Dead Head

Alright, so I have to post again about Greg Ohhhhhden because I love him so. This time it's more about Thad Matta and Bill Walton's comments about the way he used Oden in the Final Four.run.

Walton claims Oden wasn't aggressive enough because of Matta, and that he should have been in man-to-man on defense, and running up and down the court on offense. These two aspects, according to Walton, would have made Oden more effective. These beliefs could not be more wrong.

Yes, I am well aware that Walton is THE greatest college basketball player of all time, and yes, I've watched his college and pro games. The guy was truly amazing. Walton played basketball exactly how the game should be played. However, as an analyst of this Final Four, not a clue.

Oden was gassed just from walking up and down the court, and resting in man-to-man. The likelihood of him getting in greater foul trouble increases in man, and the likelihood of him being exhausted increases as well. In fact, if you watched the previous OSU/Florida game you could see this on display, as UF went into the high screen pick and roll. When they weren't nailing 3s, Oden was committing fouls, which is why he was on the bench most of the game. Hence, why Ohio State played Zone and why they did not run. Now, you could make the argument that running would have tired out Florida guards, and that would have made them less explosive. I doubt it. In all likelihood it'd be Oden who was gassed, as Florida was rotating 4 front court players. Ohio State's other two front court players were in foul trouble, and Matt Terwliger is not good.

Bill Walton could not be more wrong.

My Bad

I really should have commented on Matthew Dowd breaking with the Team Bush Cycle Squad yesterday, but I just forgot. So...here goes...nothing too serious.

Okay, another guy leaves the Squad and then says he disagrees with Bush, is disenchanted, and all of that crap. Now Dowd is a little different, for he was once a Democratic strategist, which in my mind makes him a slightly larger piece of shit, in a way, because he was really willing to do anything to get a great job. I don't believe for a second that he bought into Bush's compassionate conservativism, or that he felt Bush would bring the people together. Not Buying It At All. But what can you do? It's over, he's out, he's talking.

The reason for the big switch(back) is Bush hasn't done what Dowd believed he would do, i.e., effed up Katrina, didn't fire Rumsfeld, Iraq's a disaster. Plus, Dowd now has a son in Iraq, and is personally affected by the war. Which really gets me where I want to be. None of these jackasses who have led the Bush Squad served in war, sans-Rummy, but they're all such war tough guys. They'll all send other peoples' children off to die. Then one of their own has a kid going over there (who I'm sure is sleeping in the Green Zone, but still), and then the father is SPEAKING OUT. No shit. Dowd, willing to support the Bush policies when it helped him get a leg up in the world, helped him get a paycheck, helped in any way it could. Then one day the life of a family member is at stake, and uh oh, this ain't worth it anymore (now that I've been paid, and can get even MORE publicity breaking from the Squad).

In the end, all of these douchebags are douchebags, and if any of them had family members in Iraq, or at risk, we wouldn't be in this war. Instead, most of them have family members making cash as lobbyists, or living it up drunk and slutty in New York City, or some other shit.

I applaude Dowd on some level, but he's really just an opportunist who helped support a man who lied in order to get America into a war it's not getting off. Dowd lied as he slandered Senator Kerry, a man who was in war. Now Kerry was right. I could go on. I guess better late than never.

Why not read what Dowd said, AND, watch the White House is saying about him now.

This is OOOOOOOOOUR CUNTREEEE...

Just One

Every single announcer in every single sport says, "I think ________ is going to win this game...and here's why..." Where is the one guy, who one time, says, "Honestly, I'm not really sure who's going to win. I think this is what has to happen for..." JUST ONE GUY!

Honestly, I have no idea who is going to win the Ohio State/Florida game. The money says Florida, but there's a lot of good reasons OSU will win. If I HAD to bet, I'd flip a coin, because I just do not know.

Please, one guy.

Of course, there's this guy, who I'm hearing often, "Welllll, I picked Florida at the beginning of the season, so I think they're going to win it." What in the fuck does picking Florida, like everyone else, months ago have to do with this game? Is that the Sportsline/ESPN analysis? "Welll, having no idea who in the country would be good, and even though most of us picked Georgetown last week, now that they're not here, since I picked Florida at the beginning of the season I'm going to stick with it now...even though I was unstuck last week..."

Awesome.

...annnnnnd WE'RE BACK!

Ohio State and Florida, once again. This time, I'm not sure I'll lay awake in bed, night after night, wondering why things fell apart (even though I know why). This time it's basketball, and while I'd love to win it, being the underdog means that we don't have to. In fact, some part of me wants to lose it just to see if Greg Oden really is the person he claims/seems to be: not in a race toward the NBA/looking to get better/caring about Buckeye fans.

However, I do think Ohio State is going to win. 40% of those polled (currently) on ESPN.com think the same. Not too shabby. Here's why.

First, I'll say this: Florida has more talent top to bottom, but it's close. I'd say one more year under their belts and the Ohio State team would have more. I'm not convinced that Taurean Green, Lee Humphrey, Joakim Noah, or Corey Brewer will be good to great NBA players. Brewer clearly the most likely. On the other side, I do believe the two best players on the court play for Ohio State in Conley and Oden, even though Oden hasn't had a chance to show it.

Second, I do not see Oden getting in that much foul trouble this time. Maybe I'm crazy, but it can't happen EVERY game, can it? Throughout the Big Ten tournament, and late in the year, he kept himself on the floor. I'm not sure what the fuck it is about this tournament that refs call everything on him. "FOUL! Number 20. Walking too fast!" It's ridiculous. I do believe with Oden on the floor, and Hunter fully capable of matching up with Horford or Noah, Ohio State can go even up on the front line. Because of this, it's going to come down to other factors.

Third, the "other factors." No question, Lee Humphrey is the best shooter in the tourney. However, Corey Brewer is not the shooter he was the other night. Now either he's on fire, or he'll be the Corey Brewer he usually is, aka, the guy who makes outside shots 1 out of every 3 games. Taurean Green is similar. On the other hand, Ron Lewis has been cold since being so hot early. I hope he can finally come alive in this game because the last two he's been a bit stale.

Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I'm not convinced that Florida is going to win this at all. In fact, in this tournament, one could argue their toughest game was against Purdue, a Big Ten opponent. They have clearly had the easiest run to the Final Four. The only reason I wished for Kansas was because they would actually run them, and in my mind, could have beaten them. UCLA was, well, UCLA as of late. But Florida really hasn't played anyone in a LONG TIME. Tomorrow night will be different. Ohio State has become used to winning tough games as far back as the last regular season game of the Big Ten versus Michigan.

I just think this team is even up in talent, a little light on experience, but battle tested in a way that Florida hasn't been. In a tight game, I wonder who is going to shoot on Florida because my hunch is they are all going to want to, and that will be the reason they lose in the end.

Or, we get killed.

We'll see.

I've picked the Final Four to this point... :)