1) Dwight Howard's jacket. Maybe with that max contract he'll get this offseason, he'll be able to afford something a little less awful.
Be thankful that I'm not going to begin my blog with other NBA thoughts, as they'd be profanity-laden and would include several unfair attacks on members of a certain NBA team that laid a total turd against the second-best team in the Eastern Conference last night. It's better for everyone if we just move on.
2) Tonight is not a must-win game for the UC Bearcats. It only feels like it. A loss to Connecticut would not submarine the season, and it would not destroy their NCAA Tournament chances, but at some point, if only to stave off the notion that the season is slipping away. The bracket dorks seem to think that they're okay, but at some point, these guys need to reel off a few wins. A couple of more losses before some wins by a team that's played .500 ball since 12/27, and we that NCAA bid we've taken for granted for months could, I repeat: could, be in jeopardy.
Which means at some point, UC could face a must-win, or a near must-win. This team is too moody, too inconsistent, and too offensively flawed for me to trust them right now in a high-stakes, absolute must-win scenario. Any more losses and this team could be in a position that no Bearcat fan would be comfortable with them being in.
UC has an advantage tonight: UConn is a terrible rebounding team. But how much will that be negated by another poor shooting night for UC, both from the line and from behind the arc? That question highlights a problem: that UC might indeed go into every game with a sufficient advantage in one or two key areas, but they can get negated by their consistently inconsistent offense. If that happens tonight, their March margin for error, which was once very wide, could shrink just a little more.
We're watching the game tonight at the Holy Grail Banks. Join us for bucket beer specials, giveaways from Hometown Sports and Collectibles, and more. One more time, here's the artwork....
3) No Johnny Cueto in the World Baseball Classic. I understand why Johnny would want to represent his country. I understand why any player would want to break up the monotony of a seven-week spring training, but Johnny Cueto the baseball play, first and foremost, is an investment, a commodity the Reds have at least $17 million invested in, and one who is a cornerstone to the team's success this season. The Reds' desire to have him not play doesn't necessarily say anything about his health. It says everything about how they wish to protect a very, very important investment.
4) The first spring training game is tomorrow. Who isn't happy about this? The first Cactus League game also means we'll get Dusty Baker's first lineup tomorrow. It's been months since Dusty Lineup Guy has had a starting nine to lose their minds over. Giving them a lineup to pick through tomorrow will be like driving me through a McDonald's drive-thru and stopping at the menu: I know I shouldn't spend much time perusing it, but I will. (I gave up fast food for lent)
Can we make a deal? Can we get through March without our heads exploding over the lineup for games that don't count? Maybe try to extend this to the first week of the season? Late April? May? The first 40 games?
I know, I know, some of the lineups don't make sense. And yes, the fun part of being a baseball fan is second-guessing the manager, but admit it, combing through every single lineup gets a little fatiguing, no? Let's pace ourselves, and get really, really mad when the lineups are egregiously bad, not when a certain player gets a day or when another gets moved down a spot or two.
Deal?
5) This is why I love John Calipari. With his team reeling, the season spiraling out of control, and sufficient questions being asked about how a team this talented could play hat poorly last week, he has his team play dodge-ball.
I know, stodgy old-school Bob Knight-wannabe probably cringes at the thought of a team that just got whacked by 30 points doing anything but puking after being forced to run the bleachers, but Calipari's tactic worked. Their win didn't come easy, but UK played as loose as they have all season last night, in beating Vanderbilt. More important, it showed what makes Calipari as good as anyone. The guy has a great feel for his teams, and what works for them. His team clearly needed to loosen up, and except for the nanny-state overlords who do things like ban the game, every one likes dodge-ball, and nothing builds camaraderie or loosens a team up like 30 minutes or so heaving balls at one another.
-There's More....
-As a career bench-warmer, I am highly-qualified to make a video like this. Patty Mills of the Spurs beat me to it....
-Here's the latest example of how silly the NCAA is.
-We're going to have Chris Herrell on the show today at 5:04. Chris is a Reds employee who was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer. His only hope is for bone marrow transplant. Find out if you're the match and the person who can save his life, at an event tomorrow at Great American Ballpark. There's all the info you need right here.
-Indy man gets drunk, steals Wal-Mart scooter, gets arrested, takes mugshot.
-Aaaaaand this is why the daughter I'll never have will not be going to college.
-More today as we get set for today's radio show on ESPN1530. If my high school gym teacher sees this, she'll cream herself....
