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Sean Miller might be gone, but Chris Mack is in the house! Welcome aboard Chris, here at Battle for Ohio we will be watching closely!

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I’m Back. And with some thoughts.

Posted by George Herron on April 4, 2011

Turn up the AC/DC.  I’m Back.  I’mmmmmmmm Baaaacccckkkkkkk.   Maybe it was the super nice day.  Maybe it was the Reds finishing off an opening series sweep of the media elected 2011 National League Central Champions, the Brewers.  Well, only your hairdresser will know for sure.  Whatever the case maybe, you lucky ten people reading this are once again treated to my musings.  Enjoy.

Football:

Death to the BCS

Don't we all wish. Too bad there is too much money in it.

  • The BCS is having a rough offseason, and I’m just tickled.  For anyone that might have missed it in the wake of the disaster in Japan, one of the BCS’ major bowls got blown up with allegations. These allegations were  ”a report of brazen, scandalous behavior by Junker and others on the Fiesta Bowl payroll that included, but wasn’t limited to: funneling money to politicians through bowl employees; coaching witnesses, and altering documents during the investigation that followed; taking junkets to college football games with politicians and their families — all on the bowl’s dime. On page 210 is a charge that the bowl footed the $33,188 bill for Junker’s 50th birthday party, a four-day bacchanal in Pebble Beach that had, according to one attendee, absolutely no business purpose.”

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/football/ncaa/03/29/fiesta-bowl-junker/index.html#ixzz1IUirn1D2

  • No wonder there is such a  push to keep the BCS around. If there was any doubt as to how much money bowl games are producing on a yearly basis look no further. I never want to hear that B.S. about how it’s better for the kids, it’s all about the kids.  No sir, this is all about losing control of your personal cash cow.  Those kids play the game just as long as they have to in order to be eligible to get drafted and make the money they more than deserve, are nothing but dollar signs to you.  I have no doubt that some of you have spread sheets of which kids are worth more and just how much.  Some graduate from MIT has wasted his time coming up with a formula that will measure all that instead of something useful because the BCS has that kind of money to waste, they can out pay something useful like cancer research.  But this is pretty blatant, it doesn’t look like there will be any dancing around this one.  And if you read further in the article two other Bowls are under investigation as well.  Now is the time to change.  My friend Andy even posted something he found on the highlights of a bracket system like what works so well for college basketball here.
  • This dove tails nicely into my next issue.  The lockout.  Andy wrote a great article about this already, here.  I agree completely with him, but I will say that unfortunately as a Bengal fan it doesn’t matter what will happen.  I would go to say that maybe the lockout is a good thing and that Bengal fans everywhere should embrace the lockout and hope that the owners and players don’t realize how damaging a lockout into the season could be.  That way we can forget that no matter what happens with the lockout that Mike Brown is still the owner in Cincinnati.
  • People don’t like that Chad Whatshisname is playing soccer.  Who really cares?  He’s locked out of his current job, he likes to play soccer.  Go for it.  If he gets hurt playing soccer will it really affect the Bengals?  Who’s going to throw him the ball?  Jordan Palmer?  A rookie that they are going to be forced to draft because the former face of the franchise threw everyone a curve ball and demanded a trade or he will retire.  To which I again say, who cares?  Most anyone that had a voice was complaining about him and how he was a washed up bust.  And really, who can blame him?  He had finally been “Bengalized.” It happened to all the greats in the Mike Brown era.  It’s not like this team was just a piece or two away from a Super Bowl.  Unproven, untested receivers, plus a 33-year-old prima donna.  A questionable offensive line that featured one of the fattest, dumbest human beings in another first round bust in Andre Smith.  No way Cedric sticks around this giant turd, he will declare free agency as soon as football activities resume.  Which the bell cow running back is often injured and undersized Bernard Scott.  The only two bright spots are an undersized receiver that was a rookie last year and an extremely talented receiving tight end that was a rookie as well that couldn’t block an invalid.
  • Carson Palmer will have to retire.  If there is anything I have learned it’s when Mike Brown says something he means it.  That man will win any pissing match he is involved in and he has proven it countless times. Just look back to Hard Knocks and negotiations that he would have with Andre Smith’s agent.  So I believe him when he says that he isn’t going to trade Palmer, despite interest from other teams.  I doubt he even answers the phone.  This is the same man who turned down two first round picks for Chad when Chad wanted out a couple of years ago.  Nice try Carson, but you can’t out con a dumbass.  He’s already out-conned himself.

Baseball:

I don't really know about this guy, but it was certainly a clean sweep of the Brewers thanks to the heavy hitting of the Reds.

  • The media really fell in love with the Brewers in the off-season didn’t they?  Who can blame them really.  They went out and got a former Cy Young winner in Zach Greinke, and a good young pitcher from a tough American League east division in Shaun Marcum.  Those certainly are nice toys, and pitching is always smart.  And I guess that’s why I love the fact that the Reds, who had a very quiet off-season other than signing some of their own, just took the Brew crew to the back of the wood shed.  And no they didn’t have to face Greinke, but they did tee-off on Marcum.  Personally, I don’t think that the Brewers did enough to help them defensively especially up the middle.  But it’s a long season, just a nice start for the Redlegs.
  • The Reds had a mostly brilliant off-season.  They locked up Jay Bruce for six years.  Dude is only 24 and last year he had 25 home runs 80 runs, 71 RBI and a respectable .281 average.  The Reds get him through his prime.  Oh yeah and he has gold glove potential in the outfield.  Great deal, and Bruce seems to like it here, which is something that is always nice.
  • The Reds buyout Votto’s arbitration years.  Is it a nice long contract?  No, but this way the Reds have some time to decide what they want to do about Yonder Alonso while gently feeling out Joey and what the chances will be of getting him back here after the next three years.  All signs point to no way Jose.  He is 26 this year and already an MVP and easily the most consistent offensive player the Reds have.  Yonder I’m sure will be very talented, but he will never be able to replace Votto.  Tough call for the Reds and one that will more than likely be out of their control when the Yankees, Red Sox, Angles, Dodgers, Mets and Cubs come knocking in three years with more money than God.
  • Did the Edgar Renteria deal surprise anyone else?  In his best years Edgar was known more for his defense than his offense.  He wasn’t a slouch with the bat and he did have some speed. But the guy is like somewhere in the 40-50 range, we’ll never know for sure.  So this is the guy you choose to help that pit you get in your stomach when you realize that you are a big league team that is starting a guy with a soft ‘H’ in his name?  Soft J’s skills are almost entirely defense, he gives you only slightly more than a pitcher does offensively and you get a fossil that in his best days was a defensive guy as well?  Is Tood Frasier THAT BAD in the field that we can’t give this guy who has been a highly ranked guy in the minors for years a chance?  Is this Dusty’s ridiculous reliance on aging veterans coming to haunt again?  Whatever the case I didn’t like it then and I still don’t like it today.  Why not take that money and try to get a left fielder that maybe can hit lead off and kill two birds with one stone?
  • My thoughts on Jonny Gomes.  I love him.  As a person.  I don’t like that this guy will as always lose steam after the all-star break and have a terrible second half.  I don’t like that this guy is a definite liability in the field.  But the reason he is so popular around here is the same reason that Ryan Freel was so popular.  Why Chris Sabo was so popular.  It’s also exactly why people hated Adam Dunn even though he actually gives you more offensively and about the same defensively than Gomes.  Gomes goes 100% all the time.  I love that, everyone here loves it.  It reminds everyone of Pete Rose.  Unfortunately he is not Pete and although he is going 100 mph, he is still making the same errors out in left that Dunn was making, he just tries a lot harder to make them.  And on a line up that doesn’t really have a high percentage on base guy, Jonny becomes expendable.
  • Any one else notice that Ramone Hernandez has been out the last two games after going 4-5 with an opposite field home run to win the opener?  Not that it has mattered since Hannigan homered twice yesterday.  But do you think Ramone put whats left of that elbow in that opposite field shot?  Color me concerned.  It might be time to get Meseraco on the phone.

Basketball:

This is Kenny ready to hang with the Rat Pack.

  • Xavier had a surprising season.  I honestly thought that losing Jordan was just too much.  He seemed like a one man show most of the time last year.  And even early in the season this year it seemed like it was the Tu Halloway show.  If he was off, the team was off and ultimately lost.  They lost Redford, which would have been a huge player coming off the bench, a poor man’s Jimmer Ferdette.  The kid has crazy range.  Canty was hurt and another player was ruled academically intelligible.  Despite all that they only lost one game in A-10 play and got another NCAA berth.  Chris Mack deserved the A-10 coach of the year for the damage control he did.
  • Looking forward to next year.  Halloway comes back, hopefully ready to quit pouting so much and be the leader that Mack will need him to be.  Healthier and deeper.  My concerns are losing Jackson’s voice and leadership and Kenny Frease. As Missouri found out pretty quickly Kenny is SLOWWWWWWW.  While he has certainly gotten better every year and maybe next year he will be an even stronger presence in the paint, I doubt there is anyway he gets any quicker.  Just about any team that has very good slasher will be able to negate Kenny’s size advantage by just blowing right by him.
  • Jamel McLean reminded me of Lloyd Price.  I know there was talent there, but we only seemed to see it in flashes and ultimately just not consistent enough.
  • Mark Lyons needs to slow it down just a little.  I mean if he takes it down just one notch he is still playing faster than most guys out there, but he might play with a little more control, and that would be nice for my ulcers and heart condition that he caused to begin with.
  • The NBA still sucks.  But I will say that I’m shocked that announcers seem to make a big deal about how well the Lakers have played lately and how bad they were playing in the middle of the year.  They do this ever year, and every year the media makes a big deal about it.  Kobe is tired, his knees hurt.  Let him take the middle of the season off and come back and use the last month as a warm up to get the Lakers to the finals again.  Even with a bad middle of the year they are still going to go into the playoffs as at least a two seed.

That should be plenty for all of you to digest for a few days, and I promise to try to not let it go months before I post again.

Posted in Bengals, Random Thoughts, Reds, Xavier Basketball | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back?

Posted by George Herron on May 11, 2010

If only I looked half this good in a swimsuit!

After a week of relaxing on The Liberty of the Sea, a Royal Caribbean cruise line, I am back.  And what do I get?  Some not so delightful news.  But all of it was to be expected, Cincinnati sports took a giant turd on all its fans again this past week.  Man, do Cincinnati sports teams make it tough to be a loyal fan or what?

To be honest I’m glad that the Royal Caribbean was charging $35 an hour for internet service.  That was more than enough to persuade me NOT to buy that package and just enjoy my time disconnected from the world.  If I had bought any minutes I am sure what the Bengals and Jordan Crawford did over this past week would have ruined an otherwise beautiful and quite relaxing time.

So what happened, as if you all don’t already know!  But I’m going to recap and give my reactions anyway, by popular demand of course.  As a matter of fact one of my faithful readers (didn’t even know I had those) sent me a text while I was cruisin’ and it was waiting for me when I turned my phone back on when we docked back in Miami.  ”Another Bengal arrest!  Must be close to football season!!!”  And with that, let’s get to some recappin’!

The Bengals:

  • Maurice Purify was arrested for disorderly conduct at a bar in Newport, Kentucky at 2am May 4th.  Bad behavior begets bad behavior.  Everyone else on this team seems to get busted, Maurice was just trying to fit in.  The Bengals are never going to shed the image of the criminal cats unless they stop taking chances on guys with past issues.  Maurice had SEVERAL issues in the past and the Bengals of course felt the need to try to redeem him.  The good news to come out of this is that it would seem that there is one less person contending for one of the wide receiver spots.  After the draft the Bengals had about 50 WR’s competing for, more than likely, 6 spots.  See ya Maurice, don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya!

Coming to a strip club near you!

  • When a door closes another one opens up.  Project Purify might be at its end, but the Bengals took on the mother of all reclamation projects when they signed Adam “Pacman” Jones today.  In the words of my mother, “Faaaaaaaaaaannnnnntastic!”  This might be worse than the Chris Henry re-signing.  This is a guy that has been given multiple chances with multiple teams and has burned every bridge possible in the process.  Hell he has burned bridges that haven’t even been built yet.  I’m sure the Diamond girls up in Dayton are eagerly anticipating his “making it rain” skills.  He apparently is signed for two years and this tells me a couple of things.  One, The Bengals have NO faith in David Jones and Morgan Trent.  Two, they have no idea what they have in Brandon Ghee, which with only 5 scouts doesn’t surprise me at all.  Three, the Bengals don’t think that they will be able to sign both Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall long-term and are trying to get a playmaker super cheap, league minimum, until either Trent or Ghee are ready to take over the island.  Those are all valid reasons for signing a veteran corner, just not THIS veteran corner.  I mean, will he make it through a whole season without doing something stupid?  History says HELL NO.
  • It wasn’t all bad in Bengal-land though.  They did go out and sign a much-needed safety, Gibril Wilson.  Wilson is a seven-year veteran who will come in handy when both Chris Crocker and Roy Williams inevitably get hurt again this year.  The problem here is that the Bengals singed a guy who is a clone of the three guys they have already.  A safety that can hit but not cover.  What part of coverage safety doesn’t this organization understand?  Again I go back to the fact that the Bengals weakness was in pass coverage, especially from the safety position and yet they go and sign a guy that is known as a run stopper.  As a matter of fact I’m not the only one that is scratching his head a little bit over this.  Here is what Scouts Inc. had to say about it.   Also something to keep in mind, ‘ol Gibril was cut the past two years, once by the Dolphins and once by the Raiders.  How bad do you have to be to be cut by the Raiders?  Hello Jamarcus Russell.  The one thing that he does bring is a Super Bowl ring and a winning attitude.  It has been a theme ever since Marvin has been here.  Dexter Jackson, Sam Adams, Ben Utecht and Dhani Jones were all examples of guys that came from wining teams and positive locker rooms.  ”Marvin guys.”

So, all in all, some pretty bad moves by the Bengals in my opinion.  Sure they got guys on the cheap that COULD pay out for them, but in all likelihood they won’t.  I guess it will be nice to have competition in camp to push the others, and perhaps that is what Marvin is really wanting, to push those other guys?  Who knows, but the best thing that can be said is that at least they came cheap.

Xavier Basketball:

  • Jordan Crawford is officially gonzo.  In his only season at Xavier he led the Atlantic Ten in scoring, he led Xavier in scoring, was second on the team in assists per game and was  third on the team in rebounds per game.  That is some major offensive output that Xavier will miss.  Not to mention that he was the guy that either Xavier turned to get big shots, or he just stepped up without being asked.  He had a killer instinct that was rare.  I will admit that being a Xavier alum I am selfish and was hoping to squeeze one more year out of him.  I feel the same way about Jordan leaving early about the way I felt about Derrick Brown leaving early.  I don’t like it and think that both players would have benefited in coming back one more year, but I understand the allure of getting paid to do what you love to do and not risking a bad injury for nothing.  I think secretly we all knew this was coming after watching him tear through teams in the NCAA tournament this past year, sadly the writing was on the wall.  So, let me take this opportunity to thank Jordan Crawford for the one year that he was here.  He was fun to watch most of the time and I think that he should have a fine NBA career.  Luckily Xavier does have about 50 other guards on the team, just none with his size and athletic ability.

The Reds:

  • As you have already no doubt read here on this site, the Reds were somehow rated the 3rd most hated team in baseball.  If you ask me this was some of the most irresponsible ”journalism” I have ever seen out of a reputable news source.  The algorithm that they used was composed of looking through blogs for negative and positive comments about teams.  Are you serious?  This seems like the most inaccurate way to figure out what team is most “hated.”  It seems to me that the Wall Street Journal is trying to take peoples feelings and opinions and somehow turn them into facts.  And using something as biased as blogs, not actual articles written by actual reporters for the basis for their “facts.”  Ummmmm, bogus.  I just can’t imagine that more people hate the Reds than the Yankees.  The Reds and Indians are so irrelevant outside Ohio that people from California might be shocked to know that Ohio is even a state, let a lone a state that has TWO baseball teams.
  • Despite the Reds managing to tread water rather well so far this season, after tonight’s win over Pittsburgh they move to one game above .500 and are in second place in the listless NL Central.  Great pitching by everyone except Homer Bailey has been the key, hell they even got three quality starts from Aaron “The Human Groove Machine” Harang.  Mike Leake has proved that he was indeed ready to face the trials and tribulations of major league hitters despite never throwing a single inning on minor league ball.  The real challenge will be to get through the entire year without Dusty mangling his right arm.

You can't see it, but Griffey is behind Mr. Met spooning him.

  • Funny side note.  I know he isn’t a Red anymore, but this story was too good to pass up.  Our old friend Ken Griffey JR fell asleep in the club house the other day….in the middle of a game.  Wow, and I thought he was lazy in Cincinnati!  Even my 94-year-old grandfather can stay up through a whole baseball game, damn Ken!  This should spell the end for a career that has already been dragged out about 5 years too long.  Thanks for the memories Ken, especially this one, but anyone that falls asleep on the job deserves to get fired.

And that concludes my Cincinnati wrap up from when I was on vacation.  Pretty depressing to come back to really.  The only solace I take is that at least the Reds seem to be playing better and making an effort to contend.  They still need to figure out a way to generate some offense, but the pitching has come around and has performed like everyone expected them to.

Posted in Bengals, Reds, Xavier Basketball | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

March Madness Expansion Isn’t A Horrible Idea If Done Correctly: Will That Happen?

Posted by pacmanxu on April 3, 2010

George, pardon my trumping you on this issue because I know you’re working on something, but I imagine we’ll have some different points on this subject, so I’m opening up the debate.

So all the NCAA coaches want expansion for one reason only…not because there is so many great teams or because it will enhance the tournament product, but because it will help with their job stability.  That’s all folks.  There are some very good coaches that get fired for not making the tournament, but with 31 extra teams in the fold, that won’t be an issue.  And of course the NCAA is interested because it means 16 more games that will be on TV and 16 more games that yield ticket sales and advertising revenue.  However, that doesn’t make the idea of expansion a terrible idea.  But the NCAA has to nail this in order to get it right, and I’m skeptical that they will…they screw everything else up.

For all intents and purposes, this idea basically takes all the NIT teams and smooshes them into the NCAA field.  This year, that would mean that Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Dayton, Rhode Island, Utah State and other big name programs that were down or little programs that didn’t win their conference tournament would be in.  If you watched the NIT, there were some very good games, so it’s not like we’d be adding Fordham to the fold, but there is massive potential that we could see these extra spots filled with below-average big conference teams instead of very good smaller conference teams (just like in the current tournament selection).

Please keep the "madness" on the court, NCAA

Here are some suggestions so the NCAA doesn’t screw this idea up and make the tournament a watered-down, boring affair in the first weekend as opposed to the current version that has millions of people wasting work time or calling in sick just so they can watch.

  • The Field – There needs to be a balance between the “knowns and unknowns.”  Adding mostly big name schools will showcase bad teams that couldn’t even win half of their league games, but adding mostly small schools will make this a pointless endeavor because no one will watch.  It needs to be a 50/50 proposition where the scales of fairness and marketing are even.  The reason the tournament is so great now is because we get to see the little guy upset some big schools and have their legit shot at a title, but also because the cream rises to the top and usually the big guns make it appointment viewing in the Final Four.  Just duplicate what’s already working
  • Seeding – The top 8 seeds in each region will get a bye, but the issue is with the last 16 seeds in each region.  Right now, little schools that make the tournament are usually 14-16 seeds.  But they earned their way in via automatic bids.  If the committee seeds teams purely on how good they think they are, then what will happen is all of these schools will be seeded below bigger name schools that otherwise wouldn’t have even been in the tournament.  A rule should be put in place that says any automatic bid will not get lower than a 16 seed.  Based on pure match-ups, you might think this isn’t a big deal because they have to play in the first round anyway, but this idea goes a long with…
  • 1st Round Venues – the idea of having more neutral sites for games that will not sell tickets is ludicrous.  This new first round, or play-in round should follow the NIT’s path and have the higher seeded teams hosting this first round.  See?  Now it makes sense.  If automatic bids can’t be seeded lower than 16, then it will guarantee them a home game, where it definitely WILL sell out.  Now instead of North Carolina playing Murray State in a neutral site where there are 500 people, the game will be at Murray State.  Since expansion already screws the little guy in having to play and win another game, throw them a bone and give them a home game.  I guarantee all of these games will sell out and it won’t give any unfair help to the big guys or any excuses to the little guys…perfect.

    Let's not make it any harder for the small schools, OK?

  • Qualifications – Another potential problem with adding 31 more teams to the field is that we don’t want to reward mediocrity.  Personally I would favor an expansion to 68 teams, but since that won’t happen we have to protect the integrity of the sport from being corrupted.  Without restrictions or qualifications I could see 10th and 12th place teams from prominent conferences being let in just because of the name on the front of their jerseys, which would be awful for the tournament and the reputation of the NCAA.  How about some easy rules to live by that won’t ruin this great event?  Let’s just say that no team with less than an overall .500 record or less than .500 record in conference play can get in…solved.  This year, it would mean that from the BCS Conferences, South Florida, Seton Hall, Illinois, Arizona St., Arizona, Ole Miss, and Mississippi St would have gotten in, but Georgia Tech (7-9) would be out.  That also leaves 25 spots for other deserving teams to get in, like Dayton, Rhode Island, Memphis, Portland, Kent St., Princeton, UAB, Marshall, and Saint Louis.  These are all teams that had fantastic overall and within conference records that otherwise might be passed over AGAIN for the likes of Georgia Tech, Northwestern, Cincinnati, St. John’s, NC State, Texas Tech, Alabama, and other terrible teams that didn’t deserve anything.
  • Scheduling – Lastly, I’ve already heard they are considering staying with the Thursday start to the tournament and then finishing the second round on Tuesday and going to the Sweet 16 on the following Thurs/Fri.  How stupid of an idea is this??????  Again, keep it simple and go with what makes sense.  This new first round or “play-in round,” as I will always call it, should be played in the higher seed’s home court on the TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY  BEFORE the regular Thurs/Friday start of the tournament.  That gives each team two day from Selection Sunday to get to the venues and play and advance without screwing up the schedule that already makes this a special event.  Shockingly easy, isn’t it?  It also gives the seeds that get a bye a team on short rest.

All of these ideas make expansion work and entertaining, while still making the regular season worth something.  Bigger conference teams will scratch and claw to make it to .500 so they can get in, and those that don’t know that their conference tournaments will be their only shot.  It will also give credit to those who win their conferences and protect the committee from falling into the popularity trap.  It will also give clear guidelines that teams can shoot for as goals and not complain if they get left out.  Georgia Tech would almost certainly complain about getting left out (when they got in this year with a 7-9 conference record), but they would know going into the season that they had to be at .500…no one to blame but themselves.

Expansion will happen, so let’s hope the NCAA reads Battle For Ohio…all their answers are right here.

Posted in Ohio State, Random Thoughts, Xavier Basketball | Tagged: , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Ready or not Jordan Crawford has arrived.

Posted by George Herron on March 23, 2010

Does no one love him because he looks like a black Opie?

Well, well, well, what do we have here?  The birth of a local super star perhaps?  I like to think of him as the silent assassin.  He has flown pretty well under the radar all year, but Xavier fans will tell you that Jordan Crawford has been THE guy that wants the ball.  For better or worse (mostly better) I contend that every good team needs a guy that is as fearless as Crawford appears to be.  So I got to thinking how Crawford, although not talked about at all, ranks among some of the other great college stars when it comes to the big stage that is the NCAA Tournament?

I took Jordan’s first two games and compared it to other more recent NCAA greats in their first couple games just to see how they all compared, you know as a nice and bias point of reference!

Jordan Crawford:

  • 2010 vs Minnesota (W): 28 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast, 2 to, 1 blk.
  • 2010 vs Pittsburgh (W): 27 pts, 6 reb, 1 ast, 1 to, 1 blk.
  • Totals:  55 pts, 12 reb, 6 ast, 3 to, 2 blk.

Dwyane Wade:

  • 2002 vs Tulsa (L): 18 pts, 7 reb, 6 ast, 1 to, 2 blk.
  • 2003 vs Holy Cross (W): 15 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast, 5 to, 2 blk.
  • Totals:  33 pts, 12 reb, 10 ast, 6 to, 4 blk.

Carmelo Anthony:

  • 2003 vs Manhattan (W): 17 pts, 9 reb, 1 ast, 2 to, 2 blk.
  • 2003 vs Oklahoma St. (W): 13 pts, 8 reb, 2 ast, 3 to, 1 blk.
  • Totals: 30 pts, 17 reb, 3 ast, 5 to, 3 blk.

Chris Paul:

  • 2004 vs Virgina Common Wealth (W): 22 pts, 3 reb, 7 ast, 2 to, 0 blk.
  • 2004 vs Manhattan (W): 29 pts, 8 reb, 6 ast, 1 to, 2 blk.
  • Totals:  51 pts, 11 reb, 13 ast, 3 to, 2 blk.

Kevin Durant:

  • 2007 vs New Mexico St (W): 27 pts, 8 reb, 1 ast, 5 to, 1 blk.
  • 2007 vs USC (L): 30 pts, 9 reb, 1 ast, 2 to, 2 blk.
  • Totals:  57  pts, 17 reb, 2 ast, 7 to, 3 blk.

Derrick Rose:

  • 2008 vs Texas Arlington (W): 17 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, 1 to, 0 blk.
  • 2008 vs Mississippi St. (W): 17 pts, 9 reb, 7 ast, 1 to, 1 blk.
  • Totals: 34 pts, 14 reb, 10 ast, 2 to, 1 blk.

Stephen Curry:

  • 2007 vs Maryland (L): 30 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 4 to, o blk.
  • 2008 vs Gonzaga (W): 40 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 to, 0 blk.
  • Totals: 70 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast, 6 to, 0 blk.

I think you will agree that Jordan Crawford’s numbers put him right up there with some of the elite performers and elite NCAA performances in recent years.  Oh and by the way, almost all the games that the other players played, they were the higher seed.  Jordan put up those huge numbers against a higher ranked Pittsburgh team.  Not only does he not fade away in big games, but he turns it up.  Just like all assassins should.

So why isn’t he and his Xavier Musketeers getting some love, some press?  Because they are still number 2 in their own town.  They are still viewed as a mid-major even though they are one of only two teams to ever make it to three straight sweet sixteens, the other is a very prominent Michigan State.

Even Stephen Curry got some run and he was from Davidson.  Of course it helped that his father, Dell Curry, was a college stand out as well.  So what is it about Jordan Crawford that everyone seems to be missing?

Is he not exciting enough for you?

  • He dunked on LeBron.  Yeah sure it was kind of a weak dunk, but it was enough for Nike to confiscate all the tapes they could find of it and burn them like it was a Nazi burning party.
  • He made a circus shot against Minnesota.
  • He made another circus shot against Pittsburgh. Think about the same shot you just saw against Minnesota.  It was virtually the same thing in a more crucial game.

Is it because of all of the lower seeds are sneaking into the Sweet Sixteen?  Thanks a lot Cornell, St. Mary’s and Northern Iowa.  Thanks in part to you guys, Jordan Crawford is again being over shadowed.  Turn on ESPN and see for yourself, all anyone wants to talk about are those three teams and their next matchups.  I know Xavier was higher at a 6 seed than those teams, but they did just knock off a Big East power house in Pittsburgh, who was ranked higher by the way.

Don’t worry too much if this is all coming as a surprise to you, it did to most of the “experts” as well.  Even after a tremendous season that isn’t over yet, the only publication to show Jordan any love was The Sporting News.  They honored him with a Sporting News Third Team All American.

Third team?  Seriously?  I guess it is better than nothing, which is what he got from everyone else, but let’s look at Jordan’s season numbers compared to some of the guards ranked above him.

  • Jordan Crawford (Third Team): 20.2 ppg, 2.9 apg, 4.8 rpg, 40% 3 pt, 77% ft.
  • Scottie Reynolds (First Team): 18.2 ppg, 3.3 apg, 2.7 rpg, 39% 3 pt, 84% ft.
  • Sherron Collins (Second Team): 15.5 ppg, 4.5 apg, 2.1 rpg, 37% 3 pt, 86% ft.
  • Jon Scheyer (Second Team):  18.4 ppg, 4.9 apg, 3.6 rpg, 39% 3 pt, 88% ft.

Does anyone else find it odd that the other three guys all came from “big basketball conferences?”  The Big East, the Big Twelve and the ACC.  In my opinion, Jordan had a better year than all three of those guys and yet was still only mentioned in one end of the year publication and as a third teamer.

And it’s not just nationally that he isn’t getting run.  Even locally Jordan is getting over shadowed by Evan Turner at Ohio State.  Columbus might be an hour and a half north, but I definitely hear more talk about the great Evan Turner than I do about Jordan Crawford.

When are people going to realize that we have a talent on this team that might rival David West?  I know it is almost blasphemous to compare anyone to David West, but look at what Crawford has done this year.  He has taken a young team (only two seniors and only one start) to the Sweet Sixteen and another 25+ win season.

  • David West (Sophomore year): 17.8 ppg, 2 apg, 11 rpg, 0% 3 pt, 74% ft.

That was David West’s sophomore year, the same as Jordan’s current year.  And what did David do in the tournament his first couple times through?

  • 2001 vs Notre Dame (L): 19 pts, 8 reb, 1 ast, 2 to, 1 blk.
  • 2002 vs Hawaii (W): 13 pts, 11 reb, 0 ast, 3 to, 1 blk.
  • Totals: 32 pts, 19 reb, 1 ast, 5 to, 2 blk.

Crawford silently stares down his next victim?

Jordan will make you all sorry.  He seems to me to be the kind of guy that carries a bit of a chip on his shoulder, and maybe he has been using this as fuel for this amazing run he is having in the tournament?

Whatever the case is I hope he keeps it up, because the road is just going to get tougher.  Kansas St, who already beat down the Muskies this year and a possible game against Syracuse after that.  Gulp!

But don’t worry, ‘ol ice water veins, Jordan Crawford will be there and will do everything he can to help propel this team to victory.  Did your favorite team not make it into the tournament?  Watch Jordan Crawford.  Your favorite team out?  Watch Jordan Crawford.  Don’t have a favorite college basketball team, hop on the Xavier bandwagon, and watch Jordan Crawford.

Come one, come all to bear witness to the next modern marvel, Jordan, and his band of merry men will display to Kansas State this Thursday night.

The saddest part is that next year will almost certainly be his last.  He had to sit out last year because of transferring from Indiana.  Which means that age wise he is probably a junior, and will in all likelihood  jump ship for the NBA if he has a season next year like he did this past year.

Very similar to Derrick Brown who finished early and jetted for the NBA.  Can’t blame him, some team was going to pay him a lot of money to keep playing basketball and he already had a degree, so why not?  Jordan will find himself in the same boat after next year, but will there be any incentive to stay?  Not with his talent, which is even greater than Derricks.

So you better take advantage and watch him now because next year will probably be his last in a Muskie uniform.

For more on Jordan Crawford, check out this article by Scoop Jackson from ESPN.  Incidentally on the same day I published MY article.

Posted in Xavier Basketball | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

The Good, Bad and the Ugly in Cincinnati

Posted by George Herron on March 15, 2010

From The Bengals early departure in the playoffs until March Madness was a pretty dead zone around here in sports, or was it?

This is normally a pretty dead time in the sports world, especially in Cincinnati.  The Bengals are in the middle of free agency, which they normally don’t meddle in.  The Reds have just started spring training and roster spots are still very much shaking out.  There is no NBA team, but there are two prominent college basketball teams.  Well, one is prominent, the other is a hilarious disaster.

But even in this dead zone of sports action there has been a bevy of activity to keep the fans hungry for more.

The Bengals:

The Good:

  • They got two receivers that have speed and experience and aren’t 200 years old.  And they still retained their first round pick.  Those two are Matt Jones and Antonio Bryant.
  • They re-signed Tank Johnson.  Tank was part of a great rotation at the defensive tackle position and helped make this a top 5 run defense.  Keeping his experience and toughness was important.  Plus, he didn’t have a single issue this year and was a personal favorite of mine from Hard Knocks.
  • They didn’t sign Terrell Owens, yet…GULP.
  • They didn’t franchise “Shaynk” Graham.
  • They cut Laveranues Coles

Good, bad, indifferent? Yes.

  • Chad Ochocinco is increasing his social media following.  Not only will he be on Dancing with the Stars later this month, but he will also star in his own reality show this summer.  It could be good for the Bengals and for Cincinnati, not that this city would know a good chance for publicity if it hit them in the face.

The Bad:

  • The two receivers they did get have issues.  Not that it should surprise anyone.  Matt Jones who didn’t play all year last year because of an issue he has with Sweet and Low.  And Antonio Bryant who has been with 5 teams in 8 years because he can’t get along with coaches.  Both have talent that has been pretty much untapped, but both are head cases.  Sadly, they will fit right in here in Cincinnati.
  • They didn’t re-sign Bobbie Williams.  He has been a rock at right guard for a long time on this team and it would be terrible to see him go.  I know age is a factor here, but it’s not like the Bengals have any one note-worthy to step in.  Plus, Andre Smith could use Bobbie’s blue-collar work ethic and that veteran leadership in his ear all year.
  • They are still going to be paying Laveraneus.
  • They didn’t sign TO.  I know, I know, how can this be good and bad?  Well, we will see how Chad reacts after lobbying so hard to get TO in here.

The Ugly:

  • Bob Bratkowski is still collecting a paycheck.  What does that man have to do or don’t do to get fired?  He ran the 27th best offense in the league last year, and that was with a healthy Palmer, supposedly.
  • Dan Coats re-signed.  This guy couldn’t catch a cold standing outside naked, soaking wet in a blizzard.  I about threw up when they re-signed this guy.  Hell, Dennis Roland probably catches the ball better than ‘ol Danny boy.
  • There have been talks about drafting Tebow.  Granted I have only heard this story once and it was from Bengals.com, but still the fact that it was even whispered once scares me to death.
  • Carson Palmer was actually lobbying for TO to be here.  Between last years poor performance and actually WANTING Terrell to be here makes me SERIOUSLY reconsider my love of one Carson Palmer.
  • Mike Brown is still the owner and Czar of the Bengals.

The Reds:

The Good:

  • Aroldis Chapman has been better than expected.  I would still hope the Reds are smart enough to keep him in the minors and let him get some more seasoning, but I am very impressed so far.
  • Spending the money on Orlando Cabrera instead of a left fielder.  Short stop is such a pivotal position, I am glad to see the Reds at least try to be smart about their money.
  • Johnny Gomes was re-signed to a minor league deal.  In roughly 200 at bats Johnny swatted 20 home runs.  That’s pretty impressive and pretty important on a team that really struggled to score runs last year.
  • Mike Leake is looking good so far this Spring.  This is another kid that I would like to see start in AA or AA to start the year, but I am pretty impressed with what I have seen so far.  Reds fans beware, this is a Greg Maddox type pitcher, not a Josh Beckett type pitcher.  But last I checked, Greg Maddox had more Cy Young awards, so that’s OK with me.
  • Pitching coach Dick Pole was fired.  While I will miss saying his name and laughing like a 6th grader everytime, he was HORRIBLE and needed to go.

The Bad:

  • Dusty Baker is still managing this team and there are plenty of young arms to ruin.  Leake, Bailey, Cueto, Chapman and Wood.
  • They still have no one to really play catcher.  I mean they doooooo, but Ryan Hannigan and a senior citizen version of Ramon Hernandez doesn’t exactly instill confidence in me.  The real sad part is that they really don’t have anything in the minors that you can be excited about either.  Personally, I don’t care what that guy can do offensively, that would just be icing on the cake if they could find a guy that handles a pitching staff the way Jason Varitek does.

Years of Willy Taveras, Corey Patterson and Ryan Freel have me craving Deion back!

  • Do they have anyone to leadoff?  Ever since dumping Griffey and Dunn, this team has been transitioning into a team that manufactures runs.  But if no one at the top of the lineup is getting on base, it becomes pretty tough to score runs and win games.  Can Stubbs be that guy?  I like Cabrera in the 2-hole and still think they should switch Votto and Phillips, but that leadoff spot has been an achilles heel for a while now.

The Ugly:

  • Jay Bruce’s average last year.  He is slotted to bat sixth this year and he will need to bat a little better than .200.  I think he will, but it was SO painful to watch him struggle last year.  I hope all the time off last year has allowed him to relax and figure out what was going on.
  • If Johnny Gomes wins the battle for left field that means he actually has to play in left field.  Johnny is a step better than Jose Canceco out there.  Let’s just hope that no fly balls bounce off his head for a home run!

Xavier:

The Good:

  • For the fourth year in a row they managed at least a split of the regular season Atlantic 10 title with Temple.
  • Despite losing to Richmond in the A-10 tournament they still pulled off a 6 seed in the NCAA tournament.  And they are in one of the better brackets.
  • Despite a re-building year they still managed another 20+ win season.
  • Chris Mack scrambling rather well to pick up the pieces after Sean Miller left and took recruits with him.

The Bad:

Kenny MADDDDDDDDDDDDD.

  • I don’t know that I have seen Kenny Frease progress enough to be the center we will need him to be next year.  He still gets that deer in headlights look in the post and he is super slow and slows down the offense that has a lot of quick players.
  • Jordan Crawford’s instance on taking every shot possible.  In just the last three games I have seen him take some ridiculous shots just to get that game winner.  I have said it all year, this kid needs to learn to pass.  I know he wants to be “the man” when the game is on the line, but sometimes it is better to pass up that shot where you are triple guarded and find the open man.  This is a team sport, trust your teammates.
  • Jamel McLean has gotten better as the season has gone on, but I expected more from him.  I was thinking that he would average close to a double double every game, but for the first half the season he was all but absent and the second half the season he has been up and down, pretty inconsistent.

The Ugly:

  • The lack of local support for this team.  I don’t know why, but it still amazes me that 90% of this town would rather bitch about how bad UC sucks than stand behind the school that has been a consistent winner for at least the last ten years.
  • Fist round game against Minnesota in Wisconsin.  It’s almost like a home game for Minnesota.  Will be a tough game for this young Musketeer team.  I think they will win, but mark my words, I think they will be losing at the end of the first half.
  • That possible second round game against Pittsburgh is going to keep me up at night too.
  • To be winning the entire game against Richmond only to lose it in overtime.  Heartbreaking, especially in the conference tournament.  What’s worse is that in three over time games this year Xavier has only won one of them.  Let’s hope to keep it in regulation for the remainder of the year.

So that should just about bring everyone up to speed on the happenings of some of our favorite local sports teams.  Or at least some of MY favorite sports teams, and since this is my blog, I win.

Posted in Bengals, Reds, Xavier Basketball | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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