion Barber took a nap, played a little Call of Duty 4 and went to see No Country for Old Men? No and we shouldn’t care about this.

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Am I really excited about a flick called Cloverfield?

Answer: Very much

Ever since this film began it’s somewhat cryptic viral marketing campaign, I was interested to see what producer J.J. Abrams had in store. The trailer is out (and below) and what I like most is that they let you know just enough about the plot but leave it at that. Too many times trailers are giving away the movies they are advertising for to lure moviegoers into theaters. This film doesn’t need to do that and I’m itching to see what this movie has to offer.

That being said, I’m not expecting a whole lot. My guess is that this is a monster movie in the same vein that we have seen monster movies before and I hope that, after seeing the film, my favorite part about it isn’t the build-up before I saw going to see it.

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Senior Bowl adds some more big names

Add to the list of players committed to playing in this year’s Senior Bowl, five LSU Tigers. Those players are Jacob Hester, Craig Steltz, Early Doucet, Ali Highsmith and Chevis Jackson.

They join a nice contingent of players from the SEC who’ve committed already.

Also announced this week were Missouri tight end and First team All-American Martin Rucker, Texas wideout Limas Sweed, and Biletinikoff finalist Jordy Nelson from Kansas State.

The final rosters are to be announced on Sunday, Jan. 20 and will be posted here on The Bottom Line. This year’s Senior Bowl will be played on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 3 p.m. and will be televised on the *sigh* NFL Network.

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Sampson vs. Weber, Round 1

It’s a big afternoon for Indiana sports Sunday as the Colts kick off against the Chargers at 1 and IU and Illinois square off at 4:30 in Bloomington. If you thought the relationship between Bill Belichick and Eric Mangino was contentious, watch the IU game on Sunday on CBS. These are two men who genuinely hate each other’s guts, due in large part to Weber’s belief that Sampson contacted Gordon after the guard had verbally committed to play at Illinois in 2008. Sampson claims a member of Gordon’s family initiated the contact with his staff and that led to Gordon de-committing to Illinois and signing with the Hoosiers. What we have here is a good, old fashion Big Ten Bloodfeud and while the game Sunday won’t come close in the palpable hatred department at Feb. 7’s game in Champaign, it should be entertaining none the less. The end of game handshake will be like Patriots/Jets minus Belichick assaulting a photographer.

Posted in: Big Ten • College basketballl • Dallas Cowboys • Hoosiers • Illinois Fighting Illini • Indiana Hoosiers • Indiana University • LSU • Movie News • SEC • The NFL • Tony Romo | Post a Comment »

Bowl Pick ‘Em Day 8

December 13th, 2007, 1:21 pm by patrickdonohue

Tuesday, Jan. 1 - Konica Minolta Gator Bowl

Texas Tech vs. Virginia

This game presents one of the truly great matchups of the entire bowl season. For UVA, you have a tough defense led by Chris Long and his 14 solo sacks, tops in the ACC going against Mike Leach, Graham Harrell, Michael Crabtree and another explosive Texas Tech offense. With two such evenly matched units lining up against each other, it seems pertinent to look at the other side of the ball for each team. Offensively, UVA has struggled to score points offensively, finishing seventh in the ACC in scoring offense. Quarterback Jameel Sowell has been solid but unspectacular and hasn’t got much help from a UVA offensive unit without a player in the ACC’s Top 10 in rushing, reception and receiving yards. If the Cavaliers are to have success offensively, it will likely have to be on the ground with Sowell making plays and improvising on the run. Al Groh would do well to stay out of the skies against the Big 12’s top ranked pass defense and away from Texas Tech sophomore Jamar Wall who finished tied for second in the conference in interceptions. UVA’s defense has been good but not good enough to stop an offense that is AVERAGING 537 yards per game, the nation’s 2nd best. Look for Chris Long to get at least one sack, the great ones always find a way, but Long won’t be enough to slow down the nation’s leading quarterback and receiving combo. I’ll take Texas Tech in what could be Mike Leach’s last game in Lubbock.

Tuesday, Jan. 1 - Capital One Bowl

Florida vs. Michigan

Rather, the Storyline Bowl. In one corner, Michigan comes into the game off a disappointing season, losing its first two in catastrophic fashion and ending the season on a two-game losing streak, losing against to Ohio State. The Wolverines have a little extra motivation/distraction as the game will be head coach Lloyd Carr’s last game at Michigan. For Florida, Tim Tebow comes into the game after making Heisman history last week as the only sophomore ever to take home the trophy for the nation’s best player and has cemented a bull’s eye squarely on his back. Offensively for Michigan, Chad Henne has to have a big day and could very well going up against a Florida pass defense that finished dead last in the SEC. I like how Michigan stacks up against Florida’s corners with Mario Manningham and Adrian Arrington. My concern is that the offensive strategy will be centered too much on Mike Hart and against a Florida defense that allowed just 99 yards a game on ground, the SEC’s best, rushing yards could be hard to come by. Michigan has to give Henne enough touches to let him get into a rhythm and pick apart this young, inexperienced Florida secondary and use Hart strategically. On defense, I think Florida’s offense poses some very troubling mismatches for this Michigan defense, particularly with the size and speed of Tebow, Percy Harvin and Bubba Caldwell. Michigan has been steady in shutting down the pass but their ability to defend the spread and keep Tebow in the pocket and not running around will be key in this game. Offensively, I just think Florida has too much speed for Michigan but if Henne plays well and the offense is centered around exploiting Florida’s secondary, Michigan could send Lloyd Carr out with a win. I’m still going with the Gators and more importantly with Tebow in this one.

Tuesday, Jan. 1 - The Rose Bowl

Illinois vs. USC

No bowl has a greater tradition than the Rose Bowl, the Granddaddy of Them All, but I think it’s safe to say that the Rosel Bowl may have gone overboard this year in trying to get a Big Ten/Pac-10 matchup after Ohio State was selected for the BCS Title Game in New Orleans. You really can’t say enough about the job Ron Zook has done at Illinois this year but I can’t say I think this team deserves to be in this game. Having watched the Illini play on two occasions this year, I can say that I love their swagger and the real sense of irreverence they play with. Watching them play against Wisconsin when the Badgers were a top 5 team and then again at Ohio State when they were number 1, I noticed that Illinois never seemed to have a sense about them that they weren’t supposed to beat those teams. They will need a similarly irreverent attitude when they face the red hot Trojans in Pasadena. From a team speed standpoint, USC has it in droves. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: No team in America has more depth and speed at the skill positions than USC and they will use that depth to exploit Illinois defense. Getting pressure on John David Booty will be huge for an Illinois defense that finished fourth in the Big Ten in sacks. Booty has shown poor mobility and decision-making when pressured this season and isn’t anywhere near as stoic or accurate as his predecessors, Matt Leinart and Carson Palmer. But if the Illinois defensive line can’t put pressure on the quarterback and give Booty time to find tight end Fred Davis, Patrick Turner, Vidal Hazleton and Joe McKnight out of the backfield, it could be a very long afternoon for Zook’s Illini. The key for USC on defense, a unit that finished first against the pass and second against the run, will be containing Illinois quarterback Juice Williams, who is most dangerous outside the pocket and tailback Rashard Mendenhall, who had a breakout year in ‘07 and stands to be a Heisman frontrunner in ‘08. I’ve liked Illinois all year but USC is playing great at the right time of year and will win the Rose Bowl for the 32nd time in school history.

Posted in: ACC • Big 12 • Big Ten • College Football • Florida Gators • Illinois Fighting Illini • Michigan • Michigan Wolverines • Pac-10 • Scrubs • Tim Tebow • USC | Post a Comment »

So here’s what we know…

November 12th, 2007, 8:47 am by patrickdonohue

Peyton Manning really likes throwing to Antonio Cromartie

Only problem with that is Cromartie isn’t really on his team. The ever-mopey MVP threw three, count ‘em, three picks to the second-year corner out of Florida State in Sunday’s loss on the road to the Chargers. I would think after a while you would stop throwing in someone’s direction after they’ve picked you off twice but Peyton was courteous enough to give Cromartie the trifecta on way to throwing six interceptions. I know that it never entered Colts head coach Tony Dungy’s mind to pull the struggling quarterback but he should have. Am I surprised that he didn’t? No. But it would have been Dungy’s chance to show that no matter who you are or how many companies and products you shill for, if you don’t perform, you don’t play. Make this two weeks in a row that Manning and the Colts offense has blown big conference games.

You may want to wait before buying those Saints playoff tickets

The Saints dropped a bad home game yesterday against the formerly win-less Rams after putting together a nice little streak and putting themselves back in playoff contention. Given that the Saints play in what is arguably the weakest division in football, I think , barring any further collapses, they are still going to the playoffs but it’s important to remember that prior to their four-game winning streak, they started the season 0-4. You have to wonder if a loss to a bad team like the Rams will send the formerly terrible Saints into a shame spiral and out of the playoff race. Time will tell. Their schedule the rest of the way is pretty mild and none of the games they still have on tap jump out at you as being potential landmines.

Donovan McNabb may be headed to Minnesota

The latest trade rumor has Donovan McNabb headed to Minnesota after this year to re-unite with former Eagles offensive coordinator Brad Childress. I’ve gotta say this rumor smacks of irony to me. He would be leaving a team with a great running back, a decent offensive line and no receivers to go to a team with a great running back, a decent (if not overpaid) offensive line and no receivers. Are are Troy Williamson and Sidney Rice that much of an upgrade over Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown? I think that no matter where McNabb goes (unless it’s New England), his best years are behind him.

Ron Zook is the national coach of the year

As it turns out, Gator fans, Ron Zook can actually coach. Forget about Jim Leavitt or Mark Mangino, no one has done a better job this year than Ron Zook. Zook took a team that was 2-10 last year and made them nationally relevant this weekend, knocking off top-ranked Ohio State on the road to get their 8th win of the year. If Zook can continue to pull big time recruits like Arrelious Benn and recruit well in the Chicago area, Illinois could become a real force to be reckoned with.

It’s 1994 all over again in Bloomington

The last time Indiana was bowl eligible it was 1994, they went 6-5 and didn’t get invited to a bowl. Well boys and girls, welcome to 1994. I’ll be rocking my Zubaz pants and my #2 Charlotte Hornets Larry Johnson jersey and listening to Meatloaf and Ace of Base. Indiana, barring a miraculous win at home next week against Purdue, isn’t going to a bowl this year. Saturday just wasn’t a banner day for the Hoosier football team. Not only did they give away a game that would have given them seven wins and a virtual bowl guarantee, they gave Northwestern their sixth win of the season, and Iowa and Michigan State all became bowl eligible as well. I’m going to go sulk and listen to Gin Blossoms.

Sylvester Croom will have a job next year

The Fighting Crooms of Mississippi State have put together a nice little resume this year, on their way to become bowl eligible for the first time since people were spazzing out about Y2K. After upending #22-ranked Alabama this weekend, Croom has seemingly changed the football culture in Starkville. The Bulldogs, who play excellent defense and the worst offense imaginable, have knocked off Auburn, Kentucky and now the Saban-led Crimson Tide and have a chance at seven wins when they play Ole Miss next week in the Egg Bowl. Well done, coach.

Posted in: Big Ten • Donovan McNabb • Georgia Bulldogs • Hoosiers • Illinois Fighting Illini • Indiana Hoosiers • Indiana University • Indianapolis Colts • Minnesota Vikings • New Orleans Saints • Ohio State Buckeyes • Peyton Manning • Philadelphia Eagles • The NFL | 1 Comment »

Week One Spotlight

August 17th, 2007, 6:42 am by patrickdonohue

Yes, I know it’s more than two weeks from the official start of the 2007 college football season but I’ve already printed out the schedule for week 1 and will soon set my TiVo. When we get closer to the start of week one, I’ll pick a game of the week and a list of winners of every game over the weekend to track how I’m doing throughout the season.

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UCLA at STANFORD - 3:30 p.m.

It’s the official beginning of the Jim Harbaugh/Captain Comeback era at Stanford and this game will prove a very interesting test for the Cardinal, and the Bruins in week one. This is sort of a baptism by fire for Harbaugh, who will be forced to show if he can actually coach or if he’s just good at spreading rumors about Pete Carroll leaving USC and lobbing grenades at this alma mater.

WHO YA GOT? The Ben Olson/Chris Markey combination on offense will be too much for Stanford’s porous defense.. even at home. I’m taking the Bruins.

GEORGIA TECH at NOTRE DAME - 3:30 P.M.

Charlie Weis is still posturing that he’s not going to start Jimmy Clausen in week 1 against Georgia Tech but my guess is that this game will be the beginning of the Clausen era in South Bend. The Irish defense will need to stop Tashard Choice and the GT running game. On the other side of the ball, with senior quarterback Reggie Ball gone, this will be the first real road test for first year starter Taylor Bennett,

WHO YA GOT? Gotta go with the Irish at home. Even though Notre Dame lost Brady Quinn, Darius Walker, Rhema McKnight and Jeff Samardjiza, none of those losses offset the impact Calvin Johnson leaving GT early will have on that Georgia Tech offense. With CJ, this is probably a Georgia Tech win but without him, I got the Irish by at least 7.

WAKE FOREST at BOSTON COLLEGE - 3:30 p.m.

Jim Grobe and last year’s Wake Forest team was college football’s best Cinderella story last year and this early season Atlantic division matchup at Chesnut Hill will show if the stage coach turned back into a pumpkin. Both squads return competent signal callers in Riley Skinner and Matt Ryan. This is a huge game for Jim Grobe’s team as far as confidence building is concerned and a win on the road at BC, who is favored to win the Atlantic, would be huge for the Demon Deacons. but I don’t think that’s going to happen.

WHO YA GOT? The BC defense is very tough and very seasoned and I don’t anticipate them having a tough time throwing blitz packages at Riley Skinner and confusing him into throwing a bad interception or two. I’ll take the Eagles by at least 7.

MISSOURI AT ILLINOIS - 3:30 P.M.

Ron Zook surprised the college football universe last year when he snagged some of the nation’s top recruits, specifically wide receiver Arrelious Benn. I don’t see this game even being close. Missouri is a far better team than is Illinois and I expect Mizzou QB Chase Daniel to have a big game against a weak Illinois secondary. I will be very interested to see if Zook opens up the offense and lets QB Juice Williams air it out to Benn a couple times and give the Illini faithful something to look forward to.

WHO YA GOT? A no-brainer. Mizzou by at least 10.

TENNESSEE at CAL - 8:00 P.M.

I don’t think I saw a worse performance by a quarterback in a big game last year than Nate Longshore’s tank job at Rocky Top. Defensive coordinator John Chavis called one of the best defensive games of the year last year confused and frustrated Longshore and stopped future first-rounder Marshawn Lynch essentially snubbing the running back’s Heisman hopes in week one. Back for the Golden Bears are Longshore, running back Justin Forsett and wide receiver DeSean Jackson. This year’s game could make for one of the year’s best.

WHO YA GOT? This is one of those games that you hate to prognosticate because you know whoever you pick, you have a substantial chance of being wrong. I’m still going with Cal at home. I think what happened last year was a total embarrassment to Tedford and to the program and they’ll be hungry to exact some revenge. It will be a very tight game could be decided by 3 points or less.

FLORIDA STATE AT CLEMSON - 8:00 P.M.

When I interviewed Bobby Bowden a couple months ago, he cited the week 1 game at his son Tommy and the Clemson Tigers at Death Valley as the most important game of the year for his ‘Noles. And it is. Forget that FSU opens the season against a conference foe on the road, the game will be a crucial game for Drew Weatherford/Xavier Lee/Jimbo Fisher and the Florida State offense. Equally as important is the FSU defense who will be handed the dubious task of stopping James Davis and C.J. Spiller, one of the nation’s best running tandems.

WHO YA GOT? Feeling pretty good about Florida State in this one. Clemson starts its third quarterback in as many years and lost a good portion of its defense and won’t be able to match the firepower that Florida State will bring with them from Tallahassee.

Posted in: ACC • Big 12 • Big Ten • Boston College • Cal • Cal Golden Bears • Clemson • Clemson Tigers • College Football • Florida State • Florida State Seminole • Georgia Tech • Illinois Fighting Illini • Notre Dame • Pac-10 • SEC • Tennessee Volunteers • UCLA • Wake Forest | Post a Comment »

Archive for the 'Illinois Fighting Illini' Category

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Misc. End of the Week Post

Bowl Pick ‘Em Day 8

So here’s what we know…

Week One Spotlight

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