Saturday, March 26, 2005
ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR - ELITE EIGHT 3/26/05
FINAL UPDATE at 6:50 p.m.
Eight teams left.
Four teams play today.
Two teams punch their ticket to St. Louis today.
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ALBUQUERQUE REGION
#4 Louisville 93, #7 West Virginia 85 (OT)
If this is what we're in for when these two teams meet each other next year in Big East play, then count me in.
West Virginia hit a tournament record 18 3-pointers, but it wasn't enough. The Louisville Cardinals are headed to their first Final Four since 1986, when Pervis Ellison led the Cards to the national championship.
Rick Pitino returned to the Bluegrass State in 2001 after his second failed attempt in the NBA. Who knew that just 4 years later, he would be back in the Final Four? Louisville is Pitino's 3rd school he's taken to the Final Four (1987 Providence, 1993, 1996, 1997 Kentucky, and 2005 Louisville).
Needless to say, expect the Louisville fans to make the 5-6 hour trek to St. Louis next weekend.
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CHICAGO REGION
#1 Illinois 90, #3 Arizona 89 (OT)
Two overtime games today?
There's a reason why I love this thing called college basketball.
Illinois was left for dead. Not even the pro-Fighting Illini crowd could help them. But the Fighting Illini showed their heart. The heart of a champion, with apologies to Rudy Tomjanovich.
The Fighting Illini were down 77-63 with 3:33 left in the second half. But they went on a 17-3 run to send the game to overtime at 80-80. Deron Williams scored 6 of his 22 points in the overtime period as the Fighting Illini head to their first Final Four since 1989.
What is there to say about Arizona? Well, if you're expecting me to say "what a tough break for the Wildcats", then this isn't the site for that statement. David and I don't like Arizona. We're not into the whole "you have to root for your conference to do well" b.s., otherwise known as "conference loyalty". I have to put up with that type of attitude on a daily basis from the Arkansas fans. It's not a good attitude to have if you're a fan.
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See, something has gone right for my bracket. I had Illinois in my Final Four. Hopefully North Carolina can punch their ticket to St. Louis tomorrow afternoon.
It will be Illinois vs Louisville in one semifinal game next Saturday in the Edward Jones Dome. Who will meet up in other semifinal game?
You'll just have to watch the games tomorrow to find out. I know I will.
/ Click for main page
GUT
Welcome to Saturday. Amazingly, this one's on time.
For the random today...since this is Bremerton, I'm sure there's no rational explanation for it, but here's my word to the wise -- a Taco Bell Grilled Stuft Burrito comes out to $2.49 after tax at the Taco Bell on the west side of Bremerton on Kitsap Way. The Taco Bell on the east side of Bremerton on Wheaton Way near the ex-Albertsons that had the roof cave in a few years ago when we had that big huge holiday snowstorm followed by a ton of rain (slush is heavier than snow) charges only $2.38 for the same burrito. Nobody has taken over that ex-Albertsons building, and ever since Lowe's (formerly Eagle) moved out of the city limits like all big businesses do, only one-third of the building is still in operation, and that's being run by RiteAid.
To the post!
MARINERS
How many hitters out there would come into July hitting .315 and think that they needed to change their stance? Well, Ichiro did just that last year, and he raked, raked, and raked some more. All it took was bringing his feet four more inches apart in his stance and holding his bat at less of an angle. A strikeout yesterday ended his spring-ball streak at 50 at-bats without a strikeout. However, Ichiro went 240 ABs without striking out over in Japan (oh, the disappointment). If Ichiro ever establishes an all-time hitting streak, let's hope he stops it at 161 games, because he'll "quit baseball" if he hits in 162 straight.
Bench coach Ron Hassey is in charge of outfield defense. He doesn't mind how deep the four guys (three plus Raul Ibanez) usually play until they start getting balls hit over their heads. Since that's obvious, the meaningful part of the article (and this one) is that Scott Atchison will probably end up on the disabled list as he's pulled a Joel Pineiro (strained flexor bundle). Atchison will be reevaluated after being shut down from throwing for two weeks. That's not the only injury, though, as catcher Ryan Christianson was nailed on the backswing by Alberto Castillo, breaking his index finger under his mitt. He's out 4-6 weeks. Eddie Guardado, however, pitched without pain in a sim game. Also, since we've clarified that spring training baseball is meaningless, it gives me opportunities to look away when it comes to normally scary things, such as Jamie Moyer giving up 10 hits in six innings of a minor-league game.
SEAHAWKS
Jureveni, Jurevidi, Jurevicius. Joe Jurevicius will at the very least fill the spot vacated by the release of Jerry Rice. He's also a big dude at 6'5" and 230. Again, we're hoping he stays healthy and catches the damn ball. Again, I'm still more anxious to see what Tim Ruskell does with this team in the draft than I am at his chances on the free-agent market.
BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
Roanoke hosts Huntsville tonight and Columbus on Wednesday.
The Marvin Williams Watch
In the Tar Heels' 67-66 win against Villanova, Marvin Williams was saddled with three fouls in the first half. He ended up with 16 points in 24 minutes, shooting 4-for-9 from the field, 2-for-3 from beyond the arc, and 6-for-6 from the line. He also grabbed five rebounds and chipped in with a steal.
North Carolina will face Wisconsin tomorrow for a Final Four berth.
Huskies
The season's over, but the stream of articles isn't. The Huskies will miss having their backcourt experience and probably their perimeter shooting as well. Brandon Roy is on the fence about coming back, and he'd be a great player for the team to have back. As for the possibility of a home game with North Carolina next year, well, that'd be absolutely nuts. I know I'd love that, and it might because a meltdown at the Bremerton Sun.
Sonics
For my thoughts on last night's game, scroll down a post or click here if this is the only post on the page.
Now the Sonics are just cranking out wins any way they can get them. These recent wins aren't the tactical wins of perfect execution that put it well out of doubt before the final few minutes of the game. Now it seems like almost every game is ending up like that game in Houston, down to the final minutes. I'm just glad the Sonics didn't lose this one, because having Villanova scare North Carolina and having Wildcat alum Tim Thomas hit the three to send the game into overtime was too much for me to begin with. The Sonics weren't doing much for the sellout crowd until they finally started clicking in the fourth quarter, and Ray Allen hit some clutch threes. Thomas hit the overtime-forcing shot before the Sonics put together a big run to start overtime and bury the Knicks. A barrage of free throws at the end of the game enabled Ray Allen to get to 40 points and Rashard Lewis to get to 30. Lewis sure didn't look like a guy who'd had knee tendinitis flareups the night before. Last note about free throws -- the Sonics nailed their last 18 attempts from the line.
Upcoming...
Tomorrow vs. Washington (5p, FSNNW)
Tuesday at Memphis (5p, FSNNW)
Wednesday at San Antonio (5:30p, FSNNW)
Friday vs. Portland (7:30p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
Portland shut out Everett 3-0. The Silvertips were shut out in their last two games of the regular season, and the trend continued into their first playoff game. Everett was unbeaten with a 3-0-2 record in five games in Portland during the regular season, but that trend didn't hold up in this one. Everett will likely be without Tyler Dietrich for the entire series due to a broken ankle, and Portland is without leading scorer Dan Da Silva, who took a stick to the head from Zack FitzGerald of Seattle (who got a four-game suspension) last Saturday. Portland scored the winner when Brandon Dubinsky took the puck off an Everett skate and hit the open net with 1:43 to go in a very defensive second period. On an Everett power play in the third period, Braydon Coburn blocked a shot to set up a Portland rush, where Dubinsky fed Brian Woolger for a chip-in and a 2-0 lead with 9:33 left. Everett coach Kevin Constantine pulled goalie Mike Wall with all of 6:25 to go, but Everett couldn't take advantage of the extra skater and Dubinsky scored from his own red line. Dubinsky had an assist to go with his two goals. Shots were 33-20 for Portland. Mike Wall stopped 31 for the Silvertips, and Blake Grenier stopped all 20 for the Winter Hawks. Portland leads the series 1-0.
Vancouver beat Kelowna 4-3. The Rockets hadn't lost in Kelowna since mid-October. The Giants used a three-goal second period to steal a game on the road against a very good Kelowna team. Triston Grant, Gilbert Brule (on the power play), and Adam Courchaine (late) scored for the Giants in that second period. The Rockets did manage to tie it in the third period, but Conlan Seder got the winner with 7:42 to go. Adam Courchaine had an assist to go with his goal and was a plus-2 skater along with Seder. Shots were 30-24 for Kelowna, and Marek Schwarz stopped 27 for the Giants. Vancouver leads the series 1-0.
Russ Farwell, GM of the Seattle Thunderbirds, says many things, including that ownership isn't going to move the team to Edmonton or anything like that. The Tri-City Americans are "considering" a move to Chilliwack north of the border.
Also with some Thunderbird ink is a piece on Thunderbird Tyler Metcalfe, one who has had more stellar numbers in the past, but is playing on a better team than before.
Upcoming...
Today: Tri-City at Seattle (Game 1), Vancouver at Kelowna (Game 2), Saint John's at Manitoba
Tomorrow: Everett at Portland (Game 2)
Monday: Tri-City at Seattle (Game 2)
Tuesday: Portland at Everett (Game 3), Kelowna at Vancouver (Game 3)
Wednesday: Seattle at Tri-City (Game 3), Portland at Everett (Game 4), Kelowna at Vancouver (Game 4), Manitoba at Hamilton
Friday: Seattle at Tri-City (Game 4), Everett at Portland (Game 5 if necessary), Vancouver at Kelowna (Game 5 if necessary), Manitoba at Syracuse
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Have a great Saturday and a great weekend.
For the random today...since this is Bremerton, I'm sure there's no rational explanation for it, but here's my word to the wise -- a Taco Bell Grilled Stuft Burrito comes out to $2.49 after tax at the Taco Bell on the west side of Bremerton on Kitsap Way. The Taco Bell on the east side of Bremerton on Wheaton Way near the ex-Albertsons that had the roof cave in a few years ago when we had that big huge holiday snowstorm followed by a ton of rain (slush is heavier than snow) charges only $2.38 for the same burrito. Nobody has taken over that ex-Albertsons building, and ever since Lowe's (formerly Eagle) moved out of the city limits like all big businesses do, only one-third of the building is still in operation, and that's being run by RiteAid.
To the post!
MARINERS
How many hitters out there would come into July hitting .315 and think that they needed to change their stance? Well, Ichiro did just that last year, and he raked, raked, and raked some more. All it took was bringing his feet four more inches apart in his stance and holding his bat at less of an angle. A strikeout yesterday ended his spring-ball streak at 50 at-bats without a strikeout. However, Ichiro went 240 ABs without striking out over in Japan (oh, the disappointment). If Ichiro ever establishes an all-time hitting streak, let's hope he stops it at 161 games, because he'll "quit baseball" if he hits in 162 straight.
Bench coach Ron Hassey is in charge of outfield defense. He doesn't mind how deep the four guys (three plus Raul Ibanez) usually play until they start getting balls hit over their heads. Since that's obvious, the meaningful part of the article (and this one) is that Scott Atchison will probably end up on the disabled list as he's pulled a Joel Pineiro (strained flexor bundle). Atchison will be reevaluated after being shut down from throwing for two weeks. That's not the only injury, though, as catcher Ryan Christianson was nailed on the backswing by Alberto Castillo, breaking his index finger under his mitt. He's out 4-6 weeks. Eddie Guardado, however, pitched without pain in a sim game. Also, since we've clarified that spring training baseball is meaningless, it gives me opportunities to look away when it comes to normally scary things, such as Jamie Moyer giving up 10 hits in six innings of a minor-league game.
SEAHAWKS
Jureveni, Jurevidi, Jurevicius. Joe Jurevicius will at the very least fill the spot vacated by the release of Jerry Rice. He's also a big dude at 6'5" and 230. Again, we're hoping he stays healthy and catches the damn ball. Again, I'm still more anxious to see what Tim Ruskell does with this team in the draft than I am at his chances on the free-agent market.
BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
Roanoke hosts Huntsville tonight and Columbus on Wednesday.
The Marvin Williams Watch
In the Tar Heels' 67-66 win against Villanova, Marvin Williams was saddled with three fouls in the first half. He ended up with 16 points in 24 minutes, shooting 4-for-9 from the field, 2-for-3 from beyond the arc, and 6-for-6 from the line. He also grabbed five rebounds and chipped in with a steal.
North Carolina will face Wisconsin tomorrow for a Final Four berth.
Huskies
The season's over, but the stream of articles isn't. The Huskies will miss having their backcourt experience and probably their perimeter shooting as well. Brandon Roy is on the fence about coming back, and he'd be a great player for the team to have back. As for the possibility of a home game with North Carolina next year, well, that'd be absolutely nuts. I know I'd love that, and it might because a meltdown at the Bremerton Sun.
Sonics
For my thoughts on last night's game, scroll down a post or click here if this is the only post on the page.
Now the Sonics are just cranking out wins any way they can get them. These recent wins aren't the tactical wins of perfect execution that put it well out of doubt before the final few minutes of the game. Now it seems like almost every game is ending up like that game in Houston, down to the final minutes. I'm just glad the Sonics didn't lose this one, because having Villanova scare North Carolina and having Wildcat alum Tim Thomas hit the three to send the game into overtime was too much for me to begin with. The Sonics weren't doing much for the sellout crowd until they finally started clicking in the fourth quarter, and Ray Allen hit some clutch threes. Thomas hit the overtime-forcing shot before the Sonics put together a big run to start overtime and bury the Knicks. A barrage of free throws at the end of the game enabled Ray Allen to get to 40 points and Rashard Lewis to get to 30. Lewis sure didn't look like a guy who'd had knee tendinitis flareups the night before. Last note about free throws -- the Sonics nailed their last 18 attempts from the line.
Upcoming...
Tomorrow vs. Washington (5p, FSNNW)
Tuesday at Memphis (5p, FSNNW)
Wednesday at San Antonio (5:30p, FSNNW)
Friday vs. Portland (7:30p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
Portland shut out Everett 3-0. The Silvertips were shut out in their last two games of the regular season, and the trend continued into their first playoff game. Everett was unbeaten with a 3-0-2 record in five games in Portland during the regular season, but that trend didn't hold up in this one. Everett will likely be without Tyler Dietrich for the entire series due to a broken ankle, and Portland is without leading scorer Dan Da Silva, who took a stick to the head from Zack FitzGerald of Seattle (who got a four-game suspension) last Saturday. Portland scored the winner when Brandon Dubinsky took the puck off an Everett skate and hit the open net with 1:43 to go in a very defensive second period. On an Everett power play in the third period, Braydon Coburn blocked a shot to set up a Portland rush, where Dubinsky fed Brian Woolger for a chip-in and a 2-0 lead with 9:33 left. Everett coach Kevin Constantine pulled goalie Mike Wall with all of 6:25 to go, but Everett couldn't take advantage of the extra skater and Dubinsky scored from his own red line. Dubinsky had an assist to go with his two goals. Shots were 33-20 for Portland. Mike Wall stopped 31 for the Silvertips, and Blake Grenier stopped all 20 for the Winter Hawks. Portland leads the series 1-0.
Vancouver beat Kelowna 4-3. The Rockets hadn't lost in Kelowna since mid-October. The Giants used a three-goal second period to steal a game on the road against a very good Kelowna team. Triston Grant, Gilbert Brule (on the power play), and Adam Courchaine (late) scored for the Giants in that second period. The Rockets did manage to tie it in the third period, but Conlan Seder got the winner with 7:42 to go. Adam Courchaine had an assist to go with his goal and was a plus-2 skater along with Seder. Shots were 30-24 for Kelowna, and Marek Schwarz stopped 27 for the Giants. Vancouver leads the series 1-0.
Russ Farwell, GM of the Seattle Thunderbirds, says many things, including that ownership isn't going to move the team to Edmonton or anything like that. The Tri-City Americans are "considering" a move to Chilliwack north of the border.
Also with some Thunderbird ink is a piece on Thunderbird Tyler Metcalfe, one who has had more stellar numbers in the past, but is playing on a better team than before.
Upcoming...
Today: Tri-City at Seattle (Game 1), Vancouver at Kelowna (Game 2), Saint John's at Manitoba
Tomorrow: Everett at Portland (Game 2)
Monday: Tri-City at Seattle (Game 2)
Tuesday: Portland at Everett (Game 3), Kelowna at Vancouver (Game 3)
Wednesday: Seattle at Tri-City (Game 3), Portland at Everett (Game 4), Kelowna at Vancouver (Game 4), Manitoba at Hamilton
Friday: Seattle at Tri-City (Game 4), Everett at Portland (Game 5 if necessary), Vancouver at Kelowna (Game 5 if necessary), Manitoba at Syracuse
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Have a great Saturday and a great weekend.
/ Click for main page
GAME 68: SUPERSONICS 109, KNICKERBOCKERS 101 (OT)
SuperSonics 109, Knickerbockers 101 (OT)
The Sonics didn't know until pretty close to game time about whether Rashard Lewis would play after having sat out the final three quarters of the game the night before. Luckily they had him for all of this one, because they needed him and Ray Allen to get this win.
To put the game in a nutshell, the Sonics just stayed afloat through the first three quarters, but never were clicking until the fourth quarter.
In the first quarter, both teams stayed close to one another until a Luke Ridnour midrange pop, Rashard Lewis three, and an Evans layup opened up a six-point Sonic lead at 17-11 with under five minutes to go in the quarter. Rashard Lewis answered a couple of Tim Thomas free throws with a jumper of his own to put the lead back to six (19-13). Two Ray Allen baskets put the Sonics up by nine at 23-14 with about three minutes left before the Knicks closed the quarter on a 5-0 run. The Sonics led 23-19 after one quarter.
In the second quarter, the Knicks hit their first four baskets and carried their run over from the first quarter, which became a 13-0 run. The Sonics called timeout at that point after having missed nine straight shots. Stephon Marbury tacked on a couple baskets to make it a 17-4 run before a Vitaly Potapenko jumphook and some Lewis free throws tied the game at 27 with seven minutes left in the half. The Sonics should keep some momentum and hang close in this game, right? The Knicks then went on a 7-0 run. The Sonics missed four shots in that stretch to go along with two turnovers. New York opened their lead to 11, their largest lead of the game, at 42-31 with 2:51 to go with some Stephon Marbury free throws. Fortunately for the Sonics, a combination of Ray Allen, Antonio Daniels, and Rashard Lewis were able to key a 7-0 Sonic run to take to the locker room. The Sonics trailed 42-38 at the half.
If I tallied the numbers right, the Sonics actually had more turnovers (6) than field goals (5-for-19) in the second quarter. Even with their poor shooting, the Sonics were technically playing pretty good defense against the Knicks in the first half as they'd only allowed 42 points, which is pretty good. As mentioned, though, the Sonics weren't hitting shots. Also, New York was living at the free-throw line, hitting 14 of 17 in the first half. It's a surprise to me that the Sonics didn't get tripped up in any foul trouble with all the free throws the Knicks got in this one.
As an added subplot, Danny Fortson apparently did not come out with the team for the second half, though he was on the bench later. He never stepped onto the floor though. Kevin Calabro thought Fortson might have entered the doghouse again.
In the third quarter, some dirty work from Reggie Evans down low (offensive board, putback, and foul) right after halftime got the Sonics their first lead since early in the second quarter (43-42). That set off a stretch of about 5:30 where both teams traded baskets and short-lived leads. Then the Knicks reeled off a 9-2 run capped by a Jamal Crawford three to pull out to a 65-59 lead, which they carried into the final two minutes of the quarter. The Sonics were able to chip the Knicks' lead down to three at 69-66 to end the quarter, helped by five straight Sonic points by Allen, including a three-ball. Michael Sweetney was huge for the Knicks, scoring 8 points in the quarter, thanks largely in part to the fact that he was consistently beating Jerome James down the floor. In the draft two years ago, some media types thought the Sonics would take Sweetney, the Georgetown product, in the first round. The Sonics did take a big body in the first round that year, but it was Nick Collison (more on him later). Sweetney did end up with 12 points and 10 boards in 22 minutes of this game, though.
Ray Allen missed a three and Nick Collison missed a jumpshot on the first possession of the fourth quarter. Both players scored on the next two Sonic possessions, with Allen hitting a three and Collison being found down low for a layup on a nice pass by Daniels. Collison's bucket gave the Sonics a one-point lead at 71-70 with 10:26 to go, and they started piling onto the lead. On the next Sonic possession, Collison battled for a rebound down low, passed the ball out to the perimeter, and was eventually rewarded for his work, finishing it off with a layup. Collison stuffed Maurice Taylor on the other end, and Antonio Daniels broke to the basket for a layup and one off that block. Vitaly then nailed two free throws after beating the defense down the floor to give the Sonics a lead of eight (78-70) with 8:23 to go as the Sonics had gone on a 12-1 run. The Sonics were able to keep a two-possession lead until Sweetney cleaned up a miss for a layup with 6:09 to go. Shortly after New York went over the limit in team fouls, Ray Allen bounced the lead back out to two possessions with a three-ball with 5:16 to go (Sonics 83-79). The Knicks scored the next five points to take the lead at 84-83 with 3:49 left. Malik Rose hit the go-ahead free throws, but was whistled for illegal defense on the other end, where Ray Allen tied the game with the free throw on a technical. The teams traded free throws. The Sonics were inbounding the ball with four seconds left on the shot clock and Nick Collison (not the first guy to touch the ball) found Ray Allen for a clutch three to put the Sonics up 89-86 with 2:25 to go. Ray Allen tried sucking up the shot clock on the next possession as well (he might have been the only one to touch the ball in the Sonics' end), but he bricked his shot this time. Both sides then combined to miss the next five shots taken in the game before a Kurt Thomas tip-in cut the Sonic lead to 89-88 with under a minute to go. Ridnour missed a midrange shot, then Collison swatted Stephon Marbury on a drive to the basket.
It appeared the game would end in a foulfest with the Sonics winning. Ray Allen was going to the line with the Sonics up 89-88 with 23 ticks left on the clock. Allen hit both, and Ridnour fouled Marbury before he could drive to the basket. David Locke was on the air saying that the stat-privy people in the Sonic organization crunched numbers to find that it's a lot more optimal to actually foul if you have a three-point lead with that much time left on the clock. Marbury cashed in his free throws to cut the lead back to one. Ridnour was immediately fouled on the inbound. He calmly hit his free throws, which were answered by a Marbury layup. Ridnour was immediately fouled and hit both free throws a second time to give the Sonics a 95-92 lead with 11 ticks left. Then Tim Thomas busted a three in Luke Ridnour's face to tie the game at 95. Props to Thomas, because Ridnour had him defended pretty well. The Sonics had the ball with 9.5 seconds left, and Rashard Lewis had his shot blocked. He grabbed his own rebound and stepped back along the baseline for another shot, but it rimmed too short.
Then the Sonics scored the first seven points of overtime. Ray Allen scored the first five on free throws and a three-ball, then Rashard Lewis nailed a hopper as well to stake the sonics to a 102-95 lead with 1:22 to go. Of course, you probably need the other team to miss shots if you go on a 7-0 overtime run, and that's what happened, as the Knicks missed their first seven shots. Tim Thomas had just cut the Sonic lead to five with just over a minute left when Malik Rose was called for his 6th foul after reaching in on Rashard Lewis' offensive board. Rose kicked the scorers' table and was tech'd by Steve Javie. Ray Allen cashed in the free throw, and Rose's antics pushed a five-point Sonic lead out to a six-point Sonic lead at 103-97 with 38.5 seconds left. From this point, it was a foulfest with a couple of meaningless Marbury layups thrown in there.
PEEK AT THE BOXSCORE
starters
Ray Allen 40 pts/9 reb/2 ast (13-23 FG, 6-11 3pt, 8-8 free throws, 47 min), Rashard Lewis 30 pts/7 reb/4 ast (8-22 FG, 2-8 3pt, 12-12 free throws, 46 min), Luke Ridnour 15 pts/2 reb/3 ast (5-11 FG, 1-2 3pt, 4-4 free throws, 39 min), Reggie Evans 4 pts/10 reb/2 stl (2-2 FG, 0-3 free throws, 24 min)
bench
Nick Collison 8 pts/9 reb/3 blk (4-6 FG, 30 min), Vitaly Potapenko 6 pts/5 reb (2-3 FG, 2-2 free throws, 28 min), Antonio Daniels 4 pts/2 reb/7 ast (1-7 FG, 0-3 3pt, 2-5 free throws), Ron Murray 0 pts/0 reb (0-2 FG, 7 min), Damien Wilkins 0 pts/0 reb (0-2 FG, 6 min)
Jerome James Watch
2 pts/3 reb/1 stl (1 turnover, 4 fouls, 14 min)
team
shot 36-for-81 (44.4%) from the field, shot 9-for-25 (36%) from downtown, shot 28-for-34 (82.4%) from the line, outrebounded New York 47-41, turned the ball over 16 times, were beaten 46-36 in the paint, bench was outscored 21-18 (but outrebounded them 16-12)
In the last minute of free-throw madness, Ray Allen got to 40 points and Rashard Lewis got to 30. Insanely great night for those two, as they more than stepped up when the team needed them. The Ron Murrays, Vitaly Potapenkos, and Damien Wilkinses of the world can step up off the bench to have their big nights every once in a while, but it's great to know that the two key cogs in the wheel are still functioning quite well, and boy, did they ever do that tonight. Another ironic thing -- though the Knicks stayed close through much of the early part of the game by getting to the free-throw line, the Sonics hit their last 18 free-throw attempts to seal the game.
Nick Collison had 6 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks in his fourth quarter and overtime. I REALLY like what Nick Collison is bringing to this team. All that time when Danny Fortson was out has allowed Collison to get more minutes, have his nose broken, but really get stuff done. As much as I like Fortson, he's definitely not a long-term proposition down low for the Sonics, but Collison is. The future looks bright. I also love that move where he pivots about four times on the mid-block and then nails his jumpshot. Now if he'd just brush up on his free throws (he didn't take any tonight), he'd be great. The Sonic broadcast crew noted that the Sonics were switching out Collison on Stephon Marbury all night, which seemed to work. The Sonics' scouting reports also dug up something saying that Marbury is way better scoring right than left. Collison forced Marbury left on that key play in the fourth quarter before he swatted his shot.
Since Reggie Evans didn't get more than 24 minutes (though he had a quiet 10 boards), and Jerome James was getting lit up by Michael Sweetney, it was possible to think the Sonics might have a different look down low. Coach McMillan was trotting out Collison and Vitaly at times in this game, and it appeared to be working, though James sort of forced McMillan's hand.
Antonio Daniels only shot 1-for-7, though he did have the 7 assists. Another note by Calabro/Ehlo was that Daniels is really feeling the pinch of Vladimir Radmanovic's absence. Needless to say, a defender (possibly a big defender) doesn't have to come out high to defend the lethal-shooting Radmanovic, who might be wandering out on the perimeter and/or setting picks of sometimes questionable quality. Still, it's hard to replace that type of option, and therefore that frees up one guy to take on another Sonic. So, it's probably not too much of a surprise that Daniels might be a bit down.
The starting lineup minus Evans (who's horrible at free-throw shooting) was a perfect 24-for-24 from the line. That's just plain outstanding.
Was it the greatest win? Definitely not. Is it great to see the Sonics pick it back up even after they really had no grip on the game for the first three quarters? Yes. Is it surprising to know that the Sonics are 5-0 without Vladimir Radmanovic? Very much so. Would I ice the crap out of my knee tonight if I were Rashard Lewis? Absolutely.
I would have asked Jinkies if Peja ever makes him wear cat-knickers, or if there is indeed such a thing.
The Sonics didn't know until pretty close to game time about whether Rashard Lewis would play after having sat out the final three quarters of the game the night before. Luckily they had him for all of this one, because they needed him and Ray Allen to get this win.
To put the game in a nutshell, the Sonics just stayed afloat through the first three quarters, but never were clicking until the fourth quarter.
In the first quarter, both teams stayed close to one another until a Luke Ridnour midrange pop, Rashard Lewis three, and an Evans layup opened up a six-point Sonic lead at 17-11 with under five minutes to go in the quarter. Rashard Lewis answered a couple of Tim Thomas free throws with a jumper of his own to put the lead back to six (19-13). Two Ray Allen baskets put the Sonics up by nine at 23-14 with about three minutes left before the Knicks closed the quarter on a 5-0 run. The Sonics led 23-19 after one quarter.
In the second quarter, the Knicks hit their first four baskets and carried their run over from the first quarter, which became a 13-0 run. The Sonics called timeout at that point after having missed nine straight shots. Stephon Marbury tacked on a couple baskets to make it a 17-4 run before a Vitaly Potapenko jumphook and some Lewis free throws tied the game at 27 with seven minutes left in the half. The Sonics should keep some momentum and hang close in this game, right? The Knicks then went on a 7-0 run. The Sonics missed four shots in that stretch to go along with two turnovers. New York opened their lead to 11, their largest lead of the game, at 42-31 with 2:51 to go with some Stephon Marbury free throws. Fortunately for the Sonics, a combination of Ray Allen, Antonio Daniels, and Rashard Lewis were able to key a 7-0 Sonic run to take to the locker room. The Sonics trailed 42-38 at the half.
If I tallied the numbers right, the Sonics actually had more turnovers (6) than field goals (5-for-19) in the second quarter. Even with their poor shooting, the Sonics were technically playing pretty good defense against the Knicks in the first half as they'd only allowed 42 points, which is pretty good. As mentioned, though, the Sonics weren't hitting shots. Also, New York was living at the free-throw line, hitting 14 of 17 in the first half. It's a surprise to me that the Sonics didn't get tripped up in any foul trouble with all the free throws the Knicks got in this one.
As an added subplot, Danny Fortson apparently did not come out with the team for the second half, though he was on the bench later. He never stepped onto the floor though. Kevin Calabro thought Fortson might have entered the doghouse again.
In the third quarter, some dirty work from Reggie Evans down low (offensive board, putback, and foul) right after halftime got the Sonics their first lead since early in the second quarter (43-42). That set off a stretch of about 5:30 where both teams traded baskets and short-lived leads. Then the Knicks reeled off a 9-2 run capped by a Jamal Crawford three to pull out to a 65-59 lead, which they carried into the final two minutes of the quarter. The Sonics were able to chip the Knicks' lead down to three at 69-66 to end the quarter, helped by five straight Sonic points by Allen, including a three-ball. Michael Sweetney was huge for the Knicks, scoring 8 points in the quarter, thanks largely in part to the fact that he was consistently beating Jerome James down the floor. In the draft two years ago, some media types thought the Sonics would take Sweetney, the Georgetown product, in the first round. The Sonics did take a big body in the first round that year, but it was Nick Collison (more on him later). Sweetney did end up with 12 points and 10 boards in 22 minutes of this game, though.
Ray Allen missed a three and Nick Collison missed a jumpshot on the first possession of the fourth quarter. Both players scored on the next two Sonic possessions, with Allen hitting a three and Collison being found down low for a layup on a nice pass by Daniels. Collison's bucket gave the Sonics a one-point lead at 71-70 with 10:26 to go, and they started piling onto the lead. On the next Sonic possession, Collison battled for a rebound down low, passed the ball out to the perimeter, and was eventually rewarded for his work, finishing it off with a layup. Collison stuffed Maurice Taylor on the other end, and Antonio Daniels broke to the basket for a layup and one off that block. Vitaly then nailed two free throws after beating the defense down the floor to give the Sonics a lead of eight (78-70) with 8:23 to go as the Sonics had gone on a 12-1 run. The Sonics were able to keep a two-possession lead until Sweetney cleaned up a miss for a layup with 6:09 to go. Shortly after New York went over the limit in team fouls, Ray Allen bounced the lead back out to two possessions with a three-ball with 5:16 to go (Sonics 83-79). The Knicks scored the next five points to take the lead at 84-83 with 3:49 left. Malik Rose hit the go-ahead free throws, but was whistled for illegal defense on the other end, where Ray Allen tied the game with the free throw on a technical. The teams traded free throws. The Sonics were inbounding the ball with four seconds left on the shot clock and Nick Collison (not the first guy to touch the ball) found Ray Allen for a clutch three to put the Sonics up 89-86 with 2:25 to go. Ray Allen tried sucking up the shot clock on the next possession as well (he might have been the only one to touch the ball in the Sonics' end), but he bricked his shot this time. Both sides then combined to miss the next five shots taken in the game before a Kurt Thomas tip-in cut the Sonic lead to 89-88 with under a minute to go. Ridnour missed a midrange shot, then Collison swatted Stephon Marbury on a drive to the basket.
It appeared the game would end in a foulfest with the Sonics winning. Ray Allen was going to the line with the Sonics up 89-88 with 23 ticks left on the clock. Allen hit both, and Ridnour fouled Marbury before he could drive to the basket. David Locke was on the air saying that the stat-privy people in the Sonic organization crunched numbers to find that it's a lot more optimal to actually foul if you have a three-point lead with that much time left on the clock. Marbury cashed in his free throws to cut the lead back to one. Ridnour was immediately fouled on the inbound. He calmly hit his free throws, which were answered by a Marbury layup. Ridnour was immediately fouled and hit both free throws a second time to give the Sonics a 95-92 lead with 11 ticks left. Then Tim Thomas busted a three in Luke Ridnour's face to tie the game at 95. Props to Thomas, because Ridnour had him defended pretty well. The Sonics had the ball with 9.5 seconds left, and Rashard Lewis had his shot blocked. He grabbed his own rebound and stepped back along the baseline for another shot, but it rimmed too short.
Then the Sonics scored the first seven points of overtime. Ray Allen scored the first five on free throws and a three-ball, then Rashard Lewis nailed a hopper as well to stake the sonics to a 102-95 lead with 1:22 to go. Of course, you probably need the other team to miss shots if you go on a 7-0 overtime run, and that's what happened, as the Knicks missed their first seven shots. Tim Thomas had just cut the Sonic lead to five with just over a minute left when Malik Rose was called for his 6th foul after reaching in on Rashard Lewis' offensive board. Rose kicked the scorers' table and was tech'd by Steve Javie. Ray Allen cashed in the free throw, and Rose's antics pushed a five-point Sonic lead out to a six-point Sonic lead at 103-97 with 38.5 seconds left. From this point, it was a foulfest with a couple of meaningless Marbury layups thrown in there.
PEEK AT THE BOXSCORE
starters
Ray Allen 40 pts/9 reb/2 ast (13-23 FG, 6-11 3pt, 8-8 free throws, 47 min), Rashard Lewis 30 pts/7 reb/4 ast (8-22 FG, 2-8 3pt, 12-12 free throws, 46 min), Luke Ridnour 15 pts/2 reb/3 ast (5-11 FG, 1-2 3pt, 4-4 free throws, 39 min), Reggie Evans 4 pts/10 reb/2 stl (2-2 FG, 0-3 free throws, 24 min)
bench
Nick Collison 8 pts/9 reb/3 blk (4-6 FG, 30 min), Vitaly Potapenko 6 pts/5 reb (2-3 FG, 2-2 free throws, 28 min), Antonio Daniels 4 pts/2 reb/7 ast (1-7 FG, 0-3 3pt, 2-5 free throws), Ron Murray 0 pts/0 reb (0-2 FG, 7 min), Damien Wilkins 0 pts/0 reb (0-2 FG, 6 min)
Jerome James Watch
2 pts/3 reb/1 stl (1 turnover, 4 fouls, 14 min)
team
shot 36-for-81 (44.4%) from the field, shot 9-for-25 (36%) from downtown, shot 28-for-34 (82.4%) from the line, outrebounded New York 47-41, turned the ball over 16 times, were beaten 46-36 in the paint, bench was outscored 21-18 (but outrebounded them 16-12)
In the last minute of free-throw madness, Ray Allen got to 40 points and Rashard Lewis got to 30. Insanely great night for those two, as they more than stepped up when the team needed them. The Ron Murrays, Vitaly Potapenkos, and Damien Wilkinses of the world can step up off the bench to have their big nights every once in a while, but it's great to know that the two key cogs in the wheel are still functioning quite well, and boy, did they ever do that tonight. Another ironic thing -- though the Knicks stayed close through much of the early part of the game by getting to the free-throw line, the Sonics hit their last 18 free-throw attempts to seal the game.
Nick Collison had 6 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks in his fourth quarter and overtime. I REALLY like what Nick Collison is bringing to this team. All that time when Danny Fortson was out has allowed Collison to get more minutes, have his nose broken, but really get stuff done. As much as I like Fortson, he's definitely not a long-term proposition down low for the Sonics, but Collison is. The future looks bright. I also love that move where he pivots about four times on the mid-block and then nails his jumpshot. Now if he'd just brush up on his free throws (he didn't take any tonight), he'd be great. The Sonic broadcast crew noted that the Sonics were switching out Collison on Stephon Marbury all night, which seemed to work. The Sonics' scouting reports also dug up something saying that Marbury is way better scoring right than left. Collison forced Marbury left on that key play in the fourth quarter before he swatted his shot.
Since Reggie Evans didn't get more than 24 minutes (though he had a quiet 10 boards), and Jerome James was getting lit up by Michael Sweetney, it was possible to think the Sonics might have a different look down low. Coach McMillan was trotting out Collison and Vitaly at times in this game, and it appeared to be working, though James sort of forced McMillan's hand.
Antonio Daniels only shot 1-for-7, though he did have the 7 assists. Another note by Calabro/Ehlo was that Daniels is really feeling the pinch of Vladimir Radmanovic's absence. Needless to say, a defender (possibly a big defender) doesn't have to come out high to defend the lethal-shooting Radmanovic, who might be wandering out on the perimeter and/or setting picks of sometimes questionable quality. Still, it's hard to replace that type of option, and therefore that frees up one guy to take on another Sonic. So, it's probably not too much of a surprise that Daniels might be a bit down.
The starting lineup minus Evans (who's horrible at free-throw shooting) was a perfect 24-for-24 from the line. That's just plain outstanding.
Was it the greatest win? Definitely not. Is it great to see the Sonics pick it back up even after they really had no grip on the game for the first three quarters? Yes. Is it surprising to know that the Sonics are 5-0 without Vladimir Radmanovic? Very much so. Would I ice the crap out of my knee tonight if I were Rashard Lewis? Absolutely.
I would have asked Jinkies if Peja ever makes him wear cat-knickers, or if there is indeed such a thing.
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Friday, March 25, 2005
ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR - SWEET 16 3/25/05
FINAL UPDATE at 9:45 p.m.
Now that the Huskies are gone, you might as well root for North Carolina.
After all, the Tar Heels have a certain Bremertonian on their roster. Just sayin'.
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AUSTIN REGION
#5 Michigan State 78, #1 Duke 68
While I didn't have the Spartans in my bracket (I had them going down to Old Dominion in the 1st round), I did have Duke losing in the Sweet 16.
Oh, and Salim Stoudamire is a better shooter than J.J. Redick.
Redick's line for the night?
13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists (4-for-14 FG)
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SYRACUSE REGION
#6 Wisconsin 65, #10 North Carolina State 56
Well, look at what we have here. There are THREE teams from the Big Ten in the Elite Eight (Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan State).
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AUSTIN REGION
#2 Kentucky 62, #6 Utah 52
It just wasn't meant to be for the Utah Utes.
Not even Andrew Bogut can get the Utes past Kentucky. But when you go 14-for-28 from the free throw line, chances are you aren't going to win many ballgames.
Bogut scored 20 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. However, Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith is a big time coach. He proved that tonight by using his bench to neutralize the Utes, even with Bogut's solid numbers. That's what Kentucky has done all year long. It isn't just one player with Kentucky. There's a reason why they're headed to the Elite Eight.
As for Utah, Ray Giacoletti's first season in Salt Lake City has ended. The Utes won 29 games and made it to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1998. They'll more than likely lose Bogut to the NBA, but I believe that Giacoletti will keep the Utes afloat. He'll get the Utes back to the NCAA Tournament, no doubt about it.
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SYRACUSE REGION
#1 North Carolina 67, #5 Villanova 66
The Marvin Williams Watch
Marvin Williams was in foul trouble for most of the night (had 3 fouls in the 1st half). But the freshman from Bremerton was able to keep his composure, scoring 16 points as the Tar Heels survive and advance in Syracuse, holding off Villanova 67-66.
Williams was 4-for-8 from the field and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. He also pulled down 4 rebounds.
Give credit to Villanova, they certainly made it a ballgame. However, I didn't get to see much of it, since I had Utah-Kentucky.
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How's the conference breakdown looking going into the Elite Eight?
ACC - 1 (North Carolina)
Big East - 1 (West Virginia)
Big 10 - 3 (Illinois, Michigan State, Wisconsin)
Conference USA - 1 (Louisville)
Pac-10 - 1 (Arizona)
SEC - 1 (Kentucky)
How many of those 8 teams do I still have left in my bracket?
2, Illinois and North Carolina. And I have both of those teams in my Final Four as well.
West Virginia-Louisville is the first game tomorrow (1:40 p.m.) followed by Arizona-Illinois (4:05 p.m.). Once again, I'd love to see a bracket that had West Virginia facing Louisville in the Elite Eight.
Pat O'Brien looked at my bracket and said, "I once knew a girl from Louisville. She slugged me after I told her I was so f**king into her."
If you haven't already, you need to read this blog genius. After all, you can't go wrong with a blog that brings up Irene Cara and Boggle.
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GOODBYE, DUKIES!
My paint shop effort sucks on this one, but y'all get the message.
Yes, I'm slipping.
But hey, it's a celebration!
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RUNOVER
Welcome to Friday. Are you ready for the weekend yet? I think right now Stimpson J. Cat would say, "I don't think you're happy enough!!"
For the random...I've gone off about this next topic to just about everyone I know, and now I'm passing on the savings to you, the Sports and B's reader. There's a State Farm Insurance commercial out there where it shows a couple who had gone to State Farm to sort out an occurrence where the husband/boyfriend was sending his wife/girlfriend off to work. He was standing in the driveway, about to back away from the window when his significant other backed over his foot and managed to run over it twice (there's a nice dramatization of this). Then the pitch comes, they had to find out whether it was a health claim and/or a car claim, etc. What do I come away with from the commercial? The husband/boyfriend carries the trump card in EVERY possible argument after that. How can he not? "Honey, you were out way too late with your buddies last night!" "Well, at least I don't run over your foot with the car!" "Honey, you never put the cap on the toothpaste/leave the toilet seat down, and it's really making me mad!" "At least I never ran over your foot with the car!" Seriously, is it possible for the woman to win ANY argument after that?
To the post!
MARINERS
The third pitch that Felix Hernandez blew past Vlad Guerrero is still getting some talk. The problem for Felix is that he's 18 and he hasn't been stretched too far in his outings. Thus, he should get ready for some fine Tacoman hospitality.
Bret Boone likes the veteranlike poise of one Jeremy Reed. Since no one cares about that, Bucky Jacobsen was cleared to take some swings off a tee today.
The lefty hopefuls in the pen apparently aren't doing too well to the point where Damian Moss is even part of the conversation. Moss does have some history with Hargrove from Baltimore. In the same article, Felix Hernandez apparently said that he expects to be sent to Tacoma.
SEAHAWKS
Joe Jurevicius is apparently close to a contract with the Seahawks. We shall hope he stays healthy and catches the damn ball. The team also claimed Joe Tafoya (defensive end) off waivers from the Falcons. Courtney Brown, who had been in Kirkland for a visit, will probably be a Bronco.
[Add ~11:52a -- Jurevicius is officially in. Thanks to Morgan for the heads-up.]
Tim Ruskell is looking for character guys, which is echoed through the moves the Seahawks have made this offseason. He also put an emphasis on players doing the offseason conditioning program, though obviously a couple of players won't show up (Shaun Alexander, unsigned) and the team has a bunch of guys coming off surgery who aren't ready to start doing conditioning yet.
BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
Miah Davis was did not play in last night's 107-103 loss to Fayetteville due to an ankle sprain he suffered in the previous game. Thanks to Jeremy for the heads-up on the ankle sprain and the fact that a Roanoke paper does indeed exist, and that I should look at it more often.
Roanoke hosts Huntsville tomorrow night and Columbus on Wednesday.
The Marvin Williams Watch
The Tar Heels will face East 5th-seeded Villanova tonight (6:57p, CBS)
Huskies
Well, that was unbelievably quick, wasn't it? I watched much of the first half, saw Nate Robinson get that cheap foul for number three, and then the Huskies just went in the tank and never recovered. Then I had dinner, came back for the last few minutes of the second half, and it wasn't even close. I'm not going to say that Robinson and Simmons suffered Turiaf-like fates, but it's almost up to that level. The Huskies always had higher expectations of themselves than even the fans, and now they are left to lament what they feel should have been. It looks like it's goodbye for Nate Robinson and probably another for Brandon Roy, though some people don't think so.
Sonics
For my thoughts on last night's game, scroll down a post or click here if this post is the only one on the page.
The Sonics had Ray Allen back in the starting lineup last night, but Rashard Lewis came out of the game in the first quarter due to a flareup of his knee tendinitis.
Who would fill the scoring void of Rashard, and could this team win without his services for three quarters? The answer to that two-part question is Damien Wilkins, and yes. Just like a couple of recent games, I merely thought Damien Wilkins would come off the bench and maybe spell some of the other guys for a couple minutes here or there. He'd maybe play 5 or 6 minutes, maybe shoot 1-for-3 and grab three rebounds. Even after Rashard went down, I thought maybe Ron Murray or Vitaly Potapenko would step in and pick up the slack. Admittedly, Potapenko picking up the slack would have been weird, especially if he and Jerome James were on the floor simultaneously. James did very well last night, but this is Damien's paragraph. He made a basket here and there, and blocked a shot here and there, and Coach McMillan must have really liked Wilkins' scoring or his defense, or both. Either way, it earned him more than the usual minutes. McMillan rode the hot hand and it didn't disappoint.
Upcoming...
Tonight vs. New York (7:30p, ESPN)
Sunday vs. Washington (5p, FSNNW)
Tuesday at Memphis (5p, FSNNW)
Wednesday at San Antonio (5:30p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
Manitoba beat Saint John's 6-4. The Moose answered the Saint John's three-goal explosion in the second period by returning the favor in the third period. Danny Groulx scored on the power play and Justin Morrison scored for the Moose in the first period to erase and early Leaf lead. Kent Huskins scored early in the second period for Manitoba before the Leafs scored two quick goals to tie it and got the go-ahead goal with 15 ticks left in the period. Then the Moose came out firing in the third period, outshooting the Leafs 15-7. Danny Groulx tied it up and Kevin Bieksa got the winner. Ryan Kesler iced the game into the empty net. Shots were 32-25 for Manitoba. Wade Flaherty stopped 14 of the first 18 shots, and Alex Auld stopped all seven shots he faced.
The Seattle Thunderbirds are ready for the WHL playoffs, and not just on the ice. They're not just doing playoff beards, they're getting crazy haircuts. As for the series, the T-Birds are up against a Tri-City team with NHL prospect Carey Price in net. In a related story, the Americans are trying to pull up stakes and move across the border to Chilliwack, BC. I'll take a wild guess and say that they'd probably draw better crowds up there.
Upcoming...
Tonight: Everett at Portland (Game 1), Vancouver at Kelowna (Game 1)
Tomorrow: Tri-City at Seattle (Game 1), Vancouver at Kelowna (Game 2), Saint John's at Manitoba
Sunday: Everett at Portland (Game 2)
Monday: Tri-City at Seattle (Game 2)
Tuesday: Portland at Everett (Game 3), Kelowna at Vancouver (Game 3)
Wednesday: Seattle at Tri-City (Game 3), Portland at Everett (Game 4), Kelowna at Vancouver (Game 4), Manitoba at Hamilton
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Have a great Friday and a great weekend.
For the random...I've gone off about this next topic to just about everyone I know, and now I'm passing on the savings to you, the Sports and B's reader. There's a State Farm Insurance commercial out there where it shows a couple who had gone to State Farm to sort out an occurrence where the husband/boyfriend was sending his wife/girlfriend off to work. He was standing in the driveway, about to back away from the window when his significant other backed over his foot and managed to run over it twice (there's a nice dramatization of this). Then the pitch comes, they had to find out whether it was a health claim and/or a car claim, etc. What do I come away with from the commercial? The husband/boyfriend carries the trump card in EVERY possible argument after that. How can he not? "Honey, you were out way too late with your buddies last night!" "Well, at least I don't run over your foot with the car!" "Honey, you never put the cap on the toothpaste/leave the toilet seat down, and it's really making me mad!" "At least I never ran over your foot with the car!" Seriously, is it possible for the woman to win ANY argument after that?
To the post!
MARINERS
The third pitch that Felix Hernandez blew past Vlad Guerrero is still getting some talk. The problem for Felix is that he's 18 and he hasn't been stretched too far in his outings. Thus, he should get ready for some fine Tacoman hospitality.
Bret Boone likes the veteranlike poise of one Jeremy Reed. Since no one cares about that, Bucky Jacobsen was cleared to take some swings off a tee today.
The lefty hopefuls in the pen apparently aren't doing too well to the point where Damian Moss is even part of the conversation. Moss does have some history with Hargrove from Baltimore. In the same article, Felix Hernandez apparently said that he expects to be sent to Tacoma.
SEAHAWKS
Joe Jurevicius is apparently close to a contract with the Seahawks. We shall hope he stays healthy and catches the damn ball. The team also claimed Joe Tafoya (defensive end) off waivers from the Falcons. Courtney Brown, who had been in Kirkland for a visit, will probably be a Bronco.
[Add ~11:52a -- Jurevicius is officially in. Thanks to Morgan for the heads-up.]
Tim Ruskell is looking for character guys, which is echoed through the moves the Seahawks have made this offseason. He also put an emphasis on players doing the offseason conditioning program, though obviously a couple of players won't show up (Shaun Alexander, unsigned) and the team has a bunch of guys coming off surgery who aren't ready to start doing conditioning yet.
BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
Miah Davis was did not play in last night's 107-103 loss to Fayetteville due to an ankle sprain he suffered in the previous game. Thanks to Jeremy for the heads-up on the ankle sprain and the fact that a Roanoke paper does indeed exist, and that I should look at it more often.
Roanoke hosts Huntsville tomorrow night and Columbus on Wednesday.
The Marvin Williams Watch
The Tar Heels will face East 5th-seeded Villanova tonight (6:57p, CBS)
Huskies
Well, that was unbelievably quick, wasn't it? I watched much of the first half, saw Nate Robinson get that cheap foul for number three, and then the Huskies just went in the tank and never recovered. Then I had dinner, came back for the last few minutes of the second half, and it wasn't even close. I'm not going to say that Robinson and Simmons suffered Turiaf-like fates, but it's almost up to that level. The Huskies always had higher expectations of themselves than even the fans, and now they are left to lament what they feel should have been. It looks like it's goodbye for Nate Robinson and probably another for Brandon Roy, though some people don't think so.
Sonics
For my thoughts on last night's game, scroll down a post or click here if this post is the only one on the page.
The Sonics had Ray Allen back in the starting lineup last night, but Rashard Lewis came out of the game in the first quarter due to a flareup of his knee tendinitis.
Who would fill the scoring void of Rashard, and could this team win without his services for three quarters? The answer to that two-part question is Damien Wilkins, and yes. Just like a couple of recent games, I merely thought Damien Wilkins would come off the bench and maybe spell some of the other guys for a couple minutes here or there. He'd maybe play 5 or 6 minutes, maybe shoot 1-for-3 and grab three rebounds. Even after Rashard went down, I thought maybe Ron Murray or Vitaly Potapenko would step in and pick up the slack. Admittedly, Potapenko picking up the slack would have been weird, especially if he and Jerome James were on the floor simultaneously. James did very well last night, but this is Damien's paragraph. He made a basket here and there, and blocked a shot here and there, and Coach McMillan must have really liked Wilkins' scoring or his defense, or both. Either way, it earned him more than the usual minutes. McMillan rode the hot hand and it didn't disappoint.
Upcoming...
Tonight vs. New York (7:30p, ESPN)
Sunday vs. Washington (5p, FSNNW)
Tuesday at Memphis (5p, FSNNW)
Wednesday at San Antonio (5:30p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
Manitoba beat Saint John's 6-4. The Moose answered the Saint John's three-goal explosion in the second period by returning the favor in the third period. Danny Groulx scored on the power play and Justin Morrison scored for the Moose in the first period to erase and early Leaf lead. Kent Huskins scored early in the second period for Manitoba before the Leafs scored two quick goals to tie it and got the go-ahead goal with 15 ticks left in the period. Then the Moose came out firing in the third period, outshooting the Leafs 15-7. Danny Groulx tied it up and Kevin Bieksa got the winner. Ryan Kesler iced the game into the empty net. Shots were 32-25 for Manitoba. Wade Flaherty stopped 14 of the first 18 shots, and Alex Auld stopped all seven shots he faced.
The Seattle Thunderbirds are ready for the WHL playoffs, and not just on the ice. They're not just doing playoff beards, they're getting crazy haircuts. As for the series, the T-Birds are up against a Tri-City team with NHL prospect Carey Price in net. In a related story, the Americans are trying to pull up stakes and move across the border to Chilliwack, BC. I'll take a wild guess and say that they'd probably draw better crowds up there.
Upcoming...
Tonight: Everett at Portland (Game 1), Vancouver at Kelowna (Game 1)
Tomorrow: Tri-City at Seattle (Game 1), Vancouver at Kelowna (Game 2), Saint John's at Manitoba
Sunday: Everett at Portland (Game 2)
Monday: Tri-City at Seattle (Game 2)
Tuesday: Portland at Everett (Game 3), Kelowna at Vancouver (Game 3)
Wednesday: Seattle at Tri-City (Game 3), Portland at Everett (Game 4), Kelowna at Vancouver (Game 4), Manitoba at Hamilton
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Have a great Friday and a great weekend.
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Thursday, March 24, 2005
GAME 67: SUPERSONICS 96, TRAIL BLAZERS 91
SuperSonics 96, Trail Blazers 91
The Sonics didn't shoot well in the first quarter. They never led in the quarter, either, though they tied it three times later in the quarter. The Sonics went on a 6-0 run to tie the game up at 14 with 3:04 left in the frame. The Sonics hung close only to have Portland pull ahead with a 5-0 run to end the quarter. It was Portland 23-18 after 12 minutes.
Ron Murray came in for Rashard Lewis with 1:52 left in the quarter. Lewis never returned because his knee tendinitis apparently flared up on him. Coming off the heels of a lackluster second quarter, the Sonics would definitely have to find someone to produce in place of Rashard Lewis, who the Sonics have leaned on many times this season.
The Blazers were up by seven early in the second quarter, but the Sonics went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 25, thanks to a jumper and layup by Antonio Daniels and a three-point play by Nick Collison. Daniels' layup in the run came right after a Collison swat. The run was quickly erased by a 6-0 Portland run (two dunks included). The Sonics countered the counter, this time pulling off an 8-0 run where all eight points were scored by Damien Wilkins. No, I'm not lying. I saw this with my eyes glued to the television set. It's true. He nailed a three, nailed a short jumper, and hit three of four free throws. That run got the Sonics into the lead at 33-31 about halfway through the quarter. The Sonics quickly lost that lead and didn't get it back for the rest of the half, as Portland went on an 8-2 run to end the quarter, assisted greatly by the Sonics missing five straight shots from the field. The Blazers led 48-40 at half. Portland was getting into the paint at will (56% shooting indicated as such), and the Sonics were also shooting like crap (33%). Not exactly a recipe for winning.
Then the third quarter came, and the Sonics got on a roll. Jerome James scored 10 points in the third quarter alone. A teardrop runner by Luke Ridnour gave the Sonics a 58-53 lead with 5:07 to go in the quarter, capping an 18-3 Sonic run, which became a 20-4 run after James scored his 9th and 10th points of the quarter on a layup. Shortly after, Derek Anderson cut a six-point Sonic lead in half with a three, but was answered on the other end by Ray Allen, who notched a three of his own. Ridnour scored five straight Sonic points toward the end of the quarter to keep the Sonics' lead fairly comfortable, and the lead was at its most comfortable (11 points) when Damien Wilkins was fed on a nice pass from Reggie Evans for a massive dunk, coming after Wilkins had drawn a charge on Darius Miles on the defensive end. Wilkins also swatted Ruben Patterson on the final shot of the quarter. With that outburst from Jerome James and the punctuation from Wilkins, the Sonics outscored the Blazers 33-16 in the third quarter of play, a drastic turnaround from where the Sonics were at halftime.
This is where the ol' rivalry kicked in. Surely it couldn't be that easy for the Sonics, right? It wasn't. Damon Stoudamire and Derek Anderson nailed threes to start the quarter and cut the Sonic lead to two points. The Blazers' first five baskets of the quarter were three-pointers, and Stoudamire hit four of those threes. After Stoudamire's fourth three-ball, the Blazers retook the lead at 79-77 with 8:21 to go. From that point, it was a seesaw battle until the end. With 4:50 to go, Ray Allen hit a three to break an 83-83 tie. The teams traded punches again, with three lead changes on three possessions until Derek Anderson nailed a three with 2:43 left to put the Blazers up two at 90-88. The Sonics were down 91-89 with the ball and 1:28 remaining. Nick Collison made some moves in the post but bricked his jumpshot. He scrapped for the rebound and dished it out to the perimeter where the ball found Antonio Daniels, who passed to Damien Wilkins...who NAILED A THREE. Damien freakin' Wilkins hit the game-winning shot despite barely having shown his face in Sonic boxscores all year. Absolutely nuts. Getting the lead wasn't enough for him, though. He got the rebound on that last key Portland possession and hit both his free throws. Then he intercepted a pass and threw down a dunk. Crazy. Wilkins scored the last seven points of the game.
PEEK AT THE BOXSCORE
starters
Ray Allen 19 pts/8 reb (7-19 FG, 3-10 3pt, 2-3 free throws, 30 min), Luke Ridnour 13 pts/3 reb/3 ast/3 stl (5-11 FG, 3-3 free throws, 37 min), Reggie Evans 3 pts/9 reb/4 ast (1-2 FG, 1-4 free throws, 22 min), Rashard Lewis 2 pts/2 reb (1-6 FG, 10 min)
bench
Damien Wilkins 21 pts/2 reb/2 stl (7-10 FG, 2-3 3pt, 5-6 free throws, 28 min), Nick Collison 11 pts/9 reb (4-7 FG, 3-5 free throws), Antonio Daniels 6 pts/2 reb/2 ast (3-6 FG, 21 min), Danny Fortson 4 pts/5 reb (0-3 FG, 4-4 free throws), Ron Murray 3 pts (1-4 FG, 10 min), Vitaly Potapenko 0 pts/1 reb (0-2 FG, 4 min)
Jerome James Watch
14 pts/7 reb/3 blk (7-13 FG, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls, 26 min)
team
shot 36-for-83 (43.4%) from the field, shot 6-for-16 (37.5%) from downtown, shot 18-for-26 (69.2%) from the line, outscored Portland 52-34 in the paint, outrebounded Portland 49-32 (21 OFFENSIVE BOARDS), turned ball over 18 times, bench outscored Portland bench 34-31 (outrebounded them 20-7)
It's one thing for Ron Murray to come off the bench and score a ton of points when Ray Allen is out. It's one thing for Jerome James to discover that he really does have some low-post moves and has a decent jumphook. It's one thing for Vitaly Potapenko to grab some boards off the bench, muscle the ball down low, and hit a midrange jumper or two.
It's an entirely different thing for Damien Wilkins, who's barely showed up in the boxscores this year, to step out and lead the team with 21 points. He scored all eight points in that run in the second quarter, and scored the last seven points of the game, including that winning three-ball. Incredible. What a night for Damien Wilkins. If he gets off the bench on Friday night against the Knicks, he should get a standing ovation.
Of course there's more props to throw around. Luke Ridnour had a decent shooting night and had a couple of those awesome teardrop runners. Ray Allen didn't have a brutal night either, and seeing that he was coming off an injury of the magic ankle, he did pretty well. I don't usually expect Ray Allen to grab eight boards every night. I really like the way Nick Collison is developing. He's really scrappy down low, and he's finding ways to get open near the basket. If he could only shore up his free throws, he'd be great. Even Danny Fortson chimed in to nail all four of his free throws and get five boards. He looked more like the Danny Fortson we've been accustomed to seeing.
The cliffhanger here, of course, is Rashard Lewis' knee tendinitis. As much as I've loved seeing different guys step in and deliver when a big cog of the wheel is gone, I just have to wonder how long it can keep going. Surely someday this team has to have one of those games where Vladimir Radmanovic nailing threes on the perimeter would have been the difference. Right now, however, the Sonics are 4-0 without Radmanovic, but have fought off way more injuries than just his.
I would have asked Jinkies how many times he's blazed trails into the carpet at Casa de Drobnjak.
The Sonics didn't shoot well in the first quarter. They never led in the quarter, either, though they tied it three times later in the quarter. The Sonics went on a 6-0 run to tie the game up at 14 with 3:04 left in the frame. The Sonics hung close only to have Portland pull ahead with a 5-0 run to end the quarter. It was Portland 23-18 after 12 minutes.
Ron Murray came in for Rashard Lewis with 1:52 left in the quarter. Lewis never returned because his knee tendinitis apparently flared up on him. Coming off the heels of a lackluster second quarter, the Sonics would definitely have to find someone to produce in place of Rashard Lewis, who the Sonics have leaned on many times this season.
The Blazers were up by seven early in the second quarter, but the Sonics went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 25, thanks to a jumper and layup by Antonio Daniels and a three-point play by Nick Collison. Daniels' layup in the run came right after a Collison swat. The run was quickly erased by a 6-0 Portland run (two dunks included). The Sonics countered the counter, this time pulling off an 8-0 run where all eight points were scored by Damien Wilkins. No, I'm not lying. I saw this with my eyes glued to the television set. It's true. He nailed a three, nailed a short jumper, and hit three of four free throws. That run got the Sonics into the lead at 33-31 about halfway through the quarter. The Sonics quickly lost that lead and didn't get it back for the rest of the half, as Portland went on an 8-2 run to end the quarter, assisted greatly by the Sonics missing five straight shots from the field. The Blazers led 48-40 at half. Portland was getting into the paint at will (56% shooting indicated as such), and the Sonics were also shooting like crap (33%). Not exactly a recipe for winning.
Then the third quarter came, and the Sonics got on a roll. Jerome James scored 10 points in the third quarter alone. A teardrop runner by Luke Ridnour gave the Sonics a 58-53 lead with 5:07 to go in the quarter, capping an 18-3 Sonic run, which became a 20-4 run after James scored his 9th and 10th points of the quarter on a layup. Shortly after, Derek Anderson cut a six-point Sonic lead in half with a three, but was answered on the other end by Ray Allen, who notched a three of his own. Ridnour scored five straight Sonic points toward the end of the quarter to keep the Sonics' lead fairly comfortable, and the lead was at its most comfortable (11 points) when Damien Wilkins was fed on a nice pass from Reggie Evans for a massive dunk, coming after Wilkins had drawn a charge on Darius Miles on the defensive end. Wilkins also swatted Ruben Patterson on the final shot of the quarter. With that outburst from Jerome James and the punctuation from Wilkins, the Sonics outscored the Blazers 33-16 in the third quarter of play, a drastic turnaround from where the Sonics were at halftime.
This is where the ol' rivalry kicked in. Surely it couldn't be that easy for the Sonics, right? It wasn't. Damon Stoudamire and Derek Anderson nailed threes to start the quarter and cut the Sonic lead to two points. The Blazers' first five baskets of the quarter were three-pointers, and Stoudamire hit four of those threes. After Stoudamire's fourth three-ball, the Blazers retook the lead at 79-77 with 8:21 to go. From that point, it was a seesaw battle until the end. With 4:50 to go, Ray Allen hit a three to break an 83-83 tie. The teams traded punches again, with three lead changes on three possessions until Derek Anderson nailed a three with 2:43 left to put the Blazers up two at 90-88. The Sonics were down 91-89 with the ball and 1:28 remaining. Nick Collison made some moves in the post but bricked his jumpshot. He scrapped for the rebound and dished it out to the perimeter where the ball found Antonio Daniels, who passed to Damien Wilkins...who NAILED A THREE. Damien freakin' Wilkins hit the game-winning shot despite barely having shown his face in Sonic boxscores all year. Absolutely nuts. Getting the lead wasn't enough for him, though. He got the rebound on that last key Portland possession and hit both his free throws. Then he intercepted a pass and threw down a dunk. Crazy. Wilkins scored the last seven points of the game.
PEEK AT THE BOXSCORE
starters
Ray Allen 19 pts/8 reb (7-19 FG, 3-10 3pt, 2-3 free throws, 30 min), Luke Ridnour 13 pts/3 reb/3 ast/3 stl (5-11 FG, 3-3 free throws, 37 min), Reggie Evans 3 pts/9 reb/4 ast (1-2 FG, 1-4 free throws, 22 min), Rashard Lewis 2 pts/2 reb (1-6 FG, 10 min)
bench
Damien Wilkins 21 pts/2 reb/2 stl (7-10 FG, 2-3 3pt, 5-6 free throws, 28 min), Nick Collison 11 pts/9 reb (4-7 FG, 3-5 free throws), Antonio Daniels 6 pts/2 reb/2 ast (3-6 FG, 21 min), Danny Fortson 4 pts/5 reb (0-3 FG, 4-4 free throws), Ron Murray 3 pts (1-4 FG, 10 min), Vitaly Potapenko 0 pts/1 reb (0-2 FG, 4 min)
Jerome James Watch
14 pts/7 reb/3 blk (7-13 FG, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls, 26 min)
team
shot 36-for-83 (43.4%) from the field, shot 6-for-16 (37.5%) from downtown, shot 18-for-26 (69.2%) from the line, outscored Portland 52-34 in the paint, outrebounded Portland 49-32 (21 OFFENSIVE BOARDS), turned ball over 18 times, bench outscored Portland bench 34-31 (outrebounded them 20-7)
It's one thing for Ron Murray to come off the bench and score a ton of points when Ray Allen is out. It's one thing for Jerome James to discover that he really does have some low-post moves and has a decent jumphook. It's one thing for Vitaly Potapenko to grab some boards off the bench, muscle the ball down low, and hit a midrange jumper or two.
It's an entirely different thing for Damien Wilkins, who's barely showed up in the boxscores this year, to step out and lead the team with 21 points. He scored all eight points in that run in the second quarter, and scored the last seven points of the game, including that winning three-ball. Incredible. What a night for Damien Wilkins. If he gets off the bench on Friday night against the Knicks, he should get a standing ovation.
Of course there's more props to throw around. Luke Ridnour had a decent shooting night and had a couple of those awesome teardrop runners. Ray Allen didn't have a brutal night either, and seeing that he was coming off an injury of the magic ankle, he did pretty well. I don't usually expect Ray Allen to grab eight boards every night. I really like the way Nick Collison is developing. He's really scrappy down low, and he's finding ways to get open near the basket. If he could only shore up his free throws, he'd be great. Even Danny Fortson chimed in to nail all four of his free throws and get five boards. He looked more like the Danny Fortson we've been accustomed to seeing.
The cliffhanger here, of course, is Rashard Lewis' knee tendinitis. As much as I've loved seeing different guys step in and deliver when a big cog of the wheel is gone, I just have to wonder how long it can keep going. Surely someday this team has to have one of those games where Vladimir Radmanovic nailing threes on the perimeter would have been the difference. Right now, however, the Sonics are 4-0 without Radmanovic, but have fought off way more injuries than just his.
I would have asked Jinkies how many times he's blazed trails into the carpet at Casa de Drobnjak.
/ Click for main page
ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR - SWEET 16 3/24/05
FINAL UPDATE at 9:30 p.m.
The games are only on CBS! It's all here.
ALBUQUERQUE REGION
6:40 p.m. Pacific
#7 West Virginia vs #6 Texas Tech
CHICAGO REGION
6:57 p.m. Pacific
#3 Arizona vs #2 Oklahoma State
Comments, as always, are encouraged.
Pat O'Brien is so f**king into the NCAA Tournament.
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ALBUQUERQUE REGION
#4 Louisville 93, #1 Washington 79
It is over.
Just like that.
The Washington Huskies' remarkable 2004-2005 season is in the pits, losing to Louisville 93-79 in Albuquerque. Before the East Coast media hits you with this stat, the Huskies are the first #1 seed to be eliminated from this year's NCAA Tournament.
Francisco Garcia, who will head to the NBA next season, led the Cardinals with 23 points, going 5-for-8 from 3-point range. Three of his 5 3-pointers were during Louisville's 14-0 run late in the 1st half. Of course, the run was helped by the fact that two of the Huskies' best players, Nate Robinson and Tre Simmons, were plagued by foul trouble. Both players had 3 fouls in the first half apiece.
Former New Mexico Lobo Jamaal Williams came back to the Pit to lead the Huskies with 18 points. He also pulled down 6 rebounds. Williams did more than Mike Jensen, the Husky that David and I have pegged as the weak link all year long. Jensen scored just 2 points with no rebounds. Once again, Sports and B's isn't full of it.
All kidding aside, Louisville was just way too much for Washington. They shot 54% from the field (31-for-57) and were 11-for-26 from 3-point range (42%). Oh, and they dominated the Huskies, rebounding wise, 40 to 27. How about 31 defensive rebounds for the Cardinals compared to just 17 for the Huskies?
What is there to say about this game that hasn't already been said?
---Louisville is a damn good ballclub and should be headed to St. Louis barring an upset.
---Washington doesn't have enough size in the middle.
---Gus Johnson is awful. Somebody set him up Pat O'Brien-style, please. Ugh.
As for the Huskies, it's too bad the season had to end like this. Tonight's loss shouldn't overshadow what they've been able to do throughout the season, however. 29 wins is 29 wins. If anything, this is only the start for Husky basketball. Who knew that we would be talking about Husky basketball in late March? Well, we are.
For the scandals that have plagued the Washington athletic program in recent years, it's nice to know that a story like this can happen. The Husky basketball program is in good hands with Lorenzo Romar. Should they have been a #1 seed? Absolutely.
They just ran into a bunch of ballers from Louisville, that's all.
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CHICAGO REGION
#1 Illinois 77, #12 Wisconsin-Milwaukee 63
I'm not able to say a lot about this game, because quite frankly, I didn't watch this game. My market had Louisville-Washington and that's the way it should be.
Anyways, the Fighting Illini will move on to face the winner of tonight's Arizona-Oklahoma State game on Saturday.
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ALBUQUERQUE REGION
#7 West Virginia 65, #6 Texas Tech 60
Sorry, R.D.
Hello, Bobby Knight tirade. (NSFW)
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CHICAGO REGION
#3 Arizona 79, #2 Oklahoma State 78
Sure, Salim Stoudamire is a big time player. His game-winning shot tonight proved that.
But his comments about Oklahoma State's Daniel Bobik also proves to me that he's still an ass. You see why I don't like the guy?
"Some reporter just told me the white guy (6-6 Daniel Bobik) is going to guard me," Stoudamire said. "I don't know his name.
Just shut up and play, Salim. And yes, you are a better shooter than J.J. Redick.
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I'm in a total fog right now.
1) Washington is out but Arizona is still in. It figures.
2) Louisville is damn good.
3) How about West Virginia? If there's someone out there with a bracket that had Louisville and West Virginia meeting up in the Elite Eight, I'd like to see it.
4) Salim Stoudamire is an ass.
5) Salim Stoudamire is better than J.J. Redick.
What else is going to happen in the Sweet 16?
For my sake, I'd love to see a Utah win over Kentucky tomorrow night. The Utes have to beat Kentucky one of these years. Why not this year?
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to rehab with Pat O'Brien. Maybe he and I can talk about busted brackets. Of course, he buried his face in his hands and cried.
The games are only on CBS! It's all here.
ALBUQUERQUE REGION
6:40 p.m. Pacific
#7 West Virginia vs #6 Texas Tech
CHICAGO REGION
6:57 p.m. Pacific
#3 Arizona vs #2 Oklahoma State
Comments, as always, are encouraged.
Pat O'Brien is so f**king into the NCAA Tournament.
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ALBUQUERQUE REGION
#4 Louisville 93, #1 Washington 79
It is over.
Just like that.
The Washington Huskies' remarkable 2004-2005 season is in the pits, losing to Louisville 93-79 in Albuquerque. Before the East Coast media hits you with this stat, the Huskies are the first #1 seed to be eliminated from this year's NCAA Tournament.
Francisco Garcia, who will head to the NBA next season, led the Cardinals with 23 points, going 5-for-8 from 3-point range. Three of his 5 3-pointers were during Louisville's 14-0 run late in the 1st half. Of course, the run was helped by the fact that two of the Huskies' best players, Nate Robinson and Tre Simmons, were plagued by foul trouble. Both players had 3 fouls in the first half apiece.
Former New Mexico Lobo Jamaal Williams came back to the Pit to lead the Huskies with 18 points. He also pulled down 6 rebounds. Williams did more than Mike Jensen, the Husky that David and I have pegged as the weak link all year long. Jensen scored just 2 points with no rebounds. Once again, Sports and B's isn't full of it.
All kidding aside, Louisville was just way too much for Washington. They shot 54% from the field (31-for-57) and were 11-for-26 from 3-point range (42%). Oh, and they dominated the Huskies, rebounding wise, 40 to 27. How about 31 defensive rebounds for the Cardinals compared to just 17 for the Huskies?
What is there to say about this game that hasn't already been said?
---Louisville is a damn good ballclub and should be headed to St. Louis barring an upset.
---Washington doesn't have enough size in the middle.
---Gus Johnson is awful. Somebody set him up Pat O'Brien-style, please. Ugh.
As for the Huskies, it's too bad the season had to end like this. Tonight's loss shouldn't overshadow what they've been able to do throughout the season, however. 29 wins is 29 wins. If anything, this is only the start for Husky basketball. Who knew that we would be talking about Husky basketball in late March? Well, we are.
For the scandals that have plagued the Washington athletic program in recent years, it's nice to know that a story like this can happen. The Husky basketball program is in good hands with Lorenzo Romar. Should they have been a #1 seed? Absolutely.
They just ran into a bunch of ballers from Louisville, that's all.
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CHICAGO REGION
#1 Illinois 77, #12 Wisconsin-Milwaukee 63
I'm not able to say a lot about this game, because quite frankly, I didn't watch this game. My market had Louisville-Washington and that's the way it should be.
Anyways, the Fighting Illini will move on to face the winner of tonight's Arizona-Oklahoma State game on Saturday.
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ALBUQUERQUE REGION
#7 West Virginia 65, #6 Texas Tech 60
Sorry, R.D.
Hello, Bobby Knight tirade. (NSFW)
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CHICAGO REGION
#3 Arizona 79, #2 Oklahoma State 78
Sure, Salim Stoudamire is a big time player. His game-winning shot tonight proved that.
But his comments about Oklahoma State's Daniel Bobik also proves to me that he's still an ass. You see why I don't like the guy?
"Some reporter just told me the white guy (6-6 Daniel Bobik) is going to guard me," Stoudamire said. "I don't know his name.
Just shut up and play, Salim. And yes, you are a better shooter than J.J. Redick.
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I'm in a total fog right now.
1) Washington is out but Arizona is still in. It figures.
2) Louisville is damn good.
3) How about West Virginia? If there's someone out there with a bracket that had Louisville and West Virginia meeting up in the Elite Eight, I'd like to see it.
4) Salim Stoudamire is an ass.
5) Salim Stoudamire is better than J.J. Redick.
What else is going to happen in the Sweet 16?
For my sake, I'd love to see a Utah win over Kentucky tomorrow night. The Utes have to beat Kentucky one of these years. Why not this year?
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to rehab with Pat O'Brien. Maybe he and I can talk about busted brackets. Of course, he buried his face in his hands and cried.
/ Click for main page
BUILDING
Welcome to Thursday.
For the random...when I played baseball as a youngster, there was only one thing I hated worse than rain, and that was wind. The rain here is usually only drizzle, and rarely does it start raining sideways. I played mostly leftfield and center, and if it was too windy out, ugh. Well, now that I think about it, I guess that's not really what ticked me off about the wind. It's when I go to hit baseballs. The fields where I hit are either facing northeast (i.e., the correct way) or northwest. The wind the last couple days has been one of the northerly variety. That of course makes the line drives a little less flattering, and that doesn't make me happy at all. Boo.
To the post!
MARINERS
The Mariners played bipolar games yesterday, with the offensive barrage in the early game and the more usual game at night. I'm linking that article for the notebook tidbits, though. I think there are people in the organization that want Matt Thornton to duplicate his winter ball numbers, except that such a feat would be Bloomquistian (small sample size). Ryan Franklin also isn't taking much blame for his 4-16 record, and I half-agree that he hasn't pitched himself out of a rotation spot. Especially if that would mean Aaron Sele replaces him. Ugh. Regardless of run support last year, if Franklin kept the ball down half the time (he doesn't have the heat to get away with climbing the ladder or anything like that), he wouldn't have been staring at a 4-16 record last year.
The Weekly Zumsteg wonders if spring training stats really matter. They don't. I also don't know what I'll do if Aaron Sele and Jose Lopez make the team.
SEAHAWKS
The planets have aligned and both Jerramy Stevens and Koren Robinson have showed up in Kirkland for the Seahawks' offseason conditioning program. I'll be pleasantly surprised if Koren has no troubles from now until the start of the season, but I have a better feeling about Stevens going in early. If nothing else, I wish Stevens could be that end-zone receiver he was with the Huskies -- the tall guy that Marques Tuiasosopo would throw jump balls up to for touchdowns. Of course, I think we've all been waiting for him to take that role for a few years now.
Jerome Pathon also visited the Seahawks. The Seahawks have Stevens, another former Husky, and had Brock Huard, also an ex-Husky. In one of our comment boxes, Jeremy pointed out that Dane Looker might be available. What did I have to add to such a discussion? We need Joe Jarcyznka to return kicks.
The Seahawks have 10 draft picks. Though I like the idea of giving Tim Ruskell 10 draft picks, I have a feeling they'll trade a couple of those away. Also, the 49ers want Chris Gray. Let him make his false starts somewhere else, I say.
BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
Miah Davis has started the last nine games for the Roanoke Dazzle of the National Basketball Developmental League. As a starter, he is averaging 14.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 5.8 assists in 38.7 minutes a game. His high numbers as a starter are 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists. He had a double-double of 15 and 10 on March 12th against the Florida Flame.
Roanoke plays at Fayetteville tomorrow night and hosts Huntsville on Saturday night.
The Marvin Williams Watch
Marvin Williams is averaging 22.2 minutes off the bench for North Carolina. In those 22 minutes, he is averaging 11.7 points and 6.7 rebounds a game. If you crank those numbers up to starters' minutes (we'll go with 35), he's averaging 18.5 points and 10.6 rebounds.
The Tar Heels will face East 5th-seeded Villanova tomorrow (6:57p, CBS)
Huskies
Yes, it's the daily buttload of Husky articles.
A win tonight will get the Huskies 30 wins on the season. Lorenzo Romar knows his place among college basketball's great coaches. Alex Johnson rolled a 178. Rick Pitino is a hater, but someone should tell him that KEVIN MCHALE'S NOT WALKING THROUGH THAT DOOR! Free throws are always important. Brandon Roy has had a weird year, but I'm sure how well the team is doing is helping make it better. If it hasn't been apparent, articles constantly mention the altitude in Albuquerque. Three cheers for the moms of Will Conroy, Tre Simmons, and Nate Robinson.
The Huskies will face West 4th-seeded Louisville today (4:10p, CBS)
Sonics
The Blazers were once a good team. The team that the Sonics will face tonight -- not so much. Bonzi Wells and Rasheed Wallace are long gone, but it's still a zoo, or at least it's still trying to recover from the zoo aftermath. Though Danny Fortson addresses his own situation (not that of the rivalry) in the Times article, I find his quote hilarious and "stuff like that."
Upcoming...
Tonight at Portland (7p, FSNNW)
Tomorrow vs. New York (7:30p, ESPN)
Sunday vs. Washington (5p, FSNNW)
Tuesday at Memphis (5p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
The WHL playoffs begin tomorrow, and the almost-Canucks have their regular season trudge onward.
Upcoming...
Tonight: Saint John's at Manitoba
Tomorrow: Everett at Portland (Game 1), Vancouver at Kelowna (Game 1)
Saturday: Tri-City at Seattle (Game 1), Vancouver at Kelowna (Game 2), Saint John's at Manitoba
Sunday: Everett at Portland (Game 2)
Monday: Tri-City at Seattle (Game 2)
Tuesday: Portland at Everett (Game 3), Kelowna at Vancouver (Game 3)
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Have a great Thursday.
For the random...when I played baseball as a youngster, there was only one thing I hated worse than rain, and that was wind. The rain here is usually only drizzle, and rarely does it start raining sideways. I played mostly leftfield and center, and if it was too windy out, ugh. Well, now that I think about it, I guess that's not really what ticked me off about the wind. It's when I go to hit baseballs. The fields where I hit are either facing northeast (i.e., the correct way) or northwest. The wind the last couple days has been one of the northerly variety. That of course makes the line drives a little less flattering, and that doesn't make me happy at all. Boo.
To the post!
MARINERS
The Mariners played bipolar games yesterday, with the offensive barrage in the early game and the more usual game at night. I'm linking that article for the notebook tidbits, though. I think there are people in the organization that want Matt Thornton to duplicate his winter ball numbers, except that such a feat would be Bloomquistian (small sample size). Ryan Franklin also isn't taking much blame for his 4-16 record, and I half-agree that he hasn't pitched himself out of a rotation spot. Especially if that would mean Aaron Sele replaces him. Ugh. Regardless of run support last year, if Franklin kept the ball down half the time (he doesn't have the heat to get away with climbing the ladder or anything like that), he wouldn't have been staring at a 4-16 record last year.
The Weekly Zumsteg wonders if spring training stats really matter. They don't. I also don't know what I'll do if Aaron Sele and Jose Lopez make the team.
SEAHAWKS
The planets have aligned and both Jerramy Stevens and Koren Robinson have showed up in Kirkland for the Seahawks' offseason conditioning program. I'll be pleasantly surprised if Koren has no troubles from now until the start of the season, but I have a better feeling about Stevens going in early. If nothing else, I wish Stevens could be that end-zone receiver he was with the Huskies -- the tall guy that Marques Tuiasosopo would throw jump balls up to for touchdowns. Of course, I think we've all been waiting for him to take that role for a few years now.
Jerome Pathon also visited the Seahawks. The Seahawks have Stevens, another former Husky, and had Brock Huard, also an ex-Husky. In one of our comment boxes, Jeremy pointed out that Dane Looker might be available. What did I have to add to such a discussion? We need Joe Jarcyznka to return kicks.
The Seahawks have 10 draft picks. Though I like the idea of giving Tim Ruskell 10 draft picks, I have a feeling they'll trade a couple of those away. Also, the 49ers want Chris Gray. Let him make his false starts somewhere else, I say.
BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
Miah Davis has started the last nine games for the Roanoke Dazzle of the National Basketball Developmental League. As a starter, he is averaging 14.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 5.8 assists in 38.7 minutes a game. His high numbers as a starter are 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists. He had a double-double of 15 and 10 on March 12th against the Florida Flame.
Roanoke plays at Fayetteville tomorrow night and hosts Huntsville on Saturday night.
The Marvin Williams Watch
Marvin Williams is averaging 22.2 minutes off the bench for North Carolina. In those 22 minutes, he is averaging 11.7 points and 6.7 rebounds a game. If you crank those numbers up to starters' minutes (we'll go with 35), he's averaging 18.5 points and 10.6 rebounds.
The Tar Heels will face East 5th-seeded Villanova tomorrow (6:57p, CBS)
Huskies
Yes, it's the daily buttload of Husky articles.
A win tonight will get the Huskies 30 wins on the season. Lorenzo Romar knows his place among college basketball's great coaches. Alex Johnson rolled a 178. Rick Pitino is a hater, but someone should tell him that KEVIN MCHALE'S NOT WALKING THROUGH THAT DOOR! Free throws are always important. Brandon Roy has had a weird year, but I'm sure how well the team is doing is helping make it better. If it hasn't been apparent, articles constantly mention the altitude in Albuquerque. Three cheers for the moms of Will Conroy, Tre Simmons, and Nate Robinson.
The Huskies will face West 4th-seeded Louisville today (4:10p, CBS)
Sonics
The Blazers were once a good team. The team that the Sonics will face tonight -- not so much. Bonzi Wells and Rasheed Wallace are long gone, but it's still a zoo, or at least it's still trying to recover from the zoo aftermath. Though Danny Fortson addresses his own situation (not that of the rivalry) in the Times article, I find his quote hilarious and "stuff like that."
Upcoming...
Tonight at Portland (7p, FSNNW)
Tomorrow vs. New York (7:30p, ESPN)
Sunday vs. Washington (5p, FSNNW)
Tuesday at Memphis (5p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
The WHL playoffs begin tomorrow, and the almost-Canucks have their regular season trudge onward.
Upcoming...
Tonight: Saint John's at Manitoba
Tomorrow: Everett at Portland (Game 1), Vancouver at Kelowna (Game 1)
Saturday: Tri-City at Seattle (Game 1), Vancouver at Kelowna (Game 2), Saint John's at Manitoba
Sunday: Everett at Portland (Game 2)
Monday: Tri-City at Seattle (Game 2)
Tuesday: Portland at Everett (Game 3), Kelowna at Vancouver (Game 3)
---
Have a great Thursday.
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Wednesday, March 23, 2005
BANGKOK, ORIENTAL SETTING
Instead of talking about Raul Ibanez' hot spring training, I figured, why not do a post on Murray Head? I found this page last night, to my amazement. Once again, the internet rules.
If you don't know who Murray Head is, then surely you've heard "One Night In Bangkok" once or twice in your life. "One Night In Bangkok" is in my Top 10 list of "one-hit wonders". Did you know that half of ABBA (Benny and Bjorn) wrote a play called "Chess"? That's where the song "One Night In Bangkok" came from. Who knew?
If there was one band that should cover "One Night In Bangkok", it's Korn (assist to David for the suggestion). Korn is currently cover-crazy as it is. Why not add Murray Head to the mix? After all, Korn lost their Head a few weeks ago.
Oh, and if you're looking for any spring training news from me today, well...
I'm sick and tired of spring training. The real season needs to start ASAP.
/ Click for main page
CHIPPERY
Welcome to Wednesday.
The random note today...I swear to you, I turned on The Price is Right two days ago and some guy threw two straight Plinko chips into the $10000 slot. That's beyond amazing. Though less of a rarity, both guys in the Showcase Showdown overbid on their showcases, so nobody won. Of course, that didn't hold Bob Barker back from saying "help control the pet population..." By the way, topics such as "favorite pricing game" are the type that the writers of this blog address for spans of 20-30 minutes or more apiece. Plinko rules!
To the post!
MARINERS
Raul Ibanez is having a good spring hitting the ball, so says the Hickey article. Unfortunately, this pegs the I-don't-care-ometer, right up there with the .381 average from Ramon Santiago. Stretching out Hasegawa, I can dig that a little bit. Pitchers getting in their work is important. Hitters getting in their work is important. Hitters' averages...not so much.
Bobby Madritsch fought through his less-than-sharpness yesterday. He can't possibly be as good as he was last year over the course of an entire season, but his outings were really one of the few things I looked forward to while watching this team last year.
Nate Bland does what he likes and likes what he does, lasting this long into camp having gone through two Tommy John surgeries. One is enough, I would think, but man, two...if you combined all that rehab time you'd need from one, and then have to double it...that's a lot of time not throwing a ball. Still, I find it somewhat curious that Bland's age was never revealed by Steve Kelley in the piece.
Very lastly, Joel Pineiro and Eddie Guardado threw without pain. Thar's some good news.
SEAHAWKS
Former Denver cornerback Kelly Herndon will now be a present Seahawk cornerback. Herndon was an undrafted free agent, so it's easy to think he's had to work his Krivokrasov to get to where he's been, and now it's turned into five years and $15M. He wants to be in Seattle, and someone even convinced him that the Seattle defense "gets after it." Well, maybe he plans to be a big part of that. Can we have a little more healthiness out of the Seahawk defense next year? Could we just have a little more of that? How about 13 games out of Grant Wistrom?
As reader Morgan brought to my attention yesterday in the comment boxes, and as Mike Sando reported in the Tribune the other day, Mike Reinfeldt has finally been given a spot in the organization. I was hoping they'd keep him in the organization, but I'm not sure I saw them giving him the VP of football operations post. Great deal for Reinfeldt. I'm happy for him, and I'm happy we get to see the big three free-agents back. Other than Paul Allen, I'd say that the only other guy I could credit to saving this offseason from complete disaster was Reinfeldt. He did great under pressure. I'm still amazed he got that much done.
Unfortunately, my Krivokrasov reference isn't unique. Keith Olbermann pulled that one off in a SportsCenter episode. Amazing stuff.
BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
In last night's double-overtime thriller of a 128-126 loss by the Roanoke Dazzle to the Asheville Altitude, Miah Davis had 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting (he also nailed the only three-pointer he took). He was 3-for-4 from the line. He also pulled down 5 boards and had 8 assists and 3 steals in 41 minutes of play.
But what really makes me sick about that game? If you go through the "points" column for the Asheville team and find the guy on the bench that has a 30 next to his name, it's freakin' Joe Forte. I wish I was making this up.
By the way, the NBDL is expanding past Tobacco Road and the southeast. Really. Albuquerque, Fort Worth, Tulsa, and Austin.
Roanoke plays at Fayetteville tomorrow night and hosts Huntsville on Saturday night.
The Marvin Williams Watch
The Fan sent a link our way of Mark Heisler doing NBA Draft prospect rankings. Heisler just made sure everyone was 18 before he'd put them in the list, so some of it depends on whether certain underclassmen jump for the draft or not. Marvin was #2 on that list behind only Andrew Bogut. That's high. I'm hoping Marvin stays at least one more year at UNC so that he can have more of the offense flow through him and so that he and Sean May can wreak havoc on the boards for the Heels. Of course, what surprised me in the article was the "right there" section, the prospects after #30. I know college players don't necessarily translate to the NBA, but that last section is stacked.
The Tar Heels will face East 5th-seeded Villanova on Friday (6:57p, CBS)
Huskies
Bobby Jones, altitude, Romar/Pitino, and could this team be the Huskies all-time best?
The Huskies will face West 4th-seeded Louisville tomorrow (4:10p, CBS)
Sonics
For my thoughts on last night's game, scroll down a post or click here if this post is the only one on the page.
Ray and Rashard carrying this team is something to which we've grown accustomed. Ridnour and Rashard, however, would need a breaking-in period for consumption. Ridnour got himself a career high with 21 points, and served as the other option opening up the floor for Rashard Lewis to start popping threes (he made 7) or posting up (less often in this game).
Upcoming...
Tomorrow at Portland (7p, FSNNW)
Friday vs. New York (7:30p, ESPN)
Sunday vs. Washington (5p, FSNNW)
Tuesday at Memphis (5p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
It's Everett at Portland in the first round of the WHL playoffs tomorrow night. Portland comes in having won 7 of 10. Everett tried to rest its players down the stretch. Torrie Wheat was named Everett's MVP, and Zach Hamill was the team's rookie of the year.
Upcoming...
Tomorrow: Saint John's at Manitoba
Friday: Everett at Portland (Game 1), Vancouver at Kelowna (Game 1)
Saturday: Tri-City at Seattle (Game 1), Vancouver at Kelowna (Game 2), Saint John's at Manitoba
Sunday: Everett at Portland (Game 2)
Monday: Tri-City at Seattle (Game 2)
Tuesday: Portland at Everett (Game 3), Kelowna at Vancouver (Game 3)
---
Have a great Wednesday, everyone.
[Edits ~10:02a -- cleaning up some links, adding a couple things I'd forgotten. NBDL, the Krivokrasov link, the WHL playoff link, and the Marvin thing.]
The random note today...I swear to you, I turned on The Price is Right two days ago and some guy threw two straight Plinko chips into the $10000 slot. That's beyond amazing. Though less of a rarity, both guys in the Showcase Showdown overbid on their showcases, so nobody won. Of course, that didn't hold Bob Barker back from saying "help control the pet population..." By the way, topics such as "favorite pricing game" are the type that the writers of this blog address for spans of 20-30 minutes or more apiece. Plinko rules!
To the post!
MARINERS
Raul Ibanez is having a good spring hitting the ball, so says the Hickey article. Unfortunately, this pegs the I-don't-care-ometer, right up there with the .381 average from Ramon Santiago. Stretching out Hasegawa, I can dig that a little bit. Pitchers getting in their work is important. Hitters getting in their work is important. Hitters' averages...not so much.
Bobby Madritsch fought through his less-than-sharpness yesterday. He can't possibly be as good as he was last year over the course of an entire season, but his outings were really one of the few things I looked forward to while watching this team last year.
Nate Bland does what he likes and likes what he does, lasting this long into camp having gone through two Tommy John surgeries. One is enough, I would think, but man, two...if you combined all that rehab time you'd need from one, and then have to double it...that's a lot of time not throwing a ball. Still, I find it somewhat curious that Bland's age was never revealed by Steve Kelley in the piece.
Very lastly, Joel Pineiro and Eddie Guardado threw without pain. Thar's some good news.
SEAHAWKS
Former Denver cornerback Kelly Herndon will now be a present Seahawk cornerback. Herndon was an undrafted free agent, so it's easy to think he's had to work his Krivokrasov to get to where he's been, and now it's turned into five years and $15M. He wants to be in Seattle, and someone even convinced him that the Seattle defense "gets after it." Well, maybe he plans to be a big part of that. Can we have a little more healthiness out of the Seahawk defense next year? Could we just have a little more of that? How about 13 games out of Grant Wistrom?
As reader Morgan brought to my attention yesterday in the comment boxes, and as Mike Sando reported in the Tribune the other day, Mike Reinfeldt has finally been given a spot in the organization. I was hoping they'd keep him in the organization, but I'm not sure I saw them giving him the VP of football operations post. Great deal for Reinfeldt. I'm happy for him, and I'm happy we get to see the big three free-agents back. Other than Paul Allen, I'd say that the only other guy I could credit to saving this offseason from complete disaster was Reinfeldt. He did great under pressure. I'm still amazed he got that much done.
Unfortunately, my Krivokrasov reference isn't unique. Keith Olbermann pulled that one off in a SportsCenter episode. Amazing stuff.
BASKETBALL
The Miah Davis Update
In last night's double-overtime thriller of a 128-126 loss by the Roanoke Dazzle to the Asheville Altitude, Miah Davis had 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting (he also nailed the only three-pointer he took). He was 3-for-4 from the line. He also pulled down 5 boards and had 8 assists and 3 steals in 41 minutes of play.
But what really makes me sick about that game? If you go through the "points" column for the Asheville team and find the guy on the bench that has a 30 next to his name, it's freakin' Joe Forte. I wish I was making this up.
By the way, the NBDL is expanding past Tobacco Road and the southeast. Really. Albuquerque, Fort Worth, Tulsa, and Austin.
Roanoke plays at Fayetteville tomorrow night and hosts Huntsville on Saturday night.
The Marvin Williams Watch
The Fan sent a link our way of Mark Heisler doing NBA Draft prospect rankings. Heisler just made sure everyone was 18 before he'd put them in the list, so some of it depends on whether certain underclassmen jump for the draft or not. Marvin was #2 on that list behind only Andrew Bogut. That's high. I'm hoping Marvin stays at least one more year at UNC so that he can have more of the offense flow through him and so that he and Sean May can wreak havoc on the boards for the Heels. Of course, what surprised me in the article was the "right there" section, the prospects after #30. I know college players don't necessarily translate to the NBA, but that last section is stacked.
The Tar Heels will face East 5th-seeded Villanova on Friday (6:57p, CBS)
Huskies
Bobby Jones, altitude, Romar/Pitino, and could this team be the Huskies all-time best?
The Huskies will face West 4th-seeded Louisville tomorrow (4:10p, CBS)
Sonics
For my thoughts on last night's game, scroll down a post or click here if this post is the only one on the page.
Ray and Rashard carrying this team is something to which we've grown accustomed. Ridnour and Rashard, however, would need a breaking-in period for consumption. Ridnour got himself a career high with 21 points, and served as the other option opening up the floor for Rashard Lewis to start popping threes (he made 7) or posting up (less often in this game).
Upcoming...
Tomorrow at Portland (7p, FSNNW)
Friday vs. New York (7:30p, ESPN)
Sunday vs. Washington (5p, FSNNW)
Tuesday at Memphis (5p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
It's Everett at Portland in the first round of the WHL playoffs tomorrow night. Portland comes in having won 7 of 10. Everett tried to rest its players down the stretch. Torrie Wheat was named Everett's MVP, and Zach Hamill was the team's rookie of the year.
Upcoming...
Tomorrow: Saint John's at Manitoba
Friday: Everett at Portland (Game 1), Vancouver at Kelowna (Game 1)
Saturday: Tri-City at Seattle (Game 1), Vancouver at Kelowna (Game 2), Saint John's at Manitoba
Sunday: Everett at Portland (Game 2)
Monday: Tri-City at Seattle (Game 2)
Tuesday: Portland at Everett (Game 3), Kelowna at Vancouver (Game 3)
---
Have a great Wednesday, everyone.
[Edits ~10:02a -- cleaning up some links, adding a couple things I'd forgotten. NBDL, the Krivokrasov link, the WHL playoff link, and the Marvin thing.]
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Tuesday, March 22, 2005
GAME 66: SUPERSONICS 92, BUCKS 84
SuperSonics 92, Bucks 84
The Sonics did get Jerome James back for this one. Ray Allen sat, as did Danny Fortson. Vladimir Radmanovic, well, he's out for a long time.
The Sonics got down by six points (12-6) early in the first quarter before pulling back ahead on a Rashard Lewis three at 16-15. It was a seesaw affair for the rest of the quarter, which ended with the Sonics up 27-25.
In the second quarter, a clear path foul put Antonio Daniels on the line, where he capped a 16-4 Sonic run. This gave the Sonics a 43-31 lead with 5:28 remaining in the half. Then the Sonics missed their last five field goal attempts, or seven of eight going into halftime. Thus, the Bucks used that and the fact that they'd put their rebounding shoes on to get within seven points at halftime, 50-43.
Craig Ehlo always brings up on Sonic broadcasts that many games are won or lost depending on how you play right after halftime. How did the Sonics do? They blew the seven-point lead and missed five straight shots. If you're still counting, that was 10 straight jumpers overall and 12 of 13. Ouch. Worse yet, the Bucks tied the game at 50 with 9:06 left in the quarter. The Bucks never got the lead, but the Sonics never led by more than six points in the quarter. As a curious note, Jerome James drew his fifth foul with 3:40 to go in the quarter. Not a lot of minutes for him after that, as is predictable. Though it was an off night for Ron Murray, he accounted for one-sixth of the Sonics' third-quarter offense with his buzzer-beating heave from the capital "A" in KeyArena just inside the halfcourt line. The Sonics only scored 18 points in the quarter after having decent offensive outputs of 27 and 23 in the first two quarters. The Sonics led 68-63 after the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the teams traded baskets before Erick Strickland tied it for the Bucks at 73 with 7:54 left in the game. The Bucks were called for illegal defensive three-seconds, Luke Ridnour hit the free throw, and the Sonics had the lead from that point forward. Vitaly hit a layup on that possession, and Antonio Daniels hit a three on the following possession to get the Sonics a six-point lead at 79-73. A couple of Desmond Mason free throws and a Calvin Booth dunk cut the lead to two before Luke Ridnour hit a wide-open Vitaly down low with a nice pass and an easy layup. Calvin Booth free throws got the Bucks back to within two at 81-79 before Rashard Lewis threw the dagger, a three-pointer with 2:29 to go to all but ice it at 84-79. To pour salt on the wound, Antonio Daniels stuck a jumper on the next possession for an 86-79 lead with just over a minute left, when the parade to the free-throw line started. The final was 92-84.
Yes, the Sonics avenged that horrible loss in the Bradley Center where they couldn't shoot for beans, and they did it tonight without Ray Allen. Of course, Ron Murray did a decent impersonation of a Ray Allen off night.
PEEK AT THE BOXSCORE
starters
Rashard Lewis 29 pts/5 reb/4 ast/4 stl (11-23 FG, 7-11 3pt, 40 min), Luke Ridnour 21 pts/2 reb/9 ast (6-12 FG, 9-9 free throws, 33 min), Ron Murray 13 pts/3 reb/3 ast (5-16 FG, 2-7 3pt, 1-2 free throws, 39 min), Reggie Evans 2 pts/6 reb/3 ast (1-1 FG, 19 min)
bench
Antonio Daniels 10 pts/4 reb/4 ast (4-14 FG, 1-3 3pt, 30 min), Vitaly Potapenko 8 pts/4 reb (4-9 FG, 23 min), Nick Collison 5 pts/7 reb (1-2 FG, 3-4 free throws, 28 min), Damien Wilkins 0 pts/2 reb (0-1 FG, 10 min)
Jerome James Watch
4 pts/3 reb/2 blk/1 stl (2-6 FG, 1 turnover, 18 min)
team
shot 34-for-84 (40.5%) from the field, shot 10-for-22 (45.5%) from downtown, shot 14-for-16 (87.5%) from the line, were outrebounded 46-36, bench outscored Milwaukee bench 23-17 (outrebounded them 17-15)
Two career highs on the night: Luke Ridnour's 21 points were a career high, as were the seven three-pointers nailed by Rashard Lewis.
After their free-throw output in the Laker game, I was a bit disappointed to see Murray and Vitaly not get to the line more often, especially because it seems that Vitaly's got a pretty good stroke from the line. By the same token, hooray for Luke Ridnour, as he was perfect in nine attempts from the line, spurring his career-high night. Luke is almost flawless at the free-throw line, and I think sometimes he should do some Daniels impersonations and take the ball to the rack and get fouled. If you're going to go perfect from the line, why not?
Just a toast to Ridnour for an all-around great game. Great scoring, great from the line, and great at creating, with the nine assists. I guess the Ray Allen pep talk from a few days ago must have helped or something. That or maybe they shot something into his feet to dull the pain/fatigue.
You know, I hope when this entire season is all good and done, Rashard Lewis just does nothing for about two weeks. Does a guy with knee tendinitis just go out and drop 29 points and play 40 minutes? I keep waiting for this guy's minutes to get cut a little bit to rest as we go into the playoffs, but like Coach McMillan says, there are just too many points in the game where they need him in there to produce. Of course, it's a good thing he nailed the 7 of 11 from downtown, because he was 4-for-12 from inside the arc. Weird thing that he didn't get to the line at all tonight, but I'll let that slide due to all those other points he scored.
Well, Reggie Evans dishing out three assists was a little unusual, I have to admit. I thought his minutes might have been a bit low, too, but they were obviously throwing Vitaly in there as well, and it appears they did that when they wanted scoring. With Jerome James, well, he picked up too many fouls. It's a half-blessing, though, as he gets a bit of game action, but not too much. Let him get his feet wet again, but rest the quad bruise a bit too. That said, he had some crummy shot selection at times in this one.
It's been three games without Radmanovic, and it's been three wins. Granted, you could argue that for almost a month before that, we were getting a player wearing Radmanovic's uniform that was less than Radmanovic anyway (wrist), but still, it's still encouraging to know the Sonics won't fold up shop with him on the shelf.
I would have asked Jinkies if he'd seen any wiener dogs on his road trips to Milwaukee. I should note that when I first typed in "wiener," it ended up being spelled like it is in Todd Weiner's name.
The Sonics did get Jerome James back for this one. Ray Allen sat, as did Danny Fortson. Vladimir Radmanovic, well, he's out for a long time.
The Sonics got down by six points (12-6) early in the first quarter before pulling back ahead on a Rashard Lewis three at 16-15. It was a seesaw affair for the rest of the quarter, which ended with the Sonics up 27-25.
In the second quarter, a clear path foul put Antonio Daniels on the line, where he capped a 16-4 Sonic run. This gave the Sonics a 43-31 lead with 5:28 remaining in the half. Then the Sonics missed their last five field goal attempts, or seven of eight going into halftime. Thus, the Bucks used that and the fact that they'd put their rebounding shoes on to get within seven points at halftime, 50-43.
Craig Ehlo always brings up on Sonic broadcasts that many games are won or lost depending on how you play right after halftime. How did the Sonics do? They blew the seven-point lead and missed five straight shots. If you're still counting, that was 10 straight jumpers overall and 12 of 13. Ouch. Worse yet, the Bucks tied the game at 50 with 9:06 left in the quarter. The Bucks never got the lead, but the Sonics never led by more than six points in the quarter. As a curious note, Jerome James drew his fifth foul with 3:40 to go in the quarter. Not a lot of minutes for him after that, as is predictable. Though it was an off night for Ron Murray, he accounted for one-sixth of the Sonics' third-quarter offense with his buzzer-beating heave from the capital "A" in KeyArena just inside the halfcourt line. The Sonics only scored 18 points in the quarter after having decent offensive outputs of 27 and 23 in the first two quarters. The Sonics led 68-63 after the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the teams traded baskets before Erick Strickland tied it for the Bucks at 73 with 7:54 left in the game. The Bucks were called for illegal defensive three-seconds, Luke Ridnour hit the free throw, and the Sonics had the lead from that point forward. Vitaly hit a layup on that possession, and Antonio Daniels hit a three on the following possession to get the Sonics a six-point lead at 79-73. A couple of Desmond Mason free throws and a Calvin Booth dunk cut the lead to two before Luke Ridnour hit a wide-open Vitaly down low with a nice pass and an easy layup. Calvin Booth free throws got the Bucks back to within two at 81-79 before Rashard Lewis threw the dagger, a three-pointer with 2:29 to go to all but ice it at 84-79. To pour salt on the wound, Antonio Daniels stuck a jumper on the next possession for an 86-79 lead with just over a minute left, when the parade to the free-throw line started. The final was 92-84.
Yes, the Sonics avenged that horrible loss in the Bradley Center where they couldn't shoot for beans, and they did it tonight without Ray Allen. Of course, Ron Murray did a decent impersonation of a Ray Allen off night.
PEEK AT THE BOXSCORE
starters
Rashard Lewis 29 pts/5 reb/4 ast/4 stl (11-23 FG, 7-11 3pt, 40 min), Luke Ridnour 21 pts/2 reb/9 ast (6-12 FG, 9-9 free throws, 33 min), Ron Murray 13 pts/3 reb/3 ast (5-16 FG, 2-7 3pt, 1-2 free throws, 39 min), Reggie Evans 2 pts/6 reb/3 ast (1-1 FG, 19 min)
bench
Antonio Daniels 10 pts/4 reb/4 ast (4-14 FG, 1-3 3pt, 30 min), Vitaly Potapenko 8 pts/4 reb (4-9 FG, 23 min), Nick Collison 5 pts/7 reb (1-2 FG, 3-4 free throws, 28 min), Damien Wilkins 0 pts/2 reb (0-1 FG, 10 min)
Jerome James Watch
4 pts/3 reb/2 blk/1 stl (2-6 FG, 1 turnover, 18 min)
team
shot 34-for-84 (40.5%) from the field, shot 10-for-22 (45.5%) from downtown, shot 14-for-16 (87.5%) from the line, were outrebounded 46-36, bench outscored Milwaukee bench 23-17 (outrebounded them 17-15)
Two career highs on the night: Luke Ridnour's 21 points were a career high, as were the seven three-pointers nailed by Rashard Lewis.
After their free-throw output in the Laker game, I was a bit disappointed to see Murray and Vitaly not get to the line more often, especially because it seems that Vitaly's got a pretty good stroke from the line. By the same token, hooray for Luke Ridnour, as he was perfect in nine attempts from the line, spurring his career-high night. Luke is almost flawless at the free-throw line, and I think sometimes he should do some Daniels impersonations and take the ball to the rack and get fouled. If you're going to go perfect from the line, why not?
Just a toast to Ridnour for an all-around great game. Great scoring, great from the line, and great at creating, with the nine assists. I guess the Ray Allen pep talk from a few days ago must have helped or something. That or maybe they shot something into his feet to dull the pain/fatigue.
You know, I hope when this entire season is all good and done, Rashard Lewis just does nothing for about two weeks. Does a guy with knee tendinitis just go out and drop 29 points and play 40 minutes? I keep waiting for this guy's minutes to get cut a little bit to rest as we go into the playoffs, but like Coach McMillan says, there are just too many points in the game where they need him in there to produce. Of course, it's a good thing he nailed the 7 of 11 from downtown, because he was 4-for-12 from inside the arc. Weird thing that he didn't get to the line at all tonight, but I'll let that slide due to all those other points he scored.
Well, Reggie Evans dishing out three assists was a little unusual, I have to admit. I thought his minutes might have been a bit low, too, but they were obviously throwing Vitaly in there as well, and it appears they did that when they wanted scoring. With Jerome James, well, he picked up too many fouls. It's a half-blessing, though, as he gets a bit of game action, but not too much. Let him get his feet wet again, but rest the quad bruise a bit too. That said, he had some crummy shot selection at times in this one.
It's been three games without Radmanovic, and it's been three wins. Granted, you could argue that for almost a month before that, we were getting a player wearing Radmanovic's uniform that was less than Radmanovic anyway (wrist), but still, it's still encouraging to know the Sonics won't fold up shop with him on the shelf.
I would have asked Jinkies if he'd seen any wiener dogs on his road trips to Milwaukee. I should note that when I first typed in "wiener," it ended up being spelled like it is in Todd Weiner's name.
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INDIANS CHASE THE HOGS
Last night in Jonesboro, Arkansas, the Arkansas State Lady Indians defeated the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks 98-84 in the second round of the Women's NIT.
Why is this such a big deal? It's simple.
These schools never play each other!
Due to a policy instituted by former Arkansas athletic director John Barnhill, the University of Arkansas will not play any in-state university in the state of Arkansas. The policy is still in place today under current athletic director Frank Broyles.
There are four Division 1-A schools in the state of Arkansas:
Arkansas, Arkansas State, Arkansas-Little Rock (UALR), and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (UAPB)
In the states that feature more than 1 Division 1-A school, the in-state schools in those states play each other. LSU and Ohio State used to have the same policy that Arkansas did. But recently, LSU and Ohio State have played in-state schools in Louisiana and Ohio, respectively.
There's no reason why Arkansas and Arkansas State shouldn't play each other. Arkansas fans have claimed that it's a no-win situation to play Arkansas State. Yeah, like a bunch of Razorbacks fans are going to jump ship if they lose to Arkansas State. Right.
I've been in this state long enough to know who's "the #1 school". Obviously, it's Arkansas. At least in terms of media coverage and athletic prowess. But it's silly for anyone to dismiss the other schools in the state of Arkansas. Heck, I'm transferring to Arkansas State in the fall. I guess that means I wasn't hypnotized by the countless Hog calls I've heard since I've been here.
When Arkansas and Arkansas State played last night, the majority of the revenue (85%) went to the NIT. It seems to me that the two schools should play each other during the non-conference season so that the host schools could make more money off the game. The communities of Fayetteville (Univ. of Arkansas) and Jonesboro (Arkansas State Univ.) would benefit greatly from the fans that would pour into town.
More importantly, I hope this is just a start for next season. The Convocation Center in Jonesboro was packed last night for a women's basketball game. Hopefully I'll be part of more sellouts or near-sellouts when I'm up there next season. I'm not holding my breath, though.
Now, I'm not like some Arkansas State fans who just flat out hate the Razorbacks. I just want to see this state become like other states. You know, with the in-state schools actually playing each other! To me, that makes more sense than the biggest in-state school playing Louisiana-Monroe.
For more on last night's Arkansas-Arkansas State game, check out the following reports from The Jonesboro Sun.
Making 'AState'ment
ASU broils Lady 'Backs
Arkansas State fans hit a nerve with (Susie) Gardner
See, the world didn't come to an end last night
Why is this such a big deal? It's simple.
These schools never play each other!
Due to a policy instituted by former Arkansas athletic director John Barnhill, the University of Arkansas will not play any in-state university in the state of Arkansas. The policy is still in place today under current athletic director Frank Broyles.
There are four Division 1-A schools in the state of Arkansas:
Arkansas, Arkansas State, Arkansas-Little Rock (UALR), and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (UAPB)
In the states that feature more than 1 Division 1-A school, the in-state schools in those states play each other. LSU and Ohio State used to have the same policy that Arkansas did. But recently, LSU and Ohio State have played in-state schools in Louisiana and Ohio, respectively.
There's no reason why Arkansas and Arkansas State shouldn't play each other. Arkansas fans have claimed that it's a no-win situation to play Arkansas State. Yeah, like a bunch of Razorbacks fans are going to jump ship if they lose to Arkansas State. Right.
I've been in this state long enough to know who's "the #1 school". Obviously, it's Arkansas. At least in terms of media coverage and athletic prowess. But it's silly for anyone to dismiss the other schools in the state of Arkansas. Heck, I'm transferring to Arkansas State in the fall. I guess that means I wasn't hypnotized by the countless Hog calls I've heard since I've been here.
When Arkansas and Arkansas State played last night, the majority of the revenue (85%) went to the NIT. It seems to me that the two schools should play each other during the non-conference season so that the host schools could make more money off the game. The communities of Fayetteville (Univ. of Arkansas) and Jonesboro (Arkansas State Univ.) would benefit greatly from the fans that would pour into town.
More importantly, I hope this is just a start for next season. The Convocation Center in Jonesboro was packed last night for a women's basketball game. Hopefully I'll be part of more sellouts or near-sellouts when I'm up there next season. I'm not holding my breath, though.
Now, I'm not like some Arkansas State fans who just flat out hate the Razorbacks. I just want to see this state become like other states. You know, with the in-state schools actually playing each other! To me, that makes more sense than the biggest in-state school playing Louisiana-Monroe.
For more on last night's Arkansas-Arkansas State game, check out the following reports from The Jonesboro Sun.
Making 'AState'ment
ASU broils Lady 'Backs
Arkansas State fans hit a nerve with (Susie) Gardner
See, the world didn't come to an end last night
/ Click for main page
Monday, March 21, 2005
NFL OPENING WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Well, part of the opening weekend schedule has been released.
NFL WEEK 1
THURSDAY, September 8
Oakland Raiders at New England Patriots (ABC)
SUNDAY, September 11
Dallas Cowboys at San Diego Chargers (FOX)
Indianapolis Colts at Baltimore Ravens (ESPN)
MONDAY, September 12
Philadelphia Eagles at Atlanta Falcons (ABC)
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
I had predicted that the Seahawks would play the Eagles during the first week of the season. But I was wrong. However, the Seahawks will open up the 2005 season on the road, because the Mariners are at home that weekend against the Orioles.
So, who will the Seahawks open up the 2005 season against?
Arizona, St. Louis, San Francisco, Green Bay, Jacksonville, Tennessee, or Washington?
I'll predict that the schedule makers will have the Seahawks open their 2005 season in Jacksonville.
Yes, the Seahawks will have their bye in Week 4. Same as it ever was.
NFL WEEK 1
THURSDAY, September 8
Oakland Raiders at New England Patriots (ABC)
SUNDAY, September 11
Dallas Cowboys at San Diego Chargers (FOX)
Indianapolis Colts at Baltimore Ravens (ESPN)
MONDAY, September 12
Philadelphia Eagles at Atlanta Falcons (ABC)
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
I had predicted that the Seahawks would play the Eagles during the first week of the season. But I was wrong. However, the Seahawks will open up the 2005 season on the road, because the Mariners are at home that weekend against the Orioles.
So, who will the Seahawks open up the 2005 season against?
Arizona, St. Louis, San Francisco, Green Bay, Jacksonville, Tennessee, or Washington?
I'll predict that the schedule makers will have the Seahawks open their 2005 season in Jacksonville.
Yes, the Seahawks will have their bye in Week 4. Same as it ever was.
/ Click for main page
THE FIRST WEEKEND OF THE TOURNAMENT
What a first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Who knew that tiny Bucknell College of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania would shock the mighty Kansas Jayhawks? Who knew that the only Big East schools in the Sweet 16 would be Villanova and West Virginia? Who knew that Julius Hodge would still be playing but Chris Paul isn't? Karma is a bitch, isn't it, C-Punch 3?
That's enough "who knews".
As David mentioned in his daily, I did running tournament posts all weekend long (yes, I consider the first day, Thursday, part of the weekend). Here they are, for your enjoyment. Surely you have to get a Sports and B's view to go along with the rest of the national views on the tournament.
Thursday 3/17/05 1st round
Friday 3/18/05 1st round
Saturday 3/19/05 2nd round
Sunday 3/20/05 2nd round
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
TOP 5 GAMES OF THE FIRST WEEKEND
1. West Virginia defeats Wake Forest in 2 overtimes (2nd round)
---Mike Gansey is a hero in Morgantown. If the Mountaineers keep winning, the students may burn the town down before the team gets back home. I wish I was kidding.
2. Vermont upsets Syracuse in overtime (1st round)
---What a way to go out for Tom Brennan. His first and only NCAA tournament victory comes against the champions from 2 seasons ago, Syracuse. Expect Catamounts big man Taylor Coppenrath to be a NBA first round pick this June.
3. Oklahoma State holds off Southern Illinois (2nd round)
---The Salukis gave Eddie Sutton's Cowboys a run for their money. JamesOn Curry is the best freshman in the country not named Marvin Williams.
4. Bucknell shocks Kansas (1st round)
---I knew that the Kansas seniors weren't tough enough to win a championship. But man, I sure as hell didn't think they would bow out in the first round. Rock choke Jayhawk!
5. Utah defeats Oklahoma (2nd round)
---Hey, Utah is more than just Andrew Bogut.
BEST PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT SO FAR
That's easy.
North Carolina's Marvin Williams has been a force for the Tar Heels in the first two rounds. The way the Syracuse region has turned out so far, there's no reason why the Tar Heels can't get to St. Louis. They better, because I have them cutting down the nets.
BEST COACHING JOB SO FAR
Utah's Ray Giacoletti used Andrew Bogut as a point guard. Bogut only scored 10 points in the win against Oklahoma on Satuday, as he took only 7 shots. But more importanly, Giacoletti had Bogut get his teammates involved, recording a career high 7 assists. Of the first 40 Utah points, Bogut only had 2 of them.
BEST CBS ANNOUNCING TEAM
Dick Enberg and Jay Bilas in Indianapolis.
---There's no reason why these two shouldn't be calling the Final Four. To me, they're much more entertaining to listen to than Jim Nantz and Billy Packer. I still can't believe that Nantz is considered by CBS as the #1 guy.
Back to Enberg and Bilas. Enberg is a legend, we all know that. But Bilas has really impressed me. Unlike most ESPN talking heads, Bilas has a clue. I would add Bill Raftery to the Enberg-Bilas crew and everything would be onions.
Honorable mention: Craig Bolerjack and Bob Wenzel
THE SWEET 16 MATCHUP I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO
Louisville-Washington Thursday night in Albuquerque
Sure, the Louisville Cardinals looked very good against Georgia Tech yesterday. But I'd like to remind people that it was against a team that went 8-8 in the ACC. I know about their loss of B.J. Elder, but the facts are facts.
That being said, the Huskies better be ready for Louisville. They certainly aren't the Pacific Tigers, that's for sure. Can the Huskies quiet the critics by defeating a team that most people had pegged as a #1 seed instead of Washington?
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
It's already been a fun NCAA Tournament so far.
Expect more of the same starting this Thursday.
Until then, follow meaningless spring training baseball.
Who knew that tiny Bucknell College of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania would shock the mighty Kansas Jayhawks? Who knew that the only Big East schools in the Sweet 16 would be Villanova and West Virginia? Who knew that Julius Hodge would still be playing but Chris Paul isn't? Karma is a bitch, isn't it, C-Punch 3?
That's enough "who knews".
As David mentioned in his daily, I did running tournament posts all weekend long (yes, I consider the first day, Thursday, part of the weekend). Here they are, for your enjoyment. Surely you have to get a Sports and B's view to go along with the rest of the national views on the tournament.
Thursday 3/17/05 1st round
Friday 3/18/05 1st round
Saturday 3/19/05 2nd round
Sunday 3/20/05 2nd round
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
TOP 5 GAMES OF THE FIRST WEEKEND
1. West Virginia defeats Wake Forest in 2 overtimes (2nd round)
---Mike Gansey is a hero in Morgantown. If the Mountaineers keep winning, the students may burn the town down before the team gets back home. I wish I was kidding.
2. Vermont upsets Syracuse in overtime (1st round)
---What a way to go out for Tom Brennan. His first and only NCAA tournament victory comes against the champions from 2 seasons ago, Syracuse. Expect Catamounts big man Taylor Coppenrath to be a NBA first round pick this June.
3. Oklahoma State holds off Southern Illinois (2nd round)
---The Salukis gave Eddie Sutton's Cowboys a run for their money. JamesOn Curry is the best freshman in the country not named Marvin Williams.
4. Bucknell shocks Kansas (1st round)
---I knew that the Kansas seniors weren't tough enough to win a championship. But man, I sure as hell didn't think they would bow out in the first round. Rock choke Jayhawk!
5. Utah defeats Oklahoma (2nd round)
---Hey, Utah is more than just Andrew Bogut.
BEST PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT SO FAR
That's easy.
North Carolina's Marvin Williams has been a force for the Tar Heels in the first two rounds. The way the Syracuse region has turned out so far, there's no reason why the Tar Heels can't get to St. Louis. They better, because I have them cutting down the nets.
BEST COACHING JOB SO FAR
Utah's Ray Giacoletti used Andrew Bogut as a point guard. Bogut only scored 10 points in the win against Oklahoma on Satuday, as he took only 7 shots. But more importanly, Giacoletti had Bogut get his teammates involved, recording a career high 7 assists. Of the first 40 Utah points, Bogut only had 2 of them.
BEST CBS ANNOUNCING TEAM
Dick Enberg and Jay Bilas in Indianapolis.
---There's no reason why these two shouldn't be calling the Final Four. To me, they're much more entertaining to listen to than Jim Nantz and Billy Packer. I still can't believe that Nantz is considered by CBS as the #1 guy.
Back to Enberg and Bilas. Enberg is a legend, we all know that. But Bilas has really impressed me. Unlike most ESPN talking heads, Bilas has a clue. I would add Bill Raftery to the Enberg-Bilas crew and everything would be onions.
Honorable mention: Craig Bolerjack and Bob Wenzel
THE SWEET 16 MATCHUP I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO
Louisville-Washington Thursday night in Albuquerque
Sure, the Louisville Cardinals looked very good against Georgia Tech yesterday. But I'd like to remind people that it was against a team that went 8-8 in the ACC. I know about their loss of B.J. Elder, but the facts are facts.
That being said, the Huskies better be ready for Louisville. They certainly aren't the Pacific Tigers, that's for sure. Can the Huskies quiet the critics by defeating a team that most people had pegged as a #1 seed instead of Washington?
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
It's already been a fun NCAA Tournament so far.
Expect more of the same starting this Thursday.
Until then, follow meaningless spring training baseball.
/ Click for main page
NOTWELL
The Atlanta Falcons have signed free-agent linebacker Edgerton Hartwell to a 6-year, $28.25M deal, including an $8M signing bonus.
I'm not sure whether to be ticked off by this yet, since the Seahawks' pattern of moves this offseason has shown that they aren't going to overpay for talent. However, there had been rumblings that the Seahawks weren't going to bite unless Hartwell brought down his rumored demands for a $10M signing bonus, and sure enough, he got $8M instead. Tim Ruskell can't lure everyone to Seattle, but I wish Hartwell could have been in a Seahawk uniform.
[Edit ~10:16a -- I'm officially not ticked. I seem to have glossed over the word "guaranteed" in the article. I'm not sure I would have gone that route either.]
I'm not sure whether to be ticked off by this yet, since the Seahawks' pattern of moves this offseason has shown that they aren't going to overpay for talent. However, there had been rumblings that the Seahawks weren't going to bite unless Hartwell brought down his rumored demands for a $10M signing bonus, and sure enough, he got $8M instead. Tim Ruskell can't lure everyone to Seattle, but I wish Hartwell could have been in a Seahawk uniform.
[Edit ~10:16a -- I'm officially not ticked. I seem to have glossed over the word "guaranteed" in the article. I'm not sure I would have gone that route either.]
/ Click for main page
LITTLE DOLDRUMMER BOY
Welcome to Monday and the beginning of another work week.
For the random...I know bridges are huge, but over the last couple years, it's been tripping out my mind driving through the Tacoma Narrows and trying to imagine what the final product on the new bridge is going to look like. The construction on both ends is huge to begin with, but when those spans go across, it's going to be nuts. It'll probably be expensive too, but it'll be nuts. Rush hour on weekday afternoons will never be the same with the extra lanes. Of course, toll booths might slow it down unless they have E-Z Pass, which would only make sense for the daily commuters.
To the post!
MARINERS
This may make me overnostalgic, but when I see an article that says Jamie Moyer will be the Opening Day starter, I just don't get excited like I used to when I knew that Randy Johnson would be throwing on that first afternoon in April. It's not that he threw fast; it's just that you knew the guy was the ace of the staff. Or something like that. Basically now I'm not even caring who starts Opening Day, as long as it's not Ron Villone or Aaron Sele.
Speaking of nostalgia, Bob Melvin. Well, maybe that's not good nostalgia, but he discusses that he thinks me might know how someone would pitch Bret Boone or Ichiro. I'm still aghast that Bob Melvin is managing on another team that has Quinton McCracken on it. I found this out two days ago, and it still boggles my mind.
Greg Dobbs autographed a baseball of mine when he came into town on the Winter Caravan a while ago. Of course, it's too bad he doesn't have a good chance to make this team. I'm also really surprised he kept the number 53.
SEAHAWKS
Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrruskell!
BASKETBALL
In case you missed any of it, Jeremy did daily posts on the NCAA tournament games, posts that were updated as games finished throughout the days. In case you'd rather just look at one post at a time rather than scrolling all the way down the page, here are the links...
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
The Miah Davis Update
In the Roanoke Dazzle's 107-97 overtime win against Fayetteville, Miah Davis scored 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists in 27 minutes of play. He shot 4-for-8 from the field and 2-for-4 from the line.
The Marvin Williams Watch
In the Tar Heels' 92-65 win over East 9th-seeded Iowa State, Marvin Williams had 20 points, 15 rebounds, and 2 steals in 26 minutes of play. He hit 8 of 12 from the floor, 2 of 4 from beyond the arc, and 2 of 3 at the line. That's a double-double for a freshman in NCAA tournament play. I hope he stays at Carolina at least another year, but if he keeps going like this, there are teams out there that will badly want this guy.
Huskies
Blaine Newnham puts more stock in the Pac-10 tournament win as the one that gave the Huskies the easier road to a possible Final Four berth. Newnham does bring up the fact that Louisville lost at Houston, and though the Huskies faced them in Seattle, they pounded them 110-63. Ouch. I vaguely remember that game.
The Huskies will face West 4th-seeded Louisville on Thursday. Someone remind Rick Pitino that Robert Parish isn't walking through that door.
Bulldogs
They're done.
Jeremy laid out some facts about the Gonzaga program in the Saturday post.
Sonics
For my thoughts on last night's game, scroll down a post or click here if this is the only post on the page.
The Sonics had three integral guys out before the game, but they didn't go into it thinking Ray Allen was going to sprain the magic ankle in the first quarter that kept him out 25 games last year. Despite having four regular players out, the Sonics' skeleton crew of a bench made it almost seem like plug-and-play for this team. Damien Wilkins saw the floor and did hit a basket, but surely no one expects season highs of 25 from Ron Murray and 11 from Vitaly Potapenko. Murray got a ton of minutes once Allen was injured and Vitaly had a nice three-point play. Both guys combined for 16-of-20 shooting from the line, with Vitaly perfect in seven tries.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Rashard Lewis' 7th double-double of the year -- he scored 27 and pulled down 11 boards, and also chipped in 2 assists and 4 blocks.
Upcoming...
Tuesday vs. Milwaukee (7p, FSNNW)
Thursday at Portland (7p, FSNNW)
Friday vs. New York (7:30p, ESPN)
Sunday vs. Washington (5p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
Seattle shut out Everett 1-0. The Silvertips needed a win to have a chance at securing home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, but it didn't happen. As a result, the Silvertips lost the home-ice advantage to the very team they'll be facing in the first round, the Portland Winter Hawks. Bretton Stamler scored the only goal of the game, and Chris Durand drew the only assist. Of course, Everett probably had trouble trying to score since the Thunderbirds put so many pucks on the net. Shots were 37-19 for Seattle. Mike Wall stopped 36 for Everett, and Bryan Bridges stopped all 19 for Seattle to pitch his CHL/WHL record-tying 13th shutout of the season.
Portland beat Tri-City 4-2. The Americans rested/scratched most of their veteran players and went with their backup goalie since they had no playoff seeding to shoot for. So, Portland built up a 3-0 lead after two periods. Darrell May scored in the first period, and Frazer McLaren and Brian Woolger scored in the third. Tri-City came back to within one goal late in the third period with goals 38 seconds apart. Fifty-eight seconds remained after the second goal. The Winter Hawks were able to get the puck, though, and Cody McLeod finished it off into the empty net. Darrell May had two assists to go with his goal, and Braydon Coburn had two assists as well. Shots were 37-31 for Portland, and Blake Grenier stopped 29 for the Winter Hawks.
Manitoba shut out Houston 2-0. Though there were many good chances for both sides in the first period, the first goal wasn't scored until Cory Pecker netted one on the power play in the second period. That goal held up as the winner. The Moose hit paydirt again in the third period with another power play goal, this one by Jason Jaffray. Shots were 37-21 for Manitoba. Wade Flaherty stopped all 21 for the Moose.
The WHL playoffs are set. All playoff series are best-of-seven series. BC Division third-seeded Vancouver will face BC Division second-seeded Kelowna. US Division first-seeded Seattle will face US Division fourth-seeded Tri-City. US Division second-seeded Portland will face US Division third-seeded Everett.
Upcoming...
Thursday: Saint John's at Manitoba
Friday: Everett at Portland (Game 1), Vancouver at Kelowna (Game 1)
Saturday: Tri-City at Seattle (Game 1), Vancouver at Kelowna (Game 2), Saint John's at Manitoba
Sunday: Everett at Portland (Game 2)
---
Have a great Monday and a great start to the work week.
For the random...I know bridges are huge, but over the last couple years, it's been tripping out my mind driving through the Tacoma Narrows and trying to imagine what the final product on the new bridge is going to look like. The construction on both ends is huge to begin with, but when those spans go across, it's going to be nuts. It'll probably be expensive too, but it'll be nuts. Rush hour on weekday afternoons will never be the same with the extra lanes. Of course, toll booths might slow it down unless they have E-Z Pass, which would only make sense for the daily commuters.
To the post!
MARINERS
This may make me overnostalgic, but when I see an article that says Jamie Moyer will be the Opening Day starter, I just don't get excited like I used to when I knew that Randy Johnson would be throwing on that first afternoon in April. It's not that he threw fast; it's just that you knew the guy was the ace of the staff. Or something like that. Basically now I'm not even caring who starts Opening Day, as long as it's not Ron Villone or Aaron Sele.
Speaking of nostalgia, Bob Melvin. Well, maybe that's not good nostalgia, but he discusses that he thinks me might know how someone would pitch Bret Boone or Ichiro. I'm still aghast that Bob Melvin is managing on another team that has Quinton McCracken on it. I found this out two days ago, and it still boggles my mind.
Greg Dobbs autographed a baseball of mine when he came into town on the Winter Caravan a while ago. Of course, it's too bad he doesn't have a good chance to make this team. I'm also really surprised he kept the number 53.
SEAHAWKS
Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrruskell!
BASKETBALL
In case you missed any of it, Jeremy did daily posts on the NCAA tournament games, posts that were updated as games finished throughout the days. In case you'd rather just look at one post at a time rather than scrolling all the way down the page, here are the links...
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
The Miah Davis Update
In the Roanoke Dazzle's 107-97 overtime win against Fayetteville, Miah Davis scored 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists in 27 minutes of play. He shot 4-for-8 from the field and 2-for-4 from the line.
The Marvin Williams Watch
In the Tar Heels' 92-65 win over East 9th-seeded Iowa State, Marvin Williams had 20 points, 15 rebounds, and 2 steals in 26 minutes of play. He hit 8 of 12 from the floor, 2 of 4 from beyond the arc, and 2 of 3 at the line. That's a double-double for a freshman in NCAA tournament play. I hope he stays at Carolina at least another year, but if he keeps going like this, there are teams out there that will badly want this guy.
Huskies
Blaine Newnham puts more stock in the Pac-10 tournament win as the one that gave the Huskies the easier road to a possible Final Four berth. Newnham does bring up the fact that Louisville lost at Houston, and though the Huskies faced them in Seattle, they pounded them 110-63. Ouch. I vaguely remember that game.
The Huskies will face West 4th-seeded Louisville on Thursday. Someone remind Rick Pitino that Robert Parish isn't walking through that door.
Bulldogs
They're done.
Jeremy laid out some facts about the Gonzaga program in the Saturday post.
Sonics
For my thoughts on last night's game, scroll down a post or click here if this is the only post on the page.
The Sonics had three integral guys out before the game, but they didn't go into it thinking Ray Allen was going to sprain the magic ankle in the first quarter that kept him out 25 games last year. Despite having four regular players out, the Sonics' skeleton crew of a bench made it almost seem like plug-and-play for this team. Damien Wilkins saw the floor and did hit a basket, but surely no one expects season highs of 25 from Ron Murray and 11 from Vitaly Potapenko. Murray got a ton of minutes once Allen was injured and Vitaly had a nice three-point play. Both guys combined for 16-of-20 shooting from the line, with Vitaly perfect in seven tries.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Rashard Lewis' 7th double-double of the year -- he scored 27 and pulled down 11 boards, and also chipped in 2 assists and 4 blocks.
Upcoming...
Tuesday vs. Milwaukee (7p, FSNNW)
Thursday at Portland (7p, FSNNW)
Friday vs. New York (7:30p, ESPN)
Sunday vs. Washington (5p, FSNNW)
HOCKEY
Seattle shut out Everett 1-0. The Silvertips needed a win to have a chance at securing home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, but it didn't happen. As a result, the Silvertips lost the home-ice advantage to the very team they'll be facing in the first round, the Portland Winter Hawks. Bretton Stamler scored the only goal of the game, and Chris Durand drew the only assist. Of course, Everett probably had trouble trying to score since the Thunderbirds put so many pucks on the net. Shots were 37-19 for Seattle. Mike Wall stopped 36 for Everett, and Bryan Bridges stopped all 19 for Seattle to pitch his CHL/WHL record-tying 13th shutout of the season.
Portland beat Tri-City 4-2. The Americans rested/scratched most of their veteran players and went with their backup goalie since they had no playoff seeding to shoot for. So, Portland built up a 3-0 lead after two periods. Darrell May scored in the first period, and Frazer McLaren and Brian Woolger scored in the third. Tri-City came back to within one goal late in the third period with goals 38 seconds apart. Fifty-eight seconds remained after the second goal. The Winter Hawks were able to get the puck, though, and Cody McLeod finished it off into the empty net. Darrell May had two assists to go with his goal, and Braydon Coburn had two assists as well. Shots were 37-31 for Portland, and Blake Grenier stopped 29 for the Winter Hawks.
Manitoba shut out Houston 2-0. Though there were many good chances for both sides in the first period, the first goal wasn't scored until Cory Pecker netted one on the power play in the second period. That goal held up as the winner. The Moose hit paydirt again in the third period with another power play goal, this one by Jason Jaffray. Shots were 37-21 for Manitoba. Wade Flaherty stopped all 21 for the Moose.
The WHL playoffs are set. All playoff series are best-of-seven series. BC Division third-seeded Vancouver will face BC Division second-seeded Kelowna. US Division first-seeded Seattle will face US Division fourth-seeded Tri-City. US Division second-seeded Portland will face US Division third-seeded Everett.
Upcoming...
Thursday: Saint John's at Manitoba
Friday: Everett at Portland (Game 1), Vancouver at Kelowna (Game 1)
Saturday: Tri-City at Seattle (Game 1), Vancouver at Kelowna (Game 2), Saint John's at Manitoba
Sunday: Everett at Portland (Game 2)
---
Have a great Monday and a great start to the work week.
/ Click for main page
Sunday, March 20, 2005
GAME 65: SUPERSONICS 102, LAKERS 100
SuperSonics 102, Lakers 100
Danny Fortson and Jerome James were still nursing their injuries and did not fly to Los Angeles with the team.
The first quarter was pretty fast-paced, and it was punctuated by the Sonics with an 11-3 run that got them a 21-16 lead with 2:22 left in the quarter. The quarter ended with the Sonics up 27-23.
Of course, one problem about the first quarter of play was the fact that Ray Allen went down late in the quarter in the backcourt as play carried to the other end of the court. He was examined and was said to have a sprained ankle. Certainly the absence of yet another player wasn't what the Sonics needed.
In the second quarter, the Sonics hit the first three baskets and carried a run over from the first quarter that totalled out to 10-0. Vitaly Potapenko laid some lumber on the jaw of Kobe Bryant, though Bryant stayed in and proved in later action that he wasn't fazed by it. The Lakers had a fast break and Rashard Lewis put a royal stuff on a Chucky Atkins layup. There was another play in the game where Ridnour altered a shot on the fastbreak, which the Lakers missed, and then it was cashed in on the Sonics' end with a three. I didn't know the Sonics' transition defense had that in them.
The Sonics' skeleton crew led 46-41 at halftime. They shot 45% from the field, 2-for-6 from downtown, and 12-for-17 (70%) from the line. Lewis had 16 points. Daniels, Murray, and Allen had six each. Collison and Potapenko had four each. Luke Ridnour and Damien Wilkins had two each. Collison and Lewis had six rebounds each. Murray, Wilkins, Evans, and Allen had two boards each.
For the opposition, Caron Butler was the one doing most of the damange in the first half with 17, while Kobe Bryant had 10, and had picked up three fouls fairly quickly.
The Sonic lead hovered around or just under double digits for the third quarter of play. Much of this was thanks to the fact that Ron Murray went nuts and scored 12 points in the quarter. As a matter of fact, Rashard Lewis had a double-double after three quarters of play.
Then Kobe Bryant hit a few threes in the fourth quarter and the Lakers were back in it. Just inside the final minute of play with a 94-90 lead, Nick Collison fouled Brian Cook, putting the Sonics over the limit. Cook made the first free throw, but missed the second. Luckily Ron Murray was able to get the rebound, and he was fouled. He only hit one of his free throws, though, but the Sonics still led 95-91. The Lakers scored on the other end and were down only 95-93 when Daniels drove to the basket and dished a no-look pass to Collison, who was shoved as he put the ball up, but it was still good. The Sonics led 98-93 with 28.2 seconds left. Kobe launched a three on the next possession and missed, but Caron Butler rebounded it, put it back, and was fouled. However, Butler bricked the free throw, but Kobe got the rebound, went straight to beyond the arc, and rifled another one that luckily missed. There was a scramble as the ball went out of bounds, and it was ruled Sonic ball though replays may have indicated otherwise. From there, it was a parade to the free-throw line for the Sonics. The Lakers 98th, 99th, and 100th points were due to a meaningless three at the final buzzer.
PEEK AT THE BOXSCORE
starters
Rashard Lewis 27 pts/11 reb/2 ast/4 blk (9-15 FG, 4-7 3pt, 5-6 free throws, 43 min), Luke Ridnour 11 pts/2 reb/7 ast (4-14 FG, 1-4 3pt, 2-2 free throws, 34 min), Nick Collison 7 pts/5 reb (3-3 FG, 22 min), Ray Allen 6 pts/3 ast (2-8 FG, 1-3 3pt, 10 min), Reggie Evans 0 pts/6 reb (0-1 FG, 24 min)
bench
Ron Murray 25 pts/5 reb (8-17 FG, 0-3 3pt, 9-13 free throws, 35 min), Antonio Daniels 13 pts/4 ast (5-8 FG, 3-3 free throws, 29 min), Vitaly Potapenko 11 pts/4 reb (2-4 FG, 7-7 free throws, 28 min), Damien Wilkins 2 pts/3 reb (1-2 FG, 0-2 free throws, 15 min)
Jerome James Watch
still out with a right quad contusion or hip bruise, depending on the source
team
shot 34-for-72 (47.2%) from the field, shot 6-for-18 (33.3%) from downtown, shot 28-for-35% (80%) from the line, outrebounded Lakers 38-37, turned ball over 11 times (forced 10), bench outscored Laker bench 51-17 (outrebounded them 13-10)
The Sonics knew beforehand that Jerome James and Danny Fortson would be out for this game. Knowing that Vladimir Radmanovic will be gone for a long time, just the fact that James and Fortson was going to make it pretty hard for this team.
When Ray Allen fell to the floor late in the first quarter, that would have made it even harder. Later in the first half, the broadcast crew passed along that apparently he had sprained an ankle. Without James and Fortson, the Sonics had lost a lot of size, fouls, a couple blocks, and a few rebounds. Without Ray Allen, the Sonics lose a ton of points to which they're normally accustomed.
Rashard Lewis getting 27? Okay, that's not so surprising. Eleven rebounds to go with the points? That's impressive. This was Rashard's 7th double-double of the year, which leads the team. The four blocks were a very nice supplement as well.
Rashard stepped up with the absence of Allen. What Ron Murray and Vitaly Potapenko did, though, was great. I thought those two would get a few points, sure, but to combine for 36 (both had season highs)? No, I can't say I expected that. The fact that these two guys can come in and do this is just a testament to how hard they've been working for the season even when they weren't getting minutes and weren't in the rotation. What made this even nicer was how many times they got to the free-throw line. Murray missed a couple early before hitting nine of his final eleven, and Vitaly was perfect in seven tries, looking like Fortson out there at the line. Making up for having a bunch of guys get injured and be put on the shelf really shouldn't be this easy. Since Allen went down early, it greatly skewed the bench scoring, what with all the minutes that Murray got.
With this win, the Sonics are 3-0 against the Lakers this season, which means they've won the season series against the Lakers. That's always a good thing. Jolly good, even.
I would have asked Jinkies if Peja has ever played a practical joke on him and put dog food in his bowl.
Danny Fortson and Jerome James were still nursing their injuries and did not fly to Los Angeles with the team.
The first quarter was pretty fast-paced, and it was punctuated by the Sonics with an 11-3 run that got them a 21-16 lead with 2:22 left in the quarter. The quarter ended with the Sonics up 27-23.
Of course, one problem about the first quarter of play was the fact that Ray Allen went down late in the quarter in the backcourt as play carried to the other end of the court. He was examined and was said to have a sprained ankle. Certainly the absence of yet another player wasn't what the Sonics needed.
In the second quarter, the Sonics hit the first three baskets and carried a run over from the first quarter that totalled out to 10-0. Vitaly Potapenko laid some lumber on the jaw of Kobe Bryant, though Bryant stayed in and proved in later action that he wasn't fazed by it. The Lakers had a fast break and Rashard Lewis put a royal stuff on a Chucky Atkins layup. There was another play in the game where Ridnour altered a shot on the fastbreak, which the Lakers missed, and then it was cashed in on the Sonics' end with a three. I didn't know the Sonics' transition defense had that in them.
The Sonics' skeleton crew led 46-41 at halftime. They shot 45% from the field, 2-for-6 from downtown, and 12-for-17 (70%) from the line. Lewis had 16 points. Daniels, Murray, and Allen had six each. Collison and Potapenko had four each. Luke Ridnour and Damien Wilkins had two each. Collison and Lewis had six rebounds each. Murray, Wilkins, Evans, and Allen had two boards each.
For the opposition, Caron Butler was the one doing most of the damange in the first half with 17, while Kobe Bryant had 10, and had picked up three fouls fairly quickly.
The Sonic lead hovered around or just under double digits for the third quarter of play. Much of this was thanks to the fact that Ron Murray went nuts and scored 12 points in the quarter. As a matter of fact, Rashard Lewis had a double-double after three quarters of play.
Then Kobe Bryant hit a few threes in the fourth quarter and the Lakers were back in it. Just inside the final minute of play with a 94-90 lead, Nick Collison fouled Brian Cook, putting the Sonics over the limit. Cook made the first free throw, but missed the second. Luckily Ron Murray was able to get the rebound, and he was fouled. He only hit one of his free throws, though, but the Sonics still led 95-91. The Lakers scored on the other end and were down only 95-93 when Daniels drove to the basket and dished a no-look pass to Collison, who was shoved as he put the ball up, but it was still good. The Sonics led 98-93 with 28.2 seconds left. Kobe launched a three on the next possession and missed, but Caron Butler rebounded it, put it back, and was fouled. However, Butler bricked the free throw, but Kobe got the rebound, went straight to beyond the arc, and rifled another one that luckily missed. There was a scramble as the ball went out of bounds, and it was ruled Sonic ball though replays may have indicated otherwise. From there, it was a parade to the free-throw line for the Sonics. The Lakers 98th, 99th, and 100th points were due to a meaningless three at the final buzzer.
PEEK AT THE BOXSCORE
starters
Rashard Lewis 27 pts/11 reb/2 ast/4 blk (9-15 FG, 4-7 3pt, 5-6 free throws, 43 min), Luke Ridnour 11 pts/2 reb/7 ast (4-14 FG, 1-4 3pt, 2-2 free throws, 34 min), Nick Collison 7 pts/5 reb (3-3 FG, 22 min), Ray Allen 6 pts/3 ast (2-8 FG, 1-3 3pt, 10 min), Reggie Evans 0 pts/6 reb (0-1 FG, 24 min)
bench
Ron Murray 25 pts/5 reb (8-17 FG, 0-3 3pt, 9-13 free throws, 35 min), Antonio Daniels 13 pts/4 ast (5-8 FG, 3-3 free throws, 29 min), Vitaly Potapenko 11 pts/4 reb (2-4 FG, 7-7 free throws, 28 min), Damien Wilkins 2 pts/3 reb (1-2 FG, 0-2 free throws, 15 min)
Jerome James Watch
still out with a right quad contusion or hip bruise, depending on the source
team
shot 34-for-72 (47.2%) from the field, shot 6-for-18 (33.3%) from downtown, shot 28-for-35% (80%) from the line, outrebounded Lakers 38-37, turned ball over 11 times (forced 10), bench outscored Laker bench 51-17 (outrebounded them 13-10)
The Sonics knew beforehand that Jerome James and Danny Fortson would be out for this game. Knowing that Vladimir Radmanovic will be gone for a long time, just the fact that James and Fortson was going to make it pretty hard for this team.
When Ray Allen fell to the floor late in the first quarter, that would have made it even harder. Later in the first half, the broadcast crew passed along that apparently he had sprained an ankle. Without James and Fortson, the Sonics had lost a lot of size, fouls, a couple blocks, and a few rebounds. Without Ray Allen, the Sonics lose a ton of points to which they're normally accustomed.
Rashard Lewis getting 27? Okay, that's not so surprising. Eleven rebounds to go with the points? That's impressive. This was Rashard's 7th double-double of the year, which leads the team. The four blocks were a very nice supplement as well.
Rashard stepped up with the absence of Allen. What Ron Murray and Vitaly Potapenko did, though, was great. I thought those two would get a few points, sure, but to combine for 36 (both had season highs)? No, I can't say I expected that. The fact that these two guys can come in and do this is just a testament to how hard they've been working for the season even when they weren't getting minutes and weren't in the rotation. What made this even nicer was how many times they got to the free-throw line. Murray missed a couple early before hitting nine of his final eleven, and Vitaly was perfect in seven tries, looking like Fortson out there at the line. Making up for having a bunch of guys get injured and be put on the shelf really shouldn't be this easy. Since Allen went down early, it greatly skewed the bench scoring, what with all the minutes that Murray got.
With this win, the Sonics are 3-0 against the Lakers this season, which means they've won the season series against the Lakers. That's always a good thing. Jolly good, even.
I would have asked Jinkies if Peja has ever played a practical joke on him and put dog food in his bowl.