31 October 2008

Annual USF Collapse

College football is my favorite sport, so from now until the end of the season I will be commenting a lot on it. Most of my posts will be about my Alma mater, the University of South Florida, and conferences with the most entertaining football (i.e. SEC, ACC, and Big 12). I abhor the Big 10, so the only input coming from that part of the college football world will be if Penn State holds on to their undefeated record and heads to the BCS Championship.

I came on here this Halloween morning to discuss the annual mid season collapse of USF football. As a faithful follower since I enrolled in the school in 2004, I have done nothing but back this team fully. I used to be a die hard Miami Hurricanes fan, but after deciding not to attend UM (too damn expensive), I jumped on the USF train in hopes we would contend for the Big East title year in and year out. Two years in a row we have started off with what would appear to be "the year" by beating ranked teams like Auburn, West Virginia, and Kansas. Then we go on to lose to teams in the conference that we should not. Our talent is superior to the likes of Rutgers, Connecticut, and Cincinnati, but we cannot seem to put them away. It is unacceptable that we live in the best talent pool in the nation and cannot put together a disciplined, winning team.

Sure enough, the Bulls have the potential, talent, and head coach to win it every year, but last night after falling to Cincinnati 24-10 (third year in a row losing to the Bearcats) I began to question the talent and head coach. There were several dropped balls by so called elite receivers, and the defensive secondary was beat bad all night. I'm also questioning whether Jim Leavitt has enough to take this team to the next level. The program has just seemed to plateau, and I am not sure we will be able to win 10 games under Leavitt let alone a Big East Championship. I think it is time to fire the offensive coordinator, Greg Gregory (what a dumb name). He is not utilizing the playing style of quarterback Matt Grothe properly.

I realize this may be coming off as a vent session without much merit, but it had to be done. I feel a lot better now, but sitting at 6-3 I would be surprised if this team goes anything more than 8-4. They probably do not deserve a bowl game, but since the St. Pete Bowl is making its inauguration, the committee for the game would be silly to pass on a virtual home game for the Bulls.

30 October 2008

NBA Preseason Predictions

I am going to start off this blog on a sport I enjoy, but a league that I have lost a lot of love for...Actually I am not too sure if I ever loved the NBA, but it seemed to be much more entertaining for me in years past. Perhaps the similarities between my Miami Heat and our current stock market has something to do with it, but I have put more time and effort into following the college basketball scene. More on that later. On to the picks (sorry a couple days after the season has commenced, but it's an 82 game season).


DIVISION CHAMPIONS

Southeast: Orlando Magic
Dwight Howard leads the Magic to the repeat. Atlanta has a very good chance with one of the most underrated players in Joe Johnson. My heart says the Heat rebound in a big way and finish top 3 in the division...possibly the playoffs.

Atlantic
: Boston Celtics
You would be hard pressed to find anyone to say otherwise, and if so they would be wrong come season end.


Central: Cleveland Cavaliers
The addition of Mo Williams fills the void at point guard they have been missing the last couple years. Detroit will be close, but they are aging.

Southwest: New Orleans Hornets
In what is arguably the best division in the league, we will see a great race for the title. Every team but Memphis has the potential to win it, but the Hornets pickup a guy that helps teams win championships in James Posey. Oh yeah, they also have Chris Paul. Houston will be much better defensively with Ron Artest, and I'll pick them to finish second. San Antonio and Dallas will follow close behind.


Northwest: Utah Jazz
The Jazz will win substantially. This team could be phenomenal with top tier two-guard. Contrary to popular belief I'll take Denver to finish higher than Portland. I still think the Blazers are too young.

Pacific: Los Angeles Lakers
And it will not even be close.
They look like the best team coming in to the season.

REMAINING PLAYOFF TEAMS

Eastern Conference:
Atlanta, Detroit, Miami, Philadelphia, and Toronto

Western Conference:
Dallas, Denver, Houston, Phoenix, and San Antonio

PLAYOFF RESULTS

Eastern Conference Finals: Cleveland over Boston
The "Boston Three Party" heads back to the conference finals, but comes up short against a younger and faster Cavs squad led by King James. This one will will probably go 7 games.

Western Conference Finals: Los Angeles over Utah
It is honestly a crap shoot as to who could be playing against the Lakers, but it probably won't matter. The Lakers will make their return to The Finals, and with a healthy Bynum they'll be stronger than last year.

NBA Finals: Los Angeles over Cleveland
This may be a boring Finals. The Cavs will find themselves down early, and Lebron will try to carry the load leading to missed threes and errant shots. I'm thinking a 4-1 series.

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

Most Valuable Player: Chris Paul
James is the popular preseason pick, and it is true the Cavs would be nothing without him. But hey, the Hornets would be even worse without CP3. Since Paul competes in the tougher conference and plays the most criticized position, he gets the nod.

Rookie of the Year: Michael Beasley
Beasley will get tons of minutes and probably average a double-double for the season. Watch how much the Heat will be improved with his presence (and a healthy Wade). Oden is the trendy pick, and for good reason. He has had an extra year to train with NBA players, but even before he got hurt I had my doubts in his ability to stay healthy.

Defensive Player of the Year: Ron Artest
He will reestablish his attitude with a new team. No reason he should not win this award every year he is in the league.

Sixth Man of the Year: Leandro Barbosa
This is a tough award to predict so I am going with two pretty good reasons. He scores a bunch and my best friend looks exactly like him.

Coach of the Year: Rick Adelman
The toughest award for me to pick because I do not think there will be any teams that surprise. The Rockets have the potential to win it all and Adelman would have to be given tons of credit for it.

Well there you have it on my preseason predictions. You should not be surprised if many if not all of these are incorrect, but like I said the NBA is not my specialty. I will reassess this after the All-Star break.